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minaturefics · 2 years

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Together

Request: Hi! 👋🏻 I see your inbox is open! I was wondering if I could request Aragorn x ranger!reader. Maybe reader finds out she’s/they’re (up to you if you want to keep the fic gender neutral or not!) pregnant with Aragorn’s child? Perhaps a little nervous to tell him, with their lifestyle being difficult to raise a child in, but even if they’re nervous about being parents they’ll do it together- it sa surprise, but there’s no one else he’d rather start a family with. And maybe some general fluff throughout the months, Aragorn wanting to feel the bump, reading up on books, asking advice from others. Being a tiny bit obnoxious about making sure reader is comfy and healthy but not treating them like glass either. Totally okay if you’d rather not do this request! ❤️

A/N: Hello it is hereeee! This was a bit of a challenge to write, pregnancy always seems so foreign and nebulous to me. I tried to keep it fluffy but also realistic, I hope you enjoy it!

Aragorn x Pregnant!Reader

Gender-neutral reader

Content warnings: Brief description of blood (from a wound), allusions to missed periods

3.1k words

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Birds called overhead, chirping as they swooped between the trees in the clearing. Beams of light pierced the canopy and dappled the ground in pale yellow light. You knelt by the creek, moss soft under your knees, and dabbed at the shallow cut on your arm with a rag. The cool water soothed your inflamed skin and you sighed. It had been a near thing with those stray orcs, and you thanked Valar that your bow had been quicker than theirs.

Aragorn had gone off to gather firewood and willow bark for your wound, and you scrubbed the bloodstained rag in your hands, watching as the creek’s water washed the bright red colouring away. You stared at the rag, eyeing a stubborn spot of blood.

There was something so familiar, yet distant, about the position you were in. Running water. Rags. Blood.

Your hands stilled, half submerged in the cold water.

When was the last time you bled? How many months has it been since you washed your cloths out?

Your heart hammered in your chest, the burble of the water growing loud in your ears. The last time you remembered doing such a thing was about two months ago, when you were in Rivendell with Aragorn, visiting. Had it been that long? The rag slipped from your fingers and dropped onto the bank with a squelch.

But that would mean…

Your hand flew to your stomach, curling around your abdomen.

You sat back, cold water seeping into your trousers, and stared at the rag. You were with child. Aragorn’s child. Heat rose to your face at the memory of his low voice in your ear, his large hands on your hips. You swallowed and shook your head.

What would he say? It had only ever come up in passing, in allusions to some distant future, some wistful dream. Hopes of laughter in bright halls, of fireside stories and sparring lessons. But it was too soon, too sudden now. With the growing shadow, the Rangers were necessary more than ever. The wild lands had to be watched, the Shire to be protected. And to bring a child into such an uncertain world…

“Meleth nin, I have found the willow bark. I —” You twisted where you sat, tears pooling in your eyes and blurring your vision. He rushed to your side, kneeling by you, his hands hovering over your wound. “Is it that bad? It did not look it when —”

You shook your head and stilled his hands. You blinked your tears away. His grey eyes were wide and searching, his brow creased and his lips parted.

“Meleth nin? What has happened?”

“Aragorn, I…” You took a shuddering breath. “I… I am with child.”

His eyes darted down to where your arm was wrapped around your stomach. He blinked at you, jaw slack, and your chest tightened. He reached out, hand trembling, and rested it on your arm.

“Are you… are you certain?” You nodded and he let out a rush of air. “A child.” His fingers nudged your arm away and he trailed his fingers over your abdomen. His eyes drifted up to yours, soft and full of wonder. “My child. Our child.”

“Aragorn, I—” He pulled you into his side, circling his arms around you. He pressed kisses to your temple, quiet chuckles escaping from his lips. He murmured unfamiliar elvish words into your hair and squeezed your shoulders. He drew back, eyes shimmering with tears, a rare grin on his face.

“Aragorn, I am anxious. The growing threat, our lives as Rangers… we cannot…”

He cupped your face, his thumb stroking your cheek. “We can.”

“But…”

“There may be much for us to surmount, but we are together are we not? We have been partners for many years now. In the woods and at home.” He kissed your forehead, his lips warm and soft. “Have faith, my love. For us, for our child.”

You nodded and he stroked your hair. You reached out to him and hissed when pain shot up your arm. He cradled your arm and shook his head. “Let us tend to this first, and then we shall have to make our way back to Rivendell.”

“But we have not finished our scouting.” You glanced at the trees, worried that another orc pack might be lurking somewhere in the forest.

“We have been in this area for nearly two weeks now. Aside from the few orcs we had just slain, there were none.” His eyes hardened and his face grew sober. “We must get you to Rivendell. We have not been eating or sleeping well for the past months. I will not risk our child for the small chance that there may be orcs. The other Rangers will be through here in a week. We can afford to leave.”

You nodded, hand drifting back to your stomach. “You speak reason, my love. Let us bind my arm and walk a couple more hours more. The sooner we arrive in Rivendell, the sooner I will be at ease.”

Aragorn eyed you from above his book. You were glowing in the firelight, your skin radiant and your eyes bright. Your lips moved silently as you read, fingers drifting across the page. The fire cracked and popped, and the bookshelves creaked in the growing wind.

He had spent most of his morning wandering the Rivendell library, pulling down books that might be useful. He had amassed a small stack and was settling into an armchair for a long day of reading when your fingers had grazed the back of his neck. You had insisted on reading with him, mentioning that walking the gardens was too strenuous on your uneasy stomach.

You flipped the page, lips stretching into a faint smile at something you read.

“What is amusing you so, meleth nin?”

“It’s these home remedies to aid the nausea.” You laughed and turned the book towards him. “One recommends putting a raw fish on one’s head.”

He blinked at the simple illustration and a smile tugged on his lips. “What purpose does the fish serve?”

“Perhaps the smell could induce one to empty one’s stomach and get it over with?” You chuckled and his heart warmed. “I do not know, but I am not eager to try it.”

He reached out and took your hand, running his thumb over your fingers. You were so resilient, so gracious. You managed the changes in your body as well as you managed battles in the wild. And each day it seemed as though you grew more otherworldly.

Would his child grow to be like you? Capable and strong, with a lightness that brought hope and softness. Would he be a good father? There was still much to do, lands to protect, a throne to fill. He would not have himself be absent, only seeing you and his child for snatches at a time. He grew up without a father; he would not let his child suffer the same.

Your fingers tightened around his and he looked up. “What is on your mind, Aragorn? You have gone all silent and still.”

“I do not know how to be a father,” he muttered.

“We will learn, my love.” You smiled at him and the tightness in his chest eased. “I do not doubt you will make a wonderful father.”

“Sometimes I feel as though there is nothing I can do now as a father. That the burdens seem to fall on you and I am left here rubbing circles into your back or pressing cloths to your forehead.” He sighed and interlaced his fingers with yours.

“You are doing enough, my love.”

He thought of his child, curled within you, and a wave of protectiveness swept over him. It was not sufficient to do enough. He had to do more.

You leaned against a pillar, eyes fluttering shut, and rested your forehead on the cool stone. You had been walking down one of the many winding corridors in Rivendell, in search of Aragorn, when the world began to tilt and spin. You could hear the call of the birds above the rush of the Bruinen. The faint scent of pine wafted in the air and you inhaled. Two minutes, just two more minutes and you would stand straight and carry on. If Aragorn found you, there was no doubt he would insist on settling you back in bed.

You rested your hand on your middle, fingers mapping out the swell of your stomach. So strange that there was life within you. Your stomach fluttered with some imperceptible shifting and you smiled. Your child was an active one, no doubt taking after its vagabond father.

“Meleth nin?” Your eyes snapped open and you turned. Aragorn’s eyes were trailed on you, a frown on his face. “What’s happened?”

“It is just some dizziness. It will pass.”

He approached you, arms outstretched. “Come, we must get you back to bed.”

“Aragorn, no. I have already spent the morning in bed. I will go mad if I have to look at the walls some more.” You held his hands in front of you and smiled. “I wish to go on a short walk.”

He considered your words. “Very well, but I am coming with you.”

You slid your arm into his and he led you to one of the more wooded gardens in Rivendell. The trees rustled overhead, raining their orange and brown leaves over the path. You leaned into Aragorn, inhaling his scent of leather and musk, and he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. How lucky, to have a man like him by your side. To have someone bring you muffins and cakes in the middle of the night, to have someone make you laugh after tears sprang to your eyes unprompted.

“Have you drank your tea yet today, meleth nin?”

You shook your head. The tea was some horrible, bitter concoction that Elrond recommended. He had said it would help with the symptoms, and would aid the child in its growth. The scent of it alone was enough to make your stomach roil and you avoided it until the end of the day where Aragorn gave you no choice but to drink it while he watched.

“It tastes terrible. It will ruin my appetite should I have it now.”

He hummed. “I suppose it can wait.”

You inhaled his scent again and paused at the familiar smoky undercurrent that escaped your notice earlier. “Have you been smoking pipeweed, my love?”

He nodded. “Does the smell bother you? Elrond mentioned that certain smells or tastes might be altered to you in this state.”

“No,” you grumbled. “But I miss smoking some myself.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Perhaps in a year or so. It is far too risky now and when the child is just born.”

You sighed. “You must get the best pipeweed for me then. I expect nothing less than Longbottom Leaf.”

“Shall I stop smoking as well? Will it ease your longing if you did not smell it on me?”

You burrowed your nose into his shoulder and took another long breath. “No, this is the only way I can have it now. Let me take what little snippets of smell I can.”

Aragorn laughed and kissed your temple. You continued down the path and you and Aragorn made a game of identifying the plants and shrubs in the garden. Is this what it would be like when your child was born? Walking in gardens, their small hand in yours, teaching them about plants and herbs. A life of peace and love, of the sound of pattering feet and happy squeals.

Aragorn sat next to you on the small balcony just outside your shared rooms. The heavy blanket he dragged from the bed was wrapped around both your shoulders. Your head was tipped back, eyes searching the starry sky, and he traced the outline of your face with his eyes. Would the child take after him or you more? He would not object if it had your beautiful hair or your lovely eyes. A couple of months seemed like such an age. How could he wait when all he wanted was to hold his child now?

He reached out and rested his hand on your stomach. “Is this alright, my love?”

“Aragorn, you ask me that each time.” You laughed and placed your hand on top of his. “You do not need to ask.”

He looked down. How was it that two seasons ago the both of you had been wandering through the wilds of Middle-Earth and now you were both sitting under the stars with your hands curled around your unborn child? He thought of the cuts and scrapes in those early months, those turned ankles and strained muscles. His eyes drifted to the thin scar on your forearm. All those flying arrows and swinging blades. Such near things… And you had already been carrying his child all that time.

He felt something move under his hand and his fingers tightened. He had to protect it, protect you.

“What are you thinking about, my love?” You asked and he looked into your eyes. “Are you worrying again?”

“A little.”

As though reading his thoughts, your eyes softened. “We are safe, Aragorn. I can still wield a bow or a sword if I must. Just because I am with child does not mean I have forgotten how to fight.”

He pictured you, with your swollen belly, armed with a bow, and a smile tugged at his lips. “I will admit, it is a funny thing to imagine.”

“I’d wager that even as I am, I am still a better shot than you are.” The child moved again and you laughed. “It seems even our child agrees.”

“Traitor,” he muttered, and laughed with you. He stroked his thumb over your stomach, thoughts drifting to something Elrond had said before. “I beg you please be cautious these next few weeks. Especially the next few days while I am gone.”

“Aragorn…”

“Please, meleth nin. Elrond has warned me that sometimes the child may come early.”

“I will be careful, but so must you.”

He nodded and pulled you closer. Elrond had requested some strange plant for a potion he was brewing for you, and Aragorn was tasked to search the forests around Rivendell for it. It was only a short mission, and no orcs would dare come so close to the elven haven, but he could see the worry in your eyes.

“I will be alright. We have walked these trails many times.”

You nodded and a sly smile crept onto your face. “While you’re out there, will you see if you can find those mushrooms? The brown ones with the floppy caps?”

He remembered those mushrooms. You had found them on one of the scouting missions and he cooked up a delicious dish with butter and rosemary. You had declared them the best mushrooms you had ever tasted and disparaged every other wild mushroom since then. He nodded, a smile tugging at his lips.

“But you have to cook them,” you said. “They only taste good when you cook them.”

He chuckled and brushed his lips against your hair. “Of course, meleth nin.”

A wave of pain coursed through your body and you winced, pausing at the doorway out of the library. Your back had been aching for the last day, and when you woke up there was a dull pain in your abdomen. At first you thought that the pain would ease, but as the day wore on it did not seem so. Elrond had forewarned you of the signs and told you to alert the nearest person or elf, but the only one you wanted to see was Aragorn. He had to be the first to know.

The last time you saw him he had retreated into Elrond’s study after breakfast. You headed in that direction and paused when you heard voices coming from the partially open door.

“Elrond, it is soon, I know,” Aragorn said. “I feel it in my heart. How best can I be of service? I do not want to be pacing the corridor, nervous and useless.”

“Simply be by their side. A hand to squeeze or a few comforting words can go a long way.”

“Will the midwives not chase me out of the room? I do not want to leave, but I will not stay if it would do more harm than good.”

Elrond chuckled. “They will only do that if you are anxious and restless. Birth is not easy, especially for your partner, but if you can be a calming presence it will aid everything to go smoothly.”

You smiled to yourself. Aragorn, always trying to do what was best. Another wave of pain rolled through your stomach and you knocked on the door. You opened it at Elrond’s assent and the moment Aragorn’s eyes landed on you he tensed and whispered, “It is time.”

