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ryverbind · 12 days

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Faceless Fixation (Sal Fisher): Hide-n-Seek [23]

dacnorthxx: pretty girl <3 sfcommm: OMG?? ok they're def dating wtfsally: I thought Vi and Sal were gunna end up together butttt honestly this is a vibe. I like it belongingtoash: VIOLETHHHHH LETS GOOOOOOO toodswithouthed: @dacnorthxx BROTHER THE RIZZ?????????? dacnorthxx: @toodswithouthed they don't call me the rizzler for nothing belongingtoash: oh he definitely pulled her. but does he pull out? dacnorthxx: @belongingtoash what's the name of that lil debbie pie? larrysbitch: @dacnorthxx LMFAAOOOOO I KNOW YOU DIDN'T dacnorthxx: @larrysbitch how do u know i didn't if i literally did violethshipper: ^^^omfg someone give this man a medal.

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I want to go back to Sal's house.

If anyone asks, I never said that. Never admitted it. I will take those eight words to my grave and into the afterlife. But standing in the middle of a pot-hole infested road in the middle of Nockfell's forest with no prior reasoning to be here has me on edge.

Todd and Neil ditched us for another date night, which is starting to sound like an excuse to get way from us. So Ash gathered me, Sal, and Larry out here (apparently Larry is in on the plan) and told me the weather would be chilly, so I should 'dress appropriately.'

It's fucking colder than a witch's tit out here. Chilly to me translates to long sleeves, not coat weather.

But we're here, the sun drifting toward the horizon behind my best friend's sunset-encrusted silhouette and an evil grin dominating her partner-in-crime's handsome face.

"I've gathered you here today to participate in a life or death simulation," Ash chirps, like that statement isn't going to strike fear in the hearts of all-- well, me.

I purse my lips, turning from Ash and Larry to glance at Sal. He's dressed comfy; in the same Breaking Benjamin hoodie I accidentally wore in Vegas-- I'm shocked he didn't burn the thing-- to go with black sweats and dirty shoes. And he did something different with his hair. Something that I hate him for.

Ash said 'the woods' and he proceeded to sigh, then put half his hair up into a little bun all while grabbing another string cheese. Then he walked out the house.

I really, really hate him for it.

"Are you going to ask or what?" Ash's clipped words snap at the open air like a whip.

I pinch my lips together and focus on my darling Ash. "Why am I out here?"

A stunning smile builds on her glossy lips. "I'm so glad you asked, bellissima! We are going to play hide-n-seek. You and Sal are going to be finding a hiding spot-- no context as to why you're paired up included." She holds a hand out to exemplify her point, stopping the obvious question before it can even form on my lips. My stomach drops out of my ass regardless though.

"Larbear and I will not be seeking you, we'll be hunting you." Her eyebrows raise as that smile on her pretty face turns cunning. "You have five minutes. We'll hike to Sal's, then back here and that will end your time to hide. I suggest you make haste, my lovely little victims."

I gape at her, the plan sounding more and more evil as she keeps running her freaking mouth.

Larry lifts a hand, index finger pointed in the air. "And you two are not allowed to kill each other either." Ash nods her head vigorously in agreement.

"So yea!" She chirps, hands behind her back as she grins mischievously at me, a malicious glint in her forest eyes. "Larry and I will see you two losers when we find you. Good luck!"

"Hold on!" I stammer over my words, taking a big step toward Larry and Ash as they... run in the opposite direction. Gone in the blink of an eye. I pinch my lips together, heart sinking into the depths of my despair. "This is going to end in murder!" I bellow for good measure even though they can't hear me.

I swallow thickly, blinking at the now empty street. It's just us two.

"If it ends in murder, I'll haunt you," Sal's voice makes me sigh. It's monotonous, nonchalant. No emotion.

I spin on my heels to look at him. He's standing in the middle of the road, hands in his hoodie pockets.

Half his hair is up in that bun, the rest hanging over his shoulders as he watches me, completely emotionless. And as empty as he seems right now, the nature around him still makes him glow. The sun setting behind him, the canopy of Nockfell's forest framing his body. What a sight to behold-- it's just a damn shame that he's the person that mother nature is admiring so lovingly.

A shiver takes hold of my body when the slight breeze picks up for a moment, but I do my best to mask it as a grimace instead. I can't let this monster of a man see me weak. It'll only end badly for me.

Can't hide shit from Sal Fisher, by the way.

His eyes light up, his stance straightening a bit. "Are you cold?" he asks, a bit of something in his tone even if it was just to make his question actually sound like a question.

I grumble to myself. "It's Ash's fault," I snap. "She told me it would be chilly. Chilly in eternally autumnal Nockfell and chilly in blazingly hot LA are two very different things." I clench my teeth, begging them not to chatter. "Two different things she did not take into account."

My gaze gravitates to my black jeans and the tight-fitted, long-sleeved violet shirt that I borrowed from Ash earlier. Things could be worse, but this shirt is still thin as hell.

Being that The Faces are so accustomed to the constant chill here in Nockfell, fifty degrees isn't cold to them. But in Los Angeles, I'm lucky to see fifty degrees in the winter. This, to me, is cold. Especially with the sun beginning to go down.

I focus in on Sal again. He's staring at me. It's awkward, neither of us know what to do. Ash and Larry have taken off back to Sal's to count. I don't know where on earth to go. Sal looks like he'd rather be anywhere else and be stuck with anyone else. But hey, that makes two of us.

With a breath, Sal tilts his head down. Then he starts easing his arms out of his hoodie. For a moment, I fear that he's going to give that damn hoodie to me. But then I remember that this is Sal, I mean, come on. He's probably just warm because he's used to the weather here.

Was the fear of him offering me his hoodie wishful thinking?

No. 'Course not.

I purse my lips at the thought, continuing to watch Sal as he carefully pulls the hoodie over his head, careful not to mess up his styled hair.

Where could we hide? Should we hide at all or just bump into Ash and Larry with a half-assed 'haha, wow you found us?'

My brows furrow when Sal walks closer to me, holding... out... the hoodie...

I choke on my own saliva, taking a staggering step back as the retaliation of my own traitorous ideas comes rearing it's fugly head. Had the thought not crossed my mind, I wouldn't be in this predicament right now.

Sal turns his head slightly, eyes narrowed like I freaked him out or something. Like I'm weird. Like I'm some kind of fairy with wings that suddenly popped out of the forest.

"Hell no," I cackle, holding a hand out in front of me and shaking it, hoping that my hand's movement will wipe away that damn hoodie. "Cut that shit out. Put your hoodie back on." The words come out in a maniacal shrill, but I don't know how to control myself in this kind of scenario.

My anxious, terror-ridden reaction seems to spark some kind of emotion in Sal. As if taunting me, he takes a step closer and presses the hoodie into my hand. I back away quickly like he's burned me and he has the audacity to laugh.

I have every reason to believe that he'd chase me around with that hoodie if I showed too much fear.

"Seriously, Sal," I warn, narrowing my eyes at him to show him I'm serious. "Stop."

In turn, Sal sighs. "Just take it. It's not to be cute or anything. You should know as much." Amusement tinges his raspy voice. "But if you freeze out here, you won't be able to pack all my shit tomorrow."

"Why would I pack your shit?" I ask, immediately offended. What does he think I am? His servant?

"I'm the only one driving. Most of our boxes are coming with me. Do you not communicate with anyone? Or do you not listen?" He inquires with a smack of his lips. "That's a fatal character flaw, Vi."

I scrunch up my face in distaste, rage flaring through me. He definitely does this on purpose. "For your information, no one bothered to inform me. At least know the full story before you start assuming my character flaws." I point an accusatory finger at him, watching him silently before my eyes flit down to the hoodie that he's still holding out to me.

He called me Vi, not by my name.

With a disgruntled groan, I snatch the hoodie from his grasp and start fumbling to get it on. I'm thankful for my mask in the moment since it hides the light blush working onto my cheeks.

The hoodie's still warm from his body, wrapping me up in a lush embrace. I sigh as comfort takes hold of me-- I can't believe I initially fought this off. What was the point? Now I'm warm and I won't freeze to death. Plus, the collar smells just like him. A little minty, a dash of cologne that's a mix of pine and rainwater, and then a sweet detergent.

"I didn't know you drove," I grumble, popping my head through the hoodie while keeping a hand placed over my mask so it doesn't fall off. Sal tilts his head at me, hair looking completely untouched whereas mine is now a frizzy mess.

"You must not observe your surroundings," he replies. This time there's a little, lighthearted bite to it. His eyes seem brighter than they did just minutes ago. Some of his personality is coming back to him. I wonder what ever took it away in the first place. "Car in the driveway's mine."

I blanch, eyes practically popping out of my head. "That Camaro is yours?" I practically spit the words out, patting down my hair. "How are you even able to-- to drive? With the prosthetic?"

"Great question, especially considering I only have one eye." Sal's gaze never leaves mine, like he's testing me with that information.

While I didn't know that for sure, I could have assumed he was at least blind in one eye due to the dilation of only one pupil instead of both. But it's nothing surprising. The scars on his face said as much about him.

So I narrow my eyes as if I'm studying every move he makes. "How'd you trick 'em into giving you a license then?" I ask, nothing but scrutiny lacing my tone. "Did you kill them?" I point a finger at my temple. "Mind control?"

My aim was to aggravate him, but to my surprise, he actually chokes on a laugh. And it's an adorable reaction-- so much so that in the moment, I feel like we're friends. I like him like this. I feel... this feels...

His eyes scrunch closed and he tilts his head down, hair flowing over his shoulders and chest bobbing with his laughter. He even puts a hand on his stomach as the lovely sound continues to pour out of him. I can't help but add in a little chuckle of my own.

Sal takes a deep breath before standing up again, ambling a bit closer to me as his hair blows in the wind, only bits of it contained in his little bun. "That's a first," he says breathlessly. "And the best reaction to someone finding out I'm disabled."

I can't wipe the wide grin off my face as I shrug. "Seriously though," I say, giggles attached to the words. "How are you able to drive? Isn't that-- not being able to see fully-- wouldn't that be a hazard?"

Sal nods his confirmation. "I shouldn't be driving, but I can. My promise was to never drive outside of Nockfell, so once we get to LA, things are unfortunately going to change." His decent mood seems to diminish a bit at the mention. "And as for the license I have now, don't worry about it. Just know it's very, very illegal."

I tilt my head dismissively. "Alright then," I mumble. "I won't ask about the extent of your illegal activities." Even though I am really curious about it. "But where are we hiding?"

Sal, in answer, begins walking past me. He doesn't gesture for me to follow, but I do it anyway. I catch up to him in a moments notice, walking beside him and waiting for a vocal answer rather than a physical one.

"We aren't hiding," he murmurs, nodding at the road ahead of us. "We're going camp out at the apartments."

"Oh," I whisper, watching the buildings in front of us grow taller the closer we get to them. "So, they won't find us at all, will they?"

Sal snorts. "No. They'll be out here for hours."

"Karma," I say nonchalantly, stuffing my hands into the pockets of his hoodie.

"Hm," Sal hums to himself. "Yea," he says louder, looking ahead as we walk. "Ever heard of Darwinism?" he asks randomly. But something about his voice puts me on edge.

"Uh," I say hesitantly, wary of his next words-- or worse, his next move. "Charles Darwin? Survival of the fittest?"

"Yup," he pops the 'p', body leaned toward me for a moment as he adds, with a smile in his voice, "You are not the fittest, by the way."

I gape at him. Shock ripples through me at the audacity. Now he's just reaching for anything to insult me with. Sure, maybe I'm not the fittest. I didn't bring a jacket into cool weather. But that didn't warrant a Darwinism jab. "Fuck you," I snap, taking a step away from him. I grumble unintelligible insults to myself for a second. I'll curse Ash and Larry 'til the day I die. "Why did they send us out together anyway? They should have known this would be a clusterfuck."

Sal doesn't even spare me a glance, just keeps walking, sticks and gravel crunching beneath the soles of his Converse. "I don't know. Something about forceful bonding. I didn't care to listen," he replies and I want to punch him for it. That question was for myself, not him. And of course he wouldn't listen. That's just so him.

I keep walking, gaze glued to the buildings and darkening sky. I don't have words for him, not when he's being difficult on purpose. I can go the rest of this stupid little trip without sharing another word with him. See if I care-- he'll be the one to suffer. I can hold out. I don't need to fuck him here. My pride is bigger than his and my need combined.

In the middle of my solitary girlbossing, my foot catches on a pothole that I didn't see because I didn't bother to look where I was walking. Too busy bitching to myself about Sal. Nockfell's old. The roads aren't well funded. It seems I've forgotten that in my time away.

I stumble forward, ready to scrape my knees on the pavement and suffer the embarrassment of Sal watching me take a tumble. But I hear a grunt beside me as a hand latches onto my elbow, another grabbing my waist and hoisting me into a standing position. I gulp so hard that it hurts, gaze on my foot caught in the pothole while the warmth from Sal's hands envelops my arm and side.

"Watch your step, dumbass," Sal mumbles, a clipped laugh following the statement.

I pinch my lips together and swing my head over my shoulder to glare at him. He watches me, humor dancing in his sapphire gaze. Seeing him so unserious will always be shocking. Especially since he saved me without complaining for once. I half expect him to shove me back into my fall, but he doesn't. Puts a bit more of his weight into his arms and pulls me toward him until I'm able to free my foot from the hole.

"Had you broken your ankle, I wouldn't have carried you back, idiot," he says, voice chipper despite the constant back and forth of his emotions. Finally and thankfully he moves his dangerous hands away from me.

"And yet you felt merciful enough to lend me your jacket?" I ask, a sneer on my face. I'm still holed up with my pride... but it's slipping with every word I say.

Sal shrugs. "How can I fuck you if you're sick?" is all he says. And it almost sounds like an excuse, but... he isn't wrong either.

I shake my head, lips pressed together. "Are you going to tell me the truth or are you going to keep up with the fluff bullshit?" I ask him, inclining my head upward. Like I said, I don't have to fuck him here-- why is he so insistent on it? Does he need to christen his house before he leaves for good or something?

Well, we have a head start. We already checked his desk off the list.

Sal rolls his eyes at my words, a glimmer of aggravation in his gaze. "Can't you just accept help?" He kicks a rock with the toe of his shoe, launching into a walk toward the apartments again. I begrudgingly follow him. "I know I'm not trustworthy or anything, but not everything is meant to spite you. Yea, maybe most of it is for my own gain..." he trails off, a smug glance toward me that makes me want to kick his shins in. "But it works out for you."

"The more you talk, the less I like you," I force out from behind clenched teeth. Any kind of warmth I felt from his gesture with the hoodie is left colder than a piece of frozen meat.

"You like me?" Sal drawls, his body tilting toward me just to piss me off some more. But that prideful tone of his makes me shake my head again-- this time to get the smooth timbre out of my head. Is he flirting or being antagonistic? I can never tell with him.

"Not anymore," I chirp. "And when I did like you," I turn to him and hold up my hand pressing my index and thumb together until there's only a sliver of space left between them. "It was so little that it didn't fucking matter either way."

I watch as the bottom of his left eyebrow disappears behind his prosthetic. I can imagine the inquisitive eyebrow raise-- I just wish I could see the whole thing. "Is that anything to say to the guy who's made you cum how many times on this trip?" He holds up a hand, lifting fingers to count.

A snarl leaves my lips as I look away from him. "Once. You've made me cum once, dick," I inform him. "The point you were trying to prove is stupid."

"Dick?" He asks. My eye twitches when his slightly excited, very complacent tone travels over to me. "No, my dick hasn't made you cum yet."

I don't know what's gotten into him. And I don't know what's gotten into me when a little smile quirks my lips at his joke. But I hide it the instant it appears, shoving it deep down. "Shut up," I bite out, trying to come off as aggressive, but even he seems to catch the light, humorous tremor in my voice.

All that anger has dissipated by now. It's almost as if he knew he bothered me and went through all this to make me forget it.

I purposefully ignore the flutters in my chest and cartoonish crush-y feeling as Sal and I fall into silence, continuing our trek to Addison Apartments.

I'm thankful for the comfortable quiet, the only sounds around us being our shuffling footsteps along the street, birds chirping and rustling in the treetops. Other than life noises, Nockfell is quiet. Aside from the annual Pumpkin Fest, it's so quiet here that it nearly seems desolate.

Sal is a specimen and whatever it is that's changed between us-- because there is a very obvious change-- I'm going to ignore it. I have to ignore it and focus on my career, on myself. Why acknowledge this growth in the first place? We're still fucking around and that's all it'll be. To do that, we have to hate each other a little less, right?

Sal turns a corner, so I cut my own steps to turn with him, stopping short when Addison Apartments suddenly towers over me.

When I lived here the first time, the apartments were about to fall apart. But now... everything is refurbished. It looks like there are lights on in bedrooms on the fifth floor, where renovations had gone on forever it seemed. The building is a new color, no paint chipping or walls broken. It's pretty nice. There are buildings on either side now too, showing that there have been additions. It's nothing like I remember it.

"I take it you've met Lisa by now."

I turn my gaze to Sal, watching as he pulls out a set of keys. Has he had those this entire time?

His head is tilted down, sorting through the same set of keys while his cerulean hair billows in the gentle wind. Cornflower blue Converse dusty and caked with mud in various spots. I take it these are an old, occasionally worn pair.

His prosthetic enters my field of vision and I snap back into myself. "Yes," I simply reply. I reserved that answer, but forgot what question, exactly, I'm meant to be answering. Because I was too busy ogling him.

He looks at me a moment longer, eyes narrowing like he can smell the fact that I got distracted. With the way he is, I wouldn't be surprised if he could smell something like that.

Sal opens the door though, passing through it and into the lobby as a nonverbal way of telling me to follow. I do, walking through the threshold and into the building.

It's stunning, reminding me a lot of The Faces' suite in Vegas. All white, pristine. I wonder who's keeping it all up, but the answer rings through my head. Most likely Lisa.

I hear hinges squeaking to my right, so I rotate my head to face the sound-- only to find a pair of ebony eyes gazing out of a mail slot about as old as these apartments are.

"Oh, Sal!" Mr. Addison's short, polite voice fills me with nostalgia. I smile warmly at the man. "Welcome back. Coming to visit, I presume?"

Sal nods his head once. "Ash and Larry are up to no good, as usual."

"Ah," Mr. Addison responds, followed by an endearing chuckle. "Who's your friend?"

"Not my friend," Sal answers, never missing a beat.

I roll my eyes.

"Hi, Mr. Addison," I say sweetly, waving at him. "I'm y/n. Do you remember me?"

I watch those dark eyes widen in recognition and a little grin works its way onto my face.

"My word," he says breathlessly. "It's been years! I hardly recognize you!" That mail slot opens a bit more as if he's trying to get a better look at me.

I giggle, leaning down a bit to talk to him more properly. "Ten years'll do that, I guess."

"I guess so." He laughs heartily. "Tell your father I said hello. Oh, and I shouldn't have to say it, but you two behave yourselves!"

A breathy laugh comes from Sal and I nearly mimic it. "See you later, Mr. Addison," I bid the man goodbye.

"Farewell." Then squeaky hinges and the disappearance of those ominous eyes.

I turn my attention to Sal, a glare clearly reflected in my gaze. I know he can see it because neither of us has to say a word to communicate what's happening. All he needs to do to rile me up in response is smile-- which he does, if the squinting of his eyes says anything.

I follow him into the elevators regardless of how I feel. There's still a thin veil of humor hovering between us despite it all, so I ignore his bullshit even if I desperately want to smack him for giving Mr. Addison a hard time.

He presses his knuckle into the '4' button and we slowly travel upward. It's a miracle that the elevators have been fixed in the years since I've been here. In fact, there's music playing. It's shitty smooth jazz, but it's better than having to listen to the elevator threaten to fall apart like I did as a child. I can still hear the janky, rickety sound of the elevator struggling to move.

We emerge on the fourth floor, still not a word exchanged between us. But I change that, curiosity getting the best of me.

"This place is nothing like I remember it," I muse, eyes trained to the little chandelier on the ceiling. Who the hell paid Addison?

Sal hums, as if to say he knows. "Once our streaming career took off, Larry and I shoveled a chunk of money into finishing renovations here. We had way too many close calls with death as teens to let it rot."

I nod, taking in the rest of the hallway. It's not much different from what it used to be-- a new paint job and some accessories here and there. "It was a good investment," I murmur.

"Larry would disagree," Sal snorts, grabbing the handle of a door to apartment 402. He pauses when the knob doesn't turn and grabs the keys he had prepared. "We had a failed ghost hunting Youtube channel going before this. Larry really wanted that to work out even though he was a chickenshit."

