#he wanted to live in peace! he walked off the chessboard! and then god killed adam and michael spends the episode reading his own propaganda | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

the-fiction-witch · 3 years

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Control P15

TV SHOW THE QUEENS GAMBIT COUPLE:BENNY X READER RATING: SWEET AF!!!!

I went and got the door as y/n went to make some coffee I opened the door letting Wisse and Luke into the apartment the three of us muttering about this and that as they headed inside "Hu, benny?" Wisse asks

"Yeah?"

"who's the fat old braud?"

instantly I smirked a little trying not to laugh as she turned around and looked like she was about to murder him "You have a will right Wisse?"

"Yeah why?"

"Becuase... she is gonna kill you" I smirked going to sort the chessboard up

"Come here you little!" she yelped going to try and grab him but I up an arm around her and lifted her off the floor enough she couldn't get out my grip "No benny let me at him!" she complained till I put her down

"Boys, Y/n y/l/n I'm sure you've met before" I told them

"Ohh yeah, Hi y/n" Luke smiled getting himself a seat at the table

"Hu, I didn't recognise you, sorry y/n" wisse smiled "What uhh... what is she doing here?"

"I live here" she argued

"lives here? Ooooooohhh Benny got a girlfriend" Luke laughs

"Yes. I did"

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"I... I don't have a response to a yes as an answer"

"so shut up"

"You guys actually a couple then?"

"Yep, very happily" Y/n smiled

"Extremely happily" I smiled giving her a kiss

"Lucky dick got the cute girlfriend" Luke sighed

"cute fience" I corrected

"Really? your gonna hitch yourself to him?" Wisse laughed

"Hey!" I complained

"Well, I suppose I have to" she giggled stroking her baby bump

"what!" Luke laughed excitedly

"can you guys not tell?" she laughed

"Awwwwww there's gonna be a tiny baby!" Luke smiled

"why!" wisse complained "why would you let him procreate? I thought we all collectively agreed to not let his genetics get anywhere else?"

".... when did you agree that?" I complained

"Like six Christmas' ago" luke shrugged

"well it's a bit late for that, he's due next month" she smiled

"she" I corrected

"He" she giggled

"Now we playing or not?" Luke asked

"Course, you rest up you need anything you ask okay," I told her so she nodded going to read her book on the chair

I sat playing with the guys a good while, y/n kept out of it mostly reading her chess books on the chair, she would bring drinks and food whenever we needed it even if all of us told her no she should rest baby but she did it anyways, it was getting late and she was getting tried I could tell as she was watching a game her little eyes would sometimes flutter shut, her head sometimes would droop but whenever I blew her a kiss she'd perk up again for a moment or two. "I think it's bed time for mummy. You boys have fun" she smiled as she slowly pushed herself up stroking her bump "Okay, we'll be quiet, you rest up alright" I told her taking her hand "I will" she smiled "Sleep well y/n" wisse smiled "Rest that tiny human growing in your person oven y/n" luke laughed She gave my head a kiss before she slowly walked into the bedroom getting ready for bed I focused on the game for a good while but I couldn't take my eyes off her, the door to our bedroom open just a crack just enough I could still see her, laid on our bed, her head on the pillow, the gentle orange light casgading across her, her hair all over the place, her face so peaceful and sireen, her little nightie holding her so tight where she was growing so much, her book open on her page it fallen on the duvet her hand still holding it the other on the pillow, I rested my head on my hand just watching her sleep so peacefully her bump rising and falling in the covers "Dude I think benny's broke I just checked him." Wisse says "Not broke. He's got a pregnant wifey it's gonna be a distraction. I mean look I can wave a hand in his Face and nothing" luke laughed "Benny? You in there man or have you shut up shop tonight?" "Hu? Ohh sorry guys" I sighed "I think I think I need to turn in too. And I can't leave her all alone she can't sleep without me" I smiled "well finish up another time maybe once baby comes" "Alright, see you around" wisse laughed we all said our goodbyes and they both left so I shut up and went climbing into bed with her "You didn't have to Benny, I could have waited till you-" "Shhhh. You where sleepy. I should have kicked them out hours ago so you could sleep." "But chess-" "Shhh, sleep. You and our baby are more important" "Nothing is more important then chess to you" "You are. And so's baby." I told her "I have to take care of my girls. Besides I was tried too and you know I can't sleep without you either" "Okay Benny if your sure" "Of course I'm sure little lady, now you rest that tummy shouldn't be long now till baby comes"