You nodded and he hurried to your side. Elrond nodded at the both of you, a gentle smile on his face and ushered you out of the room. “Please, make yourself comfortable in the room we prepared. I will let the midwives know.”

Aragorn led you by your elbow, glancing at you every few seconds. “You should have sent someone to fetch me, you did not need —”

“I wanted you to know first, my love. And it is not so bad, I can still walk, as you can see.”

His lips flattened but he said nothing else.

The room was light and airy, with a large wash basin and a stack of towels off to the side. He guided you to the bed, and you let him fluff up the pillows before you settled against them. His eyes were bright and glassy, and a smile lingered on his lips. Finally, after so many months, it was time.

All those mornings, ill in bed, all those nights, restless and hungry. It was all worth it, worth it to be with the man you loved, worth it to bring your child into the world. Even the coming hours, daunting as they were, seemed surmountable with him at your side. Aragorn, who had always been your partner, who had always supported you.

“I will give you whatever you need,” he said, taking your hand.

“Just you, my love. You are the only thing I need.”

“I cannot wait to hold our child. I cannot wait to…” His voice broke, and a grin stretched across his face as a tear escaped from his eye.

“Soon, my love.” You squeezed his hand and smiled. “Together?”

He pressed a gentle kiss to the back of your hand, lips tender and warm. “Together.”

#aragorn #aragorn x reader #aragorn x you #aragorn x y/n #lotr #lotr fic #lotr fanfic #request

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dailyoriginalcharacter · 1 year

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Imagine Luck being on your side in the most destructive of ways. Stumbling across a well known nationwide killer, befriending a cannibalistic bird-man monster, and living in a small community next to an ancient buried god are all the ways luck has played with Robber’s life.

More about Robber on my blog: @blacksayori

His Toyhouse Also!

Robber wanted to start brand new when he moved into that small mountain town. He didn’t expect to become such an idol for those who disagreed on how the town was ran by the sheriff’s office, and a local bar owner who helped bring tourism back to town. He always seems to find himself in trouble with this group one way or the other. That soon becomes the least of his problems when he meets his best friend; a human eating creature known only as “Burble”

Met during a search and rescue mission deep in the woods, Robber instantly formed a connection with this beast, and often buys butcher’s bones and leftover scraps to help feed his new friend, unfortunate for the park ranger, the only other person who knows of Burble’s existence besides Robber.

Robber is a perfectly normal man who attracts perfectly odd characters. It’s soon that he meets his other best friend; a man named Tulok who is all together a modern day slasher, a fact Robber isn’t privy to just yet. You add talking people eating crows to the mix and a vengeful ghost who isn’t ready to give his soul up and suddenly Robber is surrounded and can barely keep his head above it all.

Robber keeps his past a mystery. No one knows his true name, or why he seems to be on the move constantly, and he likes to keep it that way. He wants his image to be a positive one in nearly everyone’s lives, and hasn’t accepted the fact that you really cannot make everyone happy, just yet.

Robber’s main hobby is writing books, he “self publishes” them by giving them away for free. He’s never made copies of his stories.

Robber is the protagonist and pov character in my webcomic called SLSHR; a horror drama about a slasher, modern day serial killer, and inhuman monster clashing in one town. It isn’t published yet, but there is plenty of information on it on my blog!

#OC #blacksayori #Robber

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5mind · 4 months

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"We're pretty SICK and tired of you. Always picking on 'us'..." ♫ Literally. The 'mechanical' squadron's disguises were starting to fall apart to reveal mutated flesh. And they were about to do their own twisted version of Fivemind's roll call: Just for Antares! He was their competition, after all. Not to mention they would have to get past him to destroy Chirptune, on Dodostep's orders so they could take over Tripol and turn the islands into their personal toxic wasteland. "The jig is up! Let's let 'em have it."

Their wretched bodies started on distorted poses...

cont from here

"Well, I mean...it is my job to- "Antares fell silent as the metal plating on the red ranger peeled off and landed on the ground with a clang. The unit in red, and by god was it red, stared right back at him with a bloodshot eye surrounded by veinous flesh.

♬

Heads jolted, limbs snapped into place, voices burbled. The units in red and blue spoke up first, in unison.

"The tearing blade - " A fluorish of the arm shed the metal from a blade of bone and marrow. " The dark pillar of bile- " A spine audibly snapped ramrod straight, rivalling the polearm hoisted upon the units back.

"Bloody One." "Black Bile Two."

The next two spoke in unison as well." Bilious shooter-" This one was much more sluggish than his mechanical counterpart. "Ever growing ~ hunter of flesh~" Something pink and swollen threatened to bulge out from between cracks in her limb plating.

"Yellow Bile Three." "Flesh Four."

The two parted to reveal the last one who had been writing his rolecall in pallid greens and yellow on the ground.

[ Phlegmatic pessimism. Phlegm Five ]

Then all at once -

"[Septic Squadron Gutterbrain!]"

---

"What the fuck..." Antares spun to look at Chirptune who was now frozen in fear. "What even am I looking at here."

"Chirptune doesn't know! Chirptune doesn't !" For a robot bird who cannot physically cry, Chirptune actually sounded on the verge of tears.

"Then what the hell do you know?" He was on the verge of picking the little bird up and shaking her like a ragdoll. But at the same time it was dawning upon him that he wasn't just talking to some pesky little mascot of a super sentai. He was talking to a kid facing fucked up doppelgangers of her friends.

Before Chirptune could answer the two were surrounded. Antares just felt really really tired.

"Chirptune, right? Chirptune. I don't know if you can fight but...spread them out will ya?"

No reply.

"Please?"

Chirptune nodded.

#[ ic : chirptune ]#[ ic : antares ]#[ dodostep saga ]#(( and thus the anon reveals himself lmao #(( sowwy i will write the fight scene with antares in the next reply i swear #body horror cw #gore cw #ah yes the four humours.....blood blackbile yellowbile phlelgm......and meat???

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ashesrebirthed-a · 4 months

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Ever since Strider's arrival, the trees hadn't stopped whispering.

There was something different to that man. The rivers and stones felt it, welcoming him with burgeoning hope long lost since this realm had fallen to the shadow of Dol Guldur, yet one did not need to look toward the forest to see that. It showed when Strider moved through his father's halls with great ease, the way few but their own kindred had before. He knew their ways, did not flinch back from their unchanging immortality. Even the lakesfolk, with their centuries spent alongside the Woodland Realm, were never quite so nonplussed in their presence.

Still, it was not until he caught the man alone that Legolas gave in to the forest's burbling curiosity.

(And, admittedly, their own.)

"You are no mere ranger." There was no preamble, no switch from Sindarin to Westron as Legolas moved to stand beside Strider, facing outward toward Mirkwood's dark depths. The man was young, but he was not a child; even alone in the presence of elven royalty he stood tall and true. He did not need Legolas to coddle him.

Head tilting, Legolas regarded Strider once more. The messy hair, rugged beard, and worn clothes did not match the poise with which he held himself, nor the gentleness of his eyes. Two worlds collided inside this man, but Legolas knew not where one could have stemmed from. "Many men have passed through these woods, lakesfolk and warbringers alike, yet few have been like you. You, Strider, come bearing no other title, yet you walk amongst elves as the rest of your kindred do men." Even in lives as long-lived as theirs, he was something new. Something intriguing.

And, truly, it had been far too long since Legolas had felt such intrigue. "I know not why you take such comfort in our halls, but I hope you know that you are welcome within them. Even the forest says so, and it has not had much good to say for far too many a century." // @luminescenc1e + plotted starter!

#luminescenc1e #legolas thranduilion.#ic: legolas.#threads.#luminescenc1e t1 #so. legolas is definitely unique to write jsdfkj #i had fun w this + did more research than i expected lol #but lmk if anything doesn't work and i can try to adjust!!

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nykrose · 1 year

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Choose Your Own Adventure: The Quest

Inventory: Provisions A Doily Extra Undies

The day dwindles, the trees grow more vast and near together as your muse presses into the dusk. They begin to hurry, nearly stumbling over a root in the fading light. They know better than to be caught unawares by nightfall, and that which lurks within! The forest grows quiet, only the wind in the boughs above whispering of the fell things in the wood.

Crossing a bare trickle of a brook, they hardly take notice of it save the mud on their shoes. This may be a good spot to make camp, near fresh water...no, they can make it further. There will be another. Their steps grow long and heavy, each a surge of will as they bend under the load which seemed so little before. Tired muscles begin to falter, and your muse is about to throw their pack down right there when they hear the burble of water ahead. Through sheer will they make a few more strides, the crystalline smell of it the most welcome reprieve...

That is their own footprint, there in the silt. Dread lodges beneath their ribs like a worm into a carcass. They hear...not something, but the lack of something. They look up, the eyes hidden behind the accursed mask frantically darting between the silhouettes of trees. But it is dark, and they cannot see. They know only that they are seen.

If they are seen, then they must be heard. They call out.

[Previous]

#[Poll]#[CYOA: The Quest]

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photosynthefish-12 · 2 years

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Finally, I was going home. I pushed off the asteroid, firing my boot jets to get up to speed. The tether cube buzzed at my side, telling me that I had reached escape velocity. I was flying through space in the direction of Earth, the stars shifting in the inky darkness.

As I flew through the unending night of open space, I worried that I had not calculated the asteroid’s orbit correctly. I would be stuck here, eternally drifting in the void until the life support in my tether cube failed and I succumbed to the vacuum. Nobody would ever know that I had tried to get back.

When the comms in my tether cube failed, my shipmates assumed that it had failed me entirely, let me drink in the raw void and die of it. They left me drifting there, believing that they left behind only an empty shell. A timeless eternity later, Earth approached, a green and blue sphere covered in wisps of white cloud.

Shortly after, Earth’s gravity had caught me and I was falling into the atmosphere. I stretched out like a skydiver without a parachute, hoping to slow my descent. I hit a wind current and began to spin, rolling over and over. Space, earth, space, earth, fire! I was on fire!

The tether cube beeped and quaked. I was both on fire and coming in much too fast.

“Orient down. Signal: chime.” I told the cube.

I twisted in the air until it chimed, then fired off my boot jets for a few seconds. Still, I was falling too fast. I fell through a thick layer of clouds, the water turning to steam where it met my coating of fire. Eventually, I cooled down enough that the fire went out. Lightning flashed in the clouds, the thunder as loud as a launch.

Below me, a spit of land emerged from the clouds. I tried to swoop out over the ocean, but fell inexorably towards the tip of Florida. Trees loomed larger and larger beneath me, an oasis of greenery surrounded by skyscrapers. A few hundred meters off of the ground, I oriented myself downward again and fired off my boot jets as long as I could.

My tether cube burbled and turned off. I breathed my first breaths of Earth air since I had left, humid, hot, and sweet. The Everglades rushed up to meet me, great tall trees reaching out to pull me from the sky. I fell through a clearing in their branches towards the mud beneath.

The trees’ reaching branches spun me around and around. Falling ever closer, I had almost reached the Earth. With a terrific wave of muddy water, I crashed into the swamp. Pain faded to a darkness without stars.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You’re sure?” asked Ranger Willis.

“‘Course I’m sure! That weren’t a bird’t fell out the sky.”

Ranger Willis swept his flashlight beam over the trees again, pushing the little paddleboat forward at the same time.

“Here. ‘T would’ve fell here.”

Bits of leaves and branches floated on the water, and there, trapped in the roots of a mighty cypress, was a dark, mud-covered shape. Ranger Willis approached carefully, wiped mud off a section that might have been a face. It was. The air stirred slightly with their breathing as they lay in a crater, surrounded by broken branches.

Incredibly, they were alive.

#writing #my writing #story #short story #haso #humans are space orcs #sci fi #science fiction #original fiction #sci fi short story

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hypnoticwinter · 3 years

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Down the Rabbit Hole part 35

Just looking at Makado makes me realize how incredibly tired I am. “Makado,” I say, trying to put a little bit of that weariness into my voice, “please, I just want to get Elena out of here.”

“I don’t give a fuck,” Makado tells me. “Take your helmet off.”

“Makado,” I start, but she raises the gun and coaxes a threatening-sounding click out of it.

“Jesus Christ,” I mutter, and reach up and pop the helmet open.

“Now take it off slowly and drop it.”

The helmet thuds to the floor with a dull clunk. I keep my hands open, bent at the elbows, roughly shoulder-height. I guess it’s a testament to how often this has happened to me lately that I’m not particularly panicked or flustered, even though she has a gun on me. I look into her eyes; they’re about as kind as a brick wall, a far cry from the Makado I knew - well, that I thought I knew. I don’t think she’ll shoot me but I don’t want to push her.

“Makado,” I try again, speaking softly, “I know that you’re upset, but -“

“Upset?” she laughs. “That is a big understatement, Roan.”

“As if you have any right to be upset at me,” I snort. Makado’s eyes flash but I press onwards anyway. “You’re the one who was trying to literally fucking frame me for all the illegal shit you were doing -“

“You got Peter killed,” she says. My mind goes blank for a moment before I nearly laugh. I choke it back down; if I started laughing, either out of terror or nerves or just pure exasperation, I know I’d never stop, and I know Makado would probably shoot me.

“Makado,” I say, stammering a little bit, “I didn’t - there was nothing I could have -“

“Then how come you lived and he died, huh?” she says. I think I hear a crack in her icy demeanor and I look at her - really look at her. She glances away after a moment or two, and when her gaze swings back and hits mine whatever I thought I might have seen, whatever small vulnerability, has already faded away. “How come you lived?” she asks.

