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mostlycompetentwriter · 4 years

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You Can STAY- Part Two

F/M Main Pairing: Y/N x Lee Felix (side pairing: Y/N x Stray Kids)

Genre: Fantasy AU; Scarlet Heart AU; OT8 SKZ

Word Count: 3K

Warnings: language

Summary: Y/N has settled into her position as the Castle’s royal mage. She’s also getting to know the King’s sons, even if that means dealing with Seungmin’s challenging comments and Felix’s brooding nature.

Tag List: @angelphantomlove @moonlightracha @staycarat0801 @jjabbur @pinkchcn @smolchild-lol @straykidbaby @moonnstars90 @choisaemi @dru-shadow @skzooyeet

A/N: I’ve completely revamped this series. If you look at the masterlist, there are now only 12 parts instead of 20. For a while, I had writer’s block on this series, but I realized that it was because I was super intimidated by my own outline. I think I’ve figured out how to make it more manageable! Hopefully, this means updates once or twice a month (this will also be the shortest part).

Part Two The fresh herbs sold at the Clè Kingdom’s marketplace were incredibly valuable. They were also of the utmost quality, and I had been spending most of the day occupied by choosing the best selection for my private stores at the castle. But I could easily spend most of my time here, surrounded by the things that I loved to create, and my mind was thinking about all of the combination possibilities.

“How about this one, miss?” a vendor asked, holding up a fresh batch of chamomile for my inspection.

“I’ll take it,” I said, offering her payment in exchange for the chamomile. The smell was delicious, and I inhaled deeply before proceeding on my path through the surrounding patrons.

It was a beautiful day; the kind of day that managed to maintain my cheerful smile. The air was warm and welcoming, and I was beginning to think that I was feeling truly happy despite my isolated existence ever since I had first arrived at the castle.

However, up ahead in the distance, I wavered at a booth selling tulips when a passing group of village girls let out obnoxious giggles. “Did you see the fourth prince? He was so handsome!”

“I can’t believe they’re traveling so far away from the Castle!”

“Look! There they are!”

I followed their gazes, frowning at the sight of the King’s youngest sons walking in our direction. I attempted to ignore them, turning my attention to another vendor, but I startled when I felt a tap on my shoulder. The contact was unexpected, and I spun around in surprise to see four of the King’s sons standing in the middle of the market. “Oh!” I said, adjusting my hold on the basket. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

They were all polite smiles, and I recognized them as Jisung, Hyunjin, Seungmin, and Jeongin from our previous introductions during the choosing ceremony. “We haven’t had a chance to be properly acquainted,” Jisung said, bowing low at the waist before standing taller. “We thought you could join us while we visited the town.”

“I don’t know...” I hesitated, wondering what the appropriate response should be considering my status and the eyes of the village watching us with obvious interest.

“It’s alright if you’re concerned,” Hyunjin said with a pleasant smile. “But I always like to have an audience when I play my music.”

“Music?” I questioned, noticing, for the first time, the simple guitar wrapped around Hyunjin’s shoulders.

“I’ve been playing since I was young,” Hyunjin explained. “Of course, my father doesn’t appreciate my music, but I always come to the village to play for whoever wants to listen.”

“He’s pretty good,” Jisung joked, nudging his brother playfully. “It makes for a good use of your time.”

I studied their brotherly banter for a moment before nodding. “I would love to listen.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Jisung declared, reaching out to tuck my arm against his. “Let’s go before we lose more daylight!”

My face warmed at the unexpected contact between myself and Jisung, but I chose not to say anything as I allowed the brothers to escort me through the village. From behind us, Seungmin and Jeongin had yet to speak a single word, but I chose to ignore their cold auras. Because Seungmin had already proven himself to be less than desirable.

However, it was easy to disregard Seungmin’s dismissive attitude when I finally heard Hyunjin play for the very first time. It was nothing short of magical, and I should know that better than anyone. In fact, the soft melody of his guitar complimented his raspy vocals, singing an unfamiliar tune that attracted a large crowd of village onlookers who expressed their appreciation for his efforts.

Jisung was the first to start clapping when Hyunjin finished his song, and the other villagers joined along. “Bravo, brother,” Jisung said, clapping Hyunjin on the shoulder. “Another masterpiece.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Seungmin muttered. “Can’t we do something else?”

Hyunjin scoffed while Jisung simply chuckled. “Of course! I know we came out here to have fun.”

I glared in Seungmin’s direction, wondering if he was this rude to everyone, before I reached down to grab my basket. “I suppose I should return to my shopping-”

“Hey, mage,” Seungmin interrupted, shoving aside his brothers when he pushed his way to the front. I tried not to roll my eyes at the younger prince, especially considering the way that he held his head high like he was excessively proud of his interruption. He reached into my basket to study one of the fresh apples. “You think you’re too good for us?”

I frowned. “I never insinuated such things.” Seungmin flinched when I held out my hand to summon the apple back from him with a simple command. “And I don’t think you want to challenge me,” I added before taking a bite of the delicious fruit.

Jisung raised a brow, clearly impressed. “My brother would appreciate a challenge! We’re planning to practice archery in the forest.”

Seungmin pouted as he eyed the apple in my hand. “She doesn’t look like she could handle it.”

“What makes you say that?” I asked him. “My father taught me archery when I was younger, and I was the best in our village.”

The comment was intended to act as a challenged, and as I expected, Seungmin didn’t take well to my tone, rolling back his shoulders as he glared at me. “I challenge you to an archery competition,” Seungmin said. “No magic.”

“Okay,” I said with a grin. “But I hope you can accept the results.”

“As long as you’re willing to play fair,” Seungmin huffed, tossing his robes behind him as he started in the direction of the Castle with Jeongin faithfully by his side.

Meanwhile, Jisung looked at me with a wicked smile. “I hope you kick my brother’s ass.”

Hyunjin snickered, tossing an arm around Jisung’s shoulders as they led the way to the royal archery courts.

Seungmin watched me from afar as I busied myself with scanning the available offerings of archery bows that had been delivered by the Castle servants. As someone who considered herself to be of smaller stature, I needed something light-weight and flexible. Thankfully, Hyunjin was more than willing to assist me, and we tried out a variety of bows before settling on an offering that felt like it had been born to serve me.

“Whenever you’re ready,” I said lazily, enjoying the look of frustration written across Seungmin’s countenance at my nonchalant attitude.

He stepped forward with determination, raising his bow and notching the first arrow before he focused all of his attention on the target board waiting in the low coverage of the trees. I held my breath, admiring his perfect form and the light bead of sweat dotting his brow from his intense concentration. Eventually, he pulled back and released the arrow, and we all watched as it soared through the air in a perfect arch before landing close to the middle.

There was a smattering of applause from his siblings, and Seungmin turned around and bowed before smirking. “Try and beat that, mage,” he said, cocking one brow in derision while he joined Jeongin on the sidelines.

I sighed at his tone, taking my position and adjusting my posture. It took me longer to prepare my bow and arrow, but I had not touched the weapon in many years. Still, it was annoying to hear Seungmin snickering at my obvious lack of experience, and I swallowed hard as I tried to remember my lessons. I rolled my eyes as I notched my arrow, holding the bow between my hands as I focused on the target. I released a shaky exhale as I held up my bow and sent the first arrow flying through the air.

With a dull CLINK! it made contact with the very center of the target, and Jisung started laughing and dancing around the field like he was thoroughly entertained by my success. Even Hyunjin planted a hand over his mouth to stiffle his obvious amusement. But Seungmin was positively enraged.

“You’re cheating!” Seungmin exclaimed. “She’s using magic.”

“I told you to accept the results,” I said. “It seems that you can’t admit defeat.”

“Do you expect me to believe that a common mage managed to hit the middle of the target on your first attempt!” Seungmin growled.

“I didn’t use magic,” I retorted sharply, shoving the bow at Jisung. “That is all I have to say on the subject. So, if you’ll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to that won’t leave me on the receiving end of a ridiculous prince’s ridicule!”

“How dare you!” Seungmin shouted to my retreating figure, but I payed him no attention as I picked up my basket from the forest floor. He was nothing but a pest who wasn’t used to the common folk challenging his authority. Seungmin was a silly child, and I should’ve anticipated that he wouldn’t let me simply walk away. Still, the impact was jarring, and I fell to the ground with Seungmin on top, fighting for control over my attacking hands which I refused to allow him. In the meantime, his brothers stood off to the side, laughing at our skirmish.

“Seungmin, this is embarrassing,” Jisung said.

“Father would be so disappointed,” Hyunjin added, and neither brother made any attempt to stop our foolish fight. But no matter how many times I tried to throw off Seungmin’s lanky form, he kept up the assault, trying to pin my hands next to my head.

“You’re immature,” I spat at him.

“Well, you’re a cheater!” Seungmin retorted, squealing when I raked my nails down his arms.

“HEY!”

The two of us immediately froze at the sound of a strikingly familiar command, and I glanced over Seungmin’s shoulder and frowned at the approaching figure. “What’s going on here?” Felix demanded, and I shivered at his deep voice.

“N-Nothing,” Seungmin stuttered, and I was fascinated by his abrupt change in demeanor. He rolled off to the side, struggling to stand on his own two feet, while I propped myself up into a sitting position.

Felix glanced between us with narrowed green eyes, and his hair looked like it was practically on fire underneath the influence of the sun. Finally, his gaze settled on me. “Did my father bring you here to play around all day, mage?”

I bristled at his words. “You misunderstand, your majesty.”

There was venom behind my tone, but Felix didn’t appear any less intimidated. “You’re going to be trouble for us, aren’t you?”

I shook my head, returning to a standing position as I confronted the Prince. “Your brother was the one who requested my presence. I won’t have these unnecessary slights against my character.”

“Is that so?” Felix asked, and there was a slight upturn to his upper lip that relaxed some of his earlier tension. “I think you’re awfully proud of yourself, mage, considering that you’re in a position of servitude.”

“One that I agreed to, your highness,” I remarked. “This position is desired amongst my people, and I was able to secure it for myself. Do you really think that after all my hard work, I’d willingly sabotage that which I have earned?”

“I suppose not,” Felix allowed, lowering his gaze. “Forgive me.”

“Perhaps when such forgiveness is justified,” I said, and before Felix could offer another sharp retort, the arrival of a new presence seemed to relinquish the authority to de-escalate the situation even further.

“This is a surprising meeting,” Prince Chan declared upon his entrance, and his smile was wide when he continued in our direction. “Is there a problem?”

“Not anymore,” Felix said, and he had the audacity to smile at me like we were suddenly friends despite his earlier words.

“My apologies, your highness,” I said, offering Felix’s apology to Chan, and I was pleased to see Felix’s smile disappear. “I was invited here by your brothers.”

“All of them?” Chan asked, stopping next to us as he gave Felix a meaningful look. “Father told you to stay inside the castle, did he not?”

Felix sneered, giving me one last lingering look before promptly walking off in the direction of the Castle’s main entrance. In the meantime, Chan looked around at his younger brothers. “I think we’re done here.”

Jisung and Hyunjin bowed in compliance while Seungmin rejoined Jeongin with a huff, crossing his arms over his chest in a petulant manner. “As you wish,” I said, nodding politely before reaching down for my basket.

“Walk with me,” Chan requested, reaching out for my wandering hand, and I was more than happy to oblige.

Chan was quiet during our walk back to the Castle. But conversation didn’t seem necessary, especially when his entire persona evoked a sense of calming. It was peaceful between us, and I continued to sneak glances at his handsome profile, wondering about the person beyond the golden-blonde hair and angelic blue eyes.

“You’re curious,” Chan remarked, pausing outside of the castle’s doors. “It only seem natural considering your circumstances.”

“I suppose,” I said, connecting my hands behind my back. “But it really isn’t any of my business.”

“On the contrary,” Chan said, opening the door for me like some kind of otherworldly gentleman. “I think you should ask questions about the people you wish to serve.”

I nodded my head, but didn’t say anything else as I followed him inside. I wasn’t certain of Chan’s intentions, but he seemed to be taking me somewhere, and I was polite enough to respect him. Of all the brothers I had met so far, with the exception of Felix, Chan intrigued me the most. But at least my curiosity for Chan was genuine while my study of Felix was rooted in suspicion for the young Prince who clearly did not belong here.

“My quarters,” Chan said, pausing outside of a room at the end of the hallway. “I hope you don’t mind, but my wife has asked to meet you.”

I blinked in surprise. “Oh, of course not, your highness.”

Chan smiled, encouraging me to enter the sparsely furnished room where I noticed a beautiful young woman waiting for me on the impressive bed that sat beneath an overhanging window. “Hello,” the woman greeted me politely.

I bowed once, looking back at Chan who observed the two of us without a hint of emotion. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said, hesitating only briefly before I walked further inside the room. I swallowed hard when I noticed the raised bumps decorating the skin of her arms.

“The castle’s new mage,” she said. “I’m glad that you could make time for me.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “I cannot lie and say that I wasn’t curious when I first learned of your identity.”

“Well, your handmaidens likely only told you about the poor woman who is dying,” she said, and I could see Chan wince from the corner of my eye. “My name is Ella, and I promise that I’m more than that.”

“Oh,” I said, struggling for the right words. “I hope that you don’t think that I’ve thought less of you.”

“Of course not,” Ella said. “However, I know what most of the people here think about me.”

Chan cleared his throat, and he appeared uncomfortable with the conversation. “Darling, I think we can try to visit the gardens tonight, if you’d like.”

Ella nodded, and her eyes glimmered with the promise of such a seemingly innocuous occasion. “I would love that,” she said, before looking back at me. “Chan tells me that you’ve already left a strong impression on his siblings and the King. I hear that you’re the strongest magic user to ever serve the Castle.”

“Well, I’ll certainly have to prove myself worthy of such a title,” I said. “I’ve been practicing magic since before I can even remember.”

“What a beautiful gift,” Ella remarked. “I’m sure you’ve done a lot of good with your abilities.”

“Yes.” I nodded. “I love to help the people in this kingdom.”

“I’m sure you’re also adept at healing,” she continued. “Wouldn't you say?”

I widened my eyes in surprise when I caught the implicit meaning behind her comment. “I have a talent for it,” I said, keeping my remarks vague because I never expected to hear this fragile young woman, during our very first meeting, request that I restore her health.

“Interesting,” she said, giving me a knowing look that I chose to store away until I could process the implications. “I know you have other responsibilities,” Ella said. “Thank you for seeing me.”

I bowed again to demonstrate my respect before I followed Chan back out into the hallway. “I’m sorry,” Chan said, refusing to look at me. “I know it was shameful of her to ask for your help.”

“It caught me off-guard,” I said. “But I don’t like to see anyone suffering. What sort of disease does she have?”

“It’s a very rare disease,” Chan explained to me, and there was a stunning amount of emotion behind his tone. “I don’t know much about it, but I know that they cannot cure her.”

“I see.”

“Y/N.” Chan sighed, and there was a raw vulnerability in his gorgeous blue eyes that exposed his desperation. “Ella hasn’t been herself since her diagnosis. I can barely recognize the woman that I married.”

“Your highness,” I said. “If you allow me, then I’d like to do my best to help Ella. In the best way that I can.”

“Really?” Chan asked, and his eyes glistened at their corners. “I would be forever in your debt.”

“The King’s sons owe me nothing,” I said. “I have no right to ask of anything in return for my services.”

“But?” Chan questioned.

I took a deep breath, searching the perimeter to ensure that we were truly alone before I leaned in closer. “Tell me everything you know about Prince Felix.”

#stray kids #stray kids fanfic #skz #skz fanfic #stray kids fantasy au #skz fantasy au #you can stay #y/n x lee felix #lee felix fanfic #felix fanfic #stray kids fluff #stray kids angst #stray kids imagines #stray kids scenarios

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wolfpawn · 4 years

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I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 163

Chapter Summary -After the long and tedious road to her Ironman, Danielle begins to get back to normal, including acknowledging that she has neglected Tom in certain manners for the past few months.

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long. This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously.

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog @jessibelle-nerdy-mum @nonsensicalobsessions @damalseer @hiddlesbitch1 @winterisakiller @fairlightswiftly @salempoe @wolfsmom1 @black-ninja-blade

Danielle and Tom left Tenby the next day at lunchtime, giving Danielle a chance to actually get some rest and recover from her sporting endeavours, Tom holding her to him and repeating, time and again, how proud he was of her for reaching a goal.

On their way back to London, they collected the dogs and brought everything to the house. Tom drove to give Danielle the rest she needed after the triathlon. When they got out of the car, he noticed her moving her shoulder and hissing. “It’s worse.”

“It’s utterly fucked now.” She confessed. “It will need weeks of rest and physio, I’d say. I don’t think I can even drive safely.”

Though grateful she was being honest, Tom felt annoyed that she had allowed it to get worse when she promised not to overdo it but hearing her acknowledge that she would tend to it properly now silenced his argument on that front. “If you need a lift there, let me know.”

“I will.” She gave a small smile and did what she could to bring in some of her belongings inside, but Tom refused to let her and shooed her in citing the dogs needing to be settled as the excuse.

The next few days continued with a pattern, Danielle going to physio for her arm, her working on paperwork for Safeguard and her own personal work projects and catching up on sleep.

It was a week after her return from Tenby, after she had another physio session on her arm and she was collecting some food from Sainsbury’s on her way back to the house because Tom was dealing with something work related when she paused and thought of an idea. Smiling to herself, she made a small plan.

Tom was exhausted. He had been dealing with some work that Marvel had asked of him for an upcoming piece of work they were considering for him, and more importantly, Loki. He was bound by contract to say nothing yet knew that should he and Danielle come to discuss it, she would not say anything. If she could hide the ending of Game of Thrones from even him, he knew he could depend on her to say nothing regarding his work. When he pulled into the driveway, all he could think about was sitting on the couch and resting for a while, or perhaps making it to the bedroom to do so if he managed to scrape the energy from somewhere to do that.

When he opened the front door, fear filled him.

The smell of good home cooking filled his nostrils, the scents of lemon, spice and garlic telling him that Danielle was cooking some form of a roast. When he entered the kitchen, he noted the oven had a tinfoil covered meat in it, with roast potatoes on a tray below it and the stove harbouring further foods. Looking around, Tom wondered where Danielle had gone before calculating dates in his head. Their second anniversary was just a fortnight away but they had agreed that they would go out to dinner that night, so he could not fathom what had prompted this evening’s feast.

“Tom?” He jumped slightly as he heard a voice from the back kitchen area. “Are you home?”

“Yes.”

“Oh good.” Danielle came back into the room and took something in a small pot out of the fridge before placing it on the stove, swapping it with some form of vegetable. “How was your day?”

“Good?” Tom looked at her. She was wearing a dress, for no apparent reason, in the house. She never did that. It was figure-hugging, slightly dipping at her cleavage and she was wearing makeup. His fear intensified. She was clearly on a different level to him regarding the significance of the evening and it scared him to wonder what he had forgotten.

“Tom?” He looked at her face again to see a notable look of concern on it. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I...What am I missing?” Rather than trying to pretend he knew what was going on and be found out later in the evening, Tom favoured being honest.

“Missing?”

“What event or occasion is this. Our anniversary is in two weeks so I cannot figure it out?”

Danielle laughed. “Do I need a reason to want to cook a nice dinner? I haven’t been allowed half of my favourite food in weeks and I know you are busy and tired so I thought it would be nice to make us something.”

“But...your clothes?”

“I saw this a few weeks ago and with the body alterations from my new training, I thought it would be nice. Was I wrong?” She looked at him worriedly. She rarely liked dresses and she seldom wore them, but this dress had made her feel as though her figure looked good and was excited to get it, but seeing Tom looked at it with uncertainty made her anxious that she had made a mistake.

“No, it’s gorgeous, I just...Why tonight?”

“Why not tonight?” She challenged. “If I am looking for events to wear certain clothes to, I may be waiting a while.”

Tom subconsciously nodded to her words. “I’m sorry, you’re right. You have every right to wear anything you want and you look incredible so I don’t know why I am causing you to feel as though you don’t. I’m sorry, I am ruining your nice evening. Please, forgive me.” He pulled her to him, noting the lovely smell of strawberries and coconut in her hair as he did. “You look incredible and the food smells sublime.”

“Part of me wanted to get a takeaway and stuff my face in the corner but I was thinking this is probably healthier and if I continue to eat okay will mean I will not have to be greased into a wedding dress when the time comes.”

Tom gave a disapproving growl at her ridiculing words. “To the best of my knowledge, you have never had to be greased into anything and I have seen pictures of you when you accuse yourself of being at what you deem your ‘biggest’ and it’s laughable. Also, if you did add a few pounds or even a few stone, I wouldn’t care because as long as you are healthy, I just care about you being happy.” He put his arms around her as he spoke before looking down, his pupils dilating at the sight his taller height bestowed him. “Though, I will never complain as to you wearing this dress.”

Danielle laughed as she noted his line of sight. “I can’t really say anything, you have long declared yourself a lover of breasts.”

“And yours are exquisite.” Her reaction was to lean up and kiss him, causing him to groan. “Dinner…” He reminded her.

“Another ten minutes.” Danielle pulled back as she spoke. “So get a shower to help you relax and when you come down, dinner will be served.”

“I don’t know what I did to deserve this, but with how wrecked I am, I will gladly accept it.” Tom kissed her again and went upstairs as Danielle let the dogs back in from a stint in the garden before readying the last of everything that was required for their dinner.

The meal was a pleasant affair, lighthearted and relaxed. Tom informed Danielle of some more Loki related work that Disney was considering. It was not finalised, but from what he gathered, both the Trickster and another character, of whom he was not made aware of, were getting their own mini-series if certain plans came to fruition.

“So that would be your beard gone?” Danielle asked.

“I would imagine so, yes.”

“Pity.”

“Good thing it can grow back,” Tom smirked, seeing the small smile she was trying to hide on her face. “Dare I ask, come the wedding, will you want me to have it?”

“I will want you to be comfortable and happy and so long as that does not include some naff Seventies mustard and brown suit and a “pervy uncle” moustache, I am not bothered how you look.”

Tom erupted in laughter at the image Danielle gave him with her words before looking at her and seeing the playful look on her face. “I missed this.”

“Missed what?”

“Your ridiculous playfulness. You were so tired from training and juggling us, work, the dogs, training and even helping Emma, you didn’t talk as much.”

“I sacrificed a lot for that achievement but I also forced you to sacrifice for it. Thank you for being so patient and staying by my side.” Danielle looked at him with sincerity, understanding more and more since she stopped her ridiculous training load, just how much she had sacrificed for that goal. She had known she would have to adjust her life for it, and many of the things she would have to cease or put to the side made sense. Late evening dinners out with friends, a social drink, her favourite unhealthy foods but everything really came to the fore when she looked at it now and one of the greatest things to be sacrificed was her time with Tom. She was a zombie from exhaustion more than once. She recalled him urging her to bed more often than her going at the same time as him fully awake. She did not always eat meals with him and she had all but become celebate in that time and to his due, Tom never once complained at her enforcing such a fate on him too. Danielle realised that the sacrifices she made were hers and for her goal but Tom did sacrifice things also, for her. She knew he would love to spend time with his friends comfortably in New York after the fashion show but he had chosen to rush back to her. She knew he also wanted them to go out for dinner like a normal couple more than once in that timeframe also, yet he never bothered her about it, because he wanted her to have the nutrients she needed. The early morning training sessions, the early morning starts for the practise races, everything, he did willingly, for her. Looking at his cerulean blues eyes, now almost permanently framed by his glasses, she saw the love she had for him returned to her with as great an intensity. “Thank you.”

The rest of the meal went well, both continuing to talk between healthy and comfortable silences. When at the end of it all, Tom began to try and stifle yawns, Danielle urged him to bed. “Only if you join me.”

“You drive a hard bargain,” She joked as she walked up the stairs ahead of him, the dogs having been dealt with for the evening. Danielle brushed her teeth and whatnot first before swapping out and allowing Tom to do what he required in the bathroom. While he was doing so, she took off her dress and began searching for her tattered old clothes she tended to wear in bed, since she had not planned to wear them but with Tom’s tiredness, she knew there would be no amourous fun for the evening.

“What…?” She turned to see Tom looked at her from across the room.

“What, Love?”

“You’re wearing the black underwear.”

“Yes?”

“Did you want to…?”

“What?” In all honesty, the lack of full sentences by Tom was confusing Danielle at this stage.

“You dressed sexily, cooked a nice dinner and wore these,” Tom explained as he walked towards her. “You planned on us having a romantic evening.”

“I did, and we did have a romantic evening, I thought.”

“But…” He looked at her breasts, which he noticed had decreased in size as a result of her tedious working out and diet, not by much, but they did not fill the cup as they had before. “You look incredible.”

“You took your glasses off.” She joked. Tom growled slightly and pulled her to him. “You’re tired, Love, we don’t have to do anything.”

“I want to.”

“You’re exhausted.”

“You’re sexy.” He silenced her next retort by kissing her gently nipping her lip as he urged her over to the bed, causing her to smile and do the same back to him, only tugging slightly as she did, knowing how much he adored that, pushing him so he was the one to fall on the bed in his t-shirt and boxers, which he had stripped to while she had been in the bathroom and straddled his hips. The shift in power, to her being on top made Tom moan as a small wave of excited pleasure surged through him, loving that she was taking control of the situation, her breasts in his hands, her crotch rubbing against his for friction, both loving the feeling. “God, I’ve missed you.”

