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phoenixyfriend · 3 years

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Fake Sith TCW Trio

I have another fucked up time-travel AU! Who’s surprised? (Nobody.)

So like. Have you guys read that one fic where Luke and his students go back in time and pretend to be Sith Lords and are super hammy about it? (Sith Lord Swell by AMournfulHowlInTheNight)

This AU has contributions by @atagotiak, @the-lunar-system, @purronronner, @gelpenss, @creepingthroughthistidalwave, and @thisarenotarealblog.

I want TCW trio (plus Rex and Cody) to go back to several years pre-TPM and, since the Council DEFINITELY won't believe them about the Sith being back... they'll force the issue.

Anakin is weirdly excited about things and building up their backstory.

Anakin: Okay so I can definitely be a Maul type, with the unhinged ranting and manic laughter, Obi-Wan can be the whole Refined Rich Guy type like Dooku, where you can't even tell he's evil until he starts talking about getting out the eyeball scoops, maybe toss in a bit of mad science stuff? Ahsoka could play up like Ventress OR, oh oh, she can be the Light Side Child we need to PROTECT who's publicly begging us to return to the Light after our big dramatic Falls where we murdered like eighty people to save her, and-- Obi-Wan: Why are you never this enthusiastic about actual undercover missions. Ahsoka: Did you just have all this ready to go, or...? Anakin: WE COULD GET YELLOW CONTACT LENSES FOR ME.

Obi-Wan: How's my evil laugh?

Anakin going “Okay.. so if any of us need to murder someone to sell the bit it should be me, I think I could handle it the best. Why? No reason.”

Obi-Wan: I'm not sure a complete Fall could come from protecting Ahsoka, really-- Anakin: No, no, it could.

Obi-Wan: Surely you’d hold back because you realize neither of us want that for you. Anakin: Uh. Sure. Definitely.

Obi-Wan points out that none of them can channel the dark side to Prove they're Sith and Anakin just goes "Okay, give me like two seconds to stew in my negativity and--right, you can stop staring in horror, please."

Anakin rambles on that they can TOTALLY make the galaxy a better place while playing at being Sith! He's got a whole LIST of slave empires to "take over" and disassemble!

Anakin has a whole excited spiel about how EVIL soldiers and assistants are minions, in this case partly because Cody and Rex are too good at what they do to be mooks. Cody could pull off evil minion very well. Facial scar? Looks good in black? Quietly competent and sarcastic?

He also pushes for Obi-Wan to lounge in a fancy throne with a glass of wine while Anakin stalks the shadows and Ahsoka hangs out on the window ledge. The disaster lineage is dramatic, okay, Anakin’s just leaning into it, he’d appreciate it if everyone stopped looking at him like that.

Qui-Gon, surprisingly, ends up a skeptic about all of this. Everyone is freaking out about the Sith and he’s like “y’know I’m not even sure they’re darksiders.”

Some Jedi, possibly Qui-Gon for his conspiracy board, gets in a real risky situation and one of the Fake Sith saves them, but also panics and kinda drops character for a bit.

Jedi: You saved me! Why’d you do that? Anakin: I uh... just wanted the pleasure of killing you myself?

"You saved me. Why?" "Mmmm. Jedi." [walks away]

Qui-Gon: [trying to figure out what is up with these people semi-competently (from his perspective) pretending to be Sith] Dooku: [trying to protect Qui-Gon from Sith influence]

The gang is the most successful at pretending to be Sith to Dooku. Sure, they’re not gonna punish him for something he hasn’t done, but it’s not hard to act menacing and angry around him.

(They really do have so much fun irritating the heck out of Dooku. He hasn’t Fallen yet, but they want to keep an eye out.)

At some point, future Obi-Wan definitely drops that little tidbit of "What, you didn't think the Banites were the only Sith running around did you? You... didn't even know about the Banites. How... disappointing."

They REGULARLY use Ahsoka as an excuse to be marginally less terrible. They claim that if Ahsoka pouts, they stop. ‘Soka also uses them as an excuse for why she’s a lil feral. (To be fair, that one is accurate. She was already a lil feral before but it’s not like they did anything to stop it.) Ahsoka gets her "breaking into people's offices" jollies by bugging Nute Gunray's office.

The Jedi keep trying to Rescue Ahsoka.

Rex and Cody end up in real beskar, there's a whole Thing with Mandalore and Jango and Satine.

Obi-Wan is CONSISTENTLY worried about Anakin Falling for real, which... hey, at least he knows to be worried about Anakin Falling. Step up from canon, really.

Anakin is WAY too into killing the Hutts but like. It does... technically sell the bit.

Obi-Wan: Sure, I’m not sad that they’re dead, especially because we’re not connected to the Republic, so we don’t need to worry about starting a war and all that. But. Anakin is disturbingly cheerful about this. Rex: Wasn't he a Hutt slave? Obi-Wan: Well yes, but-- Rex: I'd kill Nala Se if I could get away with it.

Cody and Rex are very supportive of Anakin's murderous intentions.

Obi-Wan does understand anger, even killing someone in anger. Like Maul (the first time at least) and D’nar and a few others. All the same, like... y’know. The level of bloodthirst from the others is a little off-putting.

At one point, Anakin accidentally addresses young Obi-Wan by name, despite never having met before, and to cover it up, he... panic-flirts. He panics, and so he flirts, with young Obi-Wan.

(He will later blame this on old Obi-Wan, because he had to pick up the habit of flirting with the enemy from somewhere.)

Anakin vaguely implies that he's a wee bit obsessed with young Obi, and that the padawan should "get used to being the target of a dark-sider's interests," because he’s scrambling for Ominous Shit and, well, future Obi-Wan was pretty frequently a fixation point for darksiders, right?

The second he gets out, he just starts screaming into a bucket while Rex pats him on the back.

For the next however many terrible months, possibly years, he has to keep up the act while having an ongoing meltdown about how That's My Dad As A Twenty-Something.

(It doesn't help that young Obi-Wan reflexively flirted back.)

Old Obi-Wan, meanwhile, is just very "you dug this hole yourself, padawan."

There is an argument at the beginning about Obi-Wan’s outfit. If he’s gonna be a Sith, he can’t just go around in beige, but he’s like “I like this and it’s comfy.” Sure, he’s changed clothes for undercover stuff, but that’s always been temporary, y’know? He likes his beige.

We have a number of options.

My first instinct? Beige linen three piece suit, like a southern lawyer. "Now I may just be a simple Outer Rim force adept--"

And, of course, you can TOTALLY make the beige sinister: he’s impersonating a Jedi! Jedi impersonation would also explain why nobody has a red saber.

“Sure is good that the Jedi don’t seem to realize most of the galaxy doesn’t know red sabers are different and bad.” “Shhhh, stop poking holes in our story where a Jedi might overhear.”

Like.... if you do enough doublethink, it works! How would a Sith hide? In plain sight. Also, it’s a GREAT way (if they were actually assholes) to try to slander the Jedi name.

(Anakin and Ahsoka still think he could stand to put a little more effort in. Add a splash of color, for pity's sake!)

Though tbh part of me is like “What if Old Obi wore, like... a split skirt suit...” Victorian womenswear inspired because he misses his robes, but he has to look Professional, and like he's MOCKING Jedi instead of BEING one, so he wears a vintage-y split skirt thing over his leggings. Ends up looking a lot like what Ventress had for a while, but Beige. I also keep wanting to put him regency menswear.

Anyway. Obi-Wan’s wardrobe aside...

Anakin builds up his Tatoo accent again. It helps him with the (mostly true) "slavery helped me fall" backstory.

Either Cody or Rex offhandedly mentions being made to serve them (the Fake Sith) and now the Jedi are somewhat concerned about brainwashing. Are these Mandos the victims here?

“No like. Literally made for this. In a lab.” This is even more horrifying. So...

On the one hand good! The Jedi should be scared about Sith! On the other hand... it makes the Jedi more determined to stop them, specifically. They keep on getting in the way, just, all the time, and they’re not investigating the actual Sith problem, which is decidedly not great since the Team doesn’t actually know who’s a real Sith right now, except Maul, and who even knows where that guy is.

Obi-Wan, at some point: Do you think we've succeeded at this ruse... a little TOO well? Anakin: I don't follow. Obi-Wan, gesturing at the truly obnoxious amount of wealth they've collected, including "trophies" of their kills: Really? Because I'm a little worried! Anakin, planning out a battle to take on Nar Shadda: ...I'm not.

"How many people do we realistically we need to take over Hutt Space? Apparently... five."

(Mostly because Anakin is ridiculously op.)

ANAKIN AND YOUNG OBI GET KIDNAPPED BY PIRATES TOGETHER. It's tradition.

Anakin: Okay, so, I need to get really angry about something to pass as a Sith... time to think about my WIFE and how I'll NEVER SEE HER AGAIN.

Since Anakin’s life never goes as planned... this does not work. Instead of getting properly angry, he makes himself sad. There are tears. There is wailing. There’s a distraught rant or two. Young Obi ends up awkwardly trying to comfort him.

“Oh no, this… Sith?? Is crying on me. What do I do???”

Later on, when the Council wants intel: "So... one of the Sith cried on me about his wife. I think she's dead? He wasn't very clear about it but it, uh... it sounded like it might have contributed to his Fall. Also the relationship was a little unhealthy? He basically worshiped the ground she walked on and kept ranting about how he would have given her the galaxy on a platinum platter of she'd only asked, but that might be new and inspired by the Dark."

One of the random Jedi is REALLY good at detecting the truth Through The Force, and asks Anakin how he Fell...

Anakin just. Tells the Tuskens story.

They don't get pinged as lying, but oh boy does old Obi have a LOT of questions for Anakin once they're in private.

There are other things happening to help sell the ruse. Some of them are necessary! Some of them are... not.

Obi-Wan: What's the best way to show we're rich and kind of evil, but like... classy about it? Anakin, immediately: I sit on the floor next to the throne, leaning against it, and you call me pet names while stroking my hair, and then when you need something killed I get to do it for you and then I go back to the floor and you thank me for the directed violence, and then you go back to Negotiations with criminals while I’m sitting there covered in blood. Obi-Wan: ...is there something you want to TELL us, or...?

"You're all going to get a glimpse of something normally kept hidden about me." "Anakin, you don't have to do that." "No, I'm gonna."

(Anakin has decided hes going to peel his kink tomato to sell this ruse, and the others are slightly uncomfortable with that.)

Anakin: Okay, I cannot keep flirting with you. Young Obi: Wait, what? But that's the best part of any time we run into you! Anakin: You look WAY too much like my Master did when I met him. Obi: O...kay? If someone looked like my master when HE was young, I'd-- Anakin: My Sith Master half-raised me. He's basically my dad. Obi: ... Anakin: What's that look for? Obi: I mean, you spend a lot of time lounging at his feet, and, like, given how much you hate slavery, I... kind of assumed it was a kink thing? Anakin, brightly: Oh no, I just have a LOT of trauma. And neuroses. Snips says they’re neuroses.

Young Obi is a little upset because he was actually getting REALLY into Flirting With The Enemy and was hoping it would go somewhere. He mopes to Qui-Gon about it. Qui-Gon isn't sure whether to be proud about Obi breaking rules, or worried over Obi-Wan falling for a Fake Sith.

(As Tia put it: "You enjoy making young Obi-Wan have a completely unrequited crush on Anakin, don’t you?")

Fortunately, one of those attractive Young Mando boys very kindly helped him tape up his ribs this one time, and has thus caught his eye...

I feel like having Cody date Young Obi would court an entirely different kind of (internet) drama because clone ages, but whatever.

Also please imagine an element of "so I'm dating the genetic identical of my boss... who's dating the man I'm a genetic identical of..."

(It's probably not actually Jangobi but man would that be funny and also stupid.)

Somehow Young Obi figures out that the "Sith Master" is a future him before he realizes that they're not actually dark. In his defense, Anakin was pretty convincing. Especially with the wife rant. It makes HIM more obsessed with Anakin, in a reversal of the implied earlier dynamic, which is all kinds of weird. Less romantic but like. Still weird.

"Future Me Scares Me" with Extra stupid. "Future Me Annoys Me." "Future Me acts like grandmaster Dooku, but more sass." "Future Me raised a really hot evil guy that refuses to bang Present Me." "Future Me might be a Sith, but I'm getting more and more convinced he's just fucking with us all." "Future Me is really rocking that beard, and I can't BELIEVE we figured out a way around the babyface."

"I’m kinda concerned about the whole evil thing, but I’m also glad that I know I’ll stay hot as I get older."

Quinlan approves of the priorities.

Also a lot of interactions with older Obi are very Anakin: [does/says something deeply unhinged] Obi-Wan: So, do you want to…. Talk about that? Maybe? Anakin: What’s there to talk about?? I’m fine, everything’s fine! Anyways how about those plans for tracking down Maul?

Anakin later, like way after the ruse is lifted, just blankly tells everyone that he did Fall, once, and Older Obi made him get therapy about it after the truth came out between the two of them a few months into the Fake Sith thing.

Where'd they find a therapist? I'm sure there's one SOMEWHERE around. Denon and Herdessa are close enough, and they've done enough "your criminal empire now belongs to me" that they can pay well. They make sure to find one that takes confidentiality real seriously.

It's all very "we need some more time to unpack all that."

Therapy helps get Anakin to figure out Sheev’s whole deal. They don't necessarily figure out he’s a Sith from it, but they figure out he’s sketchy and they need to look into that more. Obi-Wan probably already thought he was sketchy, but the whole active gaslighting campaign was a little surprising. They realize that he kinda benefited a lot from a lot of Sith plots and they still probably don’t think he’s a Sith but Obi-Wan is definitely starting to think he’s working with one.

"Okay, we're already bugging Gunray, should we bug Palpatine just to be safe?"

They get away with a lot of slicing because Anakin is a technical genius from twenty years in the future.

The reasons they're so good at Taking Over Hutt Space: 1. They know parts of the future. 2. They have superpowers and FAR less reason to not use them, now that their actions aren't going to reflect on the Republic. 3. They have Cody and Rex, who are two of the greatest military minds in the galaxy, and know EXACTLY how to wage a war that covers a solid third of the galaxy, starting from a position of relative weakness. 4. Anakin's charisma is scary high, and his knowledge of slave culture means they gain a lot of trust from the people they free, and they just... keep acquiring volunteers for the army they didn't plan to have. Obi-Wan doesn't know what to do. He thinks they might have started a cult?

In his defense, Dooku sort of started a cult, and Komari got kidnapped by a cult, brainwashed into joining it properly, and then took it over as head figure of said cult. It's practically tradition!

Comics Vader is the central figure of like three different cults, it was really just inevitable.

Anakin: Aw, don't worry master, it's not a cult, it's a revolution! Ahsoka: They're worshiping him, though. Anakin: ...it's still a revolution! Just... with some misunderstandings.

Also, if they got wind of people trying to keep people from being able to leave and other culty stuff like that, they’d probably put a stop to it pretty damn quick.

Names! Time for names. As per usual, it's easiest to keep track of Obi-Wan's alternate Older Self by just calling him Ben.

Darth Ben.

Ahsoka: You should be Darth Boring. Obi-Wan: I can still make you run laps, you know.

Anakin: The Force is telling me to call myself Darth Vader. Obi-Wan: ...why? Anakin: I dunno, but it sounds cool, I'll run with it.

Someone: Ben has all the answers; we shouldn’t question him, ever. Ben: One time I lost a planet, and a five-year-old found it for me.

More options: Going with the "evil word with the prefix 'in' chopped off" that we get with Sidious and Vader: Darth Surrectus (as in insurrection) Just random Latin words: Darth Temporus (time) Darth Commenticius (fake)

Anyway, back to Nonsense:

Maul goes after young Obi early, because the Fake Sith are really invested in this one random Padawan (Sidious is saying he might be a cousin of the false Sith Master? They do look similar enough) so someone needs to investigate. Naturally, Anakin shows up with some wild screeching to fight Maul, and when someone questions why he got involved it gets very "Kenobi is MINE!" and like. Okay. So.

Anakin means it in a very Sith "to toy with" and "to torture" way, or the ‘my chosen opponent!’ way, just the same kind of Obsession as Maul had with Obi-Wan in the original timeline. Unfortunately, Anakin’s a weird-ass person who flirts with Young Obi against his own better judgement, so there's some awkward "Like... your boyfriend?" from young Obi. Anakin just screeches in SOME emotion that nobody wants to interpret, and couldn't even if they wanted to, and starts whacking away at Maul again.

(Anakin hasn't explained the "you look exactly like my dad, sorry, it's just too weird" thing yet, and he is HAVING MANY REGRETS.)

There's definitely at least one instance where a person asks Anakin if he's planning on dating That One Jedi Twink, or at least banging out the tension. At that point in time, Anakin doesn't actually know who the fuck they're talking about, because "Obi-Wan + Twink = Does Not Compute" for dear, dense Ani, and instead he just ends up ranting about how he is LOYAL TO THE MEMORY OF HIS LATE WIFE, how DARE anyone so much as INSINUATE that he would TARNISH HER PERFECT MEMORY and UNWAVERING KINDNESS and WHOLESOME BEING, and the person who asked doesn't end up lightsabered but they do end up with a LOT to tell whoever they're reporting to.

Young Obi-Wan definitely hears Anakin mutter the phrase “something to discuss with my therapist later” a few times, and he’s a little bewildered because darksiders definitely don’t seem like the type of people to go to therapy. They’re the type of people to need therapy, sure, but not the type to go to therapy.

I think it would be very fun for Young Obi to continue sighing over Anakin (who's pretending to be fine with it and even flirting back because he's in too deep to stop and hasn't worked up the courage to explain the elephant in the room) while Anakin is covered in grease and infodumping while having a slightly manic hyperfocus on engine repairs while the two of them Somehow got stranded together in the middle of bumfuck nowhere (it's Plagueis's doing, he finds the interactions between THESE two in particular to be the most informative regarding the fake Sith).

Anakin, at some point while stranded with young Obi-Wan, and having actually started unpacking some stuff in therapy, though he’s def still got a ways to go: I’m pretty sure Ben cares about me. He acts like he cares, like he’ll do stuff like put extra blankets in my quarters in the spaceship because I get cold real easily or track down those droid parts I need for a project and he always has my back in a fight but y’know it’d be nice to hear him say he loves me once in a while. Especially because we kinda had a rough start and idk I don’t think he wanted me around at first.

And uh. Obi-Wan definitely relates to that a bit too much, y’know?

I want to say that Young Obi ends up mentioning All That to one of the clones or Ahsoka later, because they seem probably invested in Anakin's well-being, even if Ben is, well, a Sith, so Obi-Wan's a little worried the man's affection really is fake, but at least Ahsoka...

(Ironic, given what Anakin's actual eventual Sith would-be-Master was like.)

Young Obi mentions Anakin’s most recent rant to Ahsoka, and she just goes "Wait, is that why Skyguy likes to sit by the throne and get called pet names?" "Uh... I don't... know... but it sounds like all of you have a LOT to unpack there, Miss Apprentice."

Later on: "Master Kenobi, you need to tell Skyguy you love him 'cause apparently he's been having a lot of emotions about you not telling him you care and he's been talking to mini-you about it whenever they get stuck together and--"

Young Obi-Wan is just constantly the "Now we don't have time to unpack all of that" John Mulaney gif. Anakin in particular is a mess, and young Obi-Wan slowly goes from "I want to date that" to "I want to study that" about him.

Obi-Wan gets stuck somewhere with Ben, tries to small talk, gets on the topic of Vader, and spills the drama. He gets an awkward “Thank you for bringing that to my attention.”