I bark out a laugh despite myself. Larry and Sal into ghost hunting? Preposterous. But believable considering all the rumors surrounding this place.

It's kind of sweet to imagine them walking around with a camera, going places they shouldn't with quivering voices and high-pitched, voice-cracking screams.

"That channel still up?" I prod Sal. He pauses at my question, never getting his key into the doorknob as he turns to me.

"Don't even try," he warns, head tilting in a half-heartedly threatening way.

I grin. "Well, I know what I'm doing tonight."

His eyes roll, karma for the eye-rolling he made me do downstairs.

Before he can retort, the door swings open and Sal whips around, making eye contact with Henry who beams at both of us. "We weren't expecting any visitors-- what are you guys doing here!?"

"Avoiding Ash and Larry," Sal simply states, keys back in his pocket.

Henry's smile transforms into one of understanding. "They're giving you trouble again?"

Sal releases a breath, clearly fed up with having to give the same explanation for his appearance multiple times. "When are they not?"

Henry lets out a dad-chuckle, clapping his hand onto his son's shoulder and ushering him inside, motioning for me to follow.

I could cry when I walk inside. This apartment looks the same way mine did. Sal and Larry didn't renovate this one-- maybe they didn't renovate the inside of any. It's a nice blast from the past though. I can almost feel Ash dumping her paint water on me in the corner of the living room; a fond but chilly memory from our childhood.

My focus transfers to Lisa though, a smile on her face as she wipes her hands off on her apron. But as I smile at her, her eyes narrow and she purses her lips. "You look familiar," she says, the statement sounding more like a question.

I walk over to her, my heart pounding the entire way. She was more of a mom to me than my own mother was. I owe this woman so much and it's been way too long since I last saw her.

"It's y/n," I tell her a bit bashfully. "It's me."

I pray she remembers me for a moment, but there was no reason to worry considering she breaks into a blinding grin and wrestles me into a suffocating hug that I'm more than happy to drown in.

"Oh, my little girl!" She coos, hand rubbing my back affectionately. Her cheek presses into the top of my head as she gives me a big squish. "Best day ever."

Of everyone I've met again recently, Lisa is the first person who hasn't prodded me about life recently or made the comment about how it's been so long. She hasn't said a word about the mask. She's just happy to have me here.

She pulls away from our hug and wipes a tear from her eye before it can fall. My heart about damn near cracks in two. "You're so beautiful!" She gasps, holding me at arm's length and looking me over. Best day ever. "How have you been, honey?"

"I've been alright," I answer honestly, smiling fondly at the woman. "How have you been?"

"Well, I'm wonderful now that you're here." She playfully scrunches her nose then pats my shoulder. "Come here and sit so we can catch up. I have dinner cooking right now."

Lisa leads me over to the kitchen table, pulling out a chair for me. So I sit and cross my arms over the table mat, watching as she moves over to the oven. This is exactly what I'd do every Thursday evening after school-- make my way down to the basement and have dinner with the Johnson's.

"So," Lisa says excitedly, pulling out her famous lasagna-- fuck yea. "Tell me about what you've been up to."

I open my mouth to respond but flinch upon feeling my phone suddenly vibrate in my pocket. Fumbling to pull it out, I send an apologetic glance toward Lisa who only shakes her head, a gentle smile on her lips.

I look down at my phone, brows scrunching together upon reading "Heather" across my screen. Dammit. Is it really that time of the year again?

It's my mother. We don't talk much. And when we do, it's because dad hasn't paid her yet. For what? Child support? I have no siblings. She's just some important, top notch executive on Wall Street that still milks her ex husband and daughter of any asset they have.

Sighing, I debate on what to do. I should just decline it. But if I decline, she'll bother dad. And when they talk, I don't see my dad for weeks at a time. Not because he's avoiding me or depressed... it's because she convinces him to send her more money and that ends in him having to work much more than he already does.

I begrudgingly answer the call, bringing the device to my ear with a pounding heart. I don't want this. I never do.

"Y/n," my mothers brusque voice filters through the call and I grimace, jaw clenched tight. "Bruce is late."

"Does it matter?" I bite out. I have every reason to treat her this way. She couldn't even tell her own daughter hello after going silent for months. Why should I offer her any kindness?

My mother scoffs, disbelief in the noise. "Of course, it matters," she snaps at me, devoid of any kind of motherly affection. Not like it's surprising. "When we split, the deal was that I get $1,500 monthly. And when he doesn't have it, I have to come get it from you."

"Don't you have anyone else you can bother?" I sigh, thinking of the money stacking up in my bank account. Half of it's going to have to fall to her now. "Or are your other children from the rest of your failed marriages not talking to you either?"

Heather goes silent. I immediately regret my words, especially upon noticing Lisa, Henry, and Sal go still. Their attention on me. I hide behind my hair, tipping my head down so it falls in my face.

"You ungrateful brat," Heather seethes into the phone. I grimace, but it's not enough to make me back down. This isn't the first time she's said those three words to me. If anything, I'm used to it. "Don't you know how much I sacrificed to raise you?"

I pinch my lips together, wondering why she bothered to try and raise me at all. Not like she stuck around long enough to do much raising in the first place.

As if Lisa could tell things were beginning to spiral, she lays a hand on my shoulder and whispers, "Is that your mama?"

I swallow thickly, nodding in confirmation. Lisa and my mom used to butt heads constantly. Lisa loathed my mom and the tight leash she held on me as a child. I'm lucky I got to meet Ash, Larry, and Todd at all.

"Put her on speaker for me," Lisa says in response to my nod, a maniachal little grin on her aged face. That must be where Larry got it from.

My mouth dry, I lay my phone down on the table, ignoring the curses and insults my mother spews until I click the button that puts her on speaker. And then her voice echoes through Lisa and Henry's living room, Heather's harsh and aggressive words splayed out for everyone to bear witness to.

"You and your little ploy of being something special. Pathetic," she spits, her voice cracking. "Did you think you could hide from me?" A humorless laugh. "That you could hide behind that stupid name? What was it— VioletViolence? Should I tell the world about what a disappointment you are? Or how about I show them your face?"

I suck in a shocked, shaky breath, my eyes going wide as panic rips my inside to ribbons. My heart threatens to burst from my chest as a tsunami of fear and and anxiety drowns me.

My own mother, selling me out for not getting her way.

With nothing else to do but pant down at the screen, ignorant of the other bodies in the room, I leap from my chair. My hands brace against the dinner table, my mouth gaping as I try to find words and rifle through my thoughts.

A hand snatches my phone in a split second. Lisa.

"You're on speaker, Heather dear." The words are laced with ice. With hateful promises of revenge so vicious, I couldn't even begin to dream of the possibilities. "I suggest you watch what you say."

My mother starts spitting out nonsense again, but Lisa takes her off of speaker and disappears into the next room, no doubt to give her a verbal beating.

Fuck. What do I do? I need to talk to Ash. I need to talk to dad. I need someone to ground me because I'm free floating through my own terror at this point. Shame and panic have gripped me whole, threatening to take everything that I am. Claim everything that I've built up for myself and tear it all down.

I don't know what to do. Heather is big enough in New York that she can slather my name across headlines and leak every personal aspect about me. For the entire world to see.

And how could I stop her? I'm nothing. I'm just a random streamer that maybe a few thousand people know about. I don't matter. I never mattered.

Hands cup my cheeks— warm, rough ones. They force my head to tilt upward until I'm gazing into pretty, azure eyes. And while I'm not surprised to see cerulean hair, I am taken aback upon finding that the hair is long, rather than short.

Of every possibility, I expected Henry over Sal. In every lifetime. So maybe Sal knows something that I don't about anxiety and averting attention because his hands on my face and his eyes gazing into mine shocks me into stillness. A pause. A moment where no thoughts enter or leave my brain. Everything just freezes.

But I watch his eyes. Eyebrows furrowed, determination and confidence reflected in his light irises. A little spear of panic stabs at me upon seeing one of his pupils dilated. It's not a bad panic, but it's panic in the sense that he's very obviously worried for me.

I don't want his pity. But right now, with him conveying the words 'Everything will be okay' through eye contact alone, I grasp onto his pity. I hold onto it for dear life.

Hold onto the way his fingertips press into my cheeks and jaw, their grasp so tender but assertive. The cool bite of his rings against my cheeks. Our physical contact telling me to focus on him rather than outside issues. The warmth of his skin on mine. And when his index discreetly pushes a strand of hair away from my lips.

I latch onto all of it, the once in a lifetime comfort he's offering. I leech on the one tether I have to sanity, gripping his wrists in my cold palms and watching him the way his eyes beg me to.

"I am not doing this as a friend," Sal starts quietly, never blinking beneath that strong stare. His tone a perfect mask of calm, of stability. "I am not doing this as a companion. I am not doing this as someone who cares." All mistaken meanings combined— he's touching every base so that I don't misunderstand his approach. "I am doing this as someone who understands." His thumb rubs over my too warm skin, soothing whatever negativity is still roiling around inside. I try to ignore the sparks of want that erupt throughout my body. It's not insatiable, it's just an overwhelming desire to keep his hands on my face. To have him shield me from everything.

"Get your head on straight." Those words, spoken so gently but with a dominant edge— all to give me a mental launching pad so that I'm not fighting alone right now. "Remember that you have the power to sue the fuck out of anyone who comes for you. Okay?"

I swallow thickly, roaring at the tears that suddenly sting my eyes. Not now, not in front of him.

But I nod. And he pulls away. I feel the lack of his warmth immediately, the emptiness.

Another phone rings and Sal hisses in front of me, but I don't pay much mind. I'm too busy trying to reel myself in and remember that there's always a solution. I'll be fine, it'll all be fine.

"What?" Sal snaps, frustration lacing his pretty voice. Then silence, aside from Lisa getting real aggressive with my mom in a bedroom to the right.

I look up, noting his phone held to his ear and those baby blue eyes darting back and forth along the carpeted floor.

"Fine. We'll head back. When are you guys leaving?" Sal says, still a bit snappy but softer this time. I guess he's talking to either Ash or Larry.

Sal doesn't even say goodbye, just shuts his phone off and tucks it away before turning to his dad. "I'm sorry, but we have to leave," he says, voice emotionless like it had been earlier. My mood only seems to dampen at the sound. "Can you get Lisa?"

Henry knows the drill. He nods grimly then goes over to the room Lisa's in, pulling her out as she snaps a dark, "Rot in hell." into the phone before ending the call.

My eyebrows raise, a hint of amusement flitting through me at the remark. Heather deserved that.

Lisa rushes over to me, handing over my phone and cupping my face in her hands like Sal did just moments ago. "Don't let her scare you, honey. She's a mean old lady with nothing better to do," she tells me gently, smiling sadly.

A watery laugh leaves me, but being on the verge of tears, I really don't trust myself to utter a single word.

Lisa seems to understand. She rubs my cheek, kisses the top of my head, then pulls away. "Come visit me before you all leave."

I nod, swallowing thickly. Praying that I bounce back from this and set some boundaries with my mom. However that sliver of hell on earth will go.

Sal and I walk out moments later. Our journey back to his house is spent in the dark, crickets chirping and owls hooting. We don't talk. Sal was respectful enough in that sense, but I hardly remember the walk back. It went so fast, took so little effort with my mind trained on other things.

And Ash, unaware of what went down at Henry and Lisa's, greets me with a yelled, "Where the hell did you two even hide!? We checked, like, everywhere!" She pauses, assessing me. "And how the hell did you get into Sal's hoodie without either of you ripping each other apart!?"

"We didn't hide," I mumble, giving her a smile I don't feel and walking to the couch. I'm numb. Whereas the world was crashing down around me at the apartments earlier, now it's just stagnant. I can't find it in me to care.

Ash goes quiet, although I feel her gaze on me. "Are you alright, sweetheart?" She asks, tone comforting and sweet.

"Yea," I sigh. I don't want to worry her. I can tell her about what happened later if she's still concerned. "Just tired."

She hums like she doesn't believe me, but says, "Okay, so I guess you don't want to come out with Larry and I? We're going to a bar on main street."

I shake my head, turning on the TV and completely checking out of the conversation. My social battery is empty for the night-- I just want to be alone.

I vaguely hear Ash and Larry asking if Sal wants to join, but he declines. Walks over to his room in my peripheral.

Then the front door shuts, buffering the sound of Ash and Larry's conversation. Their voices are muted, hardly carrying into the house now.

I stay perched on the couch, turning to Sal when he doesn't immediately disappear into his room.

His one hand holds onto the door jamb, his chest and head poking out of his bedroom door while the rest of him stays hidden. His prosthetic turned to the front door, listening as his friends voices grow quieter with the distance they create as they walk away from us.

This should be an opportunity for me, but I don't have anything in me to start up a game with Sal right now. His pep-talk helped me earlier, but now I just... I don't want to socialize. I don't want to talk. I don't want to have to fight to get some short-lived distraction from Sal. Even if it would be nice, it just isn't us unless we're making it unique. Personal. Filled with hate and loathing.

I realize I'm staring his way when his gaze suddenly cuts to me. Those haunting blue eyes glance around my body before settling on my face, both of us watching each other. Emotionless.

Then he disappears into his room, door shutting softly behind him.

Sal may be a lot of things-- bad things-- but I have to give it to him. He knows how to read a room, when to be serious, and when to back down. He has never once disrespected my decision and he holds the championship for that kind of care even now.

It's not much, but he treats me like an actual human being whenever I need it most. When I'm mentally stable is when he breaks free from that facade and creates chaos. And that-- that's fine. That's what makes being stuck in his presence fun.

I chew on my bottom lip, dissociating a bit as I watch his closed door, listening to automated laughter on the television before me.

I blink out of my daze when Sal's door swings open again and he pokes his head out. He doesn't look at me at first, his fingertips pressing into the door jamb again. But when he finally does turn his attention to me, those darkened eyes catching my own, he says, "I don't know how to word this."

I'm unable to form my own words. He clearly wants to ask me something. Why is hesitant? It's unlike him. Unsettling. "You've never filtered yourself before. Spit it out," I simply reply.

I hate that damned prosthetic. I wish he'd keep it off forever so I could see his expression. So I could get some kind of read on him, if at all possible.

Because he just stands there, just watches me. Hell, he doesn't even blink for what feels like ages.

"Let me fuck you," He seems to force out, like the words weighed a ton. "With your permission, of course."

I don't know what kind of face to put on, what kind of reaction to have. I'm used to him being upfront like this, but the salacious claim still catches me off guard when I least expect it. I did not foresee him walking right back out of his room with a sex proposal. Never in a million years, at least not with the kind of mood I'm in.

But I debate it. I sit on the offer for a minute, let it percolate. I want it-- I really do. Our entire arrangement is for sex. But can I do it right now? Can I handle the arguments and strife that comes with our rocky situation?

"How about I lay down ideas?" Sal interrupts my train of thought, tone one of contemplation and hesitance, like even he's nervous about approaching me like this.

I tilt my head, but nod nonetheless. I can hear him out.

Sal averts his gaze beneath my stare before he very obviously forces himself to look me in the eye again. Cute.

"You had a bad day. We all have those. So a distraction would be nice, right?" I watch his Adam's apple bob. "Lucky for you, I have a cock. I can't think of a better distraction to be honest."

I nearly scowl. Cocky as ever.

"I'll do whatever you ask of me tonight though. Just for tonight," he pauses, sensual gaze traveling over my body like he already knows his next words will make me fold. The same way the audible change in his voice-- from nervous to assertive, sure of himself-- makes me lean toward giving into him. "I'll let you make a request. You don't have to say a single word tonight. If you want it gentle, I'll give it to you. If you want it rough, I'll make you plead until Lar and Ash return."

My mouth goes dry as I hold his gaze, my limbs quaking at the prospect of him being my bitch for the night. What a day to be alive. No matter how tonight goes, whatever I ask for, I know it'll end well.

"I will do whatever you want."

My tongue runs over my bottom lip as my eyes travel down his neck and over the top of his chest, relishing in the edge of that tattoo on his throat.

I suck in a quick breath. "Promise? Whatever I want?" The words are hoarse, raspy as they fall from my lips.

"Anything," he confirms breathlessly, impatiently anticipating my answer.

I chew on the inside of my cheek, already knowing my decision.

My feet press into the floor as I stand, walking over to him with venom and adrenaline in my veins.

"Then let's see what you've got."

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A/N::::::: y'all already know the tw for next chapter HAAAAHAHAHAHA

hiiii my babies :3 i liked this chap when i first typed it out like two weeks ago but now i kind of hate it o_e also, i planned on having this published MUCH sooner butttt unfortunately finals are approaching so that means i've been getting slapped with project and exams in preparation for said finals soooo.... i've been busy >~< haven't even had the damn time to come and think about my mean sal </3

PLEASE GIVE ME RECOMMENDATIONS SO I CAN IMPROVE MY WRITING-- what did you like here? what didn't you like? what's a suggestion for improvement? what should i omit overall? THANK U <333

as always, my love, my heart, and my soul go out to all of you. have a wonderful morning/day/evening/night!! <333

#sal fisher #sally face #larry johnson #ash campbell #todd morrison #travis phelps #enemies to lovers #sally face fandom #sally face fanfiction #fanfic #future smut

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joanofarcisdead · 1 year

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ok i changed my mind. i'm gonna make this a real post. as much as i’m hesitant, i'm writing this as someone with LIVING family members who either directly witnessed japanese imperial war crimes or were part of resistance to japanese imperial occupation, i want those of you in mcr fandom who are not part of those diasporas would take some time to step back and ask yourself if what you are doing is not directly reproducing the exact behavior you claim to be working against.

informative posts are great, but when you situate yourself as one of the primary authorities/speakers on or even THE primary authority/speaker on the violence that is reproduced through fetishizing the imagery of the imperial japanese flag, that does not allow for people in these diasporas to speak for ourselves. that does not uplift our voices. that re-centers your own voices, voices that are not directly shaped by the violence of japanese occupation.

yes, white people need to be willing to show up for Black and brown and Indigenous folks in fandom, but after a certain point, it becomes a re-centering of whiteness generally and a speaking over of those voices directly effected by any reproduction of violence specifically. so maybe before making a post reiterating the problems of the imperial japanese flag, take a step back and ask yourself why YOUR voice, a voice not shaped by the generational traumatic inheritances of imperial terror, needs to be the one that declares how bad the imperial japanese flag and does the speaking on it. maybe ask why YOU need to be the one doing the “educating” over anyone else.

maybe instead of centering your own voices, you can just circulate information about the terrors of japanese occupation and the problems of the rising sun motif, written by folks in southeast and east asian diasporas. this, after all, has been an issue for years and it is no way restricted to the mcr fandom--and so bloggers have written about this for years.

maybe support folks from southeast and east asian diasporas who are in/were in the scene by listening to their music instead of nebulously saying that we exist and are being harmed, but not acknowledging that we’ve always been here and actually make things (shocker). aye nako and beabadoobee might even be a start.

sometimes actually showing up for us (or any community that is directly being harmed) means changing behavior to do things that are less visible, but idk maybe it’s the long haul of allies actually learning to change their behavior that has the most material impact on those of us living in the long shadow of imperial violence

#this is the most i'm going to ever speak on this account i cannot believe y'all made me write a five paragraph essay #mcr #frank iero #gerard way #🥀🗡️

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magicalqueennightmare · 1 year

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Sins & Amends Chapter 25

Billy Russo x Female Reader (60 part story)

This follows pre- the punisher into the storyline of daredevil, punisher season 1 and beyond

This is NOT Canon Billy. This is decent human being Billy left with bad options over worse decisions

This was also posted to A03 under: WaywardGaPeach. That account and this one is the only place you'll see me post this. If you see it on any other platform/account know it's not me.

Chapter Summary/Warnings: Frank lets you and Karen know he's alive and ends up saving Matt's life as well

You watched the sun slowly creep over the city while divers still worked to haul body after body out the water. You'd offered to help but Mahoney had not so subtly reminded you that you weren't on the clock and that you and Karen were present as witnesses nothing more.

You and Karen stood side by side. She was wrapped in a blanket one of the officers had given her and had draped another blanket over your shoulders. You'd taken it although you were still to numb for the cold to bother you. You stared at every body that was burnt trying to gauge the height and built as to if it was possible that Frank was truly dead. You'd given up on him once, you weren't doing it again without seeing his body with your own eyes.

"Karen, Y/N you two can go home" Brett walked over to where you two stood. You knew the story was that Frank had followed Karen and the officers and kidnapped her. That was what Karen had told and you'd backed it up. It felt like a cold dagger sliding through your chest when Mahoney said "Castle didn't survive. He's a dead man" he was trying to be reassuring because Karen was portraying to be fearful of Frank but you saw her shoulders tense at his words just the way your own had.