I woke up softly and gently "Uuummmm good morning little lady, and my sweet little baby" I smiled trying to cuddle her but something was wrong. The bed felt wet. Her body was shaking. Her hand in mine in a death like grip, "Benny! Something's wrong!" She yelled "What! What's wrong!" I asked quickly waking up seeing her she was panicked, sweaty, in alot of pain the sun not even up yet "I think baby's coming" "Baby's coming! Are uhh are you sure?" "I don't know, I couldn't sleep because of my tummy and then I had an accident and now it won't- aaahhhhhh!" "Okay... Okay... Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh pack the bag! I think right? Yes! Pack!" I said trying to remember what the hell I was gonna do getting out the bed and starting to pack her back "what was I meant to pack?" "BENNY!" "I'm sorry y/n I forget" "It's on the list in the fridge. Now hurry up!" She yelled turning to sit on the edge of the bed, I grabbed the list and packed he's a quick bag getting myself dress too "Right next uhh we need to get you to the hospital, but I don't think an ambulance is really worth it, then again I get stuck in traffic, what I'd the car breaka down I can't deliver a baby! What if the ambulance has to stop for baby to be born and then our kiss born in an ambulance? Do I have everything, did you want anything before we go little lady? A drink, some food? A shower? Do your hair maybe?" "Benny... There is currently what feels like a human being with a watermelon sized head trying to force its way out of my Virgina, Get your skinny ass in that car and take me to a fucking doctor now!" "Okay, okay." I nodded realizing how panicked I was I helped her up and out into the car with her bag, I quickly locked up and by the time I got back she was screaming "okay it's all gonna be okay, just try not to focus on the pain" I reassured her "Easy for you to say!" "Right let's get baby to the doctor" "Now!" She screamed putting my car into drive for me almost making us hit a lamppost "Y/n I understand your in-" "BENNY! DRIVE THE FUCKING CAR!" She screamed "Or I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL SHOVE EVER CHESS PIECE YOU OWN UP YOUR ASS!" "Yes dear" I gulped quickly getting the car going

I dropped y/n off and the nurses happily took her, I went and got parked and rushed into the office they directed me to the little seating area where a few other men sat waiting "But I - I promised her I'd be with her" "Sorry we can't allow it she's a six thirteen" "Six thirteen what does that mean?" "I'm sure the doctor will explain later sir please take a seat" I sighed and went taking a seat waiting till one of the other men spoke up "Hey? First?" "Yeah." I answered "It never gets easier kid" he laughs coming to sit in the chair beside me "I just... I wanna be with her you know make sure she's okay" "Hey, she's a fucking lot stronger then you think she is" he laughs "this is our fourth. I always worry about her. At the end she always tells me not to worry" he laughs "Yeah, she's a strong one. I know she is" I smiled "do you know what a six thirteen is?" "Yeah," "Please. I just wanna know" "It means there's been a complication, and everyone non essential has to be kept out for safety" "Something's wrong?" "It could be something small, like breach, or backwards or anything like that" he shurgs "or a c section. They class that as a six thirteen" "Oh God." "Relax it's probably nothing" he says "my boy was a six thirteen. Came out backwards the stupid boy" "Well I guess it's just a waiting game" "Pretty much kid" We sat chatting about this and that for a few hours or so it was getting late now, or early. Not sure which to class or as but everyone would peek up whenever a nurse came around the corner and just as the sun began to peak over the windows a nurse came "Watts?" "Yes!" "Follow me please" she says I nodded and followed her to a little room but she didn't open the door, "baby is born. Happy and healthy. Mummy's doing fine if a little stressed we'll start getting sorted to get her home congratulations" she smiled before she headed off, I was excited happily opening the door to the little hospital room the blinds open letting the sweet purple, orange and gold of the sunrise flood the room, and there on the bed was y/n sat up a little shaken her hair a mess, a smile on her face with a job I'd never seen before, and in her arms wrapped up in a little yellow blanket was a tiny little baby only moments old. The baby was giggling ever so softly as y/n stroked the baby's skin I'd never seen something so beautiful I wanted to cry "Hello y/n" "Hello Benny" she smiled "come" she smiled patting the little chair beside the bed, I smiled going over and sitting with her both of them bathed in the rays of the sunrise "You okay?" "Ummmm. Tried" "I can guess so" I laughed "they wouldn't let me in" "They said because of things I forget what they said but she's happy and healthy" "She?" "She. Benny meet your daughter" she smiled letting me see the cute little squishy face of our little girl, she was so cute and beautiful I almost cried "A daughter. I have a daughter. Hi little one, uhh nice to meet you" I smiled shaking her tiny hand "God damn it Benny, you don't have to introduce yourself to her" "She doesn't know who I am yet, I'm just being a gentleman about it" I said giving her little head a kiss which made her giggle more "are you okay?" "Fine Benny" she laughed so I gave her a kiss too "she has her daddies." "She does. But I'm sure she'll grow up and be as beautiful as her mummy" "In sure she will. Thought if any names for her?" "I get to name her?" "Umm you won. You where right about it being a girl. You can name her" she smiled I looked at our little girl thinking of all the girls names I knew many of them I didn't want to use as I'd slept with girls named that and that would be a werid thing but the more I looked at her the more ideas went quickly though my mind until, I saw the sun just shimmer a little the rays of gold, purple and red across the room from the sun as it rose and it casgading across her little face "Aurora" I smiled "Aurora. I like it" she smiled "I think it suits her" "It does. Little aurora" "Little aurora watts" "Aurora y/l/n. Not your wife yet Benny" "You would be if someone would get the wedding sorted and let me marry her already" I laughed "I know, but maybe aurora watts so she gets used to it" "Good, she was like this close to being named scillian you know that right?" "I know I'm surprised it's not chess related or are you saving that for any boys" "Kinda, plus not alot of chessy girls names" "That and scillian is our sex safe word" "Yeah that too" I laughed "so you ready to get aurora home?" "Very ready Benny"