It’s followed by a fairly frustrated “I try, but Anakin refuses to communicate his needs to me, and it feels like I’m always falling short.”

At least one member of the group is in therapy, probably all of them, but they’re still using young Obi as a sounding board for all this stuff. On the bright side, this is probably good for impressing the importance of good communication on Obi-Wan.

Good for Obi-Wan! And... whatever Padawan he eventually has.

As for baby Anakin, who is approximately age four, I want to go with "Anakin decides to be his own uncle, and Shmi just rolls with it because fuck it, she’s not a slave anymore, and a Fake Sith is a solid defense against anyone trying to re-enslave them."

[This is a backstory I've had them use before (see here and here).]

Seeing Big Ani and Little Ani in the same space might be what finally pings the "oh shit, that's future me" thing for Obi-Wan... you know, if he’s ever allowed close enough to see Little Ani in the first place.

Little Ani stays with the fake-Sith and is sorta jointly trained by all of them, and young Obi-Wan teaches little 'Soka at the Temple. Ani and 'Soka still end up friends somehow, but it is fairly different.

Every time little Ani addresses Old Obi as "Dad," it's just like ten kinds of awkward. The one time someone tried to explain that Ben wasn't his new dad, Shmi glared them down. She is of the opinion that, all the gods be damned, Ani deserves to refer to the most mature man in his life, who raised another him in another timeline already, as a father.

Ani doesn't NEED a father, Shmi herself is more than enough, but he does deserve to have this if he wants it.

An alternative conclusion to the time travel is uh. So the Mandalorians are genetically identical (give or take a hair gene) and really resemble Jango Fett, though whether anyone notices that is up in the air. Then the three ‘Sith’ (two fake Sith and their morality chain tag-along) have three younger, identical copies show up….

It could be really weird cloning shenanigans. Now, it makes no sense that they’d make clones, and stagger their production like that, and leave them as babies on various planets for Jedi to find. IDK what reasons Obi-Wan would come up with for that, but it’s a fun little detour before he gets to time travel.

There's a really painful moment (for the audience, who know about canon Vader) where someone tries to convince Ahsoka to leave the Sith and she's just like "no way, they'd never hurt me!” Then she clarifies that “someone has to keep them from doing stupid Sith shit whenever they get bored, you know?"

A bunch of Jedi probably think she’s delusional, but the few that have seen her get into trouble that is legitimately too much for her, which isn't often, have then seen Anakin show up like the devil himself to save her, and it's like. Oh. This is why she isn't scared of them hurting her.

We’ve discussed how Anakin does get concerningly in character with the fake Sith thing. However, Anakin and Ahsoka are, just once in a while, surprised by how Ben gets sometimes when playing the bad guy.

After all, he stabbed a dude with a fork and threatened to eat him during his time as Hardeen…

He has the same dramatic streak as all the rest of the lineage. He can be vindictive and creepy and scary as fuck.

HOWEVER:

Obi-Wan: I know I'm supposed to be playing at evil right now, but how do we feel about me making that evil a little... fruity? Ahsoka: Fruity, master? Anakin, who knows where this is going: [buries face in hands] Obi-Wan: You know, the... [limp wrist] Ahsoka: ... Obi-Wan: I mean, I'm already bisexual and well-groomed, I can play it up.

What’s the point of being evil if you can’t be flamboyant?

Anyway, I had to put in a lot of thought for what to do with Rex and Cody, because there's a solid place for them in terms of strategy, but it doesn't do much to give them independent narrative arcs, and 'young Obi-Wan has a crush' isn't much of an arc, you know?

So, basic info first: Cody, Rex, and Anakin all hold the rank of General in this AU because, like... who else is gonna. Ahsoka remains a commander because everyone declares her Baby, and also to keep up the "I'm a morality chain" ruse.

Cody maintains a very stern and unyielding public persona, but the second they're behind closed doors, he's roughhousing with his little brother.

Rex has some fun pretending to be a sadist whenever he and Anakin have to team up, because hamming it up as an evil bastard in front of Jedi is actually really fun... but usually, he's a competent fucking professional.

Because here's the thing: someone has to be.

They both kind of hate the army they've gotten, because these people don't even have proper trigger discipline, let alone any actual discipline.

This army? Tragic. They hate it. Give them the clones.

They have to be drill sergeants for months before they have anything worth sending onto the field.

I think that might be how/when they end up reaching out to Jango. Like, the first inroad is absolutely "we're your clones from the future and you were a Shit Dad so you owe us," but then they actually talk him around into letting the Fake Sith hire him. He brings along all the Mandalorians he can get to answer his calls, and on suggestion from Those Mando Twins, joins the army Ben doesn't even want.

Darth Boring doesn't want an army! Unfortunately, Cody thinks that's stupid as hell, and is overruling Ben so they can actually work on this 'cleaning up the galaxy of slavery' thing with actual resources.

Cody and Rex are super competent, and it shows in their horrified disdain for the state of their troops.

Rex: Fucking natborns. Anyone who isn't in the know: What's a natborn? Rex: [leaves without answering] People: WHAT'S A NATBORN???

(I'm assuming that the word smush is harder to parse in Basic.)

I think young Obi-Wan's new crush on Cody should also be unrequited. Cody's just like... bemused. Very "Okay, then, that sure is an Affection you've decided on."

Cody and Anakin both: Sorry, it’d just be too weird. Obi-Wan: Why would it be too weird? Cody and Anakin: Reasons.

Rex has to deal with the "whyyyyy" from both his brother and his (former?) General.

Young Obi-Wan just likes cute boys that fight good! Is that so wrong???

Ahsoka: So since we're not officially Jedi anymore-- Obi-Wan: We're still Je-- Ahsoka: Can we date? Can I date now? I want to date someone before we go back to the Code. It's a classic life experience for most teenage girls, and I want to Have That Experience before we're back at the Temple. Obi-Wan: You're not... you can date, Ahsoka, that's not actually banned by the Code. I mean, you'd have to keep it casual, but-- Ahsoka: I CAN DATE!!!

(Great priorities, Ahsoka.)

An idea I'm toying with is that one of the clones ends up Legally Engaged to Satine for political reasons, and young Obi-Wan is just like ???? because not only can he not date the hot boys, but one of said hot boys has become Mr. Steal Yo Girl.

Young Obi-Wan is suffering, and Quinlan is the worst friend ever because Quinlan is laughing at him.

There is obviously the question of

"How would Satine ever end up agreeing to that, given what their public personas are like and all that? She puts duty ahead of personal feelings but all indications are that it’s a terrible decision both ways." (as stated by Tia)

Which, yes, I forgot to actually say that I was imagining Jango had declared "those twins" his heirs after telling people they were his younger* cousins. Because reasons.

* Jango is about 27 when they land in the past, and I’m going to say the accelerated aging ended after hitting physically twenty because no, I don’t want to deal with that. As far as anyone knows, Cody and Rex are about five years younger than Jango. They’re less than year apart, which isn’t very visible, and most people assume they’re identical twins (except Rex’s hair), and that Cody just looks slightly older because of the scar.

Darth Boring had convinced Satine that the way to keeping Mandalore peaceful was to work with Jango (because Darth Boring, which is not his actual title but it is what Ahsoka insists on calling him in private, has a vested interest in keeping Mandalore and all interested parties calm), and he... maybe accidentally set up a political marriage between her and one of the clones.

It wasn't on purpose! Satine never married in his timeline, okay, he didn't expect her to ever get married here, either! He didn't even suggest it! This just happened!

(I want to say that Cody would be more competent at having a political marriage? But IDK.)

Do I do the Satine thing? It has potential, but also it's a bit of a cop-out. Do I have Cody be a diplomatic representative for their pseudo-Sith empire? He could be, but I think he'd hate it. Do I have Rex date one the Chaos Entities (Anakin or Ahsoka), or is that too repetitive with my other works? THERE'S JUST TOO MUCH GOING ON.

Part of me wants Quinlan to get a crush on Cody, and the crush gets bigger specifically in response to the fact that Cody refuses to take him seriously and/or just doesn't give him the time of day.

Based on their one interaction in TCW, they probably let get along ok. Cody maybe likes him back, buuuuuuut internally he's just a little "you were tolerable at almost-forty; early twenties you is obnoxious."

Just imagine the absolutely puppyish attempts at gaining approval and Impressing The Hot Mando General. Quinlan keeps having vague daydreams of seducing someone to the side of the Light. He really leans into the bodice ripper fantasies of saving someone evil with the power of love! (And also the power of really good sex.)

Bant looks at Quin and Obi and wants to throw them both into the nearest pond because they're idiots, but on this topic they are the same flavor of idiot. She considers calling up Reeft and Garen to help her knock some sense into them.

Quinlan: Can I volunteer to go undercover to the Sith? The Council: No. Quinlan: ...what if I-- The Council: No.

Tholme tries to get Qui-Gon to commiserate over their Padawans getting obsessed with Hot Sith Boys, but Qui-Gon just finds the whole thing funny. He knows from the chats he has with Ben that Anakin feels so completely, utterly, incredibly awkward about all of this.

(Ben continues to hold to "Anakin brought this on himself.")

(Ben also “kidnaps” Qui-Gon a lot.)

Also, hey, at least Quinlan isn’t actually into hot Sith boys! He’s into hot Sith minions which is... probably a step up. At least Cody’s not a Sith himself!

It's a step in some direction but Tholme has no idea which one.

(Quinlan sees Cody in dress uniform once and just keeps the mental image for Ages. It’s in his dreams. Sometimes said dreams overflow to Tholme via Force Mind Magic and Quinlan wakes up to someone smacking his face with a pillow.)

Arguably, Quin's also a lot more romantic about his crush than Obi-Wan is, in this case. Quinlan: I want to save him... Obi-Wan: Hey, hey, cute boy. Look at me. Let’s bang.

Cody: There are currently two future Jedi generals having some form of absurd romantic fixation in my direction. I don't know how to feel about this. Rex: Bed them. Cody: ...I'm not saying that's not eventually an option, but one of them is the younger Kenobi, and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that. Rex: Pat him on the head like a tooka and then bed his friend, it'll be funny.

I think the Quinlan thing and also general exasperation of leading an absolutely useless army can function pretty solidly as the basis for Cody, but I have another idea for Rex now.

Komari is currently brainwashed in a cult, yes? So.

I keep bouncing around back and forth on what to do with Rex, but part of me suddenly really likes the idea of, after Team Fake Sith finds and dissolves the cult (as one does), and takes Komari into custody (because she's dangerous and deeply unwell), Rex kind of ends up her touchstone to being a decent person. He’s not a morality chain, and it’s not really a redeemed-through-love thing, just This Is A Solid Dude who doesn't pity her or thinks she's irredeemable (however you choose to define such a thing), but actually relates to the kind of conditions living like that can involve, and just kind of...

I don’t know. I think Rex's arc in this AU could be very heavily grounded in something to the effect of "You're not the worst darksider I've met. You're not the only person who was in a cult. You're not even the only former Jedi I know that's committed awful, horrible crimes. My question is just this: What are you going to do moving forward?"

Later Anakin: Wait, who do we know that was in a cult? Rex: What did you think Kamino was?

(Rex isn't as chill as he'd like her to think, but he's trying, and she's fairly reliant on the Force to understand emotions, and is currently in nullifying cuffs, so he can bluff.)

Komari needs someone solid and dependable to rely on for at least conversation, and I think Rex needs to feel needed.

I’m not sure if it’d be romance or friendship, but I think there's a solid basis to work with, potentially.

Per Tia:

One thing about Rex and shipping is like. If you want to do Rexwalker again that's fine, but if you're worried about repetitiveness but still want to like. Ship him in a non-political-convenience way. Rexsoka here actually would be different than your other stuff.

I'm trying to figure out if I can make it work because Ahsoka thematically fits very much into a little sister shaped hole here? She feels younger than in other works, despite not actually being younger than she is in, say, Commander Buir. In those other fics, she has some time alone to function and prove herself independently of Anakin and Obi-Wan.

I usually pluck Ahsoka out at sixteen if I'm pulling her from TCW, so she's got most of her competence but hasn't gotten quite all the trauma yet. Commander Buir, in particular, also has baby-shaped Anakin for contrast.

That said, I can see a decent source of narrative conflict in her wanting to experiment with romance and all that, and Anakin trying to tell her she's too young.

A year into this whole time-travel mess, she wants to give the dating thing a shot, and it spirals into "You were only two years older than me when you got married!"

I think I could build a plot out of Ahsoka wanting to do these things, and Anakin as an audience insert not quite processing that she's old enough to make these decisions. If she's choosing to date Rex, whose age works out as being close to hers when one takes into account Kamino fuckery, and whom she trusts absolutely, it’s arguably extra weird for Anakin to be upset with it.

"Senator Amidala was five years older than you, and you married her when you were nineteen and had only really known her for a week! I can go on a date with a guy we both know is one of the most trustworthy people alive if I want, Skyguy!"

I can definitely see Ahsoka getting annoyed with Anakin being overbearing and controlling at some point before that unrelated to romance, too. It’s not exactly a new fault of his.

My god, just imagine someone snidely asking Anakin "where's your little shadow?" and Anakin, being Himself and also a Fake Sith, has an emotional breakdown about how Ahsoka yelled at him for micromanaging her and not trusting her to make her own decisions in life and so she got herself a multi-month solo mission from Ben that Anakin isn't allowed to know any details about, and--

It's another one of those "oh, you have PROBLEMS problems with your mental health" incidents for the Jedi to add to the file, because Anakin having emotionally charged rants about his issues at seemingly terrible times is how they get a lot of information.

Some of the rants are planned.

Many of them, actually.

They want the Jedi to know these things.

Just, well. Anakin.

He really is a little Like That.

On that note, I'm low-key imagining that Anakin gets put on mood stabilizers by the therapist in this context, and he's doing good! He's handling his issues! He's--been captured with Obi-Wan the Younger again and his medication was confiscated.

Anakin is... not great. He's a little out of practice managing his unmedicated self, and when adding withdrawal symptoms onto that... poor Anakin.

(Poor Obi-Wan.)

I think it would be best if Anakin makes a bunch of ominous blustery comments at their captors about how they won't like what's coming to them if they take his belongings (AKA the fanny pack that has his backup pills), and then Obi-Wan just gets to watch Anakin get more and more erratic, because like. Yes, Anakin is using the Force to compensate, but unfortunately he's mostly cut off, and the stress of the situation is pushing him away from depression and into the beginnings of a manic episode.

Anakin is aware of his issues to the point where he's mostly managing, and he keeps asking Obi-Wan "would it make sense for me to [slightly deranged, very impulsive action]," and Obi-Wan realizes he's being the morality sounding board for the Hot Sith because ??? reasons?????

Eventually, Anakin does flop back in bed and dramatically throws his arm over his eyes, and says he needs his meds back, he's absolutely going to lose it, and Obi-Wan tentatively asks what kind of medication. There are levels to worry about. Mild allergy medication is one thing, but heart medication that needs to be taken every four hours is another, you know? He wants to know how much panic is appropriate.

Anakin lets him know that it's Psychiatric In Nature. Obi-Wan suddenly realizes that he really, really, really doesn't want to know what a properly erratic, unmedicated Anakin is like.

(An unmedicated Anakin really isn't nearly as bad as Obi-Wan fears. Anakin's been dealing with this for a while, and knows what his issues are and some of how to deal with them. He'd need to be running on no sleep and higher levels of stress, or to have been drugged with something meant to increase his aggression, to really lose his shit and do something worthy of Vader. RotS levels of stress and sleep deprivation is required to pull RotS levels of manic paranoid delusion.)

Tia asked:

How long does it take the Jedi in general to catch on to how like. They have opportunities. But these Sith never seem to harm any Jedi. And it’s not just like, the past timeline parts of the disaster lineage. They probably get opportunities to hurt other Jedi. Ones that are less skilled at saber work. And more importantly ones that they don’t seem weirdly interested in."

I'm not sure, really. The Jedi don't spend as much time in the Outer Rim as they could, and that's where the Team operates, so actually running into them by accident is unlikely for anyone other than Shadows.

Fortunately, it's really easy to toy with Shadows with the excuse of "I want to see how long it takes before you Fall with us."

I do want like... okay. Here’s the mental image:

Qui-Gon calls them out on being Fake Sith pretty quickly, so Ben just sort of eyes him, dramatically, and orders out "Leave us" to all non-team people. The threat of torture is implied but not stated. He gestures with wine to keep in character. He definitely makes sure Young Obi-Wan is ushered out, so it's just five time travelers, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Ahsoka's immortal force birb.

"...so, what's the reason for the farce, Obi-Wan?" "How in all the hells did you figure it out so quickly?"

(Qui-Gon cheated a bit. He could feel the broken training bond that was never properly severed due to Traumatic Death Of A Master on Ben's end)

Ben didn't realize he'd feel it! Young Obi-Wan can't feel his older self or a training bond with Anakin or Ahsoka, so why could Qui-Gon?

IDK if there would be anything on the level of crying and hugging it out, but I think it would be very funny if, every time young Obi and Anakin are getting captured by pirates or something, Ben and Qui-Gon are just having a nice afternoon tea and checking their watches to see if their respective walking bundles of neuroses are done with their adventure yet.

The Council is So Done, because Qui-Gon continues to insist that they're Not That Bad, but every time anyone other than Qui-Gon brings up the friendship, Ben laughs and makes a comment about how absolutely gullible Master Jinn is.

Obi-Wan is skeptical of his own experiences with Anakin, at least, if only because he's skeptical about Anakin's everything.

"I don't know if Vader is telling me the truth. I don't know if he's telling himself the truth. I don't think he's a great source of information even when he thinks he's being honest."

Anakin could tell Obi-Wan the full and complete truth, and Obi-Wan would worriedly put a hand to his forehead and start doing tests for hallucinations and paranoid delusions. In his defense, this is a very reasonable assumption to make with an individual like Anakin. It's just also not accurate, this time. I don’t know if Anakin hallucinates in canon without a weird inciting incident like Force Nonsense or getting drugged by the enemy, but paranoid delusion is pretty much all of RotS.

"I’m your time-traveling padawan who’s pretending to be a Sith to catch some other Sith who’re going to start a galactic civil war and those Mandalorians you like are from a clone army based on a template of Jango Fett made to serve the Jedi (because that’s totally something he’d sign up for), and one of the Sith is your grandmaster but he doesn’t seem to have fallen yet, it’s probably fine," is hard to believe.

Honestly, even if he seemed stable before saying that, which he doesn’t, it’s all real far fetched. There's a lot going on and Obi-Wan wouldn't even begin to believe it without evidence.

I've had it in my head that he and Bant and Quinlan have been gossiping about the mess for months if not years about these idiots, and at one point it became common knowledge that Ben was a Kenobi, and Bant convinced them (since the two were among the most likely in the entire Order to encounter the Fake Sith) to get a DNA sample, probably hair or blood since that's easiest so they can figure out HOW these two are related, if they are, and then there's a whole big thing.

Bant: No, no, this must be contaminated, it's coming up as Obi-Wan! Are you sure you didn't accidentally grab some of your own hairs? I know it's a little long for most of your hair, but the braid-- Quinlan: Wait, they keep claiming stuff about cloning, right? Maybe someone's a clone? Check for artificial telomeres! Bant: ...okay, so, there aren't any artificial telomeres, but the ones from apparently-Ben are... a lot shorter... um... I don't know what to do with this. It's like I have two samples from the same person, twenty years apart. Quinlan: Obi-Wan, what's that face? Why are you-- Obi-Wan: Vader told me he was a time-traveler. I thought it was the fever talking, but...

That’s how he finds out that Ben is future-him before finding out about how he’s not evil!