“I’m sorry, never again.” She pulled at his t-shirt and let her hands slid over his chest, enjoying the feel of the slight bit of hair he had on his pecs.

Tom found himself conflicted. Partly because he wanted to control the situation, partly because he was loving how Danielle was controlling it.

When he tried to place his hands on her hips to turn them around for him to be on top, Danielle grinned and shook her head. “Not tonight.” She leant down and kissed him again. “Tonight, I am in charge.” She shirked down his body, toying with his nipples as she gently kissed and playfully nipped at the skin of his abdomen, loving the small line of hair that trailed from his navel down to his pubic region before sliding down his boxers and gently kissing the head of his hardened length, then finally, placing as much of him in her mouth as she could, using her saliva and enthusiastic tongue to moisten him. Inhaling deeply, she held her breath and took as much of him into her mouth as possible, gagging slightly as she reached the back of her throat, but forced her body to relax slightly before edging him in a little more.

“Elle.” Tom forced himself not to buck into her mouth, knowing she was already pushing herself to fit as much of him in as she could. “Fuck, so good.”

Slurping slightly and ensuring he was wet from her ministrations, she prowled over him again, giving Tom a chance to seize her face with his hand and encourage her forward to kiss him passionately. Whilst they kissed, Danielle slid Tom to her damp body and sank down onto him, throwing her head back and gasping as she felt him fill her, realising just how long it had been since they were intimate by how tight she felt.

For his part, Tom could not help the whine he made, Danielle’s body gripping tightly around him as he relished their having sex again after what felt like an eternity. At first, Danielle’s movements were slow and languid, but as she moved, Tom began to reach her most pleasurable point within her body as he slipped his fingers to just above where they were joined causing Danielle to gasp again as she moved with more purpose. Tom urged her to lean up slightly, meaning that she was not able to sit fully onto him, but rather than that causing them less pleasure, Tom urged Danielle’s hand to her clit before he gripped her hips and began to move her down as he leant up, their movements becoming sloppier as they both became more and more engrossed in the pleasure they were experiencing. Amongst it all, the crude noise of their bodies meeting became louder and all the more notable.

All too soon for Tom’s liking, he felt his gut tighten before he forced Danielle down until he was fully sheathed within her, groaning as his pleasure reached its peak. Above him, Danielle’s movements became less aggressive, knowing he would be sensitive from his release as she chased hers. With Tom’s fingers joining hers, Danielle felt herself get closer to her own orgasm.

“Come on, my beautiful Elle, I can feel how close you are,” Tom encouraged.

“Tom.” It was a plea as well as a whine, her body teetering on the edge of an orgasm. “I can’t…oh fuck!”

At the idea that she could not complete so close to her peak, Tom concentrated his thrusts back at the point in her he knew caused the most pleasure. It took all of a few seconds before Danielle’s body clamped around his and she gasped her release, her fingers, along with Toms, still rubbing and teasing her external nerves as Tom ensured to hit her internal ones in near a constant manner before gently urging her forward.

Before he could even attempt anything, Danielle placed her lips to his and moaned into the kiss. “I love you.”

“I happen to love you too, Miss Hughes.” He smiled with satisfaction.

Danielle could not help the snort of laughter she gave in return, loving the almost dopey grin he was giving as a result of his tiredness and orgasm. “I didn’t think you’d have the energy tonight.” She toyed with his hair as she spoke, loving how long it had become.

“After so long without you, I would have done an Ironman myself at the promise of getting to enjoy you once more.”

Danielle’ssmile fell slightly. “I’m sorry, I am so sorry that I caused you to have to endure the negative sides of that race with me. I thought, more than once that I was giving the air of disinterest. I wanted nothing more than to do this with you, but I was so tired so often.”

“I know. Don’t fret, Elle, I understand. It’s done now and we are on the road to more new and fun things in the future, which hopefully will not include being in your company for so long without sex.”

“It’s harder when we are both here and we don’t do it, I find you being away, or my being away, my brain just thinks, ‘Well, there’s no point in being horny, he’s not here’.”

Tom laughed at the silly voice she gave as her brain’s. “You are the most amazing woman,” he declared lovingly.

“I know, that’s why you want to marry me.” She gently allowed him to slip from her and curled up beside him. “And the reason I said yes was because I know a good man when I have one, and I am not letting you go.”

“I wasn’t going anywhere anyway.” Tom sighed as he felt his tiredness come to the fore once more, his body satisfied at finally having been fully sated once more.

#I Hate You I Love You #Chapter 163 #tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fic #wolfpawn

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organabanana · 4 years

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Four things Esti kept secret, and one she couldn’t | Ronit/Esti

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Disobedience (2017) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Underage Relationships: Ronit Krushka/Esti Kuperman, Ronit Krushka & Esti Kuperman Characters: Ronit Krushka, Esti Kuperman Additional Tags: Femslash February, Femslash February 2020, Pre-Canon, baby gays doing baby gay things Series: Part 3 of Femslash February 2020 Summary:

Just like it says in the tin: five little snippets of Esti and Ronit's relationship before Ronit left.

[ao3 link]

"What do you think?"

Ronit walked out of the bathroom stall and stuck her hands in the pockets of her trousers.

Her trousers.

Where had Ronit even found a pair of trousers, anyway? Esti looked around as if she was expecting one of their parents to suddenly pop up from behind a column and start screaming at them.

"Esti," Ronit said in that tone she used that sometimes felt like a very heavy blanket had been draped over Esti to make her feel calm and safe, "nobody knows us here."

And Esti knew Ronit was right, of course. They were far away from home, in one of their Underground Adventures (Ronit's idea, always) where they moved from one line to the next at random until they felt free. Until they could breathe.

"So?" Ronit tried again, and this time she turned around so Esti could take a proper look. "What do you think?"

The trousers were a bit big for Ronit. They were baggy and a little long even if she'd rolled them up at the ankles to keep them from dragging on the floor. They didn't fit right at all. And yet...

"They suit you," Esti finally declared, voice thoughtful and head tilted as she considered the picture in front of her, "even if they're not quite your size."

Ronit beamed at her best friend, clearly delighted with her assessment, and Esti wondered if maybe Ronit hadn't been asking just about the trousers after all.

"Dovid gave them to me. Well- he doesn't know I'm wearing them, of course, he thinks I've donated them." Ronit looked moderately guilty for the lie, but after a second of silent consideration she shrugged it off. "I suppose in a way I have donated them. Just... to myself."

Esti let out a quiet chuckle, even if she shook her head out of some kind of need to let it be known she didn't exactly approve of this whole thing. And yet...

"Let me see again," she heard herself say, cheeks tingling with what she knew was the beginning of a blush, "stick your hands in your pockets like before."

Because there had been something about that pose. And when Ronit smirked and stood like before, slouching slightly like taking off her heavy long skirt had relaxed every muscle in her body, Esti couldn't look away.

Suddenly the trousers looked like they'd been made for Ronit. Or maybe Ronit had been made for trousers instead. Ronit had always been beautiful, but now she was... was she handsome? Esti licked her lips, unable to find a word to pin to the feeling warming her up from the inside out.

"Do you really like them?"

Esti nodded, even if the more she looked, the more she realized she didn't like the trousers after all. She liked how they looked on Ronit. Not because they fit perfectly, like the ones Dovid or Aaron or any other boy wore day in and day out. She liked that they didn't fit quite right, because Ronit wasn't Dovid or Aaron or any other boy. She was Ronit, and she was a girl.

That was what she liked.

But Esti never said that out loud.

***

"Look what I've found."

They were sitting on Esti's bed, even if they should've been asleep already. Their parents didn't mind sleepovers. Esti knew they loved that she was so close with the Rav's daughter. Of course, her parents didn't know Ronit's sleeping bag had never been used, because the girls much preferred to share Esti's bed. Esti didn't know exactly why they'd have a problem with that, really - there was nothing inappropriate about two girl friends sharing a bed - but something told her they would very much oppose it if they knew.

There was something that felt a bit like danger lurking right under the surface every time Esti climbed into bed next to Ronit and felt her best friend's warm body beside her.

And that same sense of danger - or maybe it was excitement? - tingled up her spine as she looked at the object Ronit was currently showing her.

Esti knew what it was. A CD player, small and round, with its earphones dangling on the end of a long black wire. She'd seen plenty of them during their Underground Adventures, but she'd never used one.

Obviously. Why would she? Music like that was forbidden, after all.

"You've found it?" Esti asked with a hint of doubt in her voice. The same doubt showing in the way she cocked one of her eyebrows. "Really?"

Ronit shrugged. "Does it matter?"

Esti supposed it didn't. It was forbidden either way.

And maybe that's why she hesitated before reaching for it and placing a single fingertip on its smooth metallic surface. She was almost surprised when no lightning came from above to smite her right then and there.

"Has it got a CD inside?"

Ronit nodded, white teeth catching her bottom lip as if she was struggling to contain an excited grin. And truth be told, she likely was doing just that.

When she held one of the earphones out for her to take, Esti shook her head. It was one thing to see it and allow it to be in her room. But to actually use it...

"What are you afraid of?"

Ronit's question was simple enough, and yet Esti found herself unable to find a decent answer. What was she afraid of?

She didn't know. So she figured there was no reason for her to say no, after all.

"Ready?" Ronit could barely hide her excitement once they were each wearing one headphone and she pressed play.

It was a slow melody. Unsurprisingly, Esti didn't know it at all. But after a few seconds, she decided she liked it. It was nice. Warm, somehow. It made her want to...

"Dance with me," Ronit said, jolting Esti out of her thoughts like that lightning that didn't strike when she broke the rules earlier. By the time Esti fully processed what her best friend had just said, Ronit was already on her feet, one hand extended towards Esti as she kicked her sleeping bag out of the way.

"I don't know how to dance, Ronit. You don't know how to dance."

"I've seen people dance," Ronit said, holding Esti's hand and tugging lightly until she was also on her feet, "we can figure it out."

It was very hard to argue with Ronit Krushka when she had made up her mind about something. And clearly, she'd made up her mind about this.

"I'll be the man," she said, and Esti could've sworn Ronit's voice sounded a little lower than normal, "so you just have to follow my lead. Okay?"

Esti nodded, feeling a little like she'd lost all her words somewhere between the moment when she stood up and the second she felt Ronit's hand pressing against the small of her back.

"A bit closer," Ronit's voice was barely above a whisper, so quiet Esti was surprised she could hear it over the beating of her heart. She let Ronit's hand guide her closer and closer, until there was only a sliver of hair between their bodies. And then, even though Ronit didn't tell her to, she took another step forward.

She could feel the warmth of Ronit's skin even through their nightshirts.

"Ready?" Another whisper, and Esti nodded once again. Ronit led them as they swayed slowly to the beat of whatever song they were listening to. Esti didn't care. All she cared about was Ronit, and her warmth, and how solid she felt against her. How her breathing seemed to be a bit shallower than normal, and what it felt like when Ronit's blunt fingernails gently scratched against her back.

They'd been dancing for three and a half songs when she felt Ronit's hand move in a different way. Softly, almost hesitantly. Ronit never hesitated, but she did right then, for just a second, before her fingertip slowly traced a heart on the small of Esti's back.

She never told Ronit she'd noticed what she'd drawn.

***

Ronit was leaning against their tree, eyes closed as the sun hit her face and made her look like something out of a painting. It was early Spring, still chilly enough outside for both of them to be wearing coats over their sensible dresses. Lighter coats, though. Not quite the heavy affairs from mid-winter that made Esti feel like she was lugging an entire bed spread around.

Esti loved that early Spring sunshine in an almost protective sort of way. It felt so fragile and small, never quite strong enough to actually warm you up properly, but still there. Bright in a very different way from the warm sunlight from later on in the year.

"I thought you wanted to go over your notes before the test," Ronit said without opening her eyes, voice a little lazy like it always was in their early morning walks to school. She'd never been a morning person, but she still woke up a half hour earlier than she had to just to walk with Esti. Esti thought about that quite a lot.

"I did. I do. I have them right here," Esti waved the cards in the air, as if that would somehow make the many History facts written on them fall off and enter her brain.

"And yet you're staring at me like a little creep."

Esti felt her cheeks flush. She'd been caught, hadn't she? She just didn't know how, when Ronit's eyes had been closed the whole time. Still, there was really no need to call her a creep.

"You're so unpleasant in the morning. I should stop talking to you before lunch time."

"You could never. You'd miss me far too much."

Deep down, Esti knew Ronit was right. Just the thought of going a day without seeing Ronit was enough to make something twist uncomfortably in her chest, to the point where she simply refused to even entertain the idea at all. It'd never happen, anyway. She wouldn't allow it.

"I'm sorry I called you a little creep," Ronit said after a few moments in silence, and when Esti looked at her she saw her friend's eyes were no longer closed, "I didn't sleep well last night."

Esti no longer cared about her exam, or the facts in the cards. All she cared about was the hint of something very close to sadness she swore she saw in Ronit's eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing, I swear!" Ronit reached for Esti's hand and gave it a squeeze, as if that would make Esti believe her. "I was just up thinking until late, that's all."

Ronit didn't let go of her hand, and Esti didn't pull away. Instead, she found herself taking a slow step forward, as if Ronit in that early Spring light was a star she couldn't help but gravitate towards.

They'd had this conversation before, with some very minor variations. Ronit would say she'd been worried or preoccupied or thinking about something, and Esti would read the rest right there in hazel eyes. Because it was obvious, wasn't it, the thing that was keeping Ronit up at night. The very same thing that wouldn't let Esti look her mother in the eye after spending time with Ronit, even if nothing happened. And nothing ever happened. They made sure of that by never discussing it out loud.

Esti and Ronit could have entire conversations in complete silence. They'd speak in class and at Temple and right in front of their parents without saying a word. Who needed those? It was all right there in looks and slight brushes of hands and even in the empty spaces between the words they did say.

And that was enough. That was safe. Like a wall of bulletproof glass between and around them.

"What were you thinking about?"

Esti's voice was so quiet it may as well have been a whisper, and yet she could've sworn the sound of that safety glass shattering was loud enough to be heard all the way back in her house.

And Ronit heard it, too. Her eyes rounded and she straightened her back, no longer leaning against their tree.

"What?"

"Last night, when you couldn't sleep," Esti let the pad of her thumb brush over Ronit's knuckles, "what were you thinking about?"

Ronit looked down at their hands for a moment before she met Esti's eyes again.

"You."

Esti felt the air in her lungs disappear as if her heart needed the extra room in her chest. It wasn't beating. Not quite. It was throwing itself against her rib cage like it needed to be set free.

And maybe it did.

Ronit was waiting for an answer. A comment, a reaction, something. And Esti had so many things she could say to free up even more space for her heart.

She could've said she thought of Ronit at night, too, and the way she felt kept her up for hours past her bedtime.

She could've said the reason she couldn't look her mother in the eye were the things she wished would happen, even if they never do.

Never did.

Because Esti didn't say any of those things out loud. Instead, she held on to Ronit's hand a little tighter and leaned in until her lips brushed against her best friend's.

The only reason Esti was sure it wasn't all a dream was that in her dreams, it was always Ronit kissing her. But once that first step was taken, who did what and in what order seemed to stop mattering altogether.

Esti had never kissed anyone before, and she didn't need to to know Ronit was the only person she ever wanted to kiss. Ronit's hands were the only ones she wanted in her hair, Ronit's body was the only one she wanted to feel pressed against her own, and Ronit's teeth were the only ones she wanted nipping at her bottom lip.

She decided, right then and there, that she didn't ever want to have another first kiss.

She just never said it out loud.

***

They hadn't even bothered pulling Ronit's sleeping bag out of its case.

It would have felt silly at that point.

And Esti knew they had been right. The Rav, the scriptures, her parents, the well-meaning elders who sometimes handed out free advice for young women just like Esti. They had all been right, because now Esti knew it was true: the first sin was the hardest.

After that - once that line had been crossed - nothing ever felt the same. What had seemed unthinkable was suddenly not quite that big a deal after all. A mountain became a step. And the scariest part of it all was Esti wasn't sure where it had all started.

What had been that first sin? The one that started the snowball effect that had landed her on her back in her bed, nightshirt up around her waist and a hand pressed over her mouth to keep herself quiet while Ronit moved between her thighs?

She didn't know.

She didn't care.

What she felt for Ronit was wrong, but true. Ending up right there in that moment, feeling Ronit's fingers inside her while Ronit's taste still lingered on her lips and tongue felt inevitable. Of course they'd end up like that, as together as two people could possibly be. There had never really been any other options. Not really.

Ronit's fingers hooked inside her, and Esti's back arched off the mattress, the quietest hint of a whine just barely making it past the hand against her mouth.

"Shhh," Ronit whispered, muffling a giggle against Esti's inner thigh, "you'll get us caught."

"Don't stop."

"Never."

And Esti let her eyes flutter closed, as hearing that was a relief and not just further proof that she was going to keep sinning. Over and over again. Straying further and further away from what was right.

But Esti didn't care.

Not when Ronit's mouth joined her fingers between Esti's thighs and Esti felt the first waves of pleasure crashing against her. Not when her fingers fisted in Ronit's hair to keep her right there as Esti struggled to keep herself quiet and her lungs breathing through it all. Not when she was absolutely sure, without a shadow of a doubt, that that was Heaven, right there.

And as long as she had that, she didn't need the one everyone else kept talking about.

But she never would've dared say that out loud.

***

Ronit looked pale as a ghost, hazel eyes wide in a panicked look Esti had never seen in her life. Her cheeks were flushed from the effort of running from her own house to Esti's, her chest heaving with the effort of trying to catch her breath.

Esti was so shocked she couldn't even ask what was happening. All she could do was stare.

"They know."

"What? Who?"

"They know, Esti."

She took a step back, one of her hands feeling around for something to hold on to just to give her a sense of reality after the world had been knocked off-center. Her fingers gripped the edge of a nearby table as if it was the only thing keeping her feet on the floor.

Ronit was still talking. About someone seeing them and telling the Rav. About her parents being at Ronit’s house right then, and the three of them talking about how to fix it. Fix them. She talked about running away. About savings, and cameras that could be sold. About plane tickets.

"Together?"

Esti heard the word as if it'd come from someone else instead of out of her own lips. It was small, just like Esti felt. A little desperate. A lot scared.

"Of course," Ronit looked like the mere question was unthinkable, like there had never been any other option, "always."

Esti felt herself nod.

"Hey," Ronit said, stepping close enough to hold Esti's hand in her own, and then close enough to press a lingering kiss to her temple. She didn't say anything, but it was all right there in her eyes for Esti to see when she pulled back. They'd never really needed many words.

The silence stretched for a few moments, just enough for all those unspoken things to wrap around Esti's heart and get it beating properly once again.

"Pack a bag," Ronit finally said, taking a step back and popping the bubble she'd created around them just seconds before, "we'll meet at our tree in fifteen minutes."

"Okay," she felt like she was slowly regaining control of herself. Like she could think again, finally. Like she could wrap her head around what was happening.

They weren't a secret anymore. And they were running away.

Together.

"Okay," she repeated, a little more solid this time. They were going to be okay. And Ronit nodded, because she didn't need Esti to say it out loud to know exactly what she meant.

But as she watched Ronit walk towards the door, Esti suddenly felt like they'd left enough things unsaid.

Some things just had to be said out loud.

"Ronit," she called out, and the look in Ronit's eyes made her feel like she'd never been more right in her life, "I love you."

Out loud.

Ronit nodded just once, a hint of a smile pulling at the corner of her lips. She was too scared for anything more, Esti knew.

"Fifteen minutes," Ronit finally said right before she left, and Esti knew she meant she loved her, too.

And after tonight, they wouldn't have to keep anything secret anymore.

#disobedience #resti #ronit x esti #fic #femslashfeb2020 #fanfic

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breanime · 5 years

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Rewrite the Stars (Part One)

My pity-party turned into a short series and my first Caspian fic! This is based on the gorgeous song Rewrite the Stars from “The Greatest Showman” soundtrack--I am obsessed with this soundtrack, so you can blame this fic on @teacuplotus because she introduced me to that damn movie!

*gif not mine*

Caspian was staring at you again. You tried to ignore his stare, but it felt like his eyes were boring a hole in the back of your head. You kept your glance down and tried to concentrate on your task. Reepicheep had asked you to look over a few maps for the Dawn Treader’s next voyage, and as Caspian’s first mate and member of his kingsguard, of course you said you would. To be honest, you had some mixed feelings about this next journey; it was hard enough to keep your feelings for your king in check without being stuck on a boat with him.

You heard Caspian’s laugh behind you and felt yourself grow warm at the sound. It took everything in you not to turn around and watch him, watch the way his smile lit up his whole face, watch how he stood—regal and yet approachable—it was intoxicating. It was trouble. You had absolutely no business ogling the King—he was royalty, the Telmarine who saved Narnia, destined for greatness and you… You were the daughter of a lowly blacksmith who someone worked her way to becoming worth something. Your father had made sure you learned how to defend yourself as a child, and you had a knack for it, but no one would take a woman warrior seriously. You were no Queen Lucy, and you damn sure were nowhere near a Queen Susan—but Caspian had seen something in you. He had insisted on you getting a place on his kingsguard—not just in his army, but a part of his personal security. You were the only woman in your position, and Caspian had even allowed you to start training local women and girls who wanted to learn the art of the sword in your free time. He truly was a phenomenal man. He was meant to be with a princess, a queen, or some kind of heavenly creature—he was so far out of your reach, it was laughable. His fate and yours were tied together in that you would both do anything for Narnia and its people, but that was where the thread ended. The stars had been written, and his love was not a part of your story.

“Lady Y/N,” Caspian was directly behind you, and you had to keep yourself from jumping when you realized how close he was, “I was wondering if perhaps we could discuss the route for our journey?”

“Of course, my King,” you said, turning to face him. His hair was longer than it had been when you first met him shortly after he’d been crowned king. He had a beard now and walked with more confidence, spoke with more authority. Women fainted over him—literally—and he sat by their bedsides until they woke up just to make sure they were okay. This was the man you…had feelings for. You gathered up your thoughts and your maps. “Shall I fetch Reepicheep?”

“That won’t be necessary,” he smiled at the ground before looking back up at you, a nervous glint in his dark eyes, “Actually, I was hoping we could speak in my chambers, if that would be alright with you.”

“Sure,” you agreed.

Caspian held his arm out and you laughed. You took it and let him escort you out of the courtyard and back into the castle. He was surprisingly good at treating you like a soldier, a sailor, and a lady when most people couldn’t even cope with you being one of those things. He led you through several corridors, and you chatted about the weather and the look of the tides as you walked. Even though he was your king, Caspian had always been easy to talk to. You had been drawn to him from the moment you met, and you counted yourself lucky that he even spared time to speak to you. You were talking about your first voyage together—a rather length trip that involved pirates, murderous mermaids, and living rocks—when you entered the main sitting room. Several ladies were sitting about, reading and sewing and talking quietly. A few of them stood up to bow to Caspian (a thing you knew he wasn’t fond of), while others greeted him more naturally. You tensed when you saw a few glare over at you. A beautiful woman with white-blonde hair turned to an equally beautiful Telmarian girl and whispered in her ear. The Telmarian giggled, looking you up and down with distaste. A third woman, wearing a gorgeous gown that put your white shirt and leather pants to shame, scrunched up her nose when she saw your arm in Caspian’s. You pulled away from him and stepped back so that he could properly greet the ladies. He glanced back at you with a quizzical look on his face, but you stayed back.

“Well,” he said after saying hello to each girl, “if you’ll excuse us, Lady Y/N and I have matters to attend to.”

You didn’t miss the fake smiles and downright hateful looks the ladies sent you as Caspian took your arm again and led you away. He took you to his private library—one of your favorite places in the castle—and shut the door behind him. You heard the women’s giggles even as the wooden door closed.

“Now then,” Caspian smiled warmly at you, “would you like something to drink, Lady Y/N? Or I could get you something to eat, if you want.”

You sighed. “I wish you wouldn’t call me that, my King.”

His eyes widened. “Call you what?”

“Lady Y/N,” you busied yourself with spreading the maps on the large table in the center of the room, “I’m not a lady.”

“Of course you are,” he said, shaking his head, “But if you don’t want me to call you that in private…” His cheeks reddened. “…perhaps I can simply call you Y/N?”

You couldn’t keep the smile off your face. He called you just by your name all the time, especially when you were at sea, but the way he asked for your permission now was just so…sweet. “I would like that, my King.”

He smiled back. “Then you should call me Caspian,” he declared, “whenever you’d like.”

“Okay,” you licked your lips, “should we look over the possible routes…Caspian?”

His answering smile could have outshone the sun.

You and Caspian spent hours in the library pouring over the various routes and paths you could take. You stood shoulder-to-shoulder, heads pressed close as you debated the best way to go. Caspian insisted on making sure you ate and ordered food to be delivered straight to the library. You had a private dinner with the King, who made you laugh so hard you got tears in your eyes. It had always been easy to talk to Caspian, but this was different—it felt much more intimate and natural than your other encounters with him had been in the past. You had his complete attention; he hung on your every word as you told stories about your childhood and gave your opinion on the different choices you had for your voyage. He looked at you as if you were the most spectacular thing he had ever seen—even though he had been face to face with Aslan and the Kings and Queens of Old—and he spoke to you as if your words mattered, as if he needed to know your thoughts on things outside of your role in his kingsguard. It wasn’t until one of his advisors peeked his head (and horns) through the door that you realized it was well past midnight.

