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dirtyoatmeall · 3 years

Text

Good for you

A/N: Wow sorry I've been gone!! I suddenly got back into reading and suddenly found myself in the middle of multiple series! anywayz, I finally listened to Olivia Rodrigo's new album so here is a songfic for good for u. I ended up going in a completely different direction than I had in mind. It's also long as fuck. I proof scanned it, but it's like 18 pages, as always sorry for the incorrect grammar, I do what I want. Call me Maybe will be getting one soon as well :)

Pairing: ex!Kageyama x reader, foreshadowed Atsumu x reader

Genre: angst? hurt/comfort? Its sad for pretty much most of it.

Word Count: 10.3k (im so sorry)

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol and drinking, implied adult themes, all characters are 21+ !!, detailed breakup. 16+ only por favor

Well, good for you, I guess you moved on really easily. You found a new girl and it only took a couple weeks.

Your phone chimed, alerting you of a new text, you reached for it on the side table, pausing the movie you were watching. It was a message from Shoyo and an image: ‘I’m sorry, I figured it’d be better if I told you instead of finding out on Twitter.’ Your brow pinched, what could that mean? You unlocked your phone to open the text.

The pinch deepens as you zoom in on the picture, eyes beginning to prickle with tears. It was a photo- most likely taken by a fan or paparazzi- of Tobio, your boy-, ex-boyfriend. He was with a woman, she seemed slightly familiar, probably a model or something along those lines. Your face heated and shame burned in your chest, the embrace they were in looked so intimate; private, that it seemed wrong to look. You deleted the image and left Shoyo on read for now; you’d reply when you’re in a better headspace.

It had only been a couple of weeks and he had already moved on, meanwhile, you were just starting to not cry at the little reminders of him scattered about your apartment. He hadn’t even come to get his stuff. You sniffle and walk over to the wall to your left; the picture wall- and gently take one of the photos off, smiling faintly at the memory it brings to the surface.

Remember when you said that you wanted to give me the world?

The sun filtered through the blinds, casting a soft glow around the room. Groaning, you squint at the brightness before rolling over. Your eyes find blue ones, startling you slightly. He chuckles softly, voice deep and gravelly with sleep; sending heat through your body. “you’re so jumpy in the morning.” he whispered in the otherwise empty apartment.

You roll your eyes and let him pull you into his chest, listening to his heartbeat and his fingers traced lazy shapes into your hip. “Shut up, you know it takes me a day or two to adjust after you’ve been gone.”

You meant for the words to be light; not expecting the emotion you heard behind them. He sighs, arm winding tighter around your waist as he kisses the top of your head. You bring your head up to meet his gaze and shift in his arms, frown tugging on your lips. “’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin the mood.”

He sighs again, shaking his head softly. “You don’t have to apologize for anything, I should, for never being home, missing holidays and-“ You put a hand against his lips silencing him, brows drawn tightly together.

“You don’t have anything to apologize for either. I knew what I was getting into when we got together, it didn’t bother me in school and it doesn’t bother me now. I’d much rather you live out your dream than being stuck here with me all the time.” You feel his mouth open to object, but your hand stays firm. “I’m serious Tobio, I mean every word.” He nods against your hand and you release him. You flush slightly at the open emotion in his gaze. He pulls you into a kiss, murmuring against your lips. “I don’t know how I got so lucky with you, I promise I’m gonna give you the world.”

And good for you, I guess that you've been workin' on yourself. I guess that therapist I found for you, she really helped

A few days later you meet Shoyo for lunch, a new onigiri place where he apparently knows the owner. He sighs as he sets down his menu, your eyes snapping back your own, pretending like you’ve been mulling it over this whole time. “Alright, go ahead and ask.”

You look up from your menu, feigning innocence. “Hm? Sorry I wasn’t paying attention.” He rolls his eyes and raises an eyebrow. You hold his gaze for a few moments before your shoulders sag in defeat. Your eyes fall to the table as you pick at the corner of the laminated menu. He gives you a minute to collect your thoughts before he places his hand atop yours, a sad smile gracing his features.

“(Y/N), it’s normal to want to know how he’s doing.” You chew your lip and mumble, “Well he’s obviously doing good since he already moved on.”

He continues as if you hadn’t spoken. “He started going to that therapist you recommended a day or so after,” he pauses, trying to gauge where your mind is. You’re meeting his gaze, and he can see you got what he was implying so he continued. “He’s been going consistently; says it’s really helped him.” You nod, blocking out his next words; too busy thinking about how you’re going to find a new therapist.

Now you can be a better man for your brand new girl

As you eat, you think over his words. You swallow and take a deep breath, trying to instil confidence in yourself. “Are they… good together?” Your voice comes out softer than intended and you inwardly cringe. He smiles faintly and nods. “They are.” You nod in understanding and turn your focus back to your meal.

Well, good for you. You look happy and healthy, not me-If you ever cared to ask

You knew it was inevitable, your apartments aren’t that far apart, you just wished it wasn’t so soon.

You were grocery shopping for the week, trying to figure out how many oranges to get before settling on 4 with a sigh, you toss them into your cart, turning around to see blue eyes at the other end.

You inhale sharply, your gazes met and he was too close for you to run away, leaving only one option. You were suddenly glad you met Shoyo for breakfast this morning, you were dressed up a bit, but you weren’t so glad when you became queasy. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped, letting it fall shut. You feel your face flush with heat and you duck your head, mumbling a soft “sorry!” and move to continue down the aisle, hoping he’d let you go.

Those hopes were crushed with the hand that gently captured your elbow, halting your escape as he turned you to face him. You were silent for a moment before he realized he was still gripping your elbow, dropping his hand to his side. You crossed your arms around your middle, trying to look- be smaller, small enough to get away. Though the rational side of you knew it wouldn’t happen, that you’ve known each other too long to simply stop. So you raised your gaze, uncurling your arms and bringing your shoulders back to at least look the part of an old friend caught by surprise, smiling as you spoke.

“Oh, Kageyama! I didn’t see you there, how are you?” He cringed ever so slightly at the use of his last name, filling you with a sick sense of pride that weighed uncomfortably in your chest. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a brunette coming up to him, not noticing you as she surveyed the list in her hand.

“Babe, did you find the oranges? Oh, remind me to pick up my birth control at the phar-“ Her eyes widened as she noticed you; cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment. Unfazed, Kageyama snorted softly, wrapping an arm around her waist before turning back to you. “This is Yumi, babe, this is (Y-) uh, (L/N).” You smiled and waved, which she mirrored, going to speak but instead was interrupted by you, who had decided to spare all of you of the awkwardness of prolonging the conversation. “It’s nice meeting you Yumi, and it was nice seeing you Kageyama, but I gotta run.”

They nodded and waved in farewell as you continued down the aisle, letting out a deep breath before heading into the next aisle. You needed more alcohol.

Good for you. You're doin' great out there without me, baby. God, I wish that I could do that.

You saw them a few more times during your shopping trip. You had wanted to leave right away, but you had been putting off groceries for too long, and leaving your cabinets and fridge almost barren. Thankfully they were always far enough where if you accidentally made eye contact a smile in passing was warranted enough.

As you contemplated between mini pizzas or a large pizza, you heard a loud giggle from further down the aisle. Your head turned towards the noise instinctively and you saw them at the end, near the ice cream, which you hoped they moved soon because that was next on your list. They were laughing, her arms around his waist as she looked up at him, he had an arm around her, resting on her hip as he met her gaze and you felt your chest tighten and an emotion you definitely did not want to name and wanted to shove down, down far enough to forget it. They looked the part of smitten lovers, and you decided you didn’t need ice cream all that bad and grabbed the mini pizzas before heading to checkout, continuing to ignore the emotion swelling, weighing down your chest and moving up to your throat.

I've lost my mind, I've spent the night cryin' on the floor of my bathroom

You took a deep, shuddering breath that broke halfway into a gasping sob. The emotion was suffocating, burning in the back of your throat and pulsing against your skull as you hugged your knees to your chest, the cold press of the tub against your back doing nothing. You tried to take a breath again but your chest was too tight, it was constricting your lungs, pushing hot tears down your cheeks and pulsing harder as with the ringing in your ears.

You could faintly comprehend the door to the bathroom opening, but didn’t look up as someone wrapped their arms around you, pulling you to them; the feel of fabric twisting in your grasp somewhat grounding as they smoothed down your hair, their words muffled under the ringing. You couldn’t think about the tears and who knows what else dampened their shirt, couldn’t think of anything except the emotion weighing so heavy in your chest you were positive it was going to break your ribs, break through you and continue down, down, deep underground.

You have no clue how long you were there with them, not even sure how long before they arrived. They shifted their arms to pick you up, and you let them, not even moving your hands from their place on the shirt, you were sure they were glued there, the tears acting as an adhesive. Sobs still racked your frame as you were set down, tucked under the covers of your bed before the person laid next to you, resuming their soothing touches as the weight in your chest slowly lightened, gradually releasing its grip on your lungs as the ringing quieted, allowing you to hear the slew of soothing words softly coming from the person next to you.

But as the emotion lessened its grip on you, tiredness swiftly replaced it, the pounding at your temples only encouraging the darkness to weigh you down, until it settled over you like a blanket, your fingers laxing enough for them to fall back to your side. Your breathing slowed, the occasional hiccup breaking the silence as you slept.

But you’re so unaffected, I really don’t get it, but I guess good for you

Shoyo let out a deep breath as he gently shut the door to your bedroom behind him, shoulders slumping with exhaustion when he heard the latch click. He dragged a hand down his face, combing his fingers through his hair as he went to your kitchen to finish putting away your groceries, throwing away what was defrosted before collapsing on your couch, pulling out his phone, debating whether or not to text the person likely responsible for your tears. Turns out he didn’t even have to, they had already called him and left a message about an hour ago, a little after Shoyo first got to your apartment. He brought the phone up to his ear as he pressed play.

“Hey, I ran into (Y/N) at the store today, you know I thought you might be right; that our friendship ended with the breakup, but it was like nothing had changed! She even met Yumi though Yumi didn’t notice at first and started talking about her birth control,” a laugh, “I don’t know why you were so worried, she seems perfectly fine. I was thinking about having a little get together in a few weeks, Yumi really wants to meet everyone from Karauno, you both should come! Oh one sec, what? Okay! Sorry, I gotta go, Bye.”

Shoyo slid down the couch slightly, groaning as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Really? He was glad you stocked up on alcohol at the store because after hearing that, he needed a drink.

Well, good for you, I guess you're gettin' everything you want. You bought a new car and your career's really takin' off.

Two weeks later you sat on your couch, eyes focused on the match televised. You tell yourself you’re watching the tournament to see who Shoyo will end up going against; if you can give them any pointers, though a part of you knows it’s a lie.

At the end of the match, the Adlers, no, To- Kageyama, had scored the winning point, securing a spot in the semi-finals. You lifted the remote to change the channel, but you froze as the camera zoomed in on the edge of the court, where you watched Yumi jump into his arms, he threw his head back laughing as he spun her around before kissing her. You could hear the commentators discussing the game after making a cheeky comment but you tuned it out. You watched them walk off the court, snapping out of the trace as soon as the camera cut to the other team. You quickly turned it off. Taking a deep breath in your silent apartment.

You were going through your Instagram feed when you came across a post from Tobio. It was him and Yumi in front of a new car, kissing. You noticed it had multiple pictures, and swiped through, all of them of the couple. The last one was the most recent, earlier today, in fact, you recognized the jersey of the other team in the background. You part of the caption, deciding to scroll past before scrolling back up to read the long paragraph that was pretty much a love letter to Yumi. You bit your lip and liked it, cursing afterwards, you didn’t want him to know you still followed him. You debated unfollowing but decided against it, it’d only look weirder if you had liked a post and weren’t following him. You couldn’t get his expression out of your head, he looked so happy.

It's like we never even happened. Baby, what the fuck is up with that?

Over the next few days you received multiple texts from Kageyama, updates on his family; that they were asking about you, wanting you to visit, an invitation to a small gathering they were having next week, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi and Yachi were in town and he wanted to introduce Yumi to everyone. And several attempts to start a conversation.

You replied to all of them, thanking him for the update, politely declining the invitation; using work as an excuse, and you halfheartedly tried to keep up with the conversations until it got to be too much. It was like nothing happened, like he hadn’t suddenly broken up with you, after almost 7 years together. There were times you wanted to remind him, but decided against it. You didn’t want to be the bitter ex, you wanted to move on, like he had.

And good for you, it's like you never even met me

You think Shoyo had a talk with him.

After it all became too much, the media, the texts, the times he tried to call you, you told Shoyo. He was furious, ignoring your pleas to just leave it be as he left your apartment.

Later that night he came back, less angry and with takeout. When you had asked where he went he just smiled and told you not to worry about it. You watched movies the rest of the night. When you awoke the next morning there were no texts from Kageyama, and nothing on social media. Your nosiness got the best of you and you looked him up, only to furrow your brow as the results came up blank. You checked the other social media you had each other on and couldn’t find him anywhere. You didn’t dare text him, just in case, but it was obvious- he had blocked you, on everything.

There was an emotion curling in your chest, but you couldn’t quite name it. You didn’t know how to feel about it, so you stayed in bed for a few more hours before migrating to the couch. Shoyo didn’t come over that night, and you hated that you were slightly relieved.

Remember when you swore to God I was the only person who ever got you?

You sighed, still slightly out of breath and damp with sweat, snuggling into the body next to you regardless, smile stretching your lips. He tightened his arm around your waist, petting your hair as he shifted onto his side, bringing you closer and tangling your legs together. You wrapped your arms around his neck loosely, softly kissing his throat, right below his adam's apple before resting your face against his collarbone. He shuddered and drew you impossibly closer. “I know I don’t say it as often as I should, but I love you (Y/N), so much. I swear sometimes I feel like you’re the only person in the world who understands me. Ugh, that sounded so cliché.” You snorted as he slightly shook with laughter. “I love you too Tobio.” You brought your head up for a tender kiss before the two of you settled into a peaceful slumber.

Well, screw that, and screw you. You will never have to hurt the way you know that I do

You awoke the following morning with a hollow ache in your chest, your eyes burned but nothing came. You don’t know if it was good that the tears never came, but the hollowness settled heavily in you, it seemed to be all around you, weighing down the air equally. You were on autopilot the whole day, not fully there.

You blinked at the chime from your phone and raised your brows at the time, and your eyes widened at the name in your notifications. You quickly opened the text and looked at the image 2,3,5 times. It was a selfie, only the top part of Yumi’s face was visible, she must’ve been taking it, having to have it out enough to get Kageyama and all of his family in the frame, everyone smiling brightly. The typing bubble popped up for a few seconds before it disappeared and was replaced by a small message. You read it over and over before biting your lower lip. This is when the tears would normally come, when they’d be expected and yet they didn't. The burn was there, the lump in your throat but nothing else except the hollow pulsed in your chest. You didn’t think that was a good sign.

From Tobio:

We miss you! The kids keep asking when you’re going to come to play again. We love you, and you’re always welcome to visit. -Miwa~

Well, good for you. You look happy and healthy, not me if you ever cared to ask

You decided not to tell Shoyo about the picture, after all, it was his sister who sent it. He sent an apology the next day and you quickly dismissed it, asking him to tell her thanks and to tell everyone hello for you and that you hoped they had a great trip.

He unblocked you later that day. You assumed it was because of your text, he probably thought everything was fine now, that little bump in the road passed and things were back to normal again. And you tried, you tried so hard to go back to the person you were before. Fake it ‘till you make it was something you lived by, and you certainly were doing a great job faking it, but the ache in your chest told you that you hadn’t made it yet.

Good for you, You're doin' great out there without me, baby

You always kept up with the volleyball news and media, now for just Shoyo, but it was impossible to not see Adlers updates, and as MSBY’s rival you felt you needed to keep up. They were a force to be reckoned with, win after win; tournament after tournament they were at the top, MSBY one of the few to keep up. You sent him a congratulatory text after his last win, if he didn’t want to leave your friendship then you’ll try your hardest not to either, even if it hurts.

God, I wish that I could do that

Well, that lasted about 2 weeks. It’d been about 2 months since Kageyama broke up with you. You texted occasionally, most of them short conversations. They used to be longer, but you knew that to really get over him, you couldn’t be his best friend like before, you had to distance yourself. Shoyo wanted you to block him, even if just for a few more months, so you can move on quicker, but you disagreed. Your lives were so intertwined it wasn’t possible to not see him or hear about him at least once a week, usually in the form of sports journalism.

You laughed at Tsukishima’s joke, choking on the margarita you were in the middle of drinking, causing the others to laugh at you. Everyone was miraculously in town this week and demanded that you all hang out all week. Yachi stayed at Hinata's apartment since he had a roommate, and Tsukishima and Yamaguchi stayed at yours, though everyone decided to congregate at your apartment, the former two falling asleep on your couch and after the third night in a row, you convinced them to just stay. Hinata packed a bag and slept on your futon, Yachi slept in your bed with you, and the last two shared your guest bedroom.

While they all swore it was a mere coincidence everyone was in town, you had a strong theory that Hinata invited everyone down to stay with you, since in 3 days was what would’ve been your 7 year anniversary with Kageyama. They did their best to keep you distracted, going out to clubs, having movie marathons and game nights that lasted until dawn. You were filled with immense gratitude for that, and you made sure to let them know it. You were glad your little group was able to stick together, even if the shadow of the empty seat at the table grows with each passing day.

I've lost my mind, I've spent the night cryin' on the floor of my bathroom

You almost made it. Everyone stayed in today, keeping a careful eye on you all morning, until you got a call from your mother. Your parents lived in the countryside, they didn’t have great reception out there, even if they did they’d keep the single landline they have now. They called every so often, for holidays or updates on health and family members. The last time you talked to them was about 6 months ago. You head into your bedroom before you answer, a little worried about what might be going on, you knew your father’s health was declining, could something have happened? You took a deep breath and accepted the call, bringing your phone to your ear. “Hello? Mom?”

It takes a second before she replies, probably trying to get your father to stand next to her. “(Y/N) sweetie, sorry it’s been so long, it’s been busy down here and since your father can’t do a whole lot anymore, it’s been taking longer to keep the farm in shape.” You can hear your father grumble something in the background and you can imagine your mother rolling her eyes.

“Nevermind that! We were calling to congratulate you and Tobio on your anniversary, that’s today right? 7 years, I hope you know how lucky you are dear, these days relationships just aren’t lasting like they used to, but I’ve always known you two would stick through, I still do. Hopefully one of these days I’ll get a call about a ring? Or maybe some grandbabies?” She giggled on the other end, going on to talk about her and your father’s relationship, not paying attention to if you’ve replied or not, and you haven’t, you’re- you’re- you jolt out of whatever trance you were in to find yourself on your bathroom floor, back against the tub, your mother still chattering away in your ear, though you can’t hear her.

She’s right. Today is- would’ve, been 7 years. A flurry of emotions roars to life in your chest and you feel the familiar burning and grip start to take hold. You clear your throat, interrupting her story.

“Uh mom, me and Tobio aren’t together anymore. I’m sorry, I meant to call earlier, but there’s a lot going on. I actually have to go, I promise I’ll call later okay? I might be able to get away from work in a few weeks to visit. Love you.”

You ended the call, guilt joining the mix, you had completely forgotten to tell your mother, her words stirring the pot of emotions and memories in your gut as they rose into your chest, filling your lungs, spilling into your throat into your nasal cavity, behind your eyes and into your skull. You slackened your hold on your phone, and it tumbled onto the tile. You choked against the burning in your throat, pressing your palms into your eyes, trying- uselessly- to stop the slideshow of memories.

He had been your best friend, your longest crush, your first- well, everything. You truly thought you would be spending the rest of your life with him, travelling the world as he plays volleyball, eventually settling down and buying a house somewhere, anywhere. Marriage, a cat, maybe a dog, and kids. You never once thought the father of your future children would be anyone but Kageyama Tobio. Apparently, he thought differently. Against your will, the night he ended everything played back in your vision.

You heard the door close as you finished up dinner, a smile stretching wide on your face as you imagined his reaction. You spent the week learning how to make this dish, an old family recipe from his grandmother that he apparently adored and ate every time he visited home without fail. After years of watching her make it, you’d think you would have a good idea of how but you were naïve to think so. You finish plating the dishes and setting up the table, brows pinched in confusion, he hadn’t come to greet you yet, which he always does. You shrug it off, he might’ve had a tiring practice, hopefully the food makes up for it.

You pad down the hallway, thinking he jumped straight in the shower. You stop in the doorway of your shared bedroom; He was sitting on the edge of the bed, head in his hands as his elbows dig into his knees. Worry and confusion rose; what was wrong? Was practice that bad? You don’t try to mask your steps towards him, though he flinches all the same when you lay a hand on his shoulder, quickly withdrawing it. You sink to your knees in front of him, gingerly holding his wrists as you speak softly.

“Hey babe, what’s wrong? Did you have a bad practice? Why don’t you tell me about it over dinner, I got everything at the table.” He sighed deeply, sagging further, like the weight of the world weighed down on him. Your concern grew and you squeezed his wrists in a silent question. He took a deep breath and sat up, you let your hands fall away but he caught them, cradling them in his grasp, pity and guilt swirling in his glassy gaze as it met yours.

You sat up on your knees, why in the world would he look at you like that? “Tobio? What’s wrong, baby you have to tell me so I can help, you gotta let me in.” You were pleading at this point. He so rarely showed this much sadness, you were sick with worry, mind going to the worst-case scenario. He squeezes your hands, bringing them up to his lips. He keeps them there for a moment, his eyes shut, brow drawn tight.

He brings them back down to his lap and lets out another sigh, meeting your gaze again. You can see the conflict on his features bright as day. “(Y/N), I’ve been so lucky to have you in my life, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to pay back what you’ve given me. I’m truly, truly grateful and you've been one of my longest friends, one of my best friends. Which is why- why-“

He lets out a shuddering breath gaze dropping, tightening his grip around your hands. Your brow is pinched deeply, eyes searching his features for any sign of what could be going on. He takes a breath, trying to calm himself before continuing, and when he meets your gaze you no longer see the guilt, you see a wall you worked so hard to bring down. You open your mouth to speak, but he cuts you off. “You are one of the most important people in my life, which is why I have to do this. I can’t keep doing this, prolonging the inevitable only makes it more painful and the last thing I want to do is hurt you. But, (Y/N) I can't keep this up any longer, I thought- I thought it might pass, if I kept going along, pretending like everything is fine, when it’s not.” Your heart drops, no, it can’t be, what does he mean?.

“Everything is fine Tobio, what are you talking about? What are you saying, I-I don’t understand.” The emotion thickens your voice and his face falls as he sees the tears gather in your eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I loved you so, so much. I promise, I loved you more than anything, so much it hurt.” The tears are escaping both your eyes. You want to get out of his grasp but his hands only tighten around yours, like a lifeline. You suppress a sob bubbling up to speak, the world tumbling softly from your quivering lips. “Did?”

A hand touching your shoulder tears you from the memory. You’re aware of the hot tears streaming down your face, of the tight sobs wracking your frame, ripping from your throat against your will. You feel hollow, the ache grows and pulses until it’s all you feel, grief rising to meet it. You blink the tears away, to look around the room, you hadn’t recognized it right away, still disoriented from the memory. You see your friends, concern and in some cases, anger, in their gaze as they hover. You were surprised to find Tsukishima was the one at your side, the one who had pulled you from the memory turned nightmare. Your lip wobbles and he pulls you into his arms, embracing you as you cry into his sweatshirt, much like you had to Hinata weeks ago.

You’re vaguely aware of hushed voices around you, the rumble of Tsukishima’s voice oddly soothes you. You can hear Shoyo behind you, you think you hear him say your mother’s name, was she calling again? The thought slips from your mind as quickly as it came. You sat in your bathroom for who knows how long, crying in Tsukishima’s arms, surrounded by your friends.

But you're so unaffected, I really don't get it but I guess good for you

Later that night, when everyone has finally passed out, you slip through your apartment door, pulling your hood up as you head towards the street. You have your phone, keys and pepper spray. You just wanted- no, needed to get out of there, the slight chill in the air rousing you. You take in the surroundings, letting your feet take you wherever they please.

You sigh as you take in the park in front of you. You used to come here a lot, whenever you needed to clear your head. It was a space for you to be truly alone to work out your emotions. Which is exactly what you needed now. You smile faintly as you reminisce, not paying attention as you head to the swings, only to stop in your tracks, still hidden in the shade as you watch on. What the fuck.

The creak of the swings is drowned out by laughter, two people sit on the swings, legs pumping to go higher and higher. Her hair whips in the wind and she closes her eyes, leaning back for a moment. You watch him slow down, eventually stopping and getting up to approach her flying form. Right when she is about to pass him, he moves, grabbing her and the swing, halting them mid-swing. She squeals, which quickly melts into laughter as she lets go of the chains, wrapping her legs around his torso and her arms around his neck. Her smile is a sun in the night, love radiating from the couple as they kiss. You look away and spot an open picnic basket, a bottle of wine poking through on a blanket rumpled from use.

You leave as silently as you came.

Maybe I'm too emotional but your apathy's like a wound in salt

The hollow ache starts to burn as you walk back to your apartment. You didn’t expect him to be as affected tonight as you were but you thought he’d- what did you think he’d feel? Mourning? Grief? Sadness? Why would he? He was the one who broke it off, who ‘fell out of love’ or at least that’s what he said when he broke your heart. And to bring her there?

Maybe I'm too emotional Or maybe you never cared at all

You shared that spot with him a year after you moved in together, he knew its significance to you, to your relationship. How long had he been bringing her there? What did he tell her about it? Did he use the words you said to him all those years ago? You wondered if he even remembered what today was. He said he had loved you, but was he truthful? He promised quite a few things during your relationship that were broken when he admitted it, when he confessed ‘what had been eating him up inside.’

Maybe I'm too emotional but your apathy's like a wound in salt

The hollow was slowly filling, bitter, anger, loss, and more flooded the space as you recalled his words that night.

“I can’t do this anymore.” You had never felt more dread than in that moment.

“I loved you so, so much.” You had wished the past tense was a mistake, but you knew it wasn’t.

“I don’t know when it happened, if it was slowly or quickly.” You could tell it was a lie.

“I-I just realized I loved you in a different way than you loved me.” A cute way of saying he no longer loved you.

“I thought that if I just stuck with it, that it might change, that it was just a slump.” Another way to say ‘leading you on because I was too afraid to tell you the truth.’

“I tried, I tried so hard to love you the way you wanted me to.” For how long? How many years did he lead you on, how long did he let you think everything was ok?

“You deserve more than I can offer.” You knew that was true, you did deserve more. You deserved a lot more than this, than an offer.

Maybe I'm too emotional Or maybe you never cared at all

You were crying by the time you got to your apartment building, but it was different. You didn’t feel the aching hollow as strongly as before. You felt anger, bitterness about what he said, you had a million things you wanted to say to him, to make him know what he did. But didn’t he already know? He was there, he saw what his words did, he saw the aftermath, at the very least he heard about it. And yet the night after he was pictured entering a popular high-end club. It was on your Twitter feed that morning, effectively pouring salt and lemon into the hole in your heart. You had thought it then, and you’re thinking it now.

Well, good for you. You look happy and healthy, not me If you ever cared to ask

The next morning, no one brought up last night, and you were thankful for it. You think they could sense the shift, from the aching despair to the brittle anger. So you all lounged on the couch, playing Mario Kart to help you channel it.

You were on the fourth stage of Grief according to Yamaguchi, who brought it up the following day over breakfast. He explained: Denial- which was during the breakup and right after, Depression- which came to fruition after you ran into them at the store, Bargaining- When you tried to go back to how it was before, trying to keep the friendship alive so you’d still have him around, Anger- which was now, when you realize that you wasted years of your life for someone who didn’t even love you and now they want to go back to friends, after they immediately get into a new relationship. The next step would be the final- Acceptance, when you would finally accept he was gone, when you could finally move on.

Good for you

After that night the change became more obvious. You weren’t hiding anymore, you would hold your head high and snap others off if they trod down the wrong path. You felt the hot anger slowly cool over time, as you continued to go out, to clubs, bars, parties Shoyo always invites you to but you always decline. You met his teammates, finally after too long.

He had dinner for you and the team at his apartment that he shares with one of the said teammates. You dressed up a little, enough for Shoyo to whistle when you showed him over facetime as you finished getting ready. You weren’t planning on going anywhere except your apartment after; there was just something about knowing you look good that does wonders to the confidence. You grin widely as he complains about not wanting to deal with his teammates crushing on you. You end the call when you get into your car, you were going to stop by the store to get something and then head over, despite his assurances no one else was bringing anything.

You purse your lips in thought as you surveyed the wine selection in front of you, bending slightly to read the label of one on a lower shelf. You didn’t realize you were taking up the aisle until someone cleared their throat behind you. You paid the little mind, murmuring an apology as you stepped to the side. You felt their presence next to you, and after a minute of them burning a hole through you with their gaze you turned towards them, lips pursed in annoyance rather than thought.

You're doin' great out there without me, baby, like a damn sociopath

The wide eyes of Kageyama Tobio meet yours as you study him for a moment before smiling. “Kageyama! Sorry, I didn’t realize I was taking up the whole aisle, you know me; always so indecisive.”

Your joke seems to snap him out of whatever train of thought he was in. He smiles and chuckles, turning to look at the wine in front of you. “What kind of an occasion is it?” He asks after a beat. “Oh Shoyo is introducing me to his teammates today, wine’s something people bring to dinners right?”

He smiles and nods before pointing out several bottles. “These would be appropriate, and Shoyo likes this brand.'' He plucks one from the shelf before presenting it to you. You smile and thank him, before parroting his question back to him. He turns back to the wine. “Uh, Yumi got a promotion and I’m surprising her with dinner with her coworkers.” You hum in thought before grabbing a wine off the shelf for him. “I think this would be a good one. It's white, so the stain won't be as bad and won’t stain her lips like a red would. It’s a dessert wine so even her younger colleagues should enjoy it. Oh, and tell her congrats for me.” He smiles and thanks you before you part.

You arrive right on time at Shoyo’s, the wine was well received and his teammates were great. They were everything he told you and more, you all got along great, especially you and Atsumu, he was Shoyos roommate and it was great to have another person to make fun of his horrible habits with, much to Shoyo’s dismay.

The dinner flies by, and eventually, you’re the last to leave. You wave to Atsumu before hugging Shoyo. “Thank’s Sho, for everything you’ve done for me these past 6 months. I love you.” He squeezes you tight, kissing the crown of your head before pulling away.“You don’t need to thank me (Y/N), I know you’d do the same. I love you too, drive safe.” You wave as you leave back to your apartment.

I've lost my mind, I've spent the night. Cryin' on the floor of my bathroom

The next 6 months fly by, and you spend more and more time with Shoyo and his team. Bokuto dubs you an honorary Jackal and you celebrate drinking until dawn, as a true Jackal would. You spend time with them individually, the gym with Bokuto, reality TV with Sakusa, movie nights with Shoyo, and all of the above with Atsumu, in addition to annoying his brother Osamu at his restaurant.

It hits you out of the blue. You had felt a little off all day, but you had chalked it up to the takeout you had last night. You glance at the calendar as you walk past, only to backtrack and look again, with wide eyes. Today marked a year since the breakup. It had taken you a long time to move on, but you were finally starting to feel yourself again, so why did your heart ache all of a sudden? Why did the burning rise in your throat, prickling the back of your eyes as you began to breathe faster, feeling the despair rise out of the depths to rip a sob from you lips? You try to stop, taking deep breaths, count five things in the room, but none of it works. It’s not as bad as the other times, but you feel shame crawling up to join, you were finally turning things around, how could you let it all go to waste?

You curl into yourself on the couch, blindly calling Shoyo to ask for his company, maybe he’d know, he helped you get this far, maybe he can make sure you don’t fall too far. You listen to the rings until you hear the click of an answered call, not even letting him speak before crying into the phone, asking him to be with you, help you understand. Half your words are unintelligible as you ramble on, not really listening to the other end until you think you hear him say he’s on his way, but he sounded odd, different. Had you interrupted him? Was he too busy? No, he would’ve told you and sent someone else, probably Yachi since she was the closest.

You quickly tire of trying to hold everything back, and let it wash over you, all the feelings from this past year rise up, poised to drown you, and you allow it, letting it crash down and wash over you. You let the sobs free themselves, somehow knowing it was the right thing. You give yourself to the despair, the anger, the loneliness.

You don’t hear the knocking at the door, or the sound of the door opening, too absorbed untangling the knot of emotions in your heart; until you feel the cushion next to you you sink with the weight of another person, and a hand gently rubs your back soothingly.

