#poor allan he really did his best caught in the middle of all of them!

[pandawritespoorly]

With Time: Chapter 40 - Emancipation

Author’s Note: Adrien has an apartment! I just decided to say that he straight up bought it. Also, reference 'slides' are a bit different this time. I, uh, had a little too much time on my hands, and I found a room/house design thing online and built it off of a random floor plan I'd found, and then decorated the main living space. Also, yes I made sure he had an apartment with a balcony. I haven't looked at it for uh, probably a few weeks now, and I don't have time to fix anything weird, soooo... bear with me? Also, I don't know anything about this in general, it's mostly just to give you a better idea of the setting.

Yes, I purposefully chose the more unusual furniture and decorations.

Anyway, find them here!

Chapter Summary: Adrien gets settled into his new home.

First | Previous | Next

It took time. More than they wanted, and far less than they expected.

It took time, but Adrien is free.

The morning after they’d decided to start their operation a little earlier than expected, there were already articles.

Articles that didn’t look so good for the Agreste brand. Sure, initially, the lawyers tried to keep on top of it, but more came.

And more.

And more.

And more.

The stream of articles was seemingly endless, and just as Marinette suspected, more hidden things came to light over time.

Once there had been a few days of the fashion mogul’s reputation taking a beating, they struck.

Adrien legally began the process to become emancipated.

Gabriel was furious. He demanded Adrien come home, but couldn’t enforce it. The bodyguard quit, openly supporting Adrien’s decision.

Nathalie was the only one to stand by Gabriel.

When the day came that they had to go to court (they suspected Gabriel found a way to have it pushed forward to end the madness sooner), Gabriel’s smug face made his stance clear.

When they’d played the clip. Gabriel looked pale, not having realized that they had that.

It’s not even the end. They not so subtly accuse the man of everything from unpaid child labor to child abuse and there’s proof for all of it.

By the end, Adrien is granted emancipation, along with plenty of Gabriel’s bank account balance as monetary compensation for all that happened.

Which brings them to now. Everyone had had a sleepover at Marinette’s, and now they’re helping Adrien with his new apartment.

Chloe’s movers had finished with the bigger furniture items already, now they were figuring out what else he needed.

Marinette paled as soon as they entered the apartment. She stared for a moment, then walked into a corner and covered her eyes, her back to the room.

“Adrien. I love you. I really do. I understand. But at the same time. I just. Cannot.”

“Aw, Mari, it’s not that bad. It could have been worse,” Adrien teases, well aware of her feelings on the matter. 

When Adrien was choosing furniture for his new home, he’d come to the realization that he truly could choose, anything.

Anything at all.

Some of his motivations had partially been choosing things that would have hurt his Father’s very soul, but mostly, he just chose things that he liked, paying no mind to whether it fit with the style of the room.

In fact, he tried to get as many colors as he could.

And that was just with the furniture. They hadn’t even gotten to the decorations yet.

Marinette’s poor designer soul was having a crisis. Chloe, Allegra, and Felix seemed somewhat uncomfortable looking at the mess, but Allan seemed fine with it. Claude had played the biggest role in helping him choose all the pieces (there was a shark head bean bag that they’d been the one to discover), so they were the least surprised. He and Adrien had matching grins.

They’d been planning, and they were far from done.

Marinette wheels around at the implication that he could have made this worse. “Please don’t,” is all she manages to whisper.

It really isn’t as bad as it could have been, and honestly, if he were to go too far even he’d be uncomfortable. The walls are a cheery yellow, standing out against the dark wood floors. Near the door is a white circular table (it’s hard to call it a ‘dining table’ when all he has for comparison is the one back at Father’s place), with four chairs around it. There are two types of chairs, each pair placed across from each other.

One set, a grape colored oddity, had caught his eye immediately. It was just so different from anything he would have found back at the mansion that he’d been immediately sold. The wide curved bottom is supported by thin trapezoid shaped legs that connect to each other through another metal rod along the bottom. The base of the chair tightens as it becomes the back before widening again in a vaguely crescent shape. It’s partners at the table are entirely different. The bottom is like small wooden stools, a lighter oak color. The ocean colored back starts as smooth wings along the sides before connecting in the back, not even coming close to the stool, leaving a gap.

“At least the other stools are just gray?”

“I’ll just… only ever look at your kitchen. Only your kitchen. Ever.”

That’s fair. He’d left the kitchen alone, and as such it was likely the tamest part of the main room. The stools in question are simple, wood legs with a simple gray seat and back.

There are four of those stools seated at the table, facing into the kitchen. The other side of the surface has a sink. The fridge is in the corner, with more counters next to it, and a stovetop at the end. A microwave hangs on the wall, with wall cupboards next to it. The counters and cupboards are simply white, and the wall behind them is some sort of triangular zig-zag pattern of gray and white.

“Did you end up getting that Ponyo rug?” Allan redirects them.

“Of course!” Adrien hurries to the living room, where, sure enough, most of the space in front of the couch is taken up by a rug with Ponyo’s sisters swimming forward together. The couch itself is three cushions long, the base and back of it being dark gray, while the seat cushions and half of the middle back were light gray. The other two back cushions were half blue.

A short gray coffee table holds the tv, and a fluffy pink beanbag is next to the shark head one, parallel to the wall.

“Yeah,” Chloe quips, “This is what I imagined Adrikin’s decorating as.”

“We aren’t even done!”

“Before you go to the store, you may want to go through each room so we can make a list of what sort of stuff you want to look for,” Sabrina reminds.

Allegra gestures towards the empty walls. “Like what you want to do with your walls.”

“Pictures,” Adrien answers immediately. “I want memories on my walls, not money. I don’t want to put something up just because it’s fancy or expensive. If I have something, it’s going to be because it makes me happy.”

“That is the most precious thing I’ve ever heard. How on earth did you become so sweet in that place?” Claude hugs the former model.

Adrien tries to shrug, but it’s difficult with how many people are hugging him now. 

---

The group leaves the apartment again, having dropped off all the purchases.

“Well, if we’re going to get pictures for you, then we’ll begin with whatever you want to do. Decision time!” Allegra cheers.

“Uhhh… I don’t really know.”

“That’s fine!”

“Yeah, we can just explore the city with you!”

“You’ll have no restrictions for once!”

It would be nice to be able to go around Paris as Adrien without having to worry about an akuma on his tail or Gabriel tracking him down.

“Let’s do it!”

They wander around the city, often stopping at the well known landmarks Adrien had never been allowed to properly visit. Everyone is sure to take pictures of each other, doing their best to catch as many moments as they can. Marinette and Claude catch each other taking pictures of each other, grinning mischievously at each other through the lenses of their phones.

Allegra takes a picture of that.

At one point, inspiration strikes Marinette, who begins planning out loud to Allan, who happens to be the closest. Adrien stares at her with such a soft face, and Felix gets a picture of his expression.

When they get slushies at some point, Allegra has a red one, and Chloe a blue one. Chloe mumbles something about purple being a nice color, and Adrien gets a picture of their blushing faces. When they stand to go, Allegra holds out her hand and says, “Since we’ll be walking for a while, could you hold this for me?”

Their faces get even redder after Chloe takes the other girl’s hand.

Sabrina got a video of that interaction.

One of the group gets a picture of Claude and Adrien mimicking The Thinker.

Eventually, it’s getting a little late. Everyone starts to head back to Adrien’s place, Allan and Marinette muttering to each other.

The pair drag Adrien into a grocery store.

“You need to learn to cook.”

“So ya’ need ingredients.”

Marinette gets out her phone, showing it to Adrien. “These are all fairly simple recipes, so you choose a few you want to try, we can get the stuff for those.”