“I can’t believe it’s so late,” you said once the advisor had left, “We barely even got anything done!”

“I think we accomplished quite a bit,” he said easily, “We narrowed our choices down to three main courses.”

“We were supposed to pick one, Caspian,” you deadpanned. You put your hands on your hips. “Reepicheep is gonna have my head.”

Caspian laughed. “I’m sure he’ll be lenient. You are his favorite, after all.”

You scoffed. “That can’t be.”

“It’s true,” Caspian replied, “He was one of the first to vouch for you when you first joined the kingsguard.”

“Was he?” You smirked. “Who was the first?” You asked, thinking it must have been one of Reep’s cadets. He always took their opinions when making changes to the kingsguard.

Caspian looked over at you, a strange expression on his handsome face. His eyes were so soft, like he was looking at something precious, and he was smiling almost shyly at you. “Me,” he answered, “I was the first one. I…” He cleared his throat. “I wanted you from the first moment I saw you.”

Your eyes widened as you tried to process his words. He…He couldn’t mean… You just weren’t hearing him right.

He flexed his hands at his sides, a sign that meant he was nervous, you had learned. “I hope I’m not making you uncomfortable or overstepping…”

“No,” you shook your head, heart beating a mile a minute, “but I think I may be misunderstanding you…”

“Then let me be clear,” he took a step towards you, but stopped before he got too close, keeping his distance, “Y/N, I have been trying to think of the right way to tell you that I have feelings for you for months now… I think the world of you, and I would hate to make you feel uncomfortable, but… I’ve seen the way you look at me.” Your mouth dropped open, but he smiled as he went on. “I think, maybe… Maybe you might have feelings for me as well?” He looked at you hopefully.

You closed your mouth. This was…impossible. And improbable. “But you’re the King,” you said, voice soft.

He chuckled. “Yes, and I’m also a man. I’m not—I would never make demands of you as a King, not for this.” His eyes bore into yours. “So please don’t think of me as your king. Don’t give me an answer you’d think a king would want. I’m just Caspian.” He took a breath. “I’m always just Caspian when I’m with you.”

You shook your head. “But you’re not,” you said, heart breaking even as you spoke the words that were breaking his, “You’re the king, and I’m just a nobody. There’s no way—we could never—” you took a steadying breath “—It’s impossible. You’re meant to be with a noble woman, not some…It’s impossible.”

“No,” he took another step towards you, but stopped when he saw how quickly you backed away, “Y/N, it’s not impossible. No one can say what we get to be, it’s up to you, and it’s up to me.” He swallowed. “You say I’m meant to be with a noble woman, but Y/N… I think you were meant for me, and I was meant for you.”

You felt your eyes water, but you had to stay strong. Caspian was right—you had feelings for him, you loved him—which is why you had to protect him. He would be making a mistake if he chose you over the noble women who had a rightful claim to him. “We can’t,” you said, voice shaking, “It’s not in the stars.”

“The we’ll rewrite the stars,” he said, moving so that he was directly in front of you. His dark eyes were burning with determination. “Nothing can keep us apart, Y/N, not fate, not the stars—everyone can see that we’re meant to be together.”

Everyone? You shook your head again, feeling your hair hit your cheeks. “How can we rewrite the stars?” You asked. “We can’t just—”

“—Do you love me?” Caspian asked.

You froze. He was staring at you, eyes blazing, and all you wanted to do was run into his arms. You knew you should lie, deny your feelings, maybe even run off—but you couldn’t. You were rooted to the spot. You were standing completely still, but you felt dizzy with emotion. Caspian was waiting for your reply. He looked so earnest, so genuine… You took another breath, blinking back the tears. “Yes,” you whispered, “I love you.”

Caspian’s face broke out into a smile, and he engulfed you in his arms before you could stop him. You fit perfectly against him, as if you were two pieces of a puzzle that was only complete just now. He pulled back a bit, still holding you in his arms, and you felt like the most important creature in creation. Slowly, he put a large hand against your cheek. His touch warmed you to the bone, and you shut your eyes, reveling in the feeling. “I love you, too,” he whispered back.

Then he pressed his lips to yours in a soft, magical, world-shattering kiss. You kissed him back, pulling him as close as you could. In that moment, there was nothing else in the world but you two; no Narnia, no Dawn Treader, no nobility, no social obligations—just two people in love holding each other close. It was perfect.

It was heartbreaking.

You felt the first tear hit your cheek when you pulled back, and the smile that had been on Caspian’s face vanished when he saw that you were crying. “I love you,” you said, voice breaking, “but we could never be together.” You took a step back, feeling empty now that you were no longer pressed against him. “It…This isn’t easy for me, Caspian,” you tried to explain, “please don’t think that I don’t want to run to you—I do. I do so badly,” the tears were flowing freely now, “but there are mountains keeping us apart, doors we can’t walk through…”

“Y/N—”

“—I know,” you took another step away from him, putting a hand up to stop him from mobbing any closer, “that we’re able to be just Caspian, just Y/N when we’re together, but that’s not how things work. Once we go outside, you’re going to wake up and see that this,” you gestured between the two of you, “was hopeless after all.”

His wide eyes were watering, and it broke your heart. “Please don’t say that,” his voice was barely above a whisper.

You took in another shaky breath. You felt like you were made of glass and on the verge of breaking into a million pieces. “I love you, but I can’t have you. My—our hands are tied.”

“No,” he shook his head, “Y/N, I—we,” he flexed his hands, and you could see his chest heaving, “You’re my destiny. I know it. Please—”

“—I’m sorry,” you said, turning and running out of the library. You heard Caspian call your name, and you should have obeyed your King and stopped, but you had to get away. He didn’t follow you.

You ran out of the castle doors and into the garden, collapsing against the wall and sinking to your knees. No one could hear you cry, so you sobbed until your chest and head were aching. After you had run out of tears, you made your way back to your chambers, fell into bed, and cried some more until sleep finally brought you some small sense of relief.

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

Please tell me what you think of this, the more feedback I get, the more I feel like updating, and you guys know that about me! Haha! (But I do want to know how my Caspian came off?) Oh, and let me know if you want to be added to my “everything taglist” or if you want to be tagged in this lil series. Thanks for reading, guys!

EVERYTHING TAGLIST: @banditthewriter @teacuplotus @elanor-of-imladris @ymariejp @drinix @something-tofightfor @whitewolfssilverfox

#caspian #narnia #caspian x reader #caspian imagine #narnia fic

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imagine-lumpygrab · 5 years

Note

Hello secret and please... Might we lowly peasants have some... Excerpts from your godly fics... Please...

Well, uh... to be honest I don’t have that much written but I do have a bunch of fics that are in very early stages and I love to ramble about stuff I write, so...

This excerpt is from a fic I’ve given up on where LSP has to go home to attend to her queen duties, leaving behind her few precious friends and Lemongrab as well, and since her dear sweet boyfriend misses her greatly, they keep in touch through texting. Except then there’s a storm and LG has a panic attack and LSP literally drops everything to go back and see if he’s okay. Like I said, I’ve given up on it and probably won’t ever finish it, the only real reason I’m sharing it is because LSP kinda roasts Bubblegum :D

———

“Aw, well I’m gonna miss ya’ll too, guys,” LSP smiled at them endearingly.

“But you know who will be the saddest when you leave?” Marceline grinned and sang slowly: “Your citrus boyfriend~”

“Oh here we go,” Bubblegum mumbled under her breath.

“Oh yeah, how did he take the whole queen–from–another–dimension thing when you told him?” Finn asked. He was on good terms with Lemongrab for a pretty solid time now and he was kind of concerned about his relationship with someone like LSP. Not that he didn’t like her, but both her and the earl disliked not having things their way and that could turn out to be a topic of arguments. Then again, they seemed to be right for each other in many ways and Finn hasn’t actually ever seen them argue. As far as his knowledge went, the pair had had a date probably every day of the last week in an attempt to mentally prepare for a long-distance relationship.

“He like, totally understood,” the purple cloud of a princess said with relief apparent in her voice. “He even promised me advice on ruling and stuff!”

Bubblegum cringed a little but tried to keep her composure. She failed, all three pairs of eyes noticed and were now looking at her rather scolding-like. “What?” she asked. “The Earldom of Lemongrab isn’t exactly the best example of how to rule!”

“Well, like, I mean,” LSP murmured, “neither is you experimenting on him, but here we are, girl.”

———

BOOM get rekt Bubblegum >:)

Ok another thing I’m really excited about even though I don’t have much to show of it is “The Battle over the Planet Lemongrab,” which is kinda inspired by Wander Over Yonder in a way. Basically it’s an AU in which the series happens not only on Earth but numerous different planets, so like... Lumpy Space is actually a planet, and the Earldom of Lemongrab is the Planet of Lemongrab, and an entire planet is called Ooo, stuff like that. So it’s kinda a space adventure!

And in this AU, Bubblegum is basically the overlord of a part of space. Guess it’s like a Star Wars imperium, but usually they’re the good guys.

Okay, and Princess Bubblegum of course needs armed forces to keep all the planets under her control in check, and LSP, believe it or not, joined this army. She was asked to find a job so she decided she could as well get some adventure out of it, and now she works for Bubblegum as a space assassin, basically. Now bear with me because it’s about to get crazier.

Lemongrab was supposed to be PB’s heir, right, and when she deemed him a failed experiment, she sent him off to his own (pretty desolate) planet, later she made him his brother Lemonsoft, and stuff’s good for a while before it’s not so good anymore.

In the end though, both Lemongrabs survive, that’s the big difference. Lemongrab lives on as a terrifying dictator that rebelled against Bubblegum and declared independence of his planet, and Lemonsoft joins Bubblegum’s force in search of making himself tougher in what could be describe as a desire to feel stronger.

Note: he has a really cool mask over the bitten-off part of his face (kinda like Sally Face if any of you know that game), except it has a prosthetic eye and everything, making him partly a cyborg. He bonds over this with Finn later, while LSP doesn’t like the mask that much because it reminds her of her past crush on Finn.

Well, all of this happens before the actual story. Where we actually meet our main characters is when Bubblegum calls LSP and LG2 to her office and gives them the mission of assassinating the original Lemongrab. Lemonsoft is reportedly chosen for the mission because even though it’s horrible that he has to kill his brother, he’s the only one who knows his castle’s layout and can use the environment properly. LSP is chosen because, well, Bubblegum doesn’t trust that her son can really kill his twin and someone has to do it. Also she is immune to a lot of magic stuff and that helps.

Before they even get to the planet they encounter a bajillion problems, bounty hunters, laser fights, all sorts of sci-fi space craziness combined with the Adventure Time characters and environments, all of that fun.

But I only have the skeleton of that story. The only piece of actual writing I have is.... this:

———

*they end up sleeping at an inn*

“So.” LSP started a small fire in the fireplace and carefully set a can of beans above it. She has been informed earlier that the inn had no food left after their king’s latest rampage and it honestly annoyed her more than anything. But now her dinner was cooking and she shot her partner a look of curiosity. “All of this is a family drama to you?”

“Mmm,” he nodded. “The Earl of Lemongrab is my brother.”

“Woah, like, for real? That’s… that’s… sheesh.”

“Yeah. I actually have this,” he pointed at the metal part of his head, “because of him.”

“Damn.”

“Indeed.” He would be most comfortable with leaving the conversation there, but he wasn’t allowed to.

“How did it even come to that?” she inquired.

“How did what come to what?”

“You know.” She looked at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “These types of people always have tragic backstories. At least you definitely have one, and your brother is either a villain, or–”

“He’s not a villain!” her partner retorted immediately, but when he saw her jump, his anger quickly deflated. “He’s just...” wrapping his arms around himself, Lemonsoft sighed. “He must’ve been so lonely these past years without me.”

Silence spread through the room then, and LSP found herself unable to break it. What happened to the brothers?

———

Yeah, what happened indeed. We might never find out because I’m a procrastinator and a lazy moron. But oh, well.

Since this is getting kinda long and because I only have a few other ideas written out I’m gonna leave it at that. Two exerpts are fine right?? Right????

What I actually think I might be finishing soon is a small fic about yet another AU, though I’m very fond of this one. So look forward to that!

#long reply #secret’s secrets #adventure time #lemongrab #lemonsoft #lumpy space princess #lumpygrab #imagine lumpygrab #lemongrab x lsp #fanfic #fanfic ideas #exerpts from a book i'll never write #exerpt from a story i'll never write #fanfic exerpts #story excerpt #writing in progress

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comicsin5panels · 6 years

Text

“Oban Star Racers” retrospective month(and a half) PART 1.

Gather around, children, and let me tell you about a simpler time. A time where people rented DVDs. A time where we actually bought our stuff in local stores. A time where sunglasses were still somewhat kinda cool, I guess. A time where we still watched TV on the tube and didn’t just use it for our game console.

The year 2006.

I was so young back then.

So naive, believing that America would never have a president worse than W. Bush, was under the delusion that DN Angel would actually have an ending one day, and that I didn’t have to record my favorite shows since my favorite channel would never die.

I still miss Jetix sometimes.

For those of you who aren’t an 27 year old fart like me, Jetix was a channel featuring action-related and adventure-related live-action and animated shows, many of them had previously aired on Fox Kids, but there was also some original shows as well.

But then those damn Disney bastards ended my favorite channel when I was a kid. Meaning that a lot of shows weren’t shown again.

Such as Oban Star Racers.

Oban Star Racers is a French-Japanese anime series created by Savin Yeatman-Eiffel. It is practically unknown today but has a small but loyal fanbase. And I now hope that talking about the show for a month and a half will make the fanbase a little bigger. Let’s talk episode 1 to 3, shall we?

First episode starts off with a flashback(or flash-forward since it is a flashback in the show that takes place in year 2082) where mankind has invented space-travel so advanced that they can reach new planets that Earth has never known of before. This results in humans finally meeting lifeforms on other planets as well as said lifeforms being aware of the planet Earth... For better or worse.

Some of these aliens are not so friendly, like the tyrannic Crogs who has a long history of conquering other planets. So now that they know about the humans, they decide to invade Earth. The humans manage to defend themselves and fight off the Crogs... barely, and enjoys a period of peace for about thirty years.

ANYWAY, in present time(that is 2082) we finally meet our hero of the show, a Earth girl named Eva who has just turned fifteen. She is spending her birthday sitting alone by her boarding school’s phone, waiting for her father, Don Wei, to call her. But he doesn’t. In fact, he haven’t talked to his daughter for ten years. Eva justifies her dad’s dick behavior by telling herself that he is busy since he is a extremely successful race manager, probably the best one in history.

As you might have guessed, Eva is not very fond of having been locked inside boarding school for the most of her childhood, so she has for some time been using her talents for mechanics to build a rocket-seat(a bike-ish vertical that can hover above the ground) and escapes the school, planning to find her father, the famous Don Wei.

... And then she get’s slapped in the face by reality when she is face-to-face with her dad who can’t recognize her. In fact, he even mistakes her for a boy. Eva is surprised by being met without being recognized as well as how harsh and unkind Don Wei is. She loses her nerves and claims to be Molly Spring(a name she spots on a pinup poster) and that she wants to work as a mechanic.

Eva... Or Molly as she will be refereed to for the most of the series... hopes to impress Don with her skills as a mechanic, but it seems like she has come to late since her father has to leave the planet for the sake of saving Earth.

See, remember when I told you that Earth managed to fight off the Crogs? Yeah, that’s just bullcrap the government told the people. There has been no war because the Avatar, a mythical universal/spiritual deity with the power of a god, declares a period of peace in the universe so that species all over the cosmos can get ready for an event called the Great Race of Oban, an intergalactic race where several species compete for what is simply refereed to as the “Ultimate Prize.” The only reason to why the Grocs haven’t thwarted the humans yet is because it is against the rules to attack a planet that competes in the race, so Earth HAS to be part of the contest to keep the Crogs away.

Don Wei is the greatest race manager of planet Earth, so he has been given the task of creating the greatest race team. He gets Rick Thunderbolt, a racer who used to work for Don and has an impressive career with no defeats, Jordan Wilde, a young soldier who is as aggressive as he is precise with a gun(weapons are allowed during the race), buys the ship known as the Whizzing Arrow as well as hiring the two engineers, Stan and Koji who built the Arrow and knows best how the ship works and how to repair it.

Don and his team leaves the planet, but Molly manage to get on the ship that transport the Earth team to Alwas, one of the planet where the pre-selections for the race takes place.

Earth’s first race ends up in a disaster since Rick has an accident while flying and is injured so badly that he is in no condition to race. In other words: Earth is without a pilot for the race.

So Molly get’s her big chance to impress Don. Without his permission, she hijacks the Earth ship and competes for Earth in the first race.

She was... less than graceful since she had no experience with anything bigger than a scooter. The only reason to why she won the first race was a mix of her opponent wanting to crush her instead of beating her, her knowledge about technology so she could exploit the opposing ship’s weaknesses in design and a whole lot of dumb luck.

youtube

Needless to say, Don Wei was anything but happy despite their first victory, and even declared that the Earth team would withdraw from the great race of Oban.

And that is more or less the three first episodes of my favorite anime. It is a slow and steady start so we can be introduced properly to the world of OSR and it’s characters as well as understanding the importance of the race. Sorry that this most was mostly exposition, we will get to analyze OSR next time to get to what made this overlooked show so dang awesome.

To be continued.

I’m Waezi2, and thanks for wasting time with me.

#oban star racers #molly hayes #eva wei #molly spring #jordan wilde #don wei #rick thunderbolt #jetix

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andrewmoocow · 6 years

Text

Gravity Soul chapter 11: Escape to Death City, Home of the DWMA? (originally posted on October 28, 2018)

AN: Hello again ladies, gentlemen and every other rainbow in-between, welcome back to Gravity Soul! Last chapter our heroes were forced to flee after losing to Kishin Cipher, and their chosen hiding spot? None other than DEATH CITY! New bonds are built and our heroes decide to get stronger in order to properly take the monstrosity on. Some of these I've been wanting to tackle for a while ever since I even started conceptualizing so I hope you'll love them as much as I do.

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All was quiet in Death City, Nevada. The 1800s-esque cobblestone streets were empty for mere moments until a green portal decorated with various arithmetic symbols shined into view and out of it came the Mystery Meisters, now fresh off their departure from Gravity Falls. "So this is Death City!" Ford declared in amazement. "Have to say, really admire the rustic feel of it."

As the crew gazed around the city with wonder, Dipper on the other hand was more mindful of the suddenly anthropomorphic sun, which sported a wide smile emitting a booming laugh. "Hey, I got a question!" he exclaimed. "Why is the sun suddenly alive here yet normal in Gravity Falls? Is it some kind of magic or something?"

"It's best that you not think about it." Death the Kid stated before he looked onward. "Let's get going everybody, the Academy shouldn't be faraway." He led everybody else through the streets of Death's turf, giving them a tour of it along the way.

"Whoa, everything looks so creepy!" Mabel exclaimed gazing through a shop window. "Makes me wish we brought some cameras to take pictures of the place." Wendy added joining her in staring through the window. "Lord Death's face is everywhere. I know he owns the place, but I feel like this is too much." Dipper stated before his eyes wandered to find a nearby ice cream shop. "And is that some kinda parody of Baskin-Robbins?"

"Here it is, our faithful school!" Maka declared after some more sightseeing gesturing towards the school itself high above the rest of the city with flights of white stairs below. It looked more like a macabre funhouse once again with Death's face with red spire roofs, candles jutting out of the building and a group of three skulls anointing the entrance. And above the school was a group of three black orbs mysteriously floating in the air.

"Talk about some bizarre architecture dude! This is definitely going up on my list of inspirations for my dream house!" Soos remarked pulling out a piece of paper with some crude drawings of buildings on it. "It's gonna have a water slide, a bouncy house for an elevator, and trees that can turn into giant super fighting robots!"

"So do we have to climb all these steps?" Pacifica wondered putting a foot on the first stair. "Yeah pretty much." Patty said just as she immediately bolted for the entrance. "RACE Y'ALL!"

"Patty, this is no time for games!" Maka exclaimed racing after her. "We still need to talk with Death and get his help in stopping Kishin Cipher!"

"We literally just got back from nearly dying Maka, can you lighten up a bit?" Black Star said zooming up the stairs. "How can I lighten up when I just-"

"Lost Soul, we know." Tsubaki interrupted her. "We all miss him too but I don't think that's a very healthy way to express your feelings." she stated. "Speaking of losing someone, where's Mr. Pines?"

"How much longer Soos?" Ford moaned as he, Soos and Pacifica became tuckered out from climbing the stairs. "I think we're still in the tens Mr. Pines." the manchild answered. "Well by the time we join the others, I'm going to punch whoever constructed this place. After I throw up."

The hallways of the Death Weapon Meister Academy proved themselves to be very grandiose. As far as the Mystery Meisters could see, they were surrounded by fancy corridors with arched ceilings that almost seemed like a maze.

"Wow, this place is so fancy!" Mabel exclaimed in awe. "And these must be all your classmates too!" She began waving to everyone that passed by until she unexpectedly bumped into a strange blue man. "Oh sorry mister! Didn't mean to run into you like that."

"It's fine missy." the man answered turning to meet the Pines twins, revealing his pupil-less eyes and piglike snout. "Say, aren't you those kids Death was talking to a while ago?" he asked. "Oh my gosh, it's a zombie!" Dipper exclaimed. "Quick, did we pack any formaldehyde and cinnamon in case we run into situations like this?!"

"Hey calm down guys, he won't eat your brains!" Black Star calmed them down. "Speaking of which, we'd like you to meet Sid Barrett. He helps out Lord Death round these parts and is also my dad." he introduced the zombie. "Wait, he's your father? Guess your mom must be some kind of necrophile!" McGucket remarked, which earned him a smack on the head. "Okay I'm sorry! Maybe she's a necromancer instead!"

"Actually, I'm his adoptive dad." Sid answered. "His real dad was a maniac who had to be put down." he added. "I would later raise the kid as my own until I died and came back to life. I couldn't bring myself to kill a baby, cause that's the kind of man I was."

"Y'know, I actually was a zombie once!" Soos remarked. "But I'm not sure if I looked anything like you sir." he stated. "Thanks for your observation, but this is no time for chit-chat. Shinigami said he wants to see you." Sid declared. "Especially the kids."

"Thank you very much Sid, we'll make a note of that." Kid stated before starting to move again. "Come along everyone, his room should be close." he said leading the others away.

Many steps through the labyrinthian halls later, a strange door with a skull face at the top stood before them. "This should be the place." Stein announced beginning to open the door. "Now right this way."

Within moments, the denizens of Gravity Falls found themselves underneath a series of guillotines lined up like a tunnel. "Are any of these going to chop off our heads?" Dipper wondered fearfully gazing up at the tunnel's ceiling. "No it won't you guys, you just still need some adjusting to things!" Spirit claimed. "Now come on, Death shouldn't be kept waiting."

A strange looking room greeted them at the end of the guillotines. The walls almost looked like the sky and a large platform where Death's mirror was situated was surrounded with many crosses planted into the ground that resembled a desert. "Hello, Lord Death? It's us, the Pines family!" Dipper called, but he received no answer. "Where is he anyway? Sid said he should be here to greet us."

"Salutations kiddos!" Lord Death loudly greeted them suddenly appearing on the mirror, shocking them all. "Oh I am terribly sorry, please forgive me for startling you." he apologized exiting the mirror to see them all face to face. "No, we should apologize for being so impatient!" Dipper exclaimed dropping to his hands & knees and bowing his head. "And also failing to stop Asura & Bill."

"Greetings Death, it is a pleasure to meet you face to face." Ford greeted the Shinigami with a respectful bow. "It's good to meet you too Stanford." Death gingerly greeted back before his tone became solemn. "And I am also terribly sorry about what happened to your brother."

"Hey there man!" Wendy casually greeted Death much to Maka's displeasure. "Shouldn't you be more respectful?" she chided the cashier. "What, you mean like this?" Wendy asked before she bowed as well. "Yeah, that's good enough."

"And I assume these must be your friends as well!" Death exclaimed. "So let me get this straight. This place is run by the literal Grim Reaper itself?!" Pacifica gasped in shock. "Why yes indeed young lady." the Death God answered before making his voice deeper and more menacing. "And I should be expecting your soul very soon."

The blonde girl trembled in her boots before Death chuckled in his regular voice. "Just kidding miss!" he assured her with a pat on her head, making her shiver. "So what is this place anyway? I know it's some kinda school but what's it for?" Gideon wondered. "That is a very good question little one!" Lord Death answered before clearing his throat. "Allow me to explain."

"Welcome to the Death Weapon Meister Academy, also known as the DWMA or Shibusen." he began expositing in an announcer's voice. "It stands as a defense against the forces of evil, which would plunge the world into darkness & drag humanity to the very depths of fear and madness, the demons known as Kishin and their insatiable hunger for destruction."

"To ensure the Kishin never regained their hold on this world, this academy was founded by the Grim Reaper, Death himself!" He then switched back to his normal voice. "So basically, we're an organization that exists to protect & preserve peace!" Death exclaimed. "I guess it's not exactly a typical school. Oh well, that isn't important!" he said forming his hands out of his cloak, clasping them together and pointing at the Mystery Meisters. "For now, let's roll up our sleeves and get to work!"