You lean into him, letting him pull you to him like many times before. He pulls you into his lap, curling an arm around your waist while the other hand cradles the back of your head, letting you sob into his shirt. You take a deep breath, letting his familiar scent calm you- wait.

You freeze and your stomach drops. It’s not Shoyo. They're bigger, enough to cradle you against their chest. They’re whispering soothing words into your hair, and you hear a familiar accent, leaning back quickly enough to send a wave of dizziness through you and you sway for a moment.

“Woah, what’s wrong?” Atsumu asks, moving his hands to your hip and back to steady you. Your wide eyes meet his and he tilts his head slightly in confusion. “(Y/N), hey sweetheart, you okay? Gave me quite the scare there earlier ya know?” You continue to stare at him until he waves a hand in front of your face, breaking whatever spell you were under.

You blink a few times, shaking your head slightly as the corner of his mouth quirked up. You look back at him, brows furrowed, cringing when you hear your voice, hoarse after however long of crying. “’Tsumu? What’re you doing here? Where’s Sho?” He raises an eyebrow at your question, lifting his hand to wipe a tear from your cheek.

“Whaddya mean? You called me cryin’ an’ askin’ me to come here to keep ya company. Speakin’ of, what in the world is wrong? What’s got you so sad sweetcheeks?” Your face heats at the nickname.

“Oh, ‘m sorry, I meant to call Sho, he knows; it’s- today is-” He embraces you as a fresh wave of tears springs from your eyes. You can hear the rumble of his chest as he speaks, breath fanning your ear. “It’s all ok, ya don’t haveta cry, I can call chibi if you want him instead of me, it's no prob-“ You shake your head, cutting him off.

“No, s’kay. Thanks for being here ‘Tsumu, sorry I pretty much threw myself into your lap when you sat down.” You rub an eye, feeling awfully close to a toddler. He chuckles and combs your hair back, tilting your chin up so you’re looking him in the eye. “No needta thank me doll, and I won’t object to a pretty thing like you throwing themselves into my lap, though I’d enjoy it more if you weren’t crying. Now, d’ya wanna tell me what made you cry a river in here. Or at least what I can do to help.”

You curl inward slightly, not sure how to explain your wants at this moment, the emotions tangling in your chest too raw to name. You use actions to express your needs as words continue to fail you. You shift in his lap, straddling him instead of the awkward side hug you were doing before. You break eye contact, looking anywhere but him, feeling awkward and exposed. He snorts softly and his hands run up your knees, palm flat against your thighs, up and over your hips to splay against your back, bringing you back to his chest. Your pals lay flat against his sides, sliding along his ribcage and then south, fisting the fabric against his lower back as you rested your cheek on his shoulder. You waited and waited but the tears didn’t come, you could feel the tear tracts cool on your cheeks, trying to put your feelings into words.

A shudder than through his body as he felt you sigh into his neck, arms wrapping tighter around you, pulling you closer, until you were flush against him. The minutes passed by as the two of you stayed wrapped around each other, you breathing the only sound in the apartment. You sighed again, pulling away from him slightly to lean back to look at him. He searched your face, taking in the emotions clouding your eyes, thumbs rubbing circles into your hips soothingly. You gave him a weary smile and took a deep breath, looking down at your hands as you spoke.

“I don’t know if Sho told you about this, but about 6 months before I met you guys I got out of a pretty serious relationship, I mean it was my first relationship and the breakup hit me really hard. The day of the dinner was one of the first times I had truly felt myself again.

“We got together in our first year of high school. We had been friends years before that. God, I had a crush on him for so long, I can’t remember anyone before that.” Your voice is whispy, reminiscing on a better time. “I wasn't a manager that first year, though I was around often enough that I helped where I could. I was at almost every practice, which is how I got acquainted with the other first years. He was still guarded and grumpy then, so I was friends with everyone first, and we all slowly warmed up to each other.

“When he asked me out at the end of the year, after saying goodbye to the third years, it just- it felt so right, like this is supposed to happen. I was a manager our last two years and by graduation the six of us were close. We managed to stay in touch and visit each other whenever possible. Sho had gone to travel, Kei to Sendai for school, Hitoka and Tadashi stayed for school before she went to Tokyo and he stayed in Miyagi. Tobio was picked up by the national team immediately after graduation, to play in Rio. I was accepted into a university in Osaka, and he moved in with me when he got back.” You ignored the way Atsumu’s hands tightened their grip when you said his name.

“It was perfect, we- we were doing fine, or at least I thought we were.” Your voice cracked and you took a shuddering breath before continuing. “He traveled between Tokyo and Osaka a lot and of course for games but it never bothered me, I knew what I was getting into. Eventually, Sho came back, and joined your team, moving into an apartment not far from ours. I was so happy.” You whispered the last sentence, afraid if you said it too loud it’d sound like a lie.

“I hadn’t noticed any changes, he didn’t seem withdrawn or unaffectionate, he was like he always was, until he wasn’t. He came home one night and said he didn’t love me like that anymore, that he couldn’t love me the way I loved him. He- he said he tried to, he said he tried for a long time, in case it was a slump but it wasn’t. And all-all I could think about was the way he said it, like he had been thinking about this for a long time, he looked so tired like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders as he told me the last who knows how long was a lie.

“He left and stayed at a teammate's house until he could get an apartment. He moved close by, I still don’t know why he didn’t move to Tokyo. Sho came and stayed with me for a few days, until I kicked him out so he could focus on the tournament that was coming up. He kept in touch with Tobio, and would update me when I asked.

“That was a year ago, and I know I should be over him, and I am, or I thought I was until I realized what today was and- and everything, all the emotions I had pushed down came back up, no longer letting me ignore them. All the grief and anger and insecurity kept rising and rising until I thought I was gonna drown. Which is when I called Sho, or at least I thought I did.” The corner of your mouth twitched into a small smile as you met his gaze.

But you're so unaffected, I really don't get it

“I- I think it would’ve been easier if he hurt too, if I saw that it affected him even half as much, because that would mean he had felt something, he had loved me at one point. And I don’t know, maybe he came to terms with it before he ended it, but seeing him with someone else, not even 3 weeks later just rubbed salt too deep into the wound that just seeing them happy together sent me into tears. When I ran into them days after I found out, when I saw with my own eyes how good he was, how happy he was without me; I don’t know how long I cried, but it was suffocating, it had such a tight grip on me I couldn’t breathe, I didn’t even realize Sho was there until he was hugging me.” You watched your tears fall onto your hands, leaving droplets on his pants. You took in a shuddering breath, suddenly meeting his gaze.

“I just- I don’t know what wrong with me, why can’t I let myself be happy?” Your voice cracked, and you brought a hand to your face, embarrassment simmering low in your gut. Atsumu gently pried your hand away from your face, replacing it with his own as he cupped your cheek. He wiped the tears that fell from your lashes with his thumb. He brought you forward to kiss the crown of your head before returning his gaze to you.

“Doll, look at me. There is nothing wrong with you, ya hear? Your heart was broken, it ain’t gonna fix itself in a day. You will be happy, I promise. Whenever we lose someone we love, a piece of us goes with them. He was sucha huge part of your life, I’d be more worried if you weren’t sad. I can’t say when, but one day you��ll notice it hurts less and less until you barely notice it. Until then you have me and everyone else to help you, so don’t hesitate to lean on us when you need to, got it?”

Your bottom lip wobbled and your eyes were glassy with tears yet again, though this time for a different reason. You threw your arms around his neck and crushed him into you as you cried his name. “I didn’t know you were such a softie! I bet no ones gonna believe me when I tell ‘em.” He wrapped his arms around you again, you were so close you could feel his laughter in his chest. “Yeah, and I didn’t know ya were such a cry baby.” You snorted and pulled away, “That’s on you, I am a well-known cry baby.”

You matched his grin, feeling lighter. You pulled yourself off his lap, but he didn’t let you get very far, pulling you into his side, your legs thrown over his thighs as you turned on the TV. You ended up falling asleep on your couch together, your neck cramped and you found out you drool, but it was worth it.

But I guess good for you

The next few months went by relatively quickly. There were a few hiccups, mostly on holidays, but you listened to what Atsumu had told you and you leaned on your friends during those times. Speaking of Atsumu, while you two were close before, after that night you felt even closer. You found yourself at the apartment he shared with Shoyo more and more. You came to every MSBY game you could, usually helping Osamu run his booth.

When you weren’t with him, Atsumu would often find you helping his brother run orders at the restaurant; under the guise of an apology for annoying him so often, but both twins saw how happy you were when you were working. Eventually, Osamu just gave you a position there, because he didn’t want to get caught exploiting free labor, not because he liked you or anything, you were just as annoying as his brother- or so he says.

The blonde hadn’t noticed just how much time the two of you spent together until you went to visit Yachi in Tokyo for a week, and had odd chunks of time with nothing to do. It was confusing, and frankly off-putting how different it was when you weren’t around. Everyone noticed of course, and teased him for it, more the team than Osamu, because he couldn’t deny he missed you too.

Despite your protests that it was just a 2-hour train ride from Tokyo, and maybe another 10-minute ride to the stop near your apartment, Atsumu insisted on picking you up from the station during your call earlier. “ ‘M not taking no for an answer doll, I’m picking ya up.” You rolled your eyes at his stubbornness and sighed. “Fine, but I’m venoming you for the gas, no ifs ands or buts about it.” You smiled at the sound of his groan from the other line, good thing you were just as stubborn.

Well, good for you, I guess you moved on really easily

You were idly scrolling through your Instagram feed, about 10 minutes away from Osaka when you saw a glimpse of a ring, you scrolled back up and read the caption. ‘I’m the luckiest man in the world’ followed by a picture of what must’ve been Yumi’s hand, and adorned on her left ring finger was a large, and no doubt expensive, engagement ring. 6 months ago it would’ve summoned tears, but now you smile faintly, commenting your congratulations before scrolling past. Atsumu was right, eventually, it started to hurt less and less and now it was barely there.

You stood up when the announcement of your arrival in Osaka rang overhead, tucking your phone away and grabbing your bags to exit the train car. You immediately spotted your chauffeur, thanks mostly to the gaggle of young girls surrounding him as he laughed and signed autographs. You walked slowly, trying to buy time until they left but (un?)fortunately he spotted you. A wide grin stretched his features and you couldn’t help but reciprocate, lifting your hand in a small wave. He turned back to the girls and said something before breaking through, jogging towards you as you met him halfway.

You had an amused look on your face from his theatrics and the wide gazes of the girls he left behind. “Hey.” He said when he stopped in front of you. You snorted, “Hey.” He pouted at your tease, which only made it more funny, before rolling his eyes and taking some of your bags, giving you a pointed look when you tried to object. You huffed and walked next to him towards the exit.

You startled slightly when his arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you by your hip into his side. You looked up at him but he kept his gaze ahead, though you could see the slight flush to his cheeks and the slight twitch of a grin. You reciprocated, hooking your thumb through the belt loop by his hip as you kept your gaze ahead, his stare bringing a slight heat to your face.

He laughed lightly and you two continued out to his car where he tried to make you sit in the back seat because “ it’s not professional for a chauffeur to let their passenger sit up front.” You laughed before letting your face fall into a mock-serious stare and said “no.” in the best deadpan tone you could conjure up before climbing in.

You raised an eyebrow as you looked at him when he didn’t start the car. His hands were on the steering wheel and he was looking ahead in thought. “Atsumu?” He looked at you, smiling softly, still not saying anything. “Uhh you okay? Do I really need to sit in the back for you to be able to drive because-“ He laughed, waving your concerns off. “No, no, I’ll allow it this once. Sorry for spacin’ out, I’m happy yer home.” You looked at him incredulously, “ I was 2 hours away ‘tsumu.” You see a faint flush creep up his neck and he clears his throat, turning back to the wheel and turning on the car. ‘I know, I just missed ya ‘s all.”

You were just able to make out his dejected mumble, quietly huffing in amusement as you glanced down briefly before turning to look forward, biting back the smile at his flinch when you grabbed his hand, bringing it to your lap as you intertwined your fingers. “I missed you too, ya big softie.” Smiling, he squeezes your palm before focusing on the road, and you feel something stir, a bud sprouting from the once hollow place in your chest. It hasn’t bloomed yet, but you have a feeling it will soon.

#my writing #haikyuu!!#haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x you #haikyuu x y/n #haikyu #miya atsumu #miya atsumu x y/n #miya atsumu x reader #miya atsumu x you #atsumu x reader #atsumu x y/n #atsumu x you #haikyuu atsumu

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the-tiger-with-a-computer · 3 years

Text

Twisted Wonderland NoSleep Au

Heartslabyul Part 3

Recap: After getting the chestnuts needed to make the apology tart the group now meets up with Trey in the kitchen.

Grim: We got the chestnuts. Now we can make a delicious tart.

Trey: We still have to peel them you know. It will be a challenge, but I know we can do it.

After peeling all the chestnuts Trey tricked basically everyone but Yuu and Cater into thinking that oyster sauce was needed for the tart. Then Trey released that he made to much marrow paste. So it was up to Yuu, Grim, and Deuce to go to the school store to buy the ingredients to make more whipped cream. The following happens:

Deuce: Wow, this place is amazing. Do you think this place actually sells the items we need?

Yuu: I believe so. I mean, back home it was pretty common for all types of stores to carry items like protection charms, bleach, scrubbers, and especially religious items.

Deuce: I can kinda understand the charms and religious items part. But why carry bleach and scrubbers?

Yuu: In case someone gets killed.

Deuce was about to ask Yuu to elaborate when Sam, the owner of the school store, came in to welcome Deuce and Yuu.

Sam: Hey, my lost little demons, how goes it? Welcome to Mr.S ‘s Mystery Shop. What can I do for you today? A charm for uncharted lands? Mummy of an ancient king? Or how about some cursed tarot cards?

Deuce: We’d like the things written here.

Grim: And some cans of tuna.

Yuu: We have enough tuna back at the dorm, we don’t need anymore anytime soon. Anyway, got any protection charms?

Deuce: No. No tuna or protection charms. Let’s just get the things we came here to get.

Sam: What what? Whipped cream, eggs… Oh! A nice sweet line-up. Ok! Coming right up.

Deuce: Wow, he really does have them.

Yuu: Well, the school store does need to have everything a student would need. And then some.

Sam: Sorry ‘bout the wait. It’s a bit heavy, you got it? If you order now you can get a 1/100 size floating platter to carry your purchases for 30% off.

Grim: What’s that? Sounds cool!

Deuce: We’re good. Thank you. It’s time to go.

Grim: But I wanna hang around more.

Yuu: If we hurry, Trey might let us eat something sweet.

Grim: Then what are we waiting for! Let’s get a move on!

Sam: Make sure to come by again!

*However as Yuu left with Deuce and Grim Sam couldn’t help but wonder about the new student. After what he has heard about their homeworld from Crowley sparked curiosity in both him and his friends. If what he thinks is true. Then Yuu might have come from a much darker world then his friends.*

On the way back to the kitchen Deuce offered to carry Yuu’s bag for them. When Yuu said that it was all right Deuce insisted saying that he was used to carrying heavy things as he would help his mom carry groceries. And since he was the only boy, he would be stuck doing anything requiring strength.

Deuce: Ah, I’ve just been talking about myself.

Yuu: Well I think that helping your family is a wonderful thing. Where I’m from, family is very important and to betray their trust would be to go against everything that both monsters and humans believe in. Helping your family, and anyone you see as family, is considered a very honorable thing to do. To do them harm is considered one of the worst things a human can do.

Deuce: Wow. You must miss them very much then. But, the thing is…. I always made my mom…

Before Deuce could finish his sentence he bumped into someone, breaking some eggs in the process.

Grim: Ahh! The eggs!

Deuce: $h*t, half of the eggs are destroyed! There’s egg all over the bag!

Delinquent A: Hey you! Watch where you’re… wait… You’re the fools who wreaked the egg in my carbonara earlier.

Delinquent B: It’s you guys again. You can’t catch a break!

Deuce: You were the ones who jumped out from behind the corner. At lunch, it wasn’t like you couldn’t eat the egg anymore but you still came to pick a fight… Just now, you destroyed half our eggs.

Grim: Yeah, that’s right.

Delinquent A: And? You sayin’ it’s our fault?

*Yuu, knowing that this will not end well, and with no way to defuse the situation stepped away from them. But at the same time they were ready to step in and help Deuce if it came to that.*

Deuce: Yes. Please pay for the eggs. And please apologize to the chickens too.

Delinquent B: Hmmm? You’re getting all worked up over eggs.

Delinquent A: They didn’t hit the ground right? Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Delinquent B: We saved you the trouble of breaking them.

Yuu could stand by no longer and decided to step in. After all, they had enough of these two boys nonsense.

Yuu: Well, you did damage what we payed for. I expect to at least be paid back in the amount the broken eggs cost. Think you can do that?

Delinquent A: Don’t think you can boss us around, just because we broke a few eggs!

Yuu: This is more than just about a few eggs. As I recall you two have been causing quite a bit of trouble as of late. Would be a shame if the principal knew of your antics.

*This was very much true as Yuu had used the ghost camera to take pictures of both the good and the bad. Let’s just say that Yuu had quite a bit of dirt on these two in particular*

Delinquent B: Is that a threat I hear?

Yuu: A warning actually.

Delinquent A: Looks like we need to teach these two a lesson.

Deuce: HEY! You don’t get to make decisions for us! These eggs… instead of becoming a chick they were gonna make us a delicious tart!! And you sure as he!! wouldn’t EVER hurt my friends! You get it! Huh!?

Delinquent B: What’s this guy’s problem all the sudden!?

Deuce: If you don’t wanna pay for the six eggs you broke… I’ll just punch you six times instead.

Delinquent A: Whaaaaa!?

Yuu: Time to fight!

Deuce: Grit your teeth a$$ho!e$!!

Let’s just say that the two never stood a chance. With Deuce’s experience in fights and Yuu’s self-defense training, they wiped the floor with the two delinquents.

Delinquent A: T-these two are straight-up mad! That wasn’t just six hits! Lair!

Yuu: OH! So you want some more huh!?

Delinquent B: Let’s get the he!! out of here! I’m sorry to all chickens!

Deuce: Apologize 100 times next you eat eggs! Dumb@$$e$!!

Grim: Wow!

Deuce: Huff, huff… Ugh!!

Grim: What just happened?

Deuce: …I screwed up… I vowed that I would definitely be a honor student this time…! In middle school, all I ever did was screw around… I constantly skipped school and spent my day getting into fights. I disrespected my teachers, hung around sketchy upperclassman, and bleached my hair to death. Even ran around all over the place riding a magical wheel. I was a terrible person that went as far as to use magic to lord over those that couldn’t.

Grim: Just now you went full on bad boy on those guys!

Deuce: Then one night... I saw my mom hiding away in tears as she called my grandma. "Was the I raised him wrong? Would it have been better if he had both parents?" She was wrong. Mom never did anything wrong. It was all me! So when the carriage from Night Raven College came to get me... My mom was so happy and I don't want to make her cry again. This time. I'm going to be an honor student my mom can be proud of. Then I do this... $hit!

Grim: But, y'know... Does being an honor student mean you have to grin and bare everything?

Deuce: Huh?

Grim: Those delinquents deserved another 10 punches if you ask me! You and Yuu fought them off before I could, though.

Yuu: I think that your mom would be proud that you are trying to be a better student. In my eyes, you are doing a lot better than back then.

Deuce: You guys...

Yuu: Even honor students get mad too.

Deuce: Really? ...Heh heh. May those baby chicks rest in peace.

Yuu: There is something that I need to tell you.

Deuce: What do you mean?

Yuu: The eggs that we bought will never turn into chicks as they were never fertilized.

Deuce: WHAT?!? You've gotta be kidding!?

Back at the kitchen, they gave the ingredients to Trey who then proceeded to finish making the tart. Which turned out to be amazing and looked really good.

Ace: Did something happen while you were out shopping?

Yuu: Chick shock...

Deuce: For 16 years... I believed that...

Ace: Making sweets takes so much time. I'm exhausted...

Cater: Good work! Is the tart finished? The decorations look super cute! It's totally magicam-gramble! Let me take a pic.

Ace: Ah! What'd you come here for?

Cater: I came by to check on my cute underclassmen, working so hard. Ahaha, you look beat!

Trey: Things you aren't used to tire you out quick. So when you're tired you need to eat something sweet. Go ahead and try the mont blanc we made.

Everyone: Yay!

Yuu: Are you sure?

Trey: It's fine.

Ace: Cater, you did come here just in time to eat the tart!

Yuu: Almost like you planned it.

Cater: Just a coincidence I promise.

Grim: Waaahaaa... It smells so deliciously sweet. The chestnuts on top are glossy while the cream underneath is so fluffy! Let's eat!

Yuu: Please don't eat it all. We still need a tart for the Unbirthday Party.

Grim: I know

Ace: Ah! Holy crap!

Cater: So good!

Deuce: Amazing... It's like what you get in stores.

Grim: It's not overly sweet but still has a richness to it! It's like a garden of chestnuts in my mouth!

Yuu: It's amazing! I definitely think that Riddle will love this.

Trey: Thank you.

Cater: Oh yeah. Hey Trey, do the thing.

Trey: The thing? ...Oh, that. So what are your favorite foods?

Ace: Mine's cherry pie and hamburgers.

Grim: My number one is canned tuna. And cheese omurice, and grilled meat, and pudding!

Deuce: If I have to pick, omurice, I guess.

Yuu: Mine would have to be breaded shrimp.

Cater: And mine is grilled lamb with diablo sauce.

Trey: Alright here we go, ... Doodle Suit!

There was a sound, a flash, and then nothing.

Deuce: ...? This is?

Trey: Now take another bite of the mont blanc.

Ace: Hm? Hmmmmm? This is... mont blanc but it tastes like cherry pie!

Grim: It tastes like canned tuna! *Chomp chomp* Ohh, now it's cheese omurice! And grilled chicken, *munch munch*, and pudding!

Yuu: Wow! It really does taste like breaded shrimp!

Cater: Isn't it fun? If you did this while having tea with a girl, they'd be super impressed!

Deuce: It's amazing. Is changing the flavor of food your unique magic, Trey?

Trey: Actually, it's magic that "overwrites a component". So not just taste, but I can also overwrite the color or scent or really anything. The overwrite only lasts a short time so that's why it's like a doodle or scribble. That's why I've named this magic "doodle" since it's not permanent.

Grim: With your "Doodle Suit" my dream of all you can eat canned tuna isn't just a dream. It's so much better than the magic Riddle uses to bully people.

Trey: No... My magic is nothing more than child's play when compared to Riddle's He's on a different level. ...It's getting late. Let's go home and give Riddle the tart tomorrow. Tomorrow is the Unbirthday Party. Don't be late.

Yuu: Hang on. Do you have a book of the rules?

Trey: Yeah, why?

Yuu: I want to make sure that there is nothing against a mont blanc at an Unbirthday Party.

Cater: Good thinking Yuu.

Ace: So, did you find anything Yuu?

Yuu: Here we are. Rule Number 562: Refrain from bringing marron tarts for the Unbirthday Party."

Trey: Wow, I almost missed that one. Good thing Yuu double-checked the rules.

Yuu: It's kinda a talent of mine. Knowing the rules and when a rule applies to a situation or not. It's weird, I know.

Cater: Far from it. If you hadn't checked then Riddle would have most likely been furious.

Ace: Yuu, I owe you one.

Yuu: Then I think that we should keep the tart in the kitchen, explain ourselves to Riddle and hope that he takes the collar off of Ace.

Ace: One more thing. Yuu, can you let me sleep over again? My cruel upperclassmen aren't going to let me in the dorm!

Cater: Wow. So prickly!

Deuce: Ace, don't force Yuu to spoil you too much.

Grim: Yeah! You gotta pay to stay! 10 cans of tuna!

Ace: What! Are you telling me to sleep outside?

Yuu: No, no. Ace, you can stay but now you owe me two favors.

Ace: Fine by me! Thank Yuu!

Trey: Deuce, why don't you stay in their dorm to keep an eye on Ace? As the vice dorm leader, I give you permission.

Cater: Trey, aren't you spoiling the newbies. I'm jelly. Yuu, can I go too?

Yuu: I don't think so. The dorm needs some intense TLC and I'm pretty sure that you're needed in the dorm.

Cater: Tch. Bringin' me down.

Trey: Yuu, I'm sorry about forcing those two on you. We're counting on you tomorrow.

Yuu: It's fine and I will be sure that they are on their best behavior tomorrow.

Ace: Tomorrow is the Unbirthday Party. This damn collar is definitely coming off! Just you watch, Riddle.

As Yuu, Ace, Grim, and Deuce made their way to the dorm Yuu coudn't help but feel as if something was very wrong in the dorm. And that Riddle was in great danger, but from what?

That is where I will end this chapter and the next will continue to the morning of the Unbirthday Party. Until then, hope everyone is doing ok.

#twisted wonderland #twst NoSleep Yuu #twst NoSleep Au #twst grim #twst trey #twst deuce #twst sam #twst cater

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yespleasetommyshelby · 3 years

Text

Should've said no - Adam Ruzek imagine

Based on the song 'should've said no' by Taylor swift

Warnings: some strong language? No happy ending maybe?

-------

It's strange to think the songs we used to sing, the smiles, the flowers, everything, is gone... Yesterday I found out about you, even now just looking at you, feels wrong...

I frowned from my place at the kitchen table, looking over the pictures that littered the walls, not only in here but all over the apartment, the whiskey that sat on the side that I bought because he's never liked the wine I drink, the special coffee and the mugs that all reminded me of him which any other day would have me fighting the smile from my face, but today, today they made me feel sick.

'I'm sorry, this isn't the first time and I thought you should know.." accompanied by a picture of Adam and his ex Wendy, lips stuck together in time, an image that will be forever seared into my brain.

Memories of late night walks, our dates, the flowers he would bring me at work, the times where we'd ride in his car and sing lyrics at the top of our lungs with no care about just how bad we sounded, all gone. In the blink of an eye Adam had thrown our whole relationship out of the window for an 18 wheeler to demolish in seconds.

The door opening and closing forced my eyes open, the now cold cup of coffee mocking me as it sits there, the contents long forgotten about. Lifting my eyes to meet the figure stood in the kitchen door way I frowned and looked down.

How is that only yesterday I couldn't stop staring at the man I love, loved, and now just looking at him feels all kinds of wrong?

You say that you'd take it all back, given the one chance, it was a moment of weakness and you said yes...

"Hey babe." He spoke first, my eyes falling onto his lips as the pet name came, the simple word accompanied by the feeling of being punched in the stomach.

"Where was you Adam?" I asked calmly, wanting to see which excuse he'd use this time.

"The case ran over."

"I was with Jay and Kev."

"Helping my dad out."

"The case took a turn for the worst, the whole team had to stay late, I would've text but I didn't want to wake you." He spoke, calm and collected, small smile on his face, jerk.

"The whole team huh." I let out a small humourless laugh, of course he's got his excuses ready. "That's strange." I sighed faking slight confusion as I picked up my phone, pulling up the text that Kim had sent the night before.

"Yeah, been a long night." He shrugged heading over to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water.

"Oh I bet." I chuckled, shaking my head slightly as I slid the phone over the dining table for him to see. "I bet Wendy's exhausted." I growled, my anger washing over the faux-calm I was trying to maintain, finding slight amusement in the way his eyes widened and his face paled.

"Y/n.." he trailed off, putting my phone down on the table before running his hands over his face and through his hair, looking at me with nothing but guilt. "Listen, it was a mistake okay? A one time, stupid, immature mistake. She was just there and I'd had a couple drinks and I don't know, I don't know what to say other than it was just a moment of weakness." He rushed out, moving so he was stood next to me, taking my hands in his before I pulled them away and stood up from the chair, the force causing it to fall backwards onto the tiled ground with a bang.

You should've said 'no', you should've gone home, you should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go, you should've known that word, 'bout what you did with her would get back to me...

And I should've been there in the back of your mind, I shouldn't be asking myself why, you shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet, you should've said 'no', baby and you might still have me.

"A moment of weakness? Weakness? That's what you're excuse is? She fluttered her eyelashes and that was it, you was weak enough to throw everything we've ever had under a bus just for a little fun with an ex?" I raised my voice, not quite shouting yet as I know that the neighbours across the hall have young children.

"Yeah, I swear that's all there was to it." He started talking again, his words falling on deaf ears as the tears starting to build up along with the anger that has festered inside for the last 12 hours was making me see nothing but red.

"You should've said no Adam! You should've thought about me! About coming home to me! Was I even on your mind at all? Did you think of me once while you were out fucking her behind my back?!" I yelled, the thought of the children just moments ago gone as he stood looking at me with a small frown.

"What do you want me to say?" He sighed, pushing his hand through his hair for the hundredth time. "I made a mistake and I'm sorry!" He said quietly, or maybe it was at a normal volume and my mind was just fading out his words.

You can see that I've been crying, baby you know all the right things, to say, but do you, honestly, expect me to believe, that we could ever be the same?

You say that the past is the past, you need one chance, it was a moment of weakness and you said yes...

"Do you know how badly you've hurt me?" I asked, my shoulders dropping as the first of the tears started to fall. "I know what I look like Adam, I know you can see that I've spent all night crying over you, how you broke me." I finished with a whisper, shaking my head slightly at how ridiculous the whole situation was.

"Baby no, don't cry, please." He pleaded, his voice shaky as he came over and wrapped his arms around me, leaving me to cry into his chest. "I know I fucked up, and I fucked up so badly and I can never, ever, apologise to you enough for it to make it okay, but the past is in the past, just give me one chance. One chance to prove that I can be the man you need me to be, I'll do anything to prove to you just how much I love you y/n, please." He whispered, resting his head on mine as he sniffed quietly. "I'll get you all the flowers I can carry, the fancy dinners, jewellery, we can get married and have kids and have the life I know you've wanted since you were younger, you've just gotta give me one last chance." He finished his speech by giving me a slight squeeze, his arms hugging my waist as though I'd disappear if he let go, which wasn't exactly wrong.

"No, Adam." I mumbled shaking my head and pulling out of his hold, taking a couple steps back so his arms fell to his sides. "I'm not stupid, I know that this isn't the first time it's happened, and I'm not naive enough to assume that it would be the last either." I sighed, crossing my arms across myself in attempt to hold myself together.

"You know, you really do have all the right things to say don't you, talking about getting married, having kids, but do you honestly expect me to believe that we could ever be the same after this? After you broke my trust and my heart all in the space of one night, I don't think I can ever look at you the same way again." I spoke with confidence, ignoring the slight shake in my voice as I narrowed my eyes at the guilt ridden man in front of me.

You should've said no, you should've gone home, you should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go. You should've known that word, 'bout what you did with her, would get back to me.

And I should've been there in the back of your mind, I shouldn't be asking myself why, you shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet, you should've said no, baby and you might still have me...

"Please y/n!" His sudden yelled made me jump slightly, watching as he started to pace the length of the kitchen. "What do you want me to say for you to believe me? To believe that it was a mistake that I regret! You want me to beg? I'll get on my knees and beg you for the rest of my life!" He sounded frustrated as he suddenly turned and dropped to his knees infront of me, his hands folded together as though he was praying. "Please y/n, don't give up on me, on us, just yet." He whispered, his tear filled eyes shining into mine, my heartbreaking ever so slightly more as he did.

"It's not going to fix anything Adam." I sighed turning away from him for a second to compose myself. "You shouldn't have to beg me Adam, you just should've said no, you should've told her that I was waiting for you and came back, to me!" I cried, wiping at my cheeks only for new tears to replace the old ones. "If you would've just said no then maybe you might still have me." I whispered as I walked out of the kitchen and into the bedroom, where I'd left his bags that I had packed at 3am this morning.

I can't resist, before you go tell me this, was it worth it? Was she, worth it?

"Y/n... please.." I heard him beg from behind me, ignoring him I pushed past with the bags in my hand and dropped them by the front door.

"Goodbye Adam." I whispered sadly, making my way back into the kitchen, pausing in the doorway and looking back to where Adam stood silently staring at his bags in the hall.

"Was it worth it?" I asked suddenly, his head snapping up to me as of surprised to hear my voice again. "Losing everything we had? Was she worth it?" I clarified, putting emphasis on the 'she'.

"You know she wasn't." He muttered sadly, shaking his head. "Nothing is worth losing you." He sighed, rubbing his jaw as he looked back down at his bags.

"Yet you've lost me anyway." I whispered sadly, a lone tear running down my face which I hastily wiped away as Adam picked up his bags before opening the front door.

"I love you, y/n, and no matter what I always will." He said, looking back over his shoulder with a small, sad smile on his face.

"Bye, Adam." I whispered looking down to the ground, leaving him to make his own way out.