Adrien bounces where he stands, going through the list and choosing five or so. “Are these good?”

“It’s your choice, so if you want them, then they’re good,” Allan assures.

Adrien smiles at that.

Marinette shoves him towards the others. “Allan and I can get the ingredients, you can choose some pictures. They’re all in that shared album, so just choose your favorites and get them printed.”

He salutes her. “Yes, ma’am!”

---

Adrien unlocks the door, gesturing for everyone to enter.

“Ready to try your hand at cooking?” Allan calls as he and Marinette set the groceries on the counter.

“It sounds exciting!” Adrien cheers, hurrying over to help them put things away.

“The rest of you, out of the kitchen!” Marinette ushers everyone else to the living room. “Shoo!”

“This is ridiculous-”

“Utterly ridiculous, yes Chloe, we know. Out!’

With the other five banished from the kitchen, Adrien, Allan, and Marinette focus on their task.

“So it may be for the best if ya’ choose a recipe that doesn’t need an oven-” Allan starts.

“Just for our piece of mind-” Marinette continues.

“For your first few goes.”

“Of course if you want to try one-”

“That needs an oven-”

“Then we’d certainly support that-”

“But we just aren’t so sure our hearts can handle the stress-”

“Of you ‘playing with fire’-”

“So to speak.”

Adrien just looks between the two of them, blinking a few times. “When did you start finishing each other’s sentences?”

The two look at each other, then shrug, speaking in unison, “It just happens.”

“Claude calls it their ‘Mom-mind-meld’,” Felix informs.

“It’s freaky!” Claude shouts, “One minute they’re normal the next they’re telepathic! Always be on your toes! You never know when it’ll start!”

“We aren’t that bad,” they argue.

Claude gestures at them helplessly. “See?! Same tone! Same inflection! Same everything!” He falls off the couch, then scrambles backwards to hide behind a beanbag.

Marinette rolls her eyes. “Ignore them.”

“Anyways, we’ve got to get started-”

“This dinner won’t make itself after all.”

“So here’s the list you made-”

“The ones that don’t need an oven-”

“Are at the top.”

Adrien glances back at his other friends. “Should I be scared?” He stage whispers.

Allegra, for her part, seems to be amused. “You’re fine. Just don’t get hurt. If anything happens then you’ve got two synchronised anxious mom types hovering over you. Just accept your fate, they’ll be fine.”

Adrien turns to the list, eventually selecting one of the ones near the top.

They nod, Marinette reading off the instructions, while Allan supervises Adrien’s actions. For the most part Adrien does it all on his own, though the other boy has to intervene at one point, when Adrien almost cuts his finger off.

When the two have been assured there’s not even a cut, let alone blood, they continue, and soon enough Adrien has finished.

High fives are exchanged, and Marinette produces a gold star from somewhere, sticking it on the recipe card she’d written everything down on.

“Now you know you’ve done this one before!”

“Great job!”

“Hey! Mari! Al’! Over here!”

“Yeah?” Allan answers.

“What?” Marinette asks, confused.

“You’re all good, Claude. They’re back to normal.” Allegra turns to where Claude is presumably hiding.

Sure enough, the actor pops up. “Thank goodness.”

“Adrikins! What did you make?”

In response, Adrien begins to set out plates, and everyone hurries over.

---

“Where are Allegra and Claude?” Marinette asks, setting down her lunch box as she arrives at the lunch table where only Allan and Felix are seated.

“Last minute student tour.”

“Ooh! Exciting!”

School has been strange ever since the news of Lila broke. Her fellow students had definitely seen the story, and she knows they’re not stupid. There’s no way they didn’t piece together that she was the student bullied out of Dupont. She knows there had already been rumors of her having been bullied, and that ‘some girl called Lila Rossi’ had hurt her.

Surprisingly, these rumors didn’t seem to make people dislike her, instead they all just loved her more for it, which had confused Marinette early on. She’d been so stuck in the mindset that people would hate her if given any reason to.

Then the school just decides that they still like her? It had been confusing.

She could tell people were torn. Everyone was aware that it wasn’t their business to bring it up, but everyone acknowledged what happened without flat-out saying it. Mostly, her classmates just seemed to be extra nice for a few days, wanting to see her smile, which was nice, but she can already feel herself trying to figure out how ‘pay them back’ which is a habit she’s been trying to break.

There’s no need for her to ‘pay back’ kindness. Her classmates just wanted to lessen what they knew must have been a stressful experience. Still though, it’s so ingrained in her that she needs to pay someone back for anything and everything.

A new student would be nice, just to change up the norm for a bit.

“What’s up Mari?”

She groans, flopping onto the table. “Nice people are nice, and I’m still trying to convince my brain that that doesn’t require any sort of ‘pay back’.”

Allan frowns. “Oh dear.”

“We will have to work with you on that, but for now, perhaps a distraction would be nice.”

“Like what?”

Felix nods towards the doors to the cafeteria, where she can hear Allegra, “...and here’s the cafeteria.”

Claude continues, “This room contains absolutely no one you’ve ever met before, most definitely not the love of your life, as an example.”

Marinette turns around, seeing Claude, Allegra, and…

Adrien.

She smiles widely, getting up and rushing over.

He catches her in a tight hug, spinning her around. “Hi, Mari. Surprise?”

“Plotters, each and every one of you.”

Claude pretends to be taking an oath. “We only use our powers for good, I promise.”

“Mhm?”

“Okay, maybe sometimes for mischief.”

Allegra rolls her eyes. “With you it’s always mischief.”

“Or puns!” Adrien adds.

“I’ll have you know that my school puns are high class.”

“This. This is my life for the foreseeable future.”

Marinette just pats Allegra consolingly.

“You know Claude, geology rocks, but geography is where it’s at.”

“I can’t even threaten not to finish your tour because you have Claude. This is ridiculous!”

“Aww, you’re starting to sound like Chloe,” Marinette teases.

Allegra goes slightly pink, throwing her hands in the air and walking away. “Allan and Felix will leave me alone.”

Felix shakes his head as she approaches. “If this is about your girlfriend, then it is fair game.”

“We aren’t dating.”

“We can hear the ‘yet’, Ally. Also, we both know I’m not above puns,” Allan chimes in.

“I get no peace.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Adrien consoles, coming over and swiping some of Marinette’s food, who huffs in mock-offense.

---

Author’s Note: Look at Adrien! Becoming an Independent Boy!! Love these precious children!

For those of you that wanted more of Gabriel's entire life coming crashing down around him, I'll be writing that eventually and posting it! No worries! I just need to get my inspiration/motivation back. It ran away and I would like it back now please.

For those of you who want more fluff, I am simply going to redirect your attention to the fact that With Time is now part of a series, and you can now read how the Quantics all met! They're so cute!

Again, find the references for the apartment here! Keep in mind, I didn't decorate it to the fullest extent, and just threw a few random things on the walls, etc, so imagine your own as you please.

Adrien isn't calling Gabriel 'Father' anymore. That man is no one's father.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave any thoughts, theories, constructive criticism, or anything really in my ask box, in replies or through reblogs. I love seeing what you think!

First | Previous | Next

#miraculous ladybug #with time #fanfic #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #ml felix #allegra #allan #claude #chloe bourgeois #Chloe redemption #aloe #emancipation #gabriel salt #we're in the endgame now #just two chapters left #and one's an epilogue #friends #allan and mari are a force to be reckoned with #claude is scared #poor baby

[traincat]

Do you have any insight.... for writing Harry Osborn? I really haven't read more than a couple of issues with him in it, though I know there's an older comic that says he's a bit of clown cause of trying to make Norman like, laugh or be nice ever, but I'm really not sure what his personality is like. He seems like a nice guy? Except for the whole "tried to be the green goblin" thing but hey, everyone makes mistakes.