"Master Jinn... I think... I think the Sith controlling the Outer Rim is me from the future." "Oh, you finally figured it out?" "I AM HAVING A CRISIS HERE."

Obi-Wan, after a few hours of dazed realization, runs screaming to Quinlan and Bant like 'GUYS GUYS THIS EXPLAINS WHY VADER KEPT SAYING IT WAS WEIRD AND THAT I LOOK LIKE HIS MASTER AND THAT IT WOULD BE LIKE DATING HIS DAD.'

You know, the important stuff.

I think Qui-Gon tells him that Ben isn't evil because, like, That Sure Is A Crisis Obi-Wan's Having. He could hold off for shits and giggles, sure, but Obi-Wan’s on the edge of something Really Concerning, mentally. Best help calm him down on at least one or two things.

Obi-Wan’s maybe still a little skeptical until he confronts them over it. Because their Sith act was real good and also like. Maybe Qui-Gon just wants to believe the best of his Padawan, y’know?

Quinlan runs into Ben before Obi-Wan does, after this whole mess, and gets to observe as money changes hands and people act like sore winners about bets made for When Does Obi-Wan Figure It Out.

Anakin was saying 'soon' because he really didn't think the fever-fueled rant would be discounted as easily as it was.

Cody was of the opinion that it would take at least a few more years since they're actually pretty damn good at this whole schtick.

Quinlan: Wow, he's... going to be really disappointed that you have such a low opinion of his intelligence. Cody, gesturing at Ben: Experience. Darth Ben: ಠ_ಠ

Cody just rattles off some of the Extremely Stupid Shit that Ben's done in their time working together.

Rex cheerily offers up "You didn't even realize General Skywalker was married, sir! And they weren't subtle!" "I knew they were together, I just didn--" "Everyone knew they were together, sir. Everyone."

(Rex had the lowest opinion of their deductive capabilities. He claims it would have taken until Baby Ahsoka showed up at the Jedi Temple.)

-Once Obi-Wan accepts that they're decent people after all- Obi-Wan: Wow, Anakin, you're real good at acting unhinged! Anakin: Haha. Yeah. Thanks?

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nevertheless-moving · 3 years

Text

Unnamed Extremely Bad Plan to Defeat Darth Sideous AU - SW AU NO 9

Hopefully writing down this star wars au will help me exorcise the cringe demon that helped midwife it. Time travel au where obi-wan and Anakin come up with an extremely SPECIFIC and UNCOMFORTABLE plan to defeat Palpatine because it unfortunately, would actually work, as it capitalizes on one of Palpatine’s easiest to reach political vulnerabilities. This is not a unique plan- there are other au’s like this, but this one is mine. When searching for ways to explain exactly why this anti-sith strategy inspires such cringe and delight in myself I realized, with sinking dread, I have seen this in an Always Sunny episode...which yeah. I might be over reacting but hey, cringe is a personal phenomenon, everyone’s different.

Anyway! Uh here’s a bunch of plot that will eventually culminate in the plan.

*Too much plot, aaaah*. **All plot actually.** ***Its 1 am and this is still a draft*** ****It’s 2am**** *****This post will be just be background I guess.*****

*******STAR WARS AU NO 9 LAZILY OUTLINED CHAPTER ONE*********

Force ghosts Darth Vader and Ben Kenobi have had time to yell at one another without need for breath, and have more-or-less come to terms with the trainwreck that was their shared life. I wouldn’t call them well adjusted, but they’re more stable then they were the last decade or so of their living existence.

In haunting Luke, they end up encountering an artifact in an ancient Willis temple that offers spirits the chance to fix the mistakes they made in life. It doesn’t truly unwrite what’s been done, but it lets you create an alternate timeline. So this galaxy will still be what it is, but some alternate galaxy somewhere could at least have it better. Its almost never been used, because becoming one with the force usually lets you accept the past, but viewed objectively, Vader and Ben’s lives involved an extreme amount of yikes. They say goodbye to Luke and are flung backwards and sideways.

Anakin is holding his mother as she dies. Obi-Wan is landing on Genosis.

Vader just barely manages to avoid slaughtering the tuskens. To be honest, he doesn’t really get why he shouldn’t- his moral compass is still pretty f-ed up. He’s fairly certain the force is just torturing him, but still he controls himself (for Padme for Luke for Leia).

I’m gonna say well-adjusted!Vader sees murder in general as more of a vice than a sin- on par with having a beer. And really well adjusted Vader is willing to admit to himself that he’s an alcoholic, he seriously cannot regulate, its a problem. He really can’t let himself go, because he’ll just end up spiraling. And so he restrains himself and only seriously maims a few of the adult raiders.

Vader figures he can always come back later and slowly torture them to death if this whole ‘save the future’ thing doesn’t pan out.

Obi-wan leaves his shuttle and hides under a rock for 30 minutes. He calculates thats just enough time for him to pretend he went on an extremely effective and sneaky fact finding mission- just in case anyone checks R4′s records. Gets back in shuttle and gets the fuck out of there, much to Dooku’s chagrin, who lost sight of him after the shuttle landed and is now going to have to switch to one of his alternate start-the-war plans.

On the flight back he reports everything to the council- fallen Dooku and the separatist leaders, the trade federation and the massive droid army, Jango Fett the clone template of the republic army (?) working for the separatists. He briefly comms Anakin, but anyone hacking into their conversations would hear only a nonsensical, rambling conversation. Later, a hacker might turn over the idea that they were speaking in elaborate code, but why would Jedi invent such a thing during peacetime?

The war still starts; at this point in the timeline it was inevitable; the artifact was only designed to give them the chance to correct their own failings, not the galaxy’s. Palpatine still gets his emergency powers.

The same day the armies are discovered, separatist war ships take off to engulf Ryloth. The Jedi are instructed by the senate to lead the clone army and provide immediate relief-this will not be a repeat of the republic’s inaction on Naboo. It’s both better and worse than the first Battle of Genosis. So many more civilians are caught in the crossfire. The first titanic battle is not contained to evacuated droid factories, but rages across an entire populated world. The battle lasts for weeks.

The main reason this fight is less deadly is solely due to the fact that General Kenobi manages to maneuver his way into high command of the entire army.

“I believe assumptions were made since I was the first point of contact with Kamino, Masters,” the Knight explained apologetically to the arriving high council members. “I realize its not quite appropriate, but for right now I am the Jedi most familiar with our forces and the enemies. I would, of course, prefer to cede the role to someone else.”

The assembled Jedi can feel the truth in that statement.

“For better or for worse, advance troops were directed by the senate to land planetside and have met heavy resistance. I managed to redirect them to a more defensible position, where they can provide surface based cover fire for incoming reinforcements. The battle has already begun.” He received a grim nod of approval from Master Windu.

“I feel the need to say now, that if there’s one thing I learned from my time as a general on Melida/Dann, or in working against Death Watch on Mandalore, its that having a clear chain of command is vital for a military to succeed. I don’t need to remind some of you that leadership breakdowns were what ultimately ended both the Stark Hyperspace War and the Yinchorri Crisis,” Masters Koon and Tiin exchanged looks before deliberately sending forth a small force wave of approval, understanding where this briefing was leading.

“I believe that unnecessarily restructuring command before the battle is won here could do far more harm than good.” The reminder of Obi-wan’s unusually militaristic apprenticeship put some of the assembled knights at ease even as it inspired a twinge of guilt in the older masters.

“In command you are, General Kenobi,” Master Yoda finally acknowledged. “A Jedi Master you will be, once done this battle is. Have us do, what would you?”

The battle lasts for weeks, and when its over, the commanding Jedi and Troopers involved will openly acknowledge that had anyone else been in command, it would’ve lasted months, if not years. Facing down logistical, strategic, and tactical problems on a scale unheard of for a thousand years, High General Kenobi does not falter.

Enemy reinforcements seem unending. For all their preparation, every single trooper is new to war, and secretly concerned that should they fall, they will be replaced with cadets who hadn’t even finished their training.

Obi-Wan is putting out fires before they can start. Much to their shock, clone commanders are informed that they will, for the time being, remain in charge of their troops. With a handful of exceptions, Jedi ‘Generals’ were in fact, to be treated as a cross between highly skilled commandoes and advisors with abnormally sourced field intelligence.

“All of you have spent your lives training to lead your brothers into combat. The Jedi Masters and knights who are being assigned to your divisions have not received such training.”

General Kenobi addressed the division commanders, some in person, some over holocomm. All focused in rapt attention as their General reordered the shape of their lives using language they could understand.

“The command structure I am issuing is designed to maximize our ability to utilize our respective strategic capabilities, while minimizing potential loss of your life. It will be our great privilege to serve alongside such an army, and while I fully expect a complementary exchange of knowledge in time, for now, focus on survival.”

The Jedi received similar briefings, tailored for their broader array of combat and military experience. Some, including Jedi Master Pong Krell and Grandmaster Yoda, were pulled aside and tasked with the essential mission of infiltrating and destroying the Droid factories on Genosis. If they were to have a chance of winning this war, they they would need to cut off the seemingly unceasing flow of droid reinforcements.

An elite squadron of Arctroopers and Jedi field operatives were covertly dispatched, Grandmaster Yoda himself in command. Considering Count Dooku had yet to appear anywhere near Ryloth...the grandmaster had the best chance of bringing in the fallen separatist leader alive for questioning.

Shortly after they left, Anakin arrived, having finally turned over Padme’s protection to her regular guard. With the military creation vote past, the assassination risk was considered minimal. The real delay in his arrival came from her repeated attempts to join the Grand Army of the Republic on Ryloth with the intent of coordinating humanitarian assistance. Eventually he managed to convince her that she could do more good in the senate.

After all, he pointed out, someone would need to followup the military creation act with a bill to grant clones equal citizen rights. Otherwise, the legal grey area that cloning fell under and their non-republic origin would inadvertently make the clones slaves.

His borrowed Nabooan cruiser entered the warzone with the grace and efficiency as a small neutron bomb.

Those close enough to see its flaming descent watched in horror, realizing that the high generals own padawan would likely be a war casualty before he ever engaged in combat.

The legion nearest to soon-to-be-ground-zero, under the command of Captain Rex of the 501st, were distracted by heated combat, as the temporary barricade they had put up to defend the civilian population gave way to droidika artillery.

While reloading, several dozen troopers happened to look up to see a speck detach itself from the hull as at spiraled in the lower atmosphere. Hope spread that the Jedi had managed to activate some sort of eject hatch. A skilled shocktrooper could probably control and and survive such a fall with luck, which mean a Jedi almost certainly could.

A few tactical scouts charged with watching the skies confirmed that the speck was indeed a humanoid. No chute was visible, but even 8 days into the war, rumors had already spread about how Master Windu had passed off his chute mid-air to a troopers who had been damaged by suppressing fire, cushioning his free fall solely with the tank he crushed upon landing.

Only one trooper, stationed in the town clock tower specifically to track the Padawan’s arrival and issued with a high-resolution farscope, saw the whole thing. Fortunately for his credibility later, in its current setting, the scope automatically logged photos every 5 seconds, ensuring that for years to come Obi-Wan would have a flipbook as evidence that he was not the crazy one.

CT-3609 or Blink (as he was named after winning the division wide staring contest on Kamino two year prior) forwarded the trajectory of the vehicle to command, who confirmed his analysis that it would impact two clicks out from their makeshift fort and not present a risk to civilian or trooper lives.

As it traversed the stratosphere a figure (desperate repair droid, Blink assumed) emerged from the cockpit to perch on the nose of the ship. As it entered the troposphere, it became painfully obvious that the figure jutting out from the hull of the ship was in fact not a humanoid droid, but an unarmored human. The Jedi stood on the prow of the ship, seemingly impervious to and oblivious of:

air resistance

centrifugal force

normal space gravity

Blink’s slack-jawed bewilderment

the flames engulfing the ship below him

At this range, the smirk on the man’s face was visible (man? boy? kriff is he even through puberty?). Several miles above the surface he leaped, diving towards the ground like a bird of prey.

To the west, the ship made impact with the ground, sending a shockwave that shook the tower just enough for Blink to lose visual in the final moments of descent. Cursing, as while he was confident the Jedi would inexplicably survive, he really wanted to see how. The trooper scanned the droid-engulfed farmland to the north for a crash site, to no avail. Lingering smoke from the burnt countryside negatively impacted visibility low to the ground.

Rather than trying to articulate his report into words, he sent the 50-odd frames the farscope had saved, as well as the coordinates for the jedi’s projected radius of touchdown. A quick radio over to long range electro-ballistics ensured that his landing wouldn’t be marred by friendly fire.

He awaited follow-up questions on the absurd entry method, which, when they came, mostly consisted of variations on “...Is this for real?” and eventually “Can you set the scope to video for a little while?” and finally “Do you think that’s how he got the name Skywalker?”

There was a temporarily lull in fire from the west, likely a ripple effect from the ship’s explosion. From his vantage point Blink could see his batchmates using the opportunity to try and plug the holes in their barricade with broken droid pieces. Regardless of the itch to join them, he knew he couldn’t leave his post until the Jedi actually arrived in camp. Finally, a distant explosion and thick pillar of smoke gave the Jedi’s position away.

He tried to make out details, but the scope had a difficult time focusing through the haze. Manually trying to fine tune the scope’s settings, Blink caught a glimpse of what looked like half a hover tank sailing through the air to impact with a trade federation troop carrier in a fiery explosion. Several more explosions, flying droid artillery, and plumes of smoke were caught on record before visual contact with the source was established. He was mostly visible as a blue blur, lightsaber mowing a meandering path towards their location.

It wasn’t until Skywalker braced himself in place to punch a droidaka into pieces that Blink caught actual sight of the man. Only his eyes were visible, nose and mouth covered by layers of cloth. He blurred, then reappeared on top a massive missile launcher attached to an absurdly heavily armored vehicle. A minute or so of rapid blue flashes passed, the longest he had seen concentrated in one area. Then Skywalker was gone, movement clearly visible as he for once he moved in a straight line, plowing a rapid path away from the launcher.

Less than 30 seconds later, Blink had to wince away from the scope, as a burning white explosion temporarily overwhelmed the direct light filter. The trooper panicked for a moment, thinking he had gone both deaf and blind, but the abrupt, sucking silence ended after a moment with a deafening sonic boom. The shockwave rattled the farscope, nearly knocking it over, but Blink managed to steady it and himself in time.

A cheer emerged from pleasantly surprised vod below. The entire droid legion that had been guarding the missile launcher and apparent ordinance bay was flattened.

It took a moment for the realization to set in that the background noise of missile and and anti-missile collisions directly overhead had slowed pace. With the northern flank gone, artillery were able to redouble efforts to the east, and a second white hot shockwave ensued, signaling that the tide of battle had shifted. It was almost too easy for the republics electro-ballistics to tactically devastate the surrounding forces.

Eventually some sort of win/loss programming must have set in and all forces outside of a certain radius began retreating southward, conceding the scorched land to the republic army. It was cadets work to clean up the final suicidal droid charge.

A commotion ensued as Skywalker leapt the barricade with a mid-air flip. The vod greeted him with cheers, as they correctly assumed his appearance had something to do with the skirmish’s decisive victory.

Blink sent the video of the battle to command and quickly packed up his scope and assorted equipment. Hurrying down the battered tower, Blink thought to himself that this Anakin Skywalker was the best sort of Jedi a trooper could ask for.

uh sorry i got really sidetracked there moving on

Kenobi and Skywalker quickly become the face of the war once again

they grit their teeth a bit, but when they finally have a moment to really plan they eventually agree that to take down Sideous they have to cut off his political power in addition to everything else, and taking advantage of their public personas was the most accessible way to do so (*evil laughter*)

While Dooku wasn’t captured, Yoda heard the truth in his old student’s cryptic warnings about a Sith in the Senate, and the council begins carefully editing their release of tactical plans to the Chancellor’s office in the hopes of ferreting out the spy in their midst.

Pong Krell looses two arms in his duel with Dooku. Obi-Wan successfully hides his smug pleasure at the news. Anakin enjoys makeing comparisons between him and Grievous.

Kenobi doesn’t allow the origin of the clones to go unexamined, although he agrees that if the public were informed that they don’t actually know who ordered them it would probably cause panic.

The ‘inhibitor chips’ are ‘discovered’ early on and Anakin leads the effort to ensure that they are phased out and removed immediately. This consists of reminding every Jedi who even hesitates about how how he as a child slave had some experience with control chips and unless you want to take a leaf out of the hutts books lets start doing brain surgery chop chop mmmkay?

(This isn’t to say that Vader doesn’t still a twinge of shame at acknowledging his slave roots. But it is eclipsed by the burning guilt that he knowingly acted as slave master to his troops for decades after Sideous wiped their minds. He tried to rationalize it to himself, after all he didn’t immediately understand what Order 66 had done to the troopers. But while the morality of murder was more of an intellectual concern than a personal one, treating people as things...)

The Kamonions are a little harder to budge, referencing contracts that they refuse to allow the Jedi to see

Finally Vader snuck into the Chief Medical Scientist’s home while she was sleeping and straight-up threatened to murder her and burn down her lab. At the risk of losing her life’s work, Nala Se complied.

Vader left with the final threat that in the event that Darth Tyranus caught wind and activated Order 66 prematurely, he would kill 100 Kamonians for every Jedi felled by troopers. Shaak Ti was pleased by the cloners sudden change of heart. Tyrannus, and by extension, Sideous, are in the dark.

Obi-Wan frequently publicly confronts Palpatine about the troops citizen status, urging him make use of his emergency powers to grant them citizenship and full pay, with the option to leave the army should they so wish.

Anakin manages to play off his avoidance of the Chancellor as disappointment in his perceived lack of dedication to anti-slavery efforts

Finally Palpatine gives in- regardless of what happens next, the troops will be looked after.

With 2/3rds of the troopers dechipped, Vaderkin is eager to kill Sideous again, but after several intense screaming matches and sparring sessions, the time travelers come to the agreement that even if they succeed in their duel, with things as they were, the perception of the Jedi military coop would cause mass civil unrest. The scattered sith apprentices, while individually weak, were more than capable of magnifying that fear and anger until the galaxy breaks. Darth Sideous wanted to ensure that if he couldn’t have the galaxy, no one would.

(Vader knows this. Sideous enjoyed monologuing, and much of his plotting couldn’t be safely bragged about until after he had decisively won, leaving Vader as the unwilling receptacle for years of pent-up rants and self-satisfied gloats about the inevitability of his victory)

Continued Here

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irwinkitten · 5 years

Text

into the night | demon!5sos

pairing: luke x oc (with a side of cal x oc)

notes: i’ve been writing this for like, three months. it’s 12.5k long and my eyes hurt from reading it so often. shoutout to @angelbabylu, @calpops, @dammitbands, @rosecolouredash, @cakesunflower, @aspiringwildfire, @converse-luke and @singt0mecalum for the support whilst i’ve been writing this stress of a fic lmao y’all are real mvp’s. there is a potential for a small spin off but ya gal needs to just like, recover from this fic lmao

warnings: mentions of death

word count: 12.5k!

---

Roe could feel the charged air, even in the events hall. It was never one for her to freeze mid transaction, her smile frozen as she felt the shift in the air, but it happened and her coven noticed.

Once the customers moved on to the next stalls, she found her hairs standing on edge and as quickly as she could, she pulled out the special wipes trying to pass off that she was just cleaning her hands, instead of coating them in holy water.

She could feel the demonic presence in the hall. And her eyes were immediately drawn to the four tall men, dark suits and stoic looks on their faces. But in the town hall, they didn’t look too out of place.

