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velkynkarma · 7 years

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On Writing Voltron’s Slav So we’re coming in on season 3 and I’ve noticed that, despite Slav being surprisingly popular amongst fans, he isn’t included in much fanfic. It’s been brought to my attention that maybe people are worried about writing him in an inadvertently offensive way. Since people react pretty positively to how I write him, I thought I’d put together a character analysis/writing guide on how to write Slav while still being respectful. Or hey, maybe it’ll at least still be interesting to read! This guide will be arranged as follows:

An overview of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and how it relates to Slav

Other character traits of note that are not necessarily related to OCD

How Slav interacts with other characters (and vice versa)

A few final writing tips for Slav

This’ll be a long post, so details are under the cut!

Okay, let’s get the big one out of the way first: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Slav displays a number of pretty common OCD tendencies or traits. However, I think people aren’t very familiar with this particular disorder in media, and media where it is showcased tends to play it for laughs, which can be hurtful to people who actually have OCD. In order to write Slav’s OCD characterizations well, it’s first important to understand how OCD works. So I’ll give an overview of OCD basics first, and then explain how and when Slav displays some of these characteristics. How does OCD work?

A person with OCD develops “obsessions” that cause discomfort, anxiety, or stress. In order to relieve that stress, they act on a “compulsion,” which is some sort of action that relieves that stress. The action taken is often referred to as a “ritual.”

Obsessions are things like thoughts, images and/or feelings that are unwanted but keep coming back, and usually cause a lot of stress. Things like a perceived fear of contamination, harm or death, intrusive or “forbidden” thoughts, or needing exactness/symmetry/perfect order in scenarios are all examples of obsessions.

Compulsions are things people do in order to make those obsessions go away. Things like hand washing, cleaning, repetition, checking things multiple times, counting things, organizing things, or mentally repeating phrases/prayers/etc, are all examples of compulsions. Note: this isn’t an exhaustive list. Other things can fall under this category as well as long as they fall into diagnosis rules.

Compulsions provide anxiety relief, but it is always temporary. Obsessions always come back, unless treated for. Over time, they can get stronger too, and require more involved compulsions to alleviate.

Compulsions/rituals are not necessarily logical, and neither are the obsessions they counter.

OCD is typically identified if obsessions/compulsions take up more than 1 hour of a person’s day, cause severe stress, or severely interfere with them handling day to day tasks/living

Most people with OCD tend to recognize that their obsessions and compulsions are not logical or don’t make practical sense. It’s not uncommon for people to try and ignore them or make them go away, or to avoid whatever will cause obsessions. However some people with OCD will not recognize if their obsessions/compulsions are illogical.

Resisting compulsions is extremely difficult and can often cause a great deal of stress, since the stress-causing obsession hasn’t been alleviated yet. It can result in things like sharper negative feelings, being unable to act until the compulsion has been completed, and heightened anxiety. Resisting in extreme emergency conditions is possible, however there is a nasty tendency for all that stress to come back stronger than before once the emergency is over with.

Sources:

Personal (I have OCD)

Also these sites, and a quick google search will provide a dozen other resources if curious.

What OCD isn’t:

Nitpickiness, clean freaks, overbearing/control freaks, anal retentive people, nervous wrecks.

While all of these are characteristics that a person with OCD could have, having OCD does not inherently mean a person will have these characteristics.

How does OCD apply to Slav?

Slav’s obsessions appear to be largely in relation to perceived harm, usually towards himself but sometimes towards others. He has also displayed a few cases of wanting symmetry/being uneasy by asymmetry, and possibly fearing contamination

In S2E10, most of his arguments for avoiding something or taking a specific action are in responses to a fear of dying (in 98.03% of all worlds with a prison break, he dies; he’s afraid of his escape mission ending in a horrific deadly fireball; he’s afraid of drowning anywhere there is water, even when he can’t see it)

In S2E10 he is impressed with Shiro’s prosthetic but adds, “But doesn’t it bother you that you only have one?” which seems to indicate a dislike of asymmetrical things

In S2E10 he refuses to pass the cracks in the floor due to perceived harm (in this case, he fears harm of someone else, specifically mothers and broken backs)

In S1E10 he refuses to go out the scree duct because “it’s all full of scree, eeeeeeuuugh.” Maybe it’s just gross, or maybe he fears contamination; this one isn’t 100% clear.

Slav’s compulsions are varied as well.

In many cases he refuses to go near or be around the thing causing him stress (water, scree, cracks). This applies even if someone else were to carry him and cover his eyes, as Shiro offers (to quote Slav, “I’ll still know.” Once an obsession has been realized there’s no going back. It also applies even if it is his only escape route, which is a clear indicator of just how badly he desires to avoid these things.

He displays actual paralyzing fear in regards to the cracks, and starts screaming when Shiro intends to carry him across regardless; this is definitely a high-stress scenario he is doing his best to avoid

His solution to the cracks is to remove gravity completely and float over them. This is something of a difficult solution and definitely outside practical coping mechanisms.

There is also the infamous blanket scene in S2E11, in which he arranges a blanket in just the right way to, according to Slav, create a 2% chance to avoid death by horrific deadly fireball.

He has to restart when Shiro interrupts him (“Awwwww, now I gotta start ooooveeeer!” with a very tired-looking expression)

And he gets paranoid about Shiro changing it when completed (“What? Nooo, the blanket’s perfect! Don’t touch the blanket!”)

These are both not uncommon for compulsions/rituals, especially when they are not done ‘correctly’ enough to ease anxiety, or there’s a fear that undoing the compulsion’s work will bring it back

Slav has displayed some confusion over realities and which one he’s in/what things he can currently do (ex. not remembering if he can swim in this reality, or not doing things when asked to because he doesn’t recognize people want those things done in this reality)

It’s unclear exactly what is going on in Slav’s head, but it’s possible this could be indicative of intrusive thoughts or repetitive thoughts. This one is more speculation and up to personal interpretation really.

It’s also possible this is indicative of being unable to keep track of how far along compulsions are towards completion or forgetting part way

Slav also is very comfortable in routine and gets very anxious leaving it, which is also not uncommon in OCD. Despite being a prisoner, he was very nervous about leaving his cell, and tried to go back at least once. Presumably this is because it’s familiar and he knows how to cope with it (more or less).

Slav’s tendencies do definitely take up a significant portion of his day (quintent?) and make daily life difficult, as his compulsions take some time to complete, or his obsessions cause him to avoid things entirely

Most importantly, all of Slav’s actions have some degree of logic behind them—even if it doesn’t make sense to you, me, or anybody else

Slav does not appear to recognize his responses as illogical

Everything Slav does has some degree of logic to it—he always justifies an action or fear with some sort of reasoning, be it a 12% chance of slipping and drowning, or mathematical probabilities to cause broken backs in mothers, but there is always a reason for it.

This is really important for nailing down OCD tendencies because, regardless of whether or not the person with OCD realizes their reason is illogical, there is still some kind of reason there for their brain to justify taking a certain action to deal with an unwanted obsession. This is the key to recognizing OCD actions as more than just quirky/weird habits: you have to know the why, even if the why doesn’t actually make sense. You have to recognize it’s still there and that it’s grounded in some kind of obsession, be it intrusive thoughts or anxious feelings, even if the response is ridiculous.

Slav has mathematical justifications for everything he does and his logic is usually rooted in probabilities. The logic is that ‘this terrible scenario is statistically possible given the right parameters, therefore it is something I should be afraid of, therefore I must act on it.’This is true even if, in a common sense setting, that scenario is extremely unlikely (Ex. it’s statistically possible to trip and drown in a puddle of water, but practically speaking, it’s not very likely).

His coping mechanisms usually include avoiding the scenario entirely, or taking action with some form of organization that relieves his stress level in regards to that statistical perceived danger

To summarize, Slav’s obsessive-compulsive tendencies are usually in regards to fear of harm in himself or on rare occasion others (obsession) which he acts on by avoiding the cause of the obsession completely or by organizing things (compulsion). He does also show some tendencies towards desiring symmetry or avoiding contamination, and possibly (depending on interpretation), intrusive thoughts as well. He does have defined logic behind all of his actions, usually justified by probabilities, alternate realities, or mathematics, although this won’t be perceived as logic by others most likely. Other, Non-OCD Character Traits Slav isn’t defined solely by his OCD tendencies! Although they take up a great deal of his life and drive a lot of his actions, he has other character traits as well. Consider these:

Genius Intellect

Ulaz described Slav as a “reclusive genius engineer,” which is pretty high praise. Slav is credited with the gravity generator responsible for protecting the Blade of Marmora, and he also made the giant gravity generator that hid the entirety of the Castle of Lions and the huge teludav.

Also, despite presumably never having interacted with Altean technology before now, he was able to help fix the Castle of Lions twice in combat situations, and he knew a teludav was a “very efficient form of travel” without it being explained to him.

Surprisingly good at thinking under pressure

Despite his anxiety and clear fear in hand-to-hand combat (where he hides behind Shiro, or just…hides), he actually thinks quite well in high-stress situations

He supplies the ‘turn off the gravity’ idea that helps with their initial escape in S2E10

He’s also the one smart enough to crack open the airlock and send everyone flying outside when Shiro, Lance and Pidge couldn’t defeat the warden on their own

He helps fix the Castle of Lions not once but twice in high-stakes battle situations

Very self-centered

Slav thinks in terms of himself first. In S2E10 when Shiro comes to rescue him, he is not impressed with Shiro’s declaration that they have a way to defeat Zarkon; the actual reason he goes with them is because Shiro mentions the Blue Lion, and he likes blue.

When Shiro is explaining the plan in S2E12 and asks, “We can count on you, right Slav?” when talking about keeping the teludav hidden, Slav’s answer is, “Oh absolutely, I’ll be fine!…I’m not sure about the gravity generator, though,” implying his actual job is second place to his own personal well being.