As soon as I heard the lock of the door click into place signalling it's locked I dropped to the ground, knees up against my chest with my head low, my arms pulling my knees closer to me as I let myself sob for my own broken heart.

You should've said no, baby and you might still have me...

----

Feel free to send in any requests 😁🥰

#adam ruzek imagine #adam ruzek imagines #one chicago pd imagine #one chicago imagine #chicago pd imagines #Adam Ruzek #chicago pd imagine

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pandoraborn · 3 years

Text

Coping, Part 3

( previous. )

Characters: c!Tommy, c!Ranboo, c!Techno, c!Wilbur, c!Phil Word count: 1885 Content: dissociation tw, unreality, broken bonds, broken trust, healing, hurt/comfort, sbi family feels, found family, dead!wilbur, revival mention

-----

Tommy already misses the days when he could sit in the back corner of his little dirt shack and dissociate. He misses when he could pretend reality doesn’t exist anymore, and it’s just him and himself in a sea of nothingness. Today though, Ranboo is sticking to him like glue, much to Tommy’s annoyance.

He can’t even bring himself to be too mad though, because the alternative is going back to Techno’s cabin and facing him, and Phil, and Wilbur. Tommy knows they’re inside. Every time they pass by the cabin, their voices carry outside, filled with laughter, and sometimes a concern that Tommy doesn’t miss.

He’s jealous. He wants to be in there with his father and brothers, he wants the feeling of safety, but Tommy doesn’t remember what safety feels like anymore. Sure, Ranboo offers some sort of comfort and stability, but Ranboo isn’t safe either. Tommy is well aware that on a moment’s notice, Ranboo could easily snap and attempt to kill him.

Not that he blames Ranboo; it’s not his fault he’s under Dream’s control.

No, it’s best that Tommy keep his walls up. He doesn’t want to speak to anyone in his stupid family, no matter how left out he feels. They all hurt him personally, and he’s tired of it. He’s happier in Ranboo’s ugly house, with Ranboo’s pet cat. Enderchest is the closest to safety he knows.

He doesn’t know how long he’s spent in Ranboo’s house. By the time Tommy finally lets himself come back, it’s significantly darker, though he wonders if that’s because they’re in a snow biome, and the days are already shorter. Poking his head out the window, Tommy allows himself to get lost in the shades of purples and pinks in the sky before Ranboo is shaking him again.

“Tommy, you’ve been avoiding that place for ages,” Ranboo points out. “Almost the entire day. I gotta kick you out soon.”

The teen grumbles in response, turning back to Enderchest. She lets out a quiet meow as she nuzzles into his hand. “I could just easily go home. I’m not needed here.”

“You and I both know that the second you make for the portal, they’re just going to grab you again.” Ranboo sits next to Tommy, letting out a sympathetic sigh. “I know being here isn’t ideal for you, and they’re trying to give you space, but they do mean well.”

“What would you know?” Tommy snaps. “You weren’t personally betrayed by all three of them, one right after another. In fact, they did the complete opposite with you. They gave you a home. You have a place to go, you have people to rely on.”

“Come on, we had such a nice talk earlier,” Ranboo points out. “You and me talked about this already. They love you. They want you in their lives, they just suck at showing it.”

“Yeah, we did talk about that. But I also seem to remember telling you that I’m not ready to talk to them.” He scoops Enderchest up and holds her close to his chest. Normally, he’d rather have a dog, but right now, Enderchest is doing more wonders for his psyche than anything else is.

“How long do all four of us have to wait for you to be ready? Because this is a really slow pace.”

“Bitch all you want, memory boy. I’m focusing on myself for once.”

“No, you’re relying on unhealthy coping mechanisms to get by, and I’m kind of getting tired of watching you do it. You had a couple of days already, the least you can do is go inside.”

“Why do I have to leave your house? You’re nicer than Techno is.”

“Technically, because they’re the ones who kidnapped you. I think they’d want you around them instead of me, and besides, Wilbur’s in there.”

“Wilbur’s a fucking ghost,” Tommy mutters darkly. “His opinion doesn’t exactly count for much right now. Selfish bastards, the lot of them.”

There’s no verbal response from the enderman hybrid. Tommy continues to pet Enderchest, taking comfort in the way she purrs and squints up at him, completely content in his arms. In this moment, he envies her. That feeling of utter contentment and safety is a foreign feeling to him, and right now, he wishes he were a cat. Someone holding him so carefully and lovingly must be nice.

Well, it’s nice until Ranboo pries her from his arms. Tommy’s initial reaction is to start crying, reaching back for her, but before he can grasp her fur, Ranboo is hauling him to his feet, nearly lifting him up off the ground.

He feels like he’s throwing too many tantrums lately.

It’s hard to combat though, because everything is too much. Reality aches. Physically, emotionally, mentally, everything in between. He can feel himself being walked back towards Techno’s cabin, where he’s urged inside and handed to someone else. Tommy cries harder when he feels a pair of arms wrap around him, holding him close.

“I thought you might want him back for the night.” Ranboo’s voice sounds far too distant for his liking. “I’m going to go back home, and.. yeah. Just call me if you need anything.”

There’s that sound of a door closing, taking all of Tommy’s hopes with him. The arms around him don’t fade away into nothingness, and neither does Tommy’s mind. The utter lack of dissociation this time is more confusing than anything else. There’s an unfamiliar warmth in his chest as he’s picked up again, cradled in someone’s arms.

“Tommy, I am so very sorry for what happened to you.” The voice above him sounds weird. Logically, Tommy knows it’s Phil. It’s Phil’s arms, Phil’s voice, and Phil’s concern, but there’s a crack in the voice that sounds very unfamiliar; he might as well be a stranger.

“No you’re not,” Tommy forces out. “No one ever is.”

“We are.” That’s Wilbur’s voice. “Do you know where you are right now?”

“No.” He closes his eyes. If he can’t see them, they’re not there. Pretending he’s back at home is far nicer, anyway. In his fantasies, Enderchest is there as well.

“You’re in Techno’s cabin,” Wilbur continues. “You’re in Phil’s arms, and Phil is talking to you. So am I, Wilbur.”

“You’re dead,” Tommy counters. “What you have to say means shit.”

“Tommy, please open your eyes and look at us.”

“I don’t want to.” In spite of himself, he’s burying his face in Phil’s chest. That unfamiliar warmth is growing warmer, almost achingly so. Tommy recognizes it as a feeling of safety, but he wants desperately to push it back down. He doesn’t want to feel it with this lot. They hurt him. “I hate all three of you.”

“Do you really hate us?” Techno’s the next to speak up. “Or did you convince yourself of that because of everything that happened? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re just saying that to be stubborn.”

That’s enough. Tommy’s eyes fly open and he wretches himself away from Phil to strike at Techno. It’s not a hard hit, but it’s hard enough that Techno reels back and rubs at his shoulder, with wide, almost hurt eyes.

“You don’t get to be upset,” Tommy snarls. “You don’t get to look sad, alright? You don’t get to hurt me over and over again, only to be sad when I decide to work on my own terms. Why do all of you suddenly love me again? Where were you when Wilbur went crazy and blew up L’Manburg? Where were you when I was exiled? Where were you when L’Manburg fucking died for the last time? Oh, that’s right, you were doing the blowing up. Save your fucking sadness, Techno.”

There’s another long pause, similar to when he was in Ranboo’s house. This time, Tommy doesn’t have a cat to comfort him or keep him steady. He has his own shaky breathing, trembling hands, raw anger and...

and...

...and Techno wrapping his arms around Tommy, ruffling his hair and whispering in his ear. Techno, saying that their family is too broken, that Tommy is carrying too many burdens and that he finally deserves a break.

Of course he breaks.

Instead of slipping away this time, Tommy crumbles into a boneless, sobbing mess in Techno’s arms, crying harder than he ever remembers crying. He’s desperately clinging to his older brother, grasping weakly at his sleeves and hair, afraid to let go. Letting go this time means Tommy will dissociate, and he’s so, so tired of escaping into a fantasy, when he finally has comfort.

He wails when Phil lifts him again, pulling him away from Techno. Of course Tommy shifts to cling weakly at Phil, feeling smaller and more vulnerable than he did seconds ago.

“We’re going on vacation,” Phil says. “We’re going away from here, just the four of us. We think this place, and the SMP, carry bad memories for all of us, and we think taking you somewhere completely new will do wonders.”

“Don’t leave me again,” Tommy whimpers. “ Please, please just don’t leave me again.”

“Phil knows someone who can help me,” Wilbur interrupts. Tommy can feel Wilbur’s hand on his head now, so he leans into the touch. “You know how Phil is ancient? We can go somewhere far, far away, meet new people and forge new memories.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Tommy’s throat is starting to ache now. He’s spent, wanting nothing more than to sleep. At the same time, he just wants to enjoy the comfort. He feels like Enderchest, safe in someone’s arms with that stupid feeling of safety. He’s not pushing it away this time.

“I can be revived, safely.” Wilbur sounds like he’s beaming. “Phil knows people that can help, we don’t need Dream or anyone around here. We can also learn to heal and become a family again.”

“You promise?”

“Yeah.” Techno chuckles. “We’re all fucked up, but we’re together, right?”

Tommy nods, letting his eyes close again. He’s tired, and dimly, he can feel himself being rocked.

“Sleep, my child,” Phil whispers. “We’ll leave soon, alright?”

“You’d better not leave me behind ever again. I can’t handle it anymore.”

“No,” Wilbur confirms. “None of us are ever getting left behind again. We’re a family again, and I personally promise you’ll heal. Just promise all of us one last thing, alright?”

“What’s that?” Tommy cracks an eye open to peer at Wilbur.

“No more unhealthy coping mechanisms,” Wilbur says. “Ranboo was messaging us all day, saying he had to keep a close eye on you. If you want to heal, we’ll all heal together, but you have to stay with us, alright?”

“Get me a pet and we’ll talk.”

“Tommy, I have dogs. I have so many dogs, I could give you ten dogs and it wouldn’t matter. You can have a dog, just pick one.” Techno starts laughing.

“Not tonight.” Tommy nuzzles more into Phil. “I just want to be with you.”

Phil coos. “That, we can do.”

Okay, so maybe Tommy isn’t a cat, but he’s a sixteen year old boy, and he’s feeling safe for the first time in months. Broken family, broken trust, whatever. He’s starting to feel like he’s home again.

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kiwjongdae · 4 years

Text

got7 reaction | mine by bazzi

warnings: some suggestive stuff in jaebum's but other than this none

••

im jaebum:

"hands on your body, i don't wanna waste no time. feels like forever even if forever's tonight"

you hadn't seen jaebum in days. not since that stupid fight you had in which he stormed out from your place and never called or returned. being the proud person you were, you sure weren't going to call first. he was the one who was wrong.

trying to forget about it, you decided to enjoy a nice bath. you were in the middle of relaxing when you heard a noise coming from the living room. thinking it could be a burglar or something you quickly put on your robe and grabbed the closest thing to a weapon (a blower) you could find but when you arrived at the living room it was only jaebum.

you let out a sigh of relief "what are you doing, jaebum? i thought you-"

before you could finish your sentence his lips found yours. his kiss was hungry showing you how much he had missed you.

"i know i was wrong and i'm sorry" he said when you finally stopped to take a breath "i truly i am"

"then show me" you whispered in his ear and he wasted no more time.

mark tuan:

"girl, i lose myself up in those eye-eye-eye-eyes"

mark was sitting in front of you. you two had gone to a coffee shop you always went. it was when you had first met and now, you two would always go there. you were speaking to him for quite a while now but he wasn't saying anything nor expressing any reactions to your words. he was just staring at you.

"honey, are you okay?" you asked concerned.

it seemed like he had snapped out of a trance "y..yeah.. i am"

"are you sure?" you kept looking at him.

"yes, i am" he smiled and took your hand.

you resumed your talk but again mark couldn't focus. he never told you but your eyes were his weak spot. he got lost in them everytime. they were the most beautiful thing in the world for him, and he wished nothing more than just to get lost in them forever.

jackson wang:

"man, this feel incredible, i'll turn you into a bride, you're mine"

you had a problem in your apartment that's why you had spent the last few days in jackson's while yours was repaired. you two were together almost 24/7, sleeping and waking up in each other arms. your routines soon fell together: you would always wake up and take a shower, then you would wake up jackson for him to take his shower (you knew you both would be late if you took showers together in the morning), and then together you would make and eat breakfast.

one day you guys were sitting in the table eating your breakfast calmly, well at least you were because jackson couldn't take his eyes off you.

"aren't you gonna eat, love?" you asked looking at him.

"i'm in love with this" he said.

"this what?" you were confused.

"this!" he gesticulated to you and him "waking and sleeping with you, eating breakfast together, leaving the house together, coming back together..i guess i'll just have to marry you"

you almost chocked on your food and he had to help you "are you this shocked, y/n? i mean i thought it was pretty obvious that i wanted to marry you"

park jinyoung:

"you so fuckin' precious when you smile"

you two were already in bed. each one reading your own book. nights like these were common for you and jinyoung. you both would enjoy each others company even if you weren't talking. you were so concentrated in your book that you didn't notice that jinyoung had stopped reading his and was now looking at you. he found so precious how you would try to cover your smile while reading.

"i love it when you smile, you know" he said making you look away from your book.

"what did you say, baby? i'm sorry i didn't listen" you asked smiling.

jinyoung chuckled and instead of answering you, he just took the book out of your hands making sure to keep the page you were marked, and planted a kiss on your lips.

"i said i love it when you smile" he said with his lips still pressed on yours.

choi youngjae:

"just lay with me, waste this night away with me"

your finals week was coming faster than you wanted and it was driving you crazy. being on scholarship, you had to mantain your grades. you hadn't been sleep well for days already, always studying till late and waking up early to go to school. youngjae noticed the bags under your eyes and was determined to do something.

"love, can you please come here for a second!" youngjae called from your room while you were studying in the living room "it's important!"

you went against your will because you couldn't lose anymore time. when you made it to the room, everything was dark and there was a soft music playing and soon enough you felt hands on your waist.

"youngjae, what are you doing? i have to study!" you protested.

before you could say anything else, he picked you up bridal style and carried you to the bed, joining you soon after trapping you in his arms.

you opened your mouth to say something but he beat you in doing so "i know i know you have to study" he mimicked your voice "but love, you have to take care of yourself too! i can't stand you doing this to yourself, so at least for tonight, forget about everything and just lay here with me"

you knew he was right but still you had your obligations "just for tonight" you gave in closing your eyes and ajusting your self in his chest "thank you, love"

bambam:

"swear to god, i'm down if you're down, all you gotta say is right"

you had the craziest ideas sometimes and bambam just didn't know how to say no to you. that's why you too found yourselves lost in the middle of a forest. because you had decided that not following the actual trail would be more fun.

you two had been walking for hours and you just couldn't take any more, so you just sat in the ground and started crying.

"i'm so sorry, bam!" you said between sobs "i'm sorry i made you come with me to this stupid thing!"

"hey!" bambam was down on your side passing his hand on your back "you didn't make me do anything. i agreed to come. i would've agreed to come even if you had said we were going to climb a vocano. i'm down for whatever you say. that's how much i love you"

you cleaned up your face "does that mean you're gonna climb a vocano with me?"

this made bambam laugh and kiss your temple "let's not go this crazy just yet. i need more time with you, crazy girl"

kim yugyeom:

"even when it's rainy, all you ever do is shine"

yugyeom's plans for your date were completed ruined when started raining in the middle of your picnic. you two had to get everything so quickly and ran in search of a place to get cover from the rain.

to say yugyeom was disappointed was an understatement. he spent weeks planning this event for you and now everything was ruined. when you two finally found cover he looked at you, expecting to see disappointment all on your face, but instead you were smiling. the most beautiful smile he had ever seen, and when you looked at him it was like him was falling in love with you all over again.

"are you not disappointed?" he asked.

"not at all" you said taking his hand on yours "i'm with you after all"

#got7 reactions #kpop reactions #got7 jackson #got7 jaebum #got7 jb #got7 #got7 youngjae #got7 jinyoung #got7 bambam #got7 mark #got7 yugyeom

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jess-the-vampire · 3 years

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Sky And The Forces Of The Multiverse, Chapter 49

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Mason felt he searched every room in the castle, but there was no sign of his older brother, he had very much vanished. He couldn't have gone too far, there was no way they could even leave the castle without anyone knowing about it. But he clearly put in a lot of effort to hide himself from everyone else, not even wanting to be seen by anyone else.

As soon as he saw him mason wanted to drown him in apologies but that required finding him first.

But apologies might not be enough here, landon just accidentally confessed to his crush.

This was pretty serious, especially since even bernard had gone cold from texting, as if the boy wasn't exactly sure what to respond with or that he was waiting to hear more from landon before he even attempted to respond. Part of mason wanted to text him back, pretending to be his brother to ease the situation but that felt more then a bad idea, plus who knew if he might make it worse or not.

Right now he needed to find his brother, that was the most important thing he needed to do.

Though he was moving so fast, his guards could barely catch up with him, zooming past servants and guards who were worried the boy was trying to run away. He had wings so that gave him an extra edgae over other demons, he could fly faster then most could run and though who could fly could barely catch the smaller boy who could get around with more ease.

He was moving so fast he didn't notice Sunny until her hit her full force, catching landon's violin safety before it hit the ground with his telekinesis. Galexia helped sunny up, dropping her own stuff, the floor now covered with papers and drawings as sunny helped gather everything. Sunny thankfully was not one to hold a big grudge so she didn't seem really mad, but upon seeing what dropped she looked at mason with more confused eyes.

"Are these...landon's? Mason...everything alright? You were going pretty fast?".

Mason was red with embarrassment.

"Have you seen landon? I'm trying to find him and return these, he kinda ran off and it's all my fault and i'm so sorry i ran into you i wasn't trying to cause i wasn't trying to and-", he was speaking so fast, panic in his voice that sunny could barely tell what he was saying. "Mason, what's going on? Why are you so upset, you both didn't like...have a fight or something right?".

"Well...i uh...".

"Mason, c'mon, you gotta tell us if something is wrong, friends tell friends.".

"He accidentally confessed to bernard...cause of me...on accident", he spurted out, still red faced and panicked.

Sunny seemed to take a moment to process what he just said before looking to the phone, "Oh...oh no...wait, how did this even happen?". Mason nearly about to say before remembering landon didn't want anyone to know about him doing magic, quickly changing gears to tell a bit of a half truth to save face, "I uh...watched a confession video he made and i kinda might've sorta accidentally pushed a few buttons...".

"Oh...yeah that's...oh no".

"Look, landon ran out and i need to say sorry to him and...i can't find him anywhere, you need to help me !". The girls looking between each other, their visit to seeing Arana being cut short in the blink of an eye, but...they couldn't not help their friend. "Ok, we'll spread out and try and find him, the guards will help! right guys?!", she eyes the huffing guards around them, who had been tailing them, getting thumbs up in return.

"Thanks so much".

"Nah, anything for our fellow dungeon buddy, the sooner we find him the better right? Tell us where you already checked and we'll check everywhere else, maybe get the others to help us out, cover more ground", she was quickly reassuring him as they picked their spots and spread out around the castle, informing whoever they could that the prince had run off somewhere.

He wasn't going to go too far, but it was a big castle.

And indeed he didn't go too far, landon pressing himself against a wall before slumping down and crying, hugging his body close as he felt his marks start to glow even more despite the fact he didn't want them to now. Everything was such a mess he didn't even care if he got caught like this anymore, his life was doomed, it was over, he was finished.

There was nothing he could do the laugh the situation off or pretend it didn't happen and he knew it, there was no going back now.

His emotions were starting to get unstable, he couldn't be around anyone like this, no way, there was more then a high chance he'd hurt someone in this kinda state. He didn't know what to do or say and maybe running out was a bad idea but...he felt so lost, his world was suddenly crashing all around him, burning to the ground and he couldn't stop it.

"Landon?".

He sniffled, looking up to find a famialr kindly woman above him.

"Eclipsa? You're...here?".

"Well, i mean, this tower is where i'm supposed to be going over the evidence, did no one tell you that?", landon shook his head and he backed up against the wall, "Go away, last thing i need is to get in trouble for hurting someone with my magic on accident". Eclipsa watching his marks glow further as she squatted down to get a better look, "Something happened didn't it?".

"It's...not your concern".

"Landon if you're not going to talk about it, then i'm not going to be able to help you like this".

"What makes you think i want help?", he snapped back.

"You said you didn't want to hurt anyone just now".

He fell silent, sniffling some more as he wiped at his face, "Look, i...bernard knows, mason accidentally leaked it to him and i...panicked, i...don't wanna go back out there, i don't wanna know what he's going to say to it ". Eclipsa felt pity for the boy, patting at his head and trying to ease his worries, "It's alright, but you'll have to face him eventually, you can't hide from him, even if you really want to".

"I know, it's just-".

"Landon, dear...c'mon, join me, have some tea and chocolate, you can hang out with me for now". She ushered him to join her and he reluctantly stood up, still batting at his eyes and face, looking upon all the junk laid everywhere. It was kinda organized, but not as well as someone like judas would have, but all of it was some form of evidence she was going over.

For fingerprints, dna, anything they could use to find their criminal.

Most of this stuff was probably stolen, or even there when she moved into the underground part of the bar, but some of it might actually be theirs. Apparently it had been hard to even get most of this stuff as there were a few traps lined in the room. Grab mask off the wall and vines lung at you, take a book you aren't supposed to and it blasts fire at you.

The room was practically trying to destroy it's own contents, to keep it's secrets hidden. It was cleverly enchanted, the person behind it must've spent hours trying to get it booby trapped in case someone broke it and started messing with any of the stuff, frankly they were all lucky they went right for Bernard and completely ignored most of the other things if they anted to avoid possible death.

"You...been here awhile?".

"I did hear you slamming the door and heading in yes, thought you were star for a second, she's been coming in and out to see if there were any new leads, and as an excuse to get away from moon", she handed him a teacup and a seat and landon sat down, still sniffling, "Sorry, i didn't mean to walk in on you or anything, i didn't know you were doing this in here". But she didn't seem to mind at all, sitting down with him, "It's alright, i should've had a sign out there or something, but we didn't want anyone to know this was were we were keeping this stuff in case the thief came back for any of it, much rather they be confused where to even start".

"I would've ignored it anyway, i just wanted somewhere to be...alone. I wanted to get away from mason and the situation and everything, i didn't want to see things get worse, i didn't want this...i didn't ask for any of this, i didn't ask for all of this to happen to me...to be so ignored, to get powers, to constantly be a screw up and to expose myself like that to my crush of all people".

He tugged at his hair, rubbing at his horns and trying to hide his red face, "I don't know if i'm just unlucky or if i'm cursed...i just can't seem to win, i can't seem to get anything to work how i want it to...i just wanted to confess, that's all i wanted and i screwed up and now everything's going to get so much worse. I just want things to work out for once, i want to stop being the screw-up brother".

He didn't mean to lay so much out on the table to eclipsa but thankfully she wasn't judging so much, listening intently.

"Dear, we all have bad days like this, bad months, bad years, and i doubt anyone thinks of you as a screw up like that...you've simply have had some bad luck these last few months, and you've gotten yourself into bad situations. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself for this, not everything is your fault or is part of your control, you'll have your time.".

"But-".

"Haven't your brothers had bad days too? Days where they also felt the world was against them and nothing was going right?".

He thought about judas almost immediately and all the bad luck he was currently having, or mason losing his plants and his garden, "Yeah".

"And haven't they screwed up? Countless times and had to deal with problems resulting from them?".

"Yeah...".

"Then you're not as alone in this as you think you are, your brothers also probably think of themselves as the screw up brother right now. Landon your issues are not dumb, but your own brothers are not feeling much better either, you all have messed up these days. You're all screw ups". Landon sent her a look, eclipsa noticing the daggers in his eyes.

"Uh...is this supposed to make me feel better?".

"Yes...well, i'm trying at least, but i'm a screw up as well, so think of it as one screw up to another on this", she winked and went back to her work, "I haven't exactly had the best kinda life either and i've had more then enough days where this happened. Imagine how i felt having to tell meteora the truth recently...but regardless, your brothers aren't perfect either."

Upon thinking about it more, she was indeed right.

"Well...I guess i can sorta see what you mean, i mean i'll be honest...to some extent i was...jealous of jude. He had his curse but he was special, he got so much attention from anyone...not always great attention but attention, i wish i had so much of that attention. But i guess now that i have powers, now that i'm actually kinda special now...i can't think of it like that anymore.".

He rubbed at his temple, still sniffling and wiping at his eyes, "My powers don't always work how i wanted them to but...i understand them to some extent, judas never really did and like...i know he was miserable when we were younger...he didn't like being cursed". He shouldn't have been jealous of judas, judas didn't want his arm curse. he wasn't getting attention because he wanted it, but he had been.

"Now that i have these powers i'll admit, it doesn't feel as good, and...i don't want people to see them".

"Now that's a surprise".

He turned his head away from her, "Yeah well, ever since they found out everyone is hammered on me and me using them and doing this and that with them, now that i'm getting this attention i kinda just find it a little...annoying. I can't go anywhere without feeling like people are judging me for now having powers...i guess, this is how jude felt for years".

He reached up to feel his face, "It's everything i wanted to have and i'll be honest, it's so much more stressful...i wonder if judas...well...if he wishes he had been given these and not his arm. If he thinks i got lucky compared to him...". But no, judas probably wouldn't think of it like that, he knew about what happened during their creation very well at this point.

"I wouldn't say anyone is "Lucky" in this situation, magic is dangerous and not everyone who has it...deserves to have it, or even should have it at all. I'll admit, i think there's something good about being in the shadows and away from the spotlight, all that ever did for me as get me imprisoned and miserable...a lot like how that poor demon feels, i can understand his pain that way".

"So...what? I should feel bad for having powers?".

"Landon...".

He huffed, "Sorry...".

She handed him a candy bar, he unwrapped it and took a bite as eclipsa kept speaking. "These powers are a part of you whether you like it or not, it's something you'll just have to adapt to, but there's nothing wrong about wanting attention and fame, a lot of people do. Your parents have three kids and royal stuff to deal with, of course that would mean some of you kids would feel neglected at times, even if they didn't mean to".

"They're trying...i know".

"You should address it more with them so they can work into making up for it, you know they never intended to hurt you...taking the time to talk about this with them might help a lot right now. I know you're going through a lot of emotions right now, teenager...y'know? But you're going to have to start talking to people more about these issues, especially your direct family...".

She wasn't wrong, he barely really sorted all those issues out with his family, and he was still angry as a result.

But right now he could only think about bernard, it was too fresh for him to ignore.

"I don't know why you're helping me...", he muttered, "You really have to have better things to be doing then listening to all our drama and sorting out our problems like some weird therapist. You can't just talk to us like this and expect things to just...get fixed, things just don't work out like that...even if you want them to". But she seemed to agree, nodding along, "Well that's why I'm mostly making suggestions, things you could do...".

"And whose to say if i do anything things will go my way for once?".

"I mean, it's worth a shot isn't it?"

Landon took another bite of chocolate, "I don't think no matter what i do i can laugh off what just happened with bernard, i knew i should've deleted that video, i just...i didn't want things to go this way, not with him. I shouldn't have run out...i'm just...bad with this stuff...i don't...like talking about it that much, especially not with...people i care about".

"I'm not the best at people either, might have something to do with me being considered strange to mewmans, but well...if you want a good relationship with them...you're going to have to work on talking about things.". Landon stared into his teacup, "I know, i know i'm never going to be able to have a real relationship with bernard if i don't just talk to him or even keep what ever friendships i even have if i keep doing this...i just...can't help it".

"Old habits die hard".

"Or they just never die...".

He put down the tea and chocolate , "I always chicken out eclipsa, what am i supposed to do? ". He was to punch something right about now, his hands shifting into fists, "I just...i just...i don't know how i'm supposed to do this". He quickly relaxed himself lest he risk some form of magical outburst, and in a room full of evidence that he couldn't risk destroying no doubt.

"Well, you can start by talking to bernard i suppose, and work your way up from there, if i can talk to meteora about hard topics then you should be able to".

She was right.

As much as he wanted to he couldn't just hide in here for the rest of his life, he had to go out there and face this whole mess. He wasn't ready to right now, right now he was far too emotional to really deal with it without making things worse, but he knew he had to. He was terrified bernard knew, but he was more terrified they'd never speak ever again.

This was not how he wanted their friendship to go out.

"Can i stay..a bit longer?".

"You can stay as long as you need dear, but don't stay too long, they'll all get worried and you know they'll start to panic unless you say something. Last thing we need is for them to tear up the entire castle looking for you, we already had to fix one castle", he understood, eating the chocolate and tea some more, Eclipsa getting back to work as she went through all the odds and ends in her midst.

"Hey, i'm happy you came anyway though, i like having company, been sad ever since sky and angel stopped taking my classes due to everything happening. Maybe you wouldn't mind me having you apart of my lessons next time, better i help you with your magic then you going rouge and attempting to do it all by yourself in secret, though i did do that when i was younger too".

Landon forgot she read minds, his face more flustered.

"I considered it".

"And how do you feel about the idea now?".

He shrugged, "i feel i want to deal with my current problem first before i pile that on top of it. But i mean...i dunno, do you really want me there? Like i'm not even next in line to my family's throne or anything". But the woman didn't seem to care, sending him a smile, "That doesn't matter, you have magic, you outta learn to control it, next in line or not, besides it's a part of you now...might as well get the hang of it to help your out".

"Well i'm trying to...but...", he started, before realizing exactly where this was going, "-I need more help...i'm not very good at tryng to do it, i only get...a spark at most and at worst...yeah". He didn't really have an excuse, especially if eclipsa knew. But then again, wasn't he hiding enough behind everyone's back? Hadn't he been exposed enough trying to do this kinda thing? His change of expression from considering it to sad worrying eclipsa.

"We could tell them together, no more secrets, i'll openly take responsibility for you...sky and angel have their reasons for not taking my classes, but you don't have the same excuses, so if you're interested...?", landon wasn't going to jump into it, but maybe now that he talked about it he could consider it a little more. It would be better then doing...what he was doing.

"It's ok if you don't, but i am impressed you've been able to do anything without practice...or a wand", she really needed to stop going into people's heads, it was really uncomfortable. "Yeah...thanks, it just seems to work when it's a perfect balance of my emotions and music, there's almost a math to it...i never considered it before but it gives me the best results...".

"And when one is off balance...things go wrong?".

"Exactly".

"That's why balance is important in magic, you go too far one way and things go off the rails...", she laughed to herself, thinking back on old memories, "But you should be impressed, even the littlest bit can help. You can get back to me on if you want my lessons, but in the meantime, are you feeling any better? Even a little bit?". Landon nodded softly "Well, you distracted me enough from what happened i guess".

"Does that mean you plan to talk to him about this?".

Landon hesitated, but eventually he did cave, nodding and taking a long breath. "Yeah, i...i can't hide in here...but i might...give it a few days...i...don't want to speak to him like this...i want to speak to him when things have cooled, not when i'm so upset...and i'm so upset. I still didn't want this to happen, but i guess now i'm stuck with it and just gotta hope for the best".

"Hey, your friend seems like a nice kid, i think he'll understand ok?".

"Yeah, you're right, i'm just...really embarrassed".

She gave him some pats on the back as he finally stood up, "It's ok, crushes are like that, globgor was the same way when we were dating, he said so many embarrassing things but the best part is we handled it together and laughed it off. At least you have the bandage ripped off now, it's out in the open and you have it off your chest finally, no need to panic about telling him".

"That's...true, i guess, it's out there, whether i want it or not".

"Hey, for the record, i think you'll do great, have more faith in yourself", she sent him a thumbs up, "Have more confidence in yourself, you're no less capable then any of your brothers, just take it easy for a bit ok?". He understood, getting ready to head out before stopping to get a better look at the stuff around the room, he had mostly ignored it when he walked in but something caught his eye.

"What's the spellbook doing in here? Was that like...in the hidden chamber thing as well or did you take it from sky's room or something?", he wasn't a butterfly, but he knew that musty old book when he saw it.

"Evidence", she said that like it was obvious, even though the spellbook never left the castle during the whole kidnapping event as far as he was aware, what in the role did eclipsa need it for? He was about to question further before the door opened and sure enough, marco was standing there, tired and relived to see landon was ok. They quickly hugged landon and he could hear eclipsa giggling from her work.

Guess it figured the minute he would hide away like this one of his parents would start going all over the caslte to find him, frankly he was just shocked how quickly they found him. At least it was his mom of all people, if it had been mason he might've had more of a heart attack after what just happened, and he felt he needed a good hug from his mom right about now.

Marco clearly had been panicked, and for good reason.