This is a tough one because I do think to really nail Harry you need to get down and dirty in both his appearances and in Norman’s because Harry’s a pretty complicated character and a lot of his actions are informed by both his realization and his denial of the terrible things Norman has done. On his own merits, Harry is a very nice guy. He’s a really good friend, he’s very loyal and very generous. He told Peter not to bother paying rent when they lived together in college, and later when Peter and Mary Jane lost their home Harry invited them to live on the upstairs floor of the building he and his wife Liz were living in. He’s very willing to lend friends (Peter) money when they need it:

(ASM #546) He’s a genuinely nice, caring person, and a loving husband and father. (He has two kids – a son named Normie with Liz Allan, his ex-wife, and a baby named Stanley with a woman he was dating named Lily Hollister, although when he became aware of the pregnancy Lily told him the baby was actually Norman’s, something Norman also believed. So you can already see how Norman’s actions might kind of really inform a lot about Harry.) He can also be pretty funny -- every friend group needs a useless effete weasel-faced princeling, and that’s Harry. (I say this with nothing but love. He’s my useless effete weasel-faced princeling.)

But Harry’s also suffered a lot in his life. His mother died when he was a baby; Norman raised him alone and was never exactly a warm and cuddly father:

(Amazing Spider-Man #40)

(Amazing Spider-Man Extra! #3)

A big thing with Harry is that he really just wants to be loved, in a way that Norman very much doesn’t love him. Harry knows his father thinks he’s inferior – in general, and inferior to Peter – and that’s been a big driving force at some of the darkest points in his life.

(“He really just wanted Norman to love him – hell, he just wanted SOMEONE to love him.” – Spectacular Spider-Man v2 #24)

(“You want to make me into something you can love.” – ASM #598)

Webspinners #1′s The Kiss, which is the panel you were talking about. The context is Gwen’s in a bad mood and Harry, Flash, and MJ all start clowning around trying to cheer her up, which is interesting if you take into account the fact that Flash and MJ were also abused by their fathers as children, and Flash and MJ very much adopted “popular” personas as a coping mechanism. Mary Jane even explicitly states herself that she became a class clown herself as part of her invented public persona, much like Peter calls Harry a “court jester” here.

(ASM Annual 1996)

Harry dated Mary Jane in college, a relationship he was far more invested in than she was, and the myriad of pressures – his father’s increasingly erratic behavior as Norman fell in and out of the Goblin persona, his relationship, his burgeoning tendency to compare himself unfavorably to Peter, the good-looking genius (and this is a big part of why it’s important in adaptations that Peter be hot, or at least, hotter than Harry) – in his life led him to start taking drugs, and it’s during an extremely bad trip that Gwen is murdered and Norman dies. Harry actually finds Norman’s body and strips him of his Green Goblin outfit and convinces himself, rather than deal with the horror of what his father did to Gwen, that Spider-Man murdered Norman – which doesn’t work out so well for Peter when Harry finds the Spider-Man costume in Peter’s room. This triggers Harry’s first stint as the Green Goblin, during which he blows up his and Peter’s apartment (because Harry can never try to hurt Peter without both figuratively and literally blowing up his own life) and kidnapped Aunt May, Mary Jane, and Flash. After Peter beat him, he was hospitalized for psychiatric issues, and when he was released he no longer remembered Peter was Spider-Man for a time.

During this point, Harry meets Liz Allan, Peter’s former high school classmate, and falls head over heels in love with her. They marry quickly, have a son, and move out the suburbs for a time. Harry’s relationship with Liz initially provides him with some his stablest times – Harry likes being a family man, and like Peter notes in the above panel, Harry really wants to be loved. But even so, the ghost of Norman’s influence over Harry lingers, especially when Harry’s forced to confront the fact that his father was the Green Goblin all over again, something he goes back and forth on being able to accept.

(ASM #249 – yes the animal crop top outfit actually leads into a pretty serious scene.) 

(Spectacular Spider-Man #181)

I think one thing that’s important with Harry is that he’s essentially a pretty gentle person at his core. He’s not a brawler or a speed demon like Peter -- he wants to settle down, he wants to be loved, he wants a normal, comfortable life, which is why it’s so tragic how deeply Norman’s poison runs in him. 

(ASM #261) This is one of my favorite Harry scenes because he can’t shoot the man holding him, Liz, and MJ hostage, ultimately. It’s not in him, even though he really wants to protect Liz and MJ in this scene. And this comes out in the lead up to his death (he gets better) in Spectacular Spider-Man #200 where, his mental health spiraling and haunted by visions of his father, Harry dons the Green Goblin mask again and attempts to kill Peter. Except he can’t do it. The closest he can get is in a murder-suicide attempt that ultimately fails -- like I said, Harry can’t hurt Peter without literally blowing himself up in the process.

(Spectacular Spider-Man #180)

Another big thing I think with Harry is that he’s kind of constantly caught up between Norman and Peter. There’s always something of a war for ownership of him, body and soul, between these two larger than life figures with poor Harry stuck in the middle, and he knows he should pick Peter, because Peter’s his best and Peter genuinely loves him, but Norman’s roots run deep. If you haven’t read Spectacular Spider-Man #200, I really do recommend it for Harry writing purposes, along with The Child Within (cw for some pretty blatant childhood sexual abuse -- not of Harry, but definitely paralleled against Norman’s abuse of him) in Spectacular Spider-Man #178-184 (the issues between this and #200 are great, too) and American Son in Amazing Spider-Man #595-599.

#harry osborn #marvel comics #traincat talks comics #long post/ #*replies

[robinhoodrevisited]

Caught In The Act

The approach to Nottingham Town. (A coach with the royal crest on top and banners flying drives up to the gates of Nottingham.) Castle courtyard. (The coach pulls into the courtyard. A castle guard opens the front door for the Sheriff, Prince John and Isabella.) Prince John: "Now, Vaisey I do feel just terrible about the whole ordering your death business. Especially now that Gisborne has shown his true colours." Sheriff: "Think nothing of it my Lord, my life is yours to do with as you wish." Prince John: (Considers:) "True... but never the less I feel as though I need to do something to make things better." Sheriff: (As if trying to think:) "I suppose your Highness could restore me to my position as Sheriff?" (The Prince glances at Isabella and frowns.) Prince John: "Oh now that would hardly be fair to Isabella now would it?" Sheriff: "You did say that Lady Isabella was to be sheriff during my absence, my Lord. And clearly, I am no longer absent." (Sir Jasper gets out of the coach and starts up the steps. Prince John nods to him then turns back to the Sheriff.) Prince John: "I had anticipated this request, Vaisey and I've decided that a little friendly competition is called for." Isabella: "Competition, Sire?" Prince John: (Smiling now:) "Yes, my adorable girl. I propose that for the next couple of days during my absence that both you and Vaisey will share the position of Sheriff." Sheriff: "My Lord, I don't-" Prince John: (Continuing regardless:) "During which time whomever manages to round up the most money and the most outlaws shall become Nottingham's permanent Sheriff. The winner will be announced before the executions take place right here in the courtyard. (To Isabella:) I do so love executions my sweet. Promise your Prince this treat upon my return, won't you?" Isabella: "As you wish, my Lord." Prince John: "Excellent. Now, I must leave for Kingsbridge. I leave you in Sir Jasper's capable hands." Jasper: "Thank you, Sire." (The Prince takes Isabella's hand and kisses it. Giving Vaisey a quick nod, he turns and heads down the steps and into the awaiting carriage.) Sheriff: "My dear friend. To what do we owe this exquisite pleasure?" Jasper: "I’m here to keep things fair and impartial." Sheriff: "Oh really?" (Jasper steps even with the Sheriff one step down.) Jasper: "And I cannot be bought." (Jasper walks past a shocked Sheriff into the castle.)