The barrel of the gun trembles gently.

“Mak,” I start. I want terribly to be angry at her but something about the way she’s acting is just making me sad instead.

“Don’t call me that!” she yells. She slips her finger inside the gun’s trigger guard and I feel my breath catch. Maybe she really will shoot me; if she’s mad enough, if she thinks that somehow I caused Pete to get…to get leeched, or whatever the hell…

“Peter was the only one who ever called me that,” she murmurs. I know I’ve called her ‘Mak’ before and she never made a fuss about it but I guess this is special circumstances.

“Pete is - was - a fully trained ranger with dozens of expeditions under his belt, he might have - “ Makado licks her lips and tries again - “he might have gone a little downhill after 2007 but he was still sharp. He would have gotten out of there no problem. But he dies and you live?”

“Was that the plan?” I ask. If I can keep her talking maybe I’ll be able to pull something, but deep down I doubt it. “You send me down there hoping I’d die in an accident or something?”

“Of course not,” she says. “But if I had to choose between you and Peter…”

“That’s cold,” I tell her. She starts to say something, but I continue before she can. “But I get it. You loved him, huh?”

“Of course I loved him,” she says, sounding mildly scandalized. “You wouldn’t understand, I’m sure.”

“Why, because I - ? Oh, whatever,” I grunt. “Whatever, Makado. Just shoot me and get it over with.”

“I don’t want to shoot you.”

“Right, of course,” I snarl, putting as much venom into my words as I can. “You want to hand me over to the feds so I can suffer for your sins, right? That’s the endgame here, right?”

She has the good graces to flinch, at least. “I don’t -“ she starts, but I shake my head.

“Whatever,” I tell her. “What happened to Elena?”

Makado looks round, her eyes resting briefly on the wreckage of the autodoctor unit. “I don’t know,” she says. “When I got down here it was like this, and Elena was gone. I was going to -“

“Kidnap her so you’d have some leverage?”

“Bitch, will you stop fucking assuming the goddam worst of me? I was planning on tracking her down and getting her out of here.”

“I don’t believe you,” I tell her, my voice flat. “How did you even know she was here?”

“Because I heard the two of you sopping all over each other on the radio,” she tells me, her voice hard-edged with disdain. “Soon as I heard she was here in DUSA, I split off from my team and rushed up here. Guess I was too late.”

“Goddam it,” I mutter. My cheeks are burning a little from the knowledge that we’d been overhead; I guess I could have assumed, but it still had felt like it had been something private, something special we had shared. Maybe I wouldn’t have broken down quite so hard if I’d known Makado had been listening in. “It must have been the Leechman,” I mutter, glaring at the gaping hunk of metal torn away from DUSA’s hull. My eyes are stinging and I wipe them hurriedly, not thinking, and when I take my hands down Makado is glaring at me very seriously over the sights of the pistol, and I realize that the quick motion nearly made her shoot me. My stomach does a backflip and I stammer out the beginning of an apology before she mutters a curse and takes a length of rope from her suit pocket.

“Hands together,” she orders me, and with a sigh I slap my wrists together and hold them out to her. She comes to me with the rope and hesitates for a moment; I know it’s because she’s only just realizing that she will have to put the gun away to tie me up.

“I’ll hold that for you,” I offer, and in spite of herself she laughs.

“Turn around,” she says. “Hands behind your back.”

My heart is thumping heavily in my chest as I do. I am trying very hard not to imagine the Leechman bursting into here like a demon straight out of a horror movie and swallowing Elena up into its swollen leechy body. I can feel my hands trembling as Makado takes my wrists and lashes them tightly together. The rough synthetic fiber cuts into my wrists and I grunt. Makado steps away from me and I flex my hands experimentally but it’s no use, she’s tied me tightly enough that I’d never be able to free myself unless I had a knife. She’s already taken mine from the sheath on my belt and tossed it casually to the dusty, oily floor.

Elena’s dead. I can’t stop the thought from echoing around my skull, increasing in severity with each impact. She’s dead, she’s gone, I was too late. If I had just been a little quicker, if I hadn’t stopped to sleep, if I hadn’t…

“Hey, what are you - oh, Jesus Christ,” Makado grumbles. I sniff and look away from her. I try to keep it down but a quiet sob bubbles out of my throat.

“Goddam it,” I mumble. I can’t even wipe my eyes. My shoulders are shaking with the weight of it, with the weight of knowing that -

Makado sighs behind me. “You didn’t kill her,” she says. “If she’s even dead. We don’t know.”

I let out a terribly mirthless laugh. “You didn’t kill him,” Makado continues, begrudgingly. “I know you didn’t, it’s not like you put a gun to his head and shot him. I just…”

“Don’t want him to be gone,” I suggest, and out of the corner of my eye, through a veil of tears, I can see her nod.

I feel as though I might rip in two the next time someone touches me, but in spite of everything I do want to reach out and touch her, brush my thumb along the knobby edge of her wrist, feel her warmth near to me. Maybe it’s pathetic and stupid, maybe I should be spitting and cursing and swearing revenge but I can’t bring myself to. I want to just curl into a little ball and cry.

Makado is rustling around behind me, and then I hear the click and crackle of a radio. “Peterson, Rodriguez,” she says, enunciating clearly. “Status check, over.”

A moment passes and then the response comes burbling up through the airwaves. “Peterson, checking in. I’ve got Rodriguez here with me but he’s carrying the crystal so he couldn’t call himself. Everything’s good down here. ETA 20 minutes to DUSA. Over.”

“Thanks. You were able to disable the specimen? Over.”

“Hard to say. It backed off but Emmanuel is hurt pretty bad. One of those leeches, it got into her suit and chewed the hell out of her leg. We’ve got her on a stretcher and we’re bringing her back but I don’t know if she’ll make it. Is the autodoc functional? Over.”

“Negative,” Makado says. Her voice is tight and fraying. “Negative, it’s smashed. It looks like the Leechman got here before we did. Over.”

“Shit. Well, Emmanuel is fucked, then. Do we have support from topside? Over.”

I hear Makado mutter a quiet curse below her breath. “Give me a second,” she says. “Out.”

I sniff hard and duck my head down into my shoulder, try and wipe my eyes against the rubber of the ranger suit. Makado is tapping at the pad in the arm of her ranger suit; she’s put the gun away at this point, tucking it into her holster at her hip. I could make a run for it, I reflect. Instead I fold my legs beneath me and sink into a huddle on the floor a little like a gazelle bedding down for the night. Makado glances over at me and then back at her screen. “Who’s Emmanuel?” I ask. My voice creaks partway through it, and when I clear my throat it comes back thick and congested.

“None of your business,” she tells me, a little absently. “You’d better stop crying,” she adds.

“Fuck you,” I tell her, but I can’t put much heart into it. “Fuck you for trying to walk all over everything and try to do it your way. You walked all over me, you walked all over the team, you walked all over Peter -“

Makado looms over me, ruddy bolts of fury sparkling behind her eyes. “You have no idea, you have no idea -“ she starts, but I roll my eyes at her.

“Do you have any idea how many people are dead because of you?”

That catches her, and I get a vicious little thrill out of seeing how it impacts, how she absorbs it, how her eyes grow even wearier. She starts to say something but I start listing off names.

“The Sergeant. Peter. Slate. Erica and Marcus. Klaus. Crookshank. Euler. Ellis. Emmanuel, whoever that is. And El - Elena,” I say. I have to swallow hard to get that last name out but I manage it. “They’re all your fault, Makado. If you hadn’t gone off the deep end because of this stupid fucking crystal none of this would ever have happened. Does it really matter? Does it really matter this much? Is it worth it? Tell me. Please. Do you even know?”

“They knew the risks,” Makado tries to say, but she isn’t meeting my gaze. “You wouldn’t understand,” she says, a little bit of strength returning to her voice. “You don’t know what it’s like to -“

“To have an obsession take over your life?” I finish, and she blows a breath out.

“I’m the only one trying!” she yells. “I’m the only one fucking trying to stop all of this! That crystal is the only thing that we have that we know can shut down the Pit if it wakes up again. Getting it back should be our top priority -“

“And the last time one of those crystals was used,” I point out, “it infected - I’m sorry, how many people? - with a fucking personality-destroying disease that spreads when you feel emotions and forces you to crawl into the Pit to die.”

“We know better now,” she says, hands on her hips. “We know what we did wrong. If we don’t shatter the crystals -“

“How do you even know? Aren’t you just guessing?”

“You have no right to tell me how to do my job,” she tells me. I can see her knuckles whiten with rage. “I’m doing what needs to be done. If the Pit woke up and became fully ambulatory, it’d be the end of the world as we know it. If you think that isn’t something worth stopping by any means necessary, then you’re either stupid or insane. Maybe both. If I -“

“Okay, Makado. Whatever,” I tell her. I feel as though if I shut my eyes I’d be able to fall asleep in about a minute. My heart hurts.

Makado glares at me and for a moment, just a moment, I think she might be about to draw her leg back and slam the hard edge of her boot into my gut, but instead she spins on her heel and walks away, fishing the radio out of its holster on her belt and talking quietly into it.

I think for a while about struggling to my feet and just walking out. I don’t think Makado would shoot me, I really don’t. I think she wouldn’t have the heart for it. Maybe she’d just let me go.

Elena’s dead. You haven’t seen the body, a little voice whispers in the back of my mind, but I don’t need to see the body. If the Leechman got her, I’m not sure I want to see the body. I would want my memory of her to remain clean. I want to remember her in the tent smiling down at me, I want to remember her hands on my body, the way her lips felt when she kissed me, the way my heart felt when she kissed me.

I spend the next twenty minutes or so agonizing myself before the clunk and hiss of heavy machinery, burbles glutinously up from outside the rent in DUSA’s hull. With a little difficulty I manage to sit up and look outwards, and I see three orange figures in ranger suits marching up out of one of the vents leading to this organelle. Two of them are carrying a fourth on a stretcher, and the third…

My mouth drops open. The third is incredibly bulky, far more so than a normal person in a suit, and as they come closer and step into range of DUSA’s flickering floodlights, I realize that they are wearing something like a white enameled arthropod over their arms and legs, a squat mechanical spider perched on their back like a backpack. Its limbs extend along the ranger’s arms and fill out into armored gauntlets encompassing their hands.

And in their hands, hefted with an assurance and strength borne, I imagine, solely from their armor’s assistance, is the crystal, green and spiky and menacing, with an ugly luminosity flaring somewhere deep inside of it. I think again that I can see something moving within its murky depths.

Makado rushes out to meet them, leaving me forgotten, and again I consider getting up and just walking away. I think I’ve missed my chance, though; if it was just Makado, she might let me go. With everyone else here, all of these other rangers, there’s no way I’d be able to get away with it. And who knows if she’d have any compunctions about letting someone else shoot me.

Makado, to her credit, only paused briefly to tell the ranger with the crystal where to set it down before rushing to the ranger on the stretcher. Even from a distance I can tell that she’s hurt badly; her orange suit is splattered with blood and there is an enormous hole in her side. I think I can see teeth marks. One of the rangers shows something to Makado; it looks a little like a very thick, dark length of rope, and I realize with a horrible twist in my gut that it’s a dead leech. It looks to be about three or four feet long; it’s head has been torn off and it trails a thick, foul-smelling ichor behind it in a long oozing trail.

The huddled conversation over the wounded ranger continues a while longer before the group breaks apart. The ranger with the exoskeleton carries the crystal into DUSA, moving with almost exaggerated care through the hole in the wall. He looks down at me as he passes, craning his neck around the crystal to make sure he isn’t going to bump into me. “You alright?” he asks. He has a thick Texan accent that makes me smile in spite of myself.

“Yeah,” I tell him. “Do you think you could untie me?”

He pauses. “You’re tied up?”

“Yes,” I say, rolling halfway over and waggling my fingers at him. “See?”

“Why are you tied up?”

“It’s a long story.”

“You’re Dzilenski, aren’t you?”

“I, uh. No.”

“No? What’s your name, then? I haven’t seen you around before.”

The weight of the crystal doesn’t seem to be troubling him at all. He cocks his head at me.

“Merriweather,” I tell him. “I’m new.”

He waggles a finger at me; the servos of the exoskeleton make little whining noises as he does. “Nice try,” he tells me, but I can tell from the shape of his voice that he’s grinning. I shake my head a little and give him a halfhearted smile.

“Can’t blame a girl for trying,” I suggest, and he laughs as he stomps off towards the stairwell, the crystal glowing malevolently in his arms.

A few moments later someone is taking me roughly beneath my armpits and hauling me to my feet. I stagger a little but keep my balance. I look over and see Makado glaring at me from a few inches away, but it seems as though her temper has died a little; there isn’t quite as much venom in her gaze as before. Without uttering a word to me she marches me out of DUSA and towards one of the rangers, standing on a small, bulgy lump of flesh with their hands on their hips. I feel a spike of fear in my stomach. “What are you going to do with me?” I ask her.

I can see Makado’s lip curl out of the corner of my eye. “I’m not going to kill you,” she tells me. “Peterson there is just going to take you up to the surface and give you back to the feds, that’s all. Then this whole stupid thing can be over and done with.”

“So that’s it, huh?” I ask, breaking out of her grasp and turning to face her. “You’re just going to throw me to the wolves? You really think that you can get away with this?”

“Roan,” she groans. “Do you think I want to fuck you over? Do you think I want to do this?”