The one with a shock of bleached hair began to meander towards Marcella before his eyes met Roe’s and he changed course.

She dropped the wipe to the side, a small smile pulling across her lips as she held his gaze.

“You doing alright there lads, is there something that I can help you with?”

The four exchanged looks before the one with a shock of blonde hair finally stepped forward from the group.

“You’re the person I was looking for, actually.” He held his hand out to Roe. “To introduce myself, I’m Calum, this is Luke, Michael and Ashton.” Each one nodded at their name and Roe finally stepped to the side from behind her stall, taking Calum’s hand to shake.

He hissed under his breath and she kept her grip firm.

“Don’t move a muscle. You’re idiots for turning up here outnumbered.” She warned the other three who had all shifted before holding still.

“Won’t the humans notice something going on.” Calum finally hissed between his teeth, the dark brown eyes turning black as she continued to keep a firm grip on his hand. She didn’t relent.

“Subtle compulsion to leave the hall. We’ll have an hour once the door is shut. What on earth, prompted four of you to come right into a witches territory and hold out your fucking hand?” Roe hissed in return, her eyes trailing to the other demons who looked uncomfortable.

The clang of the bolt had her releasing Calum’s hand and he cradled it to his chest, face dropped into a scowl.

Without a second thought, Roe shifted her hand a quiet murmur under her breath before a strip of fabric rose from her bags, wrapping it around Calum’s hand. He stared at it for a full second before raising an eyebrow at her.

“I’d rather you be in a better mood. A demon healed is a demon I’d rather talk to. Now. Answer my question. Why did you come here outnumbered?”

Ashton, with fiery red locks spoke up then.

“We didn’t realise that we’d be outnumbered. We assumed it would be an easy pick up.”

“Tell me, where are you right now?” Roe answered evenly.

“In a town hall?” Came back to her, confusion laced through Ashton’s tone. She bit back a scoff.

“Geographically.”

“Glaston-oh.” Calum wanted to smack himself.

“Right in the middle of a fucking town that is known for witches and the occult. You chose now. The day of the equinox. The day were I’d be at my most powerful.” Ashton groaned in frustration.

“That’s why there were four of us. We assumed you’d be alone.” She could see the hazel eyes getting darker whilst the pitch black eyes of Calum’s slowly returned to a warm brown. Roe rolled her own baby blue eyes.

“Next time, have a solid reminder that I’m part of a coven. A coven of thirteen.” Luke’s eyebrows furrowed as Michael’s eyes widened.

“Shit. Calum was this some sort of suicide mission?” Luke hissed and Calum shot Luke a scowl, the clearly younger blonde falling quiet at the dark look he was receiving.

You pick a day that I’m at my most powerful. Why?” Calum eyed Roe for a moment before his gaze returned to the bandage, a soft sigh escaping his lips. Tugging the bandage off, he turned back to Roe, holding it out.

“Does your coven know of your heritage?” He asked carefully and Roe felt her back stiffen.

“You mean do they know that I’m a half-witch, half-demon hybrid? Yes. Why else would they have made me coven leader? I’m the only one who was willing to kill to protect the coven and our secrets.” Calum felt his lips twitch forward as he slowly sank to his knees, watching as her frustration turned into concern as the other three followed his lead.

“Coven Witch Roe. We seek you out for protection against our own kind.” The four spoken in tandem and she could feel the old magicks ripple beneath her skin. “We offer ourselves to you for whatever your needs will be. Protection, ingredients, even a sacrifice if we must. In exchange we ask for protection from our kind.” They fell silent and she could feel two different magicks thrumming.

“Marcella, do you revoke the blood bound promise against these four demons?” Her eyes moved from Calum’s to Marcella who could could clearly be seen struggling.

The decision seemed to be made as her back straightened up.

“I, Marcella, witch of the Summer coven, renounce the blood bound promise of vengeance against these four demons and these four demons alone.” Her knees shook, her body hitting the floor. The other witches didn’t flinch.

“I, Roe, Coven Witch of the Summer coven, accept the four demons, Luke, Calum, Michael and Ashton into our coven for protection. As long as a witch in this coven draws breath, the protection will stand true and strong.” She could feel the side of her that she’d embraced, the side that was always at war with her, settle as the bound promise settled into her body; her magic thrumming with power as an outwards blast of magic surrounded the room.

Roe swore.

“If anyone’s looking for us, we’ve just given them the biggest signal.” She finally moved away from Calum who swayed once he stood up, Ashton coming to his side to lean on for a moment as he gathered himself.

“Flo, check on Marcella, Cassie, Gem, you two with me, we need to set protections around the town. I will not let my home burn because of some errant demons determined to get you.” The four demons watched in amazement as the three left the hall, the other witches finally breaking rank.

The one she named Flo was already with Marcella and Luke glanced over to Calum who nodded. He made his way over carefully and whilst Marcella could barely hold her eyes open, Flo eyed him warily.

“Her magic is fighting itself right now. She needs an anchor.” His tone was soft, as if he were talking to a frightened animal, but he knew better than to act smug with a witch.

“The second that you bind with her, you know that you cannot take it back.” Flo warned and he smiled, the angelic look on his features catching Flo off guard.

“I’d rather be bound to a witch in a coven than a demon who would murder me at my weakest. I’m newest to this life, I still have my human memories.”

“Her anchor.” Flo whispered in shock.

“The other three have no recollection of their human lives. They’ve lived for so long. Mine aren’t necessarily fresh, but I still remember. That side will anchor her. It’s just an unfortunate side effect that she’d effectively be bound to me for the rest of her life.”

“Marcella, are you listening?” Flo asked urgently.

“I hear you. And maybe it would help. But just, I ask you not to take advantage of the bond. I know that it will give you unrestricted access to my magic and-”

“No, I understand. This bond won’t touch your magic. It’s an anchor. It just means we’re tied together for the rest of our lives.” Luke explained quietly and she paused before nodding.

“Okay. Do it.”

The other witches had gone to help Calum and the other two, watched in amazement as the demon they’d sworn to protect, tied himself to one of their own barely after hours of meeting. They could feel the strong magic settle and it was only a few moments later as Marcella opened her eyes and smiled at Luke.

“Looks like we’ve got a lot to learn. Demon or not, your blood, it’s pure.” Luke snorted at that before helping her off the floor, steadying her.

“What does this mean for you two?”

“Her life is tied to mine.” Luke explained bluntly and the witches understood immediately. He would go where she went, no matter what. Whether she hated him or tolerated him, the bond between them would not allow them separated. Even if he had to return to the underworld, the bond would strengthen to the point of mental communication so he could ensure she was safe and alive.

He’d effectively given up his freedom for a stranger, a witch at that, a witch who had a blood bound vengeance promise against every demon.

Roe returned, her eyebrows raising at the sight of Marcella leaning on Luke.

“He’s bound himself to her.” Flo explained at Roe’s look.

“Good. It secures our protection. Flo, with me. Which two of you are physically oldest and actual oldest?” Roe’s attention turned to the remaining three demons. Ashton stepped forward.

“I’m physically the oldest. Calum is the actual oldest.” Roe nodded her head.

“I want you two with myself and Flo. The next spell we’re doing should help throw anyone off our trail. It’s why I’ve left it till last.” This earned curious looks from both witches and demons alike.

“Roe, don’t tell me-“ Flo began but Roe shook her head.

“No, it’s not a sacrificial spell. However the protection magic will drain me. Once the spell is complete we’ll need to vacate. Pack up the stalls, cast scent dampeners. Meet back at the coven home. We’ll move on from there.”

The four demons watched in surprise as the other witches nodded before moving around the hall. Luke immediately went to help Marcella, earning a small smile from Roe and Michael assisted Gem.

She made her way out of the hall, the secluded alley next to the hall offered her the space and time for the spell.

“Flo will be the chanel for the coven. It means they’ll all be pushing their magic to the spell, but I’ll take the brunt of it.”

“That will kill you!” Calum half hissed in shock. Roe smirked.

“Half-demon. However you two will chanel your own energies through Flo to help stabilise and effectively help the magic ground itself with the ancient power.” Both demons looked awed as she took Flo’s hands and they immediately flanked Flo, placing their hands on her shoulders.

They could feel the magic tug at their souls, the thrum of her covens magic that protected them.

They watched as Roe’s skin went pallor, her body trembling as the magic settled. Calum had the quickest reflex as she dropped, his body moving around Flo and catching her.

“Has the spell taken?” His tone was voice of the concern he felt for the hybrid in his arms.

“It’s settled and it’s strong. They won’t be able to get near the town.” She confirmed after a second before they returned to the hall, spotting that the stalls that the witches had run were packed away.

“The other stall owners will be here in a few moments. I suggest we get her out as quick as possible.” Marcella warned quietly and Calum nodded.

“I can teleport with her, but I need direction.” He finally got out and Flo rolled her eyes before gripping his bicep. He tried not to hiss at the magic that seemingly covered him and his cargo.

“You get us going, I’ll guide you. We’ll meet you all back at the house.”

Seconds later, the three of them melted into the shadows and as the crowds slowly returned to the hall, stall owners only passing it off as the norm, no one noticed how various women weaved their way through with ease, three of them accompanied by dangerous looking men.

But once glance at arms entwined, or hands in the case of one couple, no one gave them second thought as they left the fayre, eyes scouring each face as they made it to the cars that were grouped together in the separate parking lot for stall owners only.

“Split between the cars. We can’t keep our eggs in one basket.” Gem advised, Marcella keeping a tight hold of Luke’s hand as she pulled him to her car, three other witches trailing behind.

Cassie, who had taken ahold of Ashton’s arm as they left the hall kept her grip and practically frog marched him to her car. Another three witches followed, laughing at the scowl on his face.

Gem grinned at Michael.

“Looks like it’s you and me, demon boy.” He rolled his eyes but gestured for the older witch to move first, the last two witches following behind him.

“I’d rather be eaten alive by witches than tortured by demons, sweetheart.” The comment was playful, teasing. But the answering grin he got in return made his own lips curve into a smirk.

“I can do both, demon boy. C’mon. Flo will have our heads if we’re not back in time.”

He chuckled as he slid in the front passenger side whilst she got into the driver's seat.

When they reached the coven home, the three demons were impressed. They could see the old brickwork that set the foundations of the house, giving way to the new work that showed the extension of their home.

Whilst they were under the protection of the coven, they could feel the magic embedded within the walls and land, seemingly testing them.

“Uninvited guests get stuck on the boundary ward line. However, magic can sense our protection, our intent. As long as you show no ill intent, you’ll be fine.” Gem explained as she guided the three in.

They were met by Flo who looked tired, dark circles under her eyes. Gem tutted.

“Why haven’t you rested, silly child?” Flo snorted at the older coven member, a yawn escaping her lips.

“Had to make sure demon knew the rules. Made sure Roe was okay too.”

“And you’re not in bed because?” Gem prompted and Flo rolled her eyes.

“I’m going, silly witch.” Came the retort from the tired witch. Gem laughed, pressing a soft kiss to the younger witches forehead.

“Sleep sweet Flo. Dreams will not bother you whilst you rest.” She nodded in thanks before disappearing upstairs.

“I’m assuming something just happened?” Ashton’s question was quiet and Gem nodded as she guided them to the sitting room.

“A coven of thirteen is difficult to find, let alone combine. We all have different affinities and there are times we clash.”

“Your affinity would be something with the mind?” Luke queried, his knee bouncing as his eyes darted to the doorway as a few of the witches walked by.

“Something like that. Varying gifts come with various power. Despite our Coven Witch being a hybrid, she also the most powerful. Next to her in measurements of power would be young Flo. Had any of us attempted what the four of you did,” her eyes moved to Ashton, “we would have died.”

“Is that why Marcella collapsed?” Gem’s eyes turned to Luke and she smiled.

“Marcella is powerful and gifted in her own right. However her blood bound promise was so vast that to revoke it from you four alone left her magic and body feel like a plug had been pulled and she couldn’t stop the flow of water escaping.”

“So my bond with her was effectively a plug?” Gem nodded.

“You most probably saved her life as well. Which incurred a debt. A debt that would be beneficial for both of you.” Luke’s eyes sharpened on her as Calum entered the room.

“You witches and your debts.” The tone was devoid of emotion and she shrugged.

“Old magick works in her own ways. We learned not to question what old magick does, however we question new magick with ease, break down and work it out to be sure that it won’t interfere.”

“Old magick is very much like karma.” Came the dry response from Calum.

Gem lifted an eyebrow in curiosity.

“She’s a bitch.”

“Yet here you stand, alive because of Old Magick.” Gem fired back and Calum paused before rolling his eyes, fingers running through his bleached hair.

“Why would the debt be beneficial to Luke and your witch?” Luke pressed his lips shut, annoyance flashing across his features.

“Because if they acknowledge and act on the life debt, they would be a tandem pair. His gifts become hers and vice versa. It would let both of them tap into new gifts that would be a step to protect each other better. Their power would increase significantly too.” Gem explained and Calum nodded once in return.

“I’ll need to talk to Marcella first. She deserves the choice rather than just being thrown into another bond without warning.” Luke finally spoke and Gem smiled.

“Each of you continue to prove my notions about demons wrong. I might even consider you friends when the ordeal is over.” And with that, she left the room, leaving the four demons to their thoughts.

Michael threw up a privacy bubble, his eyes turning to Luke.

“Mate, you’re already bound to the witch, why are you even considering this life debt?” Straight to the point and blunt. Luke rolled his eyes.

“We all know out of the four of us, I’m the weakest point. I’m the youngest, I haven’t nearly enough training to even last against one of the elders looking for us. And my own powers are still in their infancy. Why would I not consider it?” He fired back and Calum leant against the side of the fireplace, watching the two.

“Why would you tie yourself down to one witch? A witch who has a bound vengeance promise against our kind?” He countered, making Luke scoff.

“We’re already bound. If binding ourselves further means we can better protect ourselves and them? I’d do it in a heartbeat. But I’m not taking that choice from her.”

“Luke’s right.” Calum interrupted Michael, the latter leaning back into his seat with a frown.

“We need to better learn ourselves to help protect this coven that have given us sanctuary and protection. But he can’t take the choice from her or they’d have us in chains that we’d never escape from.” Calum continued, his eyes holding Michael's.

It was another five minutes before Michael relented.

“Fine. But don’t be expecting me to sleep with one of them.”

“We know you well enough, Mike.” Calum shot back playfully, laughing as Michael flipped him the bird before taking down the privacy bubble.

Cassie chose that moment to stick her head through the door.

“Gem is about to lay the law down with the coven. I’d suggest you go too because there are a list of things that are a massive no in this home.” The four exchange looks before following her out.

“What, no leaving the toilet seat up?” Michael teased, causing Cassie to roll her eyes.

“Not really. Most of us found this coven as solace. It all of us had a good life, hence why Gem will lay down the law with all of us.” The four exchanged looks before following Cassie into the garden where all the witches, aside from Roe, Marcella and Flo, were gathered.

It was interesting to watch how the other witches easily bowed to the wishes of the older witch. Only a few younger ones argued, their untrusting eyes staring at the demons for longer than necessary. But Gem held firm.

“They’re under our protection. They sought us out peacefully instead of kidnapping which is what any other demon would have done. We owe them that, at least.” She soothed and the younger witches relented, albeit reluctantly.

Calum noted to keep an eye on the ones that protested, the last thing he needed was a fight with the coven who were sworn to protect him.

—

Luke had tried to get Marcella alone just to talk to her, his eyes watching as the other witches hustled her away from him or took her attention so that he couldn’t interrupt.

His friends would have laughed if they hadn’t known the repercussions of the binding being ignored.

“How do you get a witch alone without her coven sisters burning you to ash with their glares?” Luke finally muttered after day four of this. He could feel his temper slipping and Calum noticed as the room temperature steadily increased.

“Control it, Luke. I’ll talk with Roe.” Luke shut his eyes, taking in a deep breath as he tried to shove down his temper. He didn’t want to give the witches more reasons to keep Marcella from him.

“You’ve been doing what?!” Echoed around the house, and Luke’s eyes snapped open, his glare settling to the closed door. Calum rolled his eyes.

“Looks like our Coven Witch is finally awake.” He muttered under his breath and Luke rolled his own eyes in return.

Before he could make a snide remark, he watched as the door flung open and Roe marched in, Marcella being tugged in behind her.

“But Roe-”

“But nothing, Sapphire.” Roe snarled back at the younger witch. Luke’s eyes were on Roe’s hand, watching as it tightened around Marcella’s wrist and a low growl built in his throat, only for it to die away when she all but shoved his bound witch towards him.

He didn’t hesitate to catch her when she stumbled and almost immediately the anger settled, relief flooding through his veins and Marcella visibly relaxed at his touch.

“Do I teach empty brains?” Roe snapped at Sapphire who, to her credit, flushed in shame. “Coven meeting, now. Demons, you’re in this too since one of you is bound to us.”

Luke found himself unable to let go of Marcella, but she found herself reluctant to move too far from him as well. They followed after Calum, who wore a smirk as he followed after Roe, passing the shamed witch, a smug chuckle falling from his lips.

Sapphire reached out to grab Marcella as they passed, but the growl left Luke’s lips before he could even think it. She flinched back and hurried ahead of them.

“‘About fucking time.” Ashton muttered as he joined them.

“Us or them?” Luke commented sarcastically. Marcella giggled.

“Both.” Ashton grinned before joining the room of witches. Roe made them all sit around the table, taking her place at the head of the table.

“Who here was actively keeping Marcella from Luke?”

No one dared to move until Roe’s fist slammed down on the table.

“Fucking answer me! Who?” She snarled and very quickly six hands shot up. She realised that it was the younger members of the coven, but their ages held no excuse in her eyes. She’d taught them all the importance of her heritage and what she’d learned.

“Calum, kindly inform these idiotic witches what they were doing?”

Calum sauntered from his spot at the back of the room, standing next to Roe. She shifted, allowing him the space at the head of the table and all of the witches realised the subtle exchange.

Roe was sharing her power as Coven Witch, with him.

It didn’t go unmissed by the demons.

“You were effectively killing both of them.” The casual comment earned a couple of scoffs. “If you don’t believe me, ask your witch how she was feeling? Ask Luke how he felt, because I can guarantee, had I not realised how fast his temper was changing, you’d all be dead.” The scathing remark was met by silence this time.

Marcella spoke up.

“I felt like I was dying. My chest was constantly on fire and every time one of you asked for my help with spells, I felt that I couldn’t touch my magic without it burning me.” Roe’s eyes hardened as she gazed at the six that had held up their hands.

“When a demon is bound to anyone, human, witch, fae, it doesn’t fucking matter. But if you actively try to keep them from their bound, it will kill them both. It is why Bindings are so rare, but it is also why taking them into the coven was important. Especially when he willingly bound himself to her, knowing that he could still end up dying if she so wished it.” Roe snapped and the six gazes dropped to their laps, shame filling the room.

“None of you are to request help from Marcella for the next week. I don’t fucking care if it’s her gifts you specifically need, you don’t talk to her. And you should be grateful I found out now instead of when she died, because it would be a very different meeting we’d be having.”

The demons realised a warning when they heard one and realised that despite the coven being a family, Roe wasn’t afraid to remind her sisters what she would do and had done.

When the room emptied out, Luke guided Marcella out of the house, his hand still in hers and he could feel the bond settle back in.

“It feels nice not to feel like I’m dying.” The comment was made in jest, and he tried to smile at it, but she understood why it turned into a grimace. “Sorry Luke.”

“It’s fine.” He finally muttered quietly. The peace of the surrounding forest really helped settle his thoughts that had gone into turmoil at the thought of her dying.