Outlaws' Camp. Sherwood Forest. (Gisborne sits in the camp alone at the camp entrance, reminiscing. Several weeks have passed since Gisborne defied the Sheriff and Prince John. Several weeks since Marian persuaded Robin to allow her former fiance into the camp now that he had nowhere else to turn. Although far from being welcomed with open arms by the other outlaws, the situation could have been a lot worse. Along with Allan, who also had reason to feel awkward amongst the outlaws, Gisborne had tried to make the best of things. Even going as far as to help Will where he could as the young man set about extending the camp to make room for everyone. The boy was quite the skilled carpenter and the mechanism that facilitated the camp's concealment was ingenious. All in all, the adjustment had not proved too difficult. True, he had not yet joined the outlaws in stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, but he had helped in other ways. The times and days where the castle guards would make their rounds into the numerous villages around Nottingham had been left largely unchanged since his exile. This along with Gisborne's unique knowledge of each guard's strengths and weaknesses, for he had trained many of them himself, had come in very handy. As he remained in the woods he would busy himself with gathering firewood or specific herbs for Djaq, the healer of the group. In truth, Guy was beginning to warm up to the camaraderie and relish the absence of loneliness that he had been used to for so long. But, above all of that, he knew the main reason he had stayed was the chance to be with Marian. To be in her company lifted his spirits more than any Manor or title had done. He’d even managed to spend some time alone with her, shared laughs with her. At one point he tried to kiss her but she had refused him. That was fine, he could wait. Shaken from his reverie by the return of the others to the camp, Gisborne stands aside to let everyone enter.) Allan: "Alright, Guy? Any sign of Much or John?" Gisborne: "No, you're the first ones back." Allan: (Slumping down onto his bunk:) "Typical, I'm bleedin' starving I am." Marian: (Putting her cloak up on a hook:) "You don't have to wait for Much to eat you know. You can do it yourself." Allan: (Waving her off:) "Oh, he loves cooking. It's what he lives for." Djaq: "Yes, but for how much long will we live for? (Rubbing her stomach:) The fish we had last night is still trying to swim upstream." (Will gives her a sympathetic look as he hangs up his tool belt beside her.) Robin: "Personally, (Looking cheekily at Marian:) I think the kitchen is in need of a woman's touch." Marian: (Smirks:) "And a woman's touch is what you shall have, right up side your head if you're not careful." Robin: (Putting his hands up in surrender:) "It was just a suggestion." Marian: "Hmm. I have no problem doing my fair share of the chores around here but not because it's expected of my gender." Gisborne: "My father used to cook for us. (As Marian looks toward him:) Before he left for war." Marian: (Gesturing towards Gisborne, to Robin:) "There you are you see? Some men don't consider it women's work." Robin: (Defensively:) "I never said it was women's work. The best meals I ever ate were cooked by Gladstone." Gisborne: (Absentmindedly:) "Roast pork." (Robin and Gisborne exchange looks as each man remembers their mutual servants culinary skills.) Marian: "Yes, well I'm sure even Gladstone is pleased not having to serve either of you meals for a change." Gisborne & Robin: "Hey!" (The others look round at the two former Lords of Locksley and begin to laugh.)

Nottingham Castle. The Great Hall. (The Sheriff and Isabella are sitting opposite Sir Jasper across the long table.) Jasper: “The rules are simple, you have until the Prince returns tomorrow to capture as much money and as many outlaws as you can.” Sheriff: (Clears his throat:) "By any means necessary I take it?" Isabella: "What about the castle guards, how many does each...contestant get?" Jasper: "Everything is split down the middle. You will have the same amount of guards to help you on your way." Sheriff: "And what happens to the loser of this little (Looks to Isabella:) friendly endeavour?" Jasper: "The Prince did not specific. But I would imagine he'll be obliged to let the loser go." Sheriff: "He shall have his money, and his outlaws." Jasper: (Rises:) "Good. Oh, and once and for all, deal with Hood. He's become a significant pain in the Princely backside. (The Sheriff nods and Isabella smiles.) And one last thing. Everything is split fifty fifty over the next two days, including your Sheriff duties. I believe there is a town meeting scheduled for later today?" Sheriff: "Ah, yes. (Glances at Isabella:) Tell you what, you take that one and I'll take the next. Must dash, bye now!" (Vaisey quickly gets to his feet and heads out of the Great Hall, leaving Isabella to roll her eyes at his retreating form.) Jasper: "Come now, my lady. There's still time this morning to round up a few outlaws before the town meeting. (Offering his arm:) Shall we?" (Isabella considers him a moment before getting to her feet. Adopting a false but convincing smile she takes his arm and they too leave the Great Hall.)

Sherwood Forest. Robin & Marian's Clearing. (Robin and Marian arrive at their clearing for a little alone time. It is the first time in many weeks that they have been able to make time for themselves and the forest has begun to reclaim some of the land.) Robin: (Sitting on a tree stump:) "It's been too long, the nightshade has all grown back." Marian: (Crouching down:) "And I think there's family of rabbits living down there." (Points at the hole in the ground.) Robin: (Smiles:) "Well that's appropriate. Given what we use this place for." Marian: (Returning to her full height:) "Hm, and what is that exactly?" Robin: "Oh you know, recite poems to each other, watch the stars together, have unbelievable se-" Marian: (Places her hand over Robin's mouth and smiles:) "Ah, now I remember." Robin: "I'd hoped you might." (Marian bends over so that her face is level with Robin's and they share a deep, loving kiss.) Marian: (Innocently:) "Well I might be out of practice." Robin: "We can't have that." (They kiss again, longer this time.) Marian: "I might've forgotten how." Robin: "I'm sure it'll all come flooding back to you." Marian: (Moving to straddle Robin's lap:) "Lets hope so." (Robin's hands trail down Marian's back and stroke it softly as Marian grips Robin by the hair, pulling him in for a passionate kiss. Suddenly there is a sound of a twig breaking followed by rustling leaves. Marian stops and turns in Robin's embrace to look over her shoulder. Her face pales as she sees Gisborne watching them from a distance, his jaw clenched and his eyes filled with pain and despair. Gisborne turns and leaves hurriedly as Marian gets to her feet calling after him.) Marian: "Guy, wait!" (Robin too gets to his feet, hands on his hips and shakes his head.)

Sherwood Forest. The Path To Clun. (Much, with his satchel over his shoulder is headed back towards camp. Having made the food drop for the villagers, the former manservant is ready to eat himself. As he turns a corner however he is confronted with the Sheriff and several guards who quickly surround him.) Sheriff: (Walking forward:) "Ah, Hood's faithful companion. All alone are we?" Much: (Nervously looking around:) "N-not for long!" Sheriff: "Hm, I'm sure. In the meantime you can tell me where the money is." Much: "Money? What money." Sheriff: "Come now, dear boy, no games. Hood must have a stash hidden around here somewhere." Much: "Everything he has... everything he stole from you, he gives away. (The Sheriff frowns.) You just don’t get it, do you?" Sheriff: (Sighs:) "Have it your way. (To guards:) Grab him. (The guards grab Much and begin to shackle him.) You will tell me where Hood keeps his coffers because I need it back. All of it." (The guards drag Much away further into the forest with the Sheriff following. Behind a tree we can see Little John watching. Clearly outnumbered, the big man decides to get reinforcements before saving his friend.)