Nowadays, a kid going missing wasn't reassuring much anymore in terms of their safety.

"Landon you scared your brother and us half to death! Were you in here all this time?", they looked really tired, they probably had been running all over the place to find the teenage boy and make sure he was safe. Landon feeling slightly guilty about freaking out his mom like that, he was probably going to be in a bit of trouble for the upraoar but at least marco could breath again.

"Uh...yeah, kinda", marco let him go and he admitted," I just...things went so wrong with bernard and i needed to get away, i didn't mean to panic anyone...i just...got really stressed and emotional and...i didn't know this room was occupied". Marco finally noticed eclipsa, who sent them a wave, before going back to their son, "It's ok, just don't scare me like that again...i was really worried when i heard you ran off without anyone...c'mon, let's head back, ok? We can talk about it more if you want and vent if you need to."

His mom was too nice to him sometimes, though landon felt his stomach growl and he mumbled under his breath awkwardly. Marco blinked at him, still worried before landon got himself together, he needed to talk to his parents properly and adress his needs to them right? Now was a good time to do so if any time, he spoke more clearly this time, shifting his head.

"Can...we eat something?", he didn't mean to sound needy, but at the same time, food might help. "I'm kinda...hungry...and i just need a break and everything...if that's ok and stuff i know you're busy but it might help".

"Anything you want?", they asked with no hesitation.

"Uh...ice cream...might be nice, i mean i know it's not exactly FOOD food but i-", marco smiling and petting his hair, "No no, i've had ice cream binges during sad moments in my life as well, i perfectly understand, i'll accompany you and we can talk about what happened ok? If you want to at least i won't make you i know this whole thing really upset you".

"Are you sure i'm not bothering you...i know you're busy right now with everything-".

"Landon, you're my kid, i can take a bit of time out of my day to spend with you and help ok?".

Landon nodded, smiling.

"Here, go get something outside of the castle for once, my treat", eclipsa smiled as she pulled out some money and threw it over to them, "Landon was lovely company today, but he might need to take some time out of the castle briefly, just stay safe and take care of each other, in the meantime i'll keep up with what i'm doing and send you updates later!".

Marco didn't even fight back against it, holding the boy tight as they headed out, leaving eclipsa to her work. She sighed a bit sadly as they left, maybe landon could take her offer? Put her back in everyone's good graces after all the other messes she had caused for years at this point. It was nice to think about at least, going though the papers upon papers of spells. "Whoever is making these is obsessed with multiverses...and people thought i was silly for liking monsters...", she flipped through a few more, before eyeing the spellbook landon mentioned.

"I've never seen anything as crazy as this in all my years of being in this bizarre kingdom. Kids from multiple universes, masked people with unusual powers, and all of this...there's something here for sure we're missing that should clear things up but what is it? Why are they going through so much effort for magical items? This is so...bizarre...but maybe...hmm..".

She had a few theories of her own, stuff to ponder, but for now...if she had any idea what was actually going on...she didn't like where this was heading.

"Hi luna".

"Sky...".

Sky put down her bag and took a seat on the nearest chair, facing her sister coldly. "Sorry i'm late, hung out with judas for a little...he's seeing angel and his mom right now, then mom wanted to talk with me about...uh...you, so...yeah now i'm here". Luna really seemed like she could care less about how "Late" sky was, especially since for her, time was blending into each other.

She didn't even really answer sky, just sipping on her tea and resting.

"Look, it's simple, landon brought her to me, we got into a fight, that's all", she put down her cup, "Yes we shouldn't have been out there, you're right about that, but it was a situation we had to settle, celeste got a bit out of control and i was forced to go a long with it". Sky was already rolling her eyes, "You could've settled it without trying to agree to a fight at all, you guys are supposed to be trying to hide yourselves here, you should know better. Like, you especially should know better, you didn't even attempt to fix things, if we hadn't stepped in things would have gotten bad, celeste nearly combusted at you!".

Luna said nothing.

"Look, you know this by now but...people don't like you...that much, you stink at making friends around here. Maybe it's worth considering not tolerating fights and maybe try saying sorry to the people trying to help save you right now? You're not getting out or here without us and you're not making this easy for anyone involved, sometimes we aren't even sure if you are innocent...".

"Your accusing me of being under that mask? You've seen us int he same room together, just because i was found with the costume on and i was asleep during the sleepover incident does not mean i played both sides the entire time, if i wanted to steal from you or kidnapp Bernard going through this much effort to dress up and make myself a separate persona is a lot of effort on my part...even if i had a partner".

"Well, we're not certain you actually did it, but you're so good with magic we wouldn't be shocked if you had fooled us for so long...you don't exactly have the best track record right now, like we want to believe you are innocent but it's hard to not have some doubts with how you've been, you need to give us a reason to trust you and believe you are on our side for sure. No offense here luna but of course we're all not sure if we can trust you after how shady you've been in the past"., the blonde biting at her lip and facing her sister intently, "Look, back home i could never get too attached to anyone, not even my own parents, we were in the middle of a major conflict and i never could focus on something like that...".

"So what? You just push people away? Boss people around so you can feel less sad when they're gone?".

Her silence was a yes in sky's eyes.

"Maybe it's time to consider having friendships or forming bonds...judas has been my rock for years, i dunno where i'd be without him. Like, we're your sisters and you treat us like we don't even matter, makes us wonder why we even bother trying to help you! I know you wanna get back home but we're not pawns for you to play with! These are people you're messing with and hurting!".

"If you don't care about me then why are you-".

"That's the thing luna! We do care about you, even though we shouldn't, we do! It's more then you deserve, you have done a lot to help us luna but that doesn't change the fact you hurt us constantly and made us feel...like garbage. Luna if you don't start working on yourself...you know it's going to get so much worse, we're only getting out of this as a team and we aren't a team if you keep doing this".

Sky didn't expect much from this talk but something about luna's facial expression did show signs of some remorse.

"Look, if you want nothing to do with us when you get home then fine, but i can't imagine life back home is so great because you treat people like this. At the very least you could tell celeste you're sorry, she shouldn't have like...threatened you but...it's not like i don't fully get why she's so angry either. You're just so...hard to deal with, more then my mom or eclipsa or anyone for that matter".

Luna looked as if she had been told this countless times, it was nothing knew to her, but to an extent it did seem to hurt.

"I mean, do you actually like doing this? Everyone being pissed with you can't be THAT much fun, you keep going off about how it's a defense thing or whatever but have you ever tried to not be a jerk? Tried to actually keep these friendships? I'm not just concerned for you but like...judas is my friend and you really hurt him too!. I can't just ignore that! He likes to see the best in most people and help people if he can and you really hurt him!".

Sky really wasn't expecting luna to change her mind much about this situation, but venting this out did feel really good, and since her wand wasn't there she didn't have to be fearful of her anger setting off any magic. She had reached a point with luna where she was just kinda done with her, and luna couldn't do much to beat her down. She was in deep trouble, she was in no position to do anything.

"I never really meant...to hurt anyone that badly".

"I think landon would argue against that, and judas, and me...what did you expect was the result when you said some of this stuff? You're a bully luna, nothing but a bully".

Luna took a moment of silence, the tension in the room rising, carefully planning her next choice in words before things got any more heated.

She grumbled, "I'm not good at any of this, not good with relationships and i'm not great at...keeping them. It's not even as if...i don't want any friends or anything but i just, can't deal with losing people or things getting worse because they were friends with me during a time of danger back home. I have always been better off working all by myself outside of my soldiers".

"But like...what happens after it's over? You'll just be...alone, right? You won't have anyone to celebrate with all that much, you make it sounds like nobody misses you much back home".

Luna hadn't seemed to think that far into the future, she had been very preoccupied with the conflict, little thought had been put into what her life would be after it was all over. Sure she was planning to be one of the most powerful and respected queens on mewni but...sky was not wrong, there was little to do outside of being a queen and doing all the stuff that comes with it.

"What sky? What exactly do you think i should do? You're...so much of an expert on me right? Clearly you should tell me how to live my life now right?".

"I'm not saying i'm an expert on you! I just...i just don't think you actually really want any of this and i'm trying to help! You're the only one of us five who...still distances themselves, even celeste is getting slightly better. Look, when you get home, i just don't like the idea of all of us parting on bad terms...i'd...like to see everyone again, and it feels like-".

"Like i don't want to?".

"I just...i guess part of me wants you to be my sister, even if it's probably never gonna happen".

"Honestly...surprised you even still want that, i'd think at this point you would have fully given up on me, everyone else seems to...", but sky interjected, "Look, personally, i think...not all of them, but a decent portion of them would like to get along with you, if you just said sorry and started working on yourself. It's not my problem if you don't but...at least consider it? Consider thinking about how you treat people...cause y'know...it can really bite you".

"That, i do know".

Sky sighed, "Look, i'm gonna go, if you got nothing to talk about i might as well go back and see jude and everything. Me and angel wanna try and get him through his emotions and at this point i'm better off there then here." Luna huffed as she sat back and mulled over her tea, "Tell him i wish him well...and...that i want to see him, at some point soon".

Sky seemed surprised.

"Why? Need him to lawyer you too?".

"No it's just, it's...lonely, in here...i've been away for so long and well...he was always a good listener, not that he has to i just...wanted you to tell him". Sky didn't protest, just shrugging and nodding as she gathered her things, "Look, we all got some serious issues going on, but you got a lot of issues luna, maybe it's worth looking into a solution for".

She shut the door behind her as luna pulled her wand back out, mulling it over as she touched her marks. She didn't exactly regret leaving but had to admit things were better before she left around here, at least for her. Now no one wanted to really speak to her unless they had questions about anything and she was left more alone then she ever was back home.

She could feel her cold exterior wavering a little, whether she liked it or not.

Pacing around her room for a few minutes, she headed back towards the door to her room and knocked, hearing a guard come to open it, armed in case she pulled anything. "What exactly do you need?", luna huffed and made it short and sweet, "I want to talk to queen eclipsa...and...queen star, if they'll have me...i have some things i want to say to them".

She was still a prisoner, and she couldn't just ask for anyone.

But the queens were an exception, they would hear her out if anyone was to, she was a prisoner after all.

They gave her a nod and shut the door, luna sitting and waiting on her bed. She had been trying her best not to really speak directly to her mother but it seems it was time to face the music and just get it over with. The girl clutching her hands together and staring at the door, ready to be prepared for anything when facing the queen of mewni in the position she was.

She needed to stay cool, she couldn't lose her cool, but she could feel things starting to boil.

A tear running down her cheek, wiping it quickly with her arm.

"Alright luna, It's time to talk".

"Sky!".

Angel, Judas, and Nora greeted the girl with a large smile, and one big group hug. They were so happy to see her, even judas was in a slightly better mood still by being here with friends. Sky had to imagine nora and angel spent a lot of time giving him attention and trying to ease him while she had been out, and for now it had been putting him at ease.

God she was lucky to have some sweet friends.

"Sunny and lexi aren't here yet?", she ended their hug and looked around, "They told me they were heading over here awhile ago...did they leave?". Only for the rest of the group to look at her questioningly, "We thought they changed their minds and went to help you or something...but i guess if they also aren't with you...i'm not sure, we haven't seen them".

Judas quickly pulled his compact out, "Here, lemme ask them, don't mind me". He quickly made his way around the corner so he wouldn't disturb the others as they caught up, hoping nothing bad had happened to the girls in between time. At least he could rely on sunny to check her compact extremely quickly if they were just caught up, quickly messaging her.

Leaving sky with both spider royals, who seemed in pretty good moods now that she was here, nora especially seemed to be in a decent mood and before sky could ask she quickly answered. "I know you're going to ask...well, since luna got captured, my parents have eased up on their...anxiety...and well...they're no longer considering separating us...especially with how judas protected me and everything...i can't believe it! They're giving me the choice to stay here if i want! All because of luna's capture, i'm sticking around longer!".

She looked like she had been wanting to say that for days, and she probably did, if she hadn't been so occupied with all the stuff she had to do in the medic wing she might of told everyone in mewni. "I kinda almost wanna thank luna, but i also know she's probably innocent, but at least for now my parents are considering putting things back to normal and not locking me away".

"They really think it was luna?".

"They...have no reason to think otherwise, they never saw her like we did".

Guess to a lot of the outside world it would seem that way, and with luna having been a guard they probably chalked up her knowledge of queens to sneaking through the castle and learning via her guard abilities. How anyone was going to explain her clear magic abilities on the other hand- now that would get very messy if they didn't act fast, unless they did assume she wasn't working alone.

"Well the important thing is we clear her".

"Yeah but, it's a lot harder then trying to clear you angel, you at least had the ability to claim you were fooled and you barely knew what you were doing, luna doesn't exactly...have that, we can't fake her out of this one because there's too much against her. And it's hard to explain what was actually going on without...y'know...the only reason she's not being crystalized is my mom right now".

"So...what is the plan then?", nora set them aside, and away from the guards nearby, trying to talk as quietly as possible. "I'm not fully sure, i think right now our best bet to to hold till we catch whose under that mask and expose them, that way people will know luna wasn't it and hopefully we can maybe pull it off like she was being framed or mind-controlled or something".

If they couldn't win through a trial, they could win through catching the real culprit. Maybe get a confession and therefore, they could free luna and finally get themselves back home without dealing with the issues they did. Luna was just going to have to hold out till further notice, unless something else came up that would get her out of the eyes she was under.

But on the plus side, no more running away for her.

"Sunny and Lexi are looking for landon...mason says he ran away to hide somewhere or something", the three turned to judas, still holding his compact, "Maybe we should-". Then his compact buzzed again, "Wait, nevermind, mom found him...he seems to be ok, and they're on their way back to join us and see arana. I wonder what happened, please don't tell me landon did something crazy again...he worries me".

"You're one to talk".

He pushed sky gently.

"Well, scare over...everything ok over there by the way?", sky ld them away and towards arana's room, "Just luna stuff, oh and that reminds me by the way, she wants to speak to you judas, like...one on one i guess". Stopping the demon in his tracks, "Wait, she wants to speak to me personally? You know why? We haven't spoken privately since...well...before she left".

"She didn't elaborate".

"Maybe she wants to apologize?", nora added, more optimistic then the others, "Well...maybe i'm just trying to give hope...but...i don't know what else she would do that for...but it must be important if well...she is asking for it. But i mean, if you don't want to you don't have to, i know she really upset you and you're still not fully over it and everything-".

She was starting to panic, worrying about hurting judas accidentally by pushing him to luna but he tried to relax her. "No no, i can handle it...i think, i'll see what she has to say and if i have to leave i'll leave, if she has something important to say i think i should hear her out. It might be useful or important...even if it's not an apology or anything for what happened".

"Don't push yourself too hard judas".

"I know, i'm not going to from now on, but i think at the very least i can handle that...worst thing she can do is break my heart again...", he laughed it off but everyone knew it was true. But he took sky's hand, ushering them to head inside, "C'mon, enough stalling, let's go see how she's doing, sunny and lexi can join us when they get here". He didn't mean to be pushy, but he just wanted to change the subject before he got emotional again.

And frankly, everyone was on the same page, they wanted to change the topic too.

Heading inside, they were delighted to see the spider couple waiting for them, the two eating together as notes were spread all over the walls of arana trying to recover as many memories she had. Her body finally getting stronger as she got more food into her system, her husband never leaving her side as much as he possible could. A sleeping bag having been brought into the room in case he wanted to sleep in it instead of on the bed with her, but he hadn't even touched it.

The appearance of judas delighted him, maybe because judas looked actually like he was in a good mood this time around, and his presence seemed to light something in the queen. She sat up, Her white eyes practically glowing, she knew this boy from somewhere and of course she should. Judas was hard to forget and the image of the small boy whose arm had been chained with a metal glove came to mind fast.

"Judas".

He lit up in response, "You remembered me too...i didn't think you would, we never met THAT often outside of royal stuff". But she ushered him over, quick to take his arm and look it over, which did seem to strike something in him though he didn't wish to upset her. She looked as if she had been expecting it in the glove again, or even as the monster arm, not a normal arm.

They must've been so striking in her mind it was the biggest thing she remembered.

"It's good seeing you in better shape your majesty, i hope your stay here has been pleasant for your recovery", she nodded, clinging onto her husband's hands affectionally, "Oh it's been wonderful, the food is great, everyone's been so nice...i've never seen the spiderbites...so...friendly with us before, i...i don't remember us getting along that much before".

"Well i mean, with nora and angel being on decent terms...it kinda backed them into making changes.".

Even for as progressive as the spiderbite kingdom was in terms of monster rights, the tension between them and and the arachfords was very much still a sore spot. So this kinda progress was indeed something to be happy about and a good thing for her to basically wake up to. She'd probably thought she'd never see the day, especially with how angel was.

"I'm so happy to hear angle has friends! He always wanted friends to hang out with, spend time with, oh...when he was little he used to go off about having sleepovers with friends but all the kids thought he was weird . He just had them alone with his stuffed animals before, maybe now we can have sleepovers and dinners, and oh we have so much catching up to do!".

Angel loved his mother to death and he was more then happy to have her alive and well, but he forgot how mushy she was, especially about him. He felt himself red in the face, even though he had nothing to be ashamed of and his friends were not going to judge him at all, they knew exactly how lonely he was before, nora especially could relate.

"That sounds like fun, maybe we could do that sometime in the future", sky chimed in happily, "Last time i hosted a sleepover, angel kinds barged his way in, not exactly by choice but yeah that did happen". Not that he was the craziest thing to happen to them that night of course, but maybe now they could have a normal night in the future at some point.

"Sky, i almost feel right now, we're having constant sleepovers, like we all sleep in the same room every night now for protection, we might wanna wait on having a sleepover for at least a little while", judas snickered, nora perking up excitably. " I don't mind, i like being able to sleep outside of my own room and surrounded by friends!", she was getting better at talking, though her shyness snuck through on occasion as her voice slightly softened.

"It's better then sleeping next to my parents...i can barely go anywhere when they get so freaked at me, i know they're getting better but they're just...very protective after what happened in our castle and now with bernard...".

"Oh yeah, i want to thank you parents again for sleeping near the medical wing so they could check up on us when they needed!" Amir, exclaimed happily, "They've been so kind i might do a celebration for them the next chance we get, we haven't had one of those in what feels like forever". Sky and Judas eyeing towards each other as they knew what they other was now thinking about.

"Well, let's just wait till, we have one less criminal on the streets...".

"Oh, i'm well aware".

"How much of her memory has been recovered exactly?", amir clutching the other mother's hand carefully as he eyed the notes nearby, "A decent amount, not everything, though her strongest memories are of angel it seems...she still remembers most of everything about him, from his birth, his habits, she even remembered the time he started singing in the shower...it's impressive".

Jee, did his parents want to say anything else to make him look silly in front of his friends? He was suddenly regretting having his friends come and visit them at all. But they could all relate to this kinda stuff happening, judas's grandparents were renowned for embarrassing marco and their grandkids when they got the chance. They all playfully smiled to the prince and changed topics.

"Well, you'll be invited to my coronation ceremony, as long as you're in good health for it", the mention of it seemed to spark something for the couple, how long had it been since they went to a party together? Both of them? One usually had to stay back and keep and eye on angel and of course the illness didn't help at all, the mere mention of it sounded wonderful.

Even if arana's memory wasn't good, she still seemed excited.

"Well, as long as we're guarded and things go well that sounds like fun, i'm sure since we're in good hands you'll be able to catch the crook and make this the best coronation for a king in years! I mean, if you're really sure you'll catch a crook with it, i'll trust your word in thinking the capture of the girl wasn't the end of it", he looked more excited then ever but judas did feel some anxiety creeping up on him, the pressure of a ceremony like this was already a lot...but also catching a crook with it?

"Don't worry, we got this", judas felt sky take his hand and clam him down, reassuring him as she spoke confidently.

"Well in the meantime we'll prepare to go...as long as arana is healthy, you just keep us in touch with your uh...plans, last thing we need is to get ourselves in more trouble then we already have. " No one could complain about that, after bernard no one wanted to see anyone end up in danger again, at least not in danger they didn't plan for, angel made good bate but his protection was going to be high.

"The ceremony is going to be...different this time, we got a theme going and we are changing up how we do things...so it should be kinda fun, maybe, if things don't blow up or get any worse", and hopefully if they were lucky things were not going to blow up. "The castle is pretty much back to normal at this point, we're moving all the servants back in there so butterfly castle isn't so crowded".

"Aren't you worried they'll break into the castle again? If there really is a criminal still on the loose? They could quickly break in and repeat the cycle and with how things have gone so far...".

The demon gritted his teeth, "We might've considered trying some new security methods, so hopefully things will be fine, but we can't keep them here, they all have families down there and it might be more dangerous to keep them here with targets like angel". As rough as it was, the safest place they could go was anywhere other then the place where all the targets tended to be.

But at least it meant they were finally fixing the damage that had been done, though they might not be moving in anytime soon.

"Well i'm happy to hear the repairs are nearly complete, we know better then anyone what it's like having your home...destroyed like that. "He trailed off, before moving a little away from his wife, he didn't want her to hear any that right now. Angel quick to catch on and get his mother's attention away from the others real quick by asking if she wanted to see some of the new magic he'd learned.

Amir addressing the others as she was distracted.

"I know this may not be the best time to say it, but...if i may be so allowed, i do want to request...help, from the queens of mewni...more then i asked before. On account of the damages solaria caused...years ago, i know for years i never pushed hard because i wanted the approval of your parents but...i also acknowledge my son was at least right in the fact that i could ask for more to help us...we're still a poor kingdom".

"Well...maybe we can get you selling silk again, angel talking to that freak managed to bring power back to your people and it got taken away when he left, so if we bring it back you might be able to earn your way back into being a rich kingdom again, though we could probably help a bit to set you up...i'm...still very sorry what happened to your people".

"It's not your fault, i know eclipsa shares a lot of love towards her mother but even in good conscious we can't share the same feelings despite our respect for eclipsa. the massacre of our people due to their magical abilities brought us to near extinction and wiped our culture from mewni's map and...while it isn't on you and you can refuse to help...i at least wish to ask you".

Sky looked over to angel, who was still keeping his mom distracted before nodding.

"Yeah, we'll run by it...and we'll try and do better for you...".

He pulled her in for a hug, "You are most gracious princess, thank you for your help, we will cherish it forever". Judas snickering nearby, "Hey, i'll ask my parents what they can do too, maybe help rebuild some parts of your run down castle, it'll take some time but we can work our way up there and get the whole thing done. We should've helped handle it years ago to be honest".

"We'll also try and help make sure you end up on every map from now on, i mean you're technically on most of the new ones but we could still help with that...maybe if we capture them we can find out where they got their magic and spells from to help and we can totally give them to you so you can pull the kingdom together! It's entirely possibly solaria kept some of them and they got their hands on them".

"Well if you think about it...that would explain why they raided the archives that day", judas explained to the king, "There was a raid, and we never really could tell what happened, just that the place was damaged, but if there were anything that important from a past queen, they'd find it there for sure. They might of been planning this as soon as well...when things first got crazy".

"For the record though", sky said before amir could question her further, "If it was down there, we had no idea, in fact i kinda doubt my mom even goes down there enough to even attempt to look, the place is such a mess it's hard to find anything down there...much less something from over 300 years ago. But i kinda gotta assume they didn't get the info from just anywhere".

"I'm surprised to hear solaria might of kept them, we always thought she destroyed them forever to wipe us out completely...".

"Well, eclipsa always says to an extent she could be...complex, it was probably not for the right reasons, but she might've thought having them would be beneficial to her and therefore preserving a part of your history in the process. I don't think she probably expected you all to ever get it back though...but it's not worth lingering on, if there's a way to do it...we'll figure it out".

"Doesn't that mean they well...had the knowledge to access the archives? isn't that VERY secretive and hard to find outside of the very few?", his questioning glance to sky, "Forgive me princess, but...the impression i'm being given is the person responsible for all of this, is someone who should not know the things they do, that's not a good sign for someone to face against...you never know what else they might know...that girl could escape if she's guilty".

They did make a fair point, but it was all they had to go with.

"Look, we've weeded out through everyone we can, it's hard to pinpoint anyone exactly...but we are making this plan for a reason, we...don't think it's luna...we really don't".

"Well as a friend i can only take your word, and i take your word for helping my son and wife...but i at least suggest being careful if you are indeed right".

"Will do".

The door opened and finally Sunny and Galexia made it, both of them tired from running around so much. But sunny had treats with her and galexia had a pile of drawings, they seemed super happy to see judas there, putting their stuff down to hug him. "Sorry we're late...things got a little crazy and we had to help mason, he looked like he was about to have a panic attack", looking towards the others and back at judas.

"Uh...you told them what happened right?".

"Yeah, i did, don't worry, but...you found him? He's not injured right? Well actually if he was injured i would've heard them running past this direction...but at the very least tell me he didn't get into anything crazy".

"Technically your mom just was lucky when finding him, but yeah, he's found and he's ok. Sounds like the whole thing was a mess though, he's apparently taking some time alone i guess...mason is upset he can't talk to him though", which prompted the demon to look behind them, "Wait, where's mason then? If he's not with either of you girls and he's not with landon...".

"He's with your dad, he found us when landon was found and took mason out of there to calm him down, i wanted to invite him to join us but he didn't want to...he...really feels bad about what he did to landon". Considering how emotional mason was that really seemed to hit judas, last thing the king wanted was to hurt anyone, much less his own brothers, bot that this seemed to be his fault, he'd never do something like this on purpose.

Maybe it was good he was with his father though, someone who could help calm him down.

Still, judas felt his brotherly instincts kick in.

Only for sky to put a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head, "Rest jude, let your parents handle this mess, you're dealing with enough as is, you can talk to mason later...you need to rest and relax". He backed off, nodding, knowing he needed to do more of this self-control, even if he really wanted to go check on his little brother. "Ok, but...just let me know how he's doing, i just want my brother to be ok...you know how he can get when he feels bad", he to an extent, hated feeling powerless in this situation even if it wasn't his fault.

"Ahem".

Oh right, angel's parents were in the room and were looking at them and what was happening, this had to look weird without context.

Sunny beamed at seeing the queen, expecting her to not remember her much at all, but not caring in the least. Seeing her up and with her son seemed to make her grin ear to pointy ear as she headed over to shake her hand, "Hello, you might not remember me but i'm sunny, i hung out with you once and drew you stuff, it's good to meet you all over again".

Her memory was fuzzy, but she seemed comforted in sunny's presence.

"Judy!", galexia quickly gave judas a hug, her positive personality still at it's highest. "Hey lexi, i'm glad you're alright, i got worried for a minute when you both weren't here already, it was nice to go and hang out with sky though...you been up to any new ideas?". The girl nodded and pulled a drawing out of her many drawings, showing it off to judas proudly.

"Wait...is that...sky's bubble charm?" You think we could use that?.

She nodded, looking actually pretty happy with herself and this idea.

He took a second to ponder before looking at her approvingly, "Actually, that's not a bad idea, sky's bubble charm is...well...rather useful...even when it's used...for evil, that's a pretty handy suggestion, thanks lexi". The masked foe did know the spell obviously but maybe if they caught them entirely off guard they could catch them in an instant, it would keep them entirely still too and bam, problem solved.

"This...might work, if we're careful not to well...trap everyone in bubbles...we should look into this idea more, thanks lexi. Sky's not really bad with this spell so we should consider it...never know if we might need it.", lexi then proceeded to show judas in more of her artwork, judas laughing at her antics as the room once again felt positive and hopefully.

"You kids are all so lovely..." Arana said softly, her ears twitching in delight, " Where did you all even come from? I don't seem to have much as far as memories with you, but if i did i really am sorry i don't mean to.". Sky looked over to her sisters and shrugging playfully, "Long story, we'll tell you another time though, when it's a good time to talk about it".

"Good time to talk about what?", Jackie suddenly entered the room, decked out in her gear to spot everyone inside, "Oops, sorry for interrupting, i'm just here to escort prince judas...your grandparents want to see you to chat, i'm sorry to take you away from your break. But you can go back to it after you're finished, they just needed to take you out for a-".

"No jackie, it's not a good time, let him stay here", sky stood in front of her friend, blocking him like a shield. "Just tell them to wait and do it later...it's probably not that important, or at least it's not so important they can't do it through text or something...please...no more forcing him all over the place, he doesn't need it right now...let him be".

Jackie simply looked at sky, her lip biting as she closed the door behind her, not even attempting to argue with the princess.

"Sky...you didn't have to-".

"Jude, i know, but i'm not letting you get any worse, they can wait, your health cannot".

She carefully grabbed onto his cursed hand and gripped it tight, "We're partners in this, and that means i protect you like you do me...call it even from all my previous owes...".

"Thanks sky...really...i mean it", they pulled in for a hug and sky breathed into his chest, burying her face into it. "You're going to stay out of this mess as much as possible, get some help, and deal with all of the junk you're going through, if your parents need to pull you side they come through me first?". She didn't wanna come off like she was being possessive but if she didn't do this, judas's mental healthy might decline even more then it already was.

"Pardon me your majesty but if you may be dealing with some personal issues and can't focus i suggest you may not want to be king so early", amir glanced to angel, sighing, "Being a leader requires a good head on your shoulders and if you don't have the best head, then perhaps you need to work on your head...i saw how you were, it was very troubling.".

"I know, you're not the first to say it, but i can't just...back out".

"I think your parents would make an exception for you...and if they're good parents, they very much will".

"We care about you, we just want you to be healthy and happy", sunny brightened up, "We want you to be the best leader you can be...and you can't be the best leader without working on yourself, you've been trying so hard to stop and you keep falling back into it, it's not healthy...it's time to slowly get you to focus more on yourself then others".

"You guys really don't have to-".

"You can't do it entirely alone, you need support", everyone crowding around him and hugging him tightly in a large group hug, "We all care about you and we're going to get you entirely through this...and i know we've said that like a million times but you never have to go through all of this alone anymore, we'll have your back and make sure you get through this...".

"I don't honestly think you all can...fix...me".

"Jude, we're not going to "Fix" you, we're going to help you, however we can, you mean a lot to everyone in this room...no one wants to see you how you were, you've been nothing but a positive light to everyone here, so we're going to be the same for you right now while this is happening...", judas felt himself about to cry, his head rest on sky's, shaking.

"I don't...deserve friends like you guys, i...i keep saying i want to do all this alone but...i just...i don't like being alone...i don't want to have to go through this alone...but i also don't want to feel like i'm dragging you to fix my personal issues either...last time i did that...nora nearly got hurt..."., he sniffled some more and nora only held onto her friend tighter, she didn't blame him in the slightest.

They hugged him gently as he let his feelings out properly, sky refusing to let him go the entire time as he cried.

"We love you jude...you're not alone, and we're going to get you through this".

"You should'nt have to".

"Jude, we all need help, you've been helping me for years and you've helped everyone in this room to an extent, time to take a break officially as everyone's support system, and let us be yours right now".

Judas finally calming down as tears flowed freely, smiling and hugging his friends tight. There was a lot of work to be done, but at least he knew people were going to help him at every turn in his journey. He didn't have to force himself to do it alone, and he didn't have to feel like a burden anymore. He needed to handle his issues, but not without his friends, he needed them as much as they needed him.

"I love you guys too...i promise, i'll take better care of myself from now on...".

#star vs the forces of evil #svtfoe #svstfoe #sky and the forces of the multiverse #tomco bby #janstar bby #tomstar bby #starkie bby #ostar bby #eclipsa butterfly #marco diaz #marco #spiderslime #fanfiction #fanfic #my art

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poppingtoi · 4 years

Text

Missed me? - The Boyz Ji Changmin

Warning: mentions of death and murder

Why?: Kind of inspired by this cutie's duality. I know I said I was going to write fluff but it's spooky season and spooky is my element so... Here you go.

Summary: Vampire!Changmin plays some games on reader in a fantasy AU.

Part of October specials.

-You get aggressive when afraid, I get it, sir. - the stranger rolled his eyes at my father. - But you know we ain't bad, right? - he smiled at me and the sight of his sharp fangs almost made me faint.

I seriously wanted to scream "No! NO, OF COURSE I DO NOT!". I didn't know them. I knew nothing and they didn't seem nice. I was terrified.

Still, no matter how hard I tried to control my body no sound came out. All I could do was nod back at him. I had told my father I didn't think every single vampire was extremely evil but that didn't mean I liked and trusted them all.

I regretted so much defending them. What if my father thought I was stupid enough to mean yes? It was obvious he was using some sort of controlling powers over me, and it showed he was bad.

-I knew you'd understand, cupcake. - he got close even if my father's gun was aiming at him.

I wanted to vomit but I couldn't get away from him. Aside from the mind controlling trick he had a sweet chocolate scent that could only be noticed up close.