“Well, from the way you’re acting -“

“This thing is bigger than you or me,” she says. “And I’m - I’m sorry,” she tells me. To my immense surprise I actually believe her. “I’m sorry, and I don’t want to ruin your life like I know I’m going to, but I - I have to do this. I’m sorry.”

Before I can say anything Peterson takes me firmly by the arm. Makado swallows hard and nods to him. “Take her up. There should be a contingent of FBI agents somewhere up there, I know it’s a mess but they should still be hanging around, probably yelling at Admin. Let them know she’s Roan Dzilenski, they’ll take it from there.”

“Right,” he says. “Come on, then.”

I stare back at Makado all the way over to the vent leading up to the passage out of here; she refuses to meet my gaze.

“I’m sorry about all this,” Peterson mentions, adjusting his grip on me to push a hanging fold of flesh out of the way.

“If you’re so sorry, let me go,” I tell him. He has a quiet, apologetic tone.

“I’m not that sorry,” he explains, and I can’t help but roll my eyes. “Look on the bright side,” he suggests. “You’ll be out of here soon. I’m sure that will be a relief.”

“Yeah,” I snap, “I’m sure that -“

Something falls onto my shoulder and I let out a shriek. It rolls off and slaps onto the ground with a wet, meaty thump and slithers away.

“Are you okay?” Peterson is asking. “What was that?”

I look up, knowing what I’ll see, but the Leechman actually comes at us from the side, the leeches boiling out of the fleshy wall with a noise like a million hungry mouths gnashing and chewing and slurping simultaneously, leaving the wall pockmarked and collapsing. Peterson blurts out a surprised curse and lets me go, his hands darting to his holster, but the Leechman is faster. It reaches out with a massive, dripping, writhing paw and fixes it around his head, lifting him bodily off the ground. Rodriguez screams and I hear commotion from behind, in the main organ housing DUSA, but his screams quickly become muffled and gurgly and thick. His hands and legs are shuddering and jolting like he were being electrocuted, and then my stupid, shell-shocked nerves finally, finally kick into motion and I stagger backwards. My foot catches on something and I fall; the ground comes slamming upwards to meet me and the breath whooshes out of my lungs just as the Leechman drops Peterson. The helmet of his suit is bent and crushed and although he lands on his feet, his body sways gently back and forth like a wind were catching it. The Leechman stomps past me and I cringe away from it, but it ignores me entirely. Its footsteps resound through the meaty floor and rattle my teeth in my jaws.

I am so scared I think I might throw up. Every fiber in my body is screaming at me to get up and run away, but I can’t force myself to move. “Hey,” I whisper, as the Leechman ducks its broad, wormy head and pushes into the organ. “Hey, uh, Peterson, are you okay?”

Rodriguez turns and looks at me and I scream. His face has been eaten away to nothing and his jaw is hanging from a few stringy tendons on the left-hand side of his skull. He shambles towards me and I scream again, and I hear my screams echoed from back behind me in DUSA’s chamber. It’s only a few moments later that the gunfire begins.

I kick my feet and try and push myself away from Rodriguez’s corpse. As I watch a leech crawls out of his mouth and plunges its snub-nosed head into the wreckage of his eye. The body lurches closer to me and into the light and I get a better look at him; my stomach nearly turns. I scream again and try to kick at him but he just catches my leg and drags me closer. The bone of his skull and the scraps of meat and flesh on his face are stained a dark, inky black with a dripping, noxious ichor. Without any preamble the body straddles me and shoves its fingers into my mouth. I choke and cough and try to kick and bite but it’s simply too strong. My eyes are filling with tears but I can still see the body’s cavernous mouth yawning and yawning and the body of an enormous leech slowly struggling up Rodriguez’s pitted, masticated throat. Though it has no eyes or face I imagine it leering at me, and though I redouble my efforts to get away, my throat convulsing in anticipatory terror, I can do absolutely nothing to stop what is about to happen to me. At the very last my courage fails me and I just squeeze my eyes shut and wait for the leech to barrel down my throat, wait with an anticipatory cringe to feel its needle-sharp teeth dig into my insides.

Instead I feel more than hear a horrific, bone-shuddering crunch from just ahead of me, and when I snap my eyes open it takes me a moment to comprehend what I’m seeing. Jutting from Rodriguez’s chest amid a thorny cluster of broken ribs is a bulky mechanical hand absolutely slick with gore and ichor. With a harsh mechanical whine it makes a fist and withdraws from the grapefruit-sized hole it made in Rodriguez’s chest and then seizes the body and flings it off of me. The body lands against the side wall of the vent with a wet crunch and then flops to the floor and lays still.

“Joker,” I breathe. The robot’s blocky, flat-panelled head is staring down at me with what I imagine to be a rather odd expression. It’s pitted and stained and rusted and every couple of seconds sparks burst from its torn left arm socket. Its armored torso is battered and dented and it moves with difficulty, but it still leans down over me and with incredible gentleness tucks its blood-drenched hand beneath me and brings me lightly to my feet. A moment later it has untied my hands and I can feel the blood rushing back into them with a clustering ache of pins and needles.

I can scarcely breathe I am so relieved but I still manage to reach up and put my hand on the machine’s metallic chest. “Jesus Christ,” I tell it. “I am so fucking happy to see you.”

But before I get any more out, a tall, blonde-haired blur slams into me and wraps me up in long, strong arms and lifts me off of my feet and nuzzles her face against mine. “Oh god,” Elena says, and before she can say any more my greedy, bruised lips find hers and for a moment, just a moment, amid the gunfire and the screams, I feel completely okay.

* * *

When we finally break apart and Elena sets me down on my wobbly, weak-kneed legs, I reach up and take her face in my hands. I still can’t quite believe that she’s here, that she’s alive, that she’s okay. My heart is beating so quickly that I almost feel nauseous and I don’t trust myself to speak. Elena’s eyes are wide and slatey; they flicker over me, dancing like roulette balls, just as she runs her hands over my arms, my legs, my sides and back. “Are you okay?” she asks. Her voice is shaky. I try to speak a few times but I can’t get any words out so instead I just nod. Elena leans in and kisses me again, briefly this time, and then, with her lips brushing my ear she murmurs, “I was so scared, Roan, I was so scared that I had lost you, I thought -“

“It’s okay,” I tell her. There’s another scream from DUSA and we both jump. I grab onto her desperately as she starts to pull away. “Listen, are you alright? The gunshot -“

“I’m okay,” she tells me. “I promise I’m okay. Jesus Christ I thought I lost you. Let’s get out of here.”

Next to her, Joker shifts on his damaged heels and creaks forward further down the vent, towards DUSA. Elena curses. “Hey, wait. Stop. We have to go.”

Joker ignores her. “Elena,” I ask, “what the hell happened? Why is Joker -“

“Whatever the Leechman did to him down in the barrows jarred something loose or damaged him somehow, he’s operating completely autonomously.”

I stare at Elena. “You’re not controlling him?”

“No,” she says. “He - I think he heard our conversation on the radio, that’s how he knew to come to DUSA to get me. It’s a good thing he did or Makado would have gotten me. He burst right in through the wall, it was fucking terrifying.”

“Joker did that? I thought it was the Leechman, I thought you were dead -“

“No, no, it was Joker! Oh, god, baby you must have been so scared -“

“I’m just glad you’re okay. Where did he take you?”

Joker looks back at us, then returns his gaze to the scene inside the organ ahead. The screams have largely died down now, but I can hear Makado shouting something, and a high-pitched electric whine that sets my teeth on edge.

Elena shakes her head. “He must have been monitoring Makado’s transmissions, I think he has to have a radio receiver in there somewhere. He grabbed me and brought me down to a little organelle maybe a mile away and we just sort of hunkered down there for a while.”

“Did he hurt you? If he -“

“No, no, he didn’t, it’s okay, I’m okay. Joker!” she yells. “We have to go!”

Joker ignores her. There is a curious sense of animation about its pose and its motions, quick and precise and birdlike. As I watch, its fingers flex tightly enough to dig deeply into the fleshy wall it rests against. Again its head swivels and glances back at us and I think I can feel its nonexistent gaze resting on me. “Elena, if you’re not controlling it, then who is?”

“I don’t know,” she says, glancing over at me. “I think nobody.”

“But how could it -“

“Roan, listen, forget about that for a moment.” Her lips are tugging upwards in an irrepressible smile and I can’t help but mirror her. I want to hold her and kiss her and - “there was something I needed to tell you, something I needed to tell you face to face,” she says. My stomach swoops upwards in a surge of delight and I reach out, take her hand in mine.

“Yes?” I ask, trying to sound innocent and oblivious.

“Roan, I -“ she starts, but before she can get more than a few words out, there is a whipcrack of thunder in DUSA’s chamber, and Joker bolts forward like a sprinter off the starting line, and we both scramble into action and chase after him.

DUSA’s wet, fleshy cavern is in utter disarray. Dead leeches are littered everywhere and there are massive stains of ichor and blood splattered all across the cavern, as though someone upended buckets of paint and flung them. A crushed, distended corpse in a black-stained suit has been driven so deeply into the flesh of the floor that it has nearly been snapped in two. Of the Leechman there is no sign, but as we watch, Makado and three other rangers come storming out of the other vent and take up defensive positions around it, hunkering down and training their weapons on DUSA’s hull. Makado is carrying a long grey brick of a rifle, bulky and supremely un-ergodynamic, with what looks like a lens in place of a barrel. I wonder about it for a moment before a sickly green glow floats into view and the Leechman emerges from DUSA, ducking its titanic head, with the crystal beneath one of its arms, held as casually as one might carry a basketball. It pauses there for a moment, peering out at the four small figures opposing it.

Makado looks scared; her face has paled to a sickly white and I can see the rifle shuddering in her trembling hands.

I can’t see where Joker’s gone; I catch Elena’s eye and frown, but she nods upwards a little, and I see the robot just above us, clinging to the ceiling like a monkey. It seems content to wait for someone to make the first move.

Behind the Leechman an orange-suited figure takes a juddering, unsteady step into the light, and I can see the limp exoskeleton clinging to its limbs like a length of sodden rope. Another figure follows, and then another, and even in the dim half-light, lit by strobes and flashlights and headlamps, I can see their bodies bulging and throbbing with the gallons and gallons of leeches seething beneath their skin.

My stomach betrays me and I bend double and vomit, trying furiously to wipe the image from my mind, but I can still see the man’s distended belly glistening beneath the orange ranger suit, pregnant with its load of parasitic cargo, and the thought sends a wave of furious revulsion scurrying up my limbs, coaxing rank, cold sweat out of my pores.

The Leechman takes a deliberate step forward and Makado pulls the trigger on her rifle. A coruscating lance of blinding white light jolts from the barrel with the same deafening whip-crack we’d heard before and spears the Leechman through the core of its body, blowing a meter-wide hole open clean through it and filling the air with the smell of burning leeches. The Leechman staggers back a step or two and reaches out to steady itself, dropping the crystal; it clunks to the floor with a strangely musical tinkle and I can see a few of the spikes shatter and fall to pieces.

Makado rises to her feet, a little color returning to her cheeks, and fires again. This bolt catches the Leechman through the head and forces it down to its knees. It puts one massive hand forward to catch itself and Makado burns it off. She advances on the Leechman, firing again and again until the thing is just a pile of writhing, dying leeches, slowly burrowing into the ground and the walls and the ceiling, trying to escape. The bodies of the parasitized rangers shudder and twitch but they hesitate, standing still as though bereft of any governing intelligence.

Finally Makado pulls the trigger and the gun hisses a loud, screeching complaint and vents an enormous gasp of steam from recessed ports in its side; through them I can see the gun’s innards glowing white-hot, and Makado tosses it aside after glaring down at it in disgust. She draws her pistol from her holster and trains it one-handed on one of the rangers, squeezing one eye shut and glaring down the sights.

I open my mouth to suggest to Elena that it might be time to leave, but before I can get a word out the Leechman charges past us, out of the mouth of our vent, forcing a shriek from my mouth, and bowls into Makado headlong, sending her flying. She slams into the wall on the far side of the organ so hard that I can see a Mak-shaped bruise forming in the Pit’s flesh when she flops to the floor, limp and helpless, either stunned or unconscious or dead.

The rangers open up on the Leechman but if the laser wasn’t enough to kill it, bullets clearly aren’t going to be enough either. The three parasitized rangers surge forwards as well, wading into the fray, but the Leechman is doing the heavy lifting. I cringe back against Elena as I watch it pick up a hapless, screaming ranger and pull him in half, a spray of gore and guts flooding from the man’s cleft torso and legs. I clutch at Elena, trying desperately to get my legs beneath me, and she pulls me up and steadies me.

“We have to go,” she says. I can hear a note of hysteria in her voice. I take a shaky step backwards into the vent and feel a leech writhe and squirm beneath my cleats. Another one leaps at me and thuds into my back. I can feel its jaws working to pierce the thick latex of the ranger suit, and I hop frantically, trying to reach backwards and dislodge it. Elena brushes it off of me and crushes it beneath her boot just as the Leechman vomits a tidal wave of blunt, wriggling bodies into the pried-open chest of another ranger, struggling weakly in the creature’s squirming grip.

More leeches patter against us, driving us unwillingly out of the vent as we crawl and duck and dodge, trying to avoid them. A nerveless, exoskeletoned paw swipes at me clumsily and I scream and throw myself out of the way. From my vantage point on the ground I see Elena shove the infested ranger back and unload the entire magazine of her pistol into his gut, but the body staggers towards us still. I can see Elena’s teeth bared, a mad glint in her eyes, and I know that she is about to charge the thing and I know that it will kill her, but I haven’t enough breath to tell her not to.