When Shiro asks in S2E13 “Is everyone okay?” Slav’s answer is “Yeah I’m fine, don’t worry guys!” and he doesn’t mention anybody else

Despite this he can seemingly be convinced to take action for the greater good, since he helps team Voltron, and presumably was convinced (or pressured) to assist the Blade of Marmora as well. At this time it’s not clear if this is out of a genuine desire to help, bribery or some form of convincing, or if he’s doing it just because he’s there.

No concept of personal space

Slav has zero problems with physical interaction. He’s crawled over both Shiro and Coran, has grabbed Shiro several times, and has squished right into Lance’s and Pidge’s personal spaces.

He also doesn’t seem to mind being held or manhandled—as long as it’s not to force him near something he’s scared of.

This also extends to other peoples’ stuff too, as he sprawls out across the Castle of Lion’s computers to manipulate them, and spends his first few minutes in the Blue Lion investigating everything in it. He also blows up a part of the giant teludav because he’s making “improvements” even when nobody asked for them.

Similarly, no concept of social cues/social taboos

Slav is pretty awkward when it comes to social interaction. He repeatedly talks about or lectures Shiro on his prosthetic arm, despite the fact that it may be a sensitive subject. He’s generally insensitive when it comes to others, although probably not intentionally (again, see his S2E13 response to “Is everyone okay?”) He brings percentages into things a lot where nobody really wants them. He tends to not do things or need repeated reminding to remember to do them. He agrees to assist with fixing the Castle and then immediately gives Allura a hard time about all the (admittedly strange) design choices for it.

This is all outside of his OCD tendencies, which, of course, do make most interactions with him (especially in regards to an obsession) very awkward

Odd memory issue

If it’s not a symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder, then Slav still has an unusual memory issue wherein he seems to forget which reality he’s in at any given time, or what he’s capable of doing. (Ex: he can’t remember if he can swim or not, because “there are infinite possibilities!” )

He’s also displayed on multiple occasions that he can either forget to do something ‘in this reality,’ or he doesn’t understand he’s being asked to do it in this reality specifically. (Ex. S2E11, “Can you help the princess restore the particle barrier?” “Yes!” “……now?” “Oh! You mean in this reality? Got it!”)

Interesting physical traits

Slav is surprisingly nimble and very quick. He zips up to Shiro very easily S2E10, and also dodges Shiro repeatedly to avoid being caught by him

He can also climb walls/ceilings (and people) and is surprisingly maneuverable in zero gravity.

Also, presumably, he can survive in a vacuum for at least a limited amount of time, since he ejected himself into space without a helmet

Has four pairs of hands. The top pair appears to be his dominant pair. The others are typically tucked into little pouches down the front of his clothing, although he will use them to express himself or manipulate things.

A bit snakelike in how he attaches to people. He can loop around their shoulders but will also use his tail to wrap around waists to hold steady. He also sits on people multiple ways depending on their clothing (in S2E10 the second time Shiro carries him he positions himself deliberately to avoid the jetpack for zero gravity, which he doesn’t do the first time).

When he stretches out completely he’s actually almost as tall as Shiro. He’s built very scrawny, however, so he looks much smaller than he is.

He has rectangular pupils

Character Interactions with Slav Slav interacts with a few characters throughout the later half of season 2. Here are some notable examples of how he interacts with people (or how they interact with him).

Shiro

We see Slav interact with Shiro the most. It should be said right off the bat that Shiro’s PTSD does not mix well with Slav’s OCD and other personality traits, which is the source for a lot of stress for both parties. Especially in very tense situations like a prison break.

That said, while Shiro is very clearly stressed by Slav (provoking some very strong reactions we never see in Shiro otherwise), he is also at least somewhat understanding of Slav’s OCD tendencies and fears. Shiro tries to compromise on some of Slav’s needs (telling Slav to take the blanket with him, trying to come up with solutions to bypass the cracks, adapting to Slav’s view of realities when communicating with him, trying to find alternate routes because he already knows things like water stress Slav significantly). He also goes along with the gravity solution and puts up with Slav crawling all over him.

Shiro does demonstrate some adaptability towards Slav’s tendencies towards the very end of the season as well. He recognizes that Slav has to perform certain actions to survive things “in this reality” (even if he recognizes this in an angry rant). This implies he understands Slav’s OCD-logic to some degree, even if he doesn’t comprehend why it needs to be done on a personal level.

He’s also still able to give Slav orders, and more or less get him to do them (such as fixing the particle barrier). He even treats Slav like any other member of the mission during the final Zarkon attack and listens to his input on the gravity generator without his more notable annoyed reactions.

Slav, for his part, actually listens to Shiro—a feat that appears to be impressive in and of itself, since Slav is typically motivated for himself more than anyone else. He participates in the Zarkon attack and listens to Shiro’s orders and instructions. He also followed Shiro out of Beta Traz to begin with, which is a big step for Slav since he was very afraid to do so and it clearly made him extremely anxious. Slav also has an inexplicable fascination with Shiro’s “robot arm,” which he mentions several times in S2E10, although he never mentions it again later in the season.

Lance

*sarcastic voice* “Oh, great. Slav made it.” (S2E13)

“Not a fan.” (S2E11)

Yeah, Lance isn’t too fond of Slav. He first showcases his irritation during the Beta Traz escape, when Slav spends his first minutes in the Blue Lion touching everything and rushing around Lance. He continues to display sarcastic, irritated responses to Slav afterwards

Slav seems indifferent to Lance. He doesn’t really interact with Lance much, but he has professed a fondness for the color blue.

Pidge

Pidge seems more or less indifferent to Slav during the Beta Traz escape. She shows minor irritation when Slav gets in her personal space while she’s talking to Shiro about her brother though. Later, in S2E11, when Coran asks, “Is this guy a little…?” her answer is a dry, “No doubt,” implying she finds him somewhat irritating.

Slav doesn’t have any real interaction with her one way or another, other than getting in her personal space in the Blue Lion.

Coran

Probably interacts with Slav the next most after Shiro, Coran seems relatively neutral with Slav. Coran is willing to work with Slav on technical things, and they were able to fix the Castle of Lions during the final Zarkon battle. That said, Coran also finds him irritating, as he screams at Slav to stop hitting the teludav in S2E11, and seems annoyed when Slav takes up residence on his shoulders in S2E13.

Slav seems indifferent to Coran, although he is willing to work with Coran on tech stuff, and lecture him on teludav efficiency. Coran is also the only other person who gets the honor of having Slav sit on him, so…I guess that’s something?

Allura

Allura seems to find Slav annoying, and gets a little defensive about Altean architecture when Slav questions their use of ziplines, insisting “ziplines were quite fashionable 10,000 years ago.” She does accept his technological help though, and recognizes his ability to fix the Castle.

Slav mostly just breaks social taboos with her by questioning the Castle’s architecture. He doesn’t really treat her like a princess. Otherwise he seems indifferent.

Hunk & Keith:

Slav doesn’t really interact with either of them for the time he’s around. That said, in S2E11 when Coran asks “is this guy a little…?” they both respond with exasperated expressions, so presumably they find him at least a little obnoxious. They do not respond with irritation when Slav proclaims he survived the final attack though, unlike Lance, so possibly they’re just neutral towards him.

FINAL TIPS: All in all, it’s really important to keep the background of why OCD happens when writing Slav. Everything he does is for a reason that has some degree of logic to it, even if that logic makes no degree of sense to you. Don’t have him act quirky for no reason—make sure he has a justification for his actions. Even if the results end up being amusing, it is grounded in actual reality (to Slav), and that’s what’s important. Also, not everything needs to be about his OCD! He has other interesting quirks too that make him just as entertaining, so be sure to involve those as well. This is by no means extensive either! I kept this mostly to fact in the show, but I have a list of headcanons I also think are possible additions to things Slav does, and there are a lot of details that are always open to interpretation! Have fun writing Slav! Or if nothing else, I hope this was at least interesting to read :) Srsly give this guy more love, he deserves it

#voltron #voltron meta #velkynkarma thinks #character analysis #voltron: slav #obsessive compulsive disorder #mental illness #ocd #did I spend too much time on this?#I probably spent too much time on this #eh screw it it was fun

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writergamermom · 6 years

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A Love Like Amy and Rory

Rarepair mini bang Loki(Gabriel)/Sam; Loki(Gabriel)/Gabriel’s vessel/Becky Rosen.

Gabriel might be dead, but the Trickster always survives. Sam and Dean get called by Garth to investigate what is up with Becky’s new boyfriend and Loki ends up having sex with …himself? What started out a as a standard case soon has Sam putting a pool table to good use, Dean dealing with double tricksters and Garth just trying to have a nice trip with Bess. What can a fan girl but put on her big girl panties and take charge of her life?

Read it on AO3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/14675943/chapters/33906555

Chapter One

“Noooo!” Dean heard Sam scream. He set his sandwich fixings down and hurried into the library.

“What?” he growled out at his little brother. Said little brother who was watching something on his laptop and not being murdered most foul.

Sam paused the show. “Chloe just found out that The Storyteller slept with Gwen. Chole just looks gutted. Like everyone she has ever dated has dumped her, her coworkers bully her, and her friends are mean. She thinks she has finally met someone who doesn’t mind all her crazy and he sleeps with the crazy hot leader of U.N.I.T.”

“What is it?” Dean had to admit he was intrigued. It sounded like one of those telenovelas he used to watch with Bobby.

“It’s an unaired pilot for a Doctor Who spin off. It is about another timelord who came from an alternate reality, called The Storyteller. His TARDIS is broken, and he is hiding out as a human, when he meets this nerdy girl named Chole. They start dating and Chole just started to trust him enough with to share her crazy, when he fixes his TARDIS and now U.N.I.T. has shown up, and he slept with someone else and Chole just looks gutted.”

“Restart it while I go grab my sandwich.”

Sam rolled his eyes, “Dude, I am almost done. Let me finish and then you can watch it.”