"Work on what sir?" Soos asked as the speech ended. "Why, getting you all ready to face Kishin Cipher! That's why I plan on temporarily enrolling you all at my academy." Death announced to the shock of the party. "We're actually going to become students here?! That sound awesome!" Mabel exclaimed hopping up and down but Wendy only groaned. "Aw man, I seriously wanted to get away from school. Well, at least this place will be less boring."

"Which reminds me, you should all be assigned students to room with." Lord Death said pulling out a tall stack of paperwork and examining it with a pair of glasses. "Let's see, the Pines shall share Maka's apartment. Ms. Corduroy & Mr. Ramirez shall sleep with Black Star & Tsubaki and finally Mr. Gleeful, Ms. Northwest and Mr. McGucket shall move in with my son."

"Uh how did you get our names? We didn't even introduce ourselves yet!" Dipper wondered. "That's also unimportant. Now go along and retreat to your assigned living spaces." Death answered. "I'll see you all soon for your first classes!" With that, the Death God vanished back into his mirror leaving his platform empty.

"Guess that's his way of saying we should get moving." Stein stated with a puff of his cigarette. "I'll see you later. Gonna need to take care of some business." He began leaving the Death Room as the party began going their separate ways. "I'll have you know I live in a very fine & symmetrical mansion." Kid warned Pacifica, Gideon & McGucket. "So if any of you dare disrupt that symmetry, there will be serious consequences."

"I hope you can make yourselves comfortable at our place you two." Tsubaki said to Soos & Wendy. "I can only assume you have some sorta Japanese aesthetic goin' on?" the rotund ex-handyman asked. "I'm asking because y'know, you're both ninjas."

"I wonder if your place is large enough to hold two young girls, two boys, a cat lady, a pig, a sword and an old man like myself." Ford mused preparing to leave as well. "Just make yourselves at home while I take care of my own business." Maka muttered before Spirit suddenly appeared behind her. "Have fun with your new roommates sweetie! And if Dipper tries to make a move on-" Without another word, Maka chopped her father in the face.

"You know what, you can go on ahead kids. I'd still like to speak with Death about Bill." Ford suggested. "Okay, see you soon Ford!" Dipper exclaimed as the children finally exited the Death Room, leaving the scientist alone with the Shinigami, who popped out of his mirror to speak. "Is there any thoughts you want to share with me Mr. Pines? I'm all ears!"

"It's about Bill Cipher sir. You claimed you faced him hundreds of years ago, but how did he manage to find you?" Ford asked as the two of them sat down to some tea. "You almost seem bound to this place, so there's no way you could've gone outside of it to meet him."

"It was actually eight centuries ago when I had first come to blows with Bill." Death explained sipping his tea. "He had actually originally appeared to me, claiming that if we struck a deal, he could help me purge the world of all evils forever and ever. But of course, that was all a lie."

"You did what?!" Ford exclaimed in terror, spitting out his tea. "Sincere apologies for startling you Stanford. I suppose you may have dealt with Cipher as well." Lord Death contemplated. "Indeed I have Shinigami," the six-fingered great uncle confirmed. "for similar reasons as you. He called himself a muse that said I was one of many brilliant minds I chose each century to assist. But obviously, he used me for his own plans as well."

"And according to you, he has returned and fused with Asura as well." Death continued on. "Oh yeah speaking of which, when we left Gravity Falls I heard Asura call your son his 'pesky little brother.' What did he mean by that?" Ford asked again, this time the question made Death nervous before he finally accepted what has now happened. "I've been keeping this secret for ages now, in which only a very small few know it as well, but it's finally time I admitted it." he sighed. "Asura is actually my son."

"My God, it cannot be." Ford gasped. "Though I guessed there may have been some form of connection between him and Kid beforehand, especially due to the similar stripes in their hair, but I never guessed they would be your actual children." he stated. "And another thing, if you're their father then who's the mother?"

"I actually never married. Asura & Kid are just chunks of myself I pulled out and made their own beings. Asura represented my fear while I just wanted a free-roaming Death God which resulted in Kid." Death continued on. "I worry that if I reveal this to him, he wouldn't trust me anymore since I'm basically the father of the ultimate evil. And as for Asura, while I detest him for what he's done in the past, I'm also concerned for what Bill could do to him since he's a completely insane monster."

"I see." Ford commented looking up at one of the windows in Death's room, noticing that the sky was turning red. "I hate to run sir, but the kids should be expecting me to return soon." he stated preparing to return to his great-nephew & niece. "But I promise that your secret is safe with me."

"Good on you Ford. The only others that know it are Sid, my Death Scythes, Excalibur and a few others associates of mine." Death said as Ford finally left. "But I feel the secret won't be kept between us all for long."

"I'm back everyone!" Ford announced stepping into Maka's apartment. "It took me a while to actually find this place, but thankfully Spirit was there to lend me a hand." he stated. "So kids, how are you adjusting?"

"We're doing great Grunkle Ford, this is a great new experience for us!" Mabel exclaimed stepping out of a bedroom. "By the way, you're gonna get Soul's room while Dipper & I sleep on the couch." she added. "Plus Dipper & Maka are already doing nerd stuff in her room."

"Well it's good you're getting used to things. Now what's for dinner?" Ford wondered. "I know, why don't have some smoked sausages?" Blair asked suddenly appearing wearing only an apron with a wiener dog in her hand, much to Ford's alarm as he covered Mabel's eyes. "Don't you have any form of decency furball?!"

"Oh cut me some slack Sixer, with Soul gone I gotta have someone to have fun with." Blair stated defensively. "And besides you are a bit of a silver fox yourself." she playfully cooed before going her own way, leaving Ford aghast and Mabel's innocence preserved. "Seriously, what is a silver fox?!"

Meanwhile in Maka's room, Dipper & Maka were busy chatting and looking through her various books. "Wow, so you have your own weapon form as well? That seems utterly ridiculous and impossible." Dipper commented now sans his vest & shoes while Maka was also dressed more casually in a tanktop and sweatpants. "I agree, but it seems it can only appear when I'm knocked unconscious."

"Ooookay then." Dipper nervously replied before he spotted a framed postcard sitting on her desk. "Hey, what's this supposed to be?" he asked picking it up. "This actually came from my mother, which what inspired me to defeat Asura once and for all." Maka explained. "Everywhere she went, she made sure to send me a postcard of whatever destination she was in. This one in particular contains the Persian word for courage."

"Your mom must've really meant a lot to you if she keeps sending you postcards. Speaking of which, what caused her to not be present in your life?" the boy continued. "My dad was simply too much of a pervert, lusting after far too many other women which worsened our relationship." the Scythe Meister said. "In fact with Soul gone, he's probably the only Demon Scythe that I can use right now."

"Aw chin up, I'm sure you and your dad can patch things up somehow." Dipper assured Maka before Ford came calling for them. "Soup's on everyone! We're having smoked sausages tonight!"

"Let's just eat and later get ready for bed. Tomorrow's going to be your first day at the Academy." Maka stated hoisting Dipper onto her shoulders and carried him to the main room. "Wow, you're really strong for someone your age!"

"Thanks for the sushi dawg, feels like I haven't eaten anything in hours!" Soos thanked as he, Wendy, Black Star and Tsubaki sat down to some sushi she made. "Why thank you very much Soos. It's the best I can do for our guests." Tsubaki replied. "Yeah, make yourselves at home I guess." Black Star added. "So what are your lives like back at your home?"

"Well you probably know how my family is. I'm living with my abuelita, my dad just up & disappeared and my mom died too. But look at me now, still a jolly dude who's everyone's friend!" Soos exclaimed.

"And as for me, I got my dad and three bros, Marcus, Kevin & Gus." Wendy said pulling out a picture of herself and her aforementioned brothers when they were young. "We may get on each other's nerves a lot because manliness and all that, but we all still love each other."

"At least none of your brothers ever felt inferior to you to the point of wanting to become a Kishin!" Tsubaki nervously laughed before her expression turned somber, mourning the fall of her own brother.

"Good lord, look at you in that picture!" Black Star exclaimed staring at the picture, particularly the younger Wendy's hiked-up pants, pigtails & braces. "I'd say the years have been very kind to you Wendy." he complimented, making the lumberjack's daughter blush. "Oh, uh t-thanks Black Star."

"Oh, is that blush I spy Wendy? You got a thing for him?" Soos playfully mocked. "What, no she doesn't!" Black Star screamed. "My heart only belongs to one woman, and her name is The Path to Godhood!"

"Can you not Soos? I know you're only joking, but you're making everyone else nervous." Tsubaki gently scolded him, beginning to blush as well. "Sorry about that Baki." Soos retracted his earlier joke before he made an observation. "Hey, you're getting all red too! You perhaps jealous?"

"Oh just shut up already Soos." Wendy giggled with a sigh. "So you got any places for us to sleep here you guys?" she asked. "Oh I'm sure we could pull out a few spare mats." Tsubaki answered. "Wait, you're being serious? We're actually going to sleep on the floor?"

"It's okay Wendy, it's kinda like being in a sleeping bag. I looked it up on the Internet, and it says the Japanese always sleep on the floor." Soos assured her. "Which reminds me, you got any that can fit me?"

At Death the Kid's mansion, Pacifica, Gideon and Fiddleford were busy making themselves at home as well, sitting down in the dining room with Kid and the Thompsons. "Let us set some house rules everyone. Rule #1, everything must be kept absolutely symmetrical no matter what." the Immature Death God announced. "That especially goes for your Mr. McGucket, with your very looks and all."

"Well if you say so Kiddo, imma keep myself as sym-meteorite as possible!" McGucket claimed boldly, though the children he was now living with weren't so sure of it. "Now you got anything to eat here? I'm starving!"

"Pretty sure I can cook something up." Pacifica stated. "You can trust me, I've been working at Gravity Falls's local diner so I know my way around the kitchen."

"Yay, thanks Pazzy!" Patty exclaimed cheerfully. "It's honestly felt like ages since we had that gumbo at the Shack, I'm famished!" Liz added patting her stomach. "We are truly grateful for you offering to help us with dinner tonight Pacifica." Kid stated leading the younger girl to the kitchen. "So what do you think we should have anyway?"

The next day, far away in the outskirts of Death City, a young man dressed as a clergyman wearing a pair of headphones with Death's face on them bobbed his head to the music playing in them pulled up before the city in a dune buggy resembling a hearse and gazed at the Academy.

At the same time, a man wearing a large bear head appeared out of a coffee shop with a monkey wearing a backwards baseball cap clinging onto his shoulders.

A tall & large Russian man with a large nose wearing heavy winter clothes stepped out of an alleyway followed by another slimmer man with a bearskin hat and duffle coat.

A darker-skinned fellow stepped toward the Academy as well with white war paint on his face in the shape of a keyhole. Along with him was a taller man with a large afro, a pleated sarong and nothing covering his torso.

Another man appeared, his clothing much more loose and a turban covering his entire face. Beside him was a beautiful young woman dressed as a belly dancer.

Finally another lady made herself known, an Asian woman in formal attire who pushed up her glasses with a stern look on her face.

"Lord Death, all your weapons have arrived." Stein confirmed to Death in his room. "And this time, everyone is here."

"Excellent Stein," Lord Death replied. "tell everyone to meet here and we shall make preparations for Operation: Apple of Discord."

Meanwhile at Maka's apartment, the Pines were getting ready for their first day as temporary students at the DWMA. Mabel put the finishing touches on a scabbard she had made for her brother, which was pink in color with a silver metal tip, various ornate gold decorations and a pine tree symbol in the center. "C'mon Dipper, we don't wanna be late! Plus I got a surprise for you!"

"Be with you in a bit Mabel, just gotta do a few more pushups for Excalibur." Dipper groaned struggling to do more warmups under the guidance on the Holy Sword while Blair innocently waved a flag around. "Keep moving Dipper, I don't know what I've been told but all that glitters isn't gold!" Excalibur barked. "You do realize that those two sayings don't make any sense together, right?!" his new Meister panted before his arms finally gave out. "Can we please be done now?"

Pulling out a stopwatch, Excalibur examined it for a bit before giving his answer. "Yes indeed, you have completed all exercises in the allotted time." he answered. "Great, cause lookie what I got for you bro-bro!" Mabel exclaimed revealing her scabbard to Dipper. "Oh yeah, that looks uh, great Mabel."

"FOOL!" Excalibur cried smacking Dipper with the end of his cane. "I sense a bit of nervousness in your tone my boy. Could it perhaps be the color?" he suggested. "Don't let any gender stereotypes bring you down, just accept that your sister has made you a lovely gift."

With that, Excalibur changed into his weapon form to allow Dipper to insert him into his new sheath, which he hung over his shoulder. "Come along kids, the Academy can't be kept waiting!" Ford called about to step out of the door. "Trust us, you're going to love it there!" Maka added and the twins joined them and Crona on their way to the school, leaving Blair and Waddles behind.

Much later, the group had arrived at the front doors of the Death Weapon Meister Academy. Each of them, especially the Pines, knew this would bring them one step closer to stopping Kishin Cipher, rescuing their loved ones and saving Gravity Falls.

Just then, Kid & the Thompsons stepped towards them with Pacifica, Gideon & McGucket in tow along with Black Star, Tsubaki, Soos & Wendy. "Mornin' dudes, you ready for your first day of school?" Soos asked them. "Well since we're coming here during the summer, I guess this would sort of count as summer school."

"You're going to be in the EAT class with us." Black Star stated. "Just as a fair warning, things can get pretty crazy in there so try to keep your heads down."

"Thank you very much Black Star." Ford said pushing open the doors. "Now come along children, we've got work to do!" Suddenly he was interrupted when he opened it to find Stein already inside waiting for him. "Death wants to see you Stanford."

"Oh, me?" Ford wondered. "I am terribly sorry to come and go everyone, but I am needed elsewhere. I'll see you all later!" he quickly apologized stepping through the entrance and walking away with Stein, leaving the kids, Soos & McGucket to wonder what he was needed for.

"So what is your reasoning for pulling me aside Franken?" the author wondered as he was led by Stein back to the Death Room. "Lord Death wants you to join in on a little meeting he's holding with some of his colleagues." the Meister answered letting him inside the room where the Death God was standing before Sid & Spirit along with a host of other colorful characters. "I can only assume these are the other Death Scythes?"

"Indeed they are Stanford." a dark-skinned woman covered in bandages replied. "Mira Naigus, school nurse and DWMA CIA commander at your service Mr. Pines." she introduced herself shaking the scientist's hand. "They are Justin Law of Western Europe, Tezca Tlipoca & Enrique of South America, Tsar Pushka & Feodor of Russia, Dengu Dinga & Alexandre of Africa, Djinn Galland & Zubaidah of West Asia, Azusa Yumi of Oceania and finally...alright, where is she?"

"Where's who?" Ford asked. "Let me guess, Marie is lost again?" Tsar Pushka wondered as if he had experienced this before. Enrique the monkey chattered excitedly while hopping up & down which made Tezca cackle rolling on the floor. "You're right little buddy! Maybe it is because of that eyepatch!"

"Sorry I'm late everyone!" the voice of another young woman cried rushing into the Death Room. This woman in particular had blonde hair & was clad in a black dress with a large yellow zigzag pattern on it and an eyepatch with a lightning bolt symbol. Just the combination of the color scheme and choice of accessory alone made Ford both suspicious & nervous. "Again, sorry I'm late Death! Just got a little lost, as usual."

"Oh don't be Marie." Death stated. "Now then, we have gathered you all here today to discuss a new threat that has emerged and wreaking havoc upon the world. To further elaborate, I'd like to introduce you all to our guest Stanford Pines." he explained introducing Ford to the Death Scythes. "Greetings everyone. As you may know, I hail from a town in Oregon known as Gravity Falls that is currently undergoing serious peril."

"Could you please explain more about this threat Stanford?" Azusa asked. Before Ford could answer, Spirit hurriedly rushed to his side. "I'd try to keep my mouth shut around her if I were you." he whispered. "While she is very respectful, she's also a total bossyboots as well, which earned her the title Queen of the Committee Chairman."

"Excuse me Albarn, but Mr. Pines is trying to speak." Azusa scolded Spirit with a snap of her fingers. "Now please, return to your spot." Much to his chagrin, Spirit obliged as Ford continued to speak. "Anyways ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you to meet Bill Cipher." he announced making the triangle appear on Death's mirror. "A powerful dream demon originating from the second dimension, Bill is currently merged with the Kishin you may know as Asura and the two have made Gravity Falls their domain, hoping to extend their madness across the globe and potentially the rest of the universe as well."

"Are you serious, we're going up against some triangle?" Djinn Galland commented. "Do not be fooled by his simplistic appearance. Bill is a conniving, sadistic monster who can trick or possess anyone to get his way." Ford stated. "He is also highly intelligent, preferring to make deals with his victims to further his own evil deeds."

"Although he can't do much in the mindscape, in our physical realm he is pretty much omniscient. Telepathy, manipulation of things like time & matter, reality warping, the whole nine yards!" Death added. "Combined with Asura's own abilities and godlike Soul Wavelength, the two of them combined are nearly unstoppable."

"What do you mean by nearly sir?" Dengu Dinga asked. "Through some careful research, I was able to deduce that only a zodiac made up of twenty symbols representing 23 souls can create a force strong enough to terminate him." the polydactyl professor stated. Just then he noticed Justin Law barely paying attention and instead listening to his music. "Excuse me young man, we are currently having a discussion that we'd be happy to have you join in on."

"What?!" Justin shouted in Ford's face, much to his surprise. "I said, please take off your earphones and pay attention!" Ford shouted back. "Oh, I am terribly sorry, please proceed." the young Death Scythe politely apologized removing his earbuds. "As I was saying, we must organize a plan of attack on Cipher. One group shall go on ahead & distract him while another shall progress and finish off both him and his four Madnesses, Sloth, Wrath, Greed & Envy."

"Horosho, should be easy." Feodor remarked. "We just go in, wait for you to go after us and everything will be all fine and dandy." he stated. "Don't be so casual. As I stated, Bill can do pretty much anything when in the physical realm, so we must keep ourselves sane if we want to survive." Death said. "However there aren't many ways to keep him from going into our minds."

"I would suggest outfitting our skulls with metal plates since it's the only method we have on hand, but it's very painful." Ford stated. "Are you serious?" Sid wondered and the scientist only replied by knocking on his head, producing a loud clanging noise. "Okay, maybe I could use one of those."

"Oh great googly-moogly, it's almost time for class!" Ford exclaimed looking at his watch. "I hate to come in and run folks, but the twins should be waiting for me!"

"Very well then. Everybody here is dismissed!" Death declared clapping his hands, signaling for his weapons to disperse. As they began leaving the Death Room, Stein stepped up next to Ford. "Hey, I've got an offer for you." he said. "How do you feel about becoming a guest teacher today?"

"Why I'd be delighted Stein!" Ford exclaimed cheerfully. "I actually do have a few degrees so I might know my way around things." he added. "Excellent, I'll be there to assist you along with Marie here." Stein stated introducing him to the blonde woman.

"Oh hey, don't think Mira introduced me! I'm Marie Mjolnir from Oceania, pleased to meet you." Marie greeted, but Ford only returned her greeting with a cold glare. "Are you okay? Why are you giving me the stink-eye?"

In a large classroom filled with multiple academy students, Dipper & Mabel took their seats waiting for the teacher to appear. "What's taking Ford so long? Whatever business Death's got with him, I hope he isn't too preoccupied." Soos wondered sitting down with the twins. Just then a door opened and Stein appeared sitting backwards on a swivel chair and rolling backwards before he fell over. "Good morning class."

"Good morning Professor Stein." the students replied in unison. "Hiya Mr. Stein!" Mabel cried before she was met with a scalpel launched in her direction, only managing to hit the desk behind her. "Oops, sorry sir."

"Anyway, today we have a special guest to lead the class today." the Meister announced. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you all to meet Mr. Stanford Pines." Ford then stepped into the room waving as the class applauded, with Soos cheering loudly. "Woo, we love ya Mr. Pines!"

Another scalpel flew in Soos's direction, again only managing to hit a nearby desk. "I'll keep my mouth shut." he squeaked ducking down. "Now then, let's get down to business." Ford announced writing his name on the board. "My name is Stanford Pines, a professional in the field of investigating cryptids and other oddities."

"What kind of cryptids did you meet sir?" a young man with thick glasses and horn-like hair asked. "Well that is a very good question young one." Ford answered. "Among the creatures I have researched are gnomes, unicorns, vampire bats, a squash with a human face & emotions, leprecorns, the Hide-Behind and cursed Egyptian super-termites."

As Ford continued speaking, Dipper & Kid decided to strike up a conversation. "So what did your father want my great uncle for?" Dipper asked. "I do not know, but I feel this requires some investigating. Want to join me after class?" Kid offered. "Are you kidding, I'd love to!"

"Hey, don't you want to train with me & Tsubaki on how to swordfight?" Black Star asked. "I would like to do that as well, but I think I'm gonna have trouble balancing it all." Dipper answered. "I could find a way to make another me to do one thing while I do another, but the last time I tried that went horribly wrong."

"And that's how I wound up who I am today." Ford concluded a speech. "Now then, are there any more questions?" he asked. "I got one." a somewhat familiar sounding voice said. "Yes, what do you have to say sir?"

"You ever tried giving up?" Suddenly the classroom turned monochrome as the voice began cackling. "I know that laugh." Ford angrily declared. "Come on out Bill, or keep hiding like a coward if you like!"

"Try turning around to your right Sixer." Ford did as Bill said and much to his horror, he found Marie taking off her eyepatch to reveal the eye of someone who would be possessed by the dream demon. "Did you really think you could escape me old chum? I thought we were best friends!" he exclaimed with a loud "OHOHOHOHO!"

"Quit laughing Bill! You've made my family suffer for far too long!" Ford screamed angrily grasping Marie's shoulders and shaking her back and forth, though Bill only laughed again. "Quit your fighting Stanford, even if you move yourself away from Gravity Falls I'll always be watching you!"

"No you won't, because I've got help!" Ford declared preparing to strangle Marie. "But how can you say that when you're already choking one of your "little helpers?" Toodle-oo!" Suddenly Bill disappeared leaving only the Death Scythe hailing from Oceania in his place, choking as the scientist tightly grasped her neck. "W-what are you d-doing?"

"Come back here you bastard and fight me! I could do this all day!" That was the last thing Stanford would say before he felt Stein punch him in the back. "Three-Fold!" the mad Meister exclaimed. "Gi, Go, Shoku!"

After being punched three times, Ford started bleeding from the mouth and lost his grip on Marie's neck before falling down in front of the stunned students. "Class dismissed." he coldly announced turning his screw and slinging Ford over his shoulder to carry him off, the classroom still deathly quiet.

Minutes later, Dipper and Mabel patiently waited in the school's dispensary for any news on their grunkle's condition. He laid there unconscious in the hospital bed, blood spilled from his mouth and his eyes shut. "What do you think prompted Ford to attack the eyepatch lady?" Mabel asked her brother, who stopped jotting down all he had learned in class to answer. "I don't know. But come to think of it, she does kinda remind me of Bill."

"What do you mean by that?" Mabel continued. "Well her primary colors are yellow & black and she has an eyepatch; but she looks in no way the type that would affiliate with him." Dipper analyzed. Just then, Maka opened the door to find the twins already in the room. "Hey guys, sorry about what happened with Ford."

"It's all right Maka, it's just that Bill hurt him so much that anything reminding him of the guy might trigger him now." Dipper said before Stein & Mira appeared as well with notes on his condition. "Good news children, your great-uncle shall be fine." the bandage-covered nurse announced. "Bad news, we may have diagnosed him with a mild case of PTSD."

"Tell us something we don't know! He's already suffered enough at the hands of Bill before, but what happened when Kishin Cipher has made things even worse for him!" Dipper exclaimed just as they heard moaning coming from Ford. "Hey, he's waking up!"

At the same time, Marie suddenly barged into the dispensary. "I am so sorry about what happened to Stanford! I didn't realize I would make him so mad, yet I don't know how!" she exclaimed before she suddenly tripped over and fell on Ford's body as he awakened. "Oh my back. What happened?" he groaned. "Kids?"

"Ford!" the twins cried in unison hugging their great-uncle. "Kids! Please tell me what happened." the genius said. "You were just standing there talking nerd stuff when you started rambling about Bill before strangling the eyepatch lady." Mabel explained. "Then Mr. Stein punched you so hard that you started bleeding from the mouth!"

"Wait, I did what?!" Ford exclaimed trying to comprehend what his great-niece had said. "Like I said, I'm truly sorry if I made you mad Stanford." Marie said getting up and dusting herself off. "And I assume you must be his great-nephew & niece?" she asked the twins. "Yes m'am! I'm Mabel and this is my brother Dipper!" Mabel introduced her and Dipper. "What's your name eyepatch lady?"

"My name's Marie Mjolnir. Very nice to meet you." Marie said shaking the kids' hands. "I have some apologies myself Marie. I am deeply regretful of what I've done earlier." Ford apologized. "Hopefully you can find a way to forgive me as well."