He half hated how smitten he already was for this witch. But he knew it was the bond working to their favour.

“Now that I’m not trying to be turned to ashes by your sisters, would you do me the honour of allowing me to take you out on date?” She could see past the confidence and bravado he put on, her lips curving into a smile as she lifted her hand, her palm resting against his cheek.

“Of course. But I’m afraid it’ll have to be in the human world.” And for the first time in days, he laughed.

“I think I can survive that. How about we put some disguises on and sneak out?” His voice had lowered to a conspiratorial whisper, and she giggled softly.

“It’ll be the most fun I’ve had in years, kind sir.” Luke grinned as his fingers snapped and their appearances changed, his blond curls receding before settling into a scruffy flattened look, facial hair growing enough to make his face look a little aged as the blonde shifted to a dark brown and his baby blue eyes turned green.

Had she not witnessed it, she wouldn’t have believed it.

Her own dark locks shifted red instead, her hair growing shorter. He held up a conjured mirror to show that her features had shifted enough that even her own parents wouldn't recognise her. It helped that her eyes went from a hazel colour to chocolate brown.

The pair went out as they were, Luke dressed in plaid pants with a leather jacket and graphic t shirt. Marcella added her own denim jacket to her summer dress and he couldn’t help but think she looked a vision as they left the house together.

No one questioned them as they headed into the town, hand in hand. They fit into the rush of the humans around them seamlessly. His eyes kept returning to their entwined hands and he couldn’t stop the smile if he tried.

They found a small cafe that had hot food and an outdoor seating area, so they placed their orders and headed out to the area. Even with the sun shining, the cae was mostly empty. It was later in the day so most of those who wanted food had already been and gone.

Luke warily eyed one of the smaller occult shops, his back tingling as he recognised the protective magic.

“You’ll find that with some stores, neither of us can enter.” Marcella commented quietly and he realised her words.

“Because you’re bound to me, right?” Their conversation was hushed, the bustle of the street reaching through the small cobbled alleyway that led to the secluded seating.

“Unfortunately. But most of the shops I’m no longer able to enter, I never really liked anyway. Too many fake spells and the wrong protective enchantments.” The nonchalance shocked him for a second before he smiled.

“I’m still sorry for it. I forgot that being bound to me would mean that you’d be barred from a lot of things.” Her hand reached across the table and took his, making his eyes meet hers.

Idly, he decided that as nice as the brown eyes were, he liked her hazel ones better.

“You did what you had to do to keep me alive. I’m indebted to you, L-love.” She caught herself before saying his name, remembering that there would be people listening. He smiled and shifted his hand in her grasp, bringing her knuckles to his lips.

He enjoyed her cheeks turning pink at the action.

“I couldn’t just let you be. Plus, I still have my humanity. The others lost theirs years ago.”

“Any of you would have sufficed, but had it been the others, I’d have had to complete the bond almost immediately for my magic not to destroy me.” Luke snorted before falling silent as their food was bought out.

They both thanked the waitress as she handed them their cutlery and left them to it.

For a few moments, the only sounds was the bustling street and their cutlery scraping against the plates.

“So what did you want to know then? I can tell you’ve had questions for days.” Marcella finally spoke up and he smiled.

“Not here, sweetheart. Those questions are for your ears only. How about you tell me what you’ve been studying?” And she understood his silent request.

Ears were listening and they couldn’t trust anything at the moment. So she told him about her University days, acting as if she was just finishing her studies rather than the fact she’d finished years ago.

And so they swapped stories, Luke editing his enough so his tales didn’t sound so morbid. But she laughed and he was struck with how beautiful she looked.

Part of him wondered if it was the bond working overtime to compensate for the time apart, but then he didn’t care.

Out of the four demons, he was the closest in touch with his humanity. And he knew that the bond was taking advantage of that. But he cared less as they talked about various stories of their childhoods.

The way her lips would quirk up had his own mirroring her actions.

By the time they’d left, leaving a hefty tip for the waitress, he enjoyed the sunshine on his skin as their arms swung between them, fingers interlocked. He realised in that moment that if had to be bonded to any witch, he was glad it was her.

“I don’t want to try and not be with you, love.” She finally murmured. Luke smiled.

“I wouldn’t even entertain the idea, sweetheart.” He finally whispered and the came to a pause by the park where families were milling about.

“Do you want to see where this bond will lead us?” She whispered, taking a step closer to him, her eyes doe like. He felt entranced and vaguely wondered if this was part of her gift.

“Absolutely.” He murmured and his head dipped, his lips meeting hers and the bond not only settled, but she relaxed against him, her hands sliding around his neck.

She pulled away seconds later, her cheeks flushed as he pressed his lips against hers, once, twice, three times.

“Best decision I reckon. Now, how about we kill some time together before we head back to those laser eyes I was receiving?” She giggled as he tucked her into his side, arm slung across her shoulders as they walked through the park together, enjoying the peace of the day.

When they returned to the house, it was obvious to any of the inhabitants how quickly the bond took. Sapphire was the most vocal one.

“How can you stand to be so close to the kind that murdered your entire family, Marcella?” She finally snapped, earning a growl from Luke.

Marcella stared at Sapphire, frustration bubbling. She knew that the younger witch had her issues with the demons, but she was struggling to forgive the girl for actively keeping her away from Luke.

“Because he didn’t murder them, Sapphire. He saved my life by binding himself to me, so of course I’m going to make the effort for him at least.”

“You promised.” She snapped back and Marcella felt her heart twist.

“I did. And I promise you that we’ll find the demon that stole you, but you cannot blame these four, not when they so willingly came to us for protection. If they’d hurt any of us, don’t you think they would’ve avoided us?” Marcella reasoned. But she could see the anger in the younger witches eyes as she stormed away from the couple.

“What was that about?” Luke finally asked and Marcella sighed.

“Part of our history.” She replied, guiding him up to her room. He paused at her door, his hand falling from hers as he stared at her in shock.

“I didn’t-I don’t-”

“For such a big bad demon, you’re very flustered.” She teased as she took a seat on her bed, pointing to the chair at her desk. “We need to talk, I can soundproof the room at least from the prying ears of your brothers. My sisters know what I’m about to tell you.”

Luke seemed to relax as he finally stepped into her room, his body sinking down onto the chair. He scooted it as close to the bed so that their legs were touching.

“The bond isn’t as settled as it needs to be right now.” He explained quietly and she nodded in understanding.

“It’s fine. So what questions do you have?” Her relaxed smile eased his worries.

As he began to ask his questions, it started out as simple things, like her favourite food, what kind of music she enjoyed. Luke kept it light before steadily venturing into uncharted territory.

As she talked, she asked her own questions, about his human life, about how he found himself here. He was honest. The only ones who truly knew his life had been the three he considered brothers. It was easy to talk to her, almost cathartic as they talked.

Then he finally asked the question that had been bugging him for days.

“Why all demons?”

She froze at his question before sighing.

“All I ever knew growing up was my family. I had five brothers and six sisters. I was the youngest.” Luke found his eyes widening. He’d sensed her power, it wasn’t as strong as Roe’s but it matched Flo’s easily.

“The seventh child?” She grinned at his amazement.

“I’ve done well to keep my power hidden from the other witches. The only ones who know are Gem, Roe and Flo. It’s to protect myself mostly.” He nodded in understanding.

“It’s safe with me too.” She smiled at his words before continuing.

“I had aunts and uncles in abundance. It was a family unit that worked for us. I think I must have been nine or ten when a couple of my aunts came rushing home, frantic. They’d spoken of a fight with demons, of how they’d cheated them from their deal with a human.” Luke sucked in a sharp breath and she gave him a grim smile.

“I bet they weren’t happy.”

“Suddenly my family home was being shored up as a fortress. But it wasn’t enough. I’d been hidden, as the youngest and most powerful, it boiled down to protecting me. I remember hearing the screams as the first demons attacked.” Her voice had dropped to a whisper and Luke’s hand reached out but hesitated at the last second. Instead, his hand lifted, wiping gently at the tears that had fallen.

“Take your time, sweetheart.”

“I watched them murder my entire family. They were going to kill me before one of them said about leaving me with the horrors as a reminder not to mess with demons. I ran crying, vowing that on my blood I would find and end all demons. My magic manifested and I don’t remember much else until Gem and Roe found me. They’d felt the power of my vow.”

Luke found himself lost for words. He could understand the strength of the vow in the midst of grief, but with grief from a child, he knew that magic was wild and uncontrollable.

“And over the years, your power has only grown, and the vow with it.” He pieced together and she nodded.

“Had you not bonded with me, I would’ve died that day.” More tears were falling and he moved from the chair, sitting on the edge of her bed. She allowed the comfort he offered, her body sagging into him.

“You realise that if you acknowledge this, there’s no going back for us.” He was careful with his words. He knew the bond was still snapping back from their forced separation, but she nodded anyway.

“I remember rituals, I create them. This one, I know that it’ll tie us, but there’s one more that would need to be done, and I’m not ready to do that.”

“When you’re ready, sweetheart. It’s your choice, I promise.” He whispered as he pressed a kiss into her hair, holding her as she let out the emotions that had clearly been locked away.

“Thank you.”

—

He should’ve known. The second they entered the underworld, he would’ve been tracked.

Marcella’s mental presence in his mind had given him the effort he needed to collect the few relics that Roe needed.

She was humming along to the radio, the connection giving him enough information.

And as much as he wanted to stop himself from falling for her, to just keep it as a binding, he couldn’t. The more he got to know her, the more he fell.

When he arrived back on the human plains, he missed the crack that reverberated, his own ears ringing from the shadow travel.

But he felt the first burn against his back, a yell of agony escaping as he collapsed to his knees.

“Sweet little Luke.” The voice that irritated him through the start of his training filtered through as something burned his skin and he realised that this could be it.

‘Marcella, baby. I’m a distance from the house. I got followed.’ His internal call to her was cut off as he felt chains not only wrap around his body, but they burned.

He could do nothing but fall to the floor, a cry of agony escaping as the chains were pushed further into his skin.

Burning, everything burned and he could feel something in him snap to life as his body convulsed against the pain, his teeth gritting together to stop the noise from escaping.

“Sweet little Lukey, come to play at last.” Belize's tone was sickeningly sweet.

“I was never yours to play with, Torrid.” He ground out, making a smirk appear on her features that relayed innocence.

Luke knew better.

“Oh I know. And look at you, playing with a little hybrid who thinks it’s a powerful creature. But your little pet hasn’t met me.” The chains tightened and he finally released the scream that had been building up.

“There it is.” Her tone sounded like a release, how his Marcella said his name when he was buried inside of her. He felt his insides twist.

“Roe will never let you live for this.” Luke ground out between sharp breaths and Belize laughed.

“She’ll never know who sent her a gift of a demon's head on a silver platter.”

Luke closed his eyes.

—

‘Marcella, baby. I’m a distance from the house. I got followed.’ Marcella’s head snapped up, her face akin to horror as Gem stepped into the kitchen.

“Marcella?”

“Luke.” She whispered, before a jolt of pain shot through her body, a strangled cry escaping from her.

“Fuck. Roe!” Gem half screamed as she grabbed Marcella, pulling her up to her feet before her body twisted and a startled cry escaped her.

Roe appeared, Calum in tow and he knew.

“They got him.” Something inside Marcella snapped as she pushed herself to her full height, the pain filled gaze meeting Calum’s.

“Who?” The word was hissed, her teeth clenching to stop the cry escaping her.

“Belize Torrid and her ilk. The ones after Roe. She thinks that by killing Roe, it will make her some kind of ruler of the underworld.” Calum explained and worry finally crossed his features as Marcella’s body contorted in a way that had him realising it was bad.

“The chains.” He finally realised and his look of worry morphed into one of horror.

“Marcella can you locate him?” She was leaning on Gem and he could feel the magic gathering. Roe grabbed Calum’s and Gem’s wrists.

“Down!” She half snarled, dragging them with her as the burst of magic escaped, throwing the room into disarray. When they looked up, Marcella was gone and Flo hurried down the steps.

“What the hell happened?”

“We’re scrying. Get Marcella’s scarf.” Roe snapped as she pulled both Calum and Gem back up.

“Are either of you hurt?”

“No.” Came a unified response and she nodded before marching through to the living room, her hands still wrapped around their wrists. She dropped them when she reached the drawer that held the map.

“Fuck the rules on this right now, they could be dying.” She sneered at the flash of warning she received.

Once she had her scarf, and the location determined, Calum called for Michael and Ashton. Both didn’t hesitate as they linked together and were gone within seconds.

When they arrived, they could see Luke in a protective dome, chains wrapped around his body and glowing. Calum snarled as he stepped forward but was held back by Ashton whose eyes were captured by the sight of Marcella turning more and more vicious.

“Who knew little Lukey got himself a toy.”

Marcella never responded, something having changed within her. Calum was awestruck as she began to use borderline darker spells that even Roe never touched.

“The little witch sad about her demon dying? I’ll set the body alight, just for your tradition.” Roe went to stop the fire from consuming Luke, but she gasped as the shield absorbed it and left him unharmed. That was when Torrid began to get brutal with her attacks.

The small group of six tried to surround themselves around Luke, to help him, but Marcella’s magic was fierce. When it burned Michael’s hand, they didn’t try a second time.

They tried to help her, but the witch and demon were locked in a battle that got darker with each passing moment.

“Cal, if she keeps using the dark spells, she may never recover.” Roe finally whispered. It was why she’d never used them, never having needed to, but also knowing the lure of the power. And with her demon side, she knew that the temptation would take a hold.

“I can’t do anything. This is on them.” He finally whispered as they watched a dark, sickly looking purple spell speed across the green and slammed into Torrid.

She laughed hysterically as Marcella lifted from her stance.

“A warming spell?” The sneer was on her face as she lifted an arm before freezing.

“That wasn’t the colour of a warming spell, was it?” Calum quietly asked and Roe shook her head as Torrid began to scream.

“It’s a torture curse. Boils the blood until it burns your body inside out.” Roe whispered, mortified as the smoke began to rise.

Marcella didn’t move until the demon was ashes, her body sagging as her shield dropped and she collapsed next to Luke.

“You can’t leave me, not today.” She ground out as her fingers pulled at the chains, her body clearly protesting the pain from them, but she didn’t care.

Roe watched in amazement as Marcella cut her palm and began the chant. She finally moved to Luke’s side, slicing his palm for her as she continued the spell, allowing Roe to smear the blood on her lips as she did the same to him.

“We are bound, mind, body and soul. I share what is mine; my blood, my gifts, my life.” Roe stepped back and they watched as her lips touched his and the flare of magic was more gentle as it settled over them.

Roe felt her heart clench as Marcella collapsed on top of Luke’s unmoving body.

“We need to move them.” She finally got out, her voice thick with emotion, her eyes blinking away those tears.

It was silence as they moved the unmoving bodies.

—

“Where are we?” Marcella’s head twisted to see Luke, his body unscathed. No scars, no blemishes. She looked down and saw the same.

“We must be in some kind of limbo.” She finally replied and his eyes finally took her in.

“Baby.” He whispered before she threw herself at him, a sob breaking free from her lips. His arms wrapped around her, his own tears escaping as he held her. She was in his arms and safe.

“That fucking demon hurt you, god I felt it in my bones, Luke.” She got out, and his arms only tightened around her as he turned his head and pressed a gentle kiss to her hair.

“Which is why you’re both here.” A third voice had them pull away, shock covering Marcella’s features whilst incredulity crosses Luke’s.

“No way.” Her voice was a whisper as the angel stepped forward, her grip on Luke getting tighter.

“Gabriel.” Luke finally spoke, the angel smiling in return.

“Archangel fucking Gabriel.” Marcella whispered, awestruck. Luke held back his desire to snort.

“You two are quite the conundrum.” Gabriel finally broke the silence, gesturing to the seats that seemed to materialise from nothing. The room they were in was too white, too clean.

They sat down, hands clasped together and Gabriel sighed.

“How are we the conundrum?” Luke snorted at Marcella’s words.

“A witch, semi-bonded to a demon who she’s also dating and sleeping with. Sums it up, doesn’t it, Gabe?” Luke tried to keep the scathing tone from his voice, but the smirk he received in return told him he wasn’t successful.

“Fully bonded.” Was all Gabriel stated simply.

Luke’s eyes whipped to Marcella who couldn’t meet his own.

“You foolish, beautiful witch.” He finally whispered, his hands cradling her face as his lips met hers softly. It was soft kisses against her lips until they remembered that they had company.

“Hence the conundrum.” Gabriel interrupted. Luke frowned.

“How?”

“Had she not completed the bond, you would’ve disappeared, just like your kind do when they die.” Marcella’s body stiffened, her gaze dropping into a scowl at the angel.

“What happened?”

“You completed the bond. You shared your mind, body and soul with him which brought you two to me. Marcella would be allowed passage, whereas Luke would disappear.”

“I didn’t complete the bond for you to take him from me.” She snapped at the angel, momentarily forgetting who she was talking to. He smiled

“Which is why we won’t. You have two options. For both of you to follow after me, but you would forever be barred from the human realm. You would be under scrutiny, Luke especially. Or, you can return to the human realm. The only difference would be that Marcella would never age. You have merged blood so she would effectively live forever. She would, for all intents and purposes become a hybrid, like her Coven Witch.”

Despite her temptation to see her family again, her loved ones, she knew her choice. Gabriel could see it too.

“Say it out loud.”

“Go back.” Came from the both of them and Gabriel snorted.

“I don’t expect to see you back here for a very long time, if ever.”

And he began counting back and suddenly Marcella could feel panic bubbling as the pain grew stronger.

Everything went black.

—

Roe knew the questions were coming.

The brooding demon who frightened humans and made her transactions difficult, had been watching the coven closely.

He ran errands when they weren’t able to, got into places their magic couldn’t.

She knew he was building up his questions.

Seeing Luke and Marcella look so lifeless, she could feel part of her clawing to punish, to hurt. Another part felt lifeless as they looked.

“We burn our dead.” Calum’s statement drew a hiss and she whirled on him.

They’d lain Luke and Marcella together, because they knew even in death the bond would carry.

“I refuse to burn either of them. Not-not until-” Calum understood her words. He desperately wanted them to live, but their lifeless bodies contested to that.

“We need to talk then.” And she immediately bristled, wondering if the demon was deluded with grief or if he really didn’t care.

“One of my witches has just fucking died and you want to talk?” She snapped, making him hesitate and sigh.

“I’d rather not think about their deaths right now. I want to drown these emotions so I can’t feel them but you won’t let me. So if I can’t destroy my liver for it to heal again, then I want to ask you questions.” And it clicked.

She didn’t argue following him to the garden. The sun shone brightly, even with her bad mood, she let her eyes slip closed as they say on the porch swing, her skin practically glowing.

“When did you discover you were half demon?”

“My father visited. I’d grown up with witches and knew they existed. But one day he was there. My mum was dying, and the coven were helping her. They helped her because she was one of them.” The bitterness laced within her tone made Calum look to her, her eyes open and watching the trees branches dance in the wind.

“They knew what you were.” It wasn’t a question. She nodded anyway.

“They loathed my presence. When he turned up, my mum had pleaded with him to take me, but he couldn’t. He could only promise to protect me.” Her tone was softer, a sharp change from her previous one.

“Did he?”

“He died saving me. I know that he was really high up on the chain of command. He gave me this the day before he was murdered.” Her fingers twisted the bracelet, that he’d seen her play with, off.

She dropped it into his open hand and his breath immediately caught as he recognised the sigil.

“Did he explain the sigil to you?” Her confused eyes moved to the spot where his hands were and she traced the lines delicately.