Outlaws' Camp. (Will and Djaq are playing cards as Allan is poking around the kitchen shelves looking for something to eat.) Will: (Happily:) "Gin." Djaq: "That's not possible. (Will folds his arms as Djaq checks Will's cards.) You cheat, Will Scarlett!" Will: (Laughing:) "How can anyone cheat at Gin Rummy?" Allan: "Oh, I can show ya a few ways. (Winks at Djaq:) You just let me know when you want to play strip poker." Djaq: "Very funny, Allan." (Gisborne storms back into camp and grabs a knapsack. Ignoring the jovial atmosphere of the camp, he moves over to where Allan stands he begins filling it with food and provisions.) Allan: "Hey, hey. What's the matter?" Gisborne: (Spins around:) "All been having fun at my expense have you? All laughing at me behind my back." Allan: "What are you talking about?" Gisborne: "Yeah, laughing and joking about me as your precious leader steals the woman I love from me?" Allan: "Now listen, Guy, I tried to-" Gisborne: (Raising his sword:) "You stay away from me, (Pointing at Djaq & Will in turn:) All of you, just stay away." (Gisborne reaches over to the table and grabs a wineskin, stuffs it in his bag and heads for the entrance to the camp.) Allan: "Guy!" (Little John arrives slightly out of breath.) Little John: "The Sheriff's got Much, we need to go now! (Gisborne pushes past John on his way out of the camp. Will and Djaq look worriedly at each other then get to their feet. To Allan:) Where's he going?" Allan: "Don't worry about it, let's go get our cook back."

Locksley. (Gisborne trudges into the still quiet village. To his left he hears a door creaking open. He quickly points his sword at the sound and sees a young girl, peeking out, confused but unafraid. Gisborne sees she is no threat and lowers his weapon, but still glares at her with mistrust. He turns and continues walking towards the manor. He ignores the villagers gathering curiously behind him. He stops, stares at the manor and imagines all that could have been. Images of he and Marian, married and surrounded by children. Images of he being the one allowed to hold and kiss her sweet lips. But those thoughts are soon replaced by ones of Marian being held tightly in Hood's embrace. By the realisation that the man who stood for everything he was not, had the heart of the woman he loved. The quiet is soon shattered by Gisborne's roar of heartbreak. And, as the Sheriff's men positioned at Locksley Manor run towards him, he raises his sword relishing the chance to fight. With parrys and thrusts, the former Sheriff's leiutenant quickly dispatches the first two guards waving on the others following in their wake. Fuelled by bitterness and betrayal, Gisborne fights with all he has, not noticing as Sir Jasper and his sister Isabella ride into the village.) Jasper: "Well, I certainly didn't expect your brother to be the first captured, my lady." (Isabella watches concernedly, wondering how she may save her brother's life.) Isabella: (Calling out to the guards:) "Capture him, don't kill him! (At Jasper's look:) The Prince would never forgive me if he missed my brother's execution." (Jasper nods his approval as sharp, gleaming swords surround Gisborne. Noticing his sister for the first time, Gisborne slowly swings his sword, ready to fight to the end.) Isabella: (Pleadingly:) "Throw down your sword, outlaw. You're surrounded!" (Noticing the look upon his sister's face, Gisborne stares at her a moment before deciding to lower his weapon, dropping it to the ground.) Jasper: (As the guards swoop in to arrest Gisborne, brightly:) "Good. One down, plenty more to go!" (Sir Jasper turns his horse towards the castle as Isabella reluctantly watches her brother being hauled away to the dungeons.)

#bbc robin hood #robin hood #lucy griffiths #jonas armstrong #keith allen #lara pulver #toby stephens #joe armstrong #richard armitage #anjali jay #harry lloyd #sam troughton #gordon kennedy

[beautifulannihilationbook]