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shirtlesssammy · 5 years

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5x22: Swan Song

In light of recent news, we thought we’d finally tackle what might have been the end (until someone went and made a demon deal, giving us 10 more years of our beloved show!) It’s weird watching this and seeing what a bummer this all would have been if it had ended like this. Sure, it was epic, but I guess I’m a sucker for a happy ending when it’s about characters I’ve come to love more than my own family. I’m also going to point to this Twitter thread about good and bad show endings. Swan Song wouldn’t have been bad had we only had TFW for five years, but we’ve watched them grow over 15 years now, and I want to see them get some peace. (Thanks to all the meta writers for throwing out the much needed hope!)

The Road So Far:

Carry on my wayward son...

Now:

We open with Chuck Shurley narrating the origin story of the most important object in pretty much the entire universe. And I’m literally two minutes into rewatching this episode and already crying. He’s tells us about it’s original owner, Sal Moriarty. (Oh, Eric Kripke, of course it was.)

And how, after he died, it ended up in the hands of John Winchester, after some persuasion by his time traveling son.

Fade to Sam and Dean in Bobby’s salvage yard, drinking beer from the little green cooler. Dean tells Sam that he’s “in” on having Sam say yes to the devil.

Dean acknowledges that Sam can make his own choices. “Watching out for you? That’s kinda been my job, you know? More than that, it’s kinda who I am.” Seeing this image Dean has of himself shift to NOT be this is really great. Dean asks if this is really what Sam wants. Sam is more resigned than enthusiastic to the plan, obv.

Cut to Team Free Will collecting demon blood like they’re stocking up for the apocalypse (err..). Dean confers with Bobby about Lucifer’s location and they determine it is Detroit.

Once on the road, Dean can’t help but notice what a cute, slumbering angel he has in the backseat. Sam logically points out that angels don’t sleep. They talk about their plan, the odds of it working, and the reality that Sam won’t be coming back from the cage. Sam makes Dean promise that he won’t try and get him back. Dean balks at the idea. Sam makes him promise that he’ll find Lisa and live “some normal, apple pie life.”

Once in Detroit, the group finds many demons out and about. Sam and Bobby have a moment. Then Sam asks Cas to “take care of these guys” for him. Cas tells Sam that it isn’t possible. Sam asks him to humor him. Cas catches on just a little too late that he’s supposed to lie. Oh Cas, you beautiful, literal goob.

Sam then gets to the business of downing four gallons of demon blood. With that done, Sam and Dean turn themselves in to the demons, who bring them to Lucifer.

Chuck continues his monologue on the Impala. He mentions the unimportant features, and then mentions the important features: Sam’s green army man, Dean’s legos, Sam and Dean’s initials. The devil doesn’t know or care about their car.

The devil wants to know what Sam and Dean are up to.