Deeper in the chamber, the Leechman plucks the head off of a ranger’s pinioned, struggling body as easily as separating an apple from a tree and fling the chunk away like a bloody comet. It slaps wetly to the ground only a few feet away from me and I roll back from it, nearly mad with terror. I can see the Leechman slowly turning towards us and I am so afraid I think I might die just from fear alone.

“El - El - El - “ I try, again and again, but I can’t breathe, I can’t speak, I can’t think -

Joker drops from the ceiling directly onto the parasitized ranger, landing with a sickening crunch and a whine of servos. Its head snaps upwards and regards the Leechman with a calculating stare, and the Leechman, impossibly, stops. It seems to cock its head at Joker, and then it takes a step forward, heavy and inevitable and menacing, but before it can go any further Joker launches itself at it with a scream of straining metal and whining pistons. I struggle to my knees and brush the leeches off of Elena, checking her suit for holes or punctures.

Joker is losing. The Leechman has torn its other arm off and tossed it aside, and now it’s yanking at Joker’s leg. Joker is lurching spasmodically back and forth, trying to get free, but the Leechman has too strong a grip on it. The leeches are flowing over the robot’s metal form and in a few more moments it looks as though it’ll be enveloped entirely. I can see Joker’s head turn with what seems like a titanic effort and peer back at us, and then it disappears beneath the surface of the Leechman.

I tug Elena to her feet and take a few faltering steps back towards the vent before there is a colossal wave of sound and light and heat from behind that bowls me over and knocks me face-down in the sopping, bloodstained flesh. Elena falls over me with a scream and for a while all we can do is cling to each other and pray that whatever the hell happened is over quickly.

A moment passes, then another. I roll over and, with more than a little trepidation, sit up.

It looks as though a bomb has gone off. There is a bloody, charred crater in the floor, and all that remains of Joker are a few metal fragments, embedded like shrapnel in the floor and walls and ceiling. The parasitized rangers have all been cut down, most of them separated into small pieces of flesh, both leech, and human, smeared across DUSA and the organelle like daubs of lumpy paint.

Of the Leechman there is no sign, and when I glance over at it, I realize that the crystal is gone as well.

After another few minutes of utter stillness, Elena and I look at each other. “Are you okay?” she asks, and I glance down at myself.

“Somehow,” I say, “I think I am. Are you?”

She pats at herself cautiously, peers down at her legs, wiggles her foot. “I think so. Did Joker - ?”

I point to the crater. “He must have exploded. Either there was some kind of self-destruct or whatever engine or motor it used was damaged, or…”

“Jesus,” Elena breathes, getting shakily to her feet. She offers me a hand and helps me up and for a little while all we can do is survey the carnage. I feel as though I want to cry and laugh and throw up all at the same time.

I squeeze Elena’s hand. “What were you going to tell me?” I ask.

“Is now really the time?” she smiles, and I bite my lip to keep myself from grinning back at her.

“At this rate, if you don’t say it now you’re never going to.”

“Roan,” she says, putting a hand on my cheek, “I -“

There is a groan from across the cavern and we both snap around. Over there, on the far side of the wall, Makado is starting to sit up. She looks shaky and shell-shocked and terrified. She sees us and tries to get to her feet, but her leg buckles beneath her and she falls back to the ground. Elena’s eyes narrow and she lets me go, starting towards Makado, her hands curling into fists. I have a knot in my stomach.

“Elena, wait,” I call after her. She spins and stares at me and then shakes her head.

“Don’t look,” she tells me, and for a moment, just a moment, I think of going after her and stopping her from - from doing whatever she’s about to do.

But instead the coward in me wins out and I avert my gaze, squeezing my eyes shut, my insides tensing in anticipation of a gunshot. I hear Makado cry out weakly, and I shudder.

There is a loud, satisfying smack, as of fist on jaw, and then a flopping sound. I look up and see Elena wringing her hand, cursing beneath her breath, before she flips an insensate Makado onto her stomach and, folding the woman’s hands behind her, begins to lash her wrists together with a length of paracord. She looks up and sees me staring, registers the expression on my face and gives me a laugh.

“You thought I was going to kill her?” she asks, and I blow a breath out and try to calm myself before I answer.

“I didn’t know what you were going to do,” I say, truthfully.

“I’m not a killer,” Elena tells me, hefting Makado’s slim frame onto her shoulders in a fireman’s carry. “Jesus Christ,” she adds, adjusting her load a little. “This little shit is heavy.”

I kick at a piece of wreckage, a folded metal panel, bent from the force of the blast, and then reach down and with difficulty pull Joker’s battered torso out of the crater. Elena sets Makado down none too gently and comes over and squats beside me.

There’s something that looks a little like a car battery, jammed into a slot in the torso. I tug at it, using my foot to hold the hunk of metal steady, and it breaks free with a hiss like a seal being broken. “What is that?” Elena asks. I shake my head.

“BCPU - Property of Anodyne Berlin,” I read. “Mind Impulse Unit - B. Walken.”

“Walken?” Elena asks, incredulous.

“No,” I say, “this can’t - no, that’s ridiculous.”

“What is?”

“Burt Walken was Erica’s husband,” I tell her. “B. Walken, Burt Walken. She told me he died from the psychic illness from 2007, that Anodyne had never returned his body.”

The top of the box is translucent plastic, but it’s too dark to see inside. Elena reaches down and grabs her flashlight and shines it onto the box, and we both squint at it. When I comprehend what I’m seeing I nearly drop it - for there inside the box, soaking in a briny, gelatinous fluid, festooned with wires and covered in metal electrodes and circuits, are the ridges and folds of a clearly human brain.

* * *

“What were you going to tell me?” I ask Elena again once she gets off the radio. She’s spent the last fifteen minutes begging and cajoling and cursing someone on the surface to try and get them to send someone down to get us and finally, finally gotten a begrudging affirmative. I can slowly feel my spirits rising, and Elena even gives me a secret little smile as she comes to sit next to me, sinking down against the wall of the vent with a groan of relief. I lean my head on her shoulder and she kisses me gently on the forehead. A wash of warmth floods down my arms and legs and I have to restrain myself from seizing her and clutching her to me.

“You sure I shouldn’t just leave it a mystery at this point?” she asks, and I elbow her lightly in the ribs.

“Tell me,” I insist.

Elena leans back and takes my chin gently in her hand, inclining my face upwards to her. I can see her studying me, see her pupils dilate as they flick from my eyes to my cheeks to my nose to my lips. “I love you,” she says, and my heart jumps in my chest as though struck by lightning. I can feel myself grinning madly, and then our lips brush and then fit together as though they were made to do so.

And then, when our breath has finally grown short enough to force us to break apart, we slowly rise, Elena’s hand in mine, scarcely daring to tear our eyes from each other, and begin to gather our things for the long journey up.

Continue with the Epilogue

Back to Table of Contents

#mystery flesh pit #Down the rabbit hole #writing #writeblr #alt lit #mystery #fiction #Novel #Michael Crichton #caving #disaster #the end

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triscribe · 5 years

Text

Ranger’s Child

@ravenclaw-ranger - it’s indirectly your fault I went poking through my folder of Ranger’s Apprentice fan fic ideas, and subsequently found this AU prologue I don’t actually recall writing. Hopefully you don’t mind getting your name attached to it...

---

Pritchard stared at the man standing awkwardly on his doorstep, and most decidedly not at the quietly burbling bundle held in his arms.

“You’ve got to be joking,” he finally stated.

Halt winced. “Wish I wasn’t.” The younger man’s eyes dropped to the babe he held, and it was impossible not to notice the slight glimmer of emotion in them - especially when the infant’s noises shifted to a distinctly happy coo when it noticed the attention.

Sighing, Pritchard stepped back, holding the door open as he did so. “Alright. Get in here and tell me the full story.”

-R-

By the time Halt had finished his tale, darkness had fallen, young Will had twice been fed, and an empty flagon of ale sat beside the men’s pair of cups on the table.

“So,” Pritchard said after a long silence. “You were hoping for, what, exactly?”

His former student flushed slightly. “I’m not entirely certain, really. I’d had an idea of taking him to Arald’s ward in Redmont-”

“Which is technically against the law,” Pritchard muttered under his breath, well aware that such a fact wouldn’t deter Halt in the slightest. The younger man continued on.

“-but I know he’ll ask questions as he gets older, and no one there would be able to answer them. That kind of uncertainty eats at a person, shapes them in ways they might not otherwise turn out.” Halt looked over at the bundle resting comfortably on the lone padded armchair of the house.

Pritchard snorted. “Be honest, Halt. You’ve gone and gotten attached in the single day you’ve been looking after that babe.”

“I made a promise-”

“And you’re going to cling to the idea that it’s your sense of honor keeping you from leaving the little one on another’s doorstep rather than keeping him close. But we both know that’s a bigger load of lies than Morgorath’s propaganda a few years back.” They each briefly darkened at the thought of the scheming former baron, and how his escape from Gorlan Castle had nearly resulted in Pritchard’s death. Then the elder man shook his head, returning to the subject at hand. “Do you want me to help you take care of him?”

The sudden light of hope in Halt’s eyes was all the answer he needed.

---

(I have a few ideas on how to continue this, mostly concerning Will absorbing bits and pieces of Ranger training as he grows up and getting into all sorts of shenanigans. We’ll see if any of them actually get written.)

#Ranger's Apprentice #Halt #Pritchard #Will Treaty #fan fiction #Ranger's Apprentice the Early Years #I only read the first of those #but I liked Pritchard #he deserved better #such as getting to be an honorary grandpa #x)#fan fic AU

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staravya · 4 years

Note

👀👀👀👀👀

i dont think any of our fandoms overlap but here’s a portion of a thing i haven’t managed to fit into a bigger whole of “pacrim au for k.ingdom hearts, feat. triple pilots as the norm bc i do what i want” yet \o/ i pulled it from a nano doc so it’s Awful and unrevised in current form but shh.

also hello hello hope the holidays have treated you well!

Terra is trembling.

He’s been trembling for a while, honestly, but since stepping out of Wayfinder’s waterlogged harness, it’s only gotten worse. It perplexes the scientists. Kind of.

They know what to call it—tremors, either cerebellar or psychogenic, they haven’t decided for sure yet—but they don’t get why it’s happening to him. Not yet.

They all have suspicions, though.

Ven sits in the bed adjacent to Terra’s, undergoing his own examination. He seems fine, if teary-eyed and stressed, so after they splint Terra’s fractured leg, they let the two of them go.

Terra leans on one crutch, hands the other to Ven, and lets his co-pilot support him instead. They limp quietly away from the medical ward, quiet in the hall but with minds screaming, the drift alive between them.

Aqua, Aqua, Aqua, they call, but there is no response. It’s just the two of them.

This is wrong, Ven says. She’s not dead.

She’s not dead. Terra tightens his hold on Ven’s arm, gritting his teeth as his limbs shake against his will. The more he thinks about them, the worse they get, but—they’re impossible to ignore. We’ll find her, he promises, Aqua is strong—faith, love—we didn’t feel her die, so she’s not dead.

Agreement. Ven buries his face in Terra’s shoulder as he bears his weight, letting muscle memory and Terra’s vision guide their steps.

There are people along the way but word must’ve gotten around, because for the most part the two of them are left alone. Soft greetings bounce off their hunched backs, meaningless platitudes against the sting of loss. The aching lack of a third must blaze like a spotlight in others’ eyes, it must, because it’s impossible to miss in the turmoil of their own minds calling and calling and calling.

Ven thinks he feels Sora’s thoughts brushing past his in quiet reassurance, but all it does is make him think of how the higher-ups are going to handle this (badly, by shoving the overworked Sora into Aqua’s position and believing that will solve everything), so Ven sends him a clear, bristling sign to back off.

Not now, he hiss-whispers, every thought tinged with distress, and Sora’s presence retracts apologetically.

Normally, Aqua would huff at him with a reprimand of be nice, but she’s not here and he hurts for it. They both hurt for it.

Jack catches them just as they move to their door. “The Master will see you in four hours, at eleven,” he says, less boisterous than usual. If his eyes skate over an empty space to Ven’s other side, nobody says anything about it. “Rescue efforts will be ongoing in the meantime.”

“Thanks,” Terra says, a curt but not unkind dismissal. Ven opens the door as Jack leaves, and the two rangers stumble into the room.

The door slams shut behind them and Terra collapses onto his bed.

“Terra,” Ven says, pressing love love love I know I miss her too at him.

“I can’t stop shaking,” Terra says. He curls his hands into fists against the covers, frustration boiling over. I’m afraid leaks through his thoughts for an instant before he crushes it ruthlessly. I’m not afraid.

I am, Ven responds, curling into his side.

…

Ven mumbles something intelligible as his mind groans, sleepy, and falls asleep right there. Terra raises a brow.

…

“Is he asleep again?” Roxas asks, baffled. “This is, what, the fifth time?”

“Maybe he hasn’t been sleeping much,” Sora says. Because of—you know. Sora’s thoughts are a little softer than usual, muddled by the weeks since their last drift together, but they’re still clear enough to understand.

That said, it’s not exactly a pleasant line of conversation. I get that, but… Roxas frowns, reaching over to gently shake the other pilot awake. This seems a little much. He’s not going to be eating enough at this rate.

Sora nods with a small frown, and then pokes a spaced-out Riku (pestering Kairi about something or another, no doubt) with his spoon. “Hey. Do you know where Terra is?”

“Last I heard, he’s having his physical therapy session.” Riku glances over at the slowly-waking Ven, and his eyes soften. “Should we go get him?”