Chapters 1-9

CHAPTER 1: WELCOME TO HELL… I turn the dial on the radio desperately searching for a human voice other than the emergency alert broadcast. Just five minutes ago, I watched in horror as a cascade of nuclear warheads descended upon every major population area in no less than a five-hundred-mile radius. They glassed the cities and towns with ground shaking explosions, as they detonated I felt the searing heat and did my best to shield my eyes from the blinding light. After I regained my senses I realized I was stranded in the middle of West Virginia; the EMP from the nuclear detonations fried the car���s circuitry and overheated the engine. Luckily, for me I was on my way to deliver parts to an automobile repair garage, and had with me all the necessary components to perform the needed repairs, and after about an hour, I was back on the road. Coming out of the rural purgatory that I had been navigating for the past hour I finally find a station, but it is not what I expected. “Hello world, can you hear me now? Have I made enough noise for you to take me seriously? It doesn’t matter, even if any of you are still alive, you won’t last long, the world is in flames, quite beautiful don’t you think? I call it hell on earth, the epitome of my soul. Rot in your own flesh, you worthless pieces of meat, goodbye.” Says the voice on the radio in an eerily calm voice. I recognize the voice immediately. I cannot believe he actually did it; he could never forgive the world for what happened to her. He swore his existence to making everyone pay for it. I just never understood how a simple human had a capacity for love so intense that losing it could bring such devastation and malice. Though there is much about him I never understood. The way he could never seem to make friends, despite his intelligence and true kindness, and how he could find the best in the worst of people. He was always mysterious, a little dark too. However, he was never violent, and always willing to forgive. I guess we all have our breaking points, and he reached his a long time ago, when he met his love and lost her too. All in one tragic year in high school, the same year we met, and I found out what our future would hold. He explained to me his many plans for military experiments, I guess this one was a success, because everywhere I look right now, I see fire. Now I have no plan on what to do, so for now, I will just keep driving. CHAPTER 2: “THE DESTROYER OF WORLDS” Allan was always a quiet kid, never got in fights, always avoided trouble, and tried to get good grades. He also never stood up for himself; he never even really talked. He seemed like he was always thinking. Many people did not know what to think about him, so they decided he was dangerous. It might have just been rumors, it might have been the hair, or even the frequent all black clothes, but people tended to get scared when he was around them. When he actually tried to get close to someone, they would push him away out of fear. They did not understand the vast capacity of love, kindness, generosity, and understanding that this kid had. He did everything he could think of to change the way people saw him. However, nothing really changed, he was simply too shy, he could not bring himself to talk to people. He was afraid of everything, the world scared him. He had voices seemingly all around him, jeering, hating, and condemning him to failure. Sometimes, they were even inside his own head. However, he was smart, and he had a knack for technology. He knew how to make things, and make them well. His peers did not realize it, but his teachers knew he was bound for greatness. He had already taken college level classes, and patented a new type of high-density photo reactive material for television screens. It was his best work at the time; he knew how to create complex materials built to withstand lots of rough handling. Eventually it would serve him in a very interesting way. Though in this period in his life, it served only as a hobby. His true passion was passion itself, expression, writing, poetry, and love. He admired romanticism, and he fell in love with Edgar Allen Poe, and Shakespeare. It reflected the way his mind worked, dramatic representation of love, betrayal, loss and revenge, the desire to avenge, and the total sense of despondence when the loved is lost. This embodied his life, and it would eventually make it into a tragedy. When he got into high school, he had a few problems with a few girls, each one scarred him bad, but one would never be a scar, it would remain an open wound. Her name was Anna. She was two years younger, a free spirited girl. She was a sweetheart on the outside, but like a trick candy the inside was bitter, sour, and it would burn your mouth if you tried to bite into it. Allan would make the mistake of biting hard into the rough sugary exterior and it would break, revealing the bitter filling that would burn his mouth like an acid, and yet he would still swallow. With separated parents, and a drunk, abusive father, she needed to grow up fast. She adopted a calm and collected personality in the hardest of situations. To make up for it, she acted childish around her closest friends. It was a mask she made, a way to hide her pain. Perhaps she wasn’t aware of it herself, but she was losing herself to the act she was putting on. There was one person, however, that she used a different mask around, a person who she would victimize in an ironic bout of unfortunate circumstance that would destroy his life, and countless more. His name was Allan Garren. She approached him one day, when she noticed him gazing from afar, and something deep within herself sparked a strange desire to be with him, made even more intense by her sadistic persona that had quite the opposite intentions. Allan was wary at first. He was mistrustful and cautious. However, Anna was prepared and capable. She drew him out with her charm, and gained his trust quickly. Soon he loved her in the most inconceivable way. Now no matter how bad Anna would treat him, he never saw her differently. He was completely blind to his own pain. Even though everything he thought he had was a game. The game that would prove as a checkmate for the entire world. CHAPTER 3: LIES AND LOVE CAN BE THE SAME THING Anna was a pretty girl; she was popular, talented, charismatic, creative, and sadistic. She loved life and wanted to be a mom. Although she had been through many rough spots in her time, she had a good life. One day, in eighth grade she met a kid named Allan. Biggest. Mistake. Ever. She decided to have a little fun with him, she knew from the rumors around school that he was strange. She caught him staring and took her chance, approaching him and introducing herself. He was shy, but she knew how to bring him around. She pretended to be in love with him, it was like a game, a dangerous game, but a game nonetheless. She played with his heart; however, it was more of a voodoo doll than a board game. She was enjoying it until he started planning a future around the “relationship”. That’s when she devised her creative escape plan. Starting with the fake depression. She acted as though she had uncontrollable episodes in which she spewed out nonsense about being possessed and cursing people who get too close to her. It scared him, but it only intensified his desire to be there for her even more. After that plan backfired, she decided that she would tell him that she was incapable of love. This may have caused him extreme pain; however, it once again made him want to be the one to help her learn to love. It was, after all, his Shakespearian passion. Seeing this desire, she thought that it would be efficient to convince him that she is unfixable, and that she was not good enough for him. This only accomplished one thing; it made him feel even more worthless, because he felt he was not good enough to make her happy. She knew she could easily tell him she just didn’t love him, but part of the game was to avoid personal guilt. This became worse and worse as she continued to try to slither her way out of this relationship without having to feel guilty. She dragged it out over the summer, unfortunately she found out she had caused Allan to become extremely depressed, to the extent that he had nearly attempted suicide twice. That’s when she decided there was only one way to break it off indirectly. She told a close friend about the suicide threats. She played the victim of a scary stalker psycho, telling about the obsessive nature of Allan’s love. Naturally, her friend told her father, who in turn contacted Allan and demanded that he cease all communication with poor little Anna. This caused Allan to hate himself, so Allan decided that he would get help, truly believing he had hurt her. At that point, she had completely abandoned him. Never again did she think about what she had done to someone that she secretly felt something special for. Until one day, it hit her. Then everything changed. As for him, he never forgot what he had done to the only one he had ever truly loved, and it tore him to shreds. However, for Anna, it solved all her problems for a long time. Allan, even after the hospital, never really recovered, he remained obsessed with Anna, and though he loved her, he never spoke to her again, as he respected her wishes to remove him from her life. CHAPTER 4: SCORCHED EARTH Driving through what used to be Cleveland, I search for any signs of life. This was of course a pointless endeavor; the earth here has literally been turned into glass. Fallen buildings lay everywhere, rubble scattered like fallen leaves in autumn. I wanted to hold onto hope, but it doesn’t take long for me to give it up. I don’t even bother to get out searching what few structures still stand; no one could have survived it. Downtown Cleveland is not even there anymore; it’s only a crater now. The massive loss of life here is too much to think about. I begin to zone out when suddenly out of the corner of my eye I see someone running towards my car; it’s a young dark blonde girl, probably fourteen or fifteen, she’s short and emaciated. I stop and pull the 44. Magnum out of its holster. I step out of the car and run over to her, tears and blood stream down her face, her arms and stomach are lined with cuts and bruises. I grab hold of her and hold her head against my shoulder. “Hey, hey, what happened to you?” I ask, rubbing her back. She angrily shoves my hand away and pulls back from me. “They killed her, they're all fucking dead!” she screams through filthy tears and