He looked between the two of you then waved another officer over "Thompson! Take these two wherever they need to go" you followed her to the car and climbed in the backseat. You didn't even register him asking where you wanted to be taken until Karen spoke up and said "She's going with me"

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You laid your head over on the window and allowed yourself a moment to breathe. You realized with a start that you hadn't so much as glanced at your phone since Karen had called you from the diner. You pulled it out and saw a dozen missed calls from Kenzie, Alice and Curtis.

Before you had time to pick who to call back first Thompson was pulling over in front of the bulletin. You didn't question it and simply stepped out with Karen. You followed her up the sidewalk but stopped just outside the door "Aren't you coming in?" She asked so you held up your phone "I've got a lot of people worried. I need to check in then I'll come in" she gave you a small nod then glanced around and stepped closer "Just keep an eye out please?" "Always" you assured her then watched her walk inside before choosing to call Curtis back first.

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After agreeing to meet up with Curtis as soon as he got off work and assuring Alice and Kenzie both that you were ok and would not be missing Christmas with them, you headed inside.

You walked into Karen's office in enough time to hear her say "FRANK CASTLE IS NOT A PSYCHO MURDERER.." Then her face fell as she met your eyes and added "or wasn't"

Ellison cut his eyes at you before saying "He did kill thirty something people" "and although he shouldn't have" you began and Karen finished by saying "he had his reasons" Ellison stared at you for a second then turned his attention to Karen "Then the story isn't over. Make it a profile instead of an expose"

Karen looked at you and you knew it was a silent way of asking if you were ok with that. You nodded slightly so she agreed. Ellison let out a breath then said "Good get to work and Y/N do we need to get you a press pass too?" You knew it was because you were always with Karen so you snaked your paramedic id out "This gets me into most crime scenes"

He nodded approvingly "I can see why Castle liked the two of you" then walked out.

Once he was out of sight you looked back at Karen and saw wheels were already turning in her head. "I can see you're thinking of chasing some lead. I am one hundred percent in but I've got to go see Curt so just cool your heels and call me so you can come pick me up ok?" She nodded then came around the desk to pull you into a hug "We'll figure this out. I'm honestly just glad we met Y/N no matter the circumstance" "Me too Karen" you replied with a smile.

The two of you made plans to meet later so you headed to swing by Kenzie's office then you could grab a hot shower and maybe either some sleep or something caffeinated before you met up with Curtis.

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You'd just left Curtis when your phone went off with a text from Karen that read "I'm going to talk to Schoonover. I'll call as soon as I leave his place" you cursed under your breath. She'd promised to not go anywhere alone. You texted back "CALL ME ASAP" but before you could get a reply a set of hands grabbed you from behind and drug you into the alley you'd just walked past.

You threw your head back hearing a satisfying grunt when it connected with your attackers face. The grip on your arms loosened so you spun around then gasped when you saw Frank standing there rubbing his jaw.

"You're alive?!?!" You whispered in shock. "Yeah kid. Should've known you wouldn't get rid of me that easily. Where's Karen? Figured you two would be together" "She went to see Schoonover Frank. She's still trying to clear you of the psycho murderer label" the moment the words left your mouth he started cussing "Frank what is it?" You asked and when his eyes met yours you felt a small chill at the anger in them. "He's involved"

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Frank ran down everything he'd learned as he lead you behind him to a truck parked on the street. You didn't know what he planned to do until he popped the door open. "I'm going to get her and kill that son of a bitch. Get a car then head the direction I told you. I can't take you with me Y/N so don't even ask"

You watched him pull away in the stolen truck and had never felt more helpless in your life.

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You hailed a cab to take you back to Curtis' place so you didn't have to waste time walking. When you knocked on the door he answered but looked a little confused "Y/N? What's going on?" "Curt I need to borrow your car" he was holding out the keys before he asked "Is everything ok? Do you need me to come with you?" You shook your head "I think I can handle it. Thanks Curt"

You practically ran back down to the street and hopped into his car. You only hoped that you'd find both Frank and Karen alive. Schoonover was dirty, involved in drug smuggling and murder. If Frank got there in enough time Karen was fine but god what if he hadn't?

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You were trying to keep an eye out as you drove but the moment your headlights landed on a wreck you realized the car involved was Karen's and the truck was the one Frank had stolen.

You threw the car into park and jumped out. You didn't want to yell so you walked slowly towards the car and heard a faint crying. You found Karen on her knees next to the wreckage. You knelt down next to her and gently touched her back. She jumped defensively at first but the moment she saw it was you she crumbled "Frank's alive and Schoonover is dead"

You stayed that way for the longest letting her cry on your shoulder. The last few weeks had been hell not to mention staring at the wreckage of her car reminded you of the photos she'd shown you of when her brother was killed. All the trauma had finally hit her at once. Once the sky started to lighten you slowly talked her into Curtis' car. Frank could take care of himself for the most part you needed to check Karen over for injuries and make sure she didn't succumb to shock either

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Luckily Karen simply needed some butterfly stitches on her head and her arm was just bruised. Over the course of the next few days the two of you didn't leave each other far except when you were working. You both needed the comfort from each other's presence. You couldn't pass a newsstand without seeing Frank's photograph or the x-ray of him being shot plastered across some magazine or paper with the headline of the punisher being dead. The city was part relieved and part in mourning.

You hated lying to Alice and Kenzie but everyone was safer with the official story being that Frank was dead. You knew he'd contact you, Curt and Karen when the time was right. Until then you simply said a silent prayer to whoever may be out there listening to keep him safe.

Billy had called Curtis when news came down of Frank truly being "dead". He'd asked how you were so Curt simply said you were holding together. You and him had a headstone ordered to place with the kids and Maria's. Better to sell the story and besides a big part of Frank did die that day and that was a loss to mourn as well as what all of your lives would've been had whatever happened in Kandahar (that you still weren't sure of) hadn't. You knew like everything Frank would eventually tell you, you just wished for once he'd pick sooner rather than later.

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You had just gotten home from your shift when your phone started ringing. You glanced down to see it was Karen so you answered as you were putting your med bag into the hall closet "Hello Miss Page. How are you dear?" You could hear in her voice that she was as tired as you felt "I'm actually headed home. I've been trying to write this article but I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall. I know you just got off but do you want to meet at the diner?"

You glanced at the time then said "Sure. Why not? Meet you in twenty?" You heard a scuffle in the background followed by Karen screaming "LET ME GO ASSHOLE" "KAREN?" You screamed into the phone trying to get her to respond but after a moment a different voice came on the line "She's unavailable" you could feel your blood boil at the idea of losing anyone else. You couldn't do it. "You son of a bitch. Let her go" the line went dead right after.

You took a deep breath trying to think of what to do. The voice didn't sound like they were from New York or anywhere in the states for that matter so chances were it wasn't any remaining people from the cover-up. You scrolled through your contacts then clicked on Mahoneys cell number. Once you reported her abducted you could try to get Matt or Frank on the line.

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You had grabbed your purse and scanner before leaving your place. Your only hope was the police finding her. Mahoney had actually been honest with you. Some people had attacked him and they had wanted the names of the people daredevil had helped plus the names of who he'd put away. So this attack on Karen was a lure. Whoever they were only wanted Matt.

You were about to walk into his building at the off chance he was home when it came across the scanner reports of an officer down at thirty sixth and seventh. Normally you wouldn't pay much attention but when the officer added "They shot em with god damn arrows!" You figured that was the safest bet.

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

The taxi you'd hailed dropped you off a little ways from the scene. Cop cars were already everywhere so you clipped your i.d. to your jacket and ran to the front of the crowd "Y/N?" You turned to see Karen running towards you and released a breath you hadn't realized you were holding "Thank god Karen are you ok?" You asked scanning your eyes over her to see if there was any visible injuries. She nodded "I'm fine. They didn't even care about us. They just wanted to lure daredevil out"

Time she said those words you heard Mahoney barking out orders to light up the rooftop. "Anything goes down I want to see!" You heard someone call out yours and Karen's names and looked up to see Foggy working his way through the crowd. You actually made it to his side before Karen "Daredevil is in there" you knew better than to drop Matt's name but poor Foggy looked like he may puke when you said that.

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You stood between Karen and Foggy trying to see what was going on so many stories up. The mass amount of bodies moving around on the roof was disheartening. Matt only had his ex girlfriend Elektra up there as backup. They were severely outnumbered.

You were holding your breath and your hand had once again found Karen's. Both of you begging to anyone that things would turn out alright. As if an answer to that prayer gunfire rang out. Everyone started ducking or looking for cover except for you and Karen.

She pulled you a few feet from everyone and pointed up. You followed her line of sight and smiled when you realized Frank had come to back Matt up. "Thank god"

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When the building was secured Daredevil was nowhere to be found. You heard from Mahoney a body of a woman had been found on the rooftop wearing clothes very similar to daredevil's suit. Your heart dropped for Matt. That had to be Elektra.

You, Karen and Foggy ended up watching the sun come up while you all drank coffee at the diner.

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Later that day you got a phone call from Curtis. You didn't have to work until the following evening so it was normal for him to want to catch lunch or something when he knew you had the day off but when you answered he simply said "You and Karen come by where I usually have the meetings around seven" he hung up and you stared at the phone for a moment before calling Karen to make sure she wasn't busy.

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"So what's this about?" Karen asked as you lead her into the building. "I don't know. Normally Curt isn't the cryptic type" "This one time I had to be" he said from the doorway up ahead and you smiled before pulling him down into a hug "and why is that?"

Frank stepped out from behind him at your question "because I asked him to be"

Curtis had arranged for Frank a new I.D. and the whole nine yards complete with a one room apartment across the city. Frank needed some time after everything, you knew that but you hated the goodbye. He waved the small flip phone in his hand "I'm not leaving for good sweetheart. If you ever need me I'm a phone call away"

After you and him shared a few words he glanced at Karen "Can I talk to you for a second?" You grabbed Curtis' arm and said "C'mon Curt I need to talk to you about that thing"

The two of you waited in the hall for several minutes before Karen and Frank walked out. He shared a look with her then nodded at you and Curtis before heading for the back door of the building. "Think he's gonna be ok?" Curtis asked of no one in particular but you still answered "I think he'll make it through as long as we don't let him sink down in that hole alone"

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On Christmas eve you woke up earlier than you normally did. You and Alice had managed to pull the lucky straws to have two days off. Of course that meant working New Years but that was still a few days away.

You had managed to track down where Elektra was being buried and had called Father Lanthom who as it turned out was Matt's priest to find out when. When you told him point blank Matt didn't want anyone there but you didn't want to see him face the loss alone he'd happily told you.

You didn't know Elektra so you grabbed a simple lilly arrangement. You walked through the headstones and spotted Matt standing next to an older man. They were talking so you didn't want to interrupt.

After a few minutes the older man walked away and Matt raised his voice enough to say "Y/N I heard you when you walked up." He hadn't even turned towards you so you simply walked up to stand next to him "Not gonna lie that's still a little weird Murdock" you managed to bring a small smile to his face at that.

You reached for his hand and passed the flowers over "They're lilies. I felt strange not bringing flowers. I didn't know her Matt but I know you. If you decide you need someone to talk to or need someone to patch you up. I'm around" he nodded and took a ragged breath.

You knew what someone fighting back tears looked like, you'd seen it and done it enough. Without thinking you pulled him into a hug. He rested his head against your shoulder "I need to tell Karen the truth and I need to fix things with Foggy. I don't want to lose anyone else"

It hurt you seeing him like this. You considered him a friend so you offered "I can help you tell Karen if you want and maybe start to mend things with Foggy as well" "Thank you Y/N" "You're welcome Matt"

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You headed to the bulletin later that day to meet Karen. She was joining you at Alice and Kenzies Christmas eve dinner. Christmas day you'd be helping Curtis at the soup kitchen.

When you walked in Ellison passed you with a smile. "She's in her office. Feel free to drag her out" you laughed and said "That's exactly what I'm here for"

When you got to the door of her office she was smiling at her screen "Good news?" You spoke and saw her jump slightly before she realized it was you "I finally got that article written. Come read it" she motioned for you to take her chair so you did and started to read what was on the screen:

What is it, to be a hero? Look in the mirror and you’ll know. Look into your own eyes and tell me you are not heroic, that you have not endured, or suffered, or lost the things you care about most. And yet, here you are, a survivor of Hell’s Kitchen, the hottest place anyone’s ever known. A place where cowards don’t last long, so you must be a hero. We all are. Some more than others, but none of us alone. Some bloody their fists trying to keep the Kitchen safe. Others bloody the streets in the hope they can stop the tide, the crime, the cruelty, the disregard for human life all around them. But this is Hell’s Kitchen. Angel or devil, rich or poor, young or old, you live here. You didn’t choose this town, it chose you. Because a hero isn’t someone who lives above us, keeping us safe. A hero’s not a God, or an idea. A hero lives here, on the street, among us, with us. Always here but rarely recognized. Look in the mirror and see yourself for what you truly are. You’re a New Yorker. You’re a hero. This is your Hell’s Kitchen. Welcome home.

"What do you think?" She asked and you smiled up at her "It's perfect"

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

The day after Christmas Karen called you to say Matt had asked her to meet him at Nelson & Murdock and to bring you along. You knew what that meant but acted as if you were surprised.

You sat back on top of Matt's desk while he told Karen. Her eyes were wide when she looked towards you "Did you know?" "Only cause Frank shot him, sort of" you confessed and she nodded.

"Are you mad?" You questioned and was relieved when she shook her head "No it answers a lot of questions" you knew she had to feel betrayed since you had kept Matt's secret but it seemed as if she was going to get past that. After she hugged Matt she simply asked if Foggy knew. When the answer was yes she looked at you with a clearly tense smile "Wanna grab dinner?" "Sure" you replied with a nod, hopping off the desk.

When you walked past Matt he grabbed your arm gently "Call me later please and tell me just how pissed she is?" "Yeah as long as you promise to call Foggy" you replied then hurried to catch up to Karen before she could make it outside.

@intothesoul

@weallhaveadestiny

#au billy russo #billy russo x y/n #billy russo au #billy russo x you #billy russo fanfic #billy russo x reader #sins and amends masterlist

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blueberrybladelemonade · 2 hours

Text

Colors of Obstinacy

You're supposed to meet your boyfriend in the nearby city. Which you hate visiting, mind you. Unfortunately you end up waiting too long and you have to search for him. When you find him you're less than pleased.

The bustling city streets were alive with the sounds of honking horns, vehicles whirring by, and chatter from pedestrians. Your eyes scanned down yet another alleyway with a frown.

Upon seeing another empty alley a low sigh escaped your lips, once again not finding what, or rather, who you were searching for.

You directed your attention back towards the sprawling street before begrudgingly continuing through the city.

After this trip you were going to talk to Phil about more local options. This place was a nightmare to navigate. A car alarm began to blare in the distance making you grit your teeth. The sound bounced off the buildings only to be amplified, in turn worsening your growing headache. On second thought, no, this place was a nightmare in general.

Tall buildings seemed to touch and choke out the sky overhead. On the plus side -and it was a minimal positive in a sea of negatives- at least the clouds provided some form of shade from the sun. Your nose wrinkled in disgust as a whiff of smoke assaulted you. Or at least you thought it was the clouds, maybe it was just smog.

You navigated the maze of city streets, before weaving down another less populated one. You give a half hearted glance into another alley.

A bright blob of red caught your attention and you turn your head to fully take in the sight. You squint at the large pepper that was nonchalantly coloring the brick wall with spray paint.

Fury bubbled in your throat as you marched into the alley. You finally found him.

"Phil!" You snap, leering at Pepperman as he jolted up and away from the wall, the metal can clanging to the pavement. He slowly turned to meet your gaze with a nervous grin.

With him out of the way your lips formed a thin line as you took in Phil's "artwork". This was what he was busying himself with instead of meeting you? You had just spent the last thirty minutes in this city hunting him down, getting yelled at by pedestrians you bumped into, stepping in some mystery fluid, and to top it off, were forced to watch a poorly done street performance by some group called "Green Bacon".

Phil remained motionless, waiting for your imminent rant, watching as your face gradually transformed into a snarl. He knew he was supposed to meet you at 11am. Surely it wasn't that late? His eyes drifted down to his watch, blood running cold as the clock read 11:43am.

Oh. Oh dear.

There was an entire tirade you were five seconds away from going on from Phil's stunt. Rather, you opt to draw in a deep breath and exhale hard. Phil flinching slightly as your eyes met his bright blue ones. He braced himself as your mouth began to part.

"Stop making graffiti art of Peppino. We're late for your dentist appointment"!

"He started it"! At an instant Phil shot you an indignant look.

"And pray tell, started what?" You demanded, putting your hands on your hips.

"I simply entered his establishment and had asked if I could capture his form upon my canvas".

You make a face. "Don't tell me you gave Peppino that weird-"

"I merely praised his physique and -"

"And he decked you in face". You quickly finished for him.

Phil gave an irritated huff, "Correct. I am not one to take such brutish actions lightly, and we then entered a scuffle".

"Ok but what does that have to do with the graffiti art"?

"My dear Y/N, surely you understand this is a form of expression? In more common terms, I believe one may call this 'vent' art".

Wordlessly you point aggressively to the nearby sign -looking worse for wear with some letters peeling off- 'No crime allowed'.

"I think vandalism counts." You reply flatly.

Phil gasped and held a hand to his chest. "My dear Y/N! I have not committed any such crime! I am no such ruffian -unlike that Italian- this is quite legal, I assure you"!

You watch as Pepperman spreads his arms out and gestures to each side. "This district specifically caters to -and allows- graffiti art, with no fear of consequence. Every month the art here gets painted over and..."

Phil's words faded from your attention as you tilt your head to look at the caricature he had been working on and squint. Did that say "Poopino"?

You shot him a dull look as he was still rambling.

"Come on!" You interrupt, reaching for and tugging at Phil's arm. "You said we'd go to Gabriel's to eat after your appointment"!

You really wanted that foot long shrimp and you'll be damned if you came to this city for nothing. Especially with what ever you stepped in that still stubbornly clung to the bottom of your shoe. He owed you that much at least.

"No! I am not done! I must fully convey my intentions!" Phil shot back, attempting to dig his heels into the ground.

"Phil you wrote 'Poopino' if you're going to insult someone at least do better than that!" You snap.

"Oh ho! Are you implying you could do better"?

You huff and release your grip, crossing your arms across your chest. "Of course I can"! With a brief pause your eyes trailed off to the side considering your options. As inspiration came to you, you flashed Phil a smug grin.

"I know three fat people and he is three of-" you clamp your jaw shut, stopping yourself. Instead you glower at the anthropomorphic pepper. "Phil quit being a sore loser and let's go! You can't make childish art of everyone you fight with"!

"My dear, art is a vehicle of expression! I must complete this! My appointment is not until 1pm"!

You let out an exasperated sigh, dragging a hand down your face. "You painted a drawing of Theo titled 'Dumb Weenie' last month! Why is all of your vent art so childi-"

Click

You jerk your head over your shoulder at the sound. A large pig was stooped down beside the alleyway entrance, holding his camera pointed towards you both. Instinctively you raise your hands to cover your face while Phil simply chuckles and waves.

* * * * *

"So you come here to paint on the walls that often?" You ask, arm linked with Phil's as you both backtrack

"Indeed! The locals here enjoy taking pictures of every participant's art. As, like I stated, the walls are renewed into clean canvases each month. These walls truly capture the meaning of fleeting art".

"Huh..." You trail off, coming to a halt at the crosswalk. As you wait for the light to change a familiar off key singing and snorting speeds by. You watch as the vehicle shaped like a hotdog and bun drives down the road.

"I think they need a new hobby." You grimace, watching as the obnoxious green vehicle disappears over the hill.

Pepperman quirks and eyebrow before shaking his head with a chuckle. "That is their hobby my dear Y/N. They play poorly with deliberation".

"What?" You ask, beginning to walk across the street. The dentist's building coming into view as you round the corner.

"The 'Green Bacon' troupe dress up as well known celebrities. Their performance is an allusion for how, in due time, celebrities fade out of popularity and yet attempt to claw their way back to favor no matter how futile it may be".

You remain silent, contemplating Phil's words. Now that he mentioned it you did notice a lot of this city had over the top theatrics. Was this city just one huge performance?

As if reading your mind Phil pulled you closer and wrapped an arm around your waist. "My dear Y/N, you should return here with an open mind! Do not take everything here at a face value. Would you like to know what is special about the aquarium we are going to visit"?