“No,” Ven interjects, finally awake enough to slur his own opinion on the matter. He rubs his eyes with one hand, pushing Roxas’ hand away with the other. “PT’s important. Don’t distract him.”

“Do you want to go back to your room?”

“No. I’m fine.” Ven straightens his back, looking significantly more awake as he rebelliously takes a bite of his food.

…

Ven claps his hands together. “So, new diagnosis,” he says. “I have narcolepsy. If I get comfortable I can and will pass out on the spot.”

Lea takes a moment to digest this, and then asks, “Are they still gonna let you pilot?”

“Yeah.”

“Really.”

“It’s not like fighting kaiju is comfortable,” Terra drawls, steady and firm. Lea puts his hands up in mock surrender.

“Didn’t mean to sound like I doubted you. Just that—ow, Xion!”

“What he means,” Xion says, voice pitched to override Lea’s grumbling at being harshly elbowed, “is that he’s super impressed. We appreciate your efforts.” Don’t push, Xion scolds. They’re not made of glass—they’re strong, but hurting.

…

Ven figures it out first.

After a drift test to see how capable they are at piloting without their third—and they’re plenty capable, just unstable and easily unbalanced, but that’s not something they test for or can test for when it’s just a jaeger humming to life in the relative safety of the Shatterdome—their ghosting is renewed in strength.

Because of that, neither of them bring up the faults in the test. The soft buzz of the connection between them is enough of a recompense. For now.

For now, the faint impression of Ven’s amusement agrees.

Terra snorts, similarly amused. It’s quick to fade as he reaches for the water bottle on his desk, though, as his trembling fingers knock against it instead of picking it up.

As it topples, about to roll off the table, Terra watches it—annoyance frustration pain—Ven cuts in—frustration reassurance love—reaches—let me help (we are one)—and—

Terra’s arm snaps out with Ven’s will and snatches the bottle before it hits the floor.

His hand is steady. And it remains steady, even as Terra lifts it and places it back on the table.

Terra lets go (Ven lets go) and his fingers begin to shake again.

“What did you just—“

“Nothing,” Ven breathes. Nothing we haven’t done before—slipping into each others’ eyes and bodies—I just wanted to help.

Terra hesitates, glancing over to the corners of their room. Technically, pilot dorm rooms are private and aren’t under surveillance. Technically, they’re safe to say things out loud here.

Technically, the rooms aren’t soundproof.

And the idea of telling the lab coats (the people who said it was Aqua’s fault, who said she’s dead, who said she is to be left abandoned now and to move on and to fight with the burden of that missing link) turns their stomachs.

“Oh wow how lucky that didn’t hit the ground,” Ven says in a rush of an exhale, slumping back onto his bunk bed. Let me try it again!

Terra rolls his eyes but does so anyway, unable to suppress the excitement. He reaches for the bottle again, and just as his tremors rack up, Ven’s presence presses close, and they—the tremors vanish. He grabs the bottle in a smooth motion.

Oh, shit, Ven’s thought burbles, and Terra turns to see—through Ven’s eyes—his hands shaking. In shock, there’s a snap in their connection, and Ven’s hand steadies.

Terra’s, on the other hand, are trembling again.

“Okay,” Terra says, okay, okay, so you just—took my tremors?

Can you take my narcolepsy then! Let’s try! Ven hauls himself off his bed, saying, “Aren’t you tired? Let’s take a nap.” If I can stay up longer than you, then we’ll know!

“Sure.” Why the hell not, Terra says, and flops onto his own bed. He crawls a little further onto it as Ven casually tosses himself on top of him, practically vibrating with all the joy faith love pouring through him.

…

Ven laughs, a little hysterical. “We didn’t get out of that unchanged either,” he says. “If my narcolepsy hasn’t forced Wayfinder into early retirement, nothing will.”

“Narcolepsy,” Aqua repeats. “How—“

“You guys make up for it when we fight, because we’re drifting,” Ven says. “Same goes for Terra’s tremors. And your migraines, I guess.”

Aqua purses her lips, thinking. Guilt trickles over from her mind to theirs, underlined with memories of being torn out of the cockpit and the drift swaying as it frays with distance. Terra says, “It’s not your fault,” to make it go away.

“If anything,” Ven starts, and immediately shuts up as Aqua and Terra turn disapproving looks and thoughts his way. He puts his hands up innocently. “I’m just saying.”

“Absolutely not,” Aqua says.

“No,” Terra agrees.

“Then it doesn’t make sense for any of us to blame ourselves, right? It was just the kaiju.”

…

“Migraine,” Aqua says, letting Terra rest his chin on her shoulder. She laces their fingers together when his shake too much to find hers properly.

Ven makes a sympathetic sound, sitting on her lap with his legs draped over Terra’s lap. His eyelids are already dropping, but Terra and Aqua (on some unspoken instinct from a memory she gained over drift) gently pull him awake, spreading the drowsiness thin over the three of them. As a result, the pressure to fall asleep alleviates, and Ven exhales a soft sigh. Thanks, he says.

#diydumpsterdiving #starli speaks

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thatboomerkid · 5 years

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With Eyes of Flame!

With Eyes of Flame! -- Pathfinder First World Feat

Might any mortal creature ever dare truly command those jaws that bite, those claws that catch? Nay, friend: to bind & to keep a member of the Tane -- living engine of whimsy & war -- is a task for the mad and the godlike alone.

But there are yet ... pieces of the beast, perhaps, dangling just within the reach of a mortal summoner’s grasp?

They say that you can even hear the mad blind dragon’s burbles -- echoing out from another reality, somewhere very far away -- through the bright jelly of its flashing eyes as they roil & burn through our crackling universe.

Brought to you absolutely free to enjoy, to test & to share – as always – by the fine folks of my Patreon.

original image from here

Prerequisite: Character level 7th; see Special, below

Benefit: Choose any one of the Eldest.

At will as a full-round action, you may beg the favor of your chosen Eldest and call-forth to this reality a pair of seething, still-living Jabberwock Eyes. These appear in any two squares of your choice immediately adjacent to you and are treated as if summoned via a summon monster IV effect with a caster level equal to your character level and an unlimited duration.

One of these Eyes possesses all the qualities of a hag eye ooze under the full control of the bearer of the other Eye, except that the first Eye is also treated as both a dragon creature and as a fey creature – in addition to its normal type – for the purposes of a ranger’s favored enemy, for bane weapons, for feats, for purposes of spells and for all similar effects, although it does not gain the normal immunities, benefits or traits of a true dragon or fey creature. This Eye also gains either the Air-Infused Template or the Fire-Infused Template (your choice); you may switch between these two templates as a standard action at any time. Any creature who suffers paralysis due to physical contact with this Eye may choose to become confused instead. The Eye always becomes shaken for 1 round (no save) if touched by or successfully struck with a vorpal weapon.

The other Eye is inanimate and is treated as an unbreakable, semi-liquid iridescent Small-sized object that sheds light as a torch; a Medium-sized creature requires two hands to hold or to carry this bizarre and unwieldy object. The second Eye wiggles, blinks and stares. Any creature holding the second Eye is treated as the creator of the first Eye, above, for purposes of the Spell Channel Special Quality and is treated as a hag for purposes of utilizing the Eye’s special abilities. At the start of her turn, any creature holding the second eye can instantaneously exchange places with the first eye, as if using teleport. This is not an action and does not provoke an attack of opportunity.

You must have ready access to a fully-built version of the final stat-block of each of your Jabberwock Eyes, approved by your GM, before you may use this ability.

Each round on your turn, you must take a move action to continually beg the favor of your chosen Eldest and thereby empower your Jabberwock Eyes, or they collapse once more back into a mass of tears, flame & howls.

If you possess the Timeless Doorway of the First World feat, you may expend two motes of time as a free action to extend the duration of this effect: allowing the Eyes to persist for 1 round per level you possess without requiring any further actions.

If you possess the Blazing Eyes & Howls of the Jabberwock feat, you may instead accept one point of Burn as a free action to extend the duration of this effect: allowing the Eyes to persist for 1 round per level you possess without requiring any further actions.

At 11th level, you may choose to apply either the Advanced Creature Simple Template or the Giant Creature Simple Template to the first Eye when the Eyes are summoned; at 15th level, you may apply both.

Special: A character with this feat may not directly oppose her chosen Eldest – as much as such a task is even possible – but such a creature need not revere, serve or worship that entity to gain the favor of an Eldest in this way.

You may gain this ability in place of a Dampened Versatility feat, in place of a Utility Wild Talent or in place of any Limited Versatility feat of any type; likewise, this ability may be selected in place of any Temporal Talent.

Designer’s Note: This ability is particularly common amongst servants of Shyka the Many, and is often selected alongside the Tickle the Second-Hand and Whisper of Phobokinesis feats.

—

NOTE:

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#pathfinder #first world #time thief #kineticist #pyrokinesis #fairy tale #Jabberwocky #summoner #fey #feat

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andimthedad · 5 years

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Road Trip: Eastward Day 2: Yellowstone National Park

This summer, the kids and I embarked on a 10,000-mile cross-country road trip from Washington to Maine and back. Along the way, we got a brief taste of America through landmarks and sights that represent our nation, for better or worse.

Read notes from every day of the trip:

Eastward: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Westward: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.

And various posts from the FAQ.

Gorgeous landscapes, steaming hot springs, geysers, wild bison, and more: Yellowstone National Park was breathtaking.

It is considered to be the world’s first national park. As the National Park Service notes:

“...the wonders of Yellowstone—shown through [William Henry] Jackson’s photographs, [Thomas] Moran’s paintings, and [Henry] Elliot’s sketches—had caught the imagination of Congress. Thanks to their continued reports and the work of explorers and artists who followed, the United States Congress established Yellowstone National Park in 1872. On March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act into law. The world’s first national park was born.”

Obviously, in the span of a few hours, we could barely scratch the surface of Yellowstone. However, we loved what we saw.

Our first stop was Mammoth Springs, which was like an alien landscape: steaming and burbling pools of water, bizarre mineral formations, and eerie dead trees.

Our next stop was Old Faithful, the world-famous geyser. As it turns out, its eruptions are not like clockwork; they occur anywhere between 68 and 94 minutes, give or take ten minutes. It is somewhat predictable (at least by park rangers and scientists) but don’t expect it to go off on an exact timetable.

Fortunately, we saw it erupt without having to wait too long, and under a beautiful sky too:

It’s pretty cool. You can watch it live on a Yellowstone streaming web cam, if you want save yourself the road trip.

We saw other geothermic sites, as well, like Beryl Springs, from which steam is escaping so forcefully that it sounds like a jet engine:

youtube

I really wanted to go to the Grand Prismatic Springs, but the traffic was terrible; there was no parking for a van with a trailer; and it started raining. In fact, for a few minutes it actually hailed. But it could have looked like this:

Photo by Brocken Inaglory, found on Wikipedia.

We needed to move along. But, when we encountered a herd of wild bison by the side of the road, and the rain let up, we had to stop.

Bison can weigh up to 2000 pounds (~900 kg) and live up to 20 years. I have no way of knowing the weight or age of these particular bison; they seemed largely unconcerned with our presence. I am pretty sure that the last one may have actually rolled its eyes at me.

The eastern exit of Yellowstone takes you along Highway 20 through Wyoming’s Shoshone National Forest. There, driving through curvy mountain roads and ledges, the rain cleared again and a rainbow pointed us to the road ahead.

---

Cody, Wyoming

We ended in Cody, Wyoming. The town is full of cowboy, rodeo, and gun references that make it feel quintessentially Western. It is named after its founder, the famous bison hunter “Buffalo Bill” Cody.

---

Unless noted otherwise, all photos are taken by the kids and I, and are shared under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license.