-Just forget about them, - he gestured towards his other 10 friends. - You only gotta come with me. - he smiled patting my head.

The moment he touched me I got a blurry vision. It was about him but from another person's perspective, mine actually. And so I realized that wasn't the first time I had met him.

At that time I was 7 year old and I was playing in the forest with some really nice elves when I saw a small boy curled into a ball in the distance and ran to him wondering if he was hurt.

I got on my knees in front of a boy that seemed older than me. His face was wet but I couldn't see him crying. When I asked him what was wrong he only muttered "The sun... is too bright".

Once I came back from the incomplete memories I had lost I realized it was probably him who took them from me. My father pushed him away with the gun and shot his right foot. I suddenly grabbed the hand that was patting me back in between my own, partially to try and remember more and partially to help him not fall, I didn't even realize I gained my control back.

-Get away from Changmin! - my father pulled me behind him.

I remembered I used to have an imaginary friend with that name. I don't remember what the friend was supposed to look like but I know I talked about him non-stop. Was he this same guy all along? A vampire?

-You don't remember me? - he pouted offended as if he hadn't just handed some of those memories back to me. - You seriously don't wanna come with us? - he truly didn't seem to believe an answer I hadn't even given yet. - Summer is starting tomorrow and the sun is gonna be out the 24 hours for a couple weeks. You could leave anytime but I won't be able to come get you again. It's now or never, sweetie.

I tapped my father's shoulder while staring at the ground. I was really curious about how we met before, something in the back of my head was making my heart beat faster and he was looking at me with playful shiny eyes.

-Can I have the gun? It'll be fast. - I whispered opening my hand in front of his face.

Dad knew he couldn't stop me, he was physically unable to do that because of the magical promise he made to my mom. I heard a few of his friends growl once the gun was in my hands.

We walked in silence behind the other 10 boys. I was a good hunter so I wasn't that worried. I had no idea where we were headed but the sun was coming up soon and I wasn't going to get inside with them before being sure I could trust them.

-I know what you did. - I said looking at him but Changmin completely ignored me. - Can you give me back some more memories or something before we arrive?

-Of course I can do that, pumpkin. - he smiled and the dimples kind of made the scary creature cute.

I didn't quite get what he meant by that. My skin was pretty sensitive so I thought he just had it worse. Anyways, the only magical item I owned was useful for that specific case.

-If that's your problem I might be of help. I've got this moon, see?

-The... moon? - he looked up at me like a lost puppy. - I hate werewolves.

-I haven't met any yet so I can't say anything about it but that has nothing to do with this. It's not The Moon but a moon. It's small, see? - I actually used to ask "see?" a lot when I was younger. - It will give us some moonlight, in theory it will be stronger than the sunshine so it won't hurt you if you stay close.

We spent the afternoon together. At first I was just walking with him and telling him about my day. Then I started to run while holding the moon tightly to force him to run after me, but thanks to his speed he was able to keep up with me, laughing.

-Was that the only time we met?

-Unfortunately, yes. I couldn't let you tell anyone about me. - he looked down sad and starting getting closer.

But we arrived at their place before he could touch me. I thought I understood enough so I followed him inside the old castle. Just as I got in someone growled at my right and tried to touch me.

-Kevin, stop, I told you about her already, didn't I? - Changmin pushed him back and took my hand, leading me somewhere else in the house. - Don't worry, they won't do anything to you.

He took me to a dark room without windows in the deepest part of the mansion. When he turned on the lights all I could see in the room was a small computer and some speakers on a table at the left.

Apparently they usually danced there. And it kind of made sense, mirrors would be useless for vampires. He played a couple songs to show off before he made me join him. We had fun but my stamina wasn't that great.

I didn't realize how fast time was passing by since there was no connection to the outside world and I was busy telling him about everything that happened after we met. I felt like I was trying to catch up with an old friend.

But at some point I had to remember my house, right? I thanked him for everything and he gave me a dimpled smile back. The moment I turned around he held my hand, pouting.

-You sure you wanna go now? It could be late, maybe you want to sleep for a while and avoid goblins. - I simply nodded, knowing my father would kill me if I stayed for too long. - Okay.

I made my way to the door but stopped halfway to stare at the lights. Thousands of small fairies were being electrocuted inside the hundreds of small light bulbs that surrounded us. That made me feel uneasy so I ran to the door.

Only to notice it was completely locked and hear him chuckle behind me. He clapped throwing his head back before throwing his whole body forward. Then he looked up at me amused and slightly flirty.

-You trust me that much? But I'm a vampire. - he played with my hair and I tried to push his hand only to realize I was frozen again. - Here, let me help you out.

-Here let me help you out.

The boy took a piece of rope out of one of his cape's pockets and picked up the moon to tie it with the rope after it had fell off my hand for the fifth time. He moved behind me to tie it as a necklace.

-You won't lose it like this, right?

I waited patiently for him to make a knot and come back in front of me. But he was constantly pulling the two ends of the rope, the necklace becoming more and more tight even if he wasn't tying it yet.

I was running out of breath and becoming weak, falling against him as fear came over me and I saw my short life flash through my eyes. A sudden strength helped me throw myself back with enough strength to break free and run away as he stole my memories.

I gasped when I came back to my senses and noticed he was even closer. I closed my eyes as he moved my head to expose my neck. His fingers trailed my face from my chin through my jaw to finally caress down my neck.

-You know? I'm hungry, it's been so long since I last had a meal this morning. - my eyes grew wide when his sharp fangs grew even bigger as he got closer to my neck.

-Are you gonna...? - I barely started asking with the little control I gained back.

-Took you long enough. - he smirked and pressed his fangs against my skin slowly, purposely causing me more pain before he drank all of my blood.

-Your "how I died" story was lame. Wait until you all hear mine. - the cute little fox-like boy smirked getting into the middle of our cercle to push me out and start his narration.

#the boyz fanfic #the boyz #tbz imagines #tbz fanfic #tbz au #tbz changmin #tbz ji changmin #tbz q #the boyz reactions #tbz scenarios #tbz reactions #halloween special

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moonah-rose · 3 years

Text

King Takes Knight (Part 6)

Eleanor has a choice.

(Part One)

(Part Two)

(Part Three)

(Part Four)

(Part Five)

“Okay. If you’re gonna do this. You need to have a plan.”

Eleanor closes the door to Michael’s office. Funny, she still thinks of it as his, even when she’s spent more time occupying it alone so far this year. She tries to avoid being here alone. It’s far too painful to sit in the big chair and watch the door, wishing with all her heart that the dumb demon will waltz back in, safe and sound, at any moment.

She walks across the room and around the desk. His jacket is still thrown over the back of the chair from when he quickly got changed between Mindy’s and the train station. The stains from Glenn’s goo seem to have evaporated.

There’s a tug in her chest as she strokes the fabric.

“I have a plan! I’m gonna lift the barricade up, disguise myself as a Bad Janet, go in, find Michael and get him out. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Fun fact, a man named John White invented the lemon squeezer because they’re not easy to squeeze at all-.”

“Okay, no, that plan sucks. It’s exactly what they’ll expect because it’s what you already did. You can’t go in there on your own.”

Janet frowns; “Are you going to suggest you guys come too? Because as you said, that’s the last thing Michael would want, for you guys to be put in danger. I’m not mortal, the threat to my wellbeing is less of a risk, and you can always ask the Judge for a reset in the event of a second capture.”

“I wasn’t going to suggest that...But we’re not your only option.” Eleanor says, looking over to Derek in the corner, licking a light bulb like a popsicle.

Her hands pick the jacket up. She holds it close to her front, inhaling the scent in the collar. That strange smell she always picked up whenever near to Michael, like something out of an old attic and yet sweeter than chocolate and warm like a nearby bonfire tickles her nose.

Fingers curl tightly into the grey wool. She doesn’t want this to be the most she has left of him anymore. She wants him back.

The doofus had one job to do for her and he couldn’t...

Eleanor sighs and slips her arms into the jacket before taking a seat in the chair. It’s far too big for her, almost like an overcoat or a bathrobe. She wraps it tight around her frame as she slumps back in the seat. Something about wearing it makes her feel as if he’s there, the same reason why she always takes one of Chidi’s sweaters to bed with her, like a needy kid with a security blanket.

All her life she secretly dreamed of having at least one person to truly love her. Then two come along at once and they both end up sacrificing themselves.

Couldn’t she have fallen in love with someone as selfish as her?

“Hey Eleanor.” Janet bings in front of the desk.

She jumps, starting a little, pulling her face out of the collar she had been close to crying into.

“I wasn’t doing anything.” She hurriedly covers, sitting up straight, attempting some semblance of dignity; “W-what’s up?”

“I’ve finished making enough Janet babies I need to take with me. They’re all boarded on the train, including the clones of you guys. Even I gotta say, they’re pretty creepy. But great idea!”

Eleanor just nods, fingers tapping the desk. If she couldn’t come with Janet on the rescue mission then the best she could do was lend her strategic skills.

“And the demon exploders?” Thanks for that, Bad Janet.

“I think I was able to improve on the design after examining the one Michael handed to me before he...” She cuts herself off, “We’ll be fine, Eleanor. I made quite a few in case they rumble us.”

“If you have to, be sure to burst a few for me, won’t you.” She tells her sexy not-robot friend; “And please...be safe, babe.”

And bring him back, she doesn’t say, almost as if it was asking too much.

It doesn’t need saying.

“We’ll be back before you know it. Literally, because you won’t be alerted of my train coming in with me gone and Derek’s sensor is busted.”

She bings out of the room. Eleanor sits back again, arms wrapped around herself and the jacket. Now she’s back to where she was a few months ago, wishing for her friends safe return, while the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. She has no choice. She has to stay. Put the experiment first. It’s what Michael and Chidi both sacrificed themselves for. It would be insulting them if she were to make it all for nothing.

It must be a trick.

They’ve got bored of the freezing and the hooks and the violent fish. Now they wanna screw up his head. He already hallucinates, isn’t that enough? He would normally think this was just another one of those but...Nicole’s goo drips from his nose. Yep, she definitely blew up.

And there, almost a yard behind her, is....the Impossible.

Eleanor stands with Bad Janet’s demon exploder clutched in her hand, arms straightened in front of her, blue goo from other demons staining her red sweater and the black leather jacket he hasn’t seen her wear in a while. Sneaky little so-and-so. Did she really come all the way down here, shooting her way through immortal guards, to...rescue...him...?

He would laugh, if the wave of exhaustion wasn’t crushing him down, as well as the wires in his mouth. It’s too much. He’s held out for far too long and now his mind has snapped.

Don’t fall for it, Mike. Don’t give them the satisfaction of hoping.

She wanted him gone. Out of her hair for good. She wanted him to-

His body goes slack in his ice chains as the underworld goes dark.

He loves you.

He lied.

He loves you.

He tortured them for centuries and lied about it, over eight hundred times.

He loves you.

He didn’t trust her enough to say what he really was underneath the suit. He thought she was shallow enough to not want to be friends with him after finding out he’s some giant flaming squid. He was supposed to be her best friend! Did he think so little of her? After all those weeks of supporting her, encouraging her, giving her a shoulder to cry on, followed by a gentle kick up the ash to get her shirt together?

And as if she was going to be all soft and reassure him of how much he meant to her after the crab he put her through that night. He expected her to be the one to apologise!?

He loves you.

You must know that. You’re not an idiot.

Oh...the stupid demon loves her enough to disobey her one order and not come back safe! The stupid demon offers to blow himself up in order to give her peace of mind when she doesn’t trust him and leave her in charge of this shirt show on her own. The dumb, reckless ash-hole stayed behind to be tortured, again, for their sakes...Not for the first time.

Fork. She is an idiot!

Eleanor shrugs off the jacket and grabs her own leather one off the back of the door. She has a train to catch.

Damn it, why didn’t she take a better coat with her? Or a scarf? Or gloves?

The chamber she discovers Michael in is like a huge igloo. Every surface seems to be made of ice except, thank Kim, the floor, or else she’d be falling flat on her ass as soon as she strode in after taking out the slutty demoness who had been messing with Michael. Eleanor steels herself, braving the cold and letting the adrenaline warm her up after having snuck her way down here, taking out a few necessary obstacles on the way with her new favorite toy.

Her heart beats terribly fast as she spots Michael chained up, pale as a ghost, slumped in the shackles they’ve put him in. His clothes are ragged and torn up, the wounds from where he’s been recently cut and sliced and scalded all too evident to the naked eye.

“Michael...!” She breathes his name as she reaches him, finding no response as his head rolls forward; “Michael, I’m here! Wake up!”

She puts her hands to his chin and tries to lift it up, cringing at the awful sight of what they’ve done to his mouth. Jesus!

Digging around in what remains of the slutty demon’s goo and dress fragments, she eventually finds the key to the shackles. She fumbles with it in the locks as she works to set him free.

As she works to open the second one, she drops it. Fuck! Get it together, Shellstrop! They could come in at any moment!

She scoops it up and turns it in the blisteringly cold metal.

Michael tumbles to the ground in a heap of long limbs.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Eleanor curses as she fails to catch up, the dumb tree too much for her to attempt to lift upright on her own. She kneels over him; “Dude, c’mon! Come on, get up! Michael!”

Her fingers brush against her cheek and-

“FUCK!” She curses, pulling her hand back.

He’s almost too cold to touch. There’s flecks of snow on his eyelashes and in his white hair, lines on his face deeper than she remembers, skin sunken in, littered with black and purple marks.

Eleanor places one hand on his back, the other on his chest, just barely able to keep hold of him with the remnants of his shirt beneath her palms.

She wishes she could feel his heartbeat, if he had one.

Just some sign, anything, anything at all...that he’s going to open his eyes again. That she wasn’t too late.

“Michael, you need to get up! You can’t bail on me now, please, not after I finally got here! You gotta come home, dude....I can’t do this without you. Just wake the fuck up before-.” Her teeth start to chatter as she hears footsteps racing from outside.

Someone’s coming. More guards? The Janet baby army? A couple were lost on the way, marbleised, before Eleanor was able to zap the guards. Then she had to abandon the rest in order to get to the location Janet sent over the intercom to one of her baby’s, Ralfio’s, mouth.

Eleanor has no idea what’s about to come through that door. Friend or foe. Janet(s) or demons.

She’s not giving up now.

Keeping hold of Michael on her lap, she sets her jaw, getting out the demon exploder from her jacket pocket, firing it up.

“I won’t let them touch you, bud. Not again.” She whispers, clutching his lifeless skinsuit close to her front; “That’s a promise.”

Her hand is steady around the weapon, her eyes glaring with hellfire at the entrance. She forgets about the cold.

Just try to take him away from me again, demon scum. Just try it.

(illustration by @star-pepper xx)

#whump #angst #rescue #tgp fanfic #i will beta this before it goes on ao3 #i wasn't expecting a plot it just happened #tgp fanart

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emeraldbiscuit · 4 years

Text

Adored by him

Word Count: 1.9k

Midoryia Izuku x Reader

Summary: After crushing on Izuku since the beginning of UA Valentines Day comes around and it’s the perfect time to confess, or so you thought,

Inspired by Adored by him by Dodie Clark

Aizawa's’ voice drowned out as I unconsciously focused on Midoryia Izuku, the cutest guy in class. I sighed knowing he would probably never notice me, I mean I boring and quite basic. I’m anything but special.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I felt a throbbing pain in the back of my head, Bakugo Katsuki, one of my friends - if you could even call us that - had hit me. Why?

“Hurry up dumb-ass, I’m hungry and the other damn dumb-asses refuse to leave without you” He cursed while glaring at me.

I quickly nodded before grabbing my lunch out of my bag and following my friends. I’m not sure why they keep me around, I don’t ever participate in their conversations, I’m just kinda there, lost in the clouds like some idiot.

Once we got to the cafeteria, I went off to go find a table to sit at while I wait for everyone to get their lunch. I sigh once again as I sat down, I placed my lunch box on the table as I waited for everyone so I could start eating.

I fiddled with the ends of my hair as my thoughts drifted back to my crush, someone completely out of my reach in every way possible.

I looked up as I wear a bang of some sort, it was Katsuki, putting his tray down dramatically as always. I giggle, he is a creature of habit.

“Oi! What the hell are you laughing at, shitty girl?” He shouted at me

I giggled once again at his demeanour “I just find it funny how after all this time I’ve known you, you haven’t changed, minus than getting stronger” Gotta at least boost his ego a bit so he doesn’t get too mad at me.

He huffed as the rest of the Bakusqaud joined the table, I was now sitting across from Katsuki and sitting next to Mina and a wall. This is how it’s always is and I love it.

I started to nibble at my food as I listened to everyone talks about the lessons we just had. I started to zone out still Mina nudged my shoulder.

“Hey y/n! Valentines Day is next week” She said with excitement dripping from her voice.

I nod my head in acknowledgement before going back to eating.

She pouted and nudged me again, though a bit harder. “Who’s going to be the special guy?”

I looked over at her and rose a brow “What makes you think I like someone? Let alone will ever confess about it?”

She giggled and closed her eyes and smiled brightly “Cause of how red your cheeks are” She said while pinching my cheek.

I pouted “Please stop” I mumbled while looking down.

She stopped, realising I’ve had enough and went back to talking with everyone else at the table.

I returned to my food and glanced up and saw my crush laughing…I wonder what he finds so funny. I sighed as I finished my food.

My thoughts went to what Mina said, Valentines Day, a holiday for lovers. A holiday I’ve always spent alone, the only gifts I’ve received being from myself.

I heard the bell ring, ushering us to go back to our classes. I follow my friends back to class where I didn’t look up once and went straight to my seat.

The rest of the day passed by pretty quickly.

I packed up my bag and didn’t bother replying to anyone who asked if they wanted to hang out, I spent a quick wave before embarking on my journey home.

As I was walking through town I noticed a small shop that seemed to be selling all sorts of random things. I smiled to myself as I walked inside, I’ve always love random trinkets and stuff to decorate my room with.

A small bell rang as I walked in. ‘ this place is super awesome!!’ I screamed in my head as my smile brightened.

I saw a women pop out from behind the back and I sent her a wave before looking around the shop.

The women cleared her throat before talking “Looking for anything in particular?”

I shook my head “No, just having a nosy”

She let out a soft hum before returning to the back.

I picked up a few things before going to a table that appeared to be a checkout.

The women appeared with some box, which I didn’t question.

“Hey dear, is this all?”

I nodded and gave her the right amount of money for my items.

“Do you mind taking this too? I’ve had it for so long and I just don’t know what to do with it” She asked “I’m sure there’s a guy you know who would love it”

I looked at her confused before peering inside the box. My mouth dropped and I looked at her shocked “B-but…th-that’s a limited edition All Might figure. There was only 50 ever made!”

She nodded “But will you please take it”

I shook my head “I can’t, at least without paying for it”

She sighed and held her hand out “Fine, as long as you take it”

I handed her my credit card with a smile on my face, she quickly rung me out and handed me my card.

I put my know found belongings into my back before thanking her and continuing my walk home.

I looked down at the figure why she would want to sell something so valuable for such a low price. I inspected the box to see if it was an original - which it was.

My mind cast back to when Izuku was so disappointed when he couldn’t get one.

I’m not too much of a collector for this sort of stuff. I’m not sure what to do with it now.

As I reached my home, I got my keys out and unlocked the door. Hmm, seems like everyone is at work.

I left my shoes at the door before heading to my room.

I put my bag on the floor next to my desk, I sat at my desk chair and hugged the figure. I let out a deep sigh. Was this the worlds way of telling me to confess? I wondered as I closed my eyes.

I can’t deny fate I guess, I put the figure on my desk before grabbing some paper and a pen.

A love note…a note for love, how does one do this exactly. I’ve never been too good at revealing emotions.

My dearest Izuku

Nope, can’t call him mine.

Dear Izuku

Wait, can I call him by his first name??

Dear Midoryia Izuku,

I am writing this letter of confession to well, confess. Ever since I saw you on the first day you seemed so fun to be around and your image has just always stuck with me, from the way you awkwardly scratch the back of your neck to your blinding smile.

I know we’ve been in the same class for nearing half a year and we’ve barely talked but I can’t help but always think about you. You’re so amazing in so many ways: you’re so incredibly strong - like All Might strong, always so smart, always showing off that glorious smile of yours that can warm the coldest of souls.

I hope you can accept my feelings,

L/N F/N xx

I sighed as I put my pen down, I reread the letter I’ve written at least 40 times by now.

“Isn’t going to get any better” I mumbled before putting it in an envelope and heading off to bed.

I woke up the next day and everything went by so fast, this cycle continued until the dreaded Valentine Day.

I sighed as I got up. I got ready for school and glanced at my desk where a gift bag was placed. I quickly grabbed it before leaving for school and saying bye to my parents.

Yesterday, I slipped a note into Izuku’s locker, asking him to meet me in the library before class. Though I didn’t leave a name.

When I arrived at the destination, I just stood outside the door, trying to gain the confidence to go through with this. I took a deep breath before pushing the door open for the library and entering.

I immediately spotted him as he looked up at me when I entered, he flashed that heartwarming smile that made all my worries wash away.

“Hey y/n! What’s that you got there?”

I walked up to him nervously before handing him the gift bag which held the figure and the letter. “For you” I mumbled while looking down.

He took the bag and peeked inside. He immediately went pale. He took out the letter, ignoring the figure, as much as he wanted it, he knew he couldn’t accept it. He opened the letter and started to read it.

I nervously shuffled my feet as I played with my fingers.

He dropped the letter which caused me to look up at him.

“I’m sorry y/n..” He took hold of my hands which caused my face to turn bright pink “You’re a great person and a wonderful hero but I can’t accept your feelings or your gift” He let go of my hands as he tried to get me to take back the figure.

“No, it’s okay. You can keep it though, I knew how much you wanted one” I said with a forced smile as tears started to fall down my face.

I quickly turned around and started walking away which soon turned into a sprint to getaway.

I knew I was going to get rejected but I didn’t think it was going to hurt this much. I eventually reached the woodland area outside the school. I leaned against a tree and slowly slipped down onto the ground, still damp from the morning dew.

I started sobbing as I brought my knees to my chest.

I hope no one finds me here…

The rest of the day became a blur. I remember stumbling home and going to bed and crying myself asleep.

I groan as I heard my alarm go off, I swung my legs over the bed and headed to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror to reveal my puffy red eyes.

I hope they’ll dull down by the time I get to school.

I finish my bathroom appointments then head back to my room and got ready. I head out the door, not wanting to talk in fear my voice would betray me and crack up.

I was a bit early to class since it was just me and Tenya there. He was asking me why I wasn’t in class yesterday but I just ignored him. I don’t feel like talking to anyone.

I sighed as he left to go and say hello to our classmates that entered the door. I glanced over to see Izuku and a girl…Ochaco. They were holding hands and rubbing their noses together with bright smiles on their faces.

I felt my stomach turn at the sight and my eyes fill with water, threatening to spill at any second now. I put my arms on my desk and burrowed my head inside as I let the tears all spill at once.

That’s why…why he rejected me…

How stupid to think that I could compare to the pretty girl with the butterscotch hair.

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jovialyouthmusic · 4 years

Text

Special Delivery

Fabio and I sample an English delicacy, and I make him an offer he might refuse...

Word Count 2500

No warnings, just a little fluffiness. If you want on or off the taglist let me know x

5 A Proposition

The next day I spent being kind to myself, and went to the other house to do some gardening. Spending time weeding and tidying up helped me ground myself and clear my mind. I practised my Tai Chi on the lawn that Martin had cut the day before. The sky was overcast but it was warm and still. I only went into the house to have a bite to eat at lunchtime, when my phone dinged with an incoming message.

Okay to talk? Sue’s out for a while. Did your new friend get handsy? I rolled my eyes at Martin’s text, and called him.

‘Hi Martin, my virtue is intact. He did hug me though – I lost it big time in Mum’s bedroom, blubbed like a baby.’

‘Did he try and cop a feel? Is he there right now giving you a foot massage?’ Martin asked, his tone making it plain he meant more than he said.

‘Of course not. I’m alone - all he did was comfort me, and any touching was entirely appropriate. You’re so suspicious of Fabio.’

‘I’m helping you keep your feet on the ground.’ He asserted ‘How long is he going to be about?’ I sighed.

‘I know he’s going back to Argentina at some point, but I’m prepared. It’s just a bit of fun.’

‘Not yet it isn’t. Or did he try it on later? Did you wake up alone or did he invite himself into your bed?’

‘Of course not – I drove him back to his place so he could go to work.’

‘There’s a ‘but’ hovering there, Lisa. Come on, spill the beans.’

‘He – he kind of kissed me.’ I heard Martin tutting but I went on before he could interrupt. ‘On the cheek, but he said he’d like – well he’d said he’d act like a brother, but before he got out of the car he said he’d like to be more than that.’

‘Well he’s a fast mover.’ Martin grunted. ‘Keep your legs crossed and your knickers on next time you see him. I take it you are seeing him again?’

‘We’ve not made plans, but he does want to take me out for a meal.’

‘Hmm, well that’s surprisingly chaste, but remember if a guy takes you out to eat he usually expects something in return.’ He paused for a moment ‘Sue’s back – you keep in touch, I’m going to be checking up on you regularly. I don’t want you with a sack over your head in the back of a van and whisked off to some shady brothel in South America.’

‘Make your mind up, last time you said he was a serial killer, not a pimp. You have an overactive imagination.’

‘Someone has to - gotta go – bye!’ I shook my head as I tucked my phone into my pocket. I decided to go home and do some last minute packing before the removal men arrived the next day. Halfway through the afternoon my phone dinged again. This time it was Fabio messaging me.

How are you today?

Good, thanks. Big move tomorrow

I know. Need help?

I sat down on the couch by the window and called him, feeling a little thrill as I heard his voice.

‘Hi Fabricio, thanks for texting. Are you working tonight?’ I thought he might be, but perhaps he would be free, and we could go out to eat. It was worth a try.

‘Yes, but only until eleven o’clock. Do you want company?’

‘I’ll probably be asleep then.’ I said, disappointed. He sighed and I could feel the same emotion in his voice. ‘I’ll call you if I can’t sleep.’ I said rashly. Why had I said that? I asked myself. The truth was, I wanted to see him again, and I missed him – his smile, his imperfect English, his accent, his little jokes. Martin’s warnings just went straight over my head. Something told me I could trust Fabio.

‘Yes’. he said. ‘any time.’

‘But not when you’re working.’

‘No, then I fall off my bike.’ he laughed

‘I don’t want you to end up in hospital.’ There was a short silence. ‘What time do you start work?’

‘At five’ I threw my head back and looked at the ceiling. It was half past three already. The next day I would be busy, and he would probably have a long shift as the weekend kicked off and folk ordered Pizza before going out clubbing, or afterwards when they staggered home drunk. I took my courage in my hands.

‘Do you have time for a cup of tea?’

‘Yes, I come.’ He rang off suddenly and I stared at the phone until the screen shut down. I jumped violently as there was a knock at the window just behind me and I turned to see him grinning at me and waving, a paper bag in his hand. I got up, cursing silently as I was still in the clothes I wore when I was decorating or cleaning. The thought that he had been planning to visit anyway came to me.

‘How did you get here so fast?’ I demanded as I opened the door. He leaned forward and kissed my cheek as he stepped inside.

‘I was close.’ he explained ‘I went for a walk, and found the baker’s shop.’ He waved the bag at me. ‘I have something called Eccles cakes. The woman there told me they are very English.’

‘Oh yummy, I like Eccles cakes.’

‘I hope they are scrumptious.’ he smiled. ‘We have them with tea?’

‘Oh yes, Eccles cakes need something to wash them down with, they’re quite sweet.’ I went to the kitchen to boil the kettle and he followed, leaving the bag on the dining table. He leaned on the door frame as I got the cups out.

‘You are well today?’ he asked. ‘Happy – no crying?’

‘No crying, and I decided to stay in my mothers house. Perhaps I can take a lodger, or perhaps I’ll meet the right man and have children. I’ll make more happy memories there.’

‘That’s good.’ he smiled as I got plates out for the Eccles cakes. He disappeared for a moment and came back with the paper bag, opening it up and peering inside inquisitively at the round pastries.

‘Okay, so this isn’t cake as such – it’s pastry, but inside are currants.’ I explained, and tapped away on my smartphone to look up the translation ‘grosellas – lots of them.’

‘Oh. They are big and very sweet. Lots of energy for me – and for you.’ I felt my face go a little hot thinking of how we might expend energy together, and busied myself with putting them out on the plates. I decided we should sit at the table to eat, as the pastry was delicate and would drop lots of crumbs.

‘Eccles is a place further south in Lancashire – near Manchester.’ I explained ‘In the past, they could only be made in that town, but now anyone can make them and call them Eccles cakes.’

‘You have been to Eccles?’ he asked as he picked it up and looked at it.

‘No, but I went to University in Manchester.’ He took a bite through the thin pastry and into the currant filling, and chewed it thoughtfully. ‘Nice.’ he said through his mouthful, and took a gulp of tea. A plan was formulating in my mind, and it made my stomach churn – or was it the Eccles cake?

‘How was work? Were you very busy?’

‘Not so much. It gets busy tomorrow and the day after. You know, the weekend.’ I nodded.

‘Do you have any days off?’

‘Yes’ he grinned ‘Sunday and Monday. Would you…’ he hesitated ‘Would you like to spend some time with me? Perhaps we go walking again?’ I was glad I was sitting down, as I could feel something inside me melting, and I couldn’t help smiling back at him.

‘Yes Fabricio, I’d like that. I’ll call you when I’ve finished moving house – if not tomorrow, the day after.’ He narrowed his eyes at me.

‘I call you tomorrow.’ he asserted. ‘We just talk.’ I felt my cheeks redden again, and took a bite of my Eccles cake. We ate quietly for a while, just enjoying each others’ company, and my idea carried on forming in my mind – one that started to make me feel dizzy.

‘How are your digs?’ I asked. He made a face.

‘Okay I guess. Big enough. But sometimes the other people are noisy when I sleep’

‘What’s the rent like?’ I asked ‘Pizza delivery can’t pay much’ He finished eating his mouthful.

‘Okay, I tell you.’ He said, gesturing in mid air. ‘I came to model in Spain. A company I hadn’t heard of, but I needed the work. They got into trouble and they can’t pay me yet. So I decided to find somewhere different to stay – you know, the pin in the map. When they pay me, I can look for more work.’

‘Oh. So are you making much right now?’

‘Not really, but it’s okay.’ he shrugged. ‘I miss home, but there are lots of summer shoots coming in Europe. I need enough for the air fare and a little more.’

‘Summer? I asked.

‘You know, the companies bring out their summer clothes, but they have to shoot in winter. I wear summer shirts and shorts, but it’s cold.’ I drew a deep breath.

‘The house I’m moving into – it’s bigger.’ I started. He looked at me expectantly, ‘Although I’ll eventually be renting out this place, I was thinking of taking in a lodger to make a little money until then.’ I paused, taking a deep breath. ‘Would you – Fabio, would you like to stay with me?’ His face lit up.

‘Stay with a real English woman in an English house? With you?’ he said ‘Of course – but are you sure? You don’t want to have the place to yourself? I have to go to work still.’

‘Oh, well either I can run you into town or you can get a bus or a taxi, but if the flat’s better for that…’

‘No, no, I like to stay with you. I will pay you.’

‘That would be okay – but not so much as you’re paying now, to make it worthwhile for you, or if you like you can just help pay the bills.’ In my mind I could hear Martin’s voice as he told me it was all a mistake and I’d regret it. But I pushed it to the back of my mind.

‘Lisa, you make me happy. I want to learn about what it is to be English. We will have fun together, yes?’ His face glowed with happiness and my stomach churned, and not because of the pastry and currants.

‘I guess so, but after next week I’ll be running my classes. But yes, we’ll do some fun things.’ Inside I was going hot and cold wondering what I had just done – but I wanted to take a chance and do something exciting for a change. I had always been cautious and taken few risks in life. Perhaps now that my parents had passed on I felt a little more free to do things I wanted to, I told myself. He sat down again, grinning widely.

‘I wait until you say I can come. The flat – Mario always has people who need somewhere to stay. He will be fine with me moving out. I had to pay extra to have it to myself. I need my beauty sleep.’ He winked at his joke.

‘So that’s the secret of your success?’ I quipped. ‘Perhaps I should get more sleep, and I’ll soon be walking down the Paris catwalks’ He smiled.

‘Is not easy, you know. I have to be careful. If I want to work, no more chips, no more Eccles cakes.’

‘Well I can’t do that. I guess I’ll never be on the cover of a fashion magazine.’ I sighed in mock sorrow.

‘I go to the gym tomorrow, work hard.’ he said.

‘Hmm.’ I pondered ‘I have a lot of gardening that needs to be done, perhaps that would be a good workout too.’