You gawk at him, silently urging him to go on. With a smile Phil leans down and drops his voice to a whisper as if revealing an ancient secret. "It is a place of wonder. The attraction is partly the visitors themselves and in part, literal renditions of such creatures as 'angel fish' and 'zebra lion turkeyfish', it is a place that makes complete and no sense at all! A place of harmony but also chaos".

As you make your way up the stairs to the door to Phil's dentist you give a small smile. The first genuine one you had since arriving in the city.

Maybe you judged this place too harshly after all. Perhaps you could learn to enjoy this city and what it could offer.

A screech of tires makes you stagger as you jump in surprise. You yelp as your foot collides with the concrete step, Phil helping you steady yourself as you stagger. Thank you." You grumble, your head beginning to pound again.

Or maybe you'd just grow to simply tolerate it.

Special thanks to my friend @pervertedindividual for their silly doodles always being my inspiration for my non-Peppino x Reader fics.

Stay tuned for a few more fics to come out in the coming weeks! I've been working on a few on n off and I think y'all will enjoy them when they get completed and posted 💜

#pizza tower #pizza tower x reader #🫐bladezfics #pepperman x reader #pepperman #phil pepperman

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kanos-blorbos-archive · 3 months

Text

Hello I'm back on my 6.30 am train delirium this night I dreamt about Ghastly so you're getting fantasy au Ghastly today

Christ I love her so much fr, she's always her arrogant violent authority-disobeying woman but this time she's a paladin, not just A paladin actually but The Paladin, so I mean the Major Paladin of the human kingdom, if y'all are asking Kano wtf r you talking about what does it mean, basically let's start from the beginning paladins are both political/military and religious figures in all kingdoms, they took an oath to protect first their fellow faithfuls and secondly their citizens, a minor paladin is one that took an oath and is serving the god and most probably also in the army while the Major Paladin is most likely a minor paladin who, for their qualities, has been chosen directly from their god to be their champion, in fact Major Paladins are also called Champions, there can be only one Champion at a time btw

Anyway so Ghastly became Atoq's Champion (Atoq being the god of sun and also the most important god of the human kingdom btw) almost by accident because, aside from her strength and bravery, she has none of the qualities you'd seen in earlier Sun Major Paladins, and while Atoq is aware of it, it's best to have her as a champion than to let anyone else have her as their champion, anyway she became the Major Paladin by accident, she took the oath in first place because of a loophole, basically you need to be 18 to join the army, but also the army by law has to allow anyone who took an oath of one of the main kingdom gods, with few exceptions, so, since she wanted to join the army, but was still 16, she took the oath and basically speedran the required feats to actually be blessed as such, and not too many years later the Major Paladin died, and so she was chosen as the new Major Paladin

That at first had a little backlash because the Sun Major Paladin is also the head of the royal guard and in case of war, holy or not, is the first person with the right to lead the entire army, and Ghastly clearly won't do any good in that position, she's still the head of the royal guard, but another person has been chosen as the leader of the army in case of war, plus her right to speak for the king has been revoked, because she's very foul mouthed and can't keep her cool

Ough this is being a very long post but i cannot not mention that another reason of backlash was her son, well, adopted son at least, once on a scouting mission, she found a baby demon that was abandoned, and decided to raise it as her own, baby Endrake is safe but not from the trauma of the war crimes he saw Ghastly commit, the problem with this though is that the human kingdom has been at war with the demon kingdom for ages and people are generally somewhat wary of demons and saw Ghastly as somewhat of a traitor, this of course before her war crimes against certain races, demons included, were told and made public, just to reassure the public that Endrake is literally just a child and Ghastly absolutely hates demons

Ok theres a lot more on her but this post is being incredibly long so until next time, byeeeee

#ghastly #fantasy au #kano does art

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abronzeagegod · 10 months

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Meet Lyta

Lyta is a coworker of Aeth, they've been working at Tech Support for about two years less than Aeth. She's passionate, a bit loud, and can be a lot, but she's also loyal as hell and deeply into Aeth. (Aeth doesn't know because Aeth is dumb) She's been Aeth's best friend for a number of years at this point, and she's ok with how things are for now. Her flirting style is extremely unsubtle.

Still she's very smart and is a very capable tech support technician. If you need someone to solve a problem with only a soldering iron and a 1/4 a roll of duct tape, call Lyta.

Luck: half way decent

Likes

truly trashy TV: And the Fifth Rose was Black and Real Monsters of the Sea are her top favorites but she will watch some dramas if the mood calls for it (Law Machines is a good one too)

playing Future Myths with Aeth, and making truly insane builds (twenty levels of technomancer, seventeen levels of war engineer, and three levels of moon paladin which any "serious" player would say is extremely dumb and nonoptimal but Lyta makes it work, has fun with it, and constantly does things to upset the "standard meta")

going out into the field and solving problems with whatever she's got on hand

meeting weird people over the course of the job

talking about meeting weird people over the course of the job with Aeth

Aeth

She is neutral on:

mimosas, Lyta likes herself a brunch (especially with Aeth) but doesn't get the love of mimosas at brunch

the second season finale of The Third Sun Rises which wasn't good, but she doesn't hate nearly as much as Aeth, and she has learned to not bring it up any more

her apartment, it's fine, better than her last one, but she's just not attached to it, it's not really home, but it'll do

supremely popular modernist artist Orgil, Lyta does get it, she understands the art and the intent behind it, she just doesn't think it's the greatest thing in the world

the board game Encroachment (think Settlers of Catan) which is fun under the right circumstances but the people who are too into it or care way too much they suck the fun out of it, she wants to play it and just have fun and not get too into it or debate strategy

She hates:

her coworker Teddy, he knows what he did

the dark fantasy movie series Highland Court and all the subsequent spin-off, they just didn't really gel with Lyta and that was fine, and then they became the most popular thing in the world and she's very annoyed that it's all people seem to talk about and she's tired of trying to explain that she just thinks all the characters are poorly written and only passably acted so she's start to say that the reason she hates it is because there isn't enough homo-eroticism or socialism.

Millionaire's Row in the Clutches, fuck them millionaires and fuck their terrible houses, modernist architecture is a crime and this minimalist bullshit should be legally allowed to be set on fire

Gin

bugs, she knows that it's not cool to say that when there are various insectoid beings around but the amount of legs and hair they have is deeply unnerving to her

the fact that Aeth seems to be oblivious to the fact that Lyta wants to make out with them so hard

#i really like lyta actually #she's kind of super fun to write #eldritch tech support #i think she's only gonna be in small chunks of the story here and there #it'll mostly be aeth's journey to have

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starredfishing · 8 months

Note

Three Houses Quest: You must now assign every Major Character of Three Houses (meaning Byleth, the students, and anyone they can recruit/s-support), a song from the Oh Hellos discography. Some characters are allowed to share songs if it fits more than one. But every character must have a song.

Reward: You get to listen to good music and think about these characters again.

And a cookie.

hi anon! why would you do this to me . /lh LSDKJFSDJFFJ

ok so i have to put this under a read more bc good lord the oh hellos have a lot of songs. ok. ahem. i present to you:

THE FUCKING ENTIRETY OF THE OH HELLOS DISCOGRAPHY ATTACHED TO THE CAST OF FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES (2019)

BLACK EAGLES

Edelgard - Caesar

“Rise up to meet it, o sleeper, awake. Gather the soldiers, the heir to enfold. Crown him and give him a scepter to hold.”

Hubert - The Valley

“We were born in the shadow of the crimes of our fathers. Blood was our inheritance. No, we did not ask for this. Will you lead me?”

Ferdinand - Grow

“You’ve got a lot to learn, if you’d settle down. Let be what is, let be what isn’t. It’s a natural world in which we’re living, and if you let it alone, it will surely grow. Just leave it alone, child, and let it go.”

Caspar - Soap

“I’ve heard if I were tougher, then maybe I’d make it alive. I got a tender side, I’ll need a harder shell to survive.”

Linhardt - Rounds

“If my chest don’t cave in, when did I last breathe in? Am I empty again? Oh, that wind that I’ve been spending is a long one, my friend.”

Dorothea - Rose

“Wars are raising for her, crusades to adore her [...] Your rose is without a thorn, but no, my mouth don’t taste of metal from the pot here to the kettle. I think we got a lot we gotta learn [...] Call her briar long enough, and you’ll tangle up the true and the fable.”

Petra - Constellations

“All that’s left for me to climb to the heavens is the chasm of the night and a matter of time, but I hear the rumble as the tectonic plates start to shake and I feel my blood pounding like the beat of a drum.”

Bernadetta - Trees

“Safe inside the walls we built, we found ourselves a home. Higher branches, harder fall. Hesitation stops us all.”

BLUE LIONS

Dimitri - I Have Made Mistakes

“The sun, it does not cause us to grow, it is the rain that will strengthen your soul. It will make you whole. [...] I am afraid of all that I’ve built fading away.”

Dedue - Thus Always To Tyrants

“Let me die, let me drown, lay my bones in the ground, I will still come around when the time for sleep is through. [...] Where I go, will you still follow? Will you leave your shaded hollow? Will you greet the daylight looming, learn to love without consuming?”

Felix - Notos

“And every word you shouldn’t say will come bubbling out of your throat. And you will drown in the wake of the things you lost to the winds of Notos. You gotta let go.”

Sylvain - Second Child, Restless Child

“I was born a second child with a spirit running wild, running free. And they saw trouble in my eyes, they were quick to recognize the devil in me.”

Ingrid - Passerine

“You were the song that I'd always sing, you were the light that the fire would bring but I can't shake this feeling that I was only pushing the spear into your side again.”

Ashe - New River

“And your stomach goes hollow at the thought that it could swallow you whole [...] But the river takes her shape from every tempest she abides, and like her, you’ll be made new again.”

Mercedes - Pale White Horse

“Down they fell like the children of Eden, down they fell like the tower as the land relinquished her ghost. [...] Neither plague nor famine tempered my courage, nor did raids make me cower.”

Annette - The Truth is a Cave

“I was bound and determined to be the child that you wanted. And I was blind to every sign that you left for me to find, and the truth became a tool that I held in my hand. And I wielded it but did not understand”

GOLDEN DEER

Claude - Lapis Lazuli

“What can I say? ‘Cause the more I recite it, the more you wanna fight it, the more my language is sounding fabricated. But if there’s one thing I know, it’s either the growing is slow, or it cuts to the bone moving too quickly.”

Hilda - HILDA DOES NOT GET ONE BECAUSE SHE ISN'T SAD ENOUGH TO WARRANT A THE OH HELLOS SONG.

Lorenz - I Was Wrong

“I was torn between my god and my Father. [...] I was born at the dawn of our folly, and I was young and stubborn to the bone. [...] I was wrong, I was wrong, I was wrong.”

Marianne - Dear Wormwood

“I know who I am now, I know who I want to be. I want to be more than this devil inside of me.”

Ignatz - Zephyrus

“You and I, we are matter, and it matters. I want to spin something out of nothing. Lead to gold, spring from winter.”

Raphael - Theseus

“Oh, that peace like a river, always going, but never getting. Seems like maybe it's not all that much a place as it is a way. And ways don't ever seem to want to stay too still for too long. Isn't that what it's all about?”

Leonie - Eurus

“You can’t take any gold or rings further than the grave. Nothing we make can we bring, but the bait hanging from the string is calling my name, and like the wind it slips again out of my fingers.”

Lysithea - Glowing

“'Cause when Atlas shrugs, whose back is breaking? And I know how it feels to thе hands heavy as the heavens, a weight that could fold you to keep holding.”

CHURCH OF SEIROS

Rhea - Lay Me Down

“Take me home, I want to go down the road that will take me to the living oak. Lord, I know that I’m weathered stone, but I owe it to my brothers to carry them home.”

Seteth - O Sleeper

“I see the trail of shoulders I’ve climbed over, but by god, I’ll bloody up my hands with everything I am to cut away the mountains I’ve made and fill the dales below.”

Flayn - There Beneath

“There beneath the willow tree, I learned a lot about the way of things. [...] I know, I know this, there is beauty in the way of things.”

Alois - Soldier, Poet, King

“There will come a soldier who carries a mighty sword, he will tear your city down, O Lei, O Lai, O Lord.”

Catherine - Soldier, Poet, King

Shamir - Cold

“When the feeling leaves you, it moves so slow like the loose change from your front pocket; you don’t even feel it go. When the bitter creeps in to bite you whole, a specter unreflected, oh it keeps you cold.”

Cyril - Boreas

“Yeah, I swing from believing that maybe my working will all pay off to considering drinking with Molotov. I'm halfway out the door. Maybe then my breath could embody a wildfire starting.”

Jeritza - Torches

“I got a venom like a snake running out of my mouth, it’s got you burning at the stake. Innocent or not, you’re not a bet I care to take.”

ASHEN WOLVES

Yuri - Eat You Alive

“But there’s nothing but pain on the edge of a knife, there is no courage in flirting with fear to prove you’re alive.”

Balthus - The Lament of Eustace Scrubb

“Brother, forgive me, we both know I’m the one to blame [...] Father, have mercy, ,I know that I have gone astray [...] But I’ll come around someday. When I touch the water, they tell me I could be set free.”

Hapi - Cold Is the Night

“Take this burden away from me, and bury it before it buries me.”

Constance - Hieroglyphs

“'Cause you've been too busy thinking ahead of where we're all going after we're dead to maybe consider our bodies are worth more than the dust that we can return to the ground again”

OTHER/EXTRA

Byleth - Hello My Old Heart

“Hello, my old heart, how have you been? Are you still there inside my chest? I’ve been so worried, you’ve been so still– barely beating at all.”

Sothis - Where Is Your Rider?

“See, your face wasn’t quite as I remember, but I know that wicked shape to your smile. Bury me as it pleases you, lover. At sea or deep within the catacomb, but these bones never rested while living.”

Jeralt - This Will End

“No, I am not afraid to die. It’s every breath that comes before. [...] I will wait for this to end: the back and forth, the battery. For you, at last, to comprehend the kind of love of which I speak.”

Gilbert - Wishing Well

“All the love you gave to me, it wasn’t enough to keep me. [...] Bent my knee to many kings, idols of prosperity. Heard that dollar calling me, so I sought it in the city.”

Rodrigue - Like the Dawn

“You were the brightest shade of sun I had ever seen. Your skin was gilded with the gold of the richest kings. And like the dawn you woke the world inside of me [...] And you will surely be the death of me, but how could I have known?”

#fe3h #long post #asks #i gave catherine and alois the same song bc idk much abt them. and disclaimer i didnt play the dlc #other than that i used almost every single song with lyrics in their discography LSKJFSDF #let it be known the only ones i was SURE of were felix and sylvains #so if some of these don't fit? sorry i ran out of songs SLDKFJSDJF #i waffled on hildas for a long time before just being like. shes kinda too happy to have one?? LMAO #a lot of these songs are like. spoken by someone directed at someone else like jeralt and rodrigues #which are directed at byleth and lambert #i could justify all of my choices but it would make. the post longer

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constant-diablerie · 7 months

Note

Today's question is sponsored by tumblr user spinchs-field :))

QOTD: If you knew the sun was going to explode in exactly 12 hours, and you were allowed to do anything at all in those 12 hours (money doesn’t have value anymore, you can go wherever you want, etc.) what would you do?

ok so it would take 8.5 minutes for the explosion to reach the planet. i would spend those 12 hours deciding whether i’d prefer to be facing the sun, and therefore instantly vaporized, or if i’d prefer to be facing away from the sun, and get boiled in temperatures roughly 15x hotter than the surface of the sun.

then i’d travel to whichever side of the planet i’d want to be on, and commit a great many crimes, just to have a conversation piece in hell

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sassyduckqueen · 2 years

Text

Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 72

Hello! I am alive and finally bringing the next chapter! So as you can tell, it taken ages to do this. The main reason is that godforsaken ball of fire in the sky also known as the sun. I'm sure most of you are like 'but Sassy, the suns out everyday?'. Yes, I know. I hate that thing! It's too bright and too warm.... basically I'm severely sensitive to heat and summer. I suffer with hay fever and I have reverse SAD (basically I'm more depressed in the summer) plus work has been a little busy. Thank you, Doctor Strange, Top Gun and Jurassic world. Anyway, I hope the court scene isn't too bad. I have no experience with court so please don't comment that it's unrealistic. I know it is but its fine. Also I've tried to explain why Luka hasn't actually mentioned Issac and that since then. Anyway, hope you guys like and hopefully I won't take this long in releasing the next chapter

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Chapter Seventy-Two: Midas

~Dr Lang's Office~

"How are you feeling today then?" Mila asked as Luka sat on her sofa. He wasn't sat in a relaxed position and seemed more stressed then usual. She wasn't surprised given that the trial of his stepfather was getting closer and closer. Issac was getting charged with endangering a minor, attempted murder and assault. He had been released on bail but this didn't surprise Mila. His bail had been set to €10,000 and Issac had to meet certain things in order to be allowed to roam free before his trial. She wasn't surprised about him been able to afford the bail bond but she was a little worried that he might go after Luka. However, she learnt from Luka that Issac had to keep to certain conditions in order have bail. The lawyers dealing with his case investigated where Issac was in order to make sure he was keeping to his side of the deal and that Luka was safe. They had learnt that he had three conditions to meet for his bail. One, he was to stay in a private mental health facility due to his sudden breakdown. Two, he had to stay in a certain radius of the mental health facility and had a curfew. He was basically under house arrest. Finally, he was not allow to contact or go near Luka or his family. If he does, he will be returned back to prison. Mila personally thought the court was been way too nice considering that Issac attempted to murder Luka but she wasn't surprised that he had managed to get this deal. There was a lot of corruption in Paris so she suspected that someone in a high place had arranged for this. She wouldn't be surprised if it was the Mayor or his wife but she couldn't prove it. Speaking of friends of the mayor, Bob Roth was also facing his own trial for endangering a minor and conspiring to murder when it came to Luka as well as several misdemeanors and gang related crime. It turned out he had been quite the character in Paris' underworld. Dealing with illegal substances was just one of the crimes he was been charged with as the whole situation had opened a can of worms on him. He had originally been arrested for trying to prevent justice and with-holding vital information but they soon uncovered much more. Like Issac though, he was also allowed bail. Something she suspected had been done by the same person who was able to get Issac out on bail too. However, that wasn't Mila's concern. Luka was. "Luka?"

He flinched, making her frown as he looked around wildly before he closed his eyes and muttered to himself under his breathe. She frowned and noted it as he opened his eyes again, a little calmer. She was very concerned for him.

"Sorry," He muttered, making her frown. "I'm as ok as I can be,"

"Luka, you flinched and it looked like you were about to have a panic attack," She pointed out, making him frown. "Is it to do with Issac?"

"N-No," He replied, shaking his head. "I mean I'm not looking forward to seeing him again or Mr Roth but I'm not afraid of them,"

"Then what are you afraid of?" She asked, making him look at her. "It's clear it is something,"

"You're right.." He muttered, glancing down as he played with his hands. "I saw... something... but the thing is... I can't really talk about it. Not to you,"

"Is there a reason?" She asked, making him frown but he didn't answer. "Can you hint to me what you saw?"

"It's not what you think," He replied, making her raise an eyebrow. "I didn't see a crime or anything like that. I saw a terrifying akuma but I can't tell you anything more then that. If I do... who knows what will happen?"

"An akuma?" She asked, frowning. "Luka, most akumas are terrifying and you have a fear of them-"

"This is why I can't tell you!" He snapped, surprising her. "You just don't get it! No one does because no one else saw it! Only I did! Only I remember but I don't want to! I wish I could forget all about her but I can't! Every-time I close my eyes, I see her! I-"

He shook as tears rolled down his face, making Mila frown as she reached and handed him a tissue.

"Luka, it's ok," She stated as he wiped his eyes. "This akuma... does she have a name?"