“Come on, I’ll grab you a beer.” Dean pleaded. He might not have Sam’s ability to pull puppy eyes, but his brother was happy he wanted to watch something other than porn.

“Fine,” Sam relented, “Grab my salad while you're at it though.”

Dean jumped up and headed back for his food and brews. Sam called after him.

“I tried figuring out if Chuck was one of the writers for this, maybe using a different name.”

“Why?” Dean asked as he plopped down next to his brother, sandwich, salad and beers laid out before them.

“I don’t know. The Storyteller reminded me of Loki.”

Dean scoffed at this. “Maybe you haven’t gotten laid in a while and miss the pipsqueak.” In response to his brother’s bitch face he added, “Or maybe Loki wrote it himself,” before taking a giant bite of his sandwich. Sam smiled a little at the thought.

“No, if Loki wrote this he would have stared in it and it would have been porn,” Sam retorted with a laugh. Just as he was about to hit play, Dean’s phone rang. He sighed as Dean tried to heroically swallow while answering the phone at the same time. It kind of worked.

�� “Ello.” Dean answered. What could he say, he was in a good mood for once. “Garth man how you doing? Bess alright? No man we can help, here I am going to put you on speaker.”

“Hi Garth,” Sam responded. He was never going to see what Chloe did.

“Heya Sam. Sorry to bother you both but I am on a case for a friend and I am stumped.”

“What’s the details?” Dean asked, at once all hunter.

“I know this is going to sound super sketch, but I am sure there is a case here. So, my friend called me up and said that she thinks her boyfriend is two people. Now normally I would chalk this up to her being paranoid, she is completely unlucky in love, but the thing is I met her on a hunt and she knows her creatures. So, I hop on the I80 and drive out to Pike Creek, meet the boyfriend, look around the house, nothing. I do all the standards, salt, silver, holy water, check for EMF, nothing. I am about to break out Mr. Fizzles and have a heart to heart about men who can’t treat their partner right, when her dog confirms her story.”

“Wait what!?!” cry both Sam and Dean. Sure, they have seen some weird shit, but a talking dog is still out there. “Hold on Garth, her dog?” Sam questions.

“Yeah, okay so I said that she knows about creatures? Well she works at a hospital and helps creatures who want to live as humans and do no harm. Getting them body parts from cadavers, paperwork so they can get a job, talking to them if they are lonely or depressed. She has been doing some really good work and I have run background for her a few times. I also monitor the area for any kills or supernatural activity and nothing pops up.”

Dean closes his eyes and rubs his temples. He looks up at Sam and mouths ‘I can’t even’. Sam raises his eyebrows and shrugs back. He sighs in defeat.

“Okay Garth, so how does this end with her dog talking to you.”

“Right, so her dog is actually a skinwalker. He was a homeless addict before he was bit and just kinda kept drifting. Somehow, he wound up as my friend’s dog. I am still a little shady on the details, but she knows what he is, and he spends almost all his time as a dog. Says it is easier to let her do the decision making and him to just follow. Frankly with all the other creatures she deals with, I was happy she had the extra protection.”

“What did the dog say Garth,” Dean interrupted, his voice growing harsh in his exacerbation.

“Oh, so he says that about six months ago, boyfriend changes. They have a romantic night, she cooks, they talk, cards on the table kind of thing, go upstairs, the dog stays downstairs. Everything seems rainbows and unicorns until the next morning. Boyfriend is making breakfast, when the dog comes into the kitchen. Right away he can sense power rolling off boyfriend. Boyfriend looks right at him, smiles and says to keep his mouth shut. Also tells him that he needs to keep an eye on the girl and to call for him if she ever gets into trouble, especially while helping creatures.”

“And the skinwalker never warns his mistress that her boyfriend is super creepy?” Dean demands.

“No, he was afraid, but more than that, boyfriend made her happy. No signs of abuse, or anything like that. Anyways he backs up my friend’s story that sometimes the boyfriend is someone else, like that morning in the kitchen. Most of the time he is normal but at least one a week he is something else. Even when he is something else he is not hurting her, just different. Harsher I guess. Anyways she still doesn’t know what the dog saw, and I have no clue what I am dealing with.”

“Okay Garth we will head out shortly and see what is up.” Sam assured him.

There is a long pause. “Oh, Sam that is super nice, but you don’t need to drive all this way. I was just wondering if you knew what this was.”

“I will check the lore, but we will be better able to help if we are on the ground.”

“No, no. If you can look around the lore a little that would be great. Otherwise don’t worry. I am sure I will sort this out. Call if you find anything.” With that Garth hung up.

The brothers looked at each other, flummoxed. “Okay, what just happened?” Dean inquired. Suddenly Sam groaned and hit his head against the table. “What?” his brother wanted to know.

“I-80, Pine Creek, Delaware. It’s Becky. His friend is Becky.”

“What Samlicker81?” Dean laughed. “So, is she making this up?”

“Probably. You know she is crazy and desperate for attention. I can’t believe she dragged Garth into this.”

“Well that’s just it Sammy, she called Garth, not us. From the sounds of it, she has been working with him for a while. And with how quick he hung up on us, I am guessing she doesn’t want us anywhere near her.”

“Right because she knows we will call her on her lies. I can’t believe her!”

Dean just raised his eyebrow at his brother’s rant. “Or she really does have some kind of creature or old fashion psycho, maybe using her for hospital access and sex.”

“Right Dean. A creature that doesn’t react to silver, salt, or holy water. That changes personalities once a week.”

“Maybe it’s a witch. Or maybe it’s just a loser who is messing with a girl is so desperate she will just take it. Either way, if you don’t want to help her, I will respect that. Garth is a capable hunter and able to put the fear of God into a dirtbag if he needs to. I can check the lore for him and you don’t need to deal with her at all.”

“No. Your right. It might be a witch, or a dirtbag, or it might be Becky playing games. Whatever it is, we are going to head out, confront her and find out what is going on.” Sam slammed his laptop closed. Chloe would have to wait.

Chapter Two

Two days later Sam and Dean found themselves on Becky Rosen’s doorstep. Dean knocked but as it was the middle of the day, they were both reasonably assure that Becky would not be home. When no one answered, Sam quickly picked the lock. Together the brothers swept through the cheery little house, confirming it was empty. They holstered their guns and started searching for anything off. Dean opened the hall closet, finding coats and shoes for both men and women.

“Well the guy is definitely living here.”

“Yeah,” Sam answered, “Bedroom and bathroom are both set up for two as well. No sign of a Hex Bag yet”.

“Me neither. Fridge and freezer are clean too.”

“That makes sense. For whatever else Becky is, she knows those books inside out. If this guy was a freaky eater, he wouldn’t keep his treats in the fridge next to the roast chicken.”

“No roast chicken either, but there is chocolate cake. Hey after this is over you think we can talk your ex-wife into feeding us? Crazy lady could cook.” Dean perked up at the thought of homemade food.

Sam’s Bitchface 45 was interrupted by a rustling from the mud room. Both brothers had their guns out in seconds and crouched into a sweep position. At Dean’s signal, Sam burst into the room and had his sights locked on the large German Shepard frozen in place. Dean moved in next to his brother.

“Okay Fido, shift up or eat silver,” he snarled at the dog.

After a moment the dog shimmered and shifted into a wiry, dark haired man. A wiry, dark haired, naked man, wearing a collar.

“Dude pants!” Dean shouted. The man raised his hands in surrender, then reached forward to a small chest of drawers. As he pulled out a pair of pants, Sam noticed the set up of the mudroom. Besides the chest, there was a doggy door, an old farm sink, with a mirror, tooth brush and comb. On the wall there hooks for a leash and as the man unhooked his collar a place for that as well. The little room was completely set up for the skinwalker to transition between human and dog.

Dean furrowed his brows in concentration. “Wait, don’t we know you?” he demanded.

The man seemed to shrink in on himself as he nodded. “Names Lucky, we ran into each other a few years ago.”

“Yeah you were shacking up with a mom and her kid and killed the boyfriend, landlord and a bunch of other people. Now you are shacking up with Becky and surprise, surprise, something is wrong with her boyfriend,” Dean accused the smaller man.

Lucky pushed past the boys and into the kitchen. “I was protecting my family. I messed up. I always mess up and make bad decisions even when I am trying to do the right thing. That’s why I am staying with Becky. She is in charge and I only need to follow orders. I like my life, I like my family and I like Reynard. At least when he is himself, I like him.”

Sam interrupted, “Ha, like Becky is the voice of reason.”

Lucky shot the taller man a withering look. “I know what she did to you. I also know that my life is a thousand times better for having known her. Are you here to help or just insult someone who saved my life?”

“Okay you said you liked Reynard when he was himself. What is going on?” Dean interjected. He hated playing peace maker, that was Sammy’s job, but Sam had his panties in a bunch and Dean needed to be a big boy.

“Becky and Reynard started talking about a year ago. He was a coma patient at the hospital where she works. He had been unconscious for a few years I guess. Anyways he wakes up with no memory and no ID. Becky walks him through the transition process and helps him get a life together. Reynard moves in and things are good for a while. Then six months ago Becky cooks this huge dinner. All his favorites. I even got a special dinner. I was laying in my bed and they talked for a while. She told him about her fanfiction and the creatures that she helps. You know it is easier to accept that your girlfriend works with monsters, than what Becky writes. She even read to him. And he was great. I know she was scared because Chuck dumped her right after she really opened up and showed her crazy. Yes, I know my girl is crazy, doesn’t make her any less my girl. Anyways Becky and Reynard go upstairs, where I am not allowed. The next morning, I come inside from taking care of business and Reynard is in the kitchen making French Toast. He looked at me with such an intensity. I don’t know how to explain it, but it was inhuman. He stared me down until I cowered on the floor. He told me he was in charge and I was the Omega of the family, but I could still have a place. I needed to keep guard on Becky, which I already did, and call him if she was ever in trouble. I also needed to remember that Becky was his. I wanted to tell her what happened, but I physically couldn’t. About a month later Reynard seemed normal again. He had recovered his memories and had a new job that paid well. Becky was so happy. Then about once a week or so, the other Reynard would show up. It normally happens around dinner time; Other Reynard eats, gets Becky to talk about things that really matter to her then they go to bed. Normally in the morning, but sometimes not until the next evening, Normal Reynard returns. Becky only really seemed to notice a month ago. I think he got lazy. The not normal Reynard is more biting. He generally doesn’t mock Becky, but he rips into others. He is a dick and doesn’t care how other people are hurting.”