Sam says he’s ready to say “yes.” The devil reveals that he knows they have the rings that will reopen the Cage. Fuuuuuck. Sam tries bluffing, but the jig is up. Dean’s look of anguish is devastating. Lucifer likes his odds on the battle that will happen in Sam’s head. He agrees. Before Dean can do anything more than say “No”, Sam says “Yes.”

A bright light flashes and Dean finds Sam knocked out on the floor. He throws the rings on the wall and gets to opening the door to Hell. Sammy awakens and Dean helps him towards the portal. Only, PSYCH! It’s actually Lucifer. Sam didn’t stand a chance against him. He closes the portal and takes the rings.

Once away from Dean, Lucifer has a moment with Sam, where Sam makes it very clear that he’s not done fighting.

Lucifer appeals to Sam’s worst feelings about himself, but says he wants Sam to be happy. Sam doesn’t want anything from Lucifer. Lucifer then points out the group of demons behind him. They’re all people Sam knew in his life --they were all watching Sam for Azazel.

Dean, Bobby, and Cas are watching the fallout to Sam saying yes.

Shallow Sidenote:

(Those curls!)

Cas suggests they “imbibe copious quantities of alcohol and just wait for the inevitable blast wave.” GRIM, DUDE --but he ain’t wrong. Cas doesn’t think there’s any way they can stop Lucifer and Michael meeting. Dean is not giving up (and he’s desperate guys -his insult at Cas was way harsh). Bobby’s even resigned to the reality of the situation.

We cut back to the room full of demons, but they’re all dead this time. Lucifer smugly looks at Sam in the mirror. “We having fun yet?” Ugh, Lucifer, you’re the worst.

Chuck’s narration cuts in like a road narrative, all misty colored and gentle. “They could go anywhere and do anything. They drove one thousand miles for an Ozzy show, two days for a Jayhawks game. And when it was clear, they'd park her in the middle of nowhere, sit on the hood, and watch the stars for hours without saying a word.” This beautiful interlude dissipates with a phone call and Chuck picks up, expecting Mistress Magda. (Eyebrow waggle.) LOL, nope! It’s Dean.

“You got a real virgin / hooker thing going on, don’t you?” Dean observes. Excuse me while I laugh forever over this line, with the confirmed Chuck-is-God context. Dean wants to know where the fight will happen. It’ll be at Stull Cemetery at high noon, just outside of Lawrence. Chuck doesn’t have any more useful information than that…but it’s a place to start.

Bobby and Cas try to prevent Dean from heading to Lawrence to intervene in the upcoming archangel showdown but their arguments are weak sauce compared to Dean’s need to save Sam. He heads off alone to Stull.

The cemetery is wispy with mist and bedraggled with age. Michael (wearing Adam) flaps in to greet Lucifer. (Side note: Saying that Michael is “wearing Adam” sounds like Adam is a fashion designer. In this epic showdown, Michael has been dressed by the FABULOUS Adam!)

Both brothers seem regretful, but ultimately resolved. Lucifer questions why they’re fighting if neither of them wants to do it. Michael trots out the old “duty” argument. Lucifer offers an alternative: “We’re going to kill each other. And for what? One of Dad's tests. And we don't even know the answer. We're brothers. Let's just walk off the chessboard.” Hey, guys. It’s a really good point. It’s also an intentional mirror of Dean, Sam, and John that I refuse to stop getting emotional about.

Michael’s tempted for a moment. Damn serpent!! “I’m a good son,” Michael decides. “You haven't changed a bit, little brother. Always blaming everybody but yourself.” This is also an excellent fucking point, man. The rumble’s still on.

Speaking of rumbling, Dean approaches in Baby with Def Leppard cranked up loud. FUCK YEAH. “Sorry, am I interrupting something?” To quote Tess McGreer’s Twitter feed: MY SON!

Michael’s not into the whole threesome battle, and heads threateningly towards Dean when the camera cuts suddenly to Castiel and Bobby who have just flapped in. “Hey, assbutt!” Castiel shouts before lobbing a holy oil molotov cocktail at Michael. Bless.

Michael poofs away. “You got your five minutes,” Cas says to Dean just before Lucifer explodes him. NOOOOOOO

Lucifer’s pretty crabby by this point, so when Dean tries to verbally reach Sam again, he hurls Dean into Baby. Bobby shoots futilely at Lucifer before Lucifer snaps his neck. NOOOOOOO

“Sammy, are you in there?” Dean asks desperately. PROTECT.