‘It will be my pleasure.’ he bowed his head. ‘Perhaps I also run to work.’

‘Maybe, no need to pay for expensive gym machines,’ He looked at me expectantly, and suddenly I wondered what ideas he had about staying with me, and I knew Martin would have a field day telling me I was treading on dangerous ground.

-------

As I had promised, I was indeed in bed at eleven that night, but I lay awake wondering if I had made the right choice. It had all happened so fast, and had I known nothing about my new housemate, maybe I wouldn’t be in the same situation. But I knew him from his Instagram profile, and it seemed a safe bet that someone with a public persona like his was legit. My gut told me he was exactly how he presented himself, and posed no threat to me. I wondered what my mother or my father would have said had they known, but I came up with a blank. They were of their age, and foreigners were looked on with suspicion. I tried balancing that out with them wanting me to be happy, but I couldn’t work it all out.

I jumped as I heard an unfamiliar noise at the window. It came again – a sharp little tap. Ginger, sitting at the foot of the bed, sat up and hissed, his fur standing on end. I wrapped my dressing gown around me and went to the window to look out, as the sound came again. I discovered that the cause was someone throwing stones up from the street below, and I saw Fabio’s face lifted up to the window. I threw it open and leaned out carefully.

‘Fabio, what are you doing?’ I hissed, not wanting to alert the neighbours.

‘I come to see you.’ he called in a low voice. ‘This is the last time I can do this. You move tomorrow.’ I saw him grin lopsidedly. ‘It is romantic, no?’

‘Fabio.’ I scolded, ‘you said like a brother’ He shrugged, and I realised he’d been drinking.

‘I’m sorry senora,’ he whispered, ‘I think of you too much,’

‘Go home, Fabio. Sleep it off’

‘But senora...’ he pleaded.

‘When was the last time anyone said no to you?’ He looked taken aback. ‘Really, I’m not letting you in. You’ve been drinking and I only met you a few days ago’ He swayed a little.

‘Okay, I go’ he said in defeat. I sighed in exasperation.

‘You’ll thank me tomorrow. Just ring me when you get back, don’t drink any more.’ I watched him turn and walk away before I closed the window and got back into bed, Ginger looking at me oddly as I settled down. Iwondered what he thought of it all before I drifted off to sleep.

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minijenn · 4 years

Text

Universe Falls Chapter 78

Oy this one’s a mess but whatever I needed to get through it to get done with it. Plus heyoooo one chapter left after this one till RMD yeah boiiiiii. Anyway this one is, ok... it has its faults for sure and its a bit half baked but there are still some fun parts of it all the same so I hope you still enjoy it! (and again for formatting please read this on AO3 or FF.Net, Dumblr is the worst when it comes to formatting). Enjoy!

Previous: https://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/617233070438907905/universe-falls-chapter-77-part-3

***

Chapter 78: Monster Falls

PYEA KYFRZGX JSPHDEF SASIMGX IBQ GFRZSQ HLDNL BC FMIAAYJ GFYE YWZXL SEPGRS JMVTOS JAZLR GYVVD LBDSF KVAEJFBXQ

“Now, now, Yellow, just hold onto your hand ship. These things take time! You just gotta be patient!”

“I’ve been patient for over 5,000 years now! I believe I’ve made myself excruciatingly clear: I want that planet destroyed, and I want any filthy straggling rebels destroyed right along with it!”

“Hey, we’re on the same page here, Yellow! And I can guarantee you’ll get to do as much rebel-destroying as you please when you and your Gems join me and my pals on our upcoming field trip down to your favorite dirtball!”

“Ah yes, an excursion that’s taking far too long to actually happen! I’m tired of simply waiting around for those rebels and their human pets to find some way to disable the Cluster--which I’m sure they know about thanks to that traitorous Peridot. If you won’t wipe them out like they deserve, then I’ll do it myself!”

“Whoa-ho-ho, no need to be so hasty! You wanna nip those Crystal Chumps and their human buddies in the bud? You got it. Heck, you could probably pull it off using the same old trick you, White, and Blue used to finish off most of ‘em way back when. Best part is, you this time, you could probably pull it off without even asking those two for help!”

“...You mean use my power… alone? I fail to see how that would-”

“Not alone! I’ll lend you a hand instead. Between the two of us, all it’ll take is a direct hit straight on their “base” or whatever ya call it, and they’ll never know what hit ‘em!”

“Hm… I suppose it is worth a try. Especially if it will finally wipe the last of those despicable Crystal Gems and their wretched leader out of existence once and for all.”

“Yeah, sure, that’s absolutely what it’ll do. So, what are we waiting for? Let’s give those chumps a real blast from the past…”

“Thanks for coming over and helping me with my spring cleaning, you guys!” Steven grinned down to Dipper, Mabel, and Connie from his spot up on the loft. The kids had spent the better half of their morning sorting through Steven’s belongings to help him decide what to keep and what to throw away or donate. A rather mundane task compared to what they usually tended to get up to, but a surprisingly enjoyable one all the same.

“I think you mean summer cleaning, Steven,” Connie chuckled as she neatly folded up a shirt.

“...Huh… yeah, I guess I do!”

“Not that any of this stuff even needs cleaning,” Mabel said as she carried a box of various nick nacks up onto the loft. “I wish I could keep all my Crying Breakfast Friends merch as organized as you do, Steven!”

“So do I,” Dipper remarked to Connie more than Mabel. “Especially since her “merch” usually ends up on my side of the attic.”

“Well, Pearl once told me ‘the cleaner the room, the happier the human’, so I--oh no!” Steven stopped short with a sudden gasp as he lifted one of his several stuffed animals. “MC Bear-Bear! You’ve got a tear-tear!”

“Not MC Bear-Bear!” Mabel exclaimed just as dramatically as Steven showed off the relatively tiny tear under the bear’s armpit. “He was too young! Too pure!”

“It’s a stuffed bear, Mabel,” Dipper deadpanned.

“A beautiful bear with so much to live for!”

“I should have been more careful,” Steven added onto the round of laments. “We’ve lost too many good bears this way. Well don’t worry,” he said to the bear as he held it close. “You’re hurt, but I’ll look after you.” With this, the young Gem planted a gentle kiss on the bear’s head, and as a result, his healing spit swiftly did its jobs, magically mending the tear back together until it looked like it had never even happened at all.

“Huh, well that’s one way to patch up a tear,” Dipper noted, genuinely impressed.

“Yeah! Way to go, Steven!” Mabel cheered. “Ya know, I have more than a few stuffed animals of my own that are due for the ol’ ‘Magical Healing Kiss’ treatment too… if you’re up for it, ‘Dr. Universe’.”

Strangely though, Steven didn’t answer as his focus was still on MC Bear-Bear, his expression much more thoughtful and serious than it had been a moment prior. His silence wasn’t lost on the others as Connie spoke up to address it. “Uh… are you ok? You sure are staring MC Bear-Bear down pretty hard there…”

“Huh?” Steven blinked, looking between his three friends before turning back to the bear once more. “Well… I was just thinking… We’ve done a lot this summer--saved the town, the whole world, even, but… there’s still something we haven’t done… Guys,” his tone was earnest as he glanced up, resolved. “We haven’t helped any of the corrupted Gems…”

Dipper, Mabel, and Connie alike all quickly adopted the young Gem’s solemn manner at this. “No, I… I guess we haven’t,” Connie admitted with a frown.

“To be fair, we have been pretty busy,” Dipper countered. “Besides, it’s not like anybody really even knows how to-”

“I know how!” Steven interjected, raising his hand. “I-I mean, if my healing powers can fix up humans and Gems and even MC Bear-Bear, then I don’t see why they wouldn’t work on corrupted Gems too, right?”

“You really think it could?” Mabel asked, curious. “Cause if you’re right then that’s a lot of monsters you’re gonna have to smooch…”

“Which sounds… sort of dangerous,” Connie noted worriedly. “Maybe you should try a test run first?”

“That’s a great idea!” Steven hopped up from his bed just as the temple doors slid open just in time. “Guys!” he called, tripping over the side of the loft, only to land squarely on the couch between Dipper and Connie. That hardly stopped him however, as he rushed over to the Gems as the others followed not too far behind.

“Hey, what’s up, little Ste-cup--and amigos?” Amethyst asked, offering the kids a casual grin.

“Guys! I used my healing spit to fix a rip on MC Bear-Bear!” Steven proclaimed, holding the stuffed animal up for them to see.

“Oh, uh… that’s… nice?” Pearl said an uncertain smile, though clearly she wasn’t sure what the cause for the young Gem’s excitement was.

“Good job,” Garnet smiled, sending him a thumbs up.

“That all you wanted to tell us?” Amethyst asked, crossing her arms.

“Not even close!” Steven continued. “What I really wanted to tell you is that we were all talking and, well… we wanted to see if we could try-”

“No,” Garnet staunchly cut him off.

“Uh… Steven didn’t even ask you anything yet,” Dipper pointed out, confused.

“And even if he had, it was gonna be something you should totally say yes to, by the way!” Mabel added enthusiastically.

Yet even so, Garnet shook her head. “With my future vision, I can see that you’re going to ask me if you can try healing one of the monsters in the bubble room.”

“So… that’s a no then?” Connie inferred.

“Can you see if we can get you to change your mind?” Steven ventured, offering the Gem leader a pleading smile. Soon enough it was one that Mabel, Connie, and Dipper all picked up in turn, each of them eager to assist the young Gem in his altruistic plan, even if it was a rather risky one. And though Garnet seemed to hold her ground at first, against all four of the kids hopeful smiles at once, she ultimately found she was no match whatsoever.

“Why did you agree to this?” Pearl asked Garnet as they all filed into the temple’s bubble room moments later.

“I lost a battle of wills,” the Gem leader said plainly.

“So, who are we healing up first?” Mabel asked, eagerly running into the room as she pointed out a handful of bubbled Gems. “Ooo, what about this one? Oh! Or we could try her, I bet she’ll be a ton of fun when she isn’t corrupted anymore!”

Despite these spirited suggestions, however, Steven already had his sights set on one bubbled Gem in particular. With a floating leap, he was easily able to catch the bubble and bring it down to its level, looking over it with a small, hopeful smile. “And gotcha!”

“Hey, isn’t that…?”

“Yeah,” Steven answered Dipper’s unfinished question with a sincere nod. “It’s Centipeetle. If I can help any of them, I want to help her first.”

“Oh, isn’t she that monster we fought at the beginning of the summer?” Connie asked, intrigued.

“Yeah, but also she totally saved us from turning into dino-chow,” Amethyst pointed out. “Oh, speaking of chow, don’t forget about these!” She summoned her whip to pull down another bubble, one that had been hanging next to Centipeetle’s with a familiar bag of chips in it.

“Chaaaaps!” Steven exclaimed excitedly as he unbubbled the snack. “They’re her favorite! Okay,” he said, taking in a deep, determined breath as he looked to the others. “Everybody ready?”

Garnet nodded, giving him the go-ahead while Amethyst and Pearl braced themselves, stepping protectively in front of Dipper, Mabel, and Connie just in case. With everyone in place, Steven gently popped the pink bubble, allowing Centipeetle’s spherical gemstone to hover free from it, glowing all the while as the monster began to take its form.

“Come on, dude, do your thing!” Amethyst encouraged eagerly.

“You’ve got this, Steven!” Dipper added just as supportively.

“Put that sparkly spit of yours to the test!” Mabel chimed in with a bright cheer.

“B-but be careful about it!” Pearl advised anxiously.

Amidst all this, Steven landed a hearty, wet lick across his hand and, just as Centipeetle’s monstrous body was starting to fully take shape, he placed that hand squarely on her gemstone. The stone sparkled radiently, Steven’s healing magic flowing through it as Centipeetle’s silhouetted form shifted completely. Her long, mandibled body grew smaller, much more humanoid as her many tiny legs became a single pair of normally-proportioned arms and legs each. By the time her transformation was seemingly complete, Centipeetle collapsed to the ground, resting on her hands and knees as everyone else started at the incredible change she had just undergone in dumbfounded awe.

“I-is it working?” Pearl dared to ask, catching the apparently healed Gem’s attention.

However, as she suddenly turned around, it was clear to see that Centipeetle hadn’t been as healed as she might have seemed. She retained her thick mane of white hair, as well as the singular eye that was her gemstone, but just below that was a smaller version of the fanged beak she had when she was fully monstrous. In addition, she had kept a few other insect-like features, namely her pinchered abdomen protruding from behind her, but other than that, she looked decently healed. Physically speaking, at least as she let out a loud, unintelligible shriek of alarm.

“Boy, did it ever work!” Mabel grinned, sharing Steven’s immediate excitement over Centipeetle’s strange new form.

“What? No, it didn’t,” Dipper noted incredulously.

“I mean, it sort of worked…?” Connie said with a diffident shrug. “She isn’t completely a monster anymore, but…”

“Centi! You’re back!” Steven filled the awkward bout of silence that followed this in. Despite the whispered warnings both Amethyst and Pearl sent his way, the young Gem hurried forward to greet the former monster, chips in hand, though he quickly stopped as soon as Centipeetle met him with a harsh, sudden hiss. “Whoa! What’s the matter?” he frowned, approaching her much more carefully as she cowered away from him. “You want some Chaaaps?”

“Uh… I don’t think she remembers them…” Amethyst spoke up as Centipeetle let out another angry squawk.

“Forget the chips then,” Steven pushed the bubbled bag of Chaaaps back up into the air as he addressed Centipeetle patiently. “You remember me, don’t you?” Though she didn’t react as fiercely to this, Centipeetle still tilted her head in confusion as her singular eye stared him down unknowingly. “I… have a bad feeling this didn’t work how I wanted it to work…”

“You think?” Dipper said, crossing his arms.

“Aw, well… at least you still tried,” Connie smiled sympathetically. “And hey, something’s better than nothing, right?”

“I don’t know what you guys are talking about,” Mabel placed her hands on her hips. “I think Centi looks better than ever!”

“Better… but not all the way better,” Steven said, taking another step toward the confused semi-corrupted Gem.

“W-wait! Don’t go closer!” Pearl cautioned nervously.

“Maybe she just needs a little extra love!” Steven suggested, refusing to give up so easily. Fortunately, Centipeetle didn’t lash out to attack him as he leaned in to plant another brief kiss on her gemstone. However, it did little to heal her as she instead reeled back, closing her eye tightly as she covered it with both hands, growling in both pain and annoyance all the while. “Oops! S-sorry…” Steven let out a small, anxious chuckle as he reached out to help Centipeetle back up.

“Hm…” Garnet mused as she watched Steven and Cenitpeedle’s interactions from afar. “This is the best we’ve ever seen it work.”

“But it didn’t work,” Pearl countered. “I guess it’ll take more than a kiss to heal damage from the Diamonds…”

“But why?” Steven turned to the Gems with a fretful frown. “My healing powers have been working great lately. I-I should be able to do this.”

“It’s alright, Steven,” Pearl reassured earnestly. “Remember, she’s not cracked; she’s corrupted, and that’s something different, something nearly… impossible to describe. U-unless it’s by a Gem who’s actually been through it.”

“But, ya know, most of the Gems who have…” Amethyst nodded up at the countless bubbled Gems above them. “Aren’t really doing a ton of describing these days…”

“It’s sort of like… if MC Bear-Bear didn’t just tear the fabric of his arm,” Garnet explained as accurately as she could. “But the fabric of his mind.”

“Whoa…” Mabel gaped, mistified by such a deep explanation.

“That’s… kind of horrifying,” Dipper shuddered, unnerved.

“I guess it’s times like these when being a human really has its perks,” Connie said offhandedly. “At least something like that couldn’t happen to any of us.”

Garnet adjusted her shades upon hearing this, her future vision nearly catching a glimpse of something, though it flashed by far too fast for her to really make anything of. So instead, she shook her head to clear it before addressing the apprehensive young Gem once more. “Steven, I’m impressed with your ability to bring the Centipeetle this far, but it’s time to let her rest again. Amethyst-”

“Uh, sure,” the purple Gem shrugged, summoning her whip again. “I’ll poof her.”

“W-wait!” Steven protested, hurrying to shield Centipeetle as she curiously looked over her new form through a reflection on the wall. “She’s not a monster anymore!”

“Here,” Garnet pulled Steven close, pressing his face against her as she extended a hand out to the other kids as well. “You don’t have to watch. Same goes for the rest of you kids.”

Though Mabel was really the only one to take her up on that offer, Steven suddenly pushed himself away from the Gem leader to rush back over to Centipeetle. “No, please! She can walk, a-and talk! Just like you guys!” Surprisingly, Centipeetle chimed in with a contented squeak, her maw forming something that almost seemed like a smile as she turned back to face Steven. “See?”

“Aw, how can you guys say no to that face?” Mabel said, sending the Gems the same pleading look Steven was.

“Yeah, she doesn’t really seem like she’s that dangerous anymore…” Dipper agreed.

“Definitely not as dangerous as she was the day the four of us met,” Connie said with a small, fond chuckle.

“See? Centi was the one who brought us together in the first place,” Steven said, motioning between himself, Connie, Dipper, and Mabel. “M-maybe she wasn’t the nicest back then, but she’s our friend now! I helped her--we helped her this much; maybe we can help her more. We have to try, I made a promise! Please?”

The Gems exchanged an uneasy glance at this, none of them too keen on the idea of letting a corrupted Gem, even a semi-corrupted one like Centipeetle, simply run around unrestrained, especially around the kids. And yet, even despite her strange form and unpredictable behavior, for the most part Cenitpeedle seemed much calmer and more civilized than she had been before, even if she was still rather skittish and couldn’t quite communicate in anything other than squawks and hisses. But what really broke through their hesitancy was the kids, all four of whom were staring up at them pleadingly in their shared resolve to do whatever they could to help Centipeetle even more than they already had.

So the Gems let out a unified relenting groan as they lost a second battle of wills, much to the kids’ mixed relief and excitement. Still, that didn’t mean that the Gems didn’t have any dissention toward this newfound haphazard arrangement. “S-so what are we going to do with her?” Pearl asked, wincing as she stole another glance over at the semi-corrupted Gem. “Let her move in?”

“Aw, yeah!” Amethyst cheered, in favor of the idea. “Corrupted roommate!”

“Oh, Amethyst, be sensitive,” the white Gem rolled her eyes.

“Oo! She could stay down at the shack!” Mabel suggested enthusiastically.

“Wait, what?” Dipper looked at his sister incredulously.

“Yeah! I bet Mr. Pines will love having Centi as a house guest!” Steven readily agreed.

“I bet he won’t,” Dipper interjected once more.

“That’s what makes it funny,” Amethyst chuckled, amused.

“Well… it’s better than her staying here, I suppose…” Pearl muttered, aside.

“Wherever she stays, whether it’s here or at the Mystery Shack,” Garnet spoke up, evenly catching all four of the kids’ attention. “You kids need to be careful with her. She can stay unbubbled, but you must understand: some Gems are beyond our help.”

While the kids didn’t exactly have much of a plan to help completely cure Centipeetle of her corruption, they were still largely optimistic that they could all the same. Though the Gems still had some reservations, Steven managed to convince them to allow the semi-corrupted Gems to accompany him and the other kids down to the Mystery Shack. And though she was certainly much more tame than the animalistic way she’d been before, it was clear that Centipeetle still wasn’t exactly used to being out and about as the kids did their best to coax her out of the house alone.

“It’s ok, Centi,” Steven urged patiently as he held the door open for her. “We’re just gonna take a nice walk down to the Mystery Shack. How does that sound?”

Centipeetle let out an uncertain chirp at this as she lingered behind the doorway, nervously peering out from it. Her curiosity soon turned to terror, however, as a sudden breeze happened to blow by, tousling the semi-corrupted Gem’s hair and catching her off guard completely. She stumbled back, eventually falling to the floor as she shrieked in alarm, even as the gentle wind started to die down outside.

“Whoa, hey! It’s ok!” Connie hurried to the Centipeetle’s side to calm her down. “That was just the wind. It’s nothing to be afraid of, even if it’s something you can’t see.”

Centipeetle eased up at this, clumsily picking herself back up to stand as she attempted to venture outside once more. This time when the wind blew by her, however, she cowered much less than she had before as she actually managed to step out to join the others on the porch. “Yeah! Way to go, Centi!” Mabel cheered, though her excitement was completely lost on Centipeetle as she shrunk back in fear once more.

“Mabel, not so loud!” Dipper chastised. “You’re scaring her.”

“Oops! Sorry! I meant--way to go, Centi!” Mabel tried again, this time in a cheery whisper.

“Ok, Centi--Oh,” Steven stopped short as he led the way down the stairs. “I guess that’s not really your name. What should we call you?” Centipeetle answered in a series of unintelligible chirps, one that left all four of the kids staring at her, dumbfounded. “Oh, right, can’t talk…” Steven rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Maybe we could try to guess your name,” Mabel suggested. “What about… Lindsay?”

“Mabel, that’s not a Gem name,” Dipper said flatly as Centipeetle shook her head. “It’d probably be something more like… Oh, I dunno, she’s green, so… Emerald?”

Once again, Centipeetle made a face, obviously not a fan of that name either. “Well, there are plenty of green gemstones out there,” Connie noted. “I picked up a book on different gemstone types awhile back for… reasons. So, off the top of my head, I can think of… Jade, Tourmaline-”

“Peridot, but we’ve already got one of those!” Mabel chimed in.

“Demantoid, Aventurine, Nephrite-” Centipeetle suddenly cut off Connie’s list with a loud squeal, which she paired with hopping up and down on the balls of her feet as soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs. The kids exchanged a curious look at this, none of them really knowing what to make of it until Steven spoke up.

“Well, that can’t be it,” he frowned, not noticing Centipeetle’s disgruntled sigh. “We’ll just stick with Centi for now, ok? Just like we did before. Do you remember any of that?” he asked Centipeetle with a hopeful smile. “That time you saved me from a crow, or how you took on that pterodactyl baby, or how we helped the Gems electrocute--uh, actually, do forget that one.”

Centipeetle tilted her head in confusion, though her singular eye suddenly shot wide with alarm as she stumbled back into the porch staircase. The kids didn’t understand where this newfound bout of fear was coming from until she pointed a shaking hand past them to the animal that was peacefully grazing several feet away. “Oh, that’s only a deer,” Dipper explained to Centipeetle. “Don’t worry; it won’t hurt you. In fact, it’s more likely to run away from you than do anything else, see?” Sure enough, by now the deer had noticed the group standing nearby and had taken off, bounding back into the woods it had come from. By now, Centipeetle’s fear had turned into intrigue as she attempted following the deer, only to stop short as she stumbled across something else that caught her eye instead.

“Whatcha got there, Centi?” Steven asked, walking over to where the semi-corrupted Gem had knelt down. She chirped brightly as she pointed out a patch of pink wildflowers, apparently fascinated by them as she turned back toward them. “Oh! Those are some really pretty flowers! Here, hold tight for just a second.” Centipeetle continued to curiously watch as Steven picked a few of the flowers, tying them together into a simple, yet fashionable crown, which he proceeded to place on the semi-corrupted Gem’s head. “Tada! It’s for you! Do you like it?”

Centipeetle did seem to enjoy the flower crown as she cooed happily, though she kept trying to really look up at it to no avail. “Oh, you wanna see how you look?” Mabel inferred, grabbing her hand. “Well, c’mon! You can check out your fab new style right here.” She led Centipeetle over to the nearby stream, allowing her to get a full and proper view of how the flower crown looked on her. The semi-corrupted Gem managed a satisfied smile as she looked at her reflection, though that reflection was soon broken by the small fish that happened to briefly jump out of the water. Centipeetle flinched, afraid, as she fell back into the grass, her flower crown landing right beside her. “Aw, Centi! No need to freak out!” Mabel chuckled as she repositioned the flower crown on her head. “That was just a cute little fish! It can’t hurt you. Well, unless we’re talking about some of the big boys out in the ocean, cause something like a shark isn’t exactly the kind of fish you wanna-” She stopped short upon meeting Centipeetle’s nervous expression once more. “Uh… you know what? Never mind.”

“Boy,” Connie grinned as the semi-corrupted Gem peered back into the stream for another look. “She sure is curious, huh?”

“She must not have gotten to see a whole lot of the Earth before she was corrupted…” Steven frowned sympathetically.

“Speaking of which, I’ve been thinking,” Dipper interjected. “If we really want to help her uncorrupt completely, then maybe what we need to do first is figure out how she was corrupted in the first place and work from there.”

“Didn’t Pearl say something about ‘damage from the Diamonds’?” Connie mused. “What kind of damage could they have done to cause something like… well, what happened to her?”

Centipeetle turned at this, though she quickly froze, her eye going wide as she stared at something beyond the kids gathered before her. A piercing, downright terrified screech escaped her, catching the others completely off guard as they all turned their attention back to her. “What’s the matter?” Steven asked, placing a gentle hand against her arm, which was trembling every bit as much as the rest of her body. “Are you ok? A-are you remembering something?”

Centipeetle reacted harshly, clutching her head tightly as she closed her eye, screaming all the while. She somehow managed to get back to her feet, looking to the sky once again as she finally pointed a shaking finger at what had her so scared to begin with.

Despite the summer skies being crystal clear, a large, bright golden star had seemed to take up a place within them. It shined brightly, clashing with the familiar blue atmosphere, and while the mere sight of it outright horrified Centipeetle, the kids largely had no idea what the cause for alarm really was at all. “Uh… what is that?” Dipper asked, somewhat unnerved.

“Maybe it’s like one of those jet plane thingies you always see in the sky super early in the morning?” Mabel suggested. “Only the pilot on this one woke up way later than he should have.”

“That doesn’t look like any jet I’ve ever seen, even from a distance,” Connie shook her head.

Steven, meanwhile, was largely distracted by Centipeetle, who was looking around in just about every direction, seemingly trying to find some way to escape. “Whoa, Centi, i-it’s alright,” he advised, grabbing her hand. “You don’t have anything to be afraid of when you’re with us!” The semi-corrupted monster was hardy listening however, as she looked back to the “star” once more. It flashed brightly, but briefly, and that alone was to throw her already palpable alarm into an all-out panic. With a manic screech, she pulled her hand out of Steven’s and took off, running off into the forest as fast as her newly-reformed legs would carry her. “W-wait!” the young Gem called, intending on running after her until Connie reigned him back in.

“Uh, S-steven?” she grabbed his arm, directing his attention up to the “star” once more. By now it was practically burning yellow in the sky, yet it hadn’t moved, hadn’t done much at all until it suddenly dialated dramatically.

And then, before anyone had any time to say or do anything else, it exploded.

A bright, blinding golden light flooded the entire area, spreading out far and wide across all of Gravity Falls at a supersonic speed. It overtook nearly everything, from the temple to the shack to the forest to downtown, even as far as the lake and the outlying countryside, all centralized solely on the tiny timberwood town itself. In its wake it covered everyone, humans, Gems, and magical or mythical creatures alike (though only one group among those three would emerge from it unscathed). And as it shined upon them all, if its overpowering, devastating radiance hadn’t momentarily defeated them, they might have heard the briefest bout of twisted laughter, accompanied by a single voice raised in vengeful song.

And just as quickly as the light had come, it was over. It faded, leaving the sky crisp and clear and blue once again. Slowly, nature reawakened after being so sharply silenced as gentle birdsong filled in the late morning air once more. That quiet din was what first roused Steven, who sat up slowly, placing a careful hand against his now-aching head as he did. And yet, before he could even really get his bearings back, the first thing he happened to notice was that his hair strangely didn’t feel much like hair at all. Rather, it had a much softer, lighter texture, almost akin to flower petals, which made the fact that his fingers were seemingly much sharper than he knew they should have been all the more bewildering. Confused as he was, he tried to stand, though as soon as he got to his feet, he received a sudden, involuntary boost into the air. Briefly, he thought he’d accidentally activated his floating powers, until he happened to notice the series of sturdy green vines that were somehow propping him up.

“Huh?” Steven frowned, glancing back only to see that the vines didn’t just seem to be coming from behind him, but from him. They sprouted from his back, and a few of the more thorny ones had twisted themselves around his arms and legs, though those thorns didn’t dig into his skin, which was an odd shade of pale pink. “W-what is all this…?” he wondered to himself, briefly glancing up from himself to look around. The first thing he realized was that Centipeetle was nowhere to be found, having run off into the woods just moments prior, a thought that worried Steven far more than his current peculiar condition did. “Oh no! Centi!” he gasped, alarmed as he searched for any sign of her. “Where are-”

“Ugh… Steven…?” The young Gem immediately stopped short as soon as he heard Dipper’s voice somewhere nearby. Despite his attempts at turning around, the vines suddenly did so for him as they somehow moved on their own accord. Still, Steven ignored how startling the vines, the thorns, and even the surprisingly sharp claws he now had were, in favor of checking on the others instead.

“Dipper! Are you ok--Ohhhhh my gosh!” Steven’s jaw dropped in shock as soon as he actually looked at Dipper, who had just started to partially pull himself up off the ground.

As he did, however, he clearly noticed something was off, particularly about the texture and shape of his nose and ears. “W-what is…” Dipper trailed off as he tried to properly sit up, only to not receive the sort of usual feedback he would have expected from his legs. “Why… why can’t I-” He cut himself off with a sharp, frightened gasp as soon as he so much as caught sight of the lower half of his body. Because by all accounts, it looked identical to that of a deer’s, complete with not just two, but four long, lithe, thin legs, brown fur spotted with specks of white on his back, and even a tiny tail that was currently twitching out of immense agitation. As he fully took in this inexplicable shift, Dipper let out a tight, terrified cry that didn’t sound exactly human, though he didn’t seem to care as he gripped his front set of legs to confirm that they were, in fact, actually his. “W-what’s going on?!”

“Whoa, Dipper!” Steven exclaimed in equal awe as he leaned forward as much as the vines would allow. “You’re like… some kind of deer-centaur! A deertaur!”

“Ok, two things,” Dipper said crossly amidst trying to position his new, rather awkward set of legs to stand. “One, I’m pretty sure that’s not what this is called and two... WHAT? WHY? HOW? What happened to me?! What happened to you?! What’s with all the vines? Why does your hair look like a bouquet?”

“It does…?” Steven frowned, reaching up to thumb one of the “petals” that now apparently made up his hair. “Huh.”

“Seriously, what happened?” Dipper reiterated as he made his first real attempt at standing up. And yet, as unused to his strange new form as he was, balancing on his feet, or hooves, rather, proved to be quite a challenge as he unsteadily wobbled before ultimately falling right back to the ground clumsily. “And why a deer?!” he let out a small, frustrated huff through his now pert, black nose. “It’s not even like they’re even my favorite animal or anything! This makes no sense!”

“W-well, if it’s any consolation,” Steven began with a small, reassuring smile. “You do look pretty cute like this.”

Dipper flinched at this, but said nothing in response as he crossed his arms and glared away, blushing, at least until he picked up on something else. “Hey, wait a second, where’s-”

“Oy, what smells like fish…?” Mabel suddenly spoke up as she finally started to wake up herself. She let out a long yawn, not noticing the dumbfounded looks Steven and Dipper were both sending her way as they realized she’d also gone through an unnatural transformation. For her own part, however, it took Mabel a moment or two to register that transformation as she sat up and stared directly at the scaly pink finned tail that had taken the place of her legs. “Huh… Well that’s new,” she noted, glancing over her now-webbed hands before balking at her tail again with a huge gasp. “OH MY GOSH!” she practically screamed, stars in her eyes as she hugged her tail excitedly. “I’m a mer-ACK!” Mabel sucked in another sharp gasp, an involuntary one this time as her breathing grew short and shallow, her eyes widening in panic as she gripped her throat frantically.

“Mabel!” Steven and Dipper both exclaimed in concerned alarm. On impulse, Dipper rushed to get up to help her, completely forgetting about the current state of his legs until he inevitably ended up tripping and faceplanting right back into the grass again. He didn’t let that stop him however, as he prepared to try again, he happened to catch sight of something Mabel apparently hadn’t as she haphazardly threw off her sweater so she could breathe easier. “Gills…” he gasped in realization. “She has gills! She can’t breathe! Steven, she needs water! B-but I can’t-”

“I’m on it!” Steven readily agreed, his vines moving in accordance with him this time. It was almost as if they knew exactly what he was thinking as they kept him propped up, essentially “walking” him over to Mabel, who was still gasping and choking on air that wouldn’t do anything for her now. While Steven tried to help her himself, the vines did that for him too as their tips gently coiled around her arms before they swiftly pulled her into the nearby creek, submerging her completely.