"Oh it's all right Ford." Marie replied before a crow suddenly flew by the window, squawking "Ahou! Ahou! Ahou!" much to the confusion of everyone in the room. "What the hell is that crow doing outside?" Ford wondered. "We have no idea either." Mira said. "It's been flying around the Academy for weeks, often appearing whenever someone would make a fool of themselves."

"Unrelated topic, but shouldn't you be assembling with Sid, the Scythes and Mifune to move out to Gravity Falls?" Stein wondered. "That's right, I just wanted to make some last arrangements before departing." Mira stated before walking out of the dispensary. "I shall see you all again soon."

With the nurse now leaving the room, the Pines then turned to meet Maka's gaze. "So what brings you here Maka? Well, other than my condition of course." Ford wondered. "I actually came to tell you about a big party Kid is throwing at his mansion to welcome you all to Death City." Maka announced.

"The whole school is invited actually, faculty included!"

"That sounds delightful Maka, I'll make a note of it." Stein commented turning to Ford. "And as for you, I think we should get you back home to recover. Which might mean you can't go to the party."

"Aw man, this could've been the perfect chance for you to find someone to love!" Mabel groaned in disappointment before she felt Marie tap her shoulder. "Did you say love? Are you like some expert matchmaker or something?" the Death Scythe asked. "All I ever wanted to do is find a man to love and we could retire together & have some beautiful children! I'm so desperate I might as well marry a toilet!"

"Well you could find a plumber to hook up with." Dipper snarked. "Preferably one who doesn't wear a tie and beats up evil turtles for a living."

"Mark my words Marie, I'm going to find you a man tonight or my name isn't Mabel Danielle Pines! And it is!" Mabel heroically declared. "Now then, gimme some info. For an possible dating site profile." she said leading Marie out the door. "Well I was born on June 8, 1984 in Oceania. I'm interested in surfing, Norse mythology, kangaroos, biking..."

"I can already tell they're going to be an unstoppable duo." Dipper declared as the two's voices grew fainter. "Speaking of teams, I have some business of my own to do." he said leaving the room as well. "Which one, training with Black Star or investigating with Kid?" Maka asked. "Both of them. We all decided to reach a compromise. See you tonight Maka!"

Soon Maka departed as well leaving Stein & Ford alone in the dispensary. "Okay, now that the children are out of the way, let's get to bringing you home." the stitched-up scientist declared helping Ford out of the hospital bed and leading him by the hand to the exit before Spirit suddenly appeared on the other side. "Hey Stein, you done with your business yet? I've been thinking we should go to Chupa-Cabra's later and-what are you doing?"

"He's simply helping me up, don't take it the wrong way Spirit!" Ford exclaimed nervously taking his hand away from Stein's. "And what is this Chupa-Cabra's place?" he wondered. "Oh it's just great Pines! I mean, you won't find any other place in Death City with babes and booze!" Spirit explained. "You gotta come with us!"

"Okay I'll bite." Ford gave in. "I think I might need a break from all this emotional suffering."

"Thanks for clearing up your schedule and helping us compromise on how to spend your time Dipper." Tsubaki said gratefully as they, along with Black Star, Excalibur, Kid and the Thompsons traversed the halls. "You're welcome Tsubaki. But is there anyone in this school that could tell us where to go from here?" Dipper wondered. "There actually is, and he should be coming up right now." Kid stated just as they came across a tall man with a chin-curtain beard, closed eyes and a rather large forehead drinking some coffee. "Hello again Joe."

"Oh hey kids, good to see you again. How's Oregon been?" the man asked them. "We actually brought something home from there!" Patty exclaimed bringing Dipper to his attention. "We'd like you to meet Dipper Pines!"

"What's up kid, name's Joe Buttakaki." Joe introduced himself shaking the boy's hand. "So what brings you here to Death City?" The Pines brother was silent for a moment before he answered, his voice firm with resolution. "I want to know about the Kishin Asura, and Lord Death's relationship with him."

Joe was silent and then he turned around. "Follow me." he simply stated leading the party away. "I knew the day when someone would ask about them would come. I just thought it would've been just Kid instead of you."

"Well that's the thing Joe, Asura called him his pesky little brother. What the hell is up with that?!" Black Star exclaimed as they moved from the academy interior to its underground hallways. "This was a secret Lord Death has sworn me to keep since I graduated from the academy." the DWMA's tech expert explained. "But word on the street is he's roped another person into his little inner circle of secret keepers."

"Another person?" Dipper wondered scratching his chin to deduce who this individual could be before Excalibur smacked him upside the head. "FOOL! It's most likely he's talking about your great-uncle." he declared to his new Meister, to his shock and exasperation. "Seriously?! We've already kept enough secrets from each other last summer, but this is getting ridiculous! I mean, what other stuff could we be in the dark about?!"

"I-I don't know, I'd prefer t-t-URP-to put the lime in the c-c-coconut and then eat the candle." Ford drunkenly remarked as he sat in Chupa-Cabra's with Spirit & Stein along with Blair, a pair of beautiful women and stacks upon stacks of beer mugs. "Very glad you're enjoying yourself Mr. Pines! Terribly sorry about what happened to your brother too." the first woman, named Risa, said comforting the elderly genius. "Yeah, I can see you're just utterly heartbroken by that." her partner Arisa added pouring Ford another drink. "Here, have another."

"Thank you ladies. You're such nice people." Ford thanked them putting his arms on their shoulders. "You're both absolute babes, but you Risa are just a beautiful butterfly." he slurred putting their faces uncomfortably close to one another and lightly gripping her chest. "I can definitely see that age has been insanely generous to you."

"Hey Ford, buddy?" Spirit interjected putting a hand on his shoulder. "I think all this booze is getting' to you. Listen, I get you're still super depressed over what happened to Stan, but you can't just waste your time just drinking your troubles away."

"You're one to talk scarlet, you'd rather waste your time here than be a good father!" Ford spitted at Spirit, much to his chagrin. "Dude, harsh!" he exclaimed in defense. "But I'm gettin' ahead of myself you're all the best people God ever crapped onto his dumpster fire of an asteroid! Drinks on me ladies and gents!" Ford shouted, leaving everyone stunned and concerned for him. "But how are you going to pay for all this?" Stein wondered. "You probably don't have that much money."

"OfcourseIdoKarloff!" Ford stuttered, his statement barely understandable as he fished some odd currency out of his pockets. "Lemme see I got zeni Beli woolongs Bison dollars bits bells gold rings gil munny rupees bolts lien schmeckles bottle caps all that jazz!"

"Wait, as in literal bottle caps? Where did you get these?" Stein wondered picking up a bottle cap. "Just another post-apocalyptic wasteland that I ran into across the multiverse somewhere!" Ford exclaimed spreading his arms wide. "There were giant roaches everywhere and I was accompanied by the cutest little dog who loved running into forcefields!" He then suddenly dropped to his knees with a crestfallen look on his face as he raised his arms up and screamed "DOGMEAT, NOOOOOO!"

"Seriously Fordsy, you need to chill out!" Blair sternly declared trying to stop Ford's drunken ranting, but was met with being lovingly gazed at by the great-uncle. "Can you hear my thoughts?" he began monologuing to himself. "My buddy from a distant star, I'm not sure I even know who you are. Look at me, like a kid out of school hanging out with a fool. A fool who I think is actually kinda cool."

"Are you okay there Stanford? You're slobbering all over the floor." Stein asked. "Why am I starting to drool?" Ford mused as saliva began pouring from his mouth before he finally fell over on his face, on the verge of a hangover. "We're trying to help you, you've had enough!" Spirit tried to pull him up but his hand was slapped aside. "I KNOW WHEN I'VE HAD ENOUGH YOU BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS!"

With that, Ford slipped into unconsciousness in a pool of his own drool and the stacks of mugs about to fall on him. He could barely make out the sounds of him being picked up off the floor and a door opening.

"Will this give us the answers we've been looking for?" Dipper asked as their group stood outside a large door deep within the academy's underground. "Yes indeed Dipper, welcome to the academy's Secret Vault." Kid declared pushing the door open to reveal a plethora of bizarre machinery lying around. "This is where we keep the various Demon Tools created by Eibon, whom as we discussed a long time ago during our rescue mission, created the Demon Weapons inspired by Excalibur."

"Whoa, Ford would've loved to see this place! Can't wait till I tell him at the party!" the younger boy gasped in amazement examining the various devices the sorcerer created. "There's just so many of them, I probably can't think straight over what they can do!"

"I know what'll help you think, some much needed sword training!" Black Star declared. "Once Tsubaki & I show you the ropes, you'll be an ace in no time! Though obviously not on par with yours truly."

"I'll give him the basics and you'll deal with some of the more complex stuff." Tsubaki suggested picking up a wooden bokken and taking a stance while Dipper prepared as well, summoning Excalibur to his side. "Now then Dipper, everything starts with your stance." she instructed her student as their weapons lightly tapped each other. "Keep your stance wide and your body lowered as you're moving forward."

"Balance is the key, right?" Dipper asked. "Correct." the shadow weapon answered. "Next is your right foot, then your left foot." she continued lecturing as they sparred. "Now go even faster. And as you're moving backwards, keep your eyes on me."

"Hey guys, I think I found something!" Patty shouted from afar, popping up with a large key in hand. "Doesn't this seem a little familiar to you guys?" she wondered turning it around to reveal that the teeth were in the shape of an E. "How can this be possible?! It disappeared along with him!" Kid exclaimed in shock taking the key out of his weapon's hands. "This has to be some kind of trap devised to keep intruders away from the Vault!"

"Nope, looks like the real deal to me." Joe guessed gazing at the key as well. "What are you guys talking about and why is that key so perplexing to you?" Dipper asked. "Let me take a look at it."

With the mysterious key handed to him, Dipper observed it looking for clues on what to do. "Maybe I should try rubbing it?" he suggested doing just that. "Sorry kid, but this doesn't look like any magic lamp." Liz snarked. "Or maybe it can open a door to the heart of all worlds!" Black Star chirped. "And it can also be used as a weapon to fight evil shadow creatures with no hearts!"

"Wait, I think I know one thing it can open." Kid announced looking towards a strange cube with ancient writing scribbled on it placed on a pedestal. "What is that thing?" Dipper wondered walking toward the cube. "That my friend is BREW, the legendary Demon Tool that can merge two things into one or create whatever the user desires." Excalibur answered. "If used incorrectly, it can bring about utter destruction as we know it."

Dipper then slowly inserted the key into BREW but unfortunately, nothing happened. "Is this going to be like in the movies and shows where it seems like something doesn't work but then after a few seconds it actually does?" Patty wondered and she was indeed proven right as BREW began to glow and flash wildly, causing debris from all around the room to fly around it. "Called it!"

"Everybody get down!" Dipper screamed before everyone ducked their heads down, all except for Excalibur, who only said "Fool." before BREW stopped shining and dust began forming, leading a large silhouette to appear.

When the dust settled, all that was left was a humanoid man whose appearance was concealed by a simple mask and extravagant robes. "What happened? Where am I?" the man wondered in a panic, unaware of his current surroundings. Just then he heard footsteps and found a young boy standing before him, looking up at his mask. "Excuse me sir, but are you Eibon?"

"Yes, indeed I am little one." Eibon answered quietly. "And you are?" he asked back, though the boy only replied by collapsing on the ground. "Dipper!" the Sorcerer heard a familiar voice. 'Dipper?' he thought. 'What an odd name.'

"Wake up Dipper, are you all right?!" Kid exclaimed trying to wake his younger companion up. "Why yes Mrs. Lincoln, and how was the play?" Dipper woozily asked barely putting his train of thought back on track. "What just happened?!"

"Hello again, old friend." Excalibur greeted Eibon. Although they couldn't see it through his mask, he was most definitely making the Excalibur face.

"Am I in the Secret Vault? How long was I out? Did we win?" Eibon asked still in the dark about current events. "Yes you are, about a few weeks and yes we did." Joe answered all three of the Sorcerer's questions. "That's quite a lot to take in. And who is this boy still?" Eibon continued. "Very few people are allowed in the vault!"

"My name's Dipper Pines Mr. Eibon." Dipper introduced himself shaking the giant's hand. "Very nice to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you too young man." Eibon replied accepting the child's handshake. "But still, what kind of name is Dipper?" he wondered. "Oh yeah, that's what most people call me because of this." Dipper replied taking off his hat and pushing aside some hair to reveal his birthmark. "My word, the Big Dipper! Now it makes more sense!"

"That would explain quite a bit. I just thought your folks hated you or something." Black Star added. "So tell me Dipper, what brings you to this vault?" Eibon asked. "I simply came because I want more info on Lord Death and Asura."

"I knew the day would come when someone would ask." the Sorcerer muttered. "Yes the rumors are indeed true, Asura is Death's son." he stated. "Which would make Kid here..."

"My-my brother." the young Death God finally realized. "How has Father kept this from me for centuries?!" he screamed, desperate for more answers. "He simply didn't want you to feel betrayed!" Eibon stated. "I am sorry we couldn't tell you all this time, not just me and your dad."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Black Star wondered. "It wasn't just me that held his secret. All his Death Scythes were in on it as well, and Excalibur too." Eibon revealed, causing everyone to look at the Holy Sword in annoyance. "What, I suppose you're going to get mad at me for keeping quiet as well?"

"What else is he keeping from us? I suppose something related to a certain triangle." Dipper asked, writing in his journal. "I presume you've encountered Bill Cipher as well. As have Death and I." Eibon continued preparing to reminisce on that time. "He came to us claiming that he can help him purge the world of evil, but of course it was all a lie."

"Aw come on Death, we can still work things out! Honest!" Bill Cipher urged the Shinigami as they fought in the Nightmare Realm. "Silence you three-sided scum, or I'll dip you in magma and eat you alive!" Death threatened in a much more menacing voice glaring at the demon through his realistic mask. "You thought your wily words could swindle me, but I shall be tricked no longer!"

"I know you're in there somewhere best buddy! The four of us actually made a good team." Bill stated with a chortle. "You, me, Eibon and Arachne, we would've been unstoppable together! But NOOOO, that little tattletale of a Holy Sword just had to rat me out!"

"It was for the greater good!" Death shouted before he felt his cloak being incinerated by Bill's azure flames. "AAAAAGGGGHHHHH!"

As the Shinigami screamed in pain, Bill pulled out a stopwatch counting down how many seconds it took for his anguished crying to stop. "Wow, 42 seconds! That's gotta be a new record!" he commented applauding as the Death God's cloak regenerated, Death himself looking more furious than ever. "Death Claw!" he screamed summoning four black tendrils bearing his face to grab Bill by the arms and dragging them towards each other, allowing Death to deal the final blow. "REAPER CHOP!"

With a mighty slap, Bill shouted in pain clutching his eye. "You damn idiot, that was one of my weaknesses!" the demon screamed. "All right, you win you idiot!" he added finally surrendering. "It's about time you golden beast. Now leave this realm and never return, unless you want me to tear you to shreds." Death snarled menacingly sticking his bony hand toward him. "AM, I, CLEAR?!"

"Oh you may have won this time bonehead, but I'm not done with your puny world yet!" Bill cautioned him casting him out of the Nightmare Realm. "And when that day comes, I won't be the only one you'll be worrying about. Until then, I'll be watching you! I'LL BE WATCHING YOU!"

"So you and Lord Death actually worked together with Bill at some point? Gee that totally doesn't sound familiar!" Black Star exclaimed rolling his eyes. "Hey speaking of which, I wonder how Ford is doing?" Dipper wondered before his phone started ringing. "Well speak of the devil." he muttered picking it up. "Go for Dipper!"

"Who is it? And what is that strange contraption you're holding?" Eibon asked as the boy hung up. "It's Mabel sir, something's wrong with Ford!" Dipper exclaimed. "Ford? My word, we've been down here so long I've lost track of time!" Kid fretted exiting the Secret Vault. "We need to get ready for tonight!"

"Aw geez you're right! C'mon Tsubaki, let's get cracking!" Black Star shouted, the two racing ahead of them. "A party, you're having a party? Can I come!?" Eibon asked getting excited. "As much as I hate to say this, but it's best that you stay down here for now." Joe answered. "Hopefully we can meet each other again!"

When the door finally closed leaving Eibon all by himself in the vault, he took a moment to look around, examining all the various Demon Tools he created being stored there. Stepping toward a large machine with a clockwork key inside it, he opened it and found a small plaque with his and Death's signatures on it. "Why must there be so many secrets?"

By the time Ford began regaining some form of thought, everything around him was still incredibly blurry. It felt like he was submerged in some nice-smelling liquid and something round & soft was right in front of him. He could also hear a female singing about pumpkins and magic.

"N-no wire h-hangers, ever." he slurred finally coming to. Slowly opening his eyes, he found himself in a bathtub with Waddles right in front of him. "Waddles? What are you doing here? Where am I?"

"Oh goody, you're finally awake!" a familiar cadence exclaimed. With a rub of his eyes, Blair sat right before him in the tub completely nude. "Goodness gravy!" Ford screamed stumbling out of the tub before unfortunately falling on his face, causing his nose to bleed. "I have asked this once, I've asked this a thousand times! Is shame just nowhere to be found in your dictionary?!"

Waddles oinked twice turning his head in amusement. "Oh don't you start!" Ford scolded the swine. "Look at me, I'm a mess!" he exclaimed. "Then what state were you in earlier?" the Monster Cat snarked, making the scientist realize just what he had become. Gazing deeply into the bathroom mirror, staring back at him was a man completely broken by loss, desperate to relieve himself of his grief even though it was completely fruitless.

"Stanford Filbrick Pines, what happened to you?" he groaned in regret before he pulled a drenched photo of him and Stanley as children posing with their shipwreck the Stan O' War. It wasn't long before all those times where he had begged to relieve himself of the pain, first losing his brother, then making a scene in front of an entire class and finally falling into a hangover, came crashing down and he finally broke down in tears. "Why me?! Just why?!"

"Oh don't cry Forddy." Blair said getting out of the tub to comfort him. "And yes, I am wearing a bathrobe this time. Now come on, let's get you some coffee."

One towel over the scientist's head and a cup of coffee in his hand later, Ford sat down on the couch utterly miserable while the Monster Cat gently massaged his back. "Thank you very much Blair, but I feel it's pretty much hopeless for me. My family's torn apart and Kishin Cipher is running amok back in Gravity Falls." he sighed deeply. "Hey I've always wanted to know, what's your story? Well, other than being a promiscuous cat with magic powers that happens to resemble a witch."

"I wasn't able to tell anyone about it my entire time in Death City, but my past isn't all sunshine and rainbows." Blair answered lying down and resting her legs on his lap. "I did originate from the Witches' Realm, but their destruction loving ways are seriously boring. I just love ditching them and hanging out in Death City, which is where I first met Maka & Soul."

"Interesting. Could you perhaps further elaborate on Witches?" Ford wondered beginning to show a bit of his old self pulling out a notepad to jot down on. "Well, they're like super powerful when it comes to magic and also can live a really long time!" Blair explained. "There are also maybe a few wandering around in Death City keeping themselves hidden using Soul Protect, which they can use to disguise their souls as normal humans."

"Disguising their souls. Gonna have to look further into that." Ford mumbled writing down notes. "Speaking of which, where did the kids run off too? I'm sure they couldn't have gone far." he wondered. "Oh yeah, they went to a party at Kid's place after coming back here to check up on you." the cat answered, to Ford's alarm. "My goodness, the party! I should best get ready! Blair, is there anything around here I can wear?"

Just then, Waddles oinked as he waddled in, wearing a small hand towel on his head as he pointed to Soul's room. "Thank you oh so much Waddles. And I should really dry out my clothes too."

Stepping into Soul's empty bedroom and closing the door behind him, Ford came out moments later in a simple suit with a black jacket with matching shoes, tie & pants and white undershirt. When he turned around to examine himself in the mirror, Blair's slender hands grasped his shoulders. Turning around, the author found the cat dressed up for a night on the town herself in a purple dress with a single slit on the side showing some leg and her hair in a ponytail. Waddles on the other hand wore a tiny bowler hat and a bowtie.

"I suppose you're coming along as well?" Ford asked. "Of course I am, just to keep you grounded. And Waddles is coming too!" Blair answered, and Waddles added with an oink. "That'd be delightful. Now let's get moving!" While opening the door, Ford felt Blair start holding his hand and he held hers with a grin, the three of them finally walking out together.

"I can't believe it, we haven't found you a man all day!" Mabel exclaimed as she and Marie helped themselves to some punch at the buffet table at Kid's party. "And to add insult to the coffin, no hits on your dating profile yet!"

"I know right? At this rate I might as well marry a toilet!" Marie replied. "But which kind would take me, cause I'm leaning toward a porta-potty. At least we can go anywhere together!" Just then Dipper walked up to the buffet table. "What was that about toilets?" he asked with a nervous look. "Oh nothing broseph, we're just talking about Ms. Marie's love life."

"Hey everybody, I got some more mineral water for you if you're thirsty!" a blonde young man with bright blue eyes exclaimed racing into the main hall with platters of wine glasses filled with water. "Hey thanks Hiro, I was getting thirsty!" Marie thanked the boy taking a glass. "And how are those lambchops with applesauce coming along?"

"Doing good, I'll bring them out in a sec!" Hiro replied before he began groaning to himself. "If only I had my own weapon that would make people stop pushing me around. Well other than Excalibur anyway." he muttered. "What's his problem?" Dipper wondered beginning to snack on some hors d'oeuvres. "TL;DR, he's a total wimp that people treat as their servant because he doesn't have a weapon." Mabel answered. "But where can we find a good one for him?"

"Maybe he'd match up well with Mai Thi Hoang from the NOT class over there. She's real nice and could probably treat him well." the Death Scythe suggested pointing to a young Vietnamese girl with red-framed glasses making small talk with Gideon. The two of them then put on their own glasses before menacingly tenting their fingers and declaring "Jackpot." while their lenses shined.

"For the last time Fiddleford, stop pigging out on all that spaghetti! Were you raised on a farm or something?!" Kid complained to McGucket. "As a matter of fact Stripes, I am!" the genius hillbilly replied. "And this ain't spaghetti, it's linguini!"

Kid only responded by briefly gazing at the plate before he snatched it out of Fiddleford's hands and chucked it at the wall. "Now it's garbage." he coldly declared just as he realized the mess he made and hastily cleaned it up, desperate to keep the symmetry of his home intact. "Whew, close call!"

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Oh, that must be Ford! Wonder what took him so long?" Maka said opening the doors to find not only Stanford, but also Blair & Waddles as well. "Hello there miss, sorry I took so long." the author sheepishly said stepping inside. "And I've also brought a few plus-ones."

"Oh my gosh, you all look amazing! And Waddles is dressed like a little man out for a night on the town too!" Mabel squealed racing towards the three of them. Maka on the other hand couldn't help but find Ford's suit familiar. "That's the same outfit Soul wore to the Anniversary Eve celebration."

"Oh, I didn't realize! If it's okay with you, I could go back and find a different suit." Ford stated before Maka stopped him. "It's fine Mr. Pines. It's fine." she sighed, still hurting over losing Soul. "Aw don't feel so blue Maka, mama Blair can make you feel all better!" Blair assured the young Meister. "Thank you Blair. I can't believe I just said that."

"Yo old man, how are you recovering?!" Black Star exclaimed rushing up to Ford. "I'm doing fine Black Star. And please don't call me old man!" Stanford said. "Okay then old man." the young ninja replied. "Good grief."

"Black Star, Mabel, can I pull you two aside for a bit?" Dipper asked them. "I want to talk with Ford and I don't want anyone to notice us." he said. "Oh, you mean that stuff about Asura?" Black Star said. "Wait, what's this about Asura?" Mabel wondered. "We'll explain later. Right now, I'm gonna need you to provide a distraction." her brother ordered. "Any ideas?"

"Ooh, I got one!" Mabel chirped. "Why don't we get the orchestra to play a new song, one that's less boring?" she suggested. "Okay, which one?" Dipper wondered to which she replied by pulling out a music sheet, making the boy facepalm. "Seriously, that one? That is just so 2004!"

"Oh man, I love this song!" Black Star exclaimed. "And yes, I know it's hilarious that I, a super manly man, adore a song written by a boy band loved by young girls at the time." he added. "Now what are you waiting for, get them to play it!"

Mabel stepped up to the orchestra with the sheet in hand and shoved the piece they were playing aside in favor of hers. "Hey, can you play this instead?" she asked. After some careful consideration, the orchestra shrugged and played the new song, which Mabel & Black Star began singing along to. "Quit playing games with my head! I'm a sport but I'm not a toy," they harmonized to the high-class remix of their song. "Let's not analyze what I just said! I don't want to be a complex boy!"

Faster than anyone could notice, they all started dancing before Patty leaped onstage with the two and joined in. "I can't tell if you're serious when you are so delirious! I'm just playing it baby, is that a yes, no or maybe?! YES!"

As the trio continued, Ford sighed sitting by the punchbowl. "I swear, youth is wasted on the young." he mused taking a sip. "Indeed, look at them so young and naïve." Azusa Yumi added standing next to him. "And yet sometimes I feel the adults are guilty of this as well, like your hobo friend for example." She then pointed to McGucket pigging out on finger sandwiches while Marie desperately tried to get Hiro & Mai to chat. "He's just too busy absorbing the entire buffet table."