Dean holstered his gun and rubbed his face. Sam looked away. This was a clusterfuck. Becky, who Sam still couldn’t stand even after she saved his life, was clearly living with some kind of creature that was taking the form of her boyfriend.

“Where does the boyfriend go?” Sam asked. Both Dean and Lucky looked confused.

“When the other Reynard comes over, where does normal Reynard go? Does he even know what is going on?”

“I don’t know,” responds a confused Lucky. “He never acts like he lost time, or he that he doesn’t know what is happening.”

Dean starts walking through the house again. “And you haven’t seen any hex bags or strange items?”

“No, nothing like that.”

“Umm Dean,” Sam called from the fireplace. He held out a photo “I think I figured it out.”

Dean stared shocked at a photo of Becky dressed in an ugly Christmas sweater with her arm draped over a handsome clean-shaven blonde with whisky colored eyes, and a self-satisfied smirk.

“Loki,” uttered Sam.

“Son of a Bitch.”

Chapter Three

With a gust of wind, Bess pushed open the door to the warm little café near the hospital. A quick glance around revealed Becky already siting at a table, two cups of coco waiting, whipped cream piled high and a candy cane perched on top. Becky stood, and the two friends embraced.

“Woo, it is cold outside!” Bess announced as she sipped her chocolate. It was very good here. Spying over her cup, Bess could see that her friend was about to burst out of her skin.

“What?” she prompted Becky.

“I can’t tell you yet,” was her response.

“Ugg why not? You have news, your about to explode and then the poor waitress will be stuck scrapping bits of Becky off the other tables and I will have to leave a giant tip. Be kind to my wallet, the waitress, and everyone eating here and just tell me.”

“Bechdel test,” is the tight-lipped response. Bess sighed. The two women had met after Becky had called Bess’ husband Garth to help her with a kitsune. Garth had given up hunting after becoming a werewolf and Bess wanted to know why he kept driving half way across the country to help a woman he had met once. The two had instantly hit it off, but what had really sealed the deal was when Becky lent Bess her copy of Supernatural that had Garth in it. Bess became enthralled with the books and learning about her husband’s “hunter heritage”. After Bess devoured the entire series, Becky eagerly shared her own writing. Bess was hooked and soon the women were emailing back and forth daily with Bess acting as Becky’s beta. The only problem was nearly all their conversations revolved around men, so they enacted a rule that their first conversation must always pass the Bechdel test.

“So you know that grant you helped me right?” Bess asked. “Well since so many of the uninsured rural residents we are treating are children the grant is covering me to get certified in pediatric dental hygiene. I am really excited. The grant has been going so well, we have been able to provide dental care for so many rural people. Some of these kids are 8 or 9 years old and this is the first time they have had their teeth cleaned. I can’t even really blame their parents because their jobs are not required to provide dental insurance and they are already struggling to make ends meet. I have just felt so overwhelmed with the need, so this training is coming as a relief to me.”

Becky smiles with her whole face. “Ahh Bess that is amazing. I love that you can be so gentle and understanding with your patients and such a badass when you need to be.”

“Me? A badass?” Bess laughed, “Not likely.”

“What are you talking about? You are a total badass, with the rawer,” here Becky snapped her teeth together, “and the grrr,” she explained while clawing the air. Bess laughed deeply at her friend’s antics.

“Well I don’t feel like a badass. I literally went from helping to run my father’s church to my husband’s dental practice.”

“Well sweetie I don’t know about your dad’s church, but I know you husband. You run your own practice, he just does teeth,” Becky deadpanned. Bess smiled back.

“Love you too. Since we have broken the man subject, what is your news?”

Becky perked up and leaned forward. “So, I was suppose to get fired today, but instead I think I just got my boss fired.”

Bess’ jaw dropped. “And you let me prattle on about teeth cleaning?!? Dish, Dish!”

“Okay, so I get called into my manager’s office and his boss and the head of HR are there. My boss shoves a bunch of print offs into my face. He is like ‘what is this?’ and I am like ‘Some mighty fine fiction.’”

Bess gasped. “You didn’t! He caught you writing fan fics and you snarked back? The stones on you girl.”

“I got mad. He is such a sexist, racist pig and I couldn’t stand him talking smack about something that you and I had written together.” Bess just smiled at her friend, her eyes brimming with tears. “So he snarls that it is gay smut, that I have been writing a lot more than just my breaks, that I have to be writing while I should be working. I saw red at that. I channeled my inner Bess, turned on him and said ‘I spend 17% of my work day writing gay fan fictions in silent protest over less experienced and educated coworkers making 17% more than I do because they have a penis. I spend another 25% of my day cleaning up after Chad which leaves me 50% to do my actual work, 35% of which you praise Chad for, which leaves 8% for emails and birthday parties.

“My boss freaks out here and says ‘Writing gay sex is not a protest.’ I totally cut him off and said ‘Is your problem that I am writing during work hours or that I am writing about homosexual issues?’ Damm Bess he turned redder then blood and starting shouting that he was not homophobic and how dare I imply he was. Mind you his boss and the head of HR were sitting right there. I figured I was getting fired the old boar was going down with me. I pulled out my Happy Planner and just started reading off every microaggression towards Alan and all the bro talk he and Chad did. I had times, dates, locations, witnesses everything. I called him out for calling Melissa Maria all the time and all the comments he makes about Bev’s appearance. He is up and pacing around the room, just snarling, I thought he might hit me. But I just kept going, not raising my voice, but I am just racking him over the coals. Finally, his boss asks me to stop and says that she will need photo copies of all my notes and that there will be a full investigation. HR says she will investigate the issues of pay and thanks me for bringing this to her attention. My boss freaks out. Says ‘I will not be talked down to by a dog face girl who dresses like a toddler and keeps notes in a sticker book.’ I just rolled my shoulders back looked him dead in the eye and said ‘Times Up’.”

“Fist bump for the major stalking skills. I mean way to employ the crazy.” The girls bumped over their drinks.

“Thank you, Thank you. Never underestimate the mad skills of the fan girl.”

“Okay but how did you have the courage to actually say and do all that in the meeting? I could never do that.”

“Are you kidding? I was channeling YOU the whole time. I heard your voice saying ‘You are Becky Fucking Rosen, you rescue vegan vampires, employ pishtacos, gank demons and save Sam Winchester. This is a cockroach, stomp it.’ You give me strength.”

Bess looks deep into Becky’s eyes and reaches across the table to grasp her hand, “I love you.”

Becky blinks, leans back in her chair and gives a cocky little smirk, “I know.”

* * *

Sam bit into his grilled chicken burger, the pub they stopped at had surprisingly good food. Dean was shoving something called a Willie Nelson burger into his gapping maw and washing it down with a rather decent beer, while Garth enjoyed his buffalo wings.

“Okay so who is Loki?” Garth asked.

“Sam’s boyfriend.”

“Shut up Dean.”

“Sorry not boyfriend, what booty call? Fuck buddy? Friend with benefits? What are the kids calling it these days,” his brother teased.

“Getting laid more often than you,” Sam shot back. Dean scowled, that one hit.

“So, Loki is a trickster who use to be the archangel Gabriel,” Sam explained.

“Wait I thought Lucifer killed Gabriel,” questioned Garth.

“He did,” Sam replied. “But the trickster Loki popped back up about six months ago, sans angel. Said it took a while for him to make it back.”

“So, Becky is Loki’s latest trick. What got her on his radar?” Dean queried with his mouth full of burger. Sam rolled his eyes.

“I have no idea. I mean everyone we spoke to says that she is wonderful. No sign that she is taking advantage of creatures or that she is setting herself up as some kind of saint. It reminds me of a 12 step program.”

“Why did you jump down the hole, now we are both stuck. Yeah but I have been here before and I know the way out, sort of thing.” Dean mocked. “Loki can be a dick, but sponsors are not really his bag. Is this cause of what she did to you?”

“I doubt it. I mean I never told him about it and honestly I think he would laugh instead of wanting to serve up just desserts.”

“Maybe he didn’t like her little fanfics. Did she ever write a Loki or Gabriel story?”

“How the hell would I know that?”

“I mean, she is your ex-wife. What, you don’t keep tabs on her? You two aren’t Facebook friends? I thought the split was amicable.”

“You are such a dick, Dean.”

“Yeah but you love me,” he responded as he flagged the waitress down and ordered shots.

“Bess likes Becky’s stories,” interjected Garth. “I tried to explain hunting isn’t like that, but I think she just likes the smut. She is a Sam girl, too.”

Sam dropped his burger and ran his fingers through his hair, just as the waitress delivered the shots to the table.

“Garth, I did not need to know that about your wife. Why are we even here? This whole thing is screwy. Damm it Loki!” he cried out.

“You bellowed Sammykins,” a snarky voice returned. Sam opened his eyes to see the whole pub frozen, including Garth and his brother, taking a shot, midair.

“What are you doing Loki!”

“I would have thought it was obvious Samwich,” said the trickster who was now sitting on Sam’s lap and arching his back to snag Dean’s shot. He tossed it back and then stuck his tongue down Sam’s throat. Sam raked his hands through the god’s golden hair, before pushing him back.

“You have a girlfriend,” he stated.