“I never knew it was there,” her whisper sounded broken, “he just told me the bracelet had properties of protection that would display at the right time.”

Calum could feel his lungs taking in air that he didn’t really need.

“Lucifer's sigil.” He finally choked out and she froze, her eyes darting between his stunned face and the bracelet.

“What does it mean, Calum?”

“You, and subsequently your coven, are under the protection of the king of Hell himself. How the fuck did your father even get this?” Despite his and the boys’ defection from the underworld, he knew that the King of Hell could burn them within hours of finding them.

It only drew forward more questions.

“I don’t know.” She murmured, her fingers tracing the engraving.

“Who taught you about your demon side?” Calum finally asked, slipping the bracelet back on her wrist.

“My father when he could. He taught me how to tap into that side, to merge my magic with my gifts. He realised I was a powerful hybrid and sought out finding another coven that wouldn’t murder me in my sleep.”

“This coven?”

Roe smiled at that.

“Originally is was just Gem and her three sisters. When my father discovered them and asked for help, they took me in and trained me. Helped me hone my combined powers. Along the way, the coven began to grow. When Gem’s sisters were killed by hunters,” Calum growled, “we agreed that we would use that magic of thirteen instead of three. We said we wouldn’t take in any more until places became open due to death.”

Calum refrained from making a comment. He knew his morbid humour which helped him deal with the sadness would not be appreciated right now.

“You said you were the only one who was willing to kill to keep the coven safe. What happened for that to become necessary?” Roe paused as she watched the leaves danced through the air, being carried by the wind as she sighed.

“After Gem lost her sisters, we realised that we needed to better protect the coven. Gem didn’t want to be the Coven Witch. She was distraught. She was heartbroken.”

“She was grieving.” Calum’s words made Roe pause before nodding.

“A few other witches wanted to step up, but they weren’t willing to do whatever it took to protect the coven. The hunters discovered our little hideout and because I’d agreed to trial as Coven Witch, it was my decision when we caught them.”

“You killed them?”

“Tortured then for information before killing them. I discovered that there was a witch from my mother’s coven who wanted me dead. So she posed as human and hired a hunter.” The disgust made Calum raise an eyebrow but she didn’t elaborate and he didn’t force her to.

“What happened then?”

“I showed up at the coven home and confronted her. Because she’d set a bounty on my head and failed, the other witches knew it was my justice, not theirs.”

“You killed her too?”

“I set an example of what would happen should they choose to cross me.” And Calum laughed.

“You’re more demon than you care to admit, but it’s refreshing. You know your limits, know the temptations. Yet you’re the most perfect contradiction.” He breathed out once his laughter died down. Roe felt her eyes drop to her lap.

A finger slid beneath her chin, coaxing her to look up. Baby blue met chocolate brown and it took her brain a second to register before his lips were on hers.

And she felt everything seemingly wake up. Her senses seemed to wrap around Calum as he kissed her and it was almost dizzying.

But she loved it.

Pulling apart, taking in a slow deep breath, he smiled a real smile that made her heart stutter.

“You’re a witch and a demon. But I also like just Roe.” He finally got out and she laughed.

“Good job every part of me likes you too.”

A scream echoed through the house, shattering their moment.

It took only a second for the two of them to react, pulling away and sprinting from the garden. The scream had originated from the room they’d left Luke and Marcella’s bodies. They rushed through the house to the room, stopping dead at the sight before them.

Roe swayed before her knees gave out, hitting the floor in shock as she stared at both Marcella and Luke. The couple were sat up, and confused.

“But-but you died! We saw you bond and then you died!” Roe half shouted as Calum helped her to her feet, his arm wrapping around her waist to keep her steady.

The world was spinning.

She pulled away once she knew her legs would not give out and launched at them both, her arms going around both of them as a sob broke free.

“You fucking died, you assholes.” Their arms shifted and pulled her tightly.

“I saved his life. Archangel Gabriel was waiting for us.” Marcella finally whispered and Roe could only hold the two of them tighter.

They were both alive and she could feel her magic touching them both, the shock covering her face as she pulled away.

“You’re a hybrid?”

“We’re okay, thanks for asking.” Came the sarcastic response from Luke as Calum stepped up and half pulled Luke off the table.

Luke didn’t fight as his arms wrapped around his unofficial leader, the comfort of his brother in all but blood hugged him.

“I would tell you not to do that again, but you’re young.” Luke snorted into Calum’s shoulder, but they held onto each other for moments longer, Calum savouring the fact that Luke was indeed alive.

Once he pulled away from Luke, he surprised Roe by pulling Marcella into a hug as well. She kept quiet as they reassured themselves the couple were okay.

“We need to tell the others.” Roe finally muttered.

“Where is everyone else?” Luke asked quietly. Roe shook her head before shrugging.

Calum felt a spell leave the room, and then footsteps thundered through the house, coming down the stairs and doors slamming open.

Gem reached them first and yelled in glee as tears fell down her face, reaching Marcella and pulling her close.

It was chaos and confusion as the witches and demons clamoured to witness that they were indeed okay before they finally left the room and headed to the meeting room. Calum’s hand was holding Roe’s, and it was noticed as they both took the spot at the head of the table.

“Right, despite the emotional turmoil we’ve all been in the last day, I’ve discovered something important.” Calum’s voice was calm and authoritative. His fingers squeezed Roe’s.

“What happened mate?” Michael finally piped up and Calum sighed.

“Whilst talking to Roe, learning about her heritage, The bracelet she wears, carries Lucifer's sigil.” Every witch in the room stiffened as the other three demons’ eyes widened.

“No fucking way.” Ashton finally whispered.

“Clear as daylight. Which means there’s something going on and we need to get back below and talk to the King himself.” Roe stiffened. As did Marcella.

“He’ll sense my vow.”

“He’ll make you re-word your vow. He knows which demons murdered your family, Marce. The re-wording won’t hurt you and with you being bound to Luke, the magic will adapt, seek out those that caused the damage.”

“Is that why it was against every demon?” Michael asked quietly and Marcella nodded.

“I never knew who murdered them. I just remember the laughter as I ran screaming. They let me live. I vowed vengeance against every demon that day, and my magic manifested years too soon because of my grief.” She explained and Michael nodded in understanding.

“The coven won’t be able to come with you.” Gem spoke up and Calum nodded.

“The only ones who would survive would be Roe and Marcella.” He explained for the witches whose faces held confusion.

“If they come back anything less than perfect, I will strip you to ingredients and then have you ingested by the hounds.” The threat sounded so different coming from Gem’s lips, but Calum understood. Gem had practically raised them both.

“I can only promise that I’ll look after them. I cannot guarantee anything other than that. If the King wants us dead, we’d be dead.” Gem’s face fell, but she nodded.

“When will you leave?” Cassie asked quietly. Despite her fascination with Ashton, Calum knew there was no love lost between the two. She was more curious about his life, his gifts. She’d tracked them all down and grilled them eventually to learn from them.

“Tomorrow night. We need to give ourselves a recovery period. Especially for Marcella and Luke.” It silently reminded the group of the couple’s supposed deaths not hours before.

“Looks like we best get planning then.”

—

The following morning, the house was sombre.

Luke hadn’t let go of Marcella, their bodies tangled in the sheets. Despite what most of the house had assumed, there’d been nothing happening the previous night.

They knew that it was just the need to be held, to feel that shared emotion between each other, one that healed the wounds that had been burned into him the day before.

Although his skin was damaged, she’d kissed every part of the damaged skin, his own lips repeating her actions.

When they’d fallen asleep, his arms hadn’t relinquished his hold. When they’d woken up, neither had moved throughout the night.

Calum and Roe were in the same position.

She’d pleaded with him softly, her own terror finally showing through at the thought of going into Hell, as a hybrid. She’d embraced her demonic side, but she knew there was a very big chance she would die.

And it left her feeling unsettled.

Calum had ignored the ribbing from Michael and Ashton, raiding a middle finger to them both when he followed after Roe. They’d laughed in response but they could see it was a big thing for her.

They knew the coven was unsettled at the choice, but there was no dissuading them.

Finally there was movement and it seemed to be a switch for everyone.

It was long after breakfast had finished, Roe and Marcella had corralled Gem and Flo into the sitting room, each witch clutching a cup of tea.

Marcella had noted quietly that the burning hot mug didn’t pain her like it used to.

“We need to prepare for every eventuality.” Roe’s voice was quiet and the two hybrids could see the tears in their unofficial mother’s eyes.

Gem knew what was coming.

“Should I die, you need to hold the coven over until Flo is ready to step up into the position.” Flo’s eyes widened at Roe’s words.

“But, I can’t do that! That’s not-” Marcella cut her off.

“Yes you can. Next to the both of us, you are a powerful witch. You’re ready to protect your coven and home. What more could we ask for in a Coven Witch?”

“You’re asking me to consider this if you both die.” Flo snapped, a tear falling. Both hybrids felt their hearts twist painfully at the single tear that fell.

“You have to consider the possibility of us not making it, Flo.” Despite Roe’s intentions behind her words, they could see a few more tears fall from Flo’s eyes.

“You’re my sisters and you want me to consider stepping up if you die?”

“Gem would take control until you’re ready.” There was a pause followed by a brief nod from Gem.

Flo left the room hastily and Roe could feel her shoulders sink.

“She’ll get there. But none of them have had to face losing a Coven Witch before. It’s a lot.” Gem soothed softly and they both nodded in return.

When the sun fell below the horizon, the sky turning a burnt orange as darkness crept up, the coven and four demons were deep within the forest that backed onto their home.

They’d avoided the area where Luke had been tortured and both he and Marcella had died. They’d made sure they were a secure enough distance away from the protections of the home as well.

There was no goodbyes passed, the witches terrified that it would be their last goodbyes to two of their own.

So with long looks and pleading to stay safe, the four demons linked arms with the two hybrids and shadow travelled back to their own realm.

Roe’s eyes studied the underworld with a look of awe on her face. The warmth wasn’t one to bother her, but the sudden appearance of a group of demons did.

She didn’t have time to defend herself as harsh cries echoed around her from Marcella and the other four.

“Look what we have here, some witches who are very lost and the four defectors. Oh how the King will praise me for killing you all.” A feminine voice hissed in Roe’s ear as she saw her sister being restrained.

She finally took note of the sharp claws and the bindings and she knew that she was done for.

The sharp claws very nearly drew blood, both Luke and Calum snarling.

It was when a knife was pressed into both witches sides that they stopped struggling. They weren’t prepared for the growl that ripped through Luke’s chest, the other demons freezing at the sound.

“He’s bonded!” One of the females shouted, a hysterical laugh escaping her lips. “Which witch do we kill?”

“No! If you’re so determined to kill, then take us, leave them alone!” Luke snarled out, eyes pitch black as the skin on his face began to crack, red running through the cracks.

Marcella saw a new side to her bonded and despite her knowledge of demons, she wasn't scared of him.

Roe was ready to accept her fate, her eyes on Calum. His own chocolate brown eyes had gone black, straining against the bonds that held both him and Luke in place.

“Let go.” A deep voice rumbled, making the demons freeze.

“But your highness, they defected from-“

“I said let them go.” A whip cracked, wrapping around the females neck. Her knees gave out immediately as her hands lifted to grab at the whip, only to scream as her hands burned.

Both witches were let go, as was Luke, Calum, Michael and Ashton. Both Roe and Marcella moved to their demons, Luke’s appearance returning steadily to normal as her fingers moved across his skin.

“I’m safe, I promise.” She whispered, her lips pressing against his chin. Roe allowed Calum’s hands to roam, reassuring himself that she wasn’t hurt.

“They defected!” The female snarled out and their saviour laughed in her face.

“Would you think I wouldn’t know? I pushed them to defect.” Roe could see the whip tightening, but neither her or Marcella turned away as the female clawed for air. Her face was impassive as she watched the demon die.

“If I find any of you having gone for these four and their bonded again-“

“Might as well execute them now.” Marcella snapped, making every demon in the vicinity freeze.

“And why would that be, little witch?” Her eyes turned to Luke who nodded once before her gaze returned to the newcomer.

“Belize Torrid almost murdered us both, with the help of these demons. They trapped Luke in glowing chains before they disappeared like frightened rabbits. Belize didn’t realise I fight for what is mine.” His gaze as even as he met hers before he nodded.

“Consider it done.” With a snap of his fingers, each demon dropped, their fingers clawing at their necks, desperately scrabbling for air.

Marcella couldn’t find any sympathy for them.

“I want you four in the office with the hybrids.” Neither witch had a second to gather their thoughts before they’d reappeared in a spacious office, the floor to ceiling window facing whatever Hell was, the building clearly on an outcrop that oversaw everything.

“Take a seat.” He indicated to the various seats scattered. He didn’t object to the protective hold Luke and Calum had of their witches.

“To the two who do not know, I am Lucifer. Roe, my child, it is wonderful to see you having grown into a fine young woman.”

Roe stared at Lucifer, her eyes incredulous as she processed the information.

“Fucking knew it.” Calum muttered. This earned sharp looks from his brothers, and an amused one from Lucifer himself.

“How did you know it, Calum?” His tone was laced with amusement. Luke stiffened next to Marcella and she shared a worried look with Roe.

“When Roe showed me her bracelet, one from her supposed father, I know your sigil anywhere, your highness.” Calum explained, keeping his tone respectful when he realised he couldn’t afford to let his attitude slip

“So you worked that out?” Lucifer promoted and Calum shrugged.

“I was suspicious. But we’d just seen Luke and Marcella die. I couldn’t make sense of it, not until they came back.” Lucifer nodded, his eyes turning to Luke who froze like a deer in headlights.

“You should be dead. Yet this witch saved your life.”

Luke wasn’t sure how to respond. He knew he was meant to be dead. He knew that because of Marcella’s stubbornness and by the grace of Archangel Gabriel, he was still alive.

“When you bond with a stubborn witch who is prepared to fight Archangel Gabriel to stay with you, I think it’s obvious how I’m still alive.” He finally commented. Marcella lifted her head almost defiantly, her gaze meeting Lucifer's.

It was tense for a moment before the King laughed.

“Mercy help those that come for you two. I look forward to seeing the both of you over the coming years, especially since the lovely witch is now a hybrid.”

“This witch has a name, use it.” Marcella snapped and Luke felt his blood run cold.

“You’re lucky, Marcella that I’m in a good mood.” A shiver rolled down her spine and she relaxed into Luke, pressing her lips together.

She realised then that she’d overstepped a line, if the death grip that Luke had her in was any indication.

“Who was the man you had me believe was my father?” Roe finally spoke and Lucifer smiled.

“Talon, he was my second in command. He knew I couldn’t afford to be seen on the human plains, not with your mother and not with you. He told me of the coven, of your treatment. I instructed him to teach you, learn of your heritage. The bracelet was not only protection but it would hide your hybrid scent from other demons.” He explained, the bracelet pulling from her wrist and floating in the air above her.

“Did he do it on your orders or did he truly care for me?” This pulled the King of Hell up short. He sighed.

“At first it was on my orders. But he learned about you, your feisty attitude. I’m almost certain he came to love you as his own.” Her hand reached out, plucking the bracelet from the air and slipping it back on. She simply nodded.

“Is that why he left the files for us to find?” Ashton finally asked and Lucifer nodded.

“He knew that word had gotten out. He trained the four of you, albeit Luke was only recent, but he saw the bond you shared and he knew that protection would benefit all of you in the long run.”

“Will I have any more errant demons after me?” Her question was quiet, eyes on her lap and Lucifer shook his head.

“Not for a while. Anyone that dares attempt will suffer my wrath, and that’s if you’re not through with them. I hear Belize suffered incredibly.” His eyes turned to Marcella who simply nodded. He smirked.

“Your coven will be under a solid protection that is mine. As long as a member of the coven breathes, my protection will stand strong and true. They will not be able to hurt you. It extends to the four of you, as well.”

Michael's jaw dropped open in shock.

“This means the four of you will essentially be taking place as my seconds in command. Ashton and Michael, you’re free to come and go for missions. Calum and Luke, you’ll be the liaison for the human realm. I won’t send you out on missions until your bonds have settled.”

The four demons seemed to be lost for words. Marcella finally spoke up.

“Would you care to explain that, your highness?” She earned an appraising look from Lucifer who shrugged.

“The bonds you share with both Luke and Calum are strong, but if I were to have them coming back and forth repeatedly, the bond could snap, killing all of you. I happen to be fond of my daughter, and by extension, you.”

“How long does it take for the bond to settle?” Roe finally asked and Lucifer grinned, sharp teeth flashing. Part of Marcella seemed to recognise the predator and her body subtly shifted closer to Luke.

“A decade, maybe more. You’ll know when it does settle. As for the other two, they’re free to come and go as they please between missions.”

“Talon set it up for this, didn’t he? Taking over his position and everything?” Ashton commented quietly, making the King nod in agreement.

Nothing needed to be said. They began to understand why they’d been trained the way they were. Why they’d been taught so many more things that other demons would’ve killed to know.

“Witch Marcella of the Summer Coven.” Lucifer finally I toned and she froze for a second before standing, knowing that the King was invoking the old magick.

“The vow you made as a child is no longer compatible for you, the demons having murdered your family suffering the justice of their elders for their actions that night.”

She had to stop herself from talking back, demanding why had she not been sought out to relieve the vow. Then she realised had they done it years ago, she would’ve simply died a lot quicker.

“Lucifer, King of Hell and the Shadow Realm it touches, I release my vow of vengeance against the demon race.”

Roe felt the magic and her skin bristled with the power.

Part of her set a small reminder to begin training Marcella up if they survived the journey.

“I accept the revoke, Witch Marcella. Try to avoid making vows when you’re riddled with grief. I do believe two is enough.” Her cheeks flushed as she returned to Luke’s side.

Lucifer simply smirked.

—

The group didn’t linger in the shadow realm for much longer than they had to. They didn’t want to tempt fate or the good mood the King had been in.

They arrived in the same spot they’d left in, the rising sun filtering through the branches of the trees as the group realised they were still alive.

“What the fuck did we just go through?” Michael finally muttered and the group of six laughed, the relief tinged with borderline hysteria at the fact they had gone to the Shadow Realm and survived meeting Lucifer.

“I think we just survived the most terrifying meeting and Luke’s witch is a badass with no sense of self preservation.” Ashton replied sarcastically, Marcella flushing at the comment, sticking her tongue out at him in response.

“It means we get another chance at things.” Calum murmured, his eyes meeting Roe’s and she beamed at him.

“So, Coven Demon, what do you say to breakfast and we finally go on that date you need to take me on?”

Calum could only laugh as they made their way back to the coven home, excited shouts of joy reaching their ears when they crossed the boundary line and headed towards the house.

“I’ll take you on all the dates you want to, sweetheart. We’ve got at least a decade to figure it all out.”