blistered lips. “Who killed who? What are you talking about?” I ask. She looks at me, startled and confused, as if I’m the one who should know the answer instead of her, but after she thinks for a moment her confusion turns to horror. She doesn’t answer my question; I don’t think she can in her dissociative state. “They’re still chasing me” she says after a few moments, her breathing speeds up and she begins to hyperventilate, “they won’t stop, they’re not done with me.” I look back at where I saw her come from, sure enough, about forty yards away is a group of men with rusty blades in hand, they are clearly out of their heads on some kind or kinds of drugs. I pull the young girl behind me and raise my gun. I fire a warning shot, but they hardly seem to care; whatever narcotics they had taken left them oblivious to reality. “If you don’t want to die today, turn back where you came from” I shout. To no avail, it’s as if they couldn’t even hear me. “ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID?” the girl screams furiously, grabbing for my gun. I look at her, realizing just from the look in her eyes that they weren’t going to stop their pursuit so long as they were breathing, and I knew in that instant that they don’t deserve to breathe anyways. I sight them in with my magnum and fire, two bullets strike skulls, one strikes a heart, the last two strike lungs. After the last man drops to the ground, I reload and check their vitals, four dead, the fifth sputters and coughs; I kneel down and roll him on his back and look him in the eyes. I doubt there was anyone really in there, pupils dilated, eyes bloodshot, he was dead before I shot him. I sigh, taking in a deep breath, and standing up to orient myself towards the young woman I just recued. She has stopped hyperventilating, she looks calm, but I can tell it’s not calmness, she’s zoning out of reality, “Are you okay?” I ask, realizing it was a stupid question the moment the words leave my lips. “No” she says, not breaking eye contact with the ground. She tries to wipe the blood and tears from her face, only succeeding in smudging the muck even more I move myself into her line of sight and hold out my canteen, maintaining eye contact, the eyes can sometimes speak better than the lips. She looks at the canteen, motionless for a few seconds, her eyes fixed hypnotically on the cap. “Thanks.” She replies, with an empty monotone voice, not looking to me, but still to the canteen. She holds it, remaining motionless, and seemingly slipping back into a trance. I take back the canteen and pour water on the sleeve of my shirt, using the dampened cloth to wipe her scarred and bloody face. “What’s your name?” I ask, dabbing her face with my shirt. “Ashley” She replies, her eyes are still gazing, unmoving from the spot where the canteen was. She seems to be calming, realizing she is safe for now. "Ashley huh? I like that name." I say, handing her back the canteen. Her eyes slowly turn to me. Her head follows after. “Drink some water; I have more in the truck.” I say, pushing the canteen to her face. She takes it and gulps it down, taking only a moment to breathe between drinks. When she finishes she looks back to me, holding the empty container weakly towards me. “So what happened back there? Who were those people?” I ask. “Those people.” She says, her monotone voice haunting my ears. “They took us, my friends and everyone else from the fallout shelter we were hiding in.” she explains. Her eyes are terrified “They shot all the men and raped the women, they raped us all,” She continues. “Even the children.” She adds, her voice monotone and emotionless. Tears fill her eyes; she suddenly looks terrified. She turns to me, her eyes expressing more agony than I’ve witnessed in my whole life. “Everyone I know is dead.” She says. Her breath is shallow; she speaks as though she didn’t already know the information she was hearing from her own mouth. "Hey, it is going to be okay, you’re safe now, you just survived, you didn't let them win." I say, attempting to reassure her. "Oh they won alright.” She says, a laugh split with a sob escapes her mouth, “they may be dead but they got everything they wanted from me” she adds, her words barely audible through her gasping cries. "Ashley, I can't even imagine the pain, but I can tell you this, from now on, you and I are family, and I will protect you, now we need to get somewhere safe, the others might be coming, come with me” I say, taking her hands. “Don’t touch me!” she shouts, pulling her hands back and stepping away. “Okay, okay.” I say calmly backing away, holding my hands up. “They’ll kill you too” She says, pointing at me and slowly backing up. She slips on some rubble and falls backwards. I quickly advance and catch her by the hand. “Well if we are both gonna get killed, then how do you feel about some revenge along the way?” I ask, pulling her back upright. The subtle smirk on her face was all the answer I needed. Chapter 5: MASTER OF ANNIHILATION “All the players have shown their hands, but I hold all the cards” Allan soliloquizes as he targets the world with nuclear Armageddon. “I am about to end the game with the sweet kiss of death” he continues as he flips the switch to send the nuclear holocaust on its way to humanity. “I’m sorry I could not have been there for you the one time you needed me. I never did a single thing right for you, I caused you so much fucking pain, not a single moment of serenity,” he says to his beloved lost one, Anna. “What the fuck was I waiting for?” He asks himself as the hundreds of nukes rocket from the facility, causing the ground to shake. “I could have saved you, you deserved better than what you got.” he continues with increasing frustration and pain, as he preps his experimental gunship for launch. “YOU DESERVED TO LIVE!” He screams as he flips the self-destruct switch on the nuclear missile complex’s leftover warhead stockpile. Instantly, the entire planet seems to shake, the mechanisms in the complex begin arming every single warhead, moving them all down to the lowest platform at the base of the mountain. The event that was about to occur made Allan’ fingers twitch with excitement. He exits the lift out of the mountain detonating the system of C-4 on the mountaintop. The mountaintop begins to cave in on itself, burying the entrance to the complex in hundreds of tons of snow and earth. As he counts down the minutes to the explosion, he smiles to himself. “Retribution” He mutters as he pauses in front of his massive gunship. “Time to wake up” CHAPTER 6: FLASHPOINTS EVERYWHERE “Sir, we have a problem” says Colonel Jack “We have flashpoints, over 800 all across the board!” he continues with a stunned impression plastered on his face. “This is unbelievable, the entire world has been hit, all except for Russia” says Captain Ed, staring in amazement at the map. “Sir we have an incoming transmission, its coming from everywhere, someone has hijacked the entire satellite system!” says Comms Officer Gerald. “Put it on now.” says the Captain. “Welcome to my lovely exhibit, I call it home, you call it hell, and I honestly cannot find a difference between the two. For me, the world has always been a living punishment of the worst possible kind; I just made it look more like one. Anna was the one and only good thing I could find in it and you animals let her die; no, you all contributed to her death.” bellows the almost inhuman voice of Allan through the PA system. “And so now you burn with the rest of this pitiful world.” He adds, ceasing the communication. “What the hell?” says the confused comms officer. “Sir there’s something on the horizon!” yells Jack, looking closely at the radar, “it’s a nuclear missile!” he adds. “DIVE, DIVE!” yells Ed. The massive submarine dives deep into the ocean as the nuclear missile detonates above them disintegrating over a hundred feet of water, causing a small whirlpool to form. “Are we okay?” Ed asks frantically The officers all check their systems, turning to Ed and giving a thumbs up. Ed breathes a sigh of relief. “What the FUCK was that about?” asks Jack angrily. “My daughter. . .” replies Ed. “What?” Inquires Jack “Anna” he responds, solemnly, as he remembered what happened. CHAPTER 7: REVENGE IS SWEET “Hey I never got to properly introduce myself, I’m Joseph.” I say, smiling at her in the rearview mirror. “Hi Joseph.” she says unenthusiastically. “Are you gonna be okay?” I ask, fishing through my duffle bag. “No, I don’t think so” she says staring down at her bruised thighs. “Ashley I am so sorry. I know I cannot undo what has been done to you and I cannot cure you of the memory of that hell, but I am here for you and I will listen to whatever you have to say and do my very best to help you recover.” I say, putting my hand on her shoulder, with one hand and putting a 44. Magnum in her lap, “Do you remember where those bastards were holding you?” “I remember every fucking detail.” she says solemnly, taking the gun and examining it. “Where at then?” I ask “Museum of Natural History” she says, checking to see if the gun was loaded, smiling when she finds the cylinders populated by six hollow point rounds. “How fitting, they are after all, about to BE history” I reply with a chuckle. Ashley’s lips turn just enough to be considered a grin. I take a turn back towards the museum. Back when I was younger I used to go there all the time, but since then, the place has changed significantly, after the year 2018 they lost a lot of funding due to a change in the administration, President Trump wasn’t too interested in funding museums, it took money away from the development of bigger better war machines. The museum became little more than a few exhibits featuring animals that used to be alive, so now it may include exhibits with African lions, tigers, and polar bears all of which became extinct in the last five years. “Did you ever get to see the museum when they had dinosaurs on display?” I ask “I never went there, I wasn’t all that interested in history, I went to the science center a lot though, and the rock and roll history museum.” She replies. “Ah yes, the Science Center,” I say, reminiscent, “I must have been there at least a hundred times in my life” “Did you ever try that spicy chocolate from the gift shop?” she asks. “No, that sounds disgusting.” I say, laughing ‘It was pretty nasty” she agrees, smiling. “Did you ever try the astronaut food” I ask “Yeah, the ice cream was actually pretty good” she replies. “That was the only good one.” I say, “The rest were disgusting” I laugh She looks