“No, I really don’t.” Loki responded and slinked down his lap until he was kneeling before Sam. He made short work of the zipper and boxers, freeing Sam’s sizable cock before plunging his hot mouth, swallowing Sam whole. Loki’s teeth gently grazed Sam’s length as he pulled almost completely off the shaft, just sucking as hard as he could on the head. His free hand started stroking Sam’s balls as Sam thrusted forward. Loki responded by sucking faster, matching the thrusts, sucking nearly off the tip and plunging deeper. Sam let out a feral growl and made the mistake of catching his brother’s eyes. Loki would only suck him off if Dean was present. Even though his brother (and the rest of the bar including Garth) were frozen in time and unable to see the debauchery going on around him, Sam was not in the right headspace to play that game.

Instead the giant lifted his smaller partner and carried him over the pool table. He slid Loki onto the edge and lifted his legs up and over his own shoulders. Loki smirked as Sam deftly undid his buckle and yanked his jeans off. They got a little stuck on his boots and started to get tangled in Sam’s face. Really the whole thing was verging on farce until Loki snapped his fingers and got rid of the pesky things.

Sam grinned at his naked lover and unzipped his jeans. Loki loved it when he kept his belt on only freed his cock. Sam grabbed his dick and lined it up with Loki’s tight little hole. He didn’t even bother prepping the trickster, knowing from experience that he was already open, lubed and waiting. Perks of fucking a trickster. After a few testing thrusts, Sam buried himself deep into his lover’s ass. Loki cried out as he wrapped his legs around Sam’s waist and just let the hunter start pounding into him. The larger man pushed into Loki’s shoulders pinning him to the pool table. With that the hunter jack hammered into his lover with no worries about being gentle or concerns of tearing tender flesh. That was the best part of screwing Loki, the god could just take it. Sam grabbed Loki’s hair and pulled him forward so that he could bury himself deeper and catch Loki’s lips with his teeth. The little god moaned like he was paid to and just sank deep on Sam’s cock. He lifted his hips so that he could keep dropping all the way down the hunter’s shaft. Sam kept nipping and sucking over Loki’s lips, jaw, neck and chest as he thrust into him. Balls deep inside, he reached between their bodies and grasped Loki’s cock. He timed his thrusting to match the strokes he delivered to the god’s cock and soon they were both cumming on each other.

Sam collapsed and rolled to Loki’s side as they finished. He turned to look at his lover spread out on the pool table.

“So glad you’re not fucking Becky.”

Loki met Sam’s eyes and grinned. “Oh, I am totally fucking her.”

Sam pushed Loki away from him and grabbed a bar rag to wipe the cum off his washboard abs. He tossed the rag back at the bartender before tucking his cock away and zipping up. He didn’t bother talking to Loki, instead he shot the trickster the most epic bitchface of all times. He grabbed a bottle of tequila and a couple of shot glasses from behind the bar before plopping down in his chair across from Dean. Loki just laughed at the show of pique, then snapped and returned the flow of time.

Dean looked down at his hand and realized his shot was gone. Instead Sam was throwing back tequila like it was going out of style. Next, he noticed that Sam was breathing heavy with flared nostrils and was beyond pissed off. Finally, he took in his brother’s mused hair, swollen lips and disheveled clothing.

“Hey Loki, what did I tell you about stealing my drinks,” he called out.

Loki appeared in the seat between the brothers, a drink in each hand, one of which he slid over to Dean. “That I need to replace it afterwards.”

Dean nodded his thanks, while Garth tried not to let his shock show. Dean didn’t want to chance talking to Sam yet, as the normally mild drinker was still throwing back shots like a frat boy. “Food looks the same, please tell me you didn’t fuck on the table,” he begged his brother’s lover.

“Pool table,” Loki smirked in response. Dean just shook his head.

“Umm, anyone want to explain what is going on?” inquired Garth. Since Sam was still pounding shots and looking utterly pissed, Dean decided to do interdictions.

“Garth, Loki, Loki, Garth. Loki has a nasty habit of freezing my ass so he can pound Sam’s.”

“Hi.”

Loki responded by sliding Garth a shot and saluting with his.

Dean then turned his attention to the rogue with golden hair. Unlike the photo with Becky, he was clean shaven longer hair Dean had come to associate with Loki, not the angel.

“Did you mean to piss him off this bad, or is this just your winning personality coming through,” Dean nudged.

“Neither, your brother is just being unreasonable,” the trickster taunted.

“Unreasonable! You said you weren’t with her, then after I fucked you, you admitted to sleeping with her!” Sam exploded, slamming his bottle down.

“No Sam-a-Lam, you asked if I was dating Becky. I am not. I just have sex with her from time to time. There is no reason for you to be pissed. You and I are not exclusive. I didn’t get pissy when you started hooking up with the cute, deaf hunter. In fact, I kept my distance and didn’t make any trouble for the two of you. I am sorry to hear she died, by and by. She seemed good for you.”

Sam sighed. Loki’s kind words about Eileen brought a cold comfort. “I am not pissed you are having sex with other people, I am pissed you lied to me and made me an adulterer.”

“Sam, you are not an adulterer or a homewrecker or anything like that, I. am. Not. Dating. Becky.”

“You are living with her! Her dog thinks you are dating and there are photos of the two of you all over the house!” Garth nodded vigorously in agreement, but didn’t say anything.

“Yeah man. I mean punking Sam is fun, I will give you that, but leading on Becky. Come on, that is like tricking Boo Radley,” Dean interjected. Both Sam and Loki stared at him in shock. Garth just looked proud.

“What? I read,” Dean offered equal parts embarrassed and defensive.

Sam shook himself. “Yeah, but To Kill a Mockingbird?”

Dean just shrugged.

“I’m just shocked you care that much about Becky,” replied Loki.

“I mean if I was stuck in an elevator with her for more than five minutes I would probably gank her. But to trick a woman that lonely into thinking she had a loving, live in boyfriend, that is just cold. Like I know we owe you a couple of big ones, but I really don’t think I can let that slide. It is just too mean.”

Loki smiled softly as Dean drew his line in the sand. The warmth in his expression really confused the hunters.

“Well you don’t need to let it slide, because it is not a trick. At least not a cruel one. Remember how I told you it took for-ev-er for my powers to come back? Well I was in a coma for a couple of years, gathering strength. When I woke up, I had no power, no memories, nothing. I was completely mortal and weak as a baby. One-day Becky comes in to try and get me an ID and stuff, so I could leave the hospital. She kept checking in on me and before you know it, we were dating. Then one morning I wake up and I have both my memories and powers. Needless to say, I don’t feel like sticking around suburbia and playing house. But unlike certain trench coat wearing adulterer, I am not just going to abandon the person who was around when I needed someone. I ran a couple of discrete tests to see if she was inclined to run off with a trickster, but no dice.”

“You made the Doctor Who spin off,” Sam interrupted. Loki laughed.

“Hey, I thought it was pretty good. I had a very old, and powerful alien with ambiguous morality ask kind and bored girl to go on an adventure with him though time and space. I ended the episode without an answer so that I could ask Becky what she would do.”

Garth groaned. “Bess and I were so upset that it ended on a cliffhanger. Then there were no more episodes. It was very frustrating.”

“Well tell Bess that Chloe said no. Becks was after home and hearth, which I don’t do. So, I created a doppelganger. A perfect double of what I was like mortal. Copied over all the memories I had post coma, gave him an I.D., background and bank account. Then I got a job for him in town and turned him on. That is who Becky has been dating, who she lives with, who is her boyfriend. So, you see Sam we are not cheating, unless you have partner you haven’t told me about.”

Sam blushes and ducks his head. “Sorry about that Loki.”

The trickster grins back. “Lucky your hot when your panties get in a bunch.”

Dean furrowed his brows. “Wait. If your clone is living with Becky, then why does she think there is something impersonating her boyfriend? Unless you are popping by every week to bang your ex.”

Loki leaned back in seat and laced his fingers behind his head. A cocky grin spread across his face as he waggled his eyebrows. “What can I say, girl makes amazing marzipan and is a super freak in bed.”

Dean and Sam’s faces became twin expressions of horror and shock.

“Loki, that’s rape,” Sam whispered.

Loki scrunched his face in disbelief. “Trust me boys she more than consented. I think I still have some bite marks on my back if you want to see.”

“But she doesn’t know it’s you.”

“Psss. Look that girl loves me. Me. And she wants to have sex with me. I don’t get you guys. Dean you lie all the time to get laid.”

“Yeah, I lie about my name, job, that kind of thing. No one wants to know that I just scrapped rawhead guts off my jacket and that I spent the day hunting in the sewers. I don’t lie about my plans for the next day or what I am looking for. I deliver what I promise, a nice night with a stranger who won’t be in town the next day.

“You know John Winchester was not the greatest at life advice. I mean he taught me lots of skills, but never really gave life advice. The one thing he did tell me about was consent. We sat in a bar together and he pointed out all the women who were too drunk. If she can’t stand or remember your name, she can’t consent. If you have sex with a girl that is drunk, you will become her monster in the dark.

“Becky has a monster problem. She called Garth because of it. We are in town because of it. You scare her. She doesn’t feel safe, because of you. You are violating her trust.” Dean stared at Loki as he laid down his judgment. Loki could not hold his steely gaze.

“If I tell Becky the truth, she will end up alone again. She’s happy, she just can’t trust that good things are happening to her. Help me make her feel safe again,” Loki calmly explained.

“Are you going to keep sleeping with her?” Sam asked softly.

“I will do better. I’ll merge back with Reynard when I come by. I will be him. It will be different.”

“Not good enough,” Sam declared.

“It will have to be Sammykins. Besides you both owe me. Look on the bright side. This is better for Becky too. Either I tell her the truth and she loses out on a loving partner who makes her happy or we do this.”

“Why?” Dean asked. “Why not just leave her with Reynard and take off. Let her be.”

“Because I want to keep having sex with my super freak. If I told her everything, I am sure I could convince her to keep hooking up with me when I want to. But it will ruin what she has with Reynard. This way Becky gets what she needs, and so do I.”

The table fell silent for a minute while the group of men decided what was best for a woman whose option none of them asked. In the end, even Garth looked mollified.