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fefefeteg · 3 years

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He had seen things that it pained him to recall

A judge cannot but lament, when such cases as the present are brought into judgment. It is impossible that the reasons on which they go can be appreciated, but where institutions similar to our own exist, and are thoroughly understood. The man Ned was purchased in Richmond, of Mr. Robert Goodwin, who panske boty nike hnede resides near Frederick-Hall, in Louisa County, and has a wife in that vicinity. Lord Manderly had brought musicians from White Harbor, but none were singers, so when Abel turned up at the gates with a lute and six women, he had been made welcome. “Two sisters, two daughters, one wife, and my old mother,” the singer claimed, though not one looked like him. A leopard skin was draped across one shoulder, and hair as red as blood tumbled to his shoulders in oiled ringlets though his pointed beard was black. The spymaster was new to Griff, a Lyseni named Lysono Maar, with lilac eyes and white-gold hair and lips that would have been the envy of a whore. Unfortunate Messrs. Bolton, Dickins & Co.! Do you suppose that Virginia families will sell their negroes? Have you read Mr. He may be dead as well. I did not know where else to turn but to the last son of Eddard Stark.”. He had sworn his vows before the eyes of gods and men, he could not in honor go against them … but the keeping of those vows had grown hard in the last years of King Aerys’s reign. He had seen things that it pained him to recall, and more than once he wondered how much of the blood was on his own hands. Newcastle United's new coach Mikel Antia speaks about being Rafa Benitez's number twoRafa Benitez appointed fellow Spaniard Mikel Antia to his Newcastle United backroom staff at the start of the month Share Comments15:43, 20 JUN 2016Updated09:05, 21 JUN 2016Mikel Antia (right) in action for Real Sociedad Share CommentsGet Newcastle United FC updates directly to your inbox+ SubscribeThank you for subscribing!Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid EmailNewcastle United assistant boss Mikel Antia is excited to get started on the "challenge" of working alongside a "great coach" in Rafa Benitez at a "historic club".The 43 year old Spaniard was appointed to Benitez's backroom staff at pantofi sport cu scai barbati the start of this month, replacing Fabio Pecchia who departed to take charge at Hellas Verona in Italy.Antia played under Benitez for Real Madrid's academy polo raflorene and at Real Valladolid, cizme din denim but tommy hilfiger backpack he is excited to switch coaching at the Aspire Academy in Qatar for a place on the Newcastle bench and he cannot wait to get to work when pre season begins at the end of the month.Speaking to El Diario Vasco, Antia said of linking up with Benitez at Newcastle: "I have a relationship with him from when I was coming through the ranks as a player at Madrid and Valladolid."That he has remembered me gives me great satisfaction because it gives me the opportunity to work with a great coach at a historic club in England."It's an adventure and a challenge into which I can take a lot of enthusiasm. On the question whether the criminal offence of assault and battery can be committed on a slave, there are two decisions of the two States of South and North Carolina; and it is difficult to say which of these decisions has the pre?minence for cool legal inhumanity. That of South Carolina reads thus.. How can you forget your own child? How can you love me? Whenever you look at me you’ll remember I’m a stranger and that you had a daughter of your own whom you’d forgotten, for you’re a cruel man. And I don’t want to live with cruel people. And Joubert screamed at him in her own way, that the pier-glass cost seven hundred francs (that is four hundred roubles), and that he’d break kimono long femme grande tailleit! He grinned and looked at me. And I was sitting on a sofa opposite, and a beauty beside me, not a mug like this one here, but a stunner,

nike black tn 001

that’s the only word for it. One naked girl with mud up to her knees could not seem to take her eyes off Tyrion. She has never seen a dwarf before, he realized, much less a dwarf without a nose. The king seemed happier than Kevan Lannister had seen him in a long time. From soup to sweet Tommen burbled about the exploits of his nike ao0053 kittens, whilst feeding them morsels of pike off his own royal plate. “Stand still, my lady.” The gown was loose below the waist, so that was where he slid the blade in, slicing upward slowly, so as not to cut her. Steel whispered through wool and silk with a faint, soft sound. Across their backs they bore round wicker shields covered with hides and boiled leather, displaying painted images of snakes and spiders, severed heads, bloody hammers, broken skulls, and demons. A few were clad in stolen steel, dinted oddments of armor looted from the corpses of fallen rangers. And if chanel ágynemű he did get out, where would he go? His father was dead, and his uncles had no use for him. Pyke was lost to him. They live on the fifth storey right under the roof. They meet as often as they can, chiefly on Wednesdays at Levinka’s and Borinka’s. M. J. If it were only possible (which, however, from the laws of human nature never can be possible), if it were possible for every one of us to describe all his secret thoughts, galeb spodnjice without hesitating to disclose what he is afraid to tell and would not on any account tell other people, what he is afraid to tell his best friends, what, indeed, he is even at times afraid to confess to himself, the world would be filled with such a stench that we should all be suffocated. That’s why, I may observe in parenthesis, our social proprieties and conventions are so good. “Aye,” the prince said. “I told the story to Ser Balon, but not all of it. Dany set off through the tall grass at a brisk pace. The earth felt warm between her toes.

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Phan Cam: Graduation of Destiny

NOTE: In Japan, the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, is going around. Now keep in mind that this takes place in a fictional version of the world where things are a little different, but some real-world problems do happen here. So please forgive us if this brings up any hurtful subjects.

WARNING: This post is also a bit long.

>Shujin Academy. Hard to believe that it was closed off not too long ago because of a viral outbreak. But they managed to reopen in time for the graduation ceremony.

Finally, after such a long time, it’s here!

WE’RE FINALLY GRADUATIN’!

I’m surprised that you managed to make it, Ryuji.

Shut it, cat! It’s bad enough this graduation sucked.

I know. Our Horizon friends, Makoto, and his friends were supposed to be here to watch us graduate, but they couldn’t because of this outbreak.

It couldn’t be helped. Unless they have a thorough examination, there’s not much anyone can do.

Just be glad you were on that heist at the time. I’ve never seen so many surgical masks in my life.

Thank goodness Kuchisake-onna chose to stay in her room at the apartments the whole time.

That’s good to hear, I guess.

Pretty much. Though, I would have thought this would be a good opportunity for her to hide so easily.

Crow: That’s why she’s staying home.

By the way, Yusuke, why aren’t you in your uniform?

Fox: Because of COVID-19, we had our ceremony early. I would have invited you, but the principal insisted on a small ceremony with only a few people, just staff, students, and some of our relatives.

I can’t believe this had to happen.

I’m sorry, you two.

Fox: But if it makes you feel any better, Hifumi chan’s mother recorded the whole thing.

She posted it online...

And you weren’t kidding about the masks.

Well, I’m sure as long as everyone had a good time, things should have been fine. Including remembering to cover their mouth when they cough and wash their hands.

Fox: Pretty much.

Panther: And to make it better, they decided it’s okay to reopen Disneyland Destinyland. But they also said that just case, the park will be closing early for the next couple of weeks. I just hope we can make the most of it there.

Oracle: And they’ll add extra security to make sure things are safe. They even got the Danger Rangers and their human counterparts, the Rescue Heroes, helping out.

That’s right. We even featured it on the talk show.

I saw it, too. This is even reached the legal system as some neighbors started accusing neighbors of being infected, which I find ridiculous.

Well, things have calmed down now, so it should be safe to go to Destinyland now.

Joker: Yeah, Mom, Dad, and my godparents are already waiting for us there. Let’s head back to our homes and change.

>We all agreed and separate for now. Me, Fox, Oracle, and Boss go to Boss’s car. It was a little cramped since before coming here, Boss went to Fox’s dorm and helped him pack the rest of his things to be taken to the cafe.

>My room in Leblanc. I help Fox unpack the rest of his things and I change into my street clothes.

Fox: All done.

I know. I still can’t believe this is happening. We’re finally living together.

Fox: That’s right. No more one night a week. From now on, we’re together always.

Joker: Yes. Actually, I have something for you.

(Art by Don’t Die, Lloyd.)

It’s so wonderful, Ren. Actually, I have something for you, too.

(This was part of a comic.)

I love it, Yusuke... And I love you.

(SURPRISE KISS! Please don’t flag. This image was found somewhere online.)

>He returns the gesture... This is the happiest of our lives.

Hoo boy.

Joker: (finishing up) How long have you been watching?

If you two are done, me and Futaba are ready. They still letting the trains be used, so you better get in gear Or would you rather stay and get more closer?

Joker: (smiling) We have a motorcycle, you know. But we don’t want to keep the others waiting.

>We head down.

Boss: Romantic relationships sure have changed.

>Tokyo Destinyland in Maihama. We came here to celebrate our graduation at Panther’s idea.

NOTE: Still not a good artist. Pretend the sprites have surgical masks.

You know, I thought you were supposed to come come to Destinyland the night before graduation.

Well, that’s what was suppose to happen, but because of the coronavirus, we had to change our plans.

Noir: Well, we still managed to get here.

There they are!

>Not too far from us are my parents, Jonny and Arual (we changed it to hide her identity), my uncles, Vincent, Orlando, and Toby, my aunts, Rin and Erica, and Panther’s parents, Katherine and Mr. Takamaki. Also with them were our friends from Kyoto, Zenkichi Hasegawa, aka Wolf, and his daughter, Akane.

About time you guys got here. We were actually thinking of going on without you guys.

Boss: Yeah well, any traffic problems you’ve got, direct it to the coronavirus.

Don’t even mention it. Just getting to here was hell.

Akane.

Aw, lay off the kid. She’s just sayin’ it as it is. Kinda makes us wish we had Arual and Ren’s alien immunity.

(sorry about the dress) It’s not always the answer. There are some diseases even we’re not immune to.

Joker: That’s true.

So, where do we start? We only have a few hours before the park closes.

I know! I’ve always wanted to ride the Haunted Mansion Manor.

Queen: (shivering) That place gets a little... Intense at night. How about just a relaxing Jungle Rain Forest Cruise?

That ride just goes on and on. What about a fast-paced ride, like the Pirates of the Caribbean Canary Islands or Big Thunder Lightning Mountain?

Big Lightning. Definitely Big Lightning. But I also wouldn’t mind Splash Mountain Hill.

How about Star Tours Adventures?

We already live in space, though.

Rin: From a reality perspective. I wonder what a fictional version is like.

Mona: (confused) Pretty much the same thing.

I’d suggest the Mad Crazy Tea Pary, but I’m afraid that would spread germs even more. Or just make us puke.

Well, that’s too bad, I loved that ride. Then again, I agree with Toby and Ryuji. I vote Big Lightning.

That sounds excellent, honey... (whisper) My poor stomach.

(also whispering) Mine, too.

Joker: You two can sit out if you want. No one’s forcing you.

Thank you.

Boss: I’ll sit this one out, too. I don’t think my old heart can take that much intenseness.

Wolf: Me, too.

>We go on Big Lightning Mountain.

>After that...

I so wanna go again!

Jonny: I’d (groans) rather not.

Mona: (a little dizzy) That, and we won’t have enough time.

Noir: I really want to do, Erica chan’s thing. We never got a chance to ride the Haunted Manor the last time. Now’s our chance.

...

Noir: It’s alright if you don’t want to ride, Mako chan.

Queen: No, it’s fine. I should be fine if I’m with everyone... And you.

I know. Just trust me.

Thank you.

Toby: (confused) Are they...

Erica: (not happy) It’s not polite to stare.

>The Haunted Manor. When we arrived, we spot Danger Ranger and fellow Phantom Thief, Street, arguing with a couple of Rescue Heroes.

Come on, you guys, I’m totally not scared of the Haunted Manor.

And this comin’ from the man who believes in Gargantua.

I wouldn’t doubt the kid just yet.

Young Rescue Hero: See? Even the talking polar bear agrees.

.Southern Rescue Hero: Even talkin’ animals can be wrong sometimes.

Skull: Yo, Burble san!

Street: Hey, you guys!

Southern Rescue Hero: Friends of yours?

Street: They helped us with some stuff. We’re friends now. What bring you guys here tonight?

Queen: We’re celebrating our friends’ graduation. How are things with you?

Street: I just wish an epidemic wasn’t the reason we came here. By the way, these guys are Rescue Heroes.

Oracle: The younger guy is Rocky Canyon and the cowboy is Jack Hammer.

Jack Hammer: So you know about us, huh?

You’d be surprised by what people like me know.

Street: (shuttering a bit) I guess the term, Internet Safety, means nothing to you.

Not in the slightest.

Erica: So what were you guys just talking about?

Rocky Canyon: Just remembering my first visit to the Haunted Manor.

Jack Hammer: (laughing a bit) Yeah, I heard you wet your pants.

Rocky Canyon: (upset) I already told you, someone just spilled soda on me! Seriously, don’t they know they’re not suppose to take stuff like that on rides?

Mona: (whisper with a wink) Like how you’re not suppose to bring animals on.

Rocky Canyon: And now I’m trying to convince these guys that I’m not scared of the Haunted Manor.

Jack Hammer: I dunno, you were shakin’ like a sunbather in winter when Billy told us to watch this part of the park.

Rocky Canyon: I was excited, that’s all. I’ve only been to the Destiny Resorts in California and Flordia. This is the first time I’m visiting one of their overseas resorts.

Jack Hammer: (disbelieving) Yeah, keep tellin’ yerself that.

Rocky Canyon: (still upset) Fine, you don’t believe me? It’s just about time for our break. Let’s go in right now and I’ll show you how brave I am.

Jack Hammer: Alright, we’ll see.

Jonny: (smiling) This ought to be good.

Vincent: (a bit nervous) Yeah, I guess.

Rin: It’s okay, I’ll be right by you.

>One ghostly adventure later.

(shaking a bit) Haru, you have some weird interests.

But you have to admit, that was exciting.

Erica: You bet. I think the Seance Room was my favorite. What about you, Toby?

Toby: I thought the song in the Graveyard was a bit catchy.

Mr. Takamaki: I actually liked the Library. It actually sounded like the stories in them were coming alive.

Rocky: (shaking only a little and we think we can be on first name basis) See? I told you I wasn’t scared.

Jack: (also shaking the same thing with Rocky) Yeah, I guess.

Street: (smiling a bit) I thought it was great. I should remember to tell Squeaky and Kitty about this.

Fox: And what about-

>He stopped and looked down at my leg... which Queen was hugging.

I’msorry!I’msorry!PleasesavemeSis!

The ride’s over now.

Haru: It wasn’t that scary.

Queen: (getting back up) R- Right. I just didn’t expect those ghosts in the mirror.

Rocky: Anyway, we just rode it, now to get back to work.

Street: Yeah, I have to check in with the others and see how they’re doing on their end.

>With that, they return to their posts.

Wolf: We still have some time left. Why not get something to eat while we can?

Boss: I suppose we could. But remember to wash up before that. And try not to sit too close to each other. And we wash up again after.

>After a quick bite, we decide to ride a couple more rides, grab some souvenirs, and take a picture before going home. Uncle Vincent insisted we go to “it’s a small tiny world”.

>After that...

Orlando: (groaning) How did we let you talk us into that?

Vincent: I just thought we could use a change of pace.

Katherine: (sarcastic) Sure, because being in a long ride cooped up together won’t get us sick.

Rin: I’m sure we’ll be fine... I hope.

>Both Toby and Mr. Takamaki both make a small cough.

Rin: Are you two alright?