He shook his head, making Mila frown. He wasn't going to talk about it anymore. She knew that. He said he couldn't, like he was afraid of the consequences of what might happen if he did but this deeply concerned her and it sounded like a miraculous issue. An akuma that no one else saw. It had to be an akuma from somewhere else. Maybe a different timeline or a different reality but as far as she knew, Luka hadn't held a miraculous but then again she didn't exactly know the identities of Anatis' allies. She only knew who she had given them to. She was even considering giving one to Luka as he had a good heart and a strong sense of justice. After all, that's how she chose her holders. They were either her patients or her students. Unbeknownst to Luka and Anatis, Mila wasn't just a therapist or at least she hadn't been until recently. She was also the mistress of a Dojo back in Japan which she had founded when she was forced to retreat there after Toutai's murder. For the last century or so, she had ran the dojo but as far as her students were concerned, she was the great-granddaughter of the original mistress. She used the dojo to find potential miraculous holders in order to prepare for the day where she would have to battle against Su Han and the Order. A small number of her students had been chosen over the years and were allowed to know her true identity but over the years, the dojo fell into hard times, especially after it's sister school in china was destroyed in a fire. She was devastated to learnt of it and had reached out to the daughter of the master but Fei didn't trust her. Her father had told her nothing of his connection to her and so Fei chose not to believe and distanced herself from Mila. As someone who understood lost better then most, Mila accepted that and hoped that Fei was able to learn to cope with her father's loss. Despite that, Mila still kept an eye on her and was happy to discover that Fei had gained a friend in Anatis. Though she wasn't fully aware of what exactly had happened in Shanghai. She just heard about it from an associate in China about it who acted as her eyes and ears in Shanghai. Speaking of her dojo, she was still the mistress but had left one of her student teachers in charge while she investigated Paris. Still, as far as she knew Luka didn't hold a miraculous but he was close to Anatis so maybe that had something to do with that. She would bring it up to Anatis tonight when they met tonight. She had already sent a request to him as Fu had sent word to her that he was finally settled in a new and safe place. While she had taught Anatis some small things about been a guardian, the differences between them were obvious and she was sure he would be happy to see his master again. Putting her attention back on Luka, she noticed he was shaking again. She grabbed some fresh tissues and gave them to him, getting a mumbled thanks of him.

"I'm not going to push you to talk about this akuma to me," She reassured, making him look at her with a grateful look before he nodded. "But can I give you some advice?"

"S-Sure," He mumbled, wiping his eyes.

"If you have someone who you can open up to about this akuma then do so," She stated, making him look at her in surprise. "I know you think keeping it in is right but I can see that whatever you saw is eating you up on the inside and bottling it up is not healthy, Luka. It's like having a poison in your system and not taking the antidote. All it will do is poison your mind and heart. It will make you akuma bait so talk to someone about it. It doesn't have to be me. It can be your mother, sister or a friend,"

"I... you're right..." He mumbled, looking down. "I... I think I know who I can talk to about it..."

"I'm glad there's someone," She replied in a sincere way. "Now why don't we discuss something more fun for the rest of the session? Like your band? Have you been working on anything new?"

"I've been working on a new song for Marinette," Luka mumbled, wiping his eyes with the tissue but he seemed happy for the change of subject. Sometimes, it was best to talk about more causal things, especially after an emotional outburst like the one Luka had. While Mila wasn't worried about akumas coming into her office thanks to her protection spells, she knew that leaving a patient in an emotionally vulnerable state is not a good thing especially in a city with an emotional terrorist. So her solution was to get her patients to talk about things they love. With Luka, that is music. "It's not finished yet but she likes it so far,"

"Marinette? She's your girlfriend isn't she?" She asked, remembering him mentioning her before. Luka nodded. "Does she have a hobby too?"

"Oh yeah. She's an amazing artist and makes her own clothing," Luka gasped, perking up at the opportunity to tell someone about how great Marinette is. "She's such an amazing girl and I'm still surprised that she's my girlfriend. She designed me my favorite jacket and I actually modelled some of her clothing before. Though modelling is more of my sister's thing,"

"Juleka right?" Mila asked, getting a nod of him. Luka had mentioned her several times. He seemed close to her and thought of her as one of the people he needed to protect. That was one of the reasons why she had considered him for a miraculous. He had a strong sense of loyalty and wanted to protect the people he loved. "How is she doing?"

"She's getting better with her anxiety," He replied, making her nod. He had explained about it in one of his previous sessions. "Her modelling with Marinette is definitely giving her confidence,"

"That's good," She replied before they continued to chat for the rest of the session. By the time the alarm went off, Luka had fully calmed down and seemed more relax then before but he still had a lot of tension. She knew that would be the case though as things like this don't just disappear instantly. However, she was glad with the progress. "Ok so that concludes our session today but I have some homework for you,"

"Ok?"

"I want you to open up a little to someone close to you today," She stated, making him bite his lip a little. "Now it doesn't have to be about this akuma... though I do want you to reach out to someone to talk about that even if it isn't me but with today, I want you to tell them something small that you need to get off your chest. It can be anything you want and that you need help with it,"

"... you're trying to get me use to asking for help..." He stated, making her raise an eyebrow. Sometimes she forgot how perspective he was. "Aren't you?"

"Yes," She admitted. "I want you to understand that it's ok to ask for help or to talk about things with others. You don't need to shoulder the weight of the world on your own. You have people who love and want to help you,"

"I know," He replied, nodding. "I just don't want to stress them out or burden them... but I'll try to do what you asked and I think I'll try and talk to my friend about the akuma,"

"That's a good choice," She replied, walking over to the door with him as he grabbed his jacket. She noticed it had a snake on it. "Is that the jacket Marinette made for you?"

"Yeah," He smiled, looking at it with a soft look. "I thought I'd wear it today since it brings me comfort and seems to improve my luck. I guess you could say it's my lucky charm,"

She chuckled at that, making him smile.

"Well, I can see why you like it," She smiled, making him smile. "Marinette is truly talented,"

"Yeah," He smiled happily before shaking his head. "Same time next week then?"

"Yes," She nodded, opening her door to let him out. "Be safe, Luka,"

"Thank you Dr Lang," He replied before existing the office and leaving. Mila closed the door behind her and walked back to her desk, taking a drink from her water before setting out the notes on Luka and getting ready for her next patient. Meanwhile, Luka began to head back to the Seine, coming to the Liberty. He had taken out his phone and sent an email to Mr Damocles, explaining that he had a particular stressful therapy session today and wouldn't be returning to school for the rest of the day. Because of his therapy, he did have an arrangement with the school in case of something like this as therapy sessions can be very draining. Once the email was sent, he sent a text to Juleka and Marinette as he crossed the gangplank and headed down to his room. With everything sent, he took off his jacket and shoes and flopped onto his bed, letting out a sigh as Tikki flew out.

"Are you ok?" She asked, making him nod. "Dr Lang is right. You should talk to someone about her,"

"I know," He mumbled, moving his arm over his eyes. "I know... I can't keep on bottling it up... I think I'm going to tell Lady Noir. She is the best person to talk to about it and I did say that I would tell her at some point,"

"That seems like a good idea," Tikki nodded as Luka yawned. "You should get some rest,"

"Y-Yeah," He mumbled before curling up on his side and falling asleep almost straight away. Tikki flew over to the blanket that Marinette had made for him when he was in hospital and picked it up, moving over him as he slept, breathing lightly as he did. She curled up next to him and closed her own eyes...

The echos of beeping was the first thing that caught his attention as Luka found himself waking up. The second thing was the smell that can only be described as clean and he recognized it straight away. It was a smell that only seem to exist inside a hospital. He had been in enough of them recently to get familiar with it. Slowly, he opened his eyes and found himself frown as he looked up at a white ceiling. As far as he remembered, he had just fallen asleep at home so why was he suddenly in a hospital? Had he been caught up in an akuma attack? Did he get hurt? He glanced at himself but saw he was still in his normal clothing, still with his shoes off so that ruled out he was a patient. He glanced around the room and saw it was empty. None of the medical equipment was set up but the beds were made so he was on an empty ward and by the looks of the way the walls were decorated, it was the children's ward. He sat up and climbed off the bed, heading towards the door. He went to open it but to his horror, his hand went through the handle. He took a deep breathe and calmed himself. So he was currently in a spirit form. He must be experience something similar to visiting Feng's hut but he didn't think that they could manifest a hospital. Still, at least he wasn't actually in one. He was sick of them. He stepped through the door and began to walk down the corridors. As he traveled down them, the sound of someone crying caught his attention. He frowned and followed it, coming upon a scene that ached his heart. Sat on one of the chairs was none other then his mother but to his surprise, she looked younger. Her hair was a little shorter and not completely gray. By the looks of it, she had only just started to go gray but he could see part of it was brown. She was hugged a little girl who he realized was Juleka. She couldn't be any older then four years old and was clinging to Anarka's side. To his heartache, Anarka was the person who was crying. Even though she was trying to be strong for Juleka, the tears just wouldn't stop.

"Ma!" He gasped, rushing over to her. He tried to reach out but his hand went straight through her cheek as a dark shadow moved over, making him spin around. He gritted his teeth as he came face to face with Issac but the man just walked through him and moved to Anarka. Luka tried to grab him as he loomed over his mother and sister. "Leave them alone!"

"Anarka," He stated in a cold voice, making Anarka flinch a little. "Have the doctors said anything since we admitted him?"

"Only t-that he's in a coma and they need to run tests..." She sobbed, looking up at him. Luka couldn't help but wonder how long he had been in hospital for at this point. "W-What happened? How did he get so hurt?"

"I'm sorry, Anarka," Issac replied, making Luka grit his teeth. "He was been reckless. I tried to stop him but the boy... Luka... he fell down the stairs and hit his head..."

"Liar!" Luka screamed, trying to go for him as he realized what Issac was talking about and why his mother was crying. This was the time he was in hospital in a coma. "You lying bastard! I didn't fall! You beat him me up! You tried to fucking kill me, you asshole!"

"I rushed him here as soon as I could," Issac continued his lie as Luka found himself raging more. He would have to be careful when he woke up though but before he could continue, the doctor came out with a somber look on his face. "Is he...?"

"It's not great news," The doctor stated, causing his mother to look at him. "Your son's injuries are dire, especially his head injury. Due to it, he slipped into a coma almost straight away which is why we did tests and I'm sorry but the chances of your son waking up are extremely slim. If he does, there's a high chance of severe brain damage but right now, the only thing that's keeping him alive is the medical equipment... which is why I have to ask you... do you want us to continue treatment or will you allow us to let him pass?"

Anarka burst into tears at that as Issac looked to the doctors.

"What's the chance of him pulling through?" He asked but Luka could feel that he was hoping there wasn't one.

"Honestly, I'd say there's less then 10% chance of him pulling through," He answered, making Issac nod. He looked sad but he could see glee in his eyes.

"In that case, we should do the kind thing and let him pass on-"

"What?!" Anarka screamed, surprising Issac. "No! I will not let you kill my son!"

She turned to the doctor with a determined look.

"Please don't give up on him," She gasped with tears in her eyes. "Luka is a strong boy. He can pull through so please keep him alive,"

"Mrs Farrow-"

"It's Miss Couphène!" She declared, surprising him. "Issac is not Luka's father but I am his mother so please save my baby,"

"I see," The doctor replied, giving Issac a look of disgust before looking back at his mother. "I can't make any promises but we will do everything in our power to try and save him,"

With that, he turned on his heel and walked back into the room, causing Luka to glare at his step-father as his mother sobbed. He ignored it as Issac attempted to reason with his mother, saying his survival was minimum before disappearing through the door into the room where he was. The doctor had directed the nurses to treat him as best as they can but it was weird seeing his younger self, lying there. His head had been partially shaved in order to place brain monitors on him and he was connected to a machine that was keeping him breathing and his heart beating. He had been so close to dying it actually scared Luka a little. Gradually the nurses and doctors left and the room became empty apart from the beeping of the machine. Luka had taken to sitting the chair next to his younger self, though he didn't seem to be able to affect the environment. From what he could tell, he was viewing the past in a similar to how he viewed his vision on leaving Paris, his dreams about Lady Blanche and his dreams about Feng's life. He seemed to always learn about things in these dreams so he wondered what he would learn about in this one. He frowned a little as he felt the room's atmosphere change a little but before he could do anything, a shade appeared in the room before taking the form of Feng himself. He seemed to ignore Luka as he walked over to his younger self.

"Oh, Luka," He sighed sadly as he sat down next to the young boy. "I'm sorry. I should have warned you about him and protected you better,"

"It wasn't your fault," Another voice stated, causing Luka to glance over as Khnurn walked over. "Humans are selfish creatures and most of them will hurt the innocent. We all know this better then most. Will he wake up?"

"I don't know," Feng answered, frowning. "The others... are they?"

"Toutai is panicking so Alpheus and Rene stayed with him," Khnurn answered. "He doesn't want to see another one be murdered as well. Is there anything we can do?"

Feng remained quiet, making Khnurn frown.

"Feng?"

"This machine is the only thing keeping his soul from moving over," He replied, making the younger guardian frown. "Humans have come far but even they can not stop death in it's tracks,"

"I could," A new voice stated, causing Luka to recognize it as Finni. He glanced over with the other guardians and rose an eyebrow as he saw a young boy stood in the corner of the room. His eyes were the same silver as Finni's in his bird form and his hair was golden with colorful highlights. He wore orange and red robes and looked roughly the same as the Luka in the bed. "I can save him,"

"Finni," Feng stated, frowning. "This isn't the same as when I was dying. He's already dead,"

"I know," Finni replied, walking over. "His body is only breathing because of this machine and this machine is keeping us both here but I can't let him die. I can't go through that loss again. I failed to protect Toutai and I'm not about to fail this child either. I have the power to bring him back,"

"It will drastically weaken you!" Khnurn gasped, making Finni look at him. "Not just that but there would be no undoing that merge. At least with what you have with us, you can separate yourself if you wish to do so and wonder about as a separate spirit but this would permanently merge you with his soul. There would be no way to separate you from him. You'd lose any freedom you had,"

"I know the risks, Khnurn," Finni replied, smiling softly before looking at him. "But this child is more then just your latest life. He is a light soul and a powerful source of good but even if he wasn't, I couldn't sit there and let him die when I can save him,"

"You've made up your mind," Feng stated, causing the phoenix boy to nod. "I see. Is there anything we can do to assist you?"

"I need you to watch over him... and bound his abilities. Right now, it is far too dangerous for him to use them, especially with that man around," Finni replied, making them frown. "Since I will go into a dormant state as I have not fully recovered from Toutai's murder, I won't be able to protect him,"

"How do we protect him then?" Khnurn asked, causing Finni to sigh. "With his powers binded, he won't be able to see us,"

"I know but you can use your own magic," Finni replied, making them look at him. "You are all empaths. Influence someone to leave him alone shouldn't be trouble for you,"

"I see," Khnurn replied, nodding. "We will try our best but it might be enough,"

"I know but with his powers been bound until it is safe to undo them, that man and the others should leave him alone. I will also repress his memories of you and that so his 'step father' can not use it against him anymore," Finni replied, frowning. "At the very least, the spirits will leave him alone since he won't be able to see them,"

"Finni," Khnurn stated but Feng remained quiet. "Feng? You knew this would happen?"

"I foresaw it," He answered as the three of them looked at him. "But this binding will not last forever. There will come a time where his powers will reawaken and where Finni will no longer be asleep. He will need all of us when they do,"

Feng looked at Finni, who gave him a nod confirming his words.

"Don't worry, old friend. We will always be by his side," Feng replied, causing Finni to nod again before he gently took Luka's hand and closed his eyes, beginning to glow...

Luka gasped as he jolted away, finding himself back on the liberty and not in the hospital. He sat up as he took a breathe and ran his fingers through his hair. He got up and walked out of his room, heading into the bathroom. He locked the door and filled the sink up with water before washing his face and drying it. Once that was done, he took another deep breathe and glanced at his reflection. He needed to know if that dream was in fact his memory and if so, he had questions. A lot of them and he knew Feng or the others wouldn't be able to answer them. No, he needed to talk to Finni.

"Finni," He stated, looking at his reflection. "I need to ask you something,"

At first, nothing happened but then the room suddenly warmed up. Not like a fire but more like a feeling of warmth and familiarity. He glanced around the room as the light flickered a little before looking back at the mirror. The glass rippled, causing his reflection to change into the young boy from his dream. Finni in his humanoid form.

"Hello, Luka," He stated, though his voice was like an echo. "I know you have questions and I'll do my best to answer them as clearly as I can,"

"Thank you," Luka replied, nodding as Finni also nodded. "That dream I had... I was-"

"In the hospital," Finni replied, nodding. "I know. I experienced it too. You want to know if it was just a dream or if it was real,"

"Yeah,"

"It was real, Luka," Finni replied, making Luka nod. He had a feeling. "I'm sorry. This must be hard for you, especially with the fact that we binded your magic,"

"... It worked a little..." Luka confessed, making Finni look at him. "Issac was still abusive but he didn't try to kill me again... well not until recently.... and Ma finally got herself and us out of that situation,"

"I'm glad you were about to get out of that situation," Finni replied before glancing down. "I'm sorry though. I wasn't able to help you,"

"Hey, you saved my life," Luka stated, wanting to comfort the spirit. "But... was I really dead?"

"I'm afraid so,"

"You bounded yourself to me again but in the memory, they said it was different to the time with Feng," Luka mumbled. "That since I was already dead, you wouldn't be able to free yourself if you bounded yourself to me. Is that true and what does it mean? Am I just a walking corpse?"

"No! You're very much alive," Finni gasped, holding up his hands. "While it's true that I am bound to you and unable to leave, the process brought you fully back to life,"

"So I'm not dead anymore but I was?" Luka questioned, making Finni nod. "This is a lot,"

"I know but I can explain it. It's kind of like those people who were dead for two minutes, only it was a little longer," Finni replied, making Luka frown a little. "I promise you that you're definitely alive but our connection changed when I binded myself to you. It is different to the connection I had to Feng and the others. Feng and the others were my host but I existed beyond them too. As a spirit, I was capable of walking both plains, though no one but the gifted could see me. When I binded myself to Feng, it was to save his life but his soul wasn't dead. It was damaged as all soul are when the body receives mortal wounds plus Simme had left damage too but it hadn't passed yet. When I binded myself to him, our souls intertwined which allowed his soul to heal itself from my soul. It feed off me so to speak but with you, the scenario was very different. You were already dead and those machines were keeping you breathing. When I binded myself to you, I wasn't merging myself with a damaged soul that could regenerate. I was merging myself with a one who's life force had already gone,"

"Umm..." Luka frowned, still feeling a little confused. "I'll be honest... I don't really get it,"

"Ok, let me simplify it for you," Finni replied, thinking. "Ok, imagine you have two smartphones?"

"Ok?"

"One of them is really low battery and desperately needs charging but it's not dead yet and the battery itself isn't damaged," Finni replied, making Luka nod. "You connect to a power outlet with a charger and it charges up right? Takes time but soon the phone is fully battery and it's capable of functioning right?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, that is what I did with Feng," Finni replied, making Luka nod as he understood.

"You were the outlet with the charger and he was the phone who's battery was dying,"

"Exactly," Finni replied, a little proud of his explanation. "Which brings us to the second phone. Like the first one, it needs help but its in a much worst condition then the first phone. It's battery is completely dead and damaged. It can't hold a charge no matter how hard you try so you have to replace the battery with a new one so that's what you do because you love this phone and you don't want to replace it. That's what I did with you. I replaced your battery so to speak with myself becoming your new battery,"

"I see," Luka nodded, getting it. "But with the charger, you can remove it and the phone will last a certain amount of time but if you remove the battery, the phone will die... that's why you can't leave isn't it? If you chose to leave Feng, he wouldn't die straight away. He would live out his life but if you leave me... I'll die won't I?"

"Yeah but it's not because your soul is still dead. The phone isn't still dead when you replace the battery. It is brought back to life but the new battery becomes part of it," Finni replied, making Luka frown. "I have become part of you. I became your life force,"

"My life force but doesn't that mean that you're my soul?"

"Not at all," Finni replied. "Life source or Esse in spirit terms is the energy that allows creatures to live. The soul or Chi in spirit terms is the thing that makes people who they are. Souls grow and change as they live through their experiences. In your case, it grows and changes throughout your different lives. I joined with Feng's Chi, allowing it to heal with his Esse. Because I stayed with him, it gave him a long life and when it was time for his death, he allowed his soul to move on and I followed. i did the same with the others and I intentionally did the same with you but because I was weakened from Toutai's murder and our connection had been weakened, I wasn't able to heal you in time when your stepfather attacked you. Your Esse was gone so I became it in order to save you but your chi is still you. That's why we're able to talk like this. If I had become your chi then you wouldn't be here. I'd be inhabiting your body... but I hope you can forgive me,"

"Forgive you?" Luka asked, frowning. "Finni, there's nothing for me to be angry about. You gave up your chance of a life to save mine. You saved me. If anything, I should give you my thanks,"

"But... we kept it from you..." Finni replied, looking at me.

"Can you honestly say that I would have been safe if I knew?" Luka asked, making Finni think before he shook his head. "See? It's ok,"

"You're too kind, Luka," Finni smiled, making Luka smile back. "However, those memories while locked away are not lost. I can return them to you,"

"But that means the bad ones too, doesn't it?" Luka asked, looking to the side. While he remembered most of the abuse he had faced from Issac, he knew he didn't remember all of it. There were spots in his memory. He always just assumed that it was because he had blocked it out and even with the option to remember, he wasn't sure if he wanted to. "I'm not sure I want to remember the bad ones,"

"You don't have to have them back right now. They'll always be within your mind," Finni reassured, making Luka nod as his phone vibrated. Luka glanced over at it and sighed. He picked up the phone, took a screen shot and proceeded to block a number, making Finni frown. "Everything ok?"