Dean suddenly laughed. Both Sam and Loki shot him quizzical looks. “I just realized you hooked up with the kinkiest sex freak I have ever run across, who also makes marzipan figures of Sammy and you ever get to let loose and let your fantasies run wild.”

Loki looks mildly irked by that statement.

Sam turned to Loki and gave him an evil little smile. “What do you need us to do?”

Chapter Four

Becky smiled over at her boyfriend. Reynard was washing a pot while she got dinner going. Music played in the background and Lucky nipped around their legs looking for scrapes. When there was a knock at the door, she dried her hands and went to answer it. Becky smiled to see Garth standing there, but it quickly slipped from her face as Sam and Dean pushed their way into her house.

“What’s going on?” she asked Garth. The wiry werewolf smiled down at her.

“Well Sam and Dean figured it was a witch. Do you know Ben Savage in the morgue?” He paused for Becky to nod. “Well apparently he had a crush on you and used some spell to impersonate Reynard.”

Becky gagged and turned around. She held her middle and bent forward, as she dropped to her knees. She breathed deep. Garth dropped to the ground and rubbed her back. After a few minutes like that Sam and Dean returned to the room and Becky weakly drew herself up. Garth continued to support her.

“So, what’s the verdict?” Becky weakly asked.

“Savage is gone, you never have to see him again. We found a couple hex bags around the bedroom, but the house is clean.”

Becky wiped her eyes and smiled up at Sam, barely noticing Dean (Okay she needs to work this, but Becky is and always will be, a Sam girl).

“Thank you. I can’t believe you are helping me. You must think this is perfect karma.” Just then Reynard came into the room trying to figure out what was going on. Sam met his brother’s eyes.

“Can you give Becky and me a few minutes alone?” asked Sam. Dean nodded and grabbed Reynard by the arm.

“Come on buddy, we are going to go over witches 101,” instructed Dean, while Garth followed them out. Sam turned to Becky and fixed her with his best puppy eyes.

“You do not deserve this. What you did was really messed up, yeah, but at least you didn’t try to have sex with while I was under the love spell. In the end you made the right decision and you saved my life. I forgive you.”

Becky stared up at Sam, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears.

“I started therapy,” she began. “It helped. I couldn’t tell her anything, but we talked a lot about my relationships and how people treated me. I came to a few conclusions. First off, I am so deeply sorry for how I wronged you. I treated you like an object of my desire instead of a person.

Secondly, fictional Sam helps me. He brings me joy, inspires me and makes me feel good about myself. That is healthy, and I don’t need to give that up. But I realize that you are not the same person that Chuck wrote in his books. While Supernatural reflects what you and your brother do, Chuck is still telling a story. I know fictional Sam, I don’t know you.”

Sam smiles down at her and Becky’s voice shakes as she continues.

“Third, it is okay that I really enjoy looking at you. I find you beautiful and that is acceptable. Looking at you as just a body and not a person isn’t. I feel lust towards you and if that freaks you out it is your baggage around sexually aggressive women.”

Here the tall hunter blushes a little. He thinks about being hit on by two cougars and how Dean was flattered, but he was skeeved out. She might have a point.

“After I accepted all of that, I had to make amends. My therapist reminded me that you didn’t want contact and that I had to accept that. So, I thought about what fictional Sam would like and I started to help creatures who didn’t want to hurt anyone. It started out as a way to make amends, but I really enjoyed helping those people out. It made my life feel so much more meaningful and I was less lonely. It saved my life. You saved my life. Thank you so much, Sam.”

“I am so proud you. Consider amends made. This doesn’t mean I want to be besties or even pen pals, but you should forgive yourself. If you ever need any help, you know like professional help, Dean and I are here for you.”

“Really?” and while the hopeful look on Becky’s face fed into Sam’s deep need to be liked he also reconized trouble when he saw it.

“Becky I need you to listen very closely to the words I am saying. Can you do that for me.” Becky nodded so hard Sam as afraid her head would come off. He hated being the bad guy, but with Becky it was either this or get wammied by a demon and end up married.

“I do not love you. Just because I don’t want anything bad to happen to you and I think you are a good person who deseserves happiness does not mean I love you or even want to be a friend. You are sweet but you are also easy to manipulate if someone tells you what you want to hear. Repeat back to me “Sam and I are not friends. He does not love me. He just wants me to be happy.”

Becky bit her lip. Her face scrunched up and she looked away for a long moment. Then she took a breath and met Sam’s perfect hazel eyes. He was impossibly pretty.

“Sam and I are not friends. He does not love me. He just wants me to be happy.”

Sam smiled and put his hands on her shoulders. “Good. I think it would be best if you keep Garth as your hunter contact. But like I said, if you ever need help, Dean and I will show up. Just call Garth first.”

Becky gave a sad smile. “Thank you, Sam. And thank you for taking care of the witch. I feel so violated.” Becky shuddered as she confessed.

Sam bent down to lift Becky into a giant hug. She hugged back so tightly that Sam’s heart broke a little. He whispered into her ear,

“Think about it. How did Reynard not notice he was being taken over by a witch all those nights?”

Chapter Five

Lucky was asleep, curled up in his bed downstairs. The hunters had left, and dinner was put away. Becky’s lover was sprawled out next her, both panting after the mind-blowing sex they just had. Mind blown was exactly what Becky was feeling. Sam’s warning running through her head, she blinked back tears. The sex was great. Different, warmer than the times that just felt off, but more passionate and excited than the times she was surely with Reynard. She couldn’t remember when life had been so good, and it was breaking her heart. She swung her legs over the bed and retreated into the bathroom to clean up.

If you open your mouth girl, you will lose everything. You are rocking your job. You have friends who love you. Sam forgave you! Your boyfriend is super hot, with a great job and he spends every night in your bed. You know, you -know- if you push you will lose everything! Do you really want to go back to being a lonely loser with no friends, no life and easy prey for demons and bullies? Keep your mouth shut girl.

Becky smiled a croaked little grin into the darkness. I kill demons.

A badass strutted back into the bedroom and met her lover’s whiskey colored eyes. He paled under her scrutiny, his smirk falling from his face. Becky’s mouth curled up at the sides as her eyes grew large and wild.

“What are you?”

“Crap.” He raised his fingers to snap just as Becky cried out “Gabr-“

Becky woke up to the sound of the ocean. She sat up and looked around. This was not her beautiful house. This bed was four posters, teak, with a white gauze canopy. Her bed was an Ikea particle board special. French doors were open to a balcony overlooking white sand beaches and water bluer than Castiel’s eyes. Becky’s window opened to a fire escape and a view of an alley way. Freakin’ Angels.

Becky giggled. Oh My GOSH I am dating an archangel. Gabriel is my boyfriend! This is the most amazing thing ever! The trickster god shared my bed and my life. Trickster. The smile slipped from her face. It was a trick, just desserts, payback for Sam or perhaps he hated some of those fan fics she wrote (although who could hate Sabriel? It was so much more fulfilling then Destial.) He doesn’t love you, you are just a stupid, ugly girl and the last six months was a game played by a bored deity. Becky wiped tears away with the back of her fists.

“Suck it up Princess and face the music.” At least she was dressed in comfy PJs with kitty cats and coffee mugs.

Speaking of coffee, Becky could smell some brewing. She followed the smell into an amazing open plan kitchen/living room, that again opened up onto a million-dollar view. A man with golden hair and whisky eyes smiled at her as he held up a cup. Becky took it without question and sipped deep. Cream and two sugars, just the way she took it. Of course, it was. She bit her top lip, bunched up her face and tried not to cry.

“Oh Becks, please don’t cry sweetie.” He wrapped her in a giant hug, but Becky shrugged him off.

“No.” She spun around and looked away from him. That was she noticed a second man, identical to the first, sitting on the couch. He smiled shyly at her.

“I know you have a lot of questions and I promise I can explain.” The first man offered.

“No, I really don’t. The who seems pretty obvious, I don’t really care about the where, I know the when, all that is left is why? I mean am I really so bad that I deserved a trick like this? Of all the jack asses and dickwads in the world, do I really rank so high? Was it the stories? Did I somehow offend?”

“No, Becks I swear this is not a trick. First off, I am not Gabriel. I am Loki. When Gabriel died, Kali was able to bring me back, but not the angel. I was really in the coma and I didn’t have my memories when I woke up. What we had was real.” Here he shrugged and hemmed. “Meh, then I got my power back and… I didn’t want to stay. It’s not you, I swear! I am a trickster god, I am not domestic! But that didn’t mean I wanted to lose you. So, I snapped up a placeholder so that you would not be along. It was just keep you happy. I thought about taking you with, I made that TV show to see if you would be interested. But you wanted home and hearth and I respect that.”

“Respect that! Come on Loki you made a flesh doll!” Becky cried.

“Think more biological android that can pass the Turing test.” The second man, Reynard (?) offered.

“Oh, that makes it so much better.”

“I made you a duplicate of myself. All the same memories and feelings I had before I got my power back. I didn’t want you to unhappy or alone. And you were happy. Please remember you were happy, even when you were worried something was up, you were happy. It only got messed up because there were two of us. You can be that happy again.”

“Why were there two of you? Why did you keep coming back?” she demanded.

Loki sighed. “Sex. The baking is awesome too, as is the candy making. Your writing is fun and the way you go all in when you get passionate and obsessive is pretty sexy. Your crazy eyes are hot as hell.”

Becky shook her head and turned away. She looked back and answered, “You know those are pretty sucky reasons to be someone. If you really cared for me, you would have told me the truth and given me the option to say no. You took away my consent.”

“Damm, Becks I really don’t want you to see things that way. The reason I didn’t tell you was I knew you would reject Reynard. Then whenever I popped in you would be all sad and lonely with that mean little voice going off in your head. This way you were happy, crazy and sexy, just the way I want you.”