Toby: We’ll be fine. But I think me and Mr. T will sit out of the next ride.

Katherine: Okay. So, any ideas?

Violet: I really want to ride Space Galatic Mountain.

Panther: Oh, I’ve actually wanted to ride that. Let’s go.

>One super fast ride later.

Totally worth it!

Katherine: (smiling) Like mother, like daughter.

(dizzy) No kidding.

Mona: (also a bit dizzy) But you have to admit, it was something. You made the best choice, Lady Ann.

Katherine: (a bit confused) You know, you sure seem to like being around our daughter. Is he your boyfriend, Ann?

I’d rather not answer, Mom.

Erica: Seriously, Toby, are you sure you’re alright? You feel a little hot.

Toby: I don’t know. (cough) I know I was coughing earlier when we got here. You don’t think...

Mr. Takamaki: Hope not... (cough, cough) I think I might be, too.

Admin: Luckily, one of the shops nearby has an on-the-spot check-up station. We can go there and get souvenirs.

>We all agree.

>At the shop, we see Danger Ranger Gabriela with three Rescue Heroes examining a child with his mother.

It looks like you have nothing to fear. You’re all healthy.

Boy’s mother: (relieved) Thank goodness. I was afraid he would have it.

Boy: Does this mean I have to go to school tomorrow?

Boy’s mother: School’s already out for spring break. I think you’ll be fine for sleeping in.

Medical Rescue Hero: But if anything comes up, be sure to get to the hospital.

It just shows that sometimes being healthy can lead to being safe.

>With that, the boy and his mother leave.

Oracle: “Being healthy can lead to being safe”?

Guess you Danger Rangers ran out of cool things to say.

Gabriela: Well, we had a lot of people coming in. It’s nice to see you guys again.

Joker: Same here.

Hey, you’re that group Jack and Rocky told us about.

Queen: Yes, they told us about you as well. Wendy Waters, Jake Justice, and Matt Medic, am I correct?

Yeah, that’s us.

Gabriela: So what brings you guys here? Came to do some shopping? Or maybe you need an examination?

Wolf: Both. Most of us already got tested and we turned up negative. But young Toby and Mr. Takamaki could definitely use an exam.

Matt Medic: Alright then, come this way.

>With that, Toby and Panther's father follow Matt Medic to be checked while we stay behind to shop. I notice Jake Justice doesn’t look happy.

Joker: Is something the matter?

Wendy Waters: A friend of his lives here in Japan. He hasn’t seen him since he got here.

Jake Justice: I’m just worried. I don’t want to think he or his mom might be infected. I just wish I could be sure.

Oracle: If you like, I could help you find him.

Jake Justice: You can do that?

Don’t underestimate her.

Jake Justice: Well, okay.

Oracle: (taking out her phone) So, what’s his name?

Jake Justice: It’s Yuuchi. Yuuchi Jiyu.

Yuuchi Jiyu?

Jake Justice: You know him?

Skull: He’s an idol, like me.

Fox: And he and a member of his Unit are students at my school. Or was now that he’s graduated the same day I did.

Jake Justice: That’s actually great.

Oracle: I even read on his Twitter Chipper account that he’s actually here to do a show.

Jake Justice: (worried) Seriously?

Fox: He even announced it at the ceremony.

Skull: It was the head of his Unit’s idea. He thought it would be good to raise everyone’s morale in these times.

Wendy Waters: Couldn’t they do it on a live video feed?

Skull: Then they wouldn’t be able to use the Dream FES System. Besides, the head of his Unit said they are not going to do it from a safe place like cowards. Yochi and the others agree.

And KUROFUNE and I kinda agree with ‘em, too. And so does DearDream.

Jake Justice: I see he’s living up to his name. Brave One.

Mona: (grinning) I guess Ryuji’s Japanese isn’t the only one questionable at best.

Shut it, cat!

Oracle: Anyway, they’re just going to do a couple of songs and that’s it. If you hurry now, you should be able to talk to him before the show starts.

Jake Justice: Can I?

Wendy Waters: Well, I guess you are due for a break now. But you’ll have to explain to Billy later.

Gabriela: And don’t forget to bring your mask with you.

Panther: You guys go without us.

Noir: Why? What’s wrong?

Erica: Toby and Ann’s dad both tested positive for the coronavirus.

Matt Medic: Fortunately, we found it just in time before the symptoms could get worse. Just a week or so in the hospital and they should be fine.

Katherine: Me, Ann, and Erica are going with them. This is what we get for listening to Vincent. I told him that ride was a bad idea.

Vincent: (a bit frustrated) It was a mistake, I get it.

Matt Medic: I’m sure this would have happened anyway. It was out of anyone's control.

Toby: He’s right. I haven't been feeling right since we got here. (cough, cough)

Mr. Takamaki: Just relax, hun. (cough) Though, I wish you could stay, Ann. This was supposed to be your grad night. Heck coming here (cough, cough) was your idea.

I know, but I’d rather make sure you and Mom are fine.

Katherine: Thank you, Ann.

Mona: I’ll go with you, Lady Ann. I don’t want you to go through this alone.

Panther: Thanks, Mona. But I don’t think it would make sense for you to get caught up in this. You should stay here with the others. I’ll let you guys know if anything comes up.

Mona: I see. I hope things turn out well, Lady Ann. I’d kiss your hand, but I have to keep my mask on.

>With that, Panther, Katherine (still curious about her daughter's relationship with Mona), Mr. Takamaki, Toby, and Erica leave to wait for the ambulance.

Mona: I hope things will be alright.

Joker: I’m sure they will.

Mona: Thanks for that, Joker. Here, I was going to give this to Panther, but I guess I can give it to you.

>Mona give me a Mickey Mouse Rusty Rabbit Watch*.

(*The other admin doesn’t know who the official mascot of Destinyland is.)

Thanks, Mona.

>A little later, were in front of the castle were a stage had been set up. Security guards and other Rescue Heroes were there to keep the crowd in control to avoid spreading the virus. Skull and Jake manage to get us backstage. There, we met up with the Idol Unit, StarRescue. (Names have been changed.) First, there’s the brave-hearted leader, Shinrin Senshi, the bookish Matsu Oka, and the slightly muscular and justice-believing Yuuchi Jiyu.

Skull: Yo, Yuuchi san!

Yuuchi: Ryuji san?

Skull: I got a surprise for you.

Yuuchi: Yeah?

Jake: (smiling) Yeah.

Yuuchi: (excited) Jake Justice sama!

Jake: You could just call me Jake. And yes, it’s me. It’s been a while. I can’t believe how much you grew. To think, not too long ago, you were just a little kid with his stuff monkey.

Yuuchi: A lot can happen over the years.

Shinrin: See? I knew Yuuchi was telling the truth.

Oka: (groans) Fine. I owe you both an apology for not believing you.

Jake: You doubted I was friends with your friend?

Yuuchi: Oka’s not exactly our friend. He’s only with us because we needed a good lyricist.

Fox: It’s true. Oka goes to my school and I’m told he’s at the top of his poetry class.

Oka: I joined to better that skill. Unlike the other two.

Shinrin: Me and Yuuchi have a common interest. You guys. The Rescue Heroes.

Shinrin: Of course, I mostly like Billy Blazes. Yuuchi kun is your fan.

Yuuchi: That’s right, Jake san... Which is going to make tonight very hard for me.

Jake: What do you mean?

Yuuchi: I was going to announce this after we finished our song, but I think you guys should hear it first.

Shinrin: What’s wrong?

Yuuchi: This... will be my last concert. After this, I’m going to the police academy.

Shinrin:(shocked) What? No. I know I’m the leader, but you’ve always been like our frontman. The guy everyone loves to see the most. You can’t quit now.

Yuuchi: I know. But I made a promise. On that day when the bullet train almost took mine and my mother’s lives, I made a promise to join the Rescue Heroes when I got older. I became an idol so I can earn enough money to pay for training. Now, I have the money and I’ve graduated high school. Time to make good on that promise.

Oka: It’s true. It’s all he’s been talking about since last April. Kind of annoying, actually.

Shinrin: But Yuuchi kun, I was going to retire from the idol business. Even if it’s just for a little while. With my mom in the hospital with the coronavirus and my dad drinking himself silly over it, my grandpa can’t run the bookstore by himself. He needs help. Besides, if you leave, I’ll be stuck with Oka and he and I don’t have that much in common.

Oka: That’s right. I’m not crazy about you Rescue Heroes as these two are. Besides, in terms of hero teams (adjusting his glasses a bit, we would have thought he was Kyoya Ootori had it not been for purple highlights) I prefer the Avengers. Especially Hawkeye. Seriously, that guy's way too underappreciated. The guys may not have superpowers, but he’s done a lot for the world. I was even there when he lived in Japan as Ronin.

Jake: True. We’ll never be as great the Avengers. We don’t have high tech suits or a Vibranium shield, a magic hammer (though Jack says his is magic), or even a Hulk (though we were very close to having one). But we do have skilled archers as you put it. Though not as skilled as Hawkeye. Still, we do good, too. Heck, there were times when we even worked with the Avengers.

Oka: Yeah, I know about that.

Yuuchi: Look, I know it seems hard, but I made a promise. So, please let me do this. And if things don’t work out, I’ll come back. Is that alright with you?

Shinrin: ... Alright. I trust you. I know you need this.

Oka: Well, I guess that means it’ll just be me. StarRescue is officially on hiatus.

Skull: Ya know, I just got in third place at Dream FES last year. I’m a True Idol and can start my own Unit. If ya like, you can join mine. I’m even thinkin’ about havin’ the Okamotos join in.

Oka: ... I’ll think about it. Thank you.

Jake: You’re just following your passion, Yuuchi. I’m happy about that. I’m also happy to see that you are holding to another passion. Especially for your friends.

Shinrin: Technically, I’m Yuuchi’s only friend in the Unit, but ya know.

Jake: Still, I’m glad to see that you refuse to give up on your passions. I’m also glad to see that you won’t let something like the coronavirus get in the way of doing what you love. Just remember to take precautions to make sure you don’t catch it or spread it. Like our motto goes...

Yuuchi: (smiling) Think like a Rescue Hero. Think safe.

Stagehand: Hey, it’s almost time. Good luck out there. Those people are getting restless despite there only being a few there.

Shinrin: We’ll be fine.

Yuuchi: Let’s do this one last time. Together.

>Even Oka couldn’t help but smile.

Shinrin: Then here we go!

>With that, they go out on stage. We diced to go into the fairly large crowd to support them.

Shinrin: This pandemic won’t stop us from living our dreams. Don’t let the same thing happen to you.

Oka: We can brave this terror when we unite our hearts.

Yuuchi: With the Rescue Heroes, the Danger Rangers, and even the Phantom Thieves on our side, we can overcome this together.

StarRescue: Now, let us conquer this Scenario!

Dorika Time!

Catch Your Cheers!

Yuuchi: Your cheers will get us through.

Catch Your Cheers!

Shinrin: I’m pumped up for your love!

Catch Your Cheers!

Oka: Nothing can stop us from doing this.

Catch Your Cheers!

StarRescue: Together, your cheers will shine!

One-Day Policeman Series! Complete!

>StarRescue performs the KUROFUNE song, Scenario.

>After the song...

Crow: After hearing Ryuji talk about the Okamoto Twins, I just remembered. Ren, may I have a word with you?

Joker: Sure.

>We go to the nearest bathroom to talk privately.

Joker: What is it?

Crow: As you know, I couldn’t join you in the Amity Park heist.

Joker: Yes, you were on a case at the time. I guess this is about that.

Crow: Yes. And...

I believe it has something to do with the San Campion heist.

I suppose Futaba told you about the experiment.

Crow: She has. She said that something or someone came to Earth from the planet Eternia.

Joker: And?

I found that someone.

Are you sure?

Crow: Well, he was dressed oddly when me, Makoto, and Haru found him. And he had a real sword with him. Though, something seemed unusual about it.

Joker: What do you mean?

Crow: After examining it, it seems to be radiating some kind of energy. And it gets even stronger when he’s near it. Like... Like it needs to be with him. And it’s probably a good thing we did give it back to him. For a while, he started showing symptoms of the virus, but the moment we gave it to him, they were just gone like he just went through a quick recovery.

Joker: I see...

You think they can reproduce that energy to cure everyone?

Crow: They tried. But they got an anonymous message advising against it. And they listened. Probably a good thing. I could tell that kind of energy seems far too dangerous to use. So all we can do is hope they find a better way. But enough of that, we’re talking about Adam.

Joker: Adam? Is that his name?

Crow: It’s all he remembers. When we found him, he couldn’t remember who was or where he came from. He only remembers that his name is Adam. We couldn’t find any information on him, so he has to be from somewhere... out of this world.

Joker: Have you told anyone. Peter? Harry?

Crow: I did, but when the coronavirus hit Japan, they couldn’t do anything. They couldn’t even come here.

Joker: I see.

Crow: Still, we should at least try to learn what we can. So, I was wondering if you could come with me to talk to him further.

Joker: I suppose I can. Though, I don’t think going into a hospital might be a good idea right now.

Crow: He’s not there. After the outbreak was reported, they let him go to make room for patients. Fortunately, a colleague of mine offered to let Adam stay at his house. Since he says he’s always on a case, it should be fine for him to stay there. I’ll send you the address and you can come when you have the chance. Fair warning though, it’s in Beika. Think you can make such a long journey?

I’ll see what I can do.

>With that, and after washing our hands, we rejoin the others. Apparently, we missed the last song. But still, it was one heck of a night. So, we all went home for the night with the memories of what happened.

#phantom thieves cam

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