"Now for your information Yumi, my friend is a scientific genius! He helped me build my portal and also constructed various machines that he mostly used to wreak havoc whenever someone wronged him!" Ford hotly argued. "And what do you have to accomplish, aside from being a Death Scythe?!"

"I actually helped defeat Asura for your information sideburns!" Azusa shouted back. "How so, did Death find a way to weaponize your bitc-" Ford prepared to insult right back at her before Dipper pulled on his leg. "Excuse me for a moment, great-nephew."

The two stepped into another room far from the festivities when Ford finally decided to ask what was up. "So what did you pull me aside for?" he wondered. "It's about Asura." Dipper sternly answered crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes. "Is it true that you've been told about his relationship with Lord Death & Kid yet didn't tell anyone else about it?!"

"Look, Death has sworn me to keep this secret; and I'm not the only one either!" Ford exclaimed. "Tons of people were in on it, Stein, Spirit, Sid, the other Death Scythes, even Excalibur!" he added. "The last one I know about, but seriously! Remember the last time someone kept a secret from the rest of their family? The entire universe was nearly destroyed!" the boy argued. "Twice even, all because Stan made the stupid decision of ruining your science project!"

"I'm not even sure Stanley was the one who broke it! He said he fixed it yet when I presented it, it was an utter mess!" Ford yelled. "And speaking of family, you don't have to bring Stan into this especially after we just lost him yesterday!"

"Gee, this is totally sounding familiar!" Dipper screamed. "Someone keeps a dark secret from their family which tears them all apart!" Suddenly they heard a knocking on the door before it slightly creaked open. "Mabel, I can see you from the other side. Come on in."

"You too Blair." Ford added and Blair stepped into the room carrying an exhausted Mabel in her arms. "I'm sorry Dipper, I couldn't keep singing forever!" she panted before being dropped on the floor. "But silver lining, everybody loved it when I sang with Black Star and Patty."

"You heard everything, didn't you?" Dipper asked folding his arms. "Yeah pretty much! And I gotta say, what a twist!" Blair answered brightly. "I mean, the whole 'villain is secretly related to the hero' thing has been done everywhere, yet I still didn't see it coming!"

"So was that the reason why you told me to sing? You could've easily done without it." Mabel asked. "I know sis, but that still was a good distraction." Dipper replied spreading out his arms. "Awkward sibling hug?"

"Awkward sibling hug." Mabel accepted and they hugged before saying "Pat pat!" in unison. "Dipper, I am truly sorry about not telling you about Death and Asura beforehand." Ford apologized getting down on a knee. "Let's promise that there be no more secrets within our family, no ifs ands or buts!"

"No ifs ands or buts indeed!" Dipper answered. "Now come on guys, the party's still going on!" he shouted walking back to the shindig. Ford and Blair soon followed behind, but not Mabel as she gazed at the wall. "Aren't you coming back with us Mabel?"

"I'll be with you in a bit." Mabel answered not even turning to her brother. She continued staring at the wall in front of her, still conflicted on whether her own secret should get out. On one hand, she'd finally get some closure but on the other, her family would be furious for her playing an important part in the beginning of a certain event.

"I will tell them, no matter what." Mabel solemnly declared, her fists clenched in determination before she turned around and returned to the party, adamant on her decision.

And that's it for this chapter! Now, I was originally going to end off on a fight between Dipper, Mabel & Wendy against Ox, Kim & Kilik, but then I decided to just reduce it to a scene where Ox challenges the three of them because the chapter was packed enough already until I finally decided to save it for next time. Speaking of which, next time Mabel gets stuck in the feels wringer as Kishin Cipher plots to drive the Pines apart for his own misdeeds. But just what does he have planned for her, and who knew emotionally torturing your favorite characters was so much fun?!

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tammyhybrid21 · 6 years

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Let’s Talk about Wasted Potential!

(Let’s talk Scrappy Doo)

I know, I know... It’s Scrappy Doo...

I’m going to put most of this under a read more so those who just want to avoid anything Scrappy can avoid it...

So first of all... I actually like Scrappy. Not love him like I used to(I mean seriously, he was always my favourite character after Daphne as a kid...) but I still like him well enough. And I think that’s partially(or mostly really) because I grew up with the Scrappy Cartoons being aired mixed with the other series. So sometimes he was there, sometimes he wasn’t... and he was there kind of from the start... even when he wasn’t... If that makes any sense.

Also I never watched any of the Live Action movies... so I don’t know how that’s made an impact or not...

So... anyway...

Why am I talking about the one character hated by everyone? Well, because I just really, really need to get this off my chest. And because as I basically declared in the title of this post... We need to talk about the wasted potential here. Okay, I’m sure some of you are confused, because really? What potential does or did Scrappy have and well honestly...

He had a fair bit in the beginning.

ISSUES:

The issue is, well, more noticeable in rewatch than it was at the time I originally watched the series, because again for me he was there sometimes and other times wasn’t, but he was a character who I understood as part of the show and the gang from the beginning. Again, the issues with Scrappy are more noticeable now, in rewatch than they were back then, since well, first episode of Scooby and Scrappy is kind of... HE’S THERE! No build up, no explanation, he’s just there...

To be fair, that’s not exactly a bad thing... I mean, it’s certainly not something that’s uncommon for older cartoons, to just suddenly introduce a new character and not explain them.

At the very least Scrappy’s inclusion was explained in the startup... For what little that’s worth...

So that’s issue number one I guess, his introduction wasn’t exactly the best.

Issue two, and this one is actually an issue that I myself have with him, because wow. On rewatch this is painful, Scrappy is a character with a tendency to be shoved in and included in plots where he is absolutely, 100% unnecessary! No but seriously, he is not necessary in quite a few of the plots that he’s included in, the most egregious examples being in the movies. Especially Reluctant Werewolf... and Boo Brothers, I actually somewhat enjoyed his parts in Ghoul School for myself... even if they were kind of superfluous... but still. In Ghoul School he wasn’t really jumping in unnecessarily(or at least not as much).

He just doesn’t need to be in the movies, and honestly without him... the plot wouldn’t have changed. Well, not too much...

No seriously!

But anyway, the issue really is... They started inserting Scrappy into places he really didn’t belong, and he basically ended up as yet another one of those characters who kind of overstayed his welcome. It’s happened before, it will happen again... but Scrappy is one of the more notable ones(followed by freaking Tuffy from Tom & Jerry). In small doses, Scrappy is nice, but constantly, and inserted in places he doesn’t belong like the movies, well... He quickly brings scenes down, and kind of wears on you.

Also, how often he was used to resolve a plot that the other characters should be able to solve on their own... Especially with all the clues in Boo Brothers... Like you really want to sell Scooby and Shaggy as that oblivious to word play and puns? Feels off...

Issue Three! And another one that I have with him... More in hindsight that anything else. WHERE THE HELL IS Scrappy’s Self Preservation INSTINCT?!

No seriously! Where the hell is it?

Nowhere? Dead, gone, buried and forgotten.

I mean, seriously. The moment something spooky and scary appears, Scrappy is always “Let me at ‘im, Let me at ‘im!” and of course his other catchphrase... “Dada da da da dada! Puh-Puppy Puh-Power!” yeah... I am not exactly a big fan of his attack all the spooky and scary things.

Just seriously, I know that kids like to puff themselves up, and pretend to be braver than they are... but Scrappy isn’t pretending. He just doesn’t understand danger, and is constantly go getter, and with zero sense of safety and preservation instinct... As a result, it’s really, really annoying to watch him charge into a dangerous situation and have to be grabbed, stopped all the time.

Which is just... bothersome you know.

I mean... he does sometimes seem to pick up that something is wrong... but 90% of the time... nope. No self-preservation at all.

What they Done Right:

Scrappy’s relationship with Scooby.

No but seriously, if there is one thing that they got right, at least for the most part, it was the relationship that Scrappy had with Scooby. It was obvious that Scrappy adored and idolized Scooby, and Scooby clearly cared for his nephew Scrappy. That was not something that you could pretend wasn’t there.

I mean, most of the times that someone was grabbing Scrappy to stop him from getting into trouble, it was usually Scooby. Also, Scrappy was able to make Scooby show some bravery on occasion. And without the use of Scooby Snacks, just with words. But seriously. As much as they did mess up with Scrappy, I adored the dynamic that there was with Scrappy and Scooby.

I just wish there were more down low moments when they were just interacting with one another...

And even the rest of the gang.

Also, on this subject, I loved Scrappy interacting with Shaggy most of the time as well. Even if it was slightly less well handled. And to a more minor degree, Scrappy’s interactions with Daphne. I just... really like the relationships that they gave him alright. Because it was one of the things that they managed to mostly not screw up.

Secondly...

And this is more... kind of meta wise. Scrappy was actually a good idea. Introducing him to the show anyway. Despite what your opinion is, Scrappy was thrown in as an attempt to save the show... And like him or hate him... He did. He saved the show...

Also, he was pretty entertaining in the beginning. A new element. And he brought in a new perspective. He’s the “young” character. A tagalong kid. And in all honesty...

That brings me to the next thing that they done right.

Scrappy is a good kid character!

His flaws are striking for sure, but, he is a good character in the sense that he fulfils his purpose. And he actually feels like a kid. At least, when he’s not obviously really, really dense and with zero self-preservation instinct. Although, there were a couple of moments where he sounded a bit more mature than a kid... but for the most part. There’s another positive.

And yes... that’s where most of his more annoying traits come from... He’s a child. And he doesn’t have the self-control and maturity to stop himself from doing stupid things... also... well, he talks a lot. But well, it works. And I personally can say that they did it right... even if it’s probably the thing that makes him such a problem in the first place...

So yeah...

What’s the Missed Potential?

Now, let’s actually get to the point of this whole rant/babble thing. What’s the missed potential with Scrappy.

Well...

For one thing. If they were going to have Scrappy have no self-preservation instinct the way that they did... They should have done more with it! They should have let him get into trouble, they should have had him getting himself in over his head, and back stepping sometimes, needing help and calling for it when he realized that he was in trouble... Or not even realizing it, and still yapping and yapping at the spooks, even though he’s in serious trouble.

They should have pushed that a little bit more. Also, on those occasions when he ran in, and attacked whatever, he should have done little to nothing to help at all. Instead it should have been making things worse. Because he’s a child, and has no idea of the danger...

Or they could have taken his bravado and talk in another direction. He talks big, but at heart is just another scared puppy like his Uncle Scooby. That could have worked as well. Although, considering the formula... well, would have made things a bit harder to make it fresh if you just add another cowardly running character, even if it is one who is all bark, no bite. And honestly Scrappy’s scrappy nature fits.

Secondly, let’s have a few more childish moments you know. I mean, as much as I praise them for making him a child and feeling like a child... he wasn’t really that childish... He had his moments, but they weren’t obvious in your face, and they were somewhat rare on top of that. If you’re going to make a kid character, one of the things that you need is to include them being a child. Scrappy should have thrown tantrums at times, been demanding on occasion and want things that he wouldn’t necessarily be allowed... and I don’t just mean in regards to him fighting the spooks that the gang was chasing.

Where was the demands for sweets and treats? The demands to play a game, or for a specific story or comic? A certain music station while they were in the van/car travelling around? Also, he should have been running around a little bit more excited, curious and exploring. While he still feels like a child and acts like one... he’s got a lot of failures in this aspect. Also... honestly there should have been more of him trying to get Scooby to beat up the bad guys in this regard.

Since adoring child with an Uncle who busts bad guys and solves mysteries for a living...

Major missed opportunity there.

Third... They should have made the first episode a proper introduction and explained things properly. Why was Scrappy there? I mean, I think that there is an explanation episode somewhere? Maybe? Anyway... they should have established the Scooby and Scrappy series by EXPLAINING Scrappy’s presence. I mean gosh, for a reference, a cartoon that I happen to love, that only came out a decade or so after Scrappy knew at least that you had to establish changes to the status quo!

Sure they done it in the first episode of each season that they introduced the change but still...

Missed opportunity! Especially because can you imagine that dynamic? With Scrappy brand new and the gang attempting to do their usual thing. And no one is quite used to Scrappy yet? That would have been something you know. Even if the rest of the series continued the formula of vague continuity is vague... You know.

Fourth... Maybe they could have toned down the focus on him... Also, take him out of those particular episodes and movies that he really doesn’t need to be in. The spotlight is something that is best shared after all. And while Scrappy is a fun addition to the cast, the biggest issue could have been resolved had they just not put him in everything. He didn’t need to be in everything and somewhat center stage, the real issue is that he’s a one puppy spotlight-stealing squad. Really.

This could have been fixed by making the episodes slightly longer than seven minutes... I mean really? Really? That’s... actually one of the biggest things that harms the series, each episode is so quick, it doesn’t leave much spotlight for anyone... I mean at least the regular episodes have a twenty to thirty minute runtime you know... So they could have I dunno, made them longer so that there was more time to actually use all the characters. Also, give the watcher some small breather scenes amongst all the chaos.

But still, focus issue.

Fifth, tone down the catch-phrase slinging. I mean, I get it, pretty much everyone in Scooby Doo had their one or two catch-phrases... but when that catch-phrase is said once or even twice in every episode and each episode is only seven minutes long... it gets old... Really, REALLY quickly. Also on this topic... Tone down the dialogue for Scrappy in general.

Like Tuffy the mouse from Tom and Jerry(especially in the movies) when Scrappy starts talking He. Does. Not. Stop. And it’s so, so annoying. Like come on! He doesn’t have to talk that much. And if he did have to talk that much then you should have called him Yappy. But seriously, tone down on the dialogue dude.

Also on that note, give him an accent like his Uncle! Come on guys! Was that so hard to do? Did he need to be so fluent? He’s still a canine! He should have had a bit of an accent because of how hard it would be to pronounce things with a muzzle.

Sixth, let’s be honest here, they should have had more episodes with the whole gang included! Just really, Scrappy’s flaws are not that big a deal when there are more characters to interact with and to share the spotlight with.

Also honestly, I just feel that it’s a missed opportunity that we never really saw how Scrappy properly interacted with Fred and Velma. We saw him a lot more with Daphne in 13 Ghosts, and that was nice you know. Also... another thing about that. 13 Ghosts actually toned him sown somewhat, and since the focus wasn’t constantly or semi-constantly on him, we got a break. It was pretty fantastic.

Finally, let’s just get this one done, because it’s more a nit-pick than anything else... but they should have designed him on all fours like the rest of his family.

Okay but seriously, why is he always on his hind legs standing up the way he is? It just kind of bugs me, alright.

In Conclusion:

Like him, Hate him! He’s a character I see potential in, and whenever I get around to writing some fanfiction that I have on the backburner, he will likely be included. But done right. Well, as “right” as he can be.

Hopefully people will find him annoying in a more annoying bratty child way, than a scrapper and spotlight stealer who should just go away way.

So yeah, I’m done.

#Scooby Doo #Scrappy Doo #I know he's one of the most hated characters in animation #But I still have a soft spot for the little scrapper #so...#Here's my reasoning on how he has missed potential #And a small hint of how I'm fixing him #THybrid Meddles #THybrid SD

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higuchimon · 3 years

Text

[fanfic] Crafted For Command: Chapter 1

“Wake up.”

Daisuke didn’t want to, but his eyes opened anyway and he blinked, absolutely lost on where he was. Where had he been?

Right. The Digital World. Fighting the Kaiser. Then something had sorta blown up near him and everything turned red, then black, and now he was… he was…

Apparently in a very deep pit of trouble.

Kaiser stood in front of him, hands on his hips, whip hanging off of his belt, a smirk on his lips that Daisuke hated the sight of right away.

“That’s a good boy,” Kaiser praised and Daisuke wondered why in the world he liked the sound of that when he hated the Kaiser so very much.

Daisuke drew breath to demand to know what was going on, where he was, and what the Kaiser thought he was doing. He couldn’t get a single word out before Kaiser pressed a gloved finger against his lips.

“Be quiet. You weren’t given permission to speak.”

What’s that got to do with it? Daisuke wanted to ask but it was as if his voice no longer worked. He checked himself over as quickly as he could. No Ring. No Spiral. Did those work on humans? If they did, Kaiser hadn’t ever tried it before. And since he couldn’t find one now, even if they did, that wasn’t what was going on now.

Kaiser’s finger remained where it was, but now he tapped it on Daisuke’s lips.

“I know that you’re confused and have questions. I’ll tell you what you need to know. I’ve learned something very interesting about you, Motomiya Daisuke, and I want to make certain that it’s true.”

Confused didn’t even begin to cover everything. He jerked his head around again, pulling it away from the Kaiser’s touch, trying to find V-mon and his friends. He came up with nothing.

Was he the only one who’d been caught? That didn’t look good in the slightest.

Kaiser cleared his throat and Daisuke turned back to him as if his head were on a string.

“I want you to pay attention to me and only me. There’s no one else around for you to listen to anyway. I’m the only one allowed access to this room. Not even Wormmon can come in.” He cupped the side of Daisuke’s face with one hand. “It’s just you and me, Daisuke.”

If Daisuke could’ve spoken – and his voice remained oddly frozen – he would’ve declared how much he hated that fact. All he could do was stare at the Kaiser, though, and let his eyes do the talking.

“Are you aware that not all of your Chosen friends are as human as they appear?”

Daisuke blinked, tilting his head. Then he shook it carefully, since Kaiser seemed to be expecting an answer. He’d never heard of anything like that. He wasn’t going to believe it just on the Kaiser’s say-so, either.

A gesture and a screen appeared behind Kaiser, where Daisuke could see it. “Watch and learn, then. I’ve gathered some very interesting information.”

The screen flickered, then resolved into an image of Taichi and Yamato lounging together by a river. Daisuke didn’t recognize it, but he also spied Gabumon and Agumon with them, so it was probably somewhere in the Digital World. He wasn’t sure of what they were doing nor could he hear them, but Yamato raised up one hand and if Daisuke could’ve rubbed his eyes he would have.

Because as far as he knew, people’s hands didn’t just burst into flames like that. They should’ve jumped and screamed and done… something. Instead of Yamato trailing one hand in the air, a bit of fire following behind, and Taichi smiling.

The scene shifted over to Sora, and this time he recognized where she was: the area that Birdramon patrolled. Only now they were patrolling it together, which wasn’t so unusual. The older Chosen visited their partners whenever they could, usually when the younger ones kept the Kaiser distracted.

Only he’d never, ever seen Sora-san flying while she was in the Digital World, and doing it as easily as if she did it every day of her life.

Again the scene shifted and this time it showed Koushirou-san, chatting with a powerful lion-like Digimon, in a place that Daisuke didn’t recognize, but it had a lot of baby Digimon there. Then the two of them turned to what looked like a row of targets, set up out of range of the babies, and the lion Digimon raised up one fist, blasting his attack, Fist of the Beast-King, toward one of them.

That wasn’t so unusual either. This time, what set it apart was that Koushirou did a version of the same attack, red-gold flames incinerating one of the targets, and the lion Digimon nodded, resting one hand in pride on Koushirou’s shoulder.

Last and not at all least, he saw Jou-san. He looked like he was just in his room, or a place Daisuke guessed was his room. Underneath his table there rested a small refrigerator, but instead of pulling out a soda of some kind, there was a vial in Jou’s hand when he stood back up, one neatly labeled.

The screen moved in on it and Daisuke had time to read it before it changed. Understanding it took a few moments longer.

Blood?? He’s drinking blood?

He wanted to shake his head even more. This didn’t seem like anything at all he wanted to believe about any of his friends.

Why wouldn’t they tell us? I mean, I can get not telling us here, because of the Kaiser, but why not at home? He would’ve asked all of that out loud if he’d been able to. Then the Kaiser touched him again.

“They are part Digimon, part human. I’ve taken samples from all of you to determine precisely their lineage and their types. I can instruct you in that another time: when you’ve learned your place properly.” He smiled and that drove at least some of the worry and confusion out of Daisuke. “But let me continue. Not only are they of Digimon breeding, but so are you.”

Daisuke blinked again. Then he shook his head, far more furiously than before. He didn’t care what the Kaiser had in mind. Those images were probably faked anyway. He knew who he was. He knew who he wasn’t.

But the Kaiser wasn’t going to let it drop that easily. “What I learned from the scans of you I’ve done turned out to be very useful. You’re special, Motomiya Daisuke. More so than any of the rest of them.”

His hand rested again on Daisuke’s cheek, then slid downward to cup his chin, turning his head so that Daisuke looked right at him.

“You won’t believe what I’ve learned if I told you. So I will demonstrate instead. This will take time. Days. Perhaps even weeks. I doubt any longer than that. You’re not that stubborn.”

Daisuke determined that he would be, no matter what. Perhaps that showed in his eyes, since the Kaiser chuckled.

“These are my orders, which you will obey.”

No sooner did he speak, than Daisuke noticed something strange about his voice. Stronger, deeper, commanding. Everything in Daisuke urged him to listen and to obey.

“You will only leave the fortress if I not only grant you permission, but have you on my leash. Leaving otherwise is not an option.”

Kaiser’s hand moved downward from Daisuke’s chin to rest on his chest. Daisuke’s heart beat faster at the touch. He told himself it was because he was furious. He wasn’t sure of how convincing he was.

“You’ll speak only when I ask you a question or give you an order. When you do speak, you’ll be respectful of me. No insults. No trying to get around your orders.” His hand moved again, splayed now across Daisuke’s stomach. “You will only go to places in the fortress or out of it that I order you to go to. I won’t have you roaming around unleashed.”

He moved his hand away from Daisuke, who at once told himself that he didn’t miss the contact.

He knew he lied on that one right away.

“Do you understand your orders?”

Of course I understood what you said! What makes you think I’m going to do what you want?

What came out of his mouth was a single word. “Yes.”

Kaiser smiled. “When you address me, you will call me master. Now, do you understand your orders?”

Part of Daisuke, the part he was most familiar with, ached to scream and resist. The rest of him, a part that he’d never even known existed and wasn’t sure why it was making itself known now, luxuriated in the thought of orders and control and being ruled.

“Yes, master.” He even sounded like himself to his own ears, only he wasn’t saying what he wanted to say!

Kaiser fisted his hand in Daisuke’s shirt and pulled them closer together. Only now did Daisuke realize that he hadn’t been restrained at all this whole time. He’d been too surprised and far too confused to even notice until now.

And now Kaiser’s actions spun every other thought out of his mind.

He gave no orders. He demanded everything.

Kaiser’s lips landed on Daisuke’s and kissed hungrily, as if Daisuke held the very breath of life within him.

To Be Continued

Notes: The M-rated portions will come in due course. Gotta set things up first.

#fanfic #higuchimon writes #digimon adventure 02 #motomiya daisuke #ichijouji ken #ken x daisuke #daisuke x ken #chapters: crafted for command #series: purpose of existence

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enterprisetrampstamp · 7 years

Text

what you want

for @sleepymccoy. congrats on the degree!

also posted on ao3

Len drags his feet, letting his tour guide- an enthusiastic young woman whose pips indicate she’s soon to graduate- pull ahead of him. She’s so caught up in her well-rehearsed speech that she doesn’t seem to notice his absence, plowing through the crowded Academy sidewalks with the confidence of seniority as the other cadets part around her.

He should probably feel bad about ditching her; she seems like a perfectly nice girl. Likely to go far in Starfleet, if the obvious respect her peers have for her is any indication.

Len should feel bad, but he doesn’t. As soon as kids start slipping between them, taking advantage of the empty sidewalk she leaves in her wake, he turns smartly on his heel and peels away.

Damned ridiculous, being led around as if he’s never been here before. Just because he graduated from med school and then joined the ‘fleet doesn’t mean he’s never set foot on the fucking campus. Jim did cajole him over to this side of the country a good handful of times before they fully drifted apart, in those godawful years after the mission ended.

Len shoves his hands in his pockets, hiking his shoulders up to his ears with a huff. “Godawful”, he has no idea where that came from. He didn’t have to deal with alien lifeforms committing murder or stealing bodies or impersonating Chicago mobsters, he wasn’t treating dumbass officers who had no idea how to take care of themselves- just normal, civilian dumbasses- and, of course--he got to see Joanna on a regular basis.

Retirement was- is- a retreat.

The only reason he’s even still in San Francisco, over a month after the successful resolution of the V’ger incident, is that Starfleet won’t let him leave. Conscripted service his fucking--

“Conscripted service my fucking ass,” he announces loudly, and of the cadets nearby, only the youngest look over at him with surprise. The others, like college students everywhere, have long since been inured to the weird shit that comes out of people’s mouths on campus.

Len cranes his neck, shading his eyes form the sun as he tries to read the stupidly intricate script of the letters on the stupidly tall facade of the nearest building. He figures his tour guide must have noticed by now that she lost him, and he draws quite a bit of attention, being dressed in civvies and also forty-odd years older than the cadets on either side of him; he needs to get off the street.

It’s either an astronomy building, he decides, or they slapped Sally Ride’s name on something random.

With a furtive glance back the way he came, Len takes the steps two at a time as he tugs off his scarf. The blast of heat is unpleasant when he presses through the heavy, wooden doors--what is it about lecture halls that prevents them from setting their thermostats at anything in between glacial and tropical?

Makes him feel a little nostalgic, actually.

Len grins, rubbing his hands together. Maybe he can find an interesting lecture to sit in on, before the security officer assigned to his case- an exasperated young man named Harvey- tracks him down again. Or maybe--

“Spock,” he blurts, and for a second he thinks he’s just mistakenly shouted at some other Vulcan.