"It's another anonymous text telling me to drop the case against Bob Roth," He sighed, looking back in the mirror. "I keep on getting them so I've been collecting them for my lawyer... well, Dad's lawyer. We think Bob Roth has paid someone to basically try and threaten me. He got out on bail but we're due going to court against him after we've finished up with Issac. Given the link in the two cases, Dad's lawyer has insisted that we do the two trial on the same day. Get it over and done with I guess,"

"Is that tomorrow?" Finni asked, getting a nod of Luka. "Do you think he will get away with it?"

"No, this one isn't really a trial but more a sentencing hearing," Luka admitted. Even though he knew Issac was probably going to go away for a long time, he wasn't looking forward to seeing him again. Finni tilted his head to the side as if confused. "Issac pleaded guilty. This court is basically for the judge to sentence him and reward me compensation. Dad's lawyer insisted on it been a thing so I can get closure but the real trouble is Bob Roth. As far as I know, he's refusing to admit guilt for anything even the stuff not related to me. Of course, those cases have nothing to do with me but it's still annoying to know he's refusing to take responsibility for releasing the information that directly led to Issac attempting to murder me,"

"So what's the charges for him?"

"Child endangerment, Perverting the course of justice, assisted kidnapping and assisted attempted murder," Luka replied, frowning as his phone vibrated again. He repeated his previous action before sighing. "I'm gonna have to change my number again,"

"Maybe it's time to get some rest," Finni replied, making Luka nod. "It's late after all,"

"Yeah," Luka agreed as he yawned. Finni glowed and left the mirror in a golden light before appearing in his kwami form next to Luka. He gently nuzzled his cheek before turning in a golden light that surrounded Luka. He gently placed his hand on his heart as it died down before heading to his room. He looked in on Juleka who was curled up asleep in her room before going through his door. Tikki was curled up in bed, making him smile a little before he got back into bed and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

~Next Day at the Supreme Court~

"Now remember that this is just a sentencing court. Issac is under restraint and has been under house arrest for the last few month since his bail was posted," Jagged's Lawyer, Salomé Monet, declared, making Luka nod. She was an interesting woman. Fierce and determined, he could see why his father had hired her. She knew the law like the back of her hand and she was not one to surrender. However, she was also compassionate for those who needed it. "If he does try anything, a number of guards will have him restrained before you can even say 'Anatis',"

"R-Right," Luka nodded. He glanced over as his mother who gave him her best smile. Sadly, Marinette or Juleka couldn't be there as they still had to attend school but Anarka was and they had already arranged it with Marinette's parents to have Luka sleep around that night. "Shall we go inside then?"

"When you're ready," Salomé replied before giving him a look. "If you need to step out, don't hesitate. We'll understand if you need to,"

"Thank you," Luka replied, nodding. A few seconds later, they headed into the court room and took their seats. Luka began to figet a little so Anarka reached out and gently took his hand, making him glance at her.

"You ok, Lad?" She asked, making him smile and nod as Issac was brought in by some officers Luka's eyes widen as he looked at him. He looked awful, like he hadn't slept in months. His once neat hair was frazzled and his clothes were crinkled and ever so slightly tattered. His beard had grown out and he had dark circles under his eyes. He honestly looked like the living dead. His lawyer, a meek man, trailed behind him as Luka watched them. Issac came to a stop and glancing around, his wild eyes landing on Luka. They widened in fear and he looked like he might start screaming but luckily, he didn't. Instead he looked away from him as he shook before glancing around. Luka realized he was looking for the kwamis and seemed to calm down when he didn't see any. He took his seat and glanced back at Luka, causing him to grip Anarka's hand a little tighter. "It's ok, Lad. He can't hurt you anymore,"

Luka nodded, not trusting his voice but relaxed a little when Issac's lawyer told him to stop staring.

"That freak unleashed little monsters on me," Issac hissed back, making the man facepalm.

"Issac, you did take your meds today didn't you?" He asked in a tired tone.

"I'm not crazy,"

"Sure, you're not," The lawyer replied, shaking his head as the lead officer came out.

"All rise," He declared, causing everyone to stand up as the judge came and took their seat. "Judge, this is case 1345 of Farrow vs Anarka Couffaine on behalf of one Luka Couffaine. All parties are here,"

He turned to the small crowd.

"Please be seated,"

"It is my understanding that this is a sentencing case and that the accused has in fact pleaded guilty. Can you confirm this, Mr Auclair?"

"Yes, your honor," Mr Auclair declared, standing up. "My client offers his deepest-"

"Save it," The Judge ordered. "I doubt Ms Couffaine or her son want to hear your client's false apologies. Now according to my files, your client also suffered a mental breakdown and you have applied for him to carry out any sentence he is given in a mental health facility? Do you have Mr Farrow's medical records?"

"Yes, your honor,"

"I would like to read them before I make a judgement on where he should do his sentence," He ordered, causing the officer to grab the files from Mr Auclair and handed them to him. Luka watched as the judge read over them, making him nervous a little. "Mr Farrow, according to your records, you have no history of mental health issues and have never had a mental breakdown prior to the one you had before you arrest. Is this true?"

"Yes, your honor," Issac replied, making the judge nod.

"And while you experienced mental health issues after your arrest, you did not actual suffer another mental breakdown during the time in jail and under house arrest?"

"Also true, your honor,"

"I see," The Judge replied, handing the files back to the guard. "In that case, I will not allow your client's request, Mr Auclair. I find your client is of sound body and mind and therefore will complete his sentencing in a normal prison,"

"But that brat caused me to break down!" Issac screamed, causing his lawyer to pull him down and tell him off.

"Forgive his interruption, your honor,"

"Mr Farrow, your stepson did not cause your mental breakdown nor is there any evidence that he was even there when you had it," The judge replied, making Issac tut. "Regardless of those facts, I would say after the trauma you put him through, he would have every right to make you feel as vulnerable as he felt when you kidnapped him,"

"It's not my fault, your honor!" Issac shouted before pointing to Luka with a smirk. "He's a witch!"

He had an expression like he thought the accusation would change everything and that the judge and everyone else would suddenly change their minds and agree with him but it didn't go his way. The Judge instead rolled his eyes and cleared his throat.

"Witch or not, he is still a child," The judge stated, causing Luka to smile a little. "And you still committed a crime. I don't see why you shouldn't be punished to the full extent of the law or placed in a prison instead of a mental healthy facility,"

"I'm insane!"

"Playing that card are we?" The judge asked, glancing over his glasses at Issac. "Mr Auclair, your client has been examined by our doctors correct?"

"Yes, your honor,"

"Could you read out their findings?"

"Um... 'Mr Farrow shows no signs of any mental health illnesses and appears to have had a freak mental break down. We have tested and observed him in order to determine a cause for it. We have determined that stress was the main factor in his mental breakdown due to his outstanding warrants for his arrest but we deem him sane. He has no history of mental health issues nor has suffered a mental break before this incident. However, he is a threat to society and has shown a taste for violence'..."

"In order words, Mr Farrow. You did not act out of insanity when you attempted to murder your step son and were of sound body and mind," The Judge stated, causing Issac to go pale. "Therefore, I think it only fair that you be punished to the full extent of the law. I hereby sentence you to 30 years imprisonment without parole for 10 years. I also hereby reward the Couffaines with €5000 as compensation,"

He turned to look at Anarka and Luka.

"I can only reward up to €5000 so I hope this acceptable for you," The judge recommended, causing Anarka to nod. "And I hope that this ruling will allow you two some peace of mind,"

With that, he turned to the bailiff who nodded. Two officers came back in and made Issac stand up before leading him out. He looked behind him and glared at Luka but before he could do anything, one of the officers roughly dragged him outside. Luka let out a breathe he hadn't realized he had been holding in before the judge cleared his throat.

"We will take a recess for one hour before we tackle the second half of this case," The Judge announced before getting up and leaving. Anarka and Luka got up and left the court room, just as Luka's phone vibrated. He took it out and frowned as he saw another threat. He sighed and switched off his phone before turning to Anarka who was speaking with their lawyer.

"Ma, I'm just going to use the bathroom," He stated, making her nod. He walked off and into the bathroom before running the water in the sink and splashing his face. This threat was the worst one by far and he was certain they were from Bob Roth even if they were from an unknown number. It basically threatened to hurt Juleka and he didn't want that. He let out a sigh as he felt Tikki press her paw against his chest, reminding him that she was there for him. However, the door to the bathroom opened and closed before someone cleared their throat. Luka looked up and saw a man in a black suit with sunglasses stood behind him. He turned around with a weary look. "Can I help you?"

"Mr Couffaine, we want you to drop the case against Bob Roth," He declared, making him frown. "Our client is willing to... give you compensation for the troubles you have endured and will ensure no harm come to your family if you do so but we need you to say to the judge that you want to drop the case. Convince him to do so,"

"How am I suppose to do that?"

"Say that you made up the accusations out of jealous against our client's son. Tell him you lied for attention. I don't care how you do it as long as you do," The man replied, making Luka frown. Bob Roth and his people thought he could be brought and bribed but this went against everything he was. As if reading his mind, the man took a step forward. "If you don't, I can promise your loved ones will pay. Mr Roth has connections with powerful people who can make your life extremely difficult. I would hate to see your family lost the Liberty or your mother to lose custody of you and your sister. Speaking of your sister, we can destroy her future easily. She wants to be a model correct? We can easily blacklist from every fashion house there is and that nice little baker you're dating with the dreams off been a fashion designer. It would be terrible for her career if she was accused of plagiarism or if her family's bakery was closed down so I highly recommend you take our offer, Mr Couffaine or else your friends and family will suffer. I'm sure you don't want that so do the right thing,"

With that, he turned around and left the bathroom, leaving Luka shook. He sunk to the ground as what the man said came into his mind. They knew he was with Marinette. They knew about her dreams and Juleka's dreams. Tikki flew out as he shook. They must have been following them.

"Luka, take a deep breathe," Tikki gasped, pressing her paw against his cheek.

"T-They know Marinette and Juleka..." He gasped, shaking. "I... I can't... th-they... hurt t-them..."

Tikki looked around panicked as his breathing got more ragged and panicked. She knew she should get Anarka but before she could, the air seem to shift in the bathroom, making it feel like the spirit realm. Footsteps echoed as Luka continued to have his panic attack. He gripped his hair as tears rolled down his face but he jumped as he felt a hand on his, stopping him from yanking his hair out. He shakily looked up and found himself face to face with Alpheus.

"Al-Alpheus..." He whimpered.

"Follow my lead, Luka," He stated, making. "Breathe in.... and out..."

Luka followed his actions, slowly calming down. Once calm, he wiped away his tears.

"T-thank you," He replied as the Greek sat next to him as he looked around the room. It seemed different. Luka glanced over at Alpheus and noticed he seemed a little older then when he last saw him. He roughly looked around 25 years old. "Are we still in the court?"

"Technically yes but I used my magic to pull you into the spirit realm," He replied, making Luka glance at him. "I know what just happened,"

"I don't know what to do," Luka admitted, hugging his legs. "If I don't get the judge to drop the case, my loved ones will suffer but if I do, it goes against everything I am as a person. It means Bob Roth will get away with it and if this how he deals with a civil thing... how many other people have he threatened to get them to drop their cases against him?... I'm scared, Al,"

"It's ok to be scared," Alpheus replied, causing Luka to look at him. "And no one will blame you or hold it against you if you decide to drop this case,"

"B-But isn't that against the rules?" He asked, frowning. "That's why you're here right? To test me?"

"Do you know what my trait is?" Alpheus asked, making Luka shake his head. "My trait is loyalty. The team I had in my life was built on our loyalty to each other. It was what defined us but it was also what was broken when Juno stole the peacock miraculous. She betrayed my loyalty and it hurt a lot but I learnt from it and fought against her because I couldn't give up on what I had started,"

"You think I should continue?"

"I think it's up to you," Alpheus replied, making Luka nod. "But that's not the question you need to ask. The question is if you don't... can you live that choice? You don't have to answer that question now but you'll know it when the moment to answer it comes,"

"What if I decide to drop it?"

"Then you drop it," Alpheus replied, looking at him. "and you'll have to live it with it,"

"... I don't know if I can..."

"Like I said you don't have to answer it right now," Alpheus replied, getting up and offering his hands to Luka. He took them and allowed Alpheus to pull him to his feet. "And even if you decide that, we'll still be here for you but maybe I give you something,"

"O-ok,"

"Here's some words that I think might help," Alpheus replied, making Luka raise an eyebrow as he cleared his throat. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,"

With that, he disappeared in a wisp of smoke, leaving Luka with his thoughts. Tikki gently placed his hand on his cheek as he splashed his face again before walking out of the bathroom. It was odd seeing Alpheus so serious but that means it's important. Anarka looked at him and asked him if he was ok. He nodded and walked back into the courtroom before taking a seat. Would it be worth it if he dropped it? His family would be ok right? And so would Marinette? But Bob Roth also thought he could get away with stealing their work. Who else had he hurt? Who else had he threatened to get his own way? What if Luka standing up to him gave people courage to do the same? What if it didn't? Was it really worth it but more importantly... could he live with his choice if he choose to drop the case and go against his morals?

"Luka, the case is about to begin again," Their lawyer stated as Anarka took a seat next to him. "Is there anything else you want to add before we do?"

"I got another text just after we left for the break," He replied, showing him. The lawyer frowned as he read it.

"Anything else?"

"... A man in black came into the bathroom when I was washing my face and threatened everyone I care about," He stated, making both the lawyer and Anarka look at him shocked. "He said that I need to drop the case and that they would give us compensation if I did. when I hesitated, he said he would destroy my loved one's life. He knew about the Liberty and Juleka's dreams of been a model. He even threatened to destroy my girlfriend's dreams of been a fashion designer and threatened her parent's business,"

"Damn it," The lawyer groaned, pinching his nose. "You're not my first client to experience this,"

"Lad, if you decide to drop the case, I understand," Anarka stated, making Luka look down. "You haven't decided yet have you?"

"... not yet..."

Before they could continue, Bob Roth himself was brought in and had the nerve to smirk at Luka before he sat down with the man in the black suit. His lawyer. Of course. Luka's lawyer gave him a glare before the judge came in and took their seat.

"Welcome back," He stated before taking his papers. "So now we are dealing with the second half of this case. Anarka Couffaine on behalf of Luka Couffaine vs Bob Roth. Unlike the previous part of this case, this is a trial not a sentencing hearing. Mr Roth has pleaded not guilty against the charges accused of him. I hope both sides have evidence readied. I do not wish to drag out this case longer then necessary. We will start with the opening statements,"

Luka looked down at his hands as each lawyer did their opening statement. Bob Roth's lawyer tried to paint him as a family man who helped out the community and tried to make out that Luka and his family were ruffians and seemly trying to get money from Bob. Luka's lawyer showed how Luka was a kind and gentle person who tried his best to help his friends, even acknowledging his friendship with Anatis and tried to counter Bob's lawyer's ideals of him. With the opening statements done, the two lawyers presented the evidence to prove Bob Roth's guilt or innocent. A lot of Luka's lawyers evidence was countered by Bob's lawyer including the threatening texts. Soon Bob was brought onto the standing and was questioned by Bob of them. He tried to make himself seem like a nice man, joking and acting 'kind'. The worst part is it seemed people were falling for it.

"Defense calls Luka Couffaine to the stand," Bob's lawyer stated, making everyone gasp.

"Objection! We agreed not to do that!" Luka's lawyer argued, making the judge call them over to the stand. The three of them discussed before the judge nodded, causing the lawyer to walk back over. "I'm sorry, Luka but the judge wants you to be questioned,"

"... Alright..." Luka nodded, getting up and walking to the stand. He swore the oath to tell the truth before taking a seat. The judge leaned over to him.

"Answer everything as best as you can and clearly," He stated, making Luka nod. "I will overrule if I think the questions are too personal,"

"Ok," Luka nodded. He looked over at the captain who gave him a reassuring look.

"Luka? Can I call you Luka?" The lawyer asked, making Luka nod. "Ok, Luka. Will you tell us your story of your accusations against Mr Roth?"

Luka nodded and explained what had led up to this case.

"An interesting story," The Lawyer replied, nodding. "But how can I be certain it's true? After all, your mother has butted heads with Mr Roth before as has your father. Could this be their way of getting even with Mr Roth?"

"No," Luka answered. "My mother and father have nothing do with this case,"

"Are you sure?" He asked, making Luka frown. "It seems very far fetched, claiming that Mr Roth and his son stole your music and then released your relationship to Mr Stone for revenge. Why would my client do that? And how can we be sure you didn't make it up?"

Luka went silence as he realized what the man was doing. This was it. His choice. He could agree with him and get the case dropped... or he could tell the truth.

"Luka, did you make it up?" The lawyer asked in his best 'child speaking' voice. "It's ok if you did. No one is going to be angry. You just need to tell the truth,"

The question is if you don't... can you live that choice?

"Luka, please answer the question,"

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing

"Luka?"

".... I didn't make it up..." Luka stated, looking at the lawyer. "And my ma and pa didn't pressure me or anything. Mr Roth stole from me and my friends. He released that information on purpose and even got a message from Issac when I was kidnapped. I remember it. Issac had beaten me up then yanked my hair and took a photo before going on the phone with him so he could contact my parents for a random. I know I can't prove that it's his number but he has been harassing me for a number of weeks threatening me to do the case against him and then during the break, you came into the bathroom while I was trying to calm down from seeing Issac again and threatened me and my loved ones! The worst part is I thought about doing what you wanted. I want to protect my loved ones but the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing! I am not going to stand by and let him getting away with this. He is corrupt and greedy and you should be ashamed of representing someone like that!"

"Why you little brat!" Bob shouted, jumping up as his lawyer looked at Luka shocked. Apparently, he didn't expect that. "You're gonna pay for this you little brat!"

At that point, everyone apart from Luka started to shout. Bob was screaming about something, Anarka was screaming at him with both of their lawyers trying to calm them down while the judge tried to get control of the court room.

"Order in the court!"

~Hawkmoth's Lair~

"Ah, all these emotions running wild and all because of Mr Couffaine. No wonder why he feels so much guilt right now," Hawkmoth declared as his window opened, allowing light into the room. "Should I have kept my mouth shut? Am I wrong to speak up? Have I done the right thing? These questions make for a troubled heart... perfect prey for my akumas,"

He held out his hand as the butterfly landed on it before charging it up with dark energy. Once that was done, he let it flight off.

"Go, my little akuma," He declared, spinning his cane as it flew towards the window. "And evilize this lost soul!"

The akuma flew out the window and fluttered across Paris, coming to the courthouse as the parties continued to shout and argue while Luka tried to put his input and question if he had done the right thing. It crawled through the window and began to flutter down towards him but before it could enter any of his items, Bob Roth spotted it and made a rush for it, causing everyone in the room to gasp including his lawyer.

"Bob! No!" His lawyer shouted as he roughly grabbed it and forced it into his golden necklace, opening up the connection with Hawkmoth.

"Well, this is unexpected," Hawkmoth stated, feeling the feelings of rage and greed going through Bob's mind. "You were not my intended akuma,"

"Give me powers to shut down this case and I'll give you the miraculous," Bob declared as everyone began to run out of the courtroom and a number of officers came in, shouting at him to surrender and that they had already alerted the heroes. "That's what you want right?"

"Hmm... I'd be a fool not to accept a willing akuma," Hawkmoth replied. "Midas, I am giving you the power to use your wealth to rid yourself of this case. In return, you will get me the miraculous of Anatis and Lady Noir. Do we have a deal?"

"I will buy my way to victory!" Bob declared, laughing manically as the purple smog covered his body. As it disappeared, the floor where he stood turned gold and his appearance had changed. The akuma that stood before the officers was still very much Bob Roth but his outfit had most changed. Instead of his normal clothing, he was now dressed as a king. He had a golden crown upon his head where his glasses once were and his eyes had turned black with golden irises. His skin was an extremely pale yellow kind of color but his hands seem to fade into gold. He stepped forward, causing the floor that he stepped on to turn into gold. In a way, he resembled Style Queen but instead of glitter, his body appeared to be made of molten gold.

"Bob Roth, surrender the akuma and come quietly,"

"I am not Bob Roth anymore!" He roared, making them aim at him. "I am Midas and you will fear my golden touch!"