“He’s gonna feel the snap of your bones,” Lucifer promises Dean. He’s gonna kill Dean slow. I’d chortle over the classic villain “kill you slow” trope except that Lucifer is beating Dean bloody and it’s really, really not funny.

“It’s okay. I’m here,” a very battered Dean tells Sam, leaving me to stare into space thinking about how he must have said this on quiet nights, comforting young Sam over nightmares or monster-under-the-bed scares.

Lucifer draws his fist back to deliver a killing blow as Dean slumps in his hold. His eye catches on a little army man stuck in the ashtray and we get a montage of Dean and Sam moments set to the soundtrack of howling wind. Sam’s fist uncurls.

And that’s it. Sam takes control. “I’ve got him,” Sam tells Dean. He hauls the rings out of his pocket and tosses them to the ground, chanting the incantation to open the cage. Dean sprawls on the ground, leaning against the car, bloodied and broken. Sam panics at the threshold to the cage when Michael!Adam appears.

Sam takes one more look at Dean before he opens his arms wide, ready to plunge into the cage. As Michael tries to haul him back, Sam pulls him in as well.

With a blast, the cage closes and Dean is left alone in the quiet, wind-swept cemetery.

He looks up a while later to find Castiel standing behind him, whole and unblemished. “You’re alive?” Dean asks.

“I’m better than that,” Cas says and…okay. He heals Dean with a touch, then brings Bobby back to life. Good job, Cas bby!

“Endings are hard,” Chuck says, and the scene switches to his office once again. “Endings are impossible. You try to tie up every loose end, but you never can. The fans are always gonna bitch. There's always gonna be holes. And since it's the ending, it's all supposed to add up to something. I'm telling you, they're a raging pain in the ass.”

We switch back to Dean and Cas in the Impala. Cas is headed back to Heaven to try to bring order upstairs. He’s ready to continue his heavenly mission, but Dean’s pissed off. “Where’s my grand prize? All I got is my brother in a hole.”

“You got what you asked for, Dean. No paradise. No hell. Just more of the same. I mean it, Dean. What would you rather have? Peace or freedom?”

Cas flaps out. “You really suck at goodbyes, you know that?” Always, Dean. Always.

Dean says a temporary farewell to Bobby, then shows up at Lisa’s house, CLEARLY TRAUMATIZED. What a non-booty booty call. Lisa reads the room and pulls him in for a comforting hug. (Stay tuned for my 8,000 word essay on why Lisa is the best.)

“Up against good, evil, angels, devils, destiny, and God himself, they made their own choice. They chose family. And, well... isn't that kinda the whole point? No doubt endings are hard. But then again nothing ever really ends, does it?” Chuck vanishes, which is apparently his equivalent of dropping the mic.

Then, the show proceeds to not end, in the best way. Dean is still lost at Lisa’s, putting on a “normal” front. And outside, Sam appears under a flickering street light. To be continued…for ten more seasons. <3

Quoting is Hard:

This 1967 Chevrolet Impala would turn out to be the most important car – no, the most important object – in pretty much the whole universe.

As far as foreboding goes, it's a little light in the loafers.

Ain’t he a little angel?

I told you. This would always happen in Detroit.

MFEO. Literally.

I suggest we imbibe copious quantities of alcohol and just wait for the inevitable blast wave.

Cas, are you God?

Every fiber he's got, wants to die, or find a way to bring Sam back. But he isn't gonna do either. Because he made a promise.

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

#spn recap #spn 5x22 #swan song #spn rewatch #dean winchester #sam winchester #castiel #cas #bobby singer #lucifer #michael #chuck shurley

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writingarchangels · 5 years

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Adfectus (Samifer AU) Prologue

Pairing: Sam X Lucifer

Warnings: some violence

Word count: (prologue is 1K, and so far the story is 9.8K - still a WIP)

‘He’s fire and ice. I fear the cold, but grave the burn.’

Note: I figured that it’s about time I shared a longer story of mine - meaning a non-one shot. I probably won’t publish the entire thing here (Tumblr is more for one shots really...) but I WILL link it up to where the rest of the story can be found so no worries.

Summary

One small act can hold great consequences and change the course of the future. What if Azazel had died years before he could make Sam one of his 'special children' and the Winchester brothers never grew up in the hunting business?

Instead of knives and guns, Sam grew up with books and pens. Instead of staying in smelly motels, he owned a nice comfy home by the woods. Ever since he moved to northern California, the woods held his fascination; there was just something he could never quite explain. There hung a tranquility over them, an ambiance that could not be put into words as he walked between the immense trees.