“That is so creepy! And I once married a guy under a love spell! Didn’t you ever consider that I might kick you to the curb. If you don’t want all of me, you can’t have any of me.”

Loki’s eyes grew cold and his smirk grew a hard line. He flared his nostrils and Becky truly understood what an ancient and powerful being was her boyfriend. She swallowed hard and met his stare. A few breaths later she looked away, it was simply too much.

“Sorry Becks, but you don’t really have the option to say break up with me. See you made me a perfect offering and that little spark of power was enough to jump start my memories. You remember that night don’t you, Becky.” His voice was so cold, it left her raw and bare. “You cooked steaks and baked crème brûlée. You read to me, told me all your secrets and unpacked your crazy. That was an offering. A perfect, powerful offering of your worldly goods and of your soul. Then we made love for hours, you worshiped my body with your touch and your lips. I spilt myself inside of you with no barriers. Sorry sweet cheeks but you gave yourself to me, body, mind and soul. I am not releasing you. You are my high priestess.”

“I can’t be your priestess, I am Jewish!”

Loki just laughed. “I did look around for a replacement, I have a lot of followers now, but none of them gave me the same jolt you do sugarplum. I crave your taste. Your stuck with the gig.”

Becky stalked around the room. Reynard perked up as she walked by and deftly removed the coffee cup as she had started to use her hands. Her lips were moving but no sound came out. She raked her fingers through her hair and kept pacing around the room. Loki smirked as he leaned against the marble island. Reynard sipped the coffee and looked concerned. Finally, she stopped in front of Loki, held out her hand for Reynard to hand back the mug and took a deep sip. Locking Loki with her watery blue eyes she gave him a slight half smile.

“No.”

“No?” Loki snorted.

“No. I have too much self-respect to be with a dude he only wants me for a sexual charge up.”

“Since when?!?” the incredulous god demanded.

“Well, it…it’s new.” Becky stammered. “And barely there. But I am not a sex a toy.”

Loki waggled his eyebrows and leered at his lover. “Oh Becks, think of all the kink we can have. Put those fuzzy cuffs and riding crop away, we have magic.” With that he snapped his fingers.

Becky’s heels clicked on the hardwood floor. She was wearing freaking stripper heels with 4-inch spikes and fuzzy feathers! She looked down and realized she was wearing an ice blue baby doll nightly with a thick lace under bust band and triangle cups made from sheer lace that didn’t quite cover her nipples. She couldn’t adjust or cover up the scant outfit, nor could she undo the clasp on the shoes.

“Loki!” screamed Becky.

“Hey!” echoed Reynard.

But the trickster just grinned and snapped his fingers again. A low buzzing interrupted their cries followed by Becky falling to her knees and moaning like she was paid to do it. She gasped as pleasure/pain racked her body. Her eyes flew up to Loki’s smirking face and she was afraid.

“Enough!” shouted Reynard. “You are wrecking everything and now she is afraid of you. Happy!?!”

The buzzing stopped. Reynard bent down and lifted Becky into his arms.

“Fix her clothing,” he demanded.

“Listen boy I made you out of dust and I can turn you back. Right now, the grownups are talking.”

“No, an old man is making an ass out of himself,” Reynard retorted as he turned and carried Becky out onto the patio.

“I can walk, thanks.” Becky said in a soft voice. Reynard gently slid her down and together they walked out into the sand. People were walking up and down the beach, sunning themselves and chasing gulls. Children laughed as they ran into the surf.

“Are they real or just an illusion?”

“I think they are real. Loki doesn’t have archangel juice anymore so creating pocket dimension is a little bit of a stretch for him.”

“But he created you. A talking blow up doll.”

Reynard laughed without humor. “Maybe. But I have a soul you know.”

Becky looked up in surprise. “You do? How did that work.”

“Don’t know. I didn’t always have a soul. I was created as copy of Loki with the purpose of making you happy. I had all his likes and dislikes, options and memories so not a total blow up doll. But you are right, I wasn’t a real boy.”

“And now?”

“Now? I have a soul. I still love you. I still have the same memories and options, but it is different. I like our dog.”

“Lucky? You didn’t like him before?”

Reynard shrugged. “I didn’t really have an option. He was your dog. Loki just sees him as a tool. But I like the little guy. I left a voicemail telling him that we had gone off for the weekend, so he wouldn’t worry. Oh, and I really don’t like Marci.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, she just rubs me wrong. All flirty but doesn’t back it up you know? Loki liked her because she baked, but frankly her peach cobbler was not that good.”

Becky laughed. “Thank you. Mine is much better. This is all so complicated and upsetting. Plus, walking in sand is really hard if you are wearing heels.”

“I’ll bet. Here let’s sit,” he suggested as he offered a hand and helped her sit on the sand. Becky stared out at the ocean, processing everything that happened. Reynard smiled softly as he watched her.

Finally, Becky broke the silence, “I saw Chuck.”

That is not what her lover expected. “When?” he softly asked.

“Last month. I told you I was going to hear music in the city with some friends from work. There were no friends, I just didn’t want you to come. I had gotten an email saying Chuck was playing at this whole in the wall bar. I wore my blue dress and sat alone at a table in the middle of the bar. He looked right at me and smiled so brightly. When he sang, it was like he was singing just to me. I just kind of floated, resting in his presence. I don’t know how to describe it.” Becky smiled softly as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. “He paused his set to get a drink. When he turned his back, it was like a spell had been broken. I grabbed my purse and left.”

Reynard brushed a tear from her cheek. “You never spoke to him.”

“No. I didn’t need to. I didn’t want to sleep with him either. I can’t imagine ever getting back together with him, but I also know I will always come when he calls. Since we are coming clean, that is my secret.”

“Okay. I am a clone with soul and you will always love your ex. It’s messy but it’s real and I can be happy with that. So here is my secret; I really want to kiss you,” he announced with a sexy little smirk.

Becky smiled back. In the grand scheme of things what did it matter. She was loved and loved back. Becky could be very happy with that.

“Okay”

His whiskey colored eyes glinted in the sun light and Becky could see the trickster in her lover. His soft lips feathered against her lips, until Becky ran her fingers though his hair, pulled him deeper and darted her tongue between his lips. They kissed long and deep with Becky nibbling and Reynard groaning until they broke away. For a moment they just stared at each other grinning.

“What about Loki?” Becky asked, breaking the moment.

“Look I know he came across remarkably rapey there, but I know that was not his intent.”

“What are you a Loki apologist?”

“No but remember I kinda use to be the guy. I recognize his really bad flirting.”

“He thought forcing an orgasm in the middle of a fight was going to win me?!?”

“I mean, maybe? Look he is super cocky, a total ass and morally grey, like really dark grey, like Burnt Ember grey, but he loves you as much as he can.”

“And you are ok with this… With sharing?”

“I could be. I am very comfortable with poly, but I don’t want to be shoved in a closet whenever Loki blows through. Now if we are all in this together I could easily see being Rory to your Amy and his Eleven.”

Becky just laughed and shook her head. What else could she do?

“Alright we should head back then.”

Loki looked up from his giant ice cream sundae as the doors the patio were thrust open and Becky Rosen stalked in like she had just stepped off the cover of a tawdry romance novel. Loki stood but before he can say anything Becky is in his face.

“Oi! You, trickster. If you ever even consider touching either of us like that without consent I swear on the Winchester Gospels I will summon Helmdair and have him slay your ass, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!”

“Yes,” the trickster squeaked.

“Next, I am not your sex toy, don’t be an ass. If you want this to work than I am your high priestess, your girlfriend, your lover, but I am not a thing to be owned, I am myself.” Loki nodded vigorously. “Third, no one puts Reynard in a corner. We can work out sexy times and all that later, but he is not low man on the totem pole and I am the bitch in charge. You will respect both of us.”

“Yes, I want that too. I am sorry Reynard, I want the both of you and I realize how Narcissus that sounds, but he’s Greek and I’m Norse so there is no copyright infringement. We have a lot to work out, but I want you too.”

Becky softened, the adrenaline and wind slipped from her sails. She laughed, and no one commented that it sounded slightly unhinged.

“Can I kiss you now?” the trickster asked. Becky nodded and was quickly swept up into a fiery consuming kiss. When her feet touched the floor, Loki still had an arm wrapped around her. He locked eyes with his double and then waggled his brows. Reynard stepped up to him and kissed him deeply his fingers wrapped in Loki’s golden locks. Becky was pulled close as the two men tongue fucked. Finally, the kiss broke.

“Oh this is going to be so much fun.”

#The Tickster/Gabriel’s Vessel/Becky Rosen #gabriel/sam winchester

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duskwalkertfp · 7 years

Text

Pandemic

Seated in the captain’s chair on board Naomi Duskwalker frowned at the massive line of coding scrolling in front of her. Naomi had done what she could to make a copy of the Termination Protocol for Duskwalker to look at, but though there was a huge amount of information here it was incomplete. Portions of it Naomi described to her, but had not dared to scan or copy for concern of setting off some kind of kill-switch, which indeed there was, that would terminate DT immediately with a massive cut of energy to his spark and processor. The question on Duskwalker’s mind was: why had the protocol been activated? From what she could parse from the long string of alien coding the protocol was designed to sit dormant until activated by an outside source, but the Quintessons had been chased off of Cybertron while DT had been inside of his Stasis Pod.

“DT said the Quintessons were transporting them in Stasis Pods to prevent any sort of revolt, right?” Duskwalker asked; Naomi had heard everything DT had said through Duskwalker’s comm. line and her drones.

“Yes,” Naomi answered, then continued following Duskwalker’s line of thought, “it is possible the Quintesses utilized a code, or key pass, to open the Stasis Pods. Perhaps when his opened the lack of that code initiated the Termination Protocol?”

“That or it was always there, but since it worked so slowly no one noticed it and placing the mechs in Stasis slowed it further, but what purpose would that serve? It fits better to imagine that the Stasis Pods required some kind of code in order to open and properly activate the mech inside. I still can’t fathom why, though. The Quintessons played ‘nice’ like they were helping Cybertronians, right? So why put this kind of programming into their systems.”