With that, he summoned a golden whip into his hand before hitting the officers with it, turning them into gold. The whip disappeared into his hand as he walked past the statues and began to look for the rest of the people in the court. The main one he wanted to deal with was Luka Couffaine but he'd take everyone else too, regardless of who they were.

~Meanwhile~

Luka and Anarka ran as fast as they could out of the courthouse as soon as Bob had made a grab for the akuma. Luka was glad that he hadn't been akumatized but now Bob had and he had to find an excuse to run off to turn into Anatis. They made a sharp turn but before they could, golden fire blew in front of them, causing the street and unfortunately Anarka to get turned into gold.

"Ma!" Luka shouted as he stepped back in horror. He looked up and saw a golden dragon flying in front of him. On top of it was the now akumatized Bob Roth. Seeing the young musician, he jumped down, causing Luka to step back. "Stay away!"

"Drop the case and I'll return your mother back to her normal form," Roth declared, narrowing his eyes at the boy. He edged closer as Luka frowned, clearly not expecting that but he intended that to be the case. He knew that he wouldn't drop the case but that wouldn't matter when he was gold. Seeing his chance, he went to grab Luka's arm only for the boy to realize what he planned and jump back as he ran off. However, his fingers managed to briefly brush the boy's skin, meaning he would slowly turn into gold. Satisfied, Midas smirked and left as Luka ran as fast as he could. He ducked into an alleyway and took a deep breathe before realizing his left arm felt stiff. He quickly moved it and pulled up his sleeve, seeing the golden poison. Tikki flew out, gasping as she did.

"You got hit!" She declared as he frowned. "And it's spreading!"

"Shit," He gasped as it slowly increased. "Tikki, how long would you say I've got?"

"About... 30 minutes at the most?" She suggested, making him frown. "We need to defeat him now!"

"Can I briefly use a lucky charm to get rid of it?"

"No, the miraculous cure won't work until you've defeated the villain," She declared, making him frown. "I'm sorry, Luka but you have to fight the villain first then reverse the damage,"

"Right," He nodded, swiping his ear rings. "Tikki! Spots on!"

He transformed and frowned as he saw the golden poison had affected his outfit to. The patch was now the size of his hand, making him frown deeply. He really didn't have long. He took out his yoyo and checked the news feed, showing that Midas was terrorizing people near the court and Lady Noir was on the scene. He threw his yoyo and made it there but by the time he got there, his hand was almost covered in gold as well. He frowned as he glanced around. Seeing that anyone who had been hit was already gold made him realize that if Midas saw his arm, he would realize his identity. Somehow he needed to cover it without making it obvious. He glanced around and saw nothing that would help so left with no choice, he threw his yoyo into the air.

"Lucky charm!" He called out, causing an arm sling to appear out of thin air. He caught it and quickly put it on, covering his arm before swinging down into battle.

"Annie! Don't let him touch you! He's got a golden touch!" Lady Noir declared as she dodged his whip attack. Anatis nodded before joining in with the fight. It wasn't easy fighting with one arm at all. Anatis had far too many close calls, especially with the golden dragon up in the sky. The worst part was they couldn't touch him, meaning getting his akumatized item off him was impossible. Lady Noir jumped back as he tried to hit her again. "Annie, I think we need help!"

"I agree but I had to summon my lucky charm already!" He declared, making her look at him with surprise. Midas and his dragon charged towards them, causing Lady Noir to call on her powers and slammed her hand into the ground, causing it break and dust to cover their escape. With Midas blinded, the two heroes rushed from the scene and into the sewers. With no one on their trail, Anatis leaned against the wall and careful removed the sling. Lady Noir gasped as she saw his now completely golden hand. "I got hit when I was trying to protect Luka,"

"Can't you just cast the cure?"

"According to Tikki, I need to defeat the cause first," He replied, making Lady Noir frown as he put his sling back on. "I have about 20 minutes before I'm completely gold. We can't touch him either or we'll be turned to gold straight away,"

"Isn't there anyway to buy you some time or like stop it?" Lady Noir asked, causing Anatis to make a face.

"There isn't a way to buy myself more time," Anatis replied, making her frown.

"Then how do we defeat him?" She gasped, looking upset. "You'll detransform and be gold before we can and we can't even touch him,"

Anatis made a face before sighing.

"Let's go to Mulan," He replied, making Lady Noir nod and follow him out of the sewers, making sure they weren't followed. By the time they got to Mila's office, Anatis' arm and part of his shoulder was completely gold and that had been they moving as fast as they could. Lady Noir gave him a worried look before knocking the window, causing Mila to come over and open it.

"What on earth happened?" She asked as Anatis' earrings beeped and Lady Noir's ring beeped. The two heroes climbed inside and Anatis rushed off to a separate room to detransform and recharge Tikki. "Lady Noir?"

"Annie got hit while protecting someone from the akuma. Also could you not look? I'm about to detransform," She replied, making Milan frown as her ring beeped rapidly. Mila nodded and turned around, keeping her eyes closed as Lady Noir turned back into Marinette gave Plagg some cheese.

"Tell me about the akuma,"

"His power is literally turning to people into gold. He seems to have copied Guitar Villain and Frightingale too as he has a golden dragon and uses a whip to turn people into statues straight away," She replied as Plagg finished the cheese. She re-transformed and took out her baton, looking for the akuma's location. "But from what Anatis told me, if he briefly touches you, the golden touch is slow and spreads like a poison, meaning we can't touch him either. If we do, we'll turn to gold,"

"I see," Mila frowned before walking over to the phone and dialing a number as Anatis came back out. Lady Noir gasped as she saw him. The golden poison had spreaded down part of his torso and part of it was spreading across his lower jaw. She went to go touch him but he shook his head.

"We don't know if it's contagious," He replied, making her frown but she nodded.

"Fu, it's Mila," Mila stated, making the two heroes look at her. "Bring the ox asap. Anatis and Lady Noir need it now,"

She looked over at them, frowning.

"Use the horse miraculous to get here," She added, frowning even more. "I know you're old but Anatis doesn't have long. You'll see when you get here,"

With that, she hung up and not even a second later, a portal opened, causing Fu wielding the horse miraculous to step through. As soon as he saw Anatis, he gasped and rushed over.

"What happened?" He asked, making the young hero frown.

"I got caught up protecting someone from the akuma," Anatis replied, turning to Lady Noir. "Can you take the miraculous? I don't want to risk turn it into gold,"

"Sure," She nodded, taking the box of Master Fu. "I have a good idea on who could be useful for this... if you're ok with me picking the hero this time,"

"I'm good with that," Anatis replied before his eyes widen in fear as the gold spread to his eye. "But can we go a lot quicker. I'm down one eye now,"

"Right!" Lady Noir nodded, worry covering her features before she turned back to Master Fu. "Can you take us to the local swimming pool?"

"Of course," Master Fu nodded before opening another portal, causing Kim to scream and fall into the pool. Lady Noir giggled a little as he climbed out and grabbed a towel.

"Whoa! Anatis and Lady Noir! And another hero! So cool!" Kim grinned, clearly happy to see them. "I never thanked you for- hey, Anatis you don't look too good? You ok, bro?"

"Just peachy," Anatis replied, giving him a thumbs up with his good arm. Lady Noir took out the box and held it out to Kim.

"Le Chien Kim, this is the miraculous of the ox," She stated, making him tear up. He looked like he was about to cry. "It grants you the power of... um... what power is it, Annie?"

"The power of Preservation,"

"Thanks, Annie," She replied, grinning before turning back to Kim. "It will give you the power of Preservation and um... look we need your help. You in?"

"Sure," Kim grinned, taking it and opening the box, allowing Stompp to manifest. "Aww, a little bull plushie,"

"I'm not a plush-"

"Guys, I would love to get you to know each other but we don't have time," Anatis interrupted before looking at Kim as the gold spread down to his thigh and part of his hair. "The transformation words are Stompp, Charge Ahead. Please hurry,"

"R-Right," Kim replied, realizing the seriousness of the situation. He put the ring in his nose before holding up his arms. "Stompp, Charge ahead!"

He lifted his arms and threw them back, creating his mask before stomping his feet as his outfit manifested. He lifted his hands and placed them on his head like horns before stomping again, creating real ones then held out his hand, creating real horns. He held out his hand and created a ball of light that turned into a Glaive Staff before he stuck a pose. With his transformation done, he turned to Lady Noir and Anatis.

"You should be able to find a user's guide in the glaive," Lady Noir stated before turning to Master Fu as Kim quickly read through it. "Can you open a portal to the outside of the Louvre? That's where Midas is,"

"Yes. Voyage!" Fu answered, causing a portal to open before he looked at Kim. "I suggest you use your power as quickly as you can, young man... and think up a name,"

"Just call me Lord Ox and sure," Kim or rather Lord Ox nodded before going through the portal with the two heroes. As soon as they landed on the ground, they saw a number of golden statues and Midas sat happily in the middle of them. "Whoa!"

"Ah, looks like I got one of you after all," He smirked, glancing at Anatis. However, he didn't seem to put two and two together. Anatis hoped that Hawkmoth wouldn't either. "Give me the brat and I'll remove that curse, Anatis,"

"Not happening," Anatis replied before groaning as his leg turned completely into gold. "Lord Ox, now!"

"Herd Immunity!" Lord Ox declared, causing his glaive to glow before he slammed it into the ground, causing a light to spread across the area. Midas jumped in shock as Anatis stood up and lifted his golden arm, flexing his fingers.

"That's much better," He smirked before turning to Midas. "Now to deal with you,"

"B-But how?!" He growled before trying to summon his whip but he couldn't. "You brats! You made have taken my ability away but I'm still the boss and I have a dragon!"

As if on que, the dragon flew down and blew golden fire on them, causing the heroes to jump back, changing the ground to gold.

"Shouldn't his dragon not work?!" Lord Ox declared, looking worried.

"It must be above the radius of your ability, meaning it's not been nullified!" Anatis declared, throwing up his yoyo and causing his outfit to change. "Lucky charm!"

The magical swarm appeared and created a fire truck, causing the heroes to jump back in surprise.

"How are you going to throw that?" Lord Ox asked as Anatis looked around before the hose, a fire hydrant and Lady Noir lit up. "It's a huge truck!"

"I'm not throwing the truck!" Anatis declared, grabbing the hose as the dragon flew up in the air. "Lady Noir, can you open that for me?"

"No problem, Annie," She replied as Midas ran over. Lord Ox dived at him, lifting him over his head like a wrestler as the dragon turned around. Lady Noir quickly opened the lid of the hydrant, allowing Anatis to connect it and turn it on, pointing it towards the dragon as it flew down, ready to fire at them again. "Fire!"

Anatis switched on the water, causing a strong stream of water to hit the dragon, causing it to turn solid and crash to the ground before he directed it towards Midas, who had managed to the upper hand on Lord Ox. He was about to bring his hands down on the hero before Anatis turned the hose onto him, causing the water stream to hit him into the truck and push it back quite far, causing it to leave the radius space. It turned solid gold but caused Midas to fuse with it in solid gold before Anatis turned off the stream and threw his yoyo around the ladder of the fire truck, quickly pulling it back into the radius as his yoyo began to turn gold. Lady Noir skipped over as Midas' eyes moved and he made some angry noises.

"It's in his necklace," Anatis stated, making Lady Noir nod. "But we need to be careful. He took it willingly,"

"For real?" Lord Ox declared as Lady Noir summoned her power and tapped the necklace, causing the akuma to escape. Anatis caught it and released it before throwing the hose into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybugs!" He declared, causing it to burst into the cure and sweep across Paris before it swarmed around him, returning him to normal. He moved over to Midas as he turned back into Bob, looking down at him as the cops who had surrounded him and been turned into a statue rushed over. "Bob Roth,"

"W-Wait i can explain!" Bob gasped, getting on his knees. "I was desperate and angry. Hawkmoth took advantage-"

"There was many witnesses, Roth," Anatis stated in a cold voice. "You took an akuma willingly... I will not allow that to happen again,"

Anatis held out his yoyo.

"Prosperity," He declared, pressing it open and taking out a golden charm that resembled a ladybug but unlike the two others he had created, this one did not have a nice look to it. It looked faded and old. Anatis held it out. "This is an anti-akuma charm but since you willingly took an an akuma, I have added an extra charm to this. It is not something you can take off. You can try to lose it but it will always come back to you no matter what you do. I can not risk you taking an akuma willingly again,"

Bob Roth looked at him shocked as he took his hand and place it in it as the police moved in.

"Bob Roth, you are under arrest for willingly aiding a terrorist," One of the officers declared as a portal opened, causing the three heroes to walk through. Anatis turned around to Lord Ox, who took off his miraculous and handed it back to them.

"Thank you for your help, Kim," He smiled, making Kim grin. "Hopefully next time you can get to know Stompp a little more,"

"Sounds good to me," Kim declared, grinning. "It was so cool! I can't believe I was a hero! Wait til I tell Ondine! She's gonna-"

"Kim, you can't tell anyone," Lady Noir stated, making him look at her. "If you do, we won't be able to give you a miraculous again,"

"Oh... you mean like Chloe isn't that Queen Bee anymore?" He asked, making them nod. "I see. I swear I won't tell anyone then,"

"Thank you," Lady Noir nodded as Master Fu opened another portal for them. "See you next time, Kim,"

The two of them walked through with Fu before he closed it and detransform.

"I'm glad to see everyone is back in one peace," Mila declared, sipping tea before she got up and took out two pieces of paper to Anatis and Lady Noir. "Here,"

"It is my new address," Fu answered as he took the ox miraculous back from Lady Noir. "If you need me, come here. Anatis, we will re-beginning your training again,"

"Ok, Master," Anatis replied. "But can we discuss this later? I have to return to where I was. It's really important,"

"Of course," Master Fu nodded, causing Anatis to nod back and leave via the window. He turned to Lady Noir. "You did good work today as well, Lady Noir. Feel free to come by if you need help or just want tea,"

"Thank you, Master Fu," She smiled, hugging him. "It's great to see you again... no offense, Mulan,"

"None taken," Mila replied before lightly grabbing her arm. "But please let Anatis know that if he needs my help or any of the western miraculous to come by. You are both welcome here,"

"I will do!"

~Later that Night~

"How are you feeling?" Tikki asked as she ate a cookie. Luka was laid on his bed, looking at the ceiling. The court cases were finally over, meaning he could finally talk freely about them but he wasn't sure if he wanted to. He felt relief. Issac was gone from his life and Bob had been returned to the courthouse to receive his charges. His lawyer had confessed as well, admitting that he had arranged to have Luka threatened and had threatened himself. He also was willing to assist the law with the other charges against Bob Roth, having lots of dirt on the former music producer in return for a reduced sentence. Luka had a feeling that the lawyer knew all about Roth's dark side and was only helping to save himself, especially since his client was willingly akumatized. He knew to jump ship when the current one was sinking. If Roth was looking for loyalty, he should have hired someone else. After all, a snake is still a snake even when it sheds it's skin. The same when for the lawyer but none of that mattered to Luka. His part was done now and he was glad. He just wanted to move on with his life. He sighed and closed his eyes, taking a deep breathe. He felt the air shift, causing him to open his eyes and sit up. He was no longer in his room but in Feng's hut. Sat on the floor was Alpheus.

"Congratulations is in order," He grinned, making Luka raise an eyebrow. "You passed my test. You proved your loyalty and thus have unlocked one of the keys. Three down, two more to go,"

"I did?"

"Yep," He grinned, holding up a jug. "Wine?"

"I'm too young to drink,"

"More for me then!" He grinned, taking a swig and swallowing it. "If you confused, it was because you stuck to your morals despite that snake's threats. Loyalty to one's self is loyalty never the less! Besides, I had to come up with a better test then friends or family because you are really loyal to them. No question on that!"

"Then why did I have to get tested?"

"Do I look like I write the rules?" Alpheus asked, making Luka smile a little. "Oh, no! I do not! Feng did! If I had been the first born, I would have written in a warning for myself! Beware the harlot Juno but nooo, he didn't think to warn me!"

"Are you ok?"

"I am dandy!" Alpheus smirked before hiccuping. "And a little drunk but we need to celebrate and you can't drink! So I shall instead!"

"Who is Juno?" Luka asked as Alpheus took another drink.

"A traitor!" He declared, placing down the jug. "Claimed she loved me then went with some guy then stole the peacock miraculous of me and terrorized Greece all because I broke up with her and moved on. Got myself a nice wifey too but nooo, Alpheus isn't allowed to love anyone but Juno! Well, fuck that! I stopped loving her the moment she laid with that other guy!"

"Wait... she was your girlfriend?"

"Yes!" Alpheus declared. "And then Mr Hunk came along and she fell straight into bed with him! You see you don't have to worry about that! You're too young for one thing and that sweet baker's daughter loves you full-heartedly. She would never ever consider hurting you like that but not Juno! Oh no, she did and then got pissed when I dumped her! She got pissed at me! I'm the frigging spirit of loyalty! I should be the one pissed at her!"

"Alpheus, I think you've had enough," Feng stated, walking over and turning to Luka. "Congratulations for passing his test by the way,"

"Thank you," Luka smiled as Feng helped Alpheus to his feet. "Will he be ok?"

"He'll be fine," Feng replied, making Luka frown. "In his timeline, Hera... well, Juno just gatecrashed his wedding so he's a bit upset about that,"

"Wait that just happened?"

"Well, to you it would have happened a long time ago but to him it happened half an hour ago," Feng replied, turning to Alpheus. "Sober up. Ariadne is waiting for you,"

"Ariadne!" Alpheus declared, smiling. "My sweet Ariadne!"

"Yes, yes," Feng replied, shaking his head before looking at Luka. "Go back to your room. I'll look after this idiot,"

"Ok," Luka nodded, waving to Alpheus who waved back before he laid back down and closed his eyes. When he next opened them, he found himself back in his room. He got up as Tikki looked at him. "Time to go meet Lady Noir... I think it's time I told her about Lady Blanche,"

~XY's Hotel Room~

"I can't believe this!" XY declared, kicking a pillow before he paced across the room. His rich life was pretty much over. Not only was his father been sued but he had been arrested for aiding a terrorist. To say, XY was angry was an understatement. His father always had the nerve to call him dumb yet he was stupid enough to willingly become an akuma and on top of that, that brat Couffaine had won the case. His father was expected to pay that trashy family compensation for the stress he put them through and would be doing time for Child endangerment, perverting the course of justice, assisted kidnapping and assisted attempted murder. In other words, their image was ruined. XY growled and kicked something again. "This is all Couffaine's fault!"

He punched one of the amps in the room, causing to it to break and a small box to fall out.

"Huh?" He gasped, reaching down and picking it up. "What the hell?"

He shook it, causing to make a noise. He realized something was in there and opened it, causing him to cry out as a ball of light appeared. Once it disappeared, a little floating crocodile appeared in it's place. It opened it's eyes and looked at him before bowing.

"Hello, Master,"

"What the hell are you?"

"My name is Snapp and I'm the kwami of Immersion,"

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

Next Chapter: Coming Soon (hopefully :p)

21 notes · View notes

im-no-jedi · 2 years

Text

MLWTBB: My Friends Bolo & Ketch

aka the (continued) journey into my self insert nonsense✨

notes: this is a continuation of my story, “My Life With The Bad Batch”; I highly recommend reading that first before this one! I created a few new planets for this story. I’m also not 100% versed in SW terminology, so forgive me if some things are labeled incorrectly! each chapter will be rated accordingly, as opposed to the overall fic. lastly, there is romance in this story. hope you enjoy! 💙

add. notes: this chapter was edited and proofread by my sis @jam-n-ham! thanks sis!! 😋💙 also, in the future, all my stories will have summaries before each chapter (because I honestly hate when fics don’t have summaries so idk why I haven’t done any for my own stories until now... oh well 😆)

Chapter 6 (final), 4400+ words, rated G (not a single bad thing in this one 💙)

previous chapters: Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5

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The day was finally almost over. It had been nearly two hours since Bolo and Ketch left Hannah inside The Krag’s place, and the sun was mere minutes away from fully setting. The entire time they’d been waiting outside, Bolo and Ketch were trying to figure out what they should do. Hannah had told them to go back to Cid’s if she wasn’t out by sunset, but neither of them felt ok doing that. They didn’t want to disrespect Hannah’s wishes, but they’d also made that promise to Cid to bring Hannah back safely. They didn’t know what to do.

Unsurprisingly, a good portion of their time was spent arguing about which course of action to take. Although they both seemed to mostly be on the same page about things, their lack of communication skills resulted in unnecessary disagreements between them, per the norm. At one point, Bolo almost took the landspeeder for himself to leave Ketch there on his own out of spite. He couldn’t go through with it though. He couldn’t leave his friends behind, although he only admitted to staying for Hannah’s sake. Ketch was able to at least agree with that as well.