On one fateful day, as he takes a walk with his corgi through the woods, he ends up meeting someone who will change his life forever and make him question everything he has ever thought to know and understand. An entity who, according to all common sense, shouldn't even be allowed to exist in the mortal world. The 'normal' life Sam has always known is over, and suddenly he finds himself fighting for his very life... and the unexpected love he has found along the way.

Prologue

For countless millennia, since the dawn of creation, he has been sealed away in complete isolation, removed from light and life itself. He had nothing but his thoughts to keep him company. As the eons dragged on, he slowly became unstable, maddened by his own mind.

That is what true damnation is like.

There was nothing that the Archangel Lucifer wouldn't do if it meant he could feel sunlight on his skin again, walk the earth and feel the grass between his toes, anything to be free from his personal prison in the deepest and darkest pits of Hell.

It had taken him eons, the passage of time dragged on which felt like forever, to find a way out. Azazel had died years ago, so his freedom all depended on himself. Constructed by God himself, the Cage was supposed to be perfect, but Lucifer had found a weak spot, a crack he could wiggle through. It did come at a price, he had realized, but wanting to do anything if it meant his freedom, he was willing to pay.

Doing just that, he freed himself in a burst of a radiant light which lit up every corner of Hell as he blazed through it in his true form, towards his own freedom.

As time passed, he was able to find himself a vessel. A mortal man who went by the name of Nick. Spreading out his immense wings and feeling the wind move through his sensitive feathers, he soared freely after having been trapped for eons, letting the wind take him away to wherever as he allowed his heart to feel a moment of peace - something which seemed to amuse his vessel very much.

His moment was only short-lived, for it didn't take long for the cracks in his mind to appear. It was as if something took away big chunks of his memories. His memories were what made him who he was, the very core of his existence. A cry tore from Lucifer's throat and he staggered, nearly dropping from the sky as he held on to the fading pieces of himself.

Everything comes at a price, Lucifer remembered. Now it was time for him to pay.

Having succumbed to his fate, the Archangel completely tensed up in dismay when he felt a surge of celestial energy through the air. Trusting his instincts, he flew up, evading the angel who had dived his way.

Michael.

His brother looked up at him with blazing eyes, yet Lucifer could see the underlying confusion. "How did you get free?!" Michael called out to him through the wind.

"I found a weak spot," Lucifer simply replied, clenching his jaw. He really couldn't afford to lose time with Michael like this. "Michael, listen to me. We're brothers. We don't have to fight each other! Let's just walk off the chessboard," he desperately tried. He knew how stubborn his brother could get but no matter what had happened between them in the past, Lucifer still loved him, and he did not want to fight if he could avoid it.

Michael fell silent, and Lucifer's heart skipped a beat upon the prospect of Michael actually agreeing with him, but Michael's next words completely crushed any hope he had left. "I’m sorry, Brother. But you are a monster and I have to kill you."

"I just want to be free and live like everyone!" Lucifer screamed out in desperation, voice hoarse as he concentrated his powers and made sure that Michael couldn't sense it, all the while keeping a hold of his very being to make sure it did not fall apart right now. I just need to hold it out for a bit longer, he thought to himself.

"I have my orders." Avoiding his eyes, Michael flew up in a flash, his mind set. The only reason that Lucifer could see him move, was because he was an angel himself. Folding one wing against his side, Lucifer flew sideways to avoid his brother’s deadly attack, but he wasn’t fast enough, Michael’s blade piercing his skin and sinking deep into his flesh.

Throwing back his head, Lucifer screamed, his true voice piercing through and shattering the sky as some of his grace leaked from the wound, mixed with blood.

"Lucifer!" He heard his vessel call out to him in panic. The angel and the vessel were intertwined, their fates connected. Any pain Lucifer felt, Nick felt just the same. If Lucifer died… Nick did as well.

As a tear escaped from his now fiery red eyes, Lucifer unleashed the powers he held trapped within and managed to catch Michael by surprise as the celestial energy explodes high in the sky, creating a shockwave which made the sky tremble and banish Michael back to Heaven for the time being.

The blade had torn free from his side during the blast and the Archangel fell, closing his eyes tightly as he wrapped his shaking wings around himself to somewhat protect his body from the coming impact. He landed in a field, surrounded by a forest, with a yelp and loud thud as the ground shook. A groan came from his lips as the world spun around him both from the impact he made, and the wound inflicted on him by most likely an Archangel Blade