“There are many possibilities, from experimentation to see if they could, to simply having better control over their ‘wares’,” Naomi offered. “We may not ever find out, and it is possible we will not be capable of neutralizing this program.”

The idea was not one Duskwalker liked. Her concern deepened and she started back at the top of the code, creating two new files to copy sections over to in order to better analyze them. Portions of code made no sense to her and would need to be taken apart line by line, while others looked as though they were trying to act like a masking agent; hiding the protocol for what it was. Still other sections reacted more like a virus, making it possibly contagious to anyone who might interlink with DT’s systems. In all it was a highly complex piece of work and that it was not yet finished made the idea of a complete product daunting at best, terrifying at worst.

Curling her legs up onto the massive chair Duskwalker considered her options; she could repair DT as best she could, hoping not to bother the program and activate its kill switch, she could place the mech into shut-down mode, slowing all his major programs and functions to try and prolong the time it takes for the protocol to work through him and kill him, or she could come up with something ridiculous, dangerous, that may or may not possibly work to stop the forward momentum of the protocol long enough for her to find a way to safely place DT offline and trick the protocol into stopping until she found the necessary information to clean it from his systems.

“I recognize that look, Duskwalker,” Naomi mentioned, “what are you working on in that processor of yours?”

“Something I’m not sure would work,” Duskwalker admitted, “but I sit and do nothing. Putting him into shut-down mode would maybe slow it down, it’s already moving slowly enough it might take years to work through his system, but there’s always the risk some random scan from any number of points on the planet could register as a threat and it could immediately terminate him. The protocol is both amazingly written and also paranoid. If I’m reading it right it treats any non-necessary scan as a threat and will immediately cut all energy flow to DT’s spark and processor, killing him pretty quickly, but it’s also designed to hide itself if necessary, well if that portion was finished anyway. It’s so frustrating how organized it is, but how it’s such a convoluted mess of ‘what ifs’ that it makes my head hurt.”

“The Quintessons were, by and large, an overly cautious and even cowardly race,” Naomi explained, “they only went to war with Cybertron because they were able to hide behind their forces. They themselves never saw proper combat unless the battle spilled over onto their positions and even then they would try to flee first and fight secondary if the need was great enough. As such it is understandable that such a program would be filled with their own instinct to destroy the item they do not wish to fall into their enemy’s possession, and flee.”

“But Cybertronians are sentient, they aren’t, we are not, things to be kept and destroyed on a whim,” Duskwalker pointed out, disgusted at the idea.

“Not to the Quintessons,” Naomi told her. “Renegade does not speak about the Quintessons as much as other forces because he had little to do with them. Even at that point Renegade preferred to be left to his own devices and began working on engineering and armor design. He had little use for an alt mode, so never went to have his transformation ability ‘activated’.”

“If he didn’t have much to do with the Quintessons, and has been a recluse for so long, how is it he has so much information on… everything?”

“To be blunt,” Naomi said, “Renegade is a hoarder.” That prompted a tiny smile out of Duskwalker, but Naomi continued. “Truthfully, though, as the war began to consume most of Cybertron he did what he could to save what knowledge he managed to find and store it on data banks he later installed into my frame. He could not, of course, save everything, but he’d also already lived a very long life and accumulated his own knowledge on the happenings of the planet. He may not have involved himself, but that does not mean he did not pay attention.”

“So he’s a hoarder and a complete snoop,” Duskwalker said, and already knew that about Renegade. He watched and paid attention to everything, even when he seemed to be otherwise occupied. It wasn’t that he was nosey, just that he was excellent at observing everything around him. It’s what made him such an excellent engineer and teacher. Duskwalker wished she could be even half as observant as he was.

“Now what is this idea that has you looking so focused?” Naomi asked her.

“I’m not so sure it’s an idea as much as simple insanity,” Duskwalker said, “but you know how Renegade’s security works at the colony to prevent the systems from being hacked into?”

“Yes, the cloned networks. Identical clones of the actual mother computer for the colony, only none of them are directly attached to the commands, machinery, or security systems for the colony. There’s no way to tell them apart unless you are keying in a code and can witness that it is not working because on the screen it will show it as having been successful.”

“Right,” Duskwalker nodded her head, keying up a new program and adding her scans of DT onto it, “So what if we did that with DT? Use one of the training droids, clone all his programming and implant it into the processor of the droid, then shut down all his major systems to keep them safe from degrading after hooking him into the droid? The protocol might attack the fake system instead as long as it’s an identical version of what has already happened to him.”

“The timing would have to be precise. Shutting down his main systems and bringing the false ones up, it is possible to write a fake maintenance code that would ‘register’ and deem the protocol as necessary for some kind of routine system check that required such a ‘restart’, but how do you intend to link their systems?”

“With something that didn’t exist when the Quintessons were here: an altered cortical psychic patch. We can write the maintenance program to make it seem as though the systems are being suspended, or moved to an outside source to continue to keep him running while physical work is being done on his processor to repair some kind of breach. As long as we make sure that our programs recognize the protocol as a repair program or maintenance program itself it won’t react. Instead it should alter its behavior and follow the ‘suspended’ functions to continue as it is in order to hold its cover.”

“Why not use a life support system?” Naomi asked, “the Cortical Psychic Patch was outlawed.”

“A life support system supports the frame, and functions, but I can’t use it to imitate his processor and functions specifically,” Duskwalker explained, “the protocol might think we’re attempting to remove it. I admit I’m not thrilled at the idea of using a Patch, there’s no guaranteeing it’d work, and putting him into stasis might slow it down, but we don’t know the right sequence to use in order to halt the Termination Protocol and we have no idea how long this will take…”

“And after you hook him up to the droid, how do you intend to remove the protocol?” Naomi asked, and then in a different, more concerned tone, she said: “Duskwalker, you may not be able to save this one. You should notify the Autobots and have them handle this. Their medic will be better outfitted to deal with a situation of this magnitude. What if there are others out there, like DT? Only their Termination Protocols are primed and capable of spreading to other Cybertronians like a virus is meant to?”

“Do you think something coded to also act like a maintenance program could do that?”

“At the very least we need to consider it a possibility. Without a way to purge it from a Cybertronian system if there are more out there, like DT lost in Stasis Pods, we could face a pandemic.”

This was not a thought process Duskwalker had wanted to face, she knew she had to, but that didn’t means he hadn’t tried to leave it as the least likely possibility. Drawing her knees up so she could rest her chin on them Duskwalker curled her tail over her paws and wrapped her arms around her legs. She started running simulations, trying to calculate the chances of that happen by contrasting it with the information in Naomi’s databanks and what she was beginning to understand about the Quintessons. They seemed a selfish people, cowardly, so the probability that they would figure out a way to make this protocol ‘contagious’ was high. It would have been a way to annihilate anyone who stood up to their ‘world order’, but then why not use it?

The thing that stuck out to her most was how meticulous the Quintessons were. The chances they would ‘misplace’ another Cybertronian was low. DT may well be the only one and if there was another out there they may have already fallen victim to the Termination Protocol. So Duskwalker felt they were quite safe from another ‘survivor’ from the Quintesson age appearing, but the one point Naomi brought up was one that Duskwalker couldn’t wiggle her way around and Duskwalker couldn’t figure out why the thought made her so nervous.

Naomi was right that the Autobots would be better situated to handle DT’s situation. Duskwalker did not have the most experience in dealing with things such as viruses, dangerous coding, or anything similar to the protocol slowly destroying DT’s system. It wasn’t something Downdraft, or Aero, had taught her about. Mostly because, outside of the Cybonic Plague, Cosmic Rust, and Hate Plague, there weren’t too many ‘diseases’ or ‘viruses’ that effected Cybertronian systems. None that were known of, at least, but here was an example of an unknown threat that could have decimated their population.

Perhaps the reason it was such shaky ground was this Termination Protocol was not so much a virus, but a weapon for genocide. Duskwalker had no background, at all, when it came to weapons outside of her bow staff, claws, and tail mace. She wouldn’t begin to fathom how to handle what was, in many senses, a ‘kill switch’ for Cybertronian kind.

No, not even the Autobots would really have experience in that area and that was why Duskwalker felt uneasy about seeking out their help. To her knowledge they had done what they could to fight the war ‘clean’, or at least Team Prime had, so the idea of creating something like this wouldn’t have occurred to them and it was very possible they had as little knowledge in the area as Duskwalker did.

The Decepticons, however, had scientists that had put together weapons like this. Megatron himself had created the Cybonic Plague, and no one knew how much Shockwave had done before he vanished at the end of Cybertron’s life; when the planet went dark. However the thought of seeking out the Decepticons, any Decepticons, for aid was one that left an uneasy feeling in Duskwalker’s spark. The war might be ‘over’, but that didn’t mean there weren’t groups who would be more than willing to ‘go out with a bang’ if it meant no one won the war.

“For now I think it’d be best to keep this to ourselves, Naomi,” Duskwalker said. “I’ll get DT situated and then I’ll make for Hive City, see if I can’t find any information pertaining to the Termination Protocol… if I can’t…” Duskwalker sighed, looking up at the streaming data and her own notes.

“If I can’t, then we’ll go to the Autobots.”

“And what of DT? Do you intend to tell him?”

“I don’t think I can. I don’t want to lie to him, but whether he intends to do it or not telling him he has a program, a protocol acting like a virus and maintenance, he’ll subconsciously try and purge it from his system, and it would immediately kill him. I’ll have to come up with something that’s the truth, but not such a specific truth that he’ll try to scan his own systems for it.”

“Agreed,” Naomi said, easing some of the tension in Duskwalker’s spark. “I’ll begin creating a fake version of DT’s processor within one of the training droids while you ready him for a full systems shut down.”

“Thanks Naomi, I’ll get started right away.”

#Duskwalker Entry #Duskwalkertfp

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