---

tag list: @cals-babylons , @glitterprincelu , @calumspeachy , @wrappedaroundcal , @cosmocalum , @monsteramongmikey , @talkfastfletcher , @hereforlukescruff , @astroashtonio , @catchinqcalum , @5saucewho , @dontstopisagoodsongchangemymind , @therainydays4 , @asht0ns-world , @silverchainbee , @hidd3nfangirl , @doodleasouarus , @empathycth , @mylovehes , @songforhema , @kinglyhood , @youngblood199456 , @makecoffeenotwars , @sunny-sos , @negative-love , @softboycal , @kinglycalum , @you-of-ghost , @meetyoutheremgc , @lmao5sosimagines , @lietoash , @aw-hawkeye , @drummerboy794 , @itjustkindahappenedreally, @mycollectionofnuts, @abitloudforanaccousticset, @boytoynamedcalum , @teampreator , @dukehoods , @dweebluke , @calumculture , @lashtoncurls , @wildhearthood , @gigglyirwin , @blue-skies-are-alright , @hearts-to-the-sky , @tiddlerrr , @all-i-want-is2b-loved-by-you , @zooniah , @cakeassx-blog , @rotten-kandy , @vipclifford , @musiclover1263 , @rosecoloredash , @jpgluke , @cathartichaoss , @5secondssofssummer , @daisy-jen , @balsamichood , @cliffordstxngue , @lukesbellas , @myloverboyash , @cxddlyash , @gabiatthedisco , @rosesfromcth , @gorgeouslygrace , @calumsssparkle , @valentinelrh , @meetashthere , @softforcal , @cakesunflower , @hotmessmichael , @fangirlforever0704 , @caswinchester2000 , @long-termplanwithshort-termfixes , @josierosie , @ashtoniwir , @raabiac , @burncrashbromance , @killerlukesqueen , @angelbabylu , @heartbreak-5sos , @geeksareunique , @singledadharrington , @singt0mecalum , @sugarcoated-pain , @sublimehood , @americanhorrorstudies , @moonchildsblack , @uncrownedqueeen , @softforluke , @lostincalum , @colourfulcalum , @calpops , @rosecolouredash , @aftermidnightclifford ,

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falseroar · 5 years

Text

Silver and Peppermint (Part 7)

((Part 7 of a fantasy AU, where Monster Hunter Abe and his reluctant partner, the DA, are trying to track down a murderous werewolf. Except Abe’s partner has left, determined to find what they missed while he is sure they have the monster trapped behind bars. Or at least, he was sure.

Links to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Epilogue))

At the station, they took Luke to a prepared room where wards had been written into the doors and the two-way mirror separating it from the observation room, all in silver paint that glowed in the fluorescent lighting overhead as Abe took a seat across the table from him. Garroway was forced to watch from the observation room, but he swore he could still hear her incessant harping even through the glass as the detective seated next to him started the questions.

“Name?”

“…Luke Red.” His voice was sullen, his eyes downcast and refusing to meet theirs.

“Occupation?”

“Personal assistant. To Lydelle Garroway.”

“Where were you on the night of the 7th?”

Abe sat there, restless as Luke answered each of the questions in turn, always seeming to have an alibi for each night of the murders, one that put him in the same place as a couple if not dozens of people, always doing some task or another for Garroway at the theater. Before long the detective had a widening list of names to double check with, and Abe could practically feel the smugness penetrating through the glass.

“Where were you this morning, 6am?” he asked.

“Getting dressed and ready for the day,” Luke answered, and for the first time his eyes darted up, meeting Abe’s as a flicker of a smile passed his face. “Took a shower, cooked some eggs, maybe made a cup of coffee or two.”

Abe felt the heat rising to his face again, but he kept his composure as he asked, “Can anyone confirm that?”

“Unfortunately, no. I’m afraid I’m not that lucky.”

“You reacted to the silver hand cuffs I placed on you in Garroway’s house,” Abe said. “Why is that?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

That was when Abe started to feel it all slip away.

“What? What do you mean?” Abe rose from his chair, leaning against the table as he said, “You started screaming the second I put them on you.”

“I don’t know, they hurt.”

“Show me your wrists, now,” Abe demanded, ignoring the detective’s warning as he reached across the table and dragged Luke’s arm into view.

There wasn’t a single mark on them.

“What is this?” the detective asked, shooting a look toward the mirror.

Luke on the other hand met Abe’s stare dead-on, that flicker of a smile returning. “…Maybe they were too tight.”

He agreed to a test, and flipped the silver coin in the air a couple of times before neatly catching it in the palm of his hand, his smile never wavering.

“I don’t understand,” Abe said later, after all the tests he could think of proved again and again that Luke was not a werewolf. “What does this mean?”

“It means you got the wrong guy,” the Chief of Police said. He sat back behind his desk and shook his head at Abe before continuing, “I can hold him until we get his alibis confirmed, but there’s no reason to keep him after that. Garroway already has her lawyer terrorizing the place, and they’ve all but guaranteed this entire incident will be all over the morning news.”

“But why did he fake it, back at the house?” Abe said. “There was no reason to do that, he knew what we would think—”

“Which is exactly what I’ve told the lawyer, but there’s only so far we can take a charge of reckless behavior due to outright stupidity. Believe me, I’ve tried.” The Chief sighed and continued, “Sorry, bud, but it’s not looking good for you. The Mayor’s going to have to do something to save face tomorrow once this is out, and you’re the easiest one to cut out of the investigation.”

“But there really is a werewolf out there killing people,” Abe protested, even though he knew deep down the Chief was right. “The city needs a hunter to deal with this thing, before it gets any worse.”

“I know, and I agree,” was the answer that surprised Abe. “I saw the bodies, too. And we’ve taken as much of your advice into practice as possible, but without hard evidence…”

“The DA,” Abe said, but that spark of hope faded when he remembered the look they gave him before they left. “They were going to check out Garroway’s house and go over everything, maybe…”

“It’s about as much a shot as you’ve got,” the Chief agreed. “If anyone can dig up something out of nothing, it’s them. You’ll want to go soon though, curfew’s still in place.”

Despite the warning, Abe found himself straying back toward Luke’s cell. A regular one, since the threat he posed didn’t warrant the wards anymore. There was no one around, but Abe could hear Garroway’s voice coming from one of the rooms down the hall as he stopped to look in.

“Not supposed to talk to you without the lawyer present,” Luke said, but his smile invited Abe to say something, anything.

“Why fake it?” Abe asked. “We were already taking you in, how did you think that could possibly help?”

“Eh, makes you look like an idiot, so that seems like an upside,” Luke answered. He turned and laid down on the bench, arms crossed behind his head as he looked up at the graffiti on the ceiling. “But you seem like the type to waste time all on your own, which is why I guess you’re here.”

“You put something in my coffee this morning, I know it was you,” Abe said, to which the assistant shrugged. “Why?”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, but again, you seem like the type to have a lot of people looking to get you out of the way.”

Abe could not deny that, but he could ask, “You didn’t even know me, but you knew where to find me, when to find me. That setup was too perfect, too well-timed. How?”

“People get lucky. Especially if they take a job from someone with a lot of detailed instructions. Too bad for all of us the one detail that turned out to be wrong was you actually drinking the coffee. Not that I would know anything about that.”

“Instructions from who? Garroway?”

“It’s ‘whom’, and of course not. Who do you think she is? She’s practically a paragon of virtue, can’t you hear her standing up for her poor, falsely accused underling right now? Let me tell you, she’d drop me like a hot rock if she had any reason to believe otherwise.”

Personal assistant, Abe thought. How much of Garroway’s business did he handle? That address they found at the victim’s house, maybe it was pointing to the wrong person.

But it didn’t change the fact that Luke wasn’t the werewolf. As deep in this as Abe suspected him to be, he wasn’t the killer. So, who was?

Luke laughed again when he saw the hunter’s expression out of the corner of his eye and said, “Like I said, wasting your precious, precious time.”

Abe borrowed a phone to call the District Attorney’s office, if only because he didn’t want a door slammed in his face, but when no one answered he gave up and tried the Mayor’s office instead.

“Y/N? Last I heard they were on their way to the hospital.” Damien sounded distracted, and Abe heard him ask for a minute before his voice was back on the line. “Abe, what the hell is going on? First, I hear Franklin is in the hospital after you give him a literal heart attack, now word’s gotten out that there are werewolves in the city—”

Abe barely heard anything after the Mayor’s answer.

Wasting time, Luke had said. Faking lycanthropy, that had to have been to throw off the investigation, but Luke must have known he couldn’t keep up the charade for long. There had to be a reason for that, right? He wanted to stall it, to keep Abe and the DA preoccupied, but not for long. Why? The closest they came to finding the killer’s identity was—

Franklin.

“Why did they go to the hospital?” Abe interrupted the Mayor.

“It would seem you failed to kill off an innocent civilian despite your best efforts,” the Mayor answered, sarcasm dripping heavy enough that even Abe noticed it. “The doctors believe he may wake up soon.”

All the more reason to put him in the grave as soon as possible, before he could share what he knew.

Abe swore into the phone.

“Don’t sound so disappointed,” the Mayor answered. “I should have listened to Y/N, you never belonged on this case. See me in the morning, Hunter, I—”

“Right, yeah, sure, glad to hear it,” Abe answered before hanging up on the sputtering man and bolting for the door. An officer tried to grab the sleeve of his jacket and warn him that curfew was coming on soon, but he pushed past him and shot out the door, running as fast as he could.

There were police at the hospital, thanks to the District Attorney, and Abe didn’t doubt for a second that they had already warned the cops to be on the lookout as soon as they put it together. The Mayor wasn’t the only one who should have listened to them. They had known there was something off about Luke, had insisted on finding all the answers. Maybe they already had an idea of who would be coming for Franklin tonight.

Abe imagined the murderer walking into the hospital just like any other visitor, there to visit a friend who had suddenly fallen ill. Walking up to Franklin’s room, or maybe changing right there in the middle of the visitor’s area, tearing through anyone and everything in its way to Franklin.

Including his partner.

Abe sped up on the empty streets, aware of the streetlights flickering into life overhead as the sun began its steady descent, as the wind picked up, as time ran out. Just a couple of blocks away from the hospital he stopped to catch his breath, wheezing and wishing he had learned for once in his life how to pace himself when it really counted.

And he felt the stare of someone watching him.

Abe slowly straightened up, continuing his exaggerated wheezing and trying to hide his quick look around. The street was empty, unnaturally so even for this time of the day thanks to the curfew, but the sensation of being watched only grew until the hairs on the back of his neck prickled and he turned to face the figure standing behind him.

“Abe!” John said with a friendly smile. “What a surprise. I didn’t expect to run into anyone out here at this hour.”

“What are you doing out here?” Abe asked, wishing the words weren’t accompanied by the harsh gasp for air. “There’s a curfew, you know that.”

“I was on my way to the hospital,” John said. “It looks like you were headed in the same direction. Nothing has happened to Y/N, has it?”

“No, they’re fine,” Abe said. He was already suspicious before, but now every alarm bell was ringing as the man stepped closer. Abe put a hand to his side as though holding a stitch and felt the comforting shape of his revolver under his coat. “Might have burned their hand this morning, I’m on my way to escort them back to the office. Can’t be too careful these days.”

“Too true,” John said, still smiling as his eyes flickered to follow the movement of Abe’s hand. “Perhaps we could walk there together?”

“Yeah, I’d like to keep my eye on you,” Abe said, adding as an afterthought, “For your protection, of course.”

“…Of course.”

John fell into step beside Abe, his posture loose, relaxed compared to the hunter, who felt like a spring held tight and ready to lash out at the slightest reason.

“Something wrong with you?” Abe asked.

“Pardon?”

“You’re going to the hospital, right?”

“No, I am merely wishing to visit an acquaintance of mine.”

“And I guess it just couldn’t wait until morning,” Abe muttered.

“There is no guarantee he will make it through the night,” John said, his tone unchanging. “I thought I should go and see him myself.”

Abe knew he might be walking next to not just a werewolf, but a confirmed killer on his way to meet another victim. It was a less than pleasant feeling, especially with no one else around and no guarantee that anyone in the neighboring houses would open the door to him if he called for help. Even if they did it might just sign their own ticket to meet the Grim Reaper. There was also the chance that he was completely wrong again, which just half an hour ago he wouldn’t have thought would be the better option.

He had to be sure before he did anything he couldn’t take back, and without becoming literally dead sure the hard way. Even now, it was hard not to smile when he could practically hear the District Attorney’s voice again:

Tell me, how are you at bluffing?

“Funny thing, one of our witnesses had to be taken to the hospital earlier today. Well, not ‘haha’ funny, but you get my drift. I get the feeling maybe you know him. Name Franklin ring a bell? Hippie banker type.”

“I’m not sure that’s a real type, but yes, I know of Franklin. What happened to him?”

“Seems like he got a little upset at the thought of a monster roaming around the city,” Abe said.

“You mean the werewolf,” John said.

“You knew I was looking for a werewolf,” Abe said.

“Well, the rumors were going around, but I think we can say the cat’s out of the bag—or maybe the wolf’s out of the cage? News travels so fast in this city.”

Except it wasn’t common knowledge when John made that comment to Abe this morning, just before he left the loan broker’s shop.

“So fast Franklin knew what was coming for him,” Abe said. But not who. He had called the werewolf an ‘it,’ not ‘him’ or ‘her.’ “He had tried to protect himself, seemed to know why it was coming for him.”

“A shame he didn’t get the chance to tell you anything,” John said.

“Except he did,” Abe said, realizing it was true. Sure, the banker had panicked, but part of that was claiming he didn’t want to be a part of ‘it’, whatever ‘it’ was. Abe had assumed he had tried to back out of whatever business the other victims were a part of, but now the victim’s letter crossed his mind, the unsent invitations. Someone wanted out and they were looking for others to join them—only for their group to be knocked down one by one. A coward like Franklin would never have willingly stood up to someone they were so terrified of. Not without a backup plan.

He had the Haywood papers, stolen from Marcus’s apartment after the werewolf ransacked it. What if the papers were just another security measure, like the silver wards on the door or the wolfsbane hidden around the house? But how would he have gotten his hands on them, without risking running into the werewolf?

Well, he could have gotten the help of someone who was used to running errands for other people, someone who turned right around and tipped the werewolf off before trying to distract the people in charge of the case long enough for their one witness to be taken care of.

It was a guess, a total shot in the dark, but Abe had acted on less before.

“I almost forgot. Luke wants you to know he tried to keep quiet, he really did.”

He saw it, the second John’s face gave him away before he could stop it. John opened his mouth as though to pretend otherwise, to act like he didn’t know what he was talking about, but then after a pause a harsh, humorless laugh escaped instead.

“You are a treat, aren’t you?” John let the laugh die away into silence, but he was still smiling even if it didn’t reach his eyes as he studied Abe. “I’ve never met someone as ridiculous and hardheaded as you, hunter. I’d almost think you were perceptive, if not for the fact you can’t seem to see what’s right in front of your eyes.”

“Oh, I know a murderer when I see one,” Abe snarled, reaching for his gun. “And I’m going to take care of you, right here, right now.”

“The worst part is, I was supposed to meet Y/N out here, not you,” John snarled back, and it was a real snarl, a feral sound that shouldn’t have come out of a human throat. “That’s two times she steered us wrong. But you know what they say: Never trust a seer.”

Abe aimed to shoot, but with a strength that even his build would not suggest, John picked him up by the collar and threw him into the alley with about as much effort as someone tossing out the trash, a pile of which Abe landed in with a groan.

“Oh, well. At least your corpse should be enough to distract the cops while I take care of the rat and that delicious little DA,” John said, each word becoming more distorted and difficult to make out as the shape of his mouth changed, from a sneer into a muzzle full of glistening white fangs, behind which his body contorted and broke into the shape of a massive wolf nearly as big as a horse, its fur practically glowing in the darkness like the eyes that stared hungrily at Abe.

The hunter pulled out his gun and managed to fire off one shot, but it went astray and he had no chance to fire a second before the wolf was on him, one paw crushing his wrist beneath its weight as the foaming jaws went for his throat. Abe could feel its breath on his skin just before the weight suddenly lifted.

His eyes shot open to see the massive wolf stumble away and turning to meet its attacker: a second wolf, visibly smaller and darker but standing its ground, hackles raised as it gave a menacing growl that sounded nothing like the whimper Abe heard from it the night before.

It wasn’t even half the size of John, but he kept his distance for a moment, ears back as he studied the newcomer that stood between him and the hunter. When he stepped forward the second wolf’s growl reached a new pitch, shoulders twisting up to increase its size as it failed to back down. With John’s attention diverted, Abe slowly reached for his gun but froze when the wolf’s eyes latched on to him again, the muzzle beneath parting into a wicked grin of a snarl.

Only for those eyes to flicker back toward the other wolf, and then downward. Abe followed the gaze in time to see that the other wolf’s stance was off. While all four paws were touching the ground, it was clearly not putting its full weight on one of its front legs, the same one he saw it limping on the night before.

The pause in between the first attack and that realization had to have been merely seconds, and then John went for his next attack. The other wolf leapt, just barely dodging the jaws that snapped at its injured leg and was on top of the larger wolf, snarling and tearing at anything in reach while John tried to shake it off before ramming into the nearest wall with a sickening sound from the smaller wolf. It slid to the ground, momentarily dazed before the larger wolf was on top of it, fangs lunging toward its exposed underbelly.

A crack split the air and the white wolf jerked to a stop before it could lay teeth to the other, golden eyes turning toward Abe just as he fired off a second round, and then a third.

One would have been enough, but it took restraint not to fire everything he had into the lumbering beast that took one, two steps toward him before crashing to the ground. Its body shook and shivered as it started to change back into human form, only to give out halfway, leaving John both recognizable and yet not.

The second wolf stood, or tried to. It took more than one attempt to get back onto its shaking limbs, and when it did it just stared at Abe, who looked back from the other side of his gun’s barrel.

He couldn’t miss this time. And he had two rounds left.

More than enough.

A second passed, and then another, but Abe’s finger was still on the trigger when he heard the sirens of the police coming closer, no doubt coming in response to the gunshots fired. The wolf’s ears flicked in their direction, but its eyes didn’t leave Abe’s face as he sighed and lowered his gun. He looked toward the flashing lights pulling up at the end of the alley.

But John wouldn’t be hurting anyone else, and at least one of his accomplices was either behind bars or on his way back to them.

More than enough, for now.

Abe sank against the wall behind him and looked back. As he expected, the other wolf was gone, but the new lights did help him to see something he hadn’t noticed before: a square, wrinkled piece of fabric with a familiar design.

Abe stared at it as one thought trickled through his mind:

I am such an idiot.

((Thank you for reading!

Here’s a link to the epilogue to wrap this story up.

Tagging: @silver-owl413 @skyewardlight @withjust-a-bite @blackaquokat @catgirlwarrior @neverisadork @luna1350 @oh-so-creepy @purpstraw @weirdfoxalley @95fangirl @lilalovesinternet-l @thepoolofthedead @a-bit-dapper @randomartdudette @geekymushroom @cactipresident @hotcocoachia @purple-anxiety-blog @shyinspiredartist @avispate ))

#markiplier #fanfiction #werewolf au #monster hunter au #wkm detective #wkm da

21 notes · View notes

okimargarvez · 6 years

Text

IF YOU GO AWAY

Original title: Se tu te ne vai.

Prompt: misunderstandings, funeral, telephone conversations.

Warnings: character death. Set in the end of season 12. Very sad.

Genre: angst, drama, comedy, family, romantic, friendship.

Characters: Penelope Garcia, Luke Alvez, Spencer Reid, (Emily Prentiss), Derek Morgan, BAU team.

Pairing: Garvez.

Note: trilogy of oneshots.

Legend: 💏😘👓🔦⚰.

Song mentioned: none.

If You Go Away- Masterlist

MY OTHER GARVEZ STORIES Note: I’m sorry.

IF YOU GO AWAY or three stories of a farewell, a return and a stay

1- FAREWELL: Why did you leave?

-What is this?

-It's my letter of resignation.

-Penelope.

-No. If Reid dies, I quit.

-We won't let that happen.

-Emily, I'm exhausted, and it is breaking me, and this whole year has been an emotional roller coaster. It's like every time something happens, there's a piece of myself that is being chipped away, and if one more thing goes down, I don't think there's going to be anything left.