It was then that both of them realized how utterly useless they felt. All day, Hannah had been the one doing all the important stuff, even though they had been the ones to break the jukebox in the first place. Yes, Ketch had given up his mom’s bracelet as a trade and Bolo had expertly navigated them to The Krag’s place in the landspeeder, but that paled in comparison to everything Hannah had done. Especially now that she was stuck in The Krag’s place for who knows how long.

If only they were a couple of highly trained super soldiers like her Clone friends.

With only a small sliver of sunlight now left in the sky, Bolo and Ketch were at their wits end. They’d spent so much time bickering and worrying that the day had gotten away from them. But their resolve hadn’t changed. They still wanted to return to Cid’s with Hannah in tow, not leave her stuck in some crime lord’s secret mountain hideaway. But what could they do? They weren’t super soldiers like the Bad Batch; they weren’t even that great at playing the arcade games in Cid’s parlor. They had to do something though.

Suddenly, a loud noise caught their attentions. It was still deathly quiet in the valley, so it was easy to ascertain both what the sound was and where it came from.

It sounded like a scream. And it sounded like it came from inside the building.

Bolo and Ketch began to panic. There was no question in their minds about who had just screamed. But again, what could they do?

At that point, it didn’t matter. They may not have been super soldiers, but at the very least, they needed to know what was going on. And if they needed to do something crazy to get Hannah out of there... well, they would cross that bridge when they got to it. At the moment, it was difficult enough just figuring out how to get the kriffing door open.

Some quick searching allowed Bolo to find a few tools left in the back of the landspeeder which might help. He wedged a long metal rod into the side of the door, with Ketch helping to get it positioned right. Using as much strength as they both possessed, they began pulling the rod in an attempt to wedge the door open. It seemed to not be doing anything at first, but after a few seconds of hard tugging on the rod, the door slid open effortlessly, causing Bolo and Ketch to fall hard onto their backs.

Another scream, this one louder than before. Bolo and Ketch scrambled to their feet and quickly shoved their way through the doorframe at the same time. Nobody was in the main foyer, but they could see light and movement in the back room. There was also quite a bit of shouting and screaming coming from back there.

Gathering all the courage they could muster, Bolo and Ketch quickly made their way into the back, bracing themselves for whatever terrible things they might encounter back there.

What they found shocked them more than anything else they’d seen that day.

Hannah was screaming again. But not out of fear or pain. It seemed to be joyful, almost manic, and she was doing some sort of happy dance in front of The Krag’s desk. The Krag meanwhile was semi-hunched over the desk and shaking his head in disbelief. There appeared to be some small rectangular objects scattered across the desk; both Hannah and The Krag were holding some of them as well.

“Yes!!” Hannah loudly proclaimed as she threw her hands into the air with another maniacal laugh. “Another victory for me!!”

“A’right, a’right,” The Krag said, waving a hand to calm her down. “I admit, dat was a good one dat time. Ya still only beat me two times outta ten though, girlie.” It was obvious he was trying to hide his pride by the slight smirk growing on his face.

“Which is two more times than I thought I would get!” Hannah responded with another laugh. She then noticed Bolo and Ketch behind her and made a surprised noise. “Oh, hey guys! Is it sundown already?”

Bolo and Ketch didn’t respond at first; they were still too shocked at what was going on.

“What?” Hannah asked, noticing their shocked expressions. Then in an exaggerated coy tone, she added, “Oh, were you guys worried about me?”

“You were in here for two hours!” Bolo exclaimed, flailing his arms.

“And we heard you screaming!” Ketch exclaimed, also flailing his arms.

Hannah laughed again. “Oh, I’m sorry! I guess we were being a bit loud, huh? And it did not feel like we were playing for that long, my goodness.”

“I told ya dis game was addictin’,” The Krag stated with a chuckle.

“Game?!” Bolo and Ketch exclaimed. It was then they both realized the rectangles on the desk were very reminiscent of a set of playing cards Cid had let them use once.

“Oh my gosh, it’s so fun,” Hannah said, placing her cards onto the rest of the pile. “I’ll have to teach you guys how to play some time! I probably won’t teach it as good as you though, Krag.” She reached over the desk and patted The Krag’s arm with a big smile on her face.

“Oh puhlease,” The Krag responded, placing one of his hands on top of Hannah’s. “Ya don’ give yaself enough credit, sunshine. I told ya, ya got a smaht head on ya shouldahs. Don’ let nobody tell ya any diff’rent just cause ya pretty.”

Hannah began giggling and hid her face with her free hand out of embarrassment. “Dude, come on, now you’re just teasing.”

Bolo and Ketch still couldn’t believe what they were seeing, their jaws still practically on the floor.

“Well,” The Krag said, pushing himself out of his chair with a grunt. “I guess I gotta let ya go now den. Ya more den earned dat radio, dat’s fo’ sure.” He pushed a button on his desk, and a few seconds later, what looked like an oversized version of a mouse droid came rolling out into the room with the radio sitting on top of it.

Hannah seemed to get excited again and practically hopped over to the droid to fetch the radio from its head. “Thanks, Squeaky!” she said as she patted the droid, who made a loud squeaking noise in response before rolling away again.

“Well, I ain’t gonna lie, Miss Hannah,” The Krag said as he walked up to her. “It ain’t gonna be as much fun around heah witout ya.”

“Aww, don’t worry, buddy,” Hannah replied, patting one of his arms again. “I promise I’ll be back on my next day off, like I said before. No way I’m gonna miss Game Night from now on.”

“Ya better not!” The Krag said with a boisterous chuckle. “Oh, an’ don’ faget ta bring ya little friend wit ya either. I’m curious ta see if she’s as good at playin’ games as ya say.”

“Trust me,” Hannah said, shaking her head. “Literally no one will impress you as much as Omega, I guarantee that.”

The Krag gave another chuckle and said he would just have to trust Hannah’s judgment on that. Then he turned to Bolo and Ketch and told them to make sure they got Hannah safely back to Cid’s or he would personally put them on display with all of his other novelties. Their nervous responses prompted Hannah to reassure The Krag that he didn’t have to worry, she trusted Bolo and Ketch to take care of her, like they had been doing all day. The Krag made a comment about how Hannah was way too nice for her own good, to which she responded that she wouldn’t even be there if that were true.

“And believe it or not, I can be mean if I need to be,” Hannah added confidently.

Bolo and Ketch didn’t even hesitate to agree with that statement.

The last thing that happened before The Krag sent them on their way was him beckoning Hannah to give him a “squidge”, which Hannah happily complied with by giving him a big hug around his rotund waist. As The Krag returned the hug with all four of his arms wrapped around Hannah, he leaned down a bit closer and in a soft voice told her to “tell Cid that Perd gives his regards.” Hannah gave him a curious look and smiled, promising him that she would make sure to do exactly that as she gave him a playful wink.

Once they were back outside, Bolo and Ketch began bombarding Hannah with questions about what exactly had happened after they’d left. She began retelling the whole experience as they drove back into the city in Master Gildish’s landspeeder. It honestly wasn’t that exciting. Apparently, Hannah’s simple act of humility had been enough to convince The Krag that she was a trustworthy patron, as well as show him that there was still some kindness left in the galaxy that he had sorely been searching for.

“Turns out he was just a lonely guy who needed some company,” Hannah stated with a shrug. “Although do not tell him I said that.” She laughed about it, but Bolo and Ketch questioned if she was actually joking or not.

Hannah also told them that The Krag had his own little circle of “friends”, much like Cid, who he often did business with, which was why he had so many rare items in his place. She had jokingly told him about the lightsaber thing, and he actually said he might be able to get one for her, but she was pretty sure that was a joke. At least, she told him not to take it seriously; there was no way she’d ever be able to use one practically.

“I’m not a Jedi, after all,” she said with a hardy laugh. Bolo and Ketch laughed along with her, but oddly enough, they also once again questioned how serious she was being. They didn’t put too much thought into it though. Like they did with most things.

****************

Several days had passed since the Bad Batch had left on their mission to Ryloth. Their time there ended up being a bit longer than they’d originally told Hannah, but there was no way any of them could’ve predicted the scenario they’d gotten themselves into on Ryloth either. At least Omega now had a fun story to tell once they saw Hannah again. She greatly enjoyed relaying details of their missions to her friend, and this one was definitely no exception. She only wished her newest friend could’ve stuck around a bit longer so Hannah had a chance to meet her. Maybe they would get a chance to meet some other time.

It was getting a bit later in the day, but that didn’t dissuade any of them from wanting to go to Cid’s parlor. None of them wanted to admit it, save for Omega, but they all wanted to check on Hannah to see how she was doing. They all still felt bad for leaving her behind with all of the work she had to do and hoped that she had managed ok without them there to fully help her.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Omega said without a smidge of doubt. “She knows how to take care of herself, after all.”

None of the others could disagree with that. But that didn’t change their feelings either.

As they approached the parlor, Hunter got an inquisitive look on his face. Omega noticed and asked what was up. Hunter’s response was that it sounded like there was some sort of ruckus going on inside the parlor. As a joke, Echo said it was probably Bolo and Ketch causing some sort of trouble again, but Hunter still told everybody to be cautious as they all descended the stairs. The shouting could easily be heard by the rest of them now, and they wondered what could possibly be waiting for them in the parlor.

The source of the ruckus was immediately discovered upon arrival. Sitting around one of the game tables was a group of people loudly shouting in excitement and having some sort of discussion. Cid was there, along with Bolo, Ketch, and two people that none of the Bad Batch recognized. And standing with her back turned to all of them was Hannah, who threw her head back with one of her signature boisterous laughs.

“Awwww,” Wrecker groaned out loud. “Did they throw a party without us?”

His voice apparently caught Hannah’s attention, and her face broke out into a massive smile at seeing the Clones again. She quickly said something to Cid before gleefully hopping over to her friends, still keeping the smile plastered on her face.

“Hey guys!” Hannah happily exclaimed. “You’re finally back!” Her arms extended out towards Omega, who promptly came over and gave her a big hug.

“Sorry we were gone so long,” Omega said to her. “We had some... stuff to deal with.”

“Oh?” Hannah looked at Omega curiously, then up at Hunter with an eyebrow cocked.

Hunter began rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly and replied, “Yeah, Omega can tell you the whole story later.”

Echo then asked how Hannah had managed while they were gone, and she told them all she was perfectly fine. She had her own little bout of... stuff to deal with as well, but she could relay the whole story to Omega later.

“So you successfully dealt with the pile we left you with then?” Tech inquired.

“Oh yeah, that,” Hannah responded with a laugh. “Yeah, that was nothing. Bolo and Ketch helped me finish dealing with the rest of it.”

All five of the Clones looked at Hannah with shock, then looked over at Bolo and Ketch. They were still sitting at the table in conversation with the others. It was the first time the Clones had seen the two of them not at one of the game machines or in a fight with each other. An unusual sight, but not an unpleasant one either.

Then Wrecker suddenly let out a yelp, which spooked the others.

“Sorry!” came a voice from behind him. A yellow female Cathar came stepping out and stood next to Hannah. “I just couldn’t get over how big you are.”

Wrecker immediately became both bashful and proud from the statement.

“So these are your infamous friends, huh?” The Cathar asked Hannah. After getting a nod in response, she took a big whiff of the air around all of the Clones and broke out into a coughing fit. “Holy moly, that is pungent! You weren’t kidding when you said they were a giant mess.”

“Sash!” Hannah exclaimed, barely holding back a laugh.

“Lemme see here...” Sash began looking over each of the Clones, much to their discretion. “Mm-hmm, yup, you guys are definitely soldier worthy, I can tell just by lookin’ atcha!”

“Well, I’m glad we cleared that up,” Echo replied sarcastically.

Sash nodded proudly at him before leaning towards Hannah. “So which one’s your boyfriend?”

“What?!” Hannah exclaimed as her face quickly began to turn red.

“Wait, hang on, lemme guess...” Sash took another whiff around each of the boys, with each of them curiously watching her do so. She stopped when she got to Hunter and took an extra whiff, which made him nearly take a step back. “It’s you, isn’t it?” she asked, getting uncomfortably close to Hunter’s face.

“Uhh...” Hunter’s face also began to turn red, and he slowly turned away from Sash’s gaze.

Then, with a yelp, Sash was promptly yanked away at the shoulders by Hannah. “Alright, that’s enough, stop harassing my friends please!” She gave Sash a shove back towards the table with a loud huff.

Sash waved as she sauntered back to the game table, saying, “Ok bye, it was nice meeting you, The Bad Batch!”

It was quiet for a moment before Echo said to Hannah, “Man, you meet the weirdest people when we’re not around.”

Hannah nodded and her eyes slowly began to bug out. “You have no idea...”

Then Omega suddenly let out a small gasp. “Well hello, little guy!” A small droid shaped like a pair of goggles with two feet was near her, looking up at her curiously. She crouched down next to it and began to pat its head, which caused it to chirp happily.

“Interesting,” Tech said, also crouching down next to the small droid. “I don’t think I’ve come across a BD unit like this before. Whoever owns this small fellow is a lucky person indeed.”

“Buddy!” A voice came shouting from the direction of the table. An architect droid with mismatched limbs began approaching the group in an irritated state. “How many times do I have to tell you to not bother the weirdos who come in here?”

“Excuse me?” Tech stood up and adjusted his goggles in annoyance. Then his eyes suddenly went wide, and he nearly lurched back in shock. “You... you’re an architect droid!”

“And you’re a Clone,” the architect droid dryly replied. “What of it?”

Without another word, Tech began curiously examining the architect droid, with Hannah giggling the entire time.

“Amazing...” Tech could barely contain his enthusiasm as he spoke. “Droids like this have rarely been seen outside of the temples on Coruscant. It was believed they were all destroyed after the Jedi were wiped out. And this one has modifications the likes I’ve never seen before. Absolutely fascinating...”

The architect droid scoffed and said, “You must be my competition. Or one of them, at least. I thought maybe the cyborg would be more of an issue, but you’re definitely the one I need to keep an eye out for.”

Hannah laughed nervously and placed a hand on the architect droid’s shoulder. “It’s fine, Master Gildish, you don’t need to worry about either of them. Like I said before.”

Tech suddenly stepped closer to Master Gildish, which prompted the droid to take a step back. “You must tell me who is responsible for these modifications. I wish to try and replicate them for myself, if possible.”

Master Gildish let out a forced laugh. “I’m responsible for my own modifications, Clone. And you wish you could do work as good as this.” He held out his left arm, which looked like a protocol droid, and like a magic trick, his hand suddenly disappeared into the arm and was replaced with a scomp almost identical to Echo’s. Tech’s eyes began to sparkle with bewilderment, as well as Omega, who now had Buddy held in her tiny arms.

Echo came up to Hannah and said in a hushed tone, “Ok, I was a bit worried about him at first, but this guy actually has my respect now. Also, I need an arm like that.”

Hannah’s snickers couldn’t be contained from hearing that.

Another presence suddenly came up behind Hannah, and she turned to see Cid standing with her arms crossed. “Good to see you all gettin' to know each other,” Cid said with just a hint of sarcasm. She turned to Hunter and said, “You better be careful, Bandana. You skip town too long again and Red’s gonna replace you all with these lunatics.”

“Cid!” Hannah exclaimed. “That’s not gonna happen. Not in a million years.” She smiled at Hunter, who smiled back at her.

“Oh?” Cid responded. “So how’s that explain why you had ol’ Gildish here fix the jukebox instead of Goggles?”

Hannah groaned and shook her head. “That has nothing to do with this... also, you’re the one who wanted it fixed as soon as possible. If anything, you should be grateful the Master likes me so much.” A smug smile spread across her lips, which caused Cid to roll her eyes.

“Too much, if you ask me,” Cid retorted. “I don’t blame him though. You’ve got that effect on people, Red. You and Tiny both.” She shot a glance down towards Omega, and Hannah did the same. The small girl still had Buddy in her arms and noticed she was being watched. The smiles on Cid and Hannah’s faces prompted her to smile in return.

Hunter joined in and also smiled down at Omega before turning his attention to Hannah. “Lucky us,” he said fondly. Hannah’s cheeks began to turn red again, and she turned her face away with a giggle.

“Oh, speakin’ of people who like you too much...” Cid began rummaging in one of her pockets for something and eventually pulled out a small box. “Perd sent this over earlier. You’re lucky I didn’t toss it once it got here.” She handed the box over to Hannah, who took it with extreme curiosity. Inside the box was a small shiny metal chain that Hannah immediately distinguished as a necklace of sorts. “Figures, he’s already buying you jewelry,” Cid commented with a scoff.

“Don’t worry Cid, it’s not like that,” Hannah reassured her. She also shot a reassuring glance at Hunter, who was clearly questioning why someone was giving her jewelry. “He told me he had some stuff he was gonna give me as thanks for our game nights. I’m sure he’s gonna try and find something for me to attach to this thing too.” She began to try the necklace on, but struggled a bit with the clasp. Without even asking, Hunter came over and helped her with it, which she thanked him for. “So, how does it look?” Her hands ran across the chain, and she gestured around her neck as a form of presentation.

Hunter suddenly felt a jab in his side, clearly from Echo’s scomp. Then Cid teasingly said, “Go on, Dark and Broody. Tell her how pretty she looks.” She was immediately scolded by Hannah, but shrugged it off and continued to stare Hunter down. Not wanting to be in the spotlight anymore, Hunter sighed and rolled his eyes before awkwardly telling Hannah the necklace looked nice on her.

“There, now was that so hard?” Cid condescendingly asked.

With a deep furrow of his brows, Hunter grumbled, “Don’t you have... anything else you could be doing right now?”

“Fine, fine,” Cid responded with a wave of her hand. “I know when I’ve worn out my welcome.” Before walking away, she turned to Hannah and said, “I’ll be in my office. Make sure none of these bozos wreck the place, got it?”

Hannah gave her an exaggerated salute and replied, “You can count on me, boss.”

“Yeah, I know.�� Cid shook her head and patted Hannah on the arm, but it was obvious her words were still genuine.

By that point, most of the others had dispersed. Wrecker had wandered over to the game table and was in conversation with Sash, Bolo, and Ketch. Tech and Gildish seemed to be exchanging information with each other, while Omega was playfully chasing Buddy around the room. Hunter and Echo chose to stay by Hannah’s side, much to her delight. As nice as it was seeing her Clone friends interacting with her newest friends, there was no doubt she would’ve been disappointed if at least one of them hadn’t hung around with her. But Hunter and Echo were usually up for filling that desire, thankfully.

“Guess it’ll be a bit before I get that story about what happened to you guys,” Hannah said as she sat down at the bar. Hunter and Echo also sat down, each taking a seat on either side of her.

“Same for us hearing your story,” Echo added. He took a look around at the mild chaos going on around the parlor. “Now I’m even more curious about what happened.”

Hannah let out a snicker. “For once, I might’ve actually had a crazier time than you guys did.”

The two Clones gave each other a doubtful look. “Sure...” Echo said, turning away slowly.

“That reminds me,” Hunter said and began rummaging through his backpack. He eventually pulled out a chunk of some sort of rock and presented it to Hannah. “Sorry we couldn’t get you anything terribly unique this time.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” Hannah said as she took the rock. “I appreciate anything you guys bring back for me, honestly. And I know this time, you didn’t really have any—wait.” She suddenly stopped and began examining the rock more closely. “This... isn’t a moon rock.”

Hunter’s eyes went a bit wide, and Echo raised an eyebrow at her curiously. “Uhh, what makes you think that?” Echo asked.

“Because the moons of Ryloth aren’t this reddish-brown color,” Hannah responded. “And they also don’t grow moss on them.” She held the rock up higher, showing off one side of it that was dotted with little patches of green.

“Didn’t know you were so knowledgeable about Ryloth,” Echo mused, once again turning away from Hannah.

Hannah’s eyes began to narrow, and her gaze shifted between the two Clones. “I thought you guys said you weren’t going down to the planet...”

A nervous chuckle escaped Hunter’s throat, and he also began to turn the other direction. “We weren’t...”

Her eyes still narrowed, Hannah gave each of the Clones a disapproving glare. She should’ve known they would end up getting into some sort of trouble while they were away. And whatever it was, she was most likely going to berate them for it. But she couldn’t be that hard on them, all things considered. They weren’t the ones who’d gone on a wild citywide search to fix a broken jukebox after all.

Hmm. Maybe she should be the one to tell her story first...

TO BE CONTINUED

#the bad batch #star wars the bad batch #this one is FINALLY done OMG #we are officially BACK my dudes #and boy do I have content incoming this week #two oneshots and one multichapter story #and I'm working on the next one after that #no more hiatus for me! \o/#star warz #my storiez

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