Then the pointy-eared bastard turns, one eyebrow raised, and the cadet he’s speaking to steps neatly to his side, her gaze flicking over Len with a spark of curiosity.

“Dr. McCoy.” Spock inclines his head in greeting as Len drifts closer, his hands folding neatly behind his back.

“Have you taken on a lecture series?” Len asks, and he doesn’t even bother to hide his interest. He’d heard Spock was being offered a captaincy, now that he was re-committed to Starfleet, but neither Nyota nor Jim had breathed a word about this.

Spock ignores him, his dark gaze taking in Len’s civilian clothes with a hint of a frown at the corners of his lips. “Have you not accepted the renewal of your commission?” he asks, voice sharp; the cadet raises an eyebrow as she glances at him sidelong. “Admiral Kirk had implied--”

Len guffaws. “Jim’s still riding the high from having his silver lady back for those few short days. He hasn’t figured out yet that it’s not going to be like old times just because he pulled some strings and got me drafted for one mission. He’s still on desk duty, and I--” He rubs his eyebrow and sighs, his mirth fading as swiftly as it had come. “I still have a life back in Georgia.”

Spock tilts his head. “Yet you have remained in San Francisco.”

Len glances at the still-present cadet- she’s looking back and forth between the two of them with surprisingly visible interest- and offers Spock an uncomfortable shrug. “The admiralty’s pulling out all the stops,” he drawls. “They’re trying to sweeten the deal until I stop saying no, and in the mean time, they’re using every regulation they can to keep me in town.”

Spock nods as if this doesn’t surprise him. “It was a severe oversight to have allowed you to leave Starfleet without protest in the first place,” he states gravely.

Len rocks back on his heels, blinking, but his surprise quickly diffuses into a soft thrum of pleasure. He lets his grin spread across his face and reaches out to brush his fingertips over Spock’s sleeve. “Missed you, too,” he teases.

Before Spock can respond, the door behind them opens and brings with it a blast of sound from the street beyond. Len can hear- faintly, still a good distance off- someone asking, “Have you seen an older guy, kind of an asshole, dressed in civvies--”

Len claps Spock on the shoulder. “Good talk,” he declares, and hurries past them down the hall. He calls back, “Pass my love on to Harv for me, won’t you?”

The last thing he hears, before he’s rounded a corner into a gaggle of bright-eyed first-year cadets, is Spock’s shadow addressing him in Vulcan, her words indecipherable but her tone curious, perhaps even downright fascinated.

Len grins to himself as he re-wraps his scarf. Now, if he were the back exit onto the next street over, where would he be?

Nyota heaves a dramatic sigh and presses her shoulder against his, and when he lolls his head to look at her- good food, great alcohol, and better company leaving him feeling too pleasantly sluggish to properly lift it from the back of the patio bench- her gaze is fixed on the San Francisco skyline where it spreads out in front of them, glittering in the night.

“I feel like I don’t even know what I want any more,” she tells him. Her voice is softly plaintive, and he straightens just enough to drape his arm across her shoulders, letting his cheek come to rest against the top of her head.

“You want your own command; you always have.” Len rubs her arm with one hand, a sardonic little grin tugging at the corners of his lips. “God only knows why.”

She huffs, and it’s not quite a laugh. Still, he knows his bad joke managed to cheer her up a little, and there’s a smug sort of satisfaction nestled in his chest as he takes another sip of his mint julep.

“It always seemed so far out of reach,” she admits. “Like a pipe dream.”

“And now that it’s almost in front of you, you’re not sure what to do with it.”

Nyota laughs; it’s a sad, anxious little sound. Her fingertips are tracing patterns in the condensation on her bottle of beer. “That obvious?”

“That normal,” he counters, nudging her knee with his. “It happens to all of us, darlin’. Just don’t let your doubts take over and keep you from what you want.”

She’s quiet for a long moment, and Len doesn’t bother trying to guess what she’s thinking. Nyota, out of all of them, has always had the easiest time of expressing herself; if he gives her enough time, he’s sure she’ll find the right words.

And she does.

“What if it turns out it’s not what I want at all?” she whispers. She shrinks in on herself, just a bit--ashamed to be having these doubts, or maybe worried he’ll simply dismiss them without a second thought.

She’s a strong woman, Nyota Uhura, and she’s never wanted anyone’s approval of her decisions--but this late at night, in the company of a friend and under the influence of alcohol, even the strongest need reassurance.

Len holds her tighter and turns his glass to study its contents moodily, giving a self-deprecating snort. “Well, I guess you would fulfill your obligations and then move on to what’s next,” he tells her, his voice as quiet as hers. “And whatever you decide it is you actually want, you’ll go and get it, and dazzle us all in the process.”

Nyota huffs, rolling her eyes, and Len smiles even as he tells her softly, “But you can’t know whether or not you really want a command until you try for one.”

She slumps into his side, the tension leaving her all at once. “How’d you get that miserly reputation of yours, Lenny?” she teases. She reaches over to knock her bottle against his glass, a teasing grin playing at the corners of her lips. “You’re just one big softie at heart.”

Len grunts, informing her drily, “Judicious application of hyposprays. Damned near managed to drive even Jim off, way back when.”

Nyota extricates herself from under his arm, shifting in her seat so she can studying the line of his profile, and he can feel himself start to tense under that piercing gaze. “Speaking of Jim,” she begins.

Len winces. “Nyota...”

She ignores the warning in his tone. “What is it you want these days, Dr. McCoy? Because this purgatory you’ve let yourself be trapped in--”

“Let myself--”

She scoffs. “I know you, Len. If you wanted to be back in Georgia already, you wouldn’t have let a bunch of bullshit regs that don’t even really apply to you keep you here. You’d have told Starfleet to shove it and been on the first shuttle back to Meridian, or wherever the hell it is you’re from.”

Len pulls his arm off of the back of the bench, propping his elbows on his knees as he leans forward, staring moodily into his glass once more. “Meridian’s in Mississippi,” he mutters.

“Not the point,” she tells him kindly, rubbing him comfortingly between his shoulder blades. “All your hemming and hawing has finally started to make even Jim nervous, you know. He’s putting up a good front for the rest of the admiralty, but he’s worried you really are going to turn down your commission.”

“Can’t let things go on like this forever, can I?” Len asks, sighing, and tosses back the rest of his drink in one go. He turns the glass over and sets it on the balcony railing before settling back into his seat, chewing on his lip.

She lets him sit in silence for a good five minutes, and then she heaves another sigh. “Tell me what you’re thinking,” she orders.

“Spock’s teaching,” he blurts, then blinks. “My god, you’ve already mastered that authoritative voice, haven’t you?”

“I’m doubting whether or not I want a command, not whether or not I’d be good at it,” Nyota teases, and the light scrape of her nails at the back of his neck is comforting as she smiles at him, her dark eyes soft.

“Spock’s teaching?” she asks, leadingly, when he remains quiet for a long moment.

Len drums his fingers on his thighs, shaking his head. “That’s not why... I’ve only known that for a few days. Jim was more focused on waxing poetic about the captaincy they were offering him, and you and I’ve been...” he gestures vaguely.

“Not talking about Starfleet because up until now, I hadn’t managed to get you drunk enough to agree to do so,” Nyota fills in, her voice thick with amusement.

Len barks a laugh. “Jesus. Yeah, alright, I’ve been avoidin’ this conversation.”

“Because you don’t want to let them renew your commission, but you haven’t been willing to break Jim’s heart?” she suggests, though she doesn’t sound like she believes it.

“Because...” Len blows out a breath. “Because I went after what I thought I wanted, and it turned out I was wrong.”

He doesn’t look at her as he steals her beer. It tastes like piss; he genuinely has no idea why she drinks the stuff, but his julep’s gone and he really needs some more alcohol in his system.

“Are you talking about Georgia?” she asks him, and he rubs his hand over his face without answering. She sits back, muttering something in Swahili that he’s sure is something along the lines of “Jesus fuck.”

He stands abruptly, scowling out at the glittering streets of San Francisco. “I never wanted to be on that mission in the first place,” he says fiercely, curling his arms around himself as if he can shield his heart from his own words. “And maybe I enjoyed myself once we were out there, but there was a part of me that was always thinking of the moment I’d get to go home again. I resigned my commission the minute we touched down, stubbornly happy as a clam, and I stayed that way right up until the moment I realized I was walking around dreaming about the day I’d be back on a starship the same way I used to dream about Georgia.”

“Oh, Len,” Nyota says, softly.

He throws his arms wide, a desperate sort of smile on his face. “I have a life, Ny! I have a steady, pleasant job, I have friends, I get to visit Jojo at college every couple Saturdays- more often, if I’m willin’ to play nice with Joss and go same day she does--”

“But you’re not happy.”

He buries his face in his hands. “I’m not happy,” he admits, voice muffled. “And meanwhile Spock is out here shaping the minds of impressionable young officers, with all his ‘logic this’ and ‘Surak that’.”

Nyota, bless her, ignores his bullshit in order to cut straight to the heart of the matter. “You’d be a great professor, Len.”

He huffs, setting one hand on his hip as he takes another swig of her beer, and shoots her a dirty look. “We were talkin’ about you,” he accuses, and she smiles up at him serenely. Somehow, she must’ve left the balcony and grabbed herself another beer without him even noticing.

She sips from the bottle delicately, raising her eyebrows at him. “Sounds like you’ve known what you want for a while now; you just haven’t been willing to admit it.”

Len rubs the bridge of his nose, rocking up onto his toes and then back down. “I’ll talk to Jim in the morning,” he says resignedly. “And you--” he prods a finger at her, narrowing her eyes. “You’re talking to him, too. You know he’ll do whatever he can to get you in the right position to take over a ship sometime in the next five years.”

Nyota salutes him lazily with her beer, a sly twinkle in her eye. “Yessir, Commander McCoy, sir.”

“Jesus.” Len balks. “They’re not going to try and fucking promote me, are they?”

The answering sound of her laughter curls up into the night, bright and loud, and maybe signing his life away to Starfleet is worth it just for that.

Len wipes his hands on his uniform pants before he knocks, willing himself to be a little less nervous. It’s just Spock for God’s sakes! He’s known the man- Vulcan- for well over a decade now, and they’ve certainly had worse things to say to each other over the years than “Surprise! We’re coworkers again!”

He raps sharply three times, before he can lose his nerve again, and then another two for good measure. Sometimes Spock gets so caught up in something fascinating that he doesn’t even hear--

The door swooshes open. He must not’ve been working, then.

“Doctor,” Spock greets, folding his hands inside his dark blue robes, and Len rocks up onto the balls of his feet and back down, at a loss for words.

“Wanted you to be the first to know,” he finally announces, after the moment drags on just slightly too long. He steps back, making quick work of the buttons of his coat, and then spreads it wide, an obvious invitation for Spock to study his attire. The beige jumpsuit doesn’t feel like home the same way his medical blues used to, but--

He’ll get used to it.

Spock raises an eyebrow. “You have not yet informed Admiral Kirk?”

Len huffs, prodding him in the chest as he shoves past into Spock’s apartment. “Fine; yes, I had to tell Jim, so you’re second. Third, actually, since Nyota’s the one who finally managed to talk me into it, and if you start counting every yeoman with a PADD for me to sign--” He swings to a stop in the middle of the room and sets his hands on his hips, glaring back at Spock. “But you’re the first person I’m choosing to tell, just for the sake of the telling.”

There’s a glitter of amusement in Spock’s eyes as he moves away from the door, letting it finally slide shut. “I am honored.”

“You’re humoring me,” Len accuses. He tilts his chin up, turning on his heel to survey Spock’s living room. “But I’ll allow it,” he adds, a wisp of fondness in his voice as nostalgia rolls over him like a wave.

Late in the five year mission, sometimes he’d show up too early to walk to breakfast together and wait in the main room while Spock finished getting ready. Other times, they’d spend late nights on his Starfleet-issue couch working on reports, debating about any subject under the sun, or simply existing in one another’s presence.

He must have seen Spock’s quarters a hundred times, by the end--and for all that he’s never set foot in this building before today, he’s been in this room before.

The furniture is different and the floorspace greater, leaving the overall effect much more subtle and open, but the general layout, the wall hangings, the books on the shelves, the lyre in the corner--they’re all the same.

“You really haven’t changed a bit,” he murmurs with a small shake of his head.

“I must disagree, Doctor.” Spock counters promptly, moving to join Len in the center of the room. “We are each a sum of our experiences; from moment to moment we are redefined in subtle ways. Our years spent apart have necessarily wrought changes--”

“Spock,” Len interrupts, shoving his hands in his pockets as he smiles up at him. “Trust me; in all the ways that matter, you’re the same person you’ve always been.”

Spock tilts his head. There’s something soft in the lines around his eyes, something that makes Len’s heart constrict in his chest.

“Recent events have been highly effective at revealing my motivations in undertaking the rite of Kolinahr,” he says quietly, apropos of nothing. “I was concerned by the connection I had made to my human side throughout the years of our mission, and I sought to distance myself from it once more. I failed, Doctor; as such, I have finally put to rest my hesitance to embrace the person I became under the influence of your and Jim’s friendship.”

Len swallows hard. “Then you’re saying I’m right,” he says weakly.

“I am saying--”

Spock’s fingers are cool as they curl around the back of Len’s neck, cradling his skull in one large hand.

“--I was wrong,” he murmurs.

Len forgoes the doorbell in favor of knocking, three sharp raps and then two more. Sometimes Spock gets so caught up in his work, or his meditation, that he doesn’t notice someone’s at the door. Len finds it a little endearing, almost despite himself.

It takes over a minute for Spock to summon him, but Len just hooks his fingers in his belt and whistles as he waits. They’re on their way back to Earth--pending a lack of emergencies in the next two weeks, the Enterprise has, for all intents and purposes, completed her mission.

They’re a nice prospect, those quiet two weeks.

Afterwards, he’s going back to Georgia- permanently, so long as he can weather Jim’s puppy dog eyes and come out with his convictions intact- but he hopes... well. Maybe he’ll have some visitors once in a while.

“Spock,” he greets, grinning, when the Vulcan finally appears. He pushes past him into his quarters, almost bouncing with excitement. “Look, I’ve been trying to figure out a good way to say this for almost a week now, and--”

“Doctor.” Spock has not moved from the doorway. “May I inquire as to the nature of your visit?”

Len crosses his arms over his chest and huffs. “Kind of what I was attempting to get at just now.”

“This is a personal matter,” Spock surmises.

“Sure, of course it is. Spock, I--”

“Doctor, I am in the process of completing the last of the crew evaluations; can this wait?”

Len scratches the back of his head, a rueful tilt to his lips. ”Not really,” he admits. “I may lose my nerve, and we just don’t have that much time left.”

With something that isn’t a sigh, because Vulcans do not sigh, Spock finally joins Len in the middle of the room. “I am listening,” he says. He sounds resigned.

Ignoring the flare of anxiety in his gut, Len plods forward. “Look, Spock, I just wanted you to know that I’ve...” he stares up at those dark eyes and swallows hard. “I’ve come to appreciate your friendship. I may be resigning the ‘fleet, but whenever you’re on Earth, there’s a guest room with your name on it.”

“Doctor--”

“Wait, that’s--” Len holds up his hand. “That’s the chicken shit version, all right? There’s more to it, just give me a moment.” He closes his eyes, sucking in a deep breath, and then releases it all at once. Talking’s probably easier if he’s not watching Spock watch him; he keeps his eyes shut tight.

“Spock, I... I care about you very deeply. I’d like--that is, I understand that this is practically the worst time I could have brought this up, but I’m worried we’ll never get another chance if I don’t. I just--”

He makes a noise of frustration, opening his eyes, and simply yanks Spock down by his uniform shirt to plant one on him. That Spock- with his Vulcan strength- allows himself to be manhandled is promising; that he doesn’t reciprocate the kiss is less so.

Len releases him and steps back, feeling more than a bit foolish. “If you’re interested,” he finishes awkwardly, unable to meet Spock’s eyes.

“I do not believe this to be... wise, Doctor,” Spock says, with a voice that is uncharacteristically hesitant.

“Right.” Len nods, straightening out his med blues. He’s pretty sure his face is about to spontaneously combust. “Well, that guest room’s up for grabs regardless. I’ll... see you around.”

And then he- for lack of a better word- runs.

He barely sees Spock outside of a professional capacity for the remainder of the mission; it’s Nyota who tells him, sounding frustrated and forlorn, about Spock’s decision to undergo Kolinahr.

Len presses up onto his toes as Spock leans down, meeting him in the middle. Spock is warm against him, tall and strong, and his hands are hesitant as they drift over Len’s back, so lightly as to be almost unnoticeable through the thick canvas of his coat. Len’s arms, of their own accord, curl tightly about Spock’s neck, and he clings tightly as he pours himself into the kiss.

When they draw apart, breathing heavily, Len prods Spock firmly in the chest with one finger. “This is not why I came back to Starfleet,” he says, a note of warning in his voice.

Spock’s eyes glitter with amusement. “I am aware, Doctor.”

“I’m just saying, you don’t need to go getting a big head.”

“My cranium is of an average size for a Vulcan of my height and weight.”

Len practically growls, biting back the smile that wants to spread giddily across his face. “You know damn well what I mean, Mr. Spock; so help me God if you decided to get a sense of humor after all these years--”

“Leonard.”

His jaw snaps shut as he stares up at Spock with wide eyes, and the Vulcan has the gall to look pleased with himself as he brings his hands to Len’s shoulders, encouraging his coat to slip from his arms to pool at their feet.

“I am gratified you have chosen to remain with Starfleet,” Spock tells him lightly. “Regardless of your motivations for doing so.”

Len smiles, reaching up to trace the curve of one pointed ear. “I finally figured out what I wanted,” he admits. “Take me to bed, Mr. Spock?”

“Yes, Doctor.”

#it's not precisely what you asked for but I hope you enjoy!!!#spones #spock #leonard mccoy #a tramp stamp original #I wrote this

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shiningamongdarkness · 4 years

Text

Chapter 32. My Brave Child

Shining among Darkness

By WingzemonX

Chapter 32. My Brave Child

Officer Sear's small apartment quickly filled with smoke, suddenly interrupting the pleasant conversation he was having with his guest. Alarmed, the policeman promptly went to the oven, turned the gas off, and then opened the door. As he did the latter, a thicker, darker cloud of smoke arose from inside the oven, practically hitting him in the face.

Cole coughed hard, feeling the sting of smoke enter his eyes and nose. It took a couple of seconds for him to recover.

"Oh, Cole," he heard her mother mockingly pronounce from the small circular table in the center of the kitchen, making his cheeks flush.

He groped a cloth on the counter, and with it managed to remove the refractory from the oven. That was supposed to be a delicious stew with potatoes and cheese. Now it looked like a huge piece of black coal.

Ashamed, he placed the pan on the stove and stared at it in silence. Using the same cloth that he had taken before, he began to clean his face and hands. Even the gray-blue shirt of his uniform had ended up suffering some of that havoc; he had just picked it up that morning from the dry cleaner. In his head, he was already listening to his lieutenant, reprimanding him the next day for not showing up impeccably enough to his duties.

He had been barely a year and a half as a police officer, and half of that time had been office work and hanging around on his patrol at night. The other half was used for other activities, directly and indirectly, related to his work, but where he could make better use of his unique abilities. He hoped that this would help him progress rapidly and allow him to make better use of these skills. And, at least for the moment, everything seemed to be going in that direction.

But that night, his only goal was to make a decent enough dinner to be able to boast about it... but that goal now seemed far away.

"I think this shouldn't come out so toasted, right?" He commented jokingly, turning to see her mother over her shoulder.

Lynn Sear was sitting in a chair, turning to him with a wide amused smile. Her lips were glowing a beautiful rosy, and her cheeks were brimming with a discreet blush. Her curly dark brown hair was tied back in a small tail. Her blue eyes regarded him with a combination of mockery and compassion, both inspired by his more than evident failure. She wore a light orange dress over her slender body, high neck but with her arms uncovered.

"So long living alone, and you still haven't learned how to use an oven well?" The woman, barely thirty-six, questioned him, smiling brightly.

"I'm a cop, using an oven is not part of my duties," Cole said wryly. He then placed the rag over his shoulder and proceeded to throw the stew without much ceremony into the trash can.

"So, you must get a good wife to cook for you soon."

"What year do you think we live in?" He answered between a couple of laughs.

Cole then went to his fridge, fleetingly looking for any leftovers from past meals that might look appetizing enough to replace the failed stew. He found no such thing. He chose, at least initially, to have a beer.

"What makes you think that if I get a wife, she'll know how to cook better than me?" The officer asked, just after opening her bottle and taking the first drink.

"Just company could do you good," the woman declared in a subdued voice. Then she slowly turned her gaze, glancing briefly at her son's small apartment, which basically consisted of the kitchen, the living room, the bedroom (which was not actually larger than the kitchen), and a bathroom. "It's regrettable to go home alone every night, don't you think? Silence can be maddening."

Cole didn't answer anything for a few seconds, and then he opened the refrigerator once more.

"I'm not alone," he pointed out calmly. "I have you, mom."

The woman at the table turned slowly to him. Her gaze was somewhat dissipated.

After a few seconds of deliberation, Cole took a square disposable container out of the fridge. Inside were the leftovers from a plate of Chinese food from… not really remember how many nights ago it was. It was a little rice, a few pieces of meat and chicken, about three or four broccoli trees, and a few more vegetables. His appearance was not the best, but at least nothing looked blackened or decomposed. He smelled it for a second validation, and… it didn't smell quite right either.

"Well, this doesn't look so bad," he pointed out, not entirely convinced actually.

"You're not really going to eat that, are you?" Her mother chided with some alarm.

Cole shrugged his shoulders.

"I suppose not," he replied simply, and headed back to the trash can, also throwing away the disposable plate with everything in it. "I can always order pizza, right?"

Then he went to the table where his mother was sitting. On it, he had left his cell phone. He took it to make that call.

"Cole..." the woman in front of him whispered, slowly... very slowly. "You can't keep doing this."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to go overboard with greasy food," the officer replied, searching through his frequent numbers for the pizza shop that was located two blocks from his apartment. "Someday. I've to learn how to cook properly, after all."

"No..." Lynn Sear whispered again, still in a muffled voice, but now she had grown weaker and throatier. "You can't keep bringing me here, honey..."

Cole's finger stopped moving on the touch screen of his phone. His gaze was fixed on the device, even though it only showed a series of contacts, and none was the one he was looking for. He didn't want to take his eyes off it, lift to the front, and look at her again. But in the end, he had to.

His light eyes focused on the figure of that woman, sitting on the other side of the table. That person, who was supposed to have been his mother, now was difficult for him to recognize. Her face had become pale and sickly, with no color in any section of it. Her complexion, once slender and beautiful, was now skeletal, hardly a shadow of what she was before. Her skin was glued almost entirely to her bones, framing the shape of her skull, with her eyes and cheeks sunken. Her beautiful brown hair was already almost completely gone, leaving only a few sparse gray strands falling around her head. And her eyes, her beautiful eyes, were now clouded, covered in a nebulous cloak, and though they, she seemed to look into absolute nothingness.

Cole had to look away almost immediately. During all those years, he had seen horrible images practically every day of his life. Mutilations, murders, suicides, blood, and bowels... But none caused him as much anxiety, as much repulsion and as awe as that: the final appearance of his beloved mother, who for better or for worse had been imprinted on his mind, no matter how much he would like to remember her the other way with that jovial smile, that warm gaze, and that unique beauty that in his eyes only she could possess.

"You have to let me go, Cole," he heard that hoarse, almost absent voice again, and it was as heartbreaking as seeing her directly. "You're not doing yourself any good with this... or me either..."

"I know..." The policeman stated firmly. He rested his clenched fists on the table, still keeping his gaze down to avoid looking at her. "But I can't help it... It's not fair. I still need you…"

"I'll always be there for you, my child…" A bony-fingered hand reached out across the smooth surface of the table towards him, staying in his range of vision without him being able to avoid it. Its colorless skin exposed the thin fibers of his superficial veins. "But you can't keep holding on to me. You must go ahead…"

"I don't want... no..." the man murmured, stifling a groan similar to pain. Small traces of tears were beginning to form in his eyes, threatening to flow. "What's the use of having these damn powers if I can't use them to see you...?"

"Don't underestimate the good you do or the good you'll do from now on. You have a beautiful future before you, Cole... but you'll miss it if you keep looking back..."

Cole breathed slowly, trying to dull the sobs that washed over him. Using all his willpower, he looked up at her again; it still looked the same. She looked so tired, so full of suffering and without any strength. She looked at him too, her eyes filled with sadness.

"Please, Cole..." Lynn let out a barely audible sigh. "It is very painful to be here..."

The boy's breathing sped up a little more, but he tried to normalize it as much as possible and stay calm. Timidly, he reached out his hand and clasped it tightly between his fingers. Despite her gaunt appearance, she squeezed him with considerable force as well.

Those tears and those sobs could no longer be contained.

"I love you, mom..." Cole murmured as the lump in his throat allowed him.

Lynn smiled at him as best she could with her thin, parched lips.

"I love you more, my brave child..."