Luke has noticed right away, she's not here. But he had look the other way. This was no time to think of such a thing. They had to find the mother of Spencer. But he couldn't help but care about her. He had proved protective of each team member, but she was something more. Maybe because he could so easily to grasp the fragility behind all that apparatus of eccentric clothes and odd phrases. Or will it be that Penelope is the sweetest creature (when and with whom she wants) that exists on this planet. When Emily returns from them, her brown eyes is strange. She went to her? Has something happened? Why she not talks, dammit?

No, she continues to think about the case, and rightly so. But he has had enough.

-I'll take a quick drag.- at night, in an area with no green spots... First of all he heads toward Garcia's office. He knocks. No reply. He tries twisting the handle and... surprise. The door opens. The light is on, but she's not here. He shouldn't set foot, isn't his right, is invading the privacy of the blonde, but... it's a special case, he is justified. He notices with pleasure, indulging in a little smile, that on her desk, in the midst of all those puppets and strange objects, there is also the one that he has given her. He approaches, taking it in his hand, thinking, wondering if she would ever do this, if every now and then she happens to use it, whether she has already tested its usefulness in reducing stress. And while she touches it, if she thinks about him. Ouch, this isn't really a thought by worried coworker.

Then his eyes are attracted to a yellow folder. It doesn't seem like the ones they use to keep the documents of a case. Nothing is written on it, which can help him understand what it is. He must not open it. He can't. But he does it however.

His visual apparatus recognizes before the mind the type of file that is inside.

I, Penelope Garcia, being of sound mind, I ask to be able to resign right now. I don't think I'm more suitable for this job and as a result I'll be a burden and not a valid help for the team. I would suggest for my replacement Sophie Cardoza, she is young but...

-What are you doing in my office?- Luke jumps, feeling behind her. Her tone wanted to be stern, but it came out weak and broken. She doesn't hide the fact that she has just cried. He turns towards Penelope.

He doesn't apologize, he doesn't look for justifications. -Why do you want to leave?- he asks her instead, directly, going to the point, without many turns of phrase. She sighs, shrugs, tries to seem distant and austere as usual, but she doesn't succeed very well. And that look is almost the same as when she had returned from her visit to Reid in prison.

-Why do you think it's your business, Alvez?- she answers with another question. But the man expected it.

-Because I'm part of the Awesome 8- he quotes her, with no parody intent -and I'm sorry to see you like that.- she needs Derek. If he were there, she probably would never have dared to bring that document to Prentiss. However, she can't deny that this isn't the first time she has decided to leave the Bureau. Derek would hold her in his arms and tell her it's all right. Or that if it's not right now, it will be better in the future. He would get Reid out of jail. He would have taken Scratch. Luke instead...

Before she can realize it, she finds the lips of the Newbie pressed on hers. She remains wide-eyed for the duration of the kiss, feeling overwhelmed by a train of emotions, unable to distinguish them with precision. -And this was for...- she pronounces this phrase like a question, her mouth still wet with his taste, as she catches her breath. It's his turn to shrug, indifferent.

-I don't know, I just thought it could work as when people have hiccups. If I could surprise you enough, maybe this would have passed.- he is serious, he did really think such a thing? Yet the man's gaze is so innocent, sweetly joking. Penelope allows herself a laugh.

-You really messed up, Alvez.- but then the mood returns grumpy. It was just a glow in the darkness. -But it didn't work.- she can't do without it, just look at his sad expression to become from the one would need to be consoled, to the one who instead consoles. -Hey, it doesn't depend on you. This time I think that even Morgan couldn't raise me up.-. she lies. Or maybe not?

-You didn't have answered my question. Why do you want to leave?- now Luke's tone is extremely calm and almost cold. She moves a few centimeters away.

-Because I can't take it anymore.- it's something, but it's not enough. He urges her to continue with his gaze. -You are in this team for how much, a little over six months?- it sounds like if he should feel responsible -How can we try to save the others, if we can't protect ourselves and the people we love?- she changes the register and the eyes they come back to be completely shiny. But the tone is firm. -Spencer was kidnapped, the girl who fell in love with him killed by a psychopath, one of the many that we chase every day... and now his mother is in danger.- gradually that she speaks, she notices he is gradually approaching at her body, but she tries not to mind too much.

JJ. Her husband was injured and kidnapped by completely crazy thieves, who were excited to kill as well as steal, and the woman even went to their home and threatened Henry, their child. Let's add the fact that she was disappeared for months, while she was in a war zone with the head of the section, Cruz and that this forced her to abort. - her voice is getting more serious, and less and less hard. -Rossi, as you have seen, spent countless birthdays receiving as a gift a name of a poor murdered girl... but it's not just that. One of her best friends was murdered "because of him", or better than his job. The head of section that was there before, Erin Strauss, with whom he had a relationship, was killed by another unsub, and if that wasn't enough, a girl who aspired to become like him was murdered for this reason.- now she no longer has the strength to look him in the eyes. -Emily, oh, she's more privileged, she's just been killed by a Russian guy and we just thought she was dead for a few months...- her laugh is bitter -... besides this, her childhood friends were killed by a priest convinced to practice exorcisms to save their souls and her ex-colleagues from that Russian I mentioned earlier... Ian Doyle.- she pronounces as if spitting -Tara's brother has been kidnapped by Mr. Scratch, but you know that, you were there too... in fact, when they found him he was saying your name, right?- but he doesn't reply nothing - Walker... that story of his friend seems to me that it doesn't need to be repeated.- she sighs and raises for a moment again the look on him. -And we pass to the absent. Hotch's wife was killed by one who managed to convince us for years of being one of the victims. He was drugged by Peter Lewis, who forced him to relive those experiences. And he risked dying from complications arising from the wounds he had reported years ago! And now he's in the witness protection program.- the words come out freely, as if they had life of its own and she was just a loudspeaker to make them sound louder.

-Derek. He was accused of murder, kidnapped and tortured for days, some criminal shot his pregnant wife... it seems to me sufficient- just three centimeters distance separated Luke from her. - And many others, which will be just names for you. Kate Callahan, her stepdaughter has been kidnapped by a group of people who sell young people to people... I don't think they deserve to be called like that... by some lousy people who sell kids to those who want to have fun, experimenting with a new method of murder.- her eyes, too swollen to hold back her tears, let her flow as she feels the warm breath of man brush her face like a caress -Alex Blake, maybe you've assist some of her lessons or read one of her books, she had to leave the unit to save her sanity and her marriage. In addition to this, her brother was almost killed by am unsub.- now it's certain that Luke has laid his hands on her shoulders, but she doesn't dare to open her eyes to check. -And then Ashley Seaver, daughter of a serial killer and future of the Bureau. Jordan Todd, skilled in dealing with terrorists but practically consumed in less than a month to talk with relatives of the victims and in conferences. Jason Gideon, one of the founders of the BAU... crushed like a fly, by one who had known more than thirty years before, when he had given up on this job! And finally Elle Greenaway, who was forced to leave because of me; after they shot her, she wasn't the same person anymore.- she seems to have talked for centuries. The sense of guilt is there, latent, but never abandons her.

-Why your fault?- finally Luke manages to open his mouth. Garcia's voice had hypnotized him.

-Because I was playing online with my PC, but with the wi-fi of Bureau and so the killer managed to get the personal data of the team, and chose to hit her, maybe because she was alone.- she exclaims aloud something she had just found out was always inside her. -He should have hurt me! I was an easy target too, but surely. she was prettier...- she's not crying, she just has to blow her nose every five minutes.

-Penelope, don't say that...- he increases the hold on her shoulders.

-Why not? It's the truth. In both cases. And it was my fault, I should have paid for it.- it's too easy to go back to those days that she thought she had by now overcome. Luke lifts her head and grabs her chin. If she were in herself, she would probably be shocked.

-No, it's not, in either of them...- but she doesn't listen, so he decides to change the subject and the approach. -And me?- he asks. Penelope frowns, confused.

-What?- he smiles.

-You did practically the list of everyone who was part of the BAU... you even mentioned Walker. The only ones you have not named, it's you and me.- another smile, a little more mischievous than the previous one. She sighs, annoyed.

-I can't include you, because I don't know anything about you.- And would you like to know? those dark eyes ask her.

-Well, you know I joined the team because of Daniel Cullen, the Crimson King...- she nods. -Here, when I caught him he was busy cutting open my partner, Phil, who miraculously survived. But the psychological scars are more difficult to heal and I, too, stayed awake for a few nights, terrified by the prospect of closing my eyes.- she had never thought about the fact that he could have such problems, but basically it's normal, each of them fights against their own demons. She has nothing to comment on. -And you?- we can consider what he is doing the principle of a hug.

-I... nothing. A guy, who I went out with shot me instead of kissing me. He hit me a few millimeters under my heart, a bit of rehab and here I'm, like new.- she shows off in a turn that doesn't come out very well. Even the joking tone is forced. Luke doesn't really want to laugh.

-Why you liquidate this like it was normal? - he puts both hands on her shoulders. -Garcia, don't treat me like I don't care at all.- behind them some device emits a sound.

-I've got some information on the case, would you let me go and see?- reluctant he lets her go and he follows her in every movement. -And anyway, if you really want to know, I'll not leave the BAU until the story of Reid is over.- the man realizes he can't do what he really wants and goes out, leaving her alone.

While each of them is busy looking for useful information on the murderer of Nadie Ramos, they ignore each other. Or rather Luke can't help but keep an eye on her, but with a more discreet than usual. He positions himself on the blackboard and he mark all the places that come to his mind. When she came back inside and sat down in front of her computer, he immediately realized that she was still crying. But Penelope didn't want his help and he doesn't know what else to do. It was better to focus on the case. They spend all night there, he makes a lot of calls, they drink lots of coffee, and then... then Prentiss manages to convince the judge to free Spencer because his mother was kidnapped.

And so, they go to jail: Luke, JJ and Penelope. He heads off to talk to Calvin Shaw once more while one blonde runs from Reid, the other stays alone outside. Yet as they accompany him on exiting the prison, she remains his only fixed thought, which doesn't want to go away. Here she is, beautiful with straight hair and that almost normal dress. His eyes widen at her sight, he can't help it. Although for her he is only one of many who have been part of the BAU, it's not the same for Luke. He looks away because he is aware that her joyous expression isn't for him, but for Spencer. How he envies him while he looks at them hugging, something she had never allowed him to do... yet that time, the first who had found her crying in his bunker, he had gone so close... if she hadn't received that damned message: We have a case. The two take each other's hands and a part of him dies. Needless to make fun of himself.

But the worst is yet to come. And bears a name and surname: Derek Morgan.

Right now, Luke doesn't want to rethink the synopsis of those days, but he still can't do without it. They had discovered that Lindsey had an accomplice, another girl who had met Spencer, a certain Cat. It was Penelope herself who told him who she was and what she had done. Then Reid and JJ went to jail where she was detained. And they had followed the whole interview, practically powerless. In the meantime, they had tried to figure out where Lindsey could keep Diana. So, Cat had mentioned Morgan and his family, because she knew that Derek's son carried Spencer's second name and therefore she wanted to make him suffer. Then she made him believe she was with child from him, but Garcia found out that the real father was a guard. And then they had managed to find Diana and bring her to safety. The moment of the maternal embrace had been beautiful. Lindsey was in their hands, Cat always in prison. All solved? No.

It was too good to be true. In fact, the ex-special agent Morgan had appeared out of nowhere because he had received a message from Penelope... in short, the blonde's phone had been hacked. Big mistake. How to try to steal from Arsène Lupine. Luke couldn't help but ask a simple question: if she could figure out where the hacking was from. And she took it very badly. She had turned to Derek and with a knowing look had pointed out what she had to endure. And the latter, holding back a laugh, he had addressed the word to him for the first time.

-Alvez, you'll always get a location with this one.- he had caressed her, squeezed a shoulder. With such naturalness, spontaneity, tranquility... all the opposite of what he could do. Only once he had the opportunity to touch her shoulders, when the judge had rejected the possibility of allowing a bail and throwed Reid in jail. That time she was so in crisis that she had probably not even noticed who was trying to console her. All that Luke had been able to do was a half-smile, behind which a thousand thoughts and emotions were hidden. Then Derek had called him "new friend".

He didn't know what to think of him. He couldn't understand what he felt for him. After all, he was married, with a son. He was no longer part of the unit. He was no longer a danger (or a rival), right?

The answer had arrived very quickly. When they had left the meeting room and they were both alone, he already didn't like the situation. But then he had to go back, because he had forgotten something. And so, he had seen them together. Much worse than the tasting he had had before. The way Penelope looked at him, as if he were really a god... with what love, affection, respect, devotion... all things she would never have shown to him. And even Derek, though his gestures were not just like a normal friend, the sweetness with which he had caressed her cheek or when he had told her he was proud of her and... that he loved her. He really loved her. Yet he had returned from his wife. He could never understand their relationship.

And when he thought that nothing else could happen now, the man had managed to surprise him, to open his mouth wide again. "But do you think you can try to be a little friendlier to Alvez?- why he did care? He did also notice that she treated him differently? -He seems like a pretty all right kid...- and Penelope rolled her eyes. But what she had replied... -It's complicated... I'll try. I make no promises.- Why she say it’s complicated? Apart from that, there were other reasons why it should be complicated?

For all these reasons Luke wasn't very focused on driving, nor on the case. Yet the accident didn't happen because of him. All the SUVs had been pierced by a special system that had appeared on the road just as they passed. They had turned upside down, but without suffering consequences. But while they were catching their breath, he had seen the light of the headlights out of the corner of his eye. And he had had only time to start a prayer, the most basic, the one that his grandmother had taught him when he was very small...

Then the awakening in the hospital. They were all fine. Some sprain, scratch, but nothing serious. In fact, he had been the one who had made everyone worry more, because he didn't regain consciousness immediately. But they hadn't even had time to relax, to rejoice, to breathe a sigh of relief.

Derek had suddenly entered the room where he was hospitalized, where the entire BAU was gathered. And each of them understood, even before the former profiler opened his mouth. Even Luke had understood that something serious had happened, but he hadn't wanted to believe it. Until he had thought about it, it would not have come true. If only it had been so...

How had it happened? Nobody could still say it. They only knew that someone had shot Penelope. While she was still at the BAU. Later they would have discovered that it was the work of the two villains, the evil couple, who had managed to organize everything from the prison. Somehow, they understood the connection between computer technician and Spencer and then, in any case, she was the simplest target. More vulnerable. Because they were out.

It had been all a trap. The real goal had been her, from the beginning.

It was their fault, of each of them. They had left her alone. They had assumed that inside their offices she would be safer, in fact, no one had thought it might be dangerous. Not even he.

She hadn't died right away. She had survived the surgery. It seemed like there was hope. In fact, the doctors had immediately said that she was still in danger, that they could only wait. But she was conscious. So, each of them went to her bedside, to do with her what would be the last chat. First JJ, Emily and Tara. Together, because they always had been. Then Rossi and Spencer. And Derek who had never moved. He had only come out after Stephen had done his part. Even he couldn't pretend not to cry. And then it had been his turn. Luke was finished last, he had risked not being able to even have this chance.

But when he had crossed the threshold of her room, Penelope was still alive. Weak. She was the shadow of Garcia to which he was accustomed. He had to show himself strong for her. But by now it was clear to everyone that their technician was slowly shutting down. She had stopped fighting. The game had been won by the lady in black. That game that began more than ten years ago, with a bullet hit. They would have discovered later that she had been the previous damage that made her survival impossible. But he didn't know it yet. He wanted to be strong, but he hadn't succeeded.

He had burst into inconsolable crying, falling to her knees before her bed, holding her hand. He had been out of breath, because

it was being so desperate. He didn't remember if he had said anything to her, if they were sensible phrases. But Penelope had tried to console him as far as she could. Her voice was so low that he finally had to placate tears in order to hear her. -I'm sorry I was so stupid.- it was the juice of the first tiring sentence she had uttered. -I'm sorry to have treated you like that.- the second one. Even at a time like this she couldn't stop thinking about someone else, everyone, except herself. The last one had been -I'm glad you managed to kiss me.- but Luke hadn't even had time to think he could repeat that gesture. The fingers tightened to his had become motionless. They were already cold. He had looked at her face. She had such a serene expression...

Luke sighs one last time, before he gains strength and loads part of the weight of the coffin on his shoulder. On the other sides there are obviously Spencer, Derek and Rossi. Behind them, many people, many ex-FBI agents. Three of her ex-boyfriends, for whom he can't even feel jealous anymore. Emily and JJ shake hands throughout the ceremony. Then the coffin had lower in the grave. And covered with ground. Together with the flowers above the coffin. Not roses, not just at least. A person like Garcia, she would have liked the last day to be full of colors and variegated. So, sunflowers, orchids, carnations, daisies and many others. In fact, while he waited for Dave's car to pick him up, he lost himself reading the meanings of the various flowers, because he wanted to tell her what he felt, though she no longer cared, at least that way, at least one last time. But he would have to bring a lot of them: holly (defense, eternity) for what he should have done and wanted, but at least he had tried; aquilegia (which before he didn't even know existed) because it meant hidden love ; freesia (another who didn't know) because it signaled mystery and charm; carnation, jasmine because simply the red was mark of love; Hibiscus, on the other hand, was the most suitable of all because it doesn't live more than a day, so its fleeting beauty lasts only for a moment and at the end what was there between them wasn't very different; the lilacs for the beats of love; the forget-me-nots would have been a mockery of himself. And there would have been many others, too many And, in the end, he had opted for a strange flower, whose name wasn't romantic, orange; and Spencer had recognized it immediately and surely, he had been the only one to understand. Buttercup. And yet another had reached his companions and had been buried by the ground. Zinnia.

-Luke... - the young genius approaches him. Only the two of them were remained. He stayed in front of Penelope's tomb, the stone hasn't yet been laid, all this time. To think, to remember. To cry. But it doesn't embarrass him the fact that Spencer had sees his pain so obvious. They stare into each other's eyes for a moment and then he, the famous doctor to hate the handshakes, hugs him. When they separate, the Latin already knows what he is going to ask him. -Two flowers...- for once seems to be speechless, unable to compose one of his long sentences full of big words. -Buttercup: sad and melancholy love. Zinnia: nostalgia , lack.- he declares, how if reads the definitions of a dictionary. -You loved her?- Luke nods without having to think about it.

-You, who always know everything -he provokes him, sniffling -you can tell me why she had to die?- he doesn't blame him, but anger and despair follow each other very quickly in his soul. The young doctor doesn't have the answer he is looking for. But he is in possession of another that can still interest him.

-Do you know what she was doing when she was hit?- Why twist the knife? Why force him to return to that day? Make he feel again useless, helpless and stupid? But he doesn't say anything to stop him -I was with her. She told me that she had decided to leave the team... he showed me her resignation... then she tore the paper into pieces. And she came out to breathe, a breath of air, as if were a kind of ritual... then I heard the hiss of the bullet and I saw her fall to the ground. I called 911, Derek and then you, but you didn't answer, because the accident had already happened...- Luke isn't listening anymore.

Garcia had changed her mind. She wouldn't have abandoned them anymore.

Yet fate has chosen in her place. It decided she had to leave the Bureau. Conclusively.

Penelope, I miss you. Why did you leave me alone? Why you? Why I'm not dead? Not you, with your innocence, your trust in the world... not you.

While Reid holds him in another improbable embrace, the man becomes aware of a truth. He may love other women, but there will always be a thought, a hypothesis no longer verifiable, that will torment him. Because what isn't defined, has no boundaries, doesn't even have an end.

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Note: I’m still sorry. The other two will be happier. I swear.

#garvez #penelope garcia #luke alvez #criminal minds #cm #luke x penelope #penelope x luke #garcia x alvez #alvez x garcia #spencer reid

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