Both Steven and Dipper waited for an anxious beat for Mabel to emerge from the relatively shallow water, though when she did, she let out a rejuvenated sigh of relief as she perched herself against the side of the creek. “Ah! Much better!” she grinned happily, splashing more water against the small pink gills on her neck. “Guess I just needed to wet my whistle! So, whaaaaaaaaaaaaa-?!” By now, Mabel finally noticed just what had happened to Dipper and Steven, and as soon as she did, a huge, delighted smile broke out across her face. “Ohhhhhh, Steven! Dipper! You guys look so adorable!”

“Uh, thanks?” Steven chuckled.

“Ugh, this is just gonna keep getting more and more embarrassing, isn’t it?” Dipper scoffed, dryly.

“Embarrassing? Bro-bro, what are you talking about? This is amazing!” Mabel proclaimed, flopping back into the creek behind her so she could admire her tail fins noce more. “Check it out! I’m totally a mermaid! Oh, if only Mermando was still here! We could be the cutest mer-couple ever, and have mer-babies, and live in a mer-castle under the sea! And sing mer-songs all day!”

“Yeesh,” Dipper rolled his eyes at his sister’s flights of fantasy. “You would enjoy this, Mabel.”

“Hey, has anyone seen Connie?” Steven asked, glancing around in newfound concern. “I haven’t seen her since all this happened. Do you think maybe she could have gone after Centi when she ran off?”

“What are you talking about, Steven? I’ve been here this whole time!”

Steven, Mabel, and Dipper alike all froze up at this, each of them looking around for Connie upon hearing her voice, only to find no sign of her anywhere. That is, until she happened to reappear out of nowhere right in front of Steven. All three of the other kids let out a startled round of alarm at this, though Connie didn’t share it as she let out a small sigh of relief instead.

“Ah, finally you guys can actually see and hear me!” she exclaimed as she hovered up into the air a bit. “I’ve been trying to talk to you for the past several minutes, but it’s like you all just kept staring right through me!”

“Aw, sorry, Connie!” Steven apologized earnestly. “We didn’t mean to! But I couldn’t see you until now, much less hear you!”

“C-Connie?” Dipper spoke up, trembling slightly until he caught himself doing so. “A-are you… I-I… I don’t know how to say this, but… I-I think you might be-”

“Oh! A ghost!” Mabel guessed bluntly. “I got it right, didn’t I?”

“What? A ghost?” Connie shook her head incredulously. For her part, she largely looked the same as she always did, though like Mabel, her legs had been traded in for a tail, albeit one that wasn’t anywhere near as fish-like. But even beyond that, she had taken on a pale blue parlor, her entire body being more or less completely translucent as it radiated with a dull, unearthly sort of glow. That, paired with the fact that she was able to float above the ground freely, added up to far too much evidence for anything else to really be true, as much as Connie wished something else was. “Oh my gosh, I-I think you guys are right! I-I really am a ghost! B-but why? And how--wait, no, I don’t even want to think about how! A-anyway, w-what happened to you guys? To all of us?!”

“I think I know what happened,” Mabel said as she pushed herself up out of the stream a bit.

“Really?” Dipper asked, skeptical as Steven began to use his vines to help him properly stand. “You know what happened to us when none of the rest of us do?”

“Of course, I do,” Mabel grinned proudly. “We all got turned into totally awesome magical creatures! I mean, think about it: I’m a super sparkly mermaid (with a tail in my favorite shade of pink, might I add!). Connie’s a really cool ghost why can fly and turn invisible-”

“I don’t know if I’d call either of those things ‘cool’ in this instance…” Connie frowned as she accidentally phased her intangible hands into each other.

“Steven’s, uh… w-well he’s some sort of flower… guy… person… thing…” Mabel ventured, uncertain. “B-but that’s awesome, since pink is totally your color.”

“Oh, you think so?” Steven grinned, looking down at his light pink arm with a newfound sense of fondness.

“And Dipper is a super cute deertaur!”

“Again, I’m 100% positive that’s not what it’s called,” Dipper spoke up as he stomped one of his hooves down in annoyance. “Also, would everyone please stop calling me cute?!”

“Maybe once you stop being cute,” Mabel chuckled with a teasing smirk.

“Which will be never!” Steven added much more earnestly.

“Ugh, look,” Dipper began, addressing the enthused pair evenly. “I don’t know if you guys realize this, but this is serious. We just got turned into monsters, or magical creatures, or whatever, completely out of the blue. Something like this doesn’t just happen, not even here in Gravity Falls. Something caused this, and we need to figure out what it was so we can find a way to undo it and get all of us back to normal.”

“Aw, but I like being a magical mermaid!” Mabel pouted.

“Do you like not being able to breathe outside of the water?” Dipper countered flatly.

Mabel flinched, recalling the frightening experience she’d just been through moments ago, an experience she certainly wasn’t keen on going through again anytime soon. “I… see your point.”

“Maybe that star had something to do with it…” Connie mused, looking up to the now-empty sky. “It was the last thing any of us saw before we woke up like this, right?”

“Oh, yeah,” Steven agreed as his vines formed something of a seat for him to recline on. “Oh, thanks!” he said to the vines themselves before returning to the matter at hand. “Plus, Centi seemed to be really scared of that star. She might even know what it was! Maybe if we can find her, then she can-”

A sudden thunderous clamor cut through the conversation like a knife, a clamor that came from the temple, to be precise. The chaotic noise only amplified as the front door burst open and, as opposed to any of the Gems, what seemed to be a monster jumped outside instead. It wasn’t very large, though it was just a bit bigger than the kids, with a purple, bulky four-legged form and a full, thick mane of lighter lavender hair. It unleashed what sounded like a wild howl as it pounced off the porch, its clawed front arms allowing it a square landing on the ground. It didn’t seem to have any eyes, with a set of bright purple horns in place of where they would have been, but it still managed to spot the kids gathered just a bit down the hill from it. The monster’s toothy maw split into an expression that was almost akin to a grin as it made an animalistic sound that sounded a bit like a laugh, though it was still completely unintelligible. Its apparent excitement prompted it to stampede toward the group at a rapid pace, much to their shared alarm,, and at least in two cases, outright fear.

While Mabel and Steven simply gasped in surprise as the monster rushed for them, Connie completely disappeared into thin air, not even making a single sound or uttering so much as a word as she did. Dipper, on the other hand, froze up, his eyes wide but his expression otherwise largely vacant and unreadable. And as the monster drew even closer, he suddenly took off, somehow completely capable of using his new legs, which he couldn’t even properly stand on mere moments ago, galloping at full speed into the nearby woods. Mabel let out a startled cry as she watched him easily leap over the stream she was sitting in before he disappeared into the forest just before the monster could arrive.

“Wait! Dipper!” she called, frustrated by her inability to get out of the water to go after him. Both her and Steven were met with an all-new concern, however, as the monster suddenly slammed down right in front of them, focusing on the young Gem in particular as it reared low with a small growl.

“S-Stay back!” Steven warned, summoning his shield to ward off the beast. The monster leapt at him anyway, however, barreling into him and knocking him to the ground, even despite his vines trying to keep him upright. The young Gem braced himself for a vicious attack as his shield disappeared, yet instead, he was met with a sudden, wet lick from the beast’s large tongue. “Huh?” Steven frowned, looking back up to the monster, who still had him pinned down, but was now panting happily. Though he was already confused, his bewilderment only grew tenfold as he happened to notice the very familiar purple gemstone resting on the monster’s chest amidst her unruly tufts of hair. “Wait… A-Amethyst?!”

The beast nodded vigorously, finally stepping away from the young Gem as her long, messy tail wagged excitedly. While his vines picked him back up above the ground once more, Steven exchanged an uncertain glance with Mabel before he looked to who he could only assume had to be Amethyst once more. “D-Did… you shapeshift to look like this?”

Amethyst shook her head, apparently unable to properly speak. She turned her attention back up to the temple, where another monster seemed to be stomping out, though it was much easier to discern the identity of this one from its appearance alone.

“Garnet?!” Mabel and Steven exclaimed in shock as the creature the Gem leader had turned into jumped down from the porch to join them. There was no mistaking her, namely because of her pair of heads, one of which bore semblance to Ruby in coloration, though the only feature of her face was a fanged maw, while her other head was clearly Sapphire with her singular eye and long blue hair. The rest of her body was much more akin to Garnet herself, though quite twisted, her arms massive and muscular as they reached down as long as her much shorter legs did, her huge clawed hands acting more as her main form of transportation as she slowly lumbered forward. She towered high over Amethyst and the kids, letting out a low, inhuman groan that almost seemed to be a greeting, though despite her admittedly mangled appearance, she seemed just as calm as she always was.

“Garnet… Amethyst...” Steven looked between the monstrous pair, quite shaken. “W-what happened to you? And… where’s Pearl?”

This question was met with a sharp, high pitched squeak from above as a large shadow briefly covered up the sun. That shadow had been cast by a large, majestic bird-like creature, one that nervously touched down to join Garnet and Amethyst. There was no question this was Pearl, from the tell-tell gemstone on her now-eyeless head, resting just above the long, pointed beak she now bore. Her form was sleek and graceful, with a thin, curved, swan-like neck, wide, sweeping peach and white feathered wings and a set of long, narrow legs that carried the same spiraled design as her spears. Pearl let out another unintelligible shriek, one of apparent surprise as she caught sight of Steven and Mabel, her wings flapping anxiously, at least until she heard Amethyst’s amused gruff cackle beside her. The white Gem shrieked shrilly at her in annoyance, though she merely kept on “laughing”, at least until Garnet silenced them both with a heavy, commanding grunt.

“No way…” Steven shook his head incredulously. “I-it really is you guys! A-are… are you… corrupted?”

All three of the Gems reacted to such a claim in shock, Pearl fiercely shaking her head as Amethyst tilted her head, confused. Garnet remained still and silent, though after a moment of thought, both of her contrasting heads finally nodded, much to the shock of her teammates. An argument of various squawks, roars, and groans erupted at this as the Gems “communicated” with each other, though neither Steven nor Mabel could even hope to make out what they were trying to say.

“This is so weird…” Mabel frowned, leaning against the creekbank. “Aren’t corrupted Gems supposed to be all wild and crazy? Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl are just… acting like themselves.”

“Maybe they’re not entirely corrupted?” Connie purposed as she suddenly reappeared, catching Steven and Mabel off guard. “O-oh! Sorry! I really gotta learn how to control this whole randomly disappearing thing better…”

“But… why do they still look like monsters?” Steven wondered, catching the attention of his guardians. “I know you guys can’t really… talk right now, but… you can still understand what we’re saying right?” All three of the Gems nodded, though what little their malformed expressions alone could convey told they were just as baffled and concerned as the kids themselves were. “So… you’re all basically half-corrupted then… just like Centi! Man, I really wish she hadn’t run off earlier; she’d be so much in figuring all this out!”

“Speaking of running off…” Mabel said, turning back toward the forest. “It’s ok, bro-bro, everything’s cool! You can come out now! There’s nothing to be afraid of out here.”

“I-I wasn’t afraid!” Dipper protested as he peeked out from the tree he had taken refuge behind. “I-it was just really loud and a lot of things were happening at once and I… might have panicked. J-just a little!”

“Well, deer do have a reputation for having a pretty sharp flight response whenever they get startled, so that might explain it,” Connie pointed out.

“Ugh, great…” Dipper sighed as he fully emerged from the forest. “Just another reason to find a way to get us all back to normal as soon as possible. Especially for you guys,” he said, flinching as he looked to the Gems in particular. “You three look--uh… y-you look great!” he played off whatever he was going to say with a nervous laugh. The Gems didn’t quite buy it however as Amethyst teasingly stuck her tongue out while Pearl squawked, apparently flustered as she nudged one of her wings with her beak.

“Wait a minute,” Connie interjected. “If that star, or whatever it was, somehow transformed all of us, then… maybe we weren’t the only ones affected by it…”

Everyone else took pause at this alarming thought, especially as they all happened to look down the hill toward the Mystery Shack. As they did, Dipper and Mabel in particular exchanged a nervous glance as they both considered exactly who else could be going through the exact same thing they currently were experiencing. “You don’t think…?”

Unsure of what they’d find, once the group of monster-turned kids and externally-corrupted Gems arrived at the Mystery Shack, Connie volunteered to head in first since she could more or less slip in unseen to scope things out. The only problem that arose with this came from Amethyst, who suddenly, impulsively decided to join her right as she floated toward the gift shop door. Connie stopped just as Amethyst rammed into the door horns-first, easily breaking down as she stormed in, eager to find Stan and show him her new form, much to the alarm of everyone else outside. Pearl let out a frantic squeal as Garnet slammed one of her heavy hands to the ground in an attempt to reel Amethyst back in, though the purple Gem, rowdy as ever, hardly paid them any mind. Likewise, the kids also watched with concern as she rushed inside, ensuing a chaotic clamor almost immediately as she haphazardly crashed into several display cases and quickly catching Stan’s attention, just as she’d intended.

“Augh!” the conman shouted furiously from inside. “What in the--wait, Amethyst?! N-no, no, no, no! You better not--” He was cut off by another huge crash, one that promoted Pearl and Garnet into action while the kids stood by just a bit past the door.

“Oh man, I wish we could see what’s going on in there!” Mabel exclaimed, leaning out of the small swimming pool Steven and Dipper were filling up for her. “I bet Grunkle Stan is totally freaking out!”

“Uh… I don’t know if that’s entirely accurate…” Connie frowned as she peered into the shack just as Amethyst scurried out of it, laughing all the while. Likewise, Garnet and Pearl both stumbled back themselves as Stan tried to burst out of the shack, revealing that, much like the kids, he’d gone through a rather monstrous transformation himself.

By all accounts, it seemed as though the conman’s skin had turned to moving stone based on its rough, gray texture. Beyond that, both his fingers and his tones bore sharp, talon-like claws as he sported a small set of stony horns just above his now acutely pointed ears. But his two most notable new features were his eyes, which seemed to shine a bright, almost ominous kind of yellow, and the wide set of pointed wings on his back, which were currently caught on the doorframe, essentially holding him in place as he angrily tried chasing after Amethyst. “Ugh, again? Seriously?” the conman growled in annoyance as he somehow managed to retract his wings in a bit. “I’m already sick of these stupid things. And as for you, Amethyst, I--aye, yi, yi…” Stan trailed off, shock overtaking his expression as he noticed Pearl and Garnet’s changed forms too. “Yeesh, and I thought I had it bad between the new wings and the horns. You three look terrible!”

Pearl let out a harsh, offended hiss at this, though Garnet didn’t really respond. Amethyst however, let out a teasing roar, one that Stan didn’t seem to follow at all. “Uh… what, are you guys done speakin’ English or do you just expect me to understand ‘monsterese’ now?” he asked dryly.

“Uh, actually, Mr. Pines,” Steven spoke up. “They can’t really… ‘talk’ right now…”

At this, Stan stole a glance over at the kids, only to balk in bewilderment at each of them in turn. “W-wha… what the heck happened to you kids?!” he asked, stepping over toward them. “Dipper--or Steven, I don’t care who since either of you if not both is usually behind anything wacky or magical happening around here--explain. Now.”

“We would if we actually understood what happened to begin with,” Dipper replied, crossing his arms.

“Well you better figure it out!” Stan snapped, irritated. “Cause I don’t know how you expect me to send you runts home to your parents with you looking half like a deer while your sister’s flopping around like a fish outta water.”

“Aw, it doesn’t sound anywhere near as magical and cool when you put being a mermaid like that…” Mabel cringed as she popped her head out of the water after refilling her gills.

“You won’t have to send us home looking like this,” Dipper countered, resolved. “Because we’re going to find a way to undo all of this and get everyone back to normal.”

“Yeah!” Steven, Mabel, and Connie all chimed in support of this plan.

“Oh really? That’s awesome, dudes!” Soos exclaimed as he stepped outside of the shack. Upon a first glance, he seemed to look just as he always did with no peculiar transformation in sight, at least until a piece of his arm quite literally melted right off.

“Uh… Soos?” Steven spoke up, all four of the kids looking to the handyman in immense concern.

“Oops,” Soos scooped up the strangely mouldable clump of his arm and easily slapped it back on as if it had never fallen off to begin with. “I’ll tell ya what, being made of clay may seem like it has its perks, but it’s starting to get way less cool the more times a chunk of me randomly melts off…”

“Could you at least stop melting all over the shack?” Stan asked dryly. “The last thing I wanna do is clean up bits of Soos off the floor.”

“Sorry, Mr. Pines,” Soos apologized as he smoothed up the side of his cheek before any clay could drip off of it. “I guess clay and a hot summer day aren’t a great mix…”

“Ugh, consider yourself lucky, man,” Wendy spoke up as she came out of the shack herself. “At least you’re not covered in fur…”

“Whoa, Wendy!” Mabel exclaimed in fascination as Dipper, Steven, and Connie looked to the cashier in shock. “Are you-”

“A werewolf? Ugh, yeah, I guess,” Wendy rolled her eyes as she absently scratched behind one of her now rather dog-like ears. Sure enough, her entire body was covered in thick red fur to match her hair color, and alongside that she bore a bit of a snout with a wolfish nose and plenty of sharp, fanged teeth to match the sizable claws on her hands and feet. Yet despite her rather canine appearance, she was still perfectly able to walk upright, which was apparent enough as she leaned against the side of the shack, annoyed. “All those movies with the hot shirtless werewolves totally oversold this, by the way. The real deal totally sucks between being hot and itchy all the time. So if you guys are dead set on getting us all back to normal, then more power to you.”

“Don’t worry, we will,” Connie assured, though her confident smile quickly fell. “If only we knew where to start…”

“Maybe Great Uncle Ford can help,” Dipper suggested. “After filling up three whole journals, it’s safe to assume he is the resident expert on magical creatures around here. Where is he anyway?”

“Ugh, please don’t get me started on Ford and all those stupid riddles he’s been throwing around since this whole mess startled,” Stan huffed crossly.

“Riddles?” Steven asked, confused.

“Precisely, my boy,” Ford interjected as he rounded the far corner of the shack. For his part, his appearance had taken on something of a lion-eque motiff, with golden-brown fur, a long, thin tail, large (but still six-fingered) paws, and even a rather feline nose. But what set that motiff apart were his wings, just as wide as his brother’s, though bright and colorful and feathered instead of grey and stony. He only briefly regarded the Gems and the kids’ changes in appearance, seemingly not alarmed by them at all as he continued just as calmly. “For instance, what do you call a creature that’s steeped in ancient Greek and Egyptian mythology and has a penchant for presenting all who cross its path with puzzling riddles?”

“Annoying?” Stan ventured, sending his brother a bored look.

“No, Stanley,” Ford countered flatly. “A sphinx. Which seems to be what I’ve turned into. Maybe you’ll have an easier time figuring this one out: what’s the term for a creature that’s made of animated stone and also happens to be what you’ve become?”

“I’m sticking with my first answer and saying annoying,” the conman reiterated, glaring back at his unwanted set of wings.

“A gargoyle, Stanley, a gargoyle,” the author huffed, exasperated. “Come on, that one wasn’t even hard at all.”

“Yeesh, if you’re gonna be a wisecracking know-it-all, then can’t you just get to the point about it?” Stan rolled his eyes. “Do you have to keep at with all these pointless riddles?”

“...Yes,” Ford said bluntly before turning to the kids. “Anyway, children, do you know what a living, human-like being made of an earthen material such as mud, rocks, or in this case, clay,” he nodded over at Soos. “Is called?” The kids exchanged an uncertain glance at this, though it wasn’t long before the author filled in with an answer to his own riddle once more. “A golem. A clay golem in this particular instance, I believe.”

“Oooohhh so that’s what I am,” Soos mused, fascinated. “And I was just gonna keep calling myself “Soos: Clay Edition” but a golem sounds way cooler.”

“Furthermore,” Ford posed another riddle. “A creature with the arms, head, and torso of a human, but the body and legs of a deer is called a…?”

“A deertaur!” Steven and Mabel both chimed in with an enthusiastic answer.

“Ugh, for the last time, you guys, that’s not what it’s called!” Dipper protested, his tail flickering in aggravation.

“You’re absolutely right, Dipper, that’s not what it’s called,” Ford pointed out with a knowing grin. “You’re actually a cervitaur.”

“Eh, that doesn’t have nearly the same ring to it…” Mabel said, looking to her brother dubiously. “Grunkle Ford, can you do me next!”

“Mabel,” Dipper cut in, shaking his head. “We already know you’re a-”

“A creature that’s half girl and half fish would be known as…?”

“A mermaid!” Mabel immediately guessed. “I know because I am one! Right now!”

“Correct,” Ford nodded, pleased. “Now… hm… this one is a bit trickier. A physical spirit tied to… well, traditionally trees, but I suppose just about any form of flora works, as is the case with Steven here, so that would make him a…?”

“Uh… Mabel guessed flower guy earlier so, I’ll go with that?” Steven suggested, though he really had no idea himself.

“Actually, my boy, you’re what’s known as a dryad,” Ford corrected. “Or more accurately, the male form of a dryad, a drus. A rose drus, from the looks of it…”

“...It had to be roses, didn’t it?” Steven muttered to himself as he rubbed his thorn, covered arm apprehensively.

“Now, rounding things off, a creature that’s wolf-like in appearance, but-”

“It’s a werewolf,” Wendy interrupted boredly. “Already figured that out as soon as I realized I had a tail, man, it’s not that hard.”

“Ah,” Ford said somewhat awkwardly before continuing. “Then how about an immaterial spector that’s-”

“A ghost,” Connie readily filled the answer. “Sorry, Mr. Ford. We… kind of already figured that one out too.”

“...Very well then,” the author noted as he glanced over at the Gems. “As for you three, I… can’t quite seem to think of anything-”

“Oh, thank god,” Stan said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Are… are they… corrupted?” Ford asked the kids in particular.

“Sort of?” Steven shrugged. “They’re still themselves though, right, you guys?” The Gems let out a variety of unintelligible answers at this, but all of them seemed to confirm this to be true.

“Fascinating…” Ford adjusted his glasses as he looked over each of the Gems’ semi-corrupted forms. “All of this is just so… fascinating! I could fill up an entire journal alone with all of the scientific discoveries to be found here! And while I’m on that note, another riddle! What’s-”

“No!” Stan quickly cut him off, leaping forward with a powerful flap of his wings to practically tackle Ford to the ground. “You are not asking another one of your dumb riddles on my watch!”

“...Well, you could have just asked, Stanley,” Ford huffed, pushing his brother off him. “You didn’t need to be so extreme about it.”

“Oh, hey!” Steven cut in, pointing to a familiar van driving toward the shack. “Looks like Dad’s on his way here!”

Sure enough, Greg’s van pulled up to a sudden stop in front of the group gathered outside the shack, with the former rock star poking his head out the window frantically. “Steven!” he exclaimed, startled by what had happened to both his son and the others. Greg himself had also undergone a rather alarming transformation, as he was seemingly wrapped in browning bandages from head to toe, with what little skin showing between those bandages looking drastically pale and almost lifeless. Yet he hardly seemed to care much for his own appearance as he threw the van door open to check on his son and the others instead. At least until one of his bandages got caught up in the door as he slammed it shut. “Aw, not again!” he huffed, pulling the bandage out before hurrying over to Steven. “L-look at you!” he exclaimed, practically having to look up at his son thanks to the vines still holding him aloft. “Are you ok? Is everyone ok?”

“Yeah, we’re all fine,” Steven nodded.

“E-even the Gems…?” Greg asked, sending them a worried look.

“Yeah, they’re ok too,” the young Gem mustered a small smile.

“Ah! Here we go!” Ford piped up with a brand-new riddle. “What would you call an undead creature typically wrapped in cloth bandages to try and preserve the decaying body?”

“U-undead?!” Greg balked, glancing down at himself fearfully.

“Join the club…” Connie spoke up as she hovered nearby.

“A mummy! Greg’s a mummy! Geez!” Stan swiftly answered, shoving his brother out of aggravation. “What did I say about the riddles?!”

“Oh, honestly, Stanley! You don’t have to be such a brute!” Ford took a swing at the conman with his claws, only for them to hit solid stone instead.

“And you don’t have to be such a pain!” Stan countered, utilizing his wings to gain the literal upper hand over the author before he could lash out again. Ford didn’t let him get away that easily as he also managed to take flight, and soon enough both brothers were engaged in a midair chase that everyone briefly stopped to watch before returning to the matter at hand.

“So yeah, like Steven said, we’re all doin’ pretty good,” Soos reiterated obliviously.

“I-I can’t believe this whole monster thing happened to all of you guys too!” Greg exclaimed, running a hand through the hair that was sticking out from under the bandages.

“What do you mean ‘too’?” Dipper asked, confused.

“Haven’t you seen the news?” Greg asked, incredulously.

“Oh, yeah,” Wendy spoke up as she pulled the latest town news report up on her phone before holding it up for everyone to see. “Check it out.”

“This just in,” Shandra Jimenez, who seemed to have been turned into a harpy, reported urgently. “Monster madness has taken over Gravity Falls! Residents all over town have reported being suddenly transformed into magical or mythical creatures.” Sure enough, the accompanying footage proved this to be true as every citizen shown seemed to be some sort of monster or cryptid or creature, each in some varying level of surprise or panic over their new forms. “The cause for this town-wide transformation is still unknown, but experts believe the large flash of bright light that encompassed the entire area earlier today might have had something to do with it. For now, residents are advised to continue on with business as usual until some sort of cure can be found. We’ll be back with more details at 5, but for now, I’m Shandra Jimenez, and it’s time for my hourly preening session.” With a loud squawk, the anchor signed off to pick at the feathered wings that had taken the place of her arms and putting an end to the news briefing in the process.

“T-this is happening to the entire town?!” Dipper asked in disbelief. All four of the kids exchanged a startled glance at this as they realized this problem was much more widespread and far more serious than they first thought. Which, of course, would only make finding an elusive solution for it much more difficult than they had originally hoped.

“Yeah, it is, and somebody better do something about it! Soon.”

“No way…” Dipper gasped as he was the first to notice who was emerging, or rather slithering out of the nearby forest. “Pacifica?!”

Like all of the others, Pacifica’s appearance had drastically changed, primarily by the way of her legs being replaced by a long, light gold, snake-like tail. That reptilian theming continued with her hair, which was no longer really hair at all but a horde of snakes, each of them alive and autonomous as they moved about on their own accord. The heiress-turned-gorgon clearly cared little for her own snakes as she pushed the unruly reptiles back as they hissed and maneuvered about freely. Yet her frustration quickly fizzled into shock as she spotted the group of various creatures and monsters in front of the shack, though she focused most of her concern on her boyfriend in particular.

“Oh my gosh!” Pacifica exclaimed, clumsily slithering over to her as Dipper tried to meet her halfway every bit as awkwardly on his still rather unsteady legs. “D-Dipper, you… look-”

“Please don’t say adorable,” Dipper interrupted, deadpan.

“...I was gonna say like a deer, but…” Pacifica couldn’t help but crack a small smile at this, revealing her new set of sharp fangs. “You definitely look better off than I do right now…”

“What? N-no!” Dipper countered, trying to reassure her as best he could as he suppressed a nervous cringe as one of her snakes drew in a bit too close to him for comfort. “You, uh… you look…”

“Don’t lie,” the heiress warned coldly.

“...S-snakes,” Dipper finished, unable to really say much else as he realized he was slightly trembling again.

“Yeah, snakes,” Pacifica scowled, reigning her snakes back again as several of them started crowding around Dipper, their almost hungry stares making him quite uncomfortable. “Please tell me you’re working on a way of undoing this whole mess…”

“Of course, we are,” he said, suppressing his sudden anxiety as he took her hands to comfort her. “We’ll figure something out, I promise.”

“AW!” Mabel suddenly gushed from her pool. “Even like this, you guys are still the CUTEST couple ever! What I wouldn’t give to have my camera on me! Though then again, maybe it’s better that I don’t… I don’t think it’s waterproof…”

“Oh, come on, really?” Pacifica asked in disbelief as she glanced over at Mabel. “You got turned into a mermaid? I wish I could have been that lucky…”

“Tell me about it,” Connie sighed as she suddenly materialized right beside the heiress, startling both her and her snakes in the process.

“Ok, everyone,” Dipper addressed the others, outside of Stan and Ford who were still engrossed in their petty brawl above. “Let’s get back on track. We need to start looking for some way to get all of us back to-” A high, loud screech abruptly cut him off as it echoed through the air, though it didn’t take long for everyone to discover the source of the noise as it came from above. Stan and Ford’s ongoing argument was only briefly interrupted by the arrival of a winged creature that suddenly blazed right past them both. That blue, jellyfish-esque creature was apparently holding something with its thin set of lengthy tentacles, a much smaller, bright green, six legged spider-like monster. While a pair of such peculiar creatures would have normally been cause for alarm, as the jellyfish gently set the spider down on the ground before coming to hover just above it, it soon became very apparent to just about everyone exactly who these creatures, or partially corrupted Gems really were.

“Wait a second…” Steven said, focusing on the familiar gemstones on each of the monsters. “Isn’t that-”

“Oh my gosh! Peri!” Mabel practically squealed with delight at the spider-like form Peridot had taken on. “You look so CUTE! You’re like an itsy-bitsy Gem spider! If I could get out of this pool, you better believe I’d be giving you the biggest hug right now!”

Peridot let out a flustered hiss at this, her large, dark eyes narrowing in apparently frustration and embarrassment as she stomped her two front, disjointed legs down in annoyance. An apparent testament that the green Gem still retained her annoyance at being referred to as small, even in her now largely-corrupted form.

At the same time, Dipper was completely caught off guard as the jellyfish creature suddenly flew over to him, remaining completely silent as several of its long tendrils reached out toward him. Immediately, his relatively new panicky instincts washed over him as he froze up, staring at the monster with stark, fearful, yet quiet alarm. The creature quickly noticed this and drew back a bit, seemingly confused and concerned, though it was still unable to make so much as a sound to convey either of those things.

“Uh, Dipper?” Steven placed a steadying hand on his shoulder as his vines carried him over to him. “I… think that’s Lapis…”

At this, Dipper quickly snapped out of this forceful bout of shock, recognition filling his features as he spotted the teardrop shaped gemstone that was clearly visible through the jellyfish’s somewhat transparent blue body. “L-Lapis…?”

Lapis “nodded” as much as she could in her current form, slowly reaching her tendrils out once more so she could better see how Dipper had changed too. This time, he allowed her to, albeit a bit anxiously as one of her naturally wet tentacles found a gentle spot against the side of his face. “Uh… s-sorry,” he said, backing up a bit. “This is just… really weird…”

Though Lapis didn’t really respond to this, Peridot certainly did in a series of plaintiff hisses as she skittered around in apparent frustration. “Yeesh, even like this she’s still a loudmouth,” Pacifica noted to Connie and Mabel, aside, both of whom couldn’t help but agree.

“So, you guys got corrupted--er, s-sort of corrupted too, huh?” Steven asked Lapis and Peridot, who both nodded in what almost seemed like resignation to this fact. The young Gem let out a small, fretful sigh as he took a moment to glance over the pair, as well as other Gems’ rather monstrous forms. Likewise, he took another moment to take stock of what had happened to his father, to Soos and Wendy and Pacifica, to Stan and Ford, to Mabel, Dipper, and Connie, and even to himself. For whatever reason, they had all undergone some kind of unknown, and in most cases unwanted, transformation, one that had disrupted their lives and left them all with more questions than answers as they tried to adapt to what had so suddenly happened to them, a plight that faced the entire town and everyone in it, Gems and humans alike. And while Steven knew Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl weren’t particularly equipped to save Gravity Falls from such a plight as they usually would have, he figured that someone else would just have to step up and do exactly that in their stead.

“All right, enough is enough,” Steven said, his tone stern and serious as he looked to Dipper, Mabel, and Connie. “We need to do something about this.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying this whole time,” Dipper huffed, his tail twitching in slight aggravation.

“I know…” Steven admitted as a few of his vines curled back in embarrassment. “B-but this time, let’s actually do it! We can find a way to undo this and get all of us, everyone--the whole town, back to the way they’re supposed to be, I know we can! So, are you guys up for another mystery?”

“You bet!” Mabel eagerly chimed, slapping her hand over Steven’s as he extended it to the others. “Mystery Kids!”

“Mystery Kids,” Connie agreed, hovering her hand over the others even though she couldn’t really touch them herself.

Dipper sighed, though he did so with a warm, resolved smile as his hand joined the pile. “Mystery Kids.” He paused right after this, however, as he stole a glance over at Pacifica, who stood on the fringes of the group, glancing away awkwardly as even her snakes seemed to hang low and quiet. She started, however, as she caught sight of Dipper silently motioning her to join them. Considering her less than stellar history with the other members of the group, she hesitated, but she ultimately folded upon meeting her boyfriend’s soft, reassuring smile.