Using all that he had of willpower again, Cole closed his eyes tightly and didn't open them until he stopped perceiving his mother's fingers in his; until the cold sensation had faded, and until he felt entire that he was once again alone. And opening them again, indeed it was: Lynn Sear was gone, and only he was left alone in that small apartment.

He sank down onto one of the chairs and ran his hands over his face. There was no stew, no Chinese food, and no pizza that night; he preferred to go to bed without dinner.

He enforced his mother's wish and didn't call her again after that night. And she didn't reappear before him… at least, not in a long time, and not until he needed her.

* * * *

After the end of their session, Matilda took Samara to rest in her room. The girl did not fall asleep, but when she left her, she seemed calmer. The psychiatrist promised to see her later, and that seemed to cheer her up a bit. Her original plan was to talk with the girl about what had happened to Dr. Scott. However, after what had happened, Matilda did not know if it would be correct to alter Samara with that subject. If she did, she would have to do it very carefully.

Meanwhile, the psychiatrist had to meet Cole again to discuss what had happened and decide what to do next. She already had in mind what that path should be but, due to Eleven's orders, she had to talk to this man she had just met, and convince him to support her.

The police officer had come out to the hospital courtyard to clear his mind a little and smoke a cigarette. When Matilda came out to meet him, she saw him sitting on the same bench where the two of them and Cody had spoken to Eleven the night before.

Since they left the room, Matilda had felt a somewhat distant and thoughtful attitude in her forced partner. At first, she considered that it was natural because the situation they had just experienced was not precisely to be in a good mood and laugh. It took her a moment to fully recover too. However, seeing him sitting there with the same attitude, or even more marked than before, she was worried for a few moments that Samara had done something to him... just as she had done to Dr. Scott.

Cole was looking straight ahead, his body slightly bowed, his smoking cigarette between his fingers. His face was frozen in a cold expression, and he didn't seem to immediately notice her until Matilda cleared her throat a little. He was not surprised or something like that; simply turned to look at her slowly, and smiled in a friendly way, though it seemed much less sincere than usual.

"How is Samara?" Cole asked in a neutral tone.

"Calmer, or at least as calm as she can be in such a situation."

Matilda walked to the opposite end of the bench and sat there as if she wanted to keep distance between them.

"Does the smell of cigarettes bother you?" Cole questioned and immediately stubbed out what was left of his cigarette against the sole of his shoe.

"Not particularly," the psychiatrist replied apathetically, "although I don't love it either. But you can go on if you want."

"Don't worry, it was over. Besides, there are things to talk about, don't you think?"

Oh, yes, there were. Matilda had to accept that the session had was at least quite strange. She was ready for some eventuality to occur when it came to Samara's unique abilities. Still, she didn't expect something like what they'd seen to happen.

Both began to discuss their conclusions about the experience, although Matilda was quite direct and blunt.

"Multiple personality disorder?" Cole questioned uncertainly as if he feared he had mispronounced it, although it was not.

"It's a little common in shining children, actually," Matilda pointed out, crossing her legs. "They fail to explain or control what they do and create another personality that can. A stronger and smarter one that defends and guides them. Sometimes they aren't fully aware of its existence. In contrast, others see it as an imaginary friend or an older brother who takes care of them."

"You really think that's what we are talking about here?"

"It's a fairly reasonable explanation. Her primary personality is quite passive, while this other is more dominant and assertive. Furthermore, it explicitly stated that she wants to protect her, something very common in this type of case."

Cole leaned fully against the back of the bench and ran his fingers slowly through his short hair. He looked quite thoughtful, maybe even worried.

"If this is about that," he started to say without looking at her, "why hadn't you noticed it before? Or any of your other doctors?"

Matilda's face twisted a little in a thoughtful grimace. The question did not surprise or bother her; she had been doing it to herself.

"It isn't always easy to diagnose as people think," she pointed out in a serious tone, "especially since she hadn't shown noticeable signs of it before, or mental gaps, or amnesia. Her parents never mentioned any similar incident, nor did she during our previous sessions."

"Couldn't that be indicative of something else?"

"Not by itself. It may simply be that neither Samara nor her parents were aware of this so far. Or maybe the stress she has been under lately, also fueled by the monster's self-implanted idea, made the episodes more noticeable and drastic. Like what happened yesterday, or what we just saw."

Cole abruptly stood up from the bench and took a few steps away. Matilda followed him with her eyes. With one hand, he rubbed his chin, in which the first traces of a beard that would occupy being shaved in a couple of days seemed to be starting to grow. After a while, he brought his hands to his waist while his back was turned, and raised his gaze to the sky in a somewhat dramatic way for Matilda's taste.

"What about the fact that the other personality calls herself Samara Morgan?" Cole snapped suddenly, taking Matilda by surprise.

"What about that?"

"Well," he murmured dubiously, as he turned back to her, "in all the movies I've seen, that other personality has a different name, a way of behaving, and doesn't lie saying that it's the real person, right? Like Charlie and Hank from Me, Myself & Irene."

Matilda's right eyebrow arched in uncertainty, and also in disbelief at what she had just heard.

"Are you really refuting my diagnosis based on what you saw in a movie?" She questioned him accusingly. Cole just smirked a little and shrugged. "Well, I have also seen and read stories about possessions, and in them, the devil also has another name and personality, right? Or I don't remember The Exorcist demon saying his name was Regan MacNeil."

She noted at that moment how the detective stared at her with a marked surprise for a few moments, and then laughed lightly as if he had remembered a joke, although not entirely good.

"What?" Matilda questioned somewhat defensively.

"No, nothing," the officer replied calmly. "I just didn't think you were the type to watch horror movies."

Matilda's cheeks flushed slightly, and she instinctively turned away as if she wanted to cover it up.

"Maybe I read the book," she muttered slowly and calmly.

"Does that have a book?"

Matilda sighed, and then inhaled slowly, trying to regain her composure and get the conversation back on track.

"Listen, it isn't so strange that the secondary personality tries to convince external persons that it is the primary one. Internally, both know how to differentiate themselves. But, if it's necessary for its ultimate purpose, which in this case is to protect the primary personality, it can resort to pretending that it is her." She paused, adjusting her hair a little, shaken by the small breeze blowing in that courtyard. "Although I accept that in the situation we were in, it was a little strange because it was quite evident that she was not trying to convince us. Also, she referred to the real Samara in the third person when she said she wanted to protect her. And equally, if this other personality is guilty of the events that occurred before, with the horses on her farm and with her mother, it is also strange that Samara does remember them as made by herself and does not directly blame this other personality. It is a somewhat unusual case, I admit that, but not impossible to occur. Virtually every case of DID is different from each other. And above all, it is much more credible than the other option: a demonic possession, the explanation that for a long time people gave to this type of disease."

Cole said nothing, but it was not necessary for him to do so; it was quite evident that he was not at all convinced about what Matilda was saying. That did not surprise her. In fact, she was surprised that his original position was not defended with more energy, considering that from the previous day, he had been entirely convinced of it. Perhaps he had seen something that made him hesitate?

Matilda stood up and approached him a little to speak face to face, although Cole did not seem interested in holding her gaze or anything similar.

"Look," Matilda began to pronounce in a significantly calmer and more open tone, "your method was perhaps unorthodox, and I clearly disagreed. But I admit that it worked, and maybe it was the only way to really realize her real problem. If the patient is convinced that this other identity is something supernatural, sometimes it is necessary to treat it that way in the beginning so that it reacts. This is nowhere near the ideal scenario, but what happens to her can be treated and controlled. It may take years of therapy and medication, but she can go on and have a normal life. Believe it or not, we made significant progress today, and that was thanks to you."

Suddenly, she reached out her right hand to him and placed it on his arm. This gesture surprised Cole quite a bit, but even Matilda herself after a few seconds. She had practically done it without thinking, guided by the habit of establishing a little physical contact in similar situations to reassure a person. She completely forgot for a moment who that person she was trying to reassure was.

It took her a few moments to react, or rather to decide what to do. At last, she slowly removed her hand from his arm and pressed it against her. She was embarrassed inside, though she didn't show it on the outside. She discreetly cleared her throat and stood up straight.

"There is something else that bothers you, right?" She murmured suddenly in a reflective voice. Cole looked at her seriously, but without mutating. "Was it what the other Samara told you? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Do you want to give me therapy?" Cole questioned her, slightly defensive.

"I wouldn't call it like that. But if you think you need it..."

Matilda was silent, staring at him, awaiting his reply.

The previous day, during that outburst in the cafeteria, Matilda had let herself be carried away by her emotions. In addition to pushing him violently with her telekinesis, she had said some somewhat harsh things. Although she had apologized, or something like that, the truth was that she did not feel that she had succeeded entirely. She didn't externalize it fueled by her own pride, but internally she felt a little responsible. This responsibility came a little bit higher after being present and listening to everything that other Samara had just said...

"You are afraid all the time, of everything. Afraid of any dark corner in the room, any icy breeze that touches your skin, and any sudden sounds behind you. Because you know the horrors that are hidden in them, that haunt you and are always there stalking you. You cannot run away from them, nor stop seeing them. You are their food and their amusement, as a fearful mouse in the claws of a cat."

It was something that she had detected since the previous day: how underneath all that layer of apparent overconfidence, outgoing and joking attitude, was hide a person with fears, many fears, with whom he dealt in silence. How she had touched that point last night had not been correct, much less the most professional. Even within her apparent distaste for him, her head could be cool enough to realize it. She had touched a sensitive fiber when pointing it out to her, and that had pushed him to respond in the same way. So she feared the same thing might have happened with that latest incident.

Anyway, after a few seconds Cole smiled again abruptly in a carefree and calm way. He stepped back a step and raised his hands to the front as if signaling her to stay right where she was. To Matilda, that seemed defensive, although he tried to hide it.

"No, I'm fine," the detective replied immediately, shrugging. "It's just that things didn't go as expected. But still... I don't know." He sighed heavily, running his entire hand through his hair, front to back. "You didn't see or feel what happened in that room the same way as me."

"That is indisputable."

Cole took a second and took his pack out of his bag and took out another cigarette. Apparently, he no longer cared if Matilda was bothered by the smoke or not, although she had given him permission if she remembered correctly. The brunette was tempted to point out how bad it was to smoke so much, but she decided to hold back because perhaps it was neither the right place nor the right time for that.

The policeman placed the cigarette between his lips, lit it, and took a while longer to inhale it and apparently allow himself to feel the effects of the smoke passing through his body. He looked quite anxious, and apparently, that was his way of trying to relax a little. To be someone with more "experience" in that kind of thing, Matilda didn't expect to see him so upset after all.

"Listen..." he started to say when he was able to fully regain his composure. "For a moment, I could see the real face of that being, the one that you think is just another personality. I could feel it, as vividly as I have felt many other creatures similar to it. And what I felt was something very well known to me... but also different."

"Different in what way?" Matilda questioned, genuinely intrigued.

"What I felt, the energy that ran through my body when it took me that way, was clearly something non-human, something I can only name demonic." Matilda snorted exhausted, or at least she did it in her mind. She was about to answer him something, although it wasn't entirely clear what exactly, when he suddenly continued, with a much darker emotion in his voice. "However, that feeling that I saw in her eyes, that hatred, and resentment... I've only felt such things in ghosts; in human ghosts, I mean. Especially those who had a horrible death, and left this world with one final thought in their heads: revenge..."

Matilda did not know how to react precisely to what she heard. Beyond the difficulty of digesting the meaning, she was more disturbed by the tone in which he had spoken. So serious and concerned, or even... scared.

"That's a little contradictory," Matilda pointed out, trying not to sound assertive, "even trying to see things from your perspective. You said it was a demon, now you say it is a ghost or something similar? Which of the two is it, then?"

Cole turned to the side and inhaled from his cigarette again. He released all the smoke slowly through his mouth while staring in one direction for no specific reason.

"There may be a third possibility," he muttered suddenly, just before placing his cigarette once more in his mouth. "Eleven mentioned that you found the biological mother."

Matilda was a little confused by such a sudden mention.

"Yes, I did. Or something like that."

"Did you identify the father?"

"Not really. She told the nuns who cared for her that he didn't exist."

"Did she tell the father didn't exist?" Cole exclaimed in surprise, turning back to her. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know," Matilda replied shrugging. The chief nun was not clear about it. Apparently, she told them that Samara's father was something whispering to her from the sea, something not human..."

The psychiatrist fell silent, cutting off her words and whatever she was going to say after them. As soon as she was uttering that last sentence, her head tied up a few dots, and the fleeting idea that came to her mind left her paralyzed for a few moments because of how amazingly ridiculous it seemed to her. And when she saw how her companion looked at her expectantly, she realized that it was quite possibly the same idea that was crossing him, and that he had also realized that she had understood him.

"Oh no, of course not," Matilda murmured somewhat aggressively. "Please! That was just the hallucinations of a very affected woman."

"Are you sure?" Cole asked, noticeably interested. "You talked with her?"

"No, I just know that she was admitted to a psychiatric center after she tried to drown Samara when she was just a newborn. I don't even know if she's still there, or if she's alive."

"But you know what that center is, don't you?"

"Yes, but... do you want us to go there and talk to her?" Matilda murmured skeptically.

"She could be the key to solving this mystery."

"What mystery? There is no mystery here!" Matilda snapped with some force. "Just a girl who has been through a lot, with skills she cannot understand or control, and her mind is shattered by it. She needs us to give her proper treatment, not to go hunting demons."

"Listen," Cole muttered slowly, moving closer to her and facing her head on; Matilda didn't even blink. "You agreed to do things my way. You said to Eleven that you would help me and accept my point of view, didn't you?"

"I agreed to open my mind up to a point, yes. But I won't continue with this if I consider that it puts at risk the treatment and improvement of my patient."

Cole sighed wearily and took a few steps away from her. He turned his back on her and took a couple more puffs of his cigarette. Matilda wondered how much he was thinking. If it was that her answer stressed or angered him, well, she doesn't care. She wouldn't give up that easy.

After a few moments, Cole turned to her again, now with a not so challenging attitude, but still, she did not let her guard down.

"Okay, listen, let's just do this, this one more thing. Let's talk to the mother as soon as possible. Let's go together, let's see what she has to say. And if we don't get anything out of it, we'll do things your way. Agree?"

Matilda watched him silently, somewhat apprehensively.

"Seriously?"

"Totally."

"What if she's not there anymore? Or if she passed away?"

"We'll see what to do then if that's the case. What do you say?"

He smiled back at her broadly and candidly, as annoyingly as he had done most of the day before. But whatever it was, Matilda felt her cheeks heat up again, so she quickly turned away. What way to react was that?

She took a few deep breaths to calm down.

"Maybe I'll have to make some calls," she answered quietly without looking at him. "I don't know when we can do it..."

"It must be as soon as possible," Cole pointed out with determination. "The longer we wait, the more risk we run that something like last night happens again."

"Well then, I'll see what I can do," Matilda pointed out finally and went immediately to look for her phone inside her bag.

"Thanks, you won't regret it," Cole commented with a strange enthusiasm, raising his two thumbs at her as well. This, for some reason, was a little funny to Matilda, and a slight smile appeared on her lips, although having her face bent over her bag, she hoped she could hide it.

Just as she managed to get out her phone, she noticed how the officer, without saying a word, turned around and started walking towards the building door.

"Where're you going?"

"Facing a being like this whets my appetite," he replied simply, raising a hand in the air as he walked away. "I'm going to get something from the vending machine, do you want something?"

"No, thanks," she replied insecurely, but he didn't even seem willing to wait for her to really answer him. He continued on his way until he entered, and she lost sight of him

Matilda wondered if that last comment had been serious, or was he just playing around. Until yesterday, she thought she could quickly identify something like that when the subject involved ghosts and demons; now, she wasn't entirely sure.

— — — —

Cole didn't lie about going to the vending machine, although the comment about his appetite wasn't exactly right. What he had the least at those moments was hunger, but high anxiety that not even a cigarette took away from him.

The truth was that he had not told the whole truth to Matilda, because there was no easy way to express in words everything that crossed his mind at the time. He understood that it was her job to see everything from the psychiatric perspective, and the best way to help her patient. But Cole feared that this, coupled with her stubbornness in refusing to accept that there might be unknown forces involved in it all, would prevent her from seeing the true size of what they were facing. Not even he was quite sure of it yet. Still, everything inside him was shouting it to him, and it was too insistent a voice that he couldn't remain silent.

The closest machine was in the center of a long corridor, which at the time was totally deserted; no nurse, doctor, or a patient was seen or heard around. He reviewed without much interest the products exposed behind the protective glass. Nothing particularly caught his eye, although, in the end, he leaned more for a bag of salted peanuts placed at number 27. He inserted the necessary coins into the machine and pressed the option. The mechanism began to rotate, but the peanut bag remained attached to just one corner of the package.

Cole looked at this with disappointment and some annoyance. Perhaps that was yet another indication that it was not his day, and that indeed forces greater than himself were playing dice with their destiny at the moment.

"Number 27 always gets stuck," he heard someone pronounce at his right hand, taking him by surprise.

The officer jumped startled and turned quickly toward that direction. A brown woman wrapped in a pink pajama, and beneath it a white hospital gown, looked at him with a wide amused smile that showed her perfect white teeth. She was a woman in her forties, perhaps, with light brown curly hair and a little tousled. Her eyes were blue and serene, and her white face showed only a few wrinkles and age marks. She didn't wear any makeup, but still, her lips looked very natural and attractive red. Her hands were hidden inside the bags of her pink robe, in a slightly relaxed posture.

"I think it's some kind of booby trap," she said, amusedly, glancing at the jammed peanut package. "Just give the machine a few hits on the left side, and it will fall."

Cole looked at her with some doubt, then looked at his longed-for package as well, although, in reality, it was not so longed-for.

"I don't think that's worthy of a law enforcement officer."

"I won't tell anyone if you don't," the woman commented, shrugging.

He hesitated a little more, but in the end, he listened to her. He did just what she told him to, hitting the side of the machine a couple of hard blows. The peanut packet came loose and fell into the product dispatch area. Cole bent down and removed it without further problem.

As he was crouched down, he heard a sound, but so slow and far away that he could hardly tell if he had actually heard it.

He stands up again, already with the peanuts in his hand, and looked gratefully at the mysterious woman.

"Thanks," he murmured as he opened the bag.

"Gema," the woman said suddenly. "In case you were wondering, my name is Gema."

"Well, thanks, Gema. My name is Cole."

"A pleasure," the woman agreed. "You are very handsome, you know?"

"Not really," he replied sarcastically.

Cole tilted the packet over his hand and poured three peanuts into his palm, inserting them once into his mouth. They were too salty, but he couldn't get too picky.

Again he heard that distant sound, like an annoying buzzing in his ear.

"Tell me, Gema," said the man between chews, "should you be out of your room right now?"

Gema smiled and shrugged again.

"No one stopped me from going out."

"Of course." Cole took a few more peanuts, not taking his eyes off that woman. "How long have you been here exactly?"

Gema's gentle face did not mutate, but it did take her a while to reply.

"A long, long time..." she whispered slowly and a little muffled. "But that's not your real question, is it? What you want to ask me... is how I died..."

Cole remained calm after those words. In fact, he even ate more of his peanuts with complete peace of mind. As soon as he saw her, he realized that she was not just a patient, but something much more complicated. H had been doing what he does for too long to not notice it.

"It's not a great story," Gema murmured, adjusting her fringe. "Only one day I went to sleep, and the next morning... well, let's just say that everything got much colder."

That sounded familiar enough to him.

Once again, he thought he heard something, but now more clearly. Was it his name? Has anyone said "Cole"?

"Those who are like you, so aware of their true state, are unusual, did you know?"

"If it's your way of telling me I'm special, I appreciate it, handsome."

"Is there something holding you here, Gema?"

"I don't think so. I just like to walk around here once in a while. It amuses me to see the people of this site, sane and not. People... have always been fascinating to me..."

"I guess..."

"Cole!" He listened vividly now, just behind him; a sharp, loud scream that almost made him jump.

Cole turned quickly, alarmed, and then he saw her. She was less than a meter from him, staring at him with her blue eyes filled with horror, and he recognized her at the first second. It was her mother, her late mother, with her healthy appearance before her illness ended her and left her in that final state.

Cole froze in amazement, unable to utter a word. But still, he wouldn't have had time to say anything, because immediately his mother screamed at him, with such force that her recognizable voice echoed deep in his ears.

"Don't listen to her! She's not what she seems!"

Cole did not understand; his mind felt too fuzzy to understand. He instinctively turned back to Gema, and only then did her mother's warning makes any sense.

The other woman's appearance had drastically changed in just a second. Her hair had become a tangle of ash-colored strands that pointed in all directions. Her skin had turned pale and grayish, and her face was covered in raw flesh-colored open sores. Her eyes were larger, seemed to almost protrude from their sockets, and were totally black. But the most impressive thing was her mouth, which would have gone virtually from ear to ear as if it had been opened by cutting the cheeks with a knife. It formed a horrible grimace that perhaps tried to simulate being a smile. That horrible mouth exposed an entire row of sharp, thin, yellowish, dirty fangs, like hundreds of rusty nails.

Before Cole could recover from his shock, the woman reached out her long slimy hands to him, gripping his face tightly.

"You got into the wrong hole, handsome" Gema murmured in a thick, raspy voice, and a long greenish tongue peeked out of his mouth full of sharp fangs. "Come and give me a kiss…"

She pulled him hard toward her, but Cole resisted. He placed his hands against her neck, pushing herself back. The creature's tongue flapped like a snake on the attack, staining his face with a thick substance that burned his skin a little. Cole then lifted her right leg and kicked her hard in her chest, pushing her back. The slim body of that creature propelled itself down the hall, falling to the ground resting on its hands and feet as if it were a reptile. In the same way, similar to a lurking animal, it lunged at him while making horrible grunts.

Cole was not on duty, so he did not carry his weapon with him. Plus, he was not sure if it would work with that creature, whatever it was. But he had other ways of dealing with monsters like that. He remained standing, calm in his position as she approached him. He took a deep breath, relaxed, released his hands, and just as the creature leaped at him, he jerked his right fist forward, digging into the center of her face. Her head was completely pushed back, with a sharp sound as if something had broken inside. The creature fell with its back to the ground, lashing out.

Cole immediately stepped over her and gripped her neck tightly with both hands, squeezing it.

"Who are you?! What's your name?!" He demanded rigorously, but the monster only responded with grunts, and its elusive tongue flailing at him. She caught his arms with her fingers, snapping her sharp claws into his skin. That caused him great pain, but Cole held firm. "Obey me! Who are you?! What do you want?!"

Slowly, the creature's growls ceased, and a broad grin spread across her face, exposing her fangs once more with a cunning grimace.

"We'll see each other again, handsome..."

The monster's black eyes flashed in two intense flares, and the fire quickly began to spread to the rest of its face, and then its body. Cole promptly pulled away from her, backing away. He watched from a distance as Gema's body writhed on the ground and screamed in pain as the flames consumed her until leaving only a dark and charred figure in place.

Cole stepped back, breathing hard until his back hit the vending machine. He stared silently at that all-black humanoid figure, petrified with her twisted arms and legs. Little by little, it fell apart, leaving ashes on the ground.

"Cole, Cole," he heard his mother's voice murmur beside him and felt her place her hand gently on her arm to get her attention.

He looked at her, and although at first he doubted it was really her, in the end, he was sure. Not because of her appearance, not because of her blue eyes or the sound of her voice, but because of the warm sensation caused by her mere presence. After so many years, she would appear before him again, even though he hadn't called her.

"That thing... how did it fool me?" He questioned in alarm, pointing to the pile of ashes. "What was that…?"

"Listen to me, Cole," his mother pointed out, taking him by the face to force him to stare at her. Her voice sounded apprehensive. "I don't have much time, I have to warn you. You are in grave danger."

"Danger?" He murmured slowly, still lost in thought.

"This case in which you have been involved is more dangerous than you think. You have to leave as soon as possible, get away from this whole thing. Or else... you'll die... and she too..."

Cole looked at her, confused.

"Who?" He questioned lost, and then looked subtly over his shoulder down the hall to where the exit to the courtyard stood. "Are you talking about Matilda?"

"I can't tell you more... And I can't stay longer." She retook his face so that she could look him in the eye. "I love you, my brave boy... Please take care of yourself..."

"No, mom, wait!"

In a blink, the woman completely vanished, leaving him totally alone in that hallway, just as she had left him in his apartment six years ago.

He looked then to where Gema had perished, but the ashes weren't there either, nor any other trace of the strange creature except for the wounds it had done to his arms.

He was really alone...

He fully leaned his back against the machine, nervously running his fingers through his hair. His breathing was shaky, and his heart was pounding. That unexpected encounter with that creature, that sudden warning by his own mother... All that did nothing more than emphasize what had concluded after that session with Samara, and everything he had seen and felt in her. What he hadn't told Matilda because there was no easy way to explain it.

What was happening to Samara Morgan was something much more dangerous than the psychiatrist had realized, something that surpassed her, him, or even Eleven... Something that, in effect, could lead them all straight to their deaths…

END OF CHAPTER 32

Author's Notes:

—Lynn Sear is based on the character of the same name from the movie Sixth Sense of 1999, respecting the events of the original film until the final moment of it.

#cole sear #lynn sear #sixth sense #Matilda Wormwood #matilda #Samara Morgan #the ring #shining among darkness #resplandor entre tinieblas #wingzemonx #fanfic

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