content, smiling at the floor. I take the exit leading towards the natural history museum, “We are almost there, are you ready for this? You don’t have to go in.” I say, looking at her through the rearview mirror. “I need to do this myself.” She says, confidently, “I have to see them die.” “I’ll be right there with you.” I say reassuringly. As I pull into the driveway, I see a couple dozen bodies of young women lying naked on the lawn, Ashley sees them too, her face expressing a horrid combination of fear and anger. “Ashley, aim for the lungs” I say grabbing my shotgun and preparing to go in, Ashley follows right behind me. One of the bikers spots me and before I could get a shot out, he yells “Intruder”. All of the sudden there are four of them. Ashley wastes no time, shooting all four in less than 6 seconds. We rush into the building and check the halls to make sure it’s clear, then head into the main lobby. I have to cover my nose when we walk in, it smells like blood, shit, and semen. The floors and walls are splattered with blood, there are mattresses scattered on the floor stained with blood and god knows what else. I notice two more bikers, I shoot one and Ashley shoots the other. Then I see him, a huge man, the skin around his arms is stretched by the size of his muscles, I get a sick feeling in my stomach when I see the way he looks at Ashley; I run straight up to him and with the adrenaline from my anger I manage to tackle him to the ground and pin him. “REMEMBER ME BITCH?” Ashley screams, firing her two remaining rounds in his kneecaps pausing to reload, and then emptying all six cylinders striking his critical muscles, essentially disabling his movement. As Ashley reloads once more, I jump off of him and back away out of fear, she unloads the third set of bullets into every non-vital organ I can think of. She then pulls out a knife, already covered in dried blood, the look in her eyes is unsettling. She jumps on top of him and begins stabbing him repeatedly, carefully avoiding his heart and lungs. “Ashley, what are you doing? Just kill him!” I shout as the man screams in agony. “DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MAN DID? ALL THE PAIN HE CAUSED?” she screams in return, looking into my eyes through her tears. “I WANT HIM TO BEG ME TO KILL HIM” “I can’t even imagine, but torturing him like this won’t change what happened, it only brings you down to his level” I reply as I carefully walk towards her. She loads a single round into the chamber and points the gun at me. “Ashley, look at me” I say, holding out my arms, “I know I just met you, but I know this isn’t who you want to be” She stares at me for a second; she gives me a look I can’t quite explain, her lip quivers and she starts to cry, then places the gun to her own head and pulls the trigger. “ASHLEY NO!” I scream, only a fraction of a second too late I grasp her wrist as the gun falls from her hand; as it hits the ground my heart drops. “Goddamnit Ashley…” I cry out, “Why!?” My heart skips every other beat as my chest contracts. I pull her in as her body melts into my arms. I take in shallow breaths, as I attempt to bring myself back to reality from my panic. I look down at the blood on my hands. I hold her silently, my heartbeat slowly returning to its normal rhythm. “I don’t want to be anyone” She cries, her lungs straining to take in air through her chest muscles tightened by the agony she is in. “Did you know the chamber was empty?” I ask, gently rubbing her back with my still shaking hands. She shakes her head against my shoulder. “I’m sorry I pointed it at you” She sobs. “It’s okay, that’s not what I’m upset about, I hope you know that.” I say, starting to cry. Ashley is interrupted by a loud coughing, followed by labored laughter. We return our attention to Ashley’s rapist. “Even now, though I am bleeding out on the ground, my men dead and my body useless, I still have the power to kill you.” He says proudly. Ashley picks up the gun once more and spins the cylinder. She then points the gun directly against his head and pulls the trigger. *click; the hammer lands on an empty chamber, the man stops laughing. “You are not a monster.” She says, pulling back the hammer once more. *click “You are not my greatest fear.” *click “You are a killer of people weaker than you” *click “You are a coward” *click “And because of that, even I am stronger than you” The hammer strikes the center of the back of the bullet casing, igniting the gunpowder and sending the round through the man’s skull and into the ground beneath him. Ashley pauses for a few moments before speaking. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.” she says, wiping the tears and mucous from her face before standing up. “Aren’t we going to look for your friends?” I ask as she walks back towards the exit. “I already found them,” she says pointing to the lawn where the broken corpses of women lay. “Ashley. I’m sorry,” I mutter, but it’s pointless, no words can express the pain I feel for her, and nothing can console her after what she’s experienced. We both walk silently to the car, this world is cruel, and I don’t know why anyone survived this hell. CHAPTER 8: EVERY TRAGEDY HAS A VICTIM “Sir, what about her? You told me your daughter died in an accident.” inquires Jack. “Well I lied, she was killed, and I wasn’t there to help her. You see, Anna was a CIA agent sent on a mission; however, it turned out that her mission was to spy on China. While doing her mission, she found out way more than she was supposed to. The government was raising taxes by a ridiculous amount, taking people’s homes, killing innocent people, and destroying the environment, but then she went even deeper, she found that the US government was in on it, in fact China had been acting under the control of the US. Anna tried to get to the public with this, but the CIA stopped her and had the Chinese kidnap her. Allan knew what was happening and he warned everyone, when no one listened, he went in and tried to save her. Damn kid nearly succeeded too.” Ed explains “What? He went in alone. Sir that’s impossible.” Exclaims Jack. “You have no fucking idea what this kid had for my daughter.” Says Ed. “He’s only human, how could he assault a fortified military compound single-handedly?” Reasons Jack. “With makeshift body armor and a machete. . .” CHAPTER 9: LAST WORDS LEFT UNSAID… ” Anna where are you?” Echoes my blood-curdling scream through the gore filled halls of Alcatraz. I have taken nearly 80 rounds and my armor is starting to fall apart. I clean the blood off my machete, and reload my pistol before returning it to its holster. Turning the next corner, I hear what sounds like crackling electricity. It has to be where they’re keeping her. I kick in the door and am immediately thrown to the ground by the immense force of buckshot to my chest. “I got him!” he says triumphantly to the other men in the room. “Watch out!” they scream back in horror as I get back up and rip the gun from his hands. He swings his fist at me; I dodge it and slice his arm off. “Where is she?” I scream as I snap his leg and continue into the room. The man screams out in pain, I rip my pistol from its holster and plant a round in his skull. As soon as I walk through the door, I freeze. I stare in agony at the abomination before my eyes, God, please no. “Stop right there!” the men shout, lifting their weapons with their shaking arms. “What have you done?” I ask, slowly turning my head to face them. I am trembling with anger. I begin to step towards them. “We were only following orders.” One man replies with his shaking voice. “What does it matter? Your life ends here.” says the other man with foolish confidence as he opens fire. I brace myself and charge, as the rounds flatten against my armor, I press forward, channeling my anger into my forward motion. “Why won’t you die?” screams the man. His magazine is empty. I take my chance, grasp his shoulder, and thrust my blade through his sternum and into his heart; I stare into his eyes as life fades from his body. “It’s not my time yet, but now is yours” I say, pulling my blade back as he falls to the ground. I turn to the shaking man. “Please, I didn’t want anything to do with this sick assignment” he begs. “And yet here you are, following orders.” I say to him as I step forward. “I was dead either way; you don’t understand these people I’m working for; you see what they did to her. Now what do you think they would have done to me?” he says. I look to Anna, she is naked, covered in electrodes, strapped to the wall, bruised, cut and beaten. I step towards the man. He is trembling. The gun falls from his shaking hands as he backs away. “And who are these people you work for? Who gave this order?” I ask “I… I don’t know… evil people… but they are government workers, the order came from high up.” He replies I knew it; the American government has grown more and more corrupt. It looks like Anna had gotten to close to their secrets. “If I ever see you again, you will die, now run!” I shout to the man. “I’m so sorry.” He says as he runs through the door. I turn to Anna. “I’m sorry I was too late…” I say as I walk to her, but I stop, frozen, as I notice her chest moving, she is still alive. “ANNA!” I scream, running to her. “ANNA CAN YOU HEAR ME” I scream, but her lips are glued shut. “If you can hear me Anna, nod twice,” I say. *Anna nods twice “Fuck, Anna I’m so sorry.” I say, tears beginning to fall. * Anna tugs at her restraints “Let me get you down from there” I say, taking my knife out to cut through the restraints. *Anna shakes her head That’s when I see it, spikes on the wall, driven through her back; if I take her down, she would bleed out in minutes. “Damnit Anna, there’s nothing I can do!” I cry out * Anna shakes her head furiously She is trying to say something; I can barely make it out. “Anna, do you want me to kill you” I ask with my broken voice. *Anna nods twice “Very well, we shall go together I say, pulling a grenade off one of the men. *Anna shakes her head furiously “Why Anna? Why can I not end it all here?” *Anna shakes her head slowly “Fine” I say, dropping the grenade and pulling out my pistol. “Please forgive me Anna.” I say placing the gun to her temple *Anna nods slowly “I’m sorry…” I whisper as I pull the trigger. The world becomes silent. I stand there in that spot for what feels like an eternity. When I regain my sense of reality, I begin to cut her down. I pick up Anna’s body, and carry it out of the building. Blood drenches my body, as with hers. Someday, I shall make the world burn for this.