“M-Mystery Kids…?” Pacifica ventured as she slithered over to the group and placed her hand atop theirs. Steven, Mabel, and Connie all offered her the same eager, welcoming smiles, which helped to set her at ease just as much as Dipper reaching up to lightly, supportively squeeze her hand did.

With another daring cheer, the four--now five--Mystery Kids solidified their brazen mission to uncover the truth behind what had happened to Gravity Falls and find a way to solve it. A lofty, brazen goal to be sure, but one they felt largely equipped to handle; after all, they’d faced impossible odds like this more than a few times before.

“Ok,” Dipper said as they all retracted their hands. “Let’s get started.”

“Good luck, dudes!” Soos encouraged with a bright wave, though his hand ended up melting off his wrist before it splattered onto the porch. “...Oops.”

“Uh, you guys might wanna hurry up on that,” Wendy noted as she watched the handyman reclaim his hand with a concerned frown. “I don’t know how much longer Soos can hold out with it being this hot out. Or how much longer I can hold out either for that matter…” she growled, scratching away at her own thick fur.

“Wait, hold up,” Stan cut in as he finally came in for a landing, Ford following not too far behind him as their disagreement had reached a stalemate. “The entire town is cursed or something, and we’re just supposed to rely completely on you kids to get us all back to normal? N-not that I don’t trust you four, but you gotta admit you’re a little wet behind the ears. In some cases, literally,” he nodded over at Mabel.

“Guilty as charged,” Mabel chuckled, showing off her now fin-like ears, which were, sure enough, soaking wet.

“Stanley, don’t be so inconsiderate,” Ford scolded. “After all, who has accomplished impressive feats of discovery and problem solving through pooling their respective talents together on several occasions over the past few months alone?”

“We have!” Steven proudly proclaimed.

“Exactly,” the author nodded, ignoring his brother’s irritated glare over yet another riddle.

“Well, you kids have definitely got my vote of confidence,” Greg soundly agreed amidst resecuring a loose bandage around his arm.

“Thanks, Dad,” Steven grinned, leading the way toward the forest. He stopped short, however, in front of the Gems, all of whom, including Lapis and Peridot, regarded him affectionately as best as they could, even if they had to do so without using words. “Don’t worry, guys,” he assured them with a hopeful smile. “We’re gonna fix this, no matter what it takes. I promise.” Though none of the Gems could properly express it, their pride was clear through the round of various indiscernible, yet clearly happy cheers that rose up among them. Their warm support only gave a boost to the young Gem’s smile as he turned back to the other kids. “Ok, you guys ready to go--oh…”

His question was answered before he even finished asking it, for while Connie was able to freely hover just about anywhere with few problems, Dipper and Pacifica were still quite unsteady on their hooves and tail respectively and Mabel was essentially confined to her tiny kiddie pool (which her long tail was actually halfway sticking out of). “Uh… right,” Steven let out a small laugh, realizing that the others didn’t have an autonomous set of vines to tote them around like he currently did. “We should probably figure this out first…”

The solution when it came to transportation was actually pretty simple, and a large part of that came down to Steven’s several sets of sturdy vines. As intangible as she was, Connie couldn’t really do much to help, but Steven hardly minded as he allowed both Dipper and Pacifica to cling onto a few of his vines, as well as each other, for support as they began to make their way through the woods. Mabel had been a bit tricker, but they’d eventually devised an idea upon finding an old pair of skateboards stored in the back of Greg’s van. It took a bit of doing (namely in getting Stan and Ford to cooperate long enough to work together to lift Mabel’s pool onto the boards) but eventually the pool itself was fully mobile and ready to be pulled along by a few more of Steven’s vines (of which he fortunately had plenty to spare). And just like that the small, but enthusiastic group set out on their daunting quest, though exactly how they were supposed to go about it still wasn’t exactly clear.

“So… what are we out here looking for anyway?” Connie finally posed the question that all of the others had been thinking.

“A way to get everyone back to normal,” Steven replied with a steady grin.

“Ok, but like… how?” Pacifica asked, just as confused as Connie was.

“Uh, well…” Dipper began, exchanging an uncertain glance with Steven. “We… don’t really know what we’re looking for exactly. To be honest, a lot of the times when we do this, we just tend to look around for a bit until a solution just sort of comes to us.” At that exact moment, the entire group came to a grinding halt as something, or rather, a certain semi-corrupted Gem to be exact, abruptly fell out of the canopy of trees just in front of them. “...Like that.”

“Centi!” Steven exclaimed as he reached a vine out toward the disoriented Gem to help her up. “You’re back! A-and… whoa, you look just like you did before!” Sure enough, Centipeetle hadn’t been transformed whatsoever like all of the other Gems had, for she still retained the same semi-corrupted appearance she’d had since Steven had tried to heal her. Likewise, she still seemed to have a rather skittish mindset as she cowered away from Steven, not seeming to recognize him or any of the others in their strange new forms. “Hey, i-its ok!” he said, pulling his vines back a bit so he couldn’t scare her any further. “It’s just me: Steven! I know I look a little different right now, but you don’t have to be scared, ok?”

Centipeetle eased up a bit at this, looking Steven up and down before calming down as she met his comforting smile. She let out a somewhat confused chirp as she walked over to him, and that confusion only seemed to grow as she looked over the other kids as well.

“So this… “Centi” is a friend of yours?” Pacifica asked Dipper to gain a better sense of context. “Yikes, it looks like she got hit by this whole monster thing really hard…”

“Um, actually, she looked like that before any of this happened,” Dipper carefully pointed out.

“...Oh,” Pacifica glanced away awkwardly. “My bad…”

“I don’t understand,” Connie spoke up as she flew closer to Centipeetle, who flinched away from her slightly. “I know she’s already partially corrupted, but why didn’t she fully turn back into a monster like the other Gems did?”

“Good question,” Steven said, watching as the semi-corrupted Gem sauntered past him. “You got hit by that light too, didn’t you, Centi? Do you have any ideas about what might have happened?”

Centipeetle didn’t respond as she was instead far more fascinated in the small pool Mabel was sitting in. Or rather, the pool that Mabel had completely submerged her entire head under for far more than just a few mere minutes now.

“Oh my gosh, Mabel!” Dipper gasped, not hesitating to stumble over to her as fast as he could. Though her tail was hanging over the side of the tiny pool, the rest of her body lay face-up under the shallow water, her expression completely blank as she stared up at nothing at all as her gills “breathed” in the water surrounding her at a steady, synchronized pace. “Mabel!” Dipper reached into the water, grabbing her by the shoulder to rouse her from this bizarre trance. It worked as she gasped, darting up with a start and unintentionally splashing her brother in the process.

“W-whoa!” she exclaimed, pressing a hand against her head. “Uh… sorry,” she offered Dipper an apologetic grin as she noticed he was now dripping wet. “Not sure what happened, I guess I sorta zoned out there. Oh hey! Centi’s back!”

“Ok, can we not backtrack here?” Pacifica asked, somewhat impatient. “We’re supposed to be finding a way to fix all this, remember?”

“Right,” Steven soundly agreed with a hopeful smile. “And I think Centi might just be the key to helping us figure that out.”

Centipeetle tilted her head, letting out a curious coo at this, yet a few of the other kids weren’t so convinced. “Uh… Steven? I know you still want to help her, and we do too, but… we sort of have bigger problems to deal with right now, don’t you think?” Dipper asked apprehensively.

“But Centi was corrupted, just like the Gems sort of are now,” Steven pointed out. “And whatever corrupted them transformed the rest of the town too. So maybe whatever did that did this too!”

“But we still don’t know how corruption even happens to begin with,” Connie noted with a frown.

“Maybe we don’t, but Centi might!” Steven turned back to the semi-corrupted Gem. “What do you say? Do you remember anything from before you--I-I mean… from long ago?”

Centipeetle took a moment to ponder this question before she answered it with a surprisingly enthusiastic nod. Likewise, she began to explain, albeit in her usual language of inhuman squeaks and squawks, none of which any of the kids could even begin to decipher.

“Well, this isn’t gonna work,” Dipper remarked flatly.

“Oh! I have an idea!” Mabel raised her hand. “If her memories are still in her head, we just gotta draw them out. Literally! Through the language… of ART!”

“...Or she could just write it all down,” Pacifica countered much less dramatically.

“Yeah, that would probably be a little easier,” Connie nodded.

“Now, if only we had some paper and a-” Steven stopped short as Dipper suddenly pulled both a notepad and a pen out of his vest.

“I never leave home without them,” he said with a proud grin. “Especially since you never know what you’ll run into next around here. It never hurts to be prepared.”

“Dork,” Pacifica teased, lightly elbowing him, which he was more than happy to accept given the flirtatious nature of the gesture.

“Ok, Centi, check this out,” Steven said, writing his name onto the first empty page of the notepad. “Ste-ven. That’s me! Can you do that?”

Centipeetle nodded, taking the pad as she began to scribble something down onto the page. When she was done and presented her work to the kids, however, the series of jagged, mangled lines she’d drawn didn’t bear semblance to any legible words at all.

“...You know, maybe having her draw might not be such a bad idea after all…” Connie said somewhat fretfully.

“Yes!” Mabel cheered. “Art always wins!”

“Ok then, let’s try this,” Steven sketched out a quick stick figure sketch of himself so Centipeetle would understand what they wanted her to do. “You can tell us whatever you want to through pictures! You try it.”

Centipeetle reclaimed the pen and pad and began to do exactly that, sketching something out in record time before showing her work to the others. “That looks like… some kind of spaceship…” Connie inferred, hovering above as she glanced down at the Gem’s rough, yet understandable drawing. “Is that how you came to Earth?”

Centipeetle nodded, flipping the pad to a blank page as she started doodling something else. “Ooo, they look like you!” Mabel pointed toward the trio of stick figures that bore a passing semblance to the semi-corrupted Gem. “Centi, did you used to roll with a super cool crew back in the day?”

Centipeetle let out a happy chirp at this, pointing to herself with something of a proud smile. “You were a captain?!” Steven gasped, stars in his eyes. “That’s amazing! Sorry, I mean--that’s amazing, sir!” he chuckled with a playful salute before he happened to catch himself. “Oh, right, you guys don’t salute like that. It’s more like… this, right?” The young Gem awkwardly tried to cross his arms, though he couldn’t quite position them in any sort of comfortable manner. “Ow! Oh, this looked so easy when Peridot did it....” It didn’t take long for Centipeetle to catch onto what he was trying to do as she showed him the corrected cross-armed salute. “Oh yeah! Like that!” Steven nodded as the semi-corrupted Gem let out another noisy chirp before she resumed drawing out her tale once more.

“Ok, so… you’re saluting someone…?” Dipper guessed as they all gathered closer to watch Centipeetle draw. “Is that your commander or something?” The semi-corrupted Gem nodded, pointing back to her drawings with another pointed squawk. ‘

“She gave you an order,” Connie continued inspecting the drawings. “And you and your crew got on your ships and--oh, lots of ships. Heading through space to… Earth.”

“You landed and started building stuff,” Steven mused as Centipeetle sketched out the start of Homeworld’s colonization of the planet. A colonization which soon turned to a violent conflict. “But then… the Gem war! You joined the fight…” Centipeetle’s drawings grew a bit more aggressive and hectic as her hand started to shake. She swiftly crossed out several of the Gems she had drawn, symbolizing their brutal ends that happened so long ago. “You and your crew kept going…” Steven faltered as Centipeetle suddenly ripped half of the page she was working on, tearing away her fellow crew members away from her. “You got seperated, but you were still fighting. Then, new orders from your commander… to retreat. Everyone’s running-” The sketches shifted to a massive crowd of Gem soldiers fleeing from some unknown, unseen threat. And among that crowd was Centipeetle, lost in the shuffle and hopelessly confused as to what was really going on. “But from what? You don’t know. Where’s your crew? Where’s your ship? You stopped.” Centipeetle froze in her drawing, captivated by the sky as a large star, three stars rather, appeared in it. “You heard something--from the sky, a sound. A song? And then…”

Centipeetle tore the last page away entirely to a completely blank one. She covered that empty page with her hand as tears started to slip out of her eye and splash down onto the paper, dampening it as she let out an agonized sob. “C-Centi?” Mabel spoke up, concerned.

“That light…” Dipper began in dawning realization. “That’s the same light that hit the entire town! Where did it come from?”

Centipeetle whimpered once more but drew one last image upon the empty page: the familiar symbol of a trio of diamonds. “D-damage from the Diamonds…” Steven whispered, his eyes wide with alarm.

“Uh… what does that mean?” Pacifica asked, largely out of the loop compared to the others.

“It means… none of this makes sense…” Connie shook her head incredulously. “The light from the Diamonds corrupted Gems back then, but… it didn’t work on humans before… did it?”

“N-no, it… it only worked on Gems, like Centi…” Steven frowned, recalling what Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl had told him of corruption before. “But this time, it only affected the Gems’ bodies, not their minds like it did with all the others… And it did work on humans… So, what’s different now?”

“Bill,” Dipper said starkly, panic filling his expression as he recalled a very significant, very frightening recent revelation. “H-he’s working with the Diamonds now, o-or at least Yellow Diamond, remember? What if they teamed up to do this to us?!”

“B-but why would they-” Steven didn’t get a chance to finish his question as Centipeetle suddenly caught his attention. The semi-corrupted Gem was hacking horribly, acid spilling out from her beak-like maw as she abruptly collapsed to the ground. “Centi! Are you ok?!”

Centipeetle let out an anguished cry as light enveloped her arm, forcibly mutating it back into its previously short, insect-esque appendange. “W-what’s happening to her?!” Mabel asked, leaning out of her pool worriedly.

“She’s reverting!” Steven exclaimed, alarmed. “Here, I’ll heal you again!” The young Gem hurried to do so, swiftly licking his hand and placing it against Centipeetle’s gemstone. She reacted harshly, however, her eye slamming shut as her arm glitched out, but ultimately stayed corrupted as the rest of her body began to do the same. “W-why isn’t it working?! How can I help you?!”

All Centipeetle could respond with was a loud, piercing, pained screech, one that echoed through the forest and set off a series of varied responses in the process. As startled as she was, Connie was no longer able to keep herself visible as she abruptly disappeared into thin air once more, despite Steven’s desperate plea for her to stay. Likewise, as horrified as he already was by thoughts of Bill and the Diamonds and their twisted alliance, Dipper found he was completely helpless to resist his new flighty instincts overwhelming all sense of reason and logic as they prompted him to flee, running swiftly off into the forest, even as Mabel and Pacifica both tried and failed to reign him back in.

And yet, Dipper and Connie weren’t the only ones to take off out of fear as Centipeetle started doing the same, distressed as she startled scrambling back through the woods herself. “E-everyone, wait!” Steven called, distraught as he realized things were only going from bad to worse.

“W-what do we do?” Mabel asked, immensely concerned.

“Uh… um…” Steven stammered, racing to come up with some sort of plan, which he surprisingly managed to do in record time. “Pacifica, can you go look for Dipper?”

“Um, yeah, I’ll try,” Pacifica agreed, more than willing to do so, even if she wasn’t entirely sure how far she’d be able to go on her difficult to maneuver tail.

“Mabel, you… stay here.”

“Yeah, I… kinda can’t really do much else,” Mabel noted, pointing to her tail. “Oh! I know! I’ll see if I can get Connie to come back!”

“Great,” Steven nodded as his vines turned him around. “I’m gonna go after Centi. I’ll be back soon!”

“Good luck!” Mabel called after both Pacifica and Steven as they set off on their own respective missions. She paused a moment after they were gone, more than set to call after Connie in the hopes of getting her to appear. Yet just before she could, her own bizarre newfound instincts took over as she silently plunged herself back under the water of her pool, unable to really do anything else, even if she could have tried.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for Steven to catch up to Centipeetle given how surprisingly fast his vines could carry him. The semi-corrupted Gem had just broken through the edge of the forest, apparently heading back toward the temple, yet as Steven did the same, he was quite taken aback by what he saw happening at the Mystery Shack.

The entire area was awash in chaos as it seemed as though almost everyone who had gathered there had also fallen victim to whatever instinctual impulses that came along with their new monstrous forms. Stan and Ford had apparently gotten into another brawl for whatever reason, though this one was much more violent and aggressive as they chased each other around the sky again. Wendy attempted to follow along on the ground, running on all fours as she growled almost ferally, and though she missed Centipeetle, she did notice Steven and tried chasing after him as well. The young Gem narrowly managed to avoid her using his floating powers to jump on top of his father’s van, though that hardly stopped the frantic scene on the ground below. Soos seemed to have tucked himself away inside the shack to avoid melting any further, and Greg was seemingly nowhere to be found, at least until Steven peeked into the back of the van to find his father sleeping soundly within it.

“D-Dad!” Steven exclaimed, hurrying to his side, only to notice Greg’s arms were crossed squarely over his chest, much like a traditional mummy’s would have been. “Dad, wake up, please!” he shook his father’s shoulder to try and rouse him, though it didn’t do any good. “D-Dad…?”

A sudden screech quickly caught the distraught young Gem’s attention, one that came from Pearl, who he realized was standing right behind him alongside Garnet and Amethyst. While Lapis and Peridot had taken to the sidelines, unsure of what to do, the main trio of Gems had been doing their best to ease the mindless uproar between the others, though there wasn’t much they could really do with their forms as monstrous as they currently were. “G-guys, what… what’s going on?” Steven asked them, realizing they were much calmer than everyone else seemed to be. “Why’s everyone acting so weird?”

Though she couldn’t really give a proper answer, Garnet replied in the form of a low grunt, nodding up toward the sky, or rather, toward where the apparent corrupting light had come from. “C-Corruption… yeah, we know,” Steven nodded, “We think it might have been Bill and the Diamonds this time, but they... “ He gasped as the newfound, horrific realization struck him. “They corrupted everyone’s bodies… but only the minds of the humans! That’s why they’re acting like this! W-we have to help them! B-but how?”

The Gems seemed to agree, though the only way they could really convey their idea to do so was to step aside so Steven could see Centipeetle, who was still frantically making her way up to the temple. “Centi?” the young Gem wondered anxiously. “D-do you think…?”

The Gems exchanged something of an uncertain glance but ultimately they agreed that the semi-corrupted Gem would be their best course of action right now. Something Steven couldn’t really argue with since he was largely out of ideas himself. “Right,” he nodded, his vines starting to pull him forward so he could follow her. “You guys stay here and keep everyone safe. I’m gonna find a way to fix all of this. I mean it this time.”

Even if they couldn’t exactly speak, the Gems still sent him off with a chorus of warm, proud well-wishes, voicing their firm belief in their young ward just as well as any words could have. Their faith did give Steven something of a confidence boost, but as he set off after Centipeetle he couldn’t help but feel quite worried all the same, especially now that the stakes seemed higher than ever before. What if he couldn’t find a way to return everyone to normal? What if his friends, his family, possibly even himself with time, were all eventually lost to their monstrous forms and mangled minds, just like previously corrupted Gems like Centipeetle had been centuries ago?

These were all thoughts Steven could hardly bear to face, so he decided to embrace the opposite instead, the hope that he would find a solution. That he could fix this and save everyone, just as they were all counting on him to do, even if they didn’t even realize it.

The young Gem burst into the house just moments after Centipeetle had, finding her propped up against the warp pad as she desperately tried using it. No teleporting light emerged from it however, much to the semi-corrupted Gem’s distress as her leg started glitching back into its previously corrupted appearance. “I-it’s not working because you’re corrupted,” Steven noted, hurrying over to her. “Where do you want to go? The battlefield you fought at? Your ship?”

Centipeetle squawked out an immediate response to this, though Steven still didn’t quite understand. “Is there something on the ship that can help you? That can help all of us?” The semi-corrupted Gem only screamed louder at this, slamming herself down onto the warp pad as she practically begged him to use it. “O-ok, just… hold on,” Steven said, grabbing her hand to calm her down. “I’ll get you there.”

Despite his own condition, fortunately Steven was still able to use the warp pad as usual. Its light enveloped them both, taking them to the very same abandoned Gem ship that Peridot had tried trapping them in what felt like ages ago now. As soon as she so much as spotted her ship, Centipeetle took off, running through the jungle as she called out for someone she only barely remembered. “Hey! Wait!” Steven ran after her, or rather his vines did, at least until Centipeetle suddenly stopped short. The corrupted Gem unleashed another agonized scream as she collapsed, clutching her head in pain as more traces of her monsterous form began to overtake her: her multiple tiny legs, her lengthy, multi-tiered body, her long, pincher-like snout. As this horrific, slow transformation continued, Steven briefly watched in frightened alarm, before he took the initiative, gently latching onto her with a few of his vines. “You want to get to the ship? Then let’s go.” As unable to walk as she was, Steven let his vines hoist Centipeetle up as she continued whimpering loudly, her form continuing to unsteadily shift as her mind tumbled into madness all the while. Yet despite her wild manner starting to flood her once more, she still somehow recognized Steven, still somehow trusted him to take her where she longed to be. And sure enough, that’s exactly what he did.

The young Gem carefully set Centipeetle down just as all traces of her once human-like form gave way to her former corruption. She squeaked pitifully, acid dripping out of her maw as she looked to Steven almost pleadingly. He shuddered, wishing he could do so much more to help her, but for now, the most he could do was open the door to her abandoned ship and let her back inside of it for the first time in eons.

Silently, Steven followed Centipeetle inside the derelict vessel, only to find that they weren’t alone. Two other creatures, identical to the corrupted Gem, had scaled its dusty walls and had taken up shop there, though as they noticed Centipeedle herself, they greeted her with cheerful chips of greet. “Other Centipeetles…?” Steven wondered, watching as his own corrupted companion scurried over to join the pair. “T-they’re your crew… aren’t they?”

Centipeetle stopped short at this, turning back to Steven as she skittered over to him once more. He offered her a small, sad smile that was quick to fade as he looked between his corrupted friend and her crew. “I-I… I’m sorry….” he sighed morosely. “I wish there was more I could do to help you. T-to help everyone! All of the other corrupted Gems, and especially everyone back in Gravity Falls right now! They’re all in danger and I-I… I don’t know what to do to save them! My friends… e-everyone I know needs my help, a-and I… I can’t do anything for them…”

Tears started to well up in the young Gem’s eyes, yet before they could fall, a gentle, almost kindly chirp from Centipeetle caught his attention instead. The corrupted Gem pulled her lengthy form up a bit so she could gain some height over Steven, and then, in much of the same way he had done for her before, she delivered a soft “kiss” of sorts upon his forehead using the very tip of her beak. It wasn’t much, but in a strange way, it offered him exactly the sort of comfort he needed at a hopeless moment such as this.

He mouthed her a silent ‘thank you’ as she turned again to join her crew, all three corrupted Gems chirping warmly amongst each other as they reunited after centuries of painful separation. Steven stood by, watching them for a moment or two, his mind lingering on Centipeetle’s “kiss” all the while. And the longer he thought about the touching gesture, the more it made him think about how his own healing kiss had, at least in some way, truly worked to partially cure the corrupted Gem, even if it hadn’t really worked as well as he had hoped. Yet still, it had worked on some level all the same. Which made him start to wonder if it could possibly work when it came to another, newer kind of corruption instead.

Steven wasn’t exactly sure what the result would be as he glanced over the back of his now-clawed hand, but as he looked to the vines sprouting from his back and thought about the pink petals that had overtaken his hair, he figured it was at least worth a try all the same. The moment he so much as skimmed the back of his hand with a gentle kiss, however, he found that everything went completely white and numb, until just as quickly, everything abruptly returned.

Except plenty of things didn’t. Because instead of being involuntarily propped up on vines as he had been all day, the young Gem found himself sitting on the floor of the abandoned ship with not a single vine in sight. His skin had regained its usual pallor as opposed to the unnatural shade of pale pink it had become and his hands and hair, he found, were both just as normal as non-floral as they should have been. “I-I… I healed myself?!” he gasped, jumping to his feet, though he just as quickly collapsed to the ground. “O-oops, guess I gotta get used to walking around on my own again, b-but still, this is great!” He grinned brightly up at the trio of Centipeetles curiously watching him from above. “Thank you,” he said to Centi in particular. “I-I know my powers won’t work on you guys, but… maybe someday they will. And when they do, I’ll come back for you first, Centi, I promise.” Centi let out a bright, affectionate chip at this, one that Steven couldn’t help but return with a small, joyous laugh of his own. “B-but for now, I’ve gotta get back and see if I can help everyone else!”

Steven wasted no time in doing so, waving one final, fond farewell to Centi and her crew before he took off to return to town. And all the while, the trio of Centipeetles remained aboard their broken vessel, happy to be, if nothing else, together again, just as they had yearned for all that time apart.

As soon as he warped himself back to the temple, Steven rushed out of it, running as fast as his admittedly sore legs could take him in place of having his vines tote him around. The chaos unfolding at the shack had hardly changed in the time that he’d been gone, withe Gems desperately trying and largely failing to reign the maddened humans among them back in. Still, as soon as they spotted Steven in his usual appearance, the Gems were all quick to hone in on him in rapt, excited, fervent attention. Still, despite the crowd, Steven steadily got to work, even if he did have a few doubts about whether or not his plan would really work at all. All the same, he started with Amethyst, landing a brief kiss against her muscled arm, one that, sure enough, enshrouded the purple Gem in light before reverting her form back to how it usually should have been. While grateful for Steven’s assistance, Amethyst did have the slightest complaints, namely that she had found her corrupted form to be rather fun and enjoyable, something Pearl readily disagreed with as soon as the young Gem healed her up next. Garnet was more than relieved to have her future vision back on hand as Steven healed her, and with her usual level-headedness, she got her teammates into action to round up the scattered humans while the young Gem healed Lapis and Peridot next.

It had taken some doing, but between the three of them, the Gems had managed to round up Stan, Ford, and Wendy just as Steven finished off returning Greg and Soos to normal. The trio was still quite rowdy and untamed, which made approaching them a bit of a challenge for the young Gem, at least until Amethyst came up with the idea of a spray bottle on them. Miraculously, this managed to work as Steven mixed in a bit of his own healing spit into the water before the Gems spritzed the aggressive group with it, healing them in short order and leaving each of them quite embarrassed when they realized what had happened.

With everyone at the shack healed up, Steven made it his immediate mission to find his scattered friends in the forest, a mission that the Gems were more than happy to join him on. Lapis took to the skies alongside Peridot to try and find any signs of Dipper (and Pacifica for that matter) while Steven and the others took to the ground to regroup with Mabel and hopefully Connie. They found the latter first, who had managed to reappear and nearly flew right into them while searching for the young Gem herself. As surprised as Connie was by how Steven had managed to heal everyone, they both found a unique challenge when he tried to do the same for her given her currently intangible form, one that he couldn’t seem to touch at all. That is, at least until Garnet suggested that they fuse. It was a bit awkward and difficult to do so, yet somehow, it worked, with Stevonnie taking on a partially physical form, though they did still hover above the ground while retaining something of a ghostly glow. Still, it was enough for the young Gem’s healing powers to work as they kissed their own arm, returning not just the fusion, but Connie herself back to normal once they warmly unfused.

Since she was essentially unable to go anywhere else, Mabel had remained in her spot in her pool, staying under water the entire time so she could breath easier. Her expression was absolutely empty and she remained completely silent, even as Connie began propping her up out of the water so Steven could heal her. And as soon as he did, Mabel immediately snapped right back into her usual chatty self, even if she was a little disgruntled by her now wet skirt, socks, and shoes as she finally got out of the pool, able to walk on her own two returned legs once again.

By then, Lapis and Peridot had returned with their report that they had spotted Dipper running off deeper into the forest. Not wanting to waste any time, Steven, Mabel, and Connie all raced to catch up with him, though when they found him, he wasn’t exactly alone. Pacifica had also managed to find him, though by now her newly predatory instincts had overtaken her as she cornered her frightened boyfriend as both her and her snakes prepared to take on their easy prey. This tense confrontation was put to a quick end as the other kids arrived to break it up, with the girls making use of the spray bottle on Pacifica while Steven managed to keep Dipper from slipping away again with a well-timed bubble so he could properly heal him. And as soon as the couple were both back in their right minds and usual bodies, they both soundly agreed to never speak of what had almost just transpired ever again.

From there, healing the rest of the town from their monstrous plight was quite a daunting task for Steven and the others, though the spray bottle scheme did make doing so quite a bit easier. All it took was one spritz to each citizen-turned-creature and they were back to their usual fully-human forms. With the Gems and the Pines teaming up together to spread out through the town, it was only a matter of hours before every impacted resident had been healed (even if most of them had no idea exactly what the water that had done so actually contained). Still, the general consensus was a glad and grateful one amongst its citizens as Gravity Falls slowly but surely started getting back to normal (or at least as normal as the strange little town could be).

“And that should be everyone,” Garnet noted, relying on her future vision to confirm that their mission was complete. While a handful of the others who had lended a hand had already headed back home, the kids and the Gems were the last to dole out healing to any remaining stragglers. And with the last few townsfolk healed and human again, the sun was just starting to set as the last of the group began to make their way back to the temple and the shack as well. “Good job, Steven.”

“Yeah! Magical healing powers for the win!” Mabel cheered as she ran alongside the young Gem. “Seriously, I’ve never missed having my legs this much!”

“And I’ve never missed having only two,” Dipper readily agreed with a sigh of relief. “Let’s just hope something like this never happens again. I don’t know if I can handle the whole “mindless deer panic” thing again.”

“Well, if it does ever happen again,” Connie spoke up, glancing over at Steven with a fond smile. “We know who we can count on to save the day next time, right?”

“Wrong,” Steven finally spoke up, his dejected expression more than apparent. “I couldn’t save everyone. You guys were right,” he looked up to the Gems. “I couldn’t help Centipeetle..”

“You brought the Centipeetle back to her ship,” Garnet said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You brought her back to her crew. They were waiting for her there. They didn’t want to leave her behind.”

“Wait…” Steven raised a confused eyebrow. “How did you know any of that?”

“She told us,” Garnet held up the previously discarded notepad Centi had sketched her story in.

“Her drawings…?” Steven flipped through the book, perplexed.

“Her writing,” the Gem leader corrected.

“It’s actually decently legible!” Pearl pointed out the seemingly unintelligible scribbles Centi had written out.

“Wow!” Steven grinned, glad that someone could make it out where they hadn’t been able to. “Um… did she mention anything about… the corrupting light?”

“Mm… no,” Pearl shook her head as she looked through the notepad. “Why do you ask?”

“Well…”

“Cause the light that turned everyone into monsters was totally the same thing!” Mabel interjected. “Or at least we think it was.”

“We also think Bill might have had something to do with it,” Dipper added disdainfully. “That’s why it actually worked on humans this time.”

The Gems exchanged a worried glance upon hearing this, none of them liking the idea of Bill and the Diamonds collaborating, especially on something like this, however plausible it might have been. Yet even so, they did manage to find a few holes in the kids’ theory all the same. “Uh, if it was corruption, then how was Steven able to heal us all up when he couldn’t do the same for your girl Centi?” Amethyst asked, confused.

“I… don’t know,” Steven frowned, puzzled. “Maybe it just wasn’t as powerful this time? Even with Bill’s help?”

“Or maybe it was only one of the Diamonds instead of all three…” Garnet muttered quietly before Pearl quickly cut in.

“W-well anyway, I suppose it doesn’t matter that much now that it’s all over and done with!” the white Gem exclaimed with a bit of a forced smile.

“But… if Bill and the Diamonds can do something like this, then don’t you think we should be worried about what they’re planning next?” Dipper asked warily.

“I-in the long term, yes…” Pearl ventured somewhat anxiously. “But for now-”

“For now, we won,” Garnet interjected. “Let’s celebrate that instead of worrying about what’s to come.”

Though Dipper let out something of a disgruntled sigh at this, the other kids largely agreed, especially Steven. Because just a few hours ago, he had thought he might have very well lost his friends and his family for good, to something that had been far out of anyone’s control. Yet now, through a miraculous turn of fate and a little of his own miraculous magic thrown in, here they all were, together and back to their normal selves again, just as they should have been. Well, almost all as they should have been.

“Hey, Pearl?” Steven began, glancing down at the notepad once more. “Can you teach me how to write in Gem?”

“Oh, Steven, it’s very complicated,” Pearl said with a small smile. “And you won’t have much use for it.”

“Oh, I just want to know a few things like, ‘Hi, how are you?’, ‘Where’s the bathroom?’ and-” Steven stopped short as he flipped to the last drawing Centi had left behind, of the trio of diamonds representing the ones who had damaged her, and so many other innocent Gems in the process, seemingly beyond repair. Or at least it was for now, something that he could only hope to somehow change someday for Centi and her friends, just as he had for all of his. “And ‘I’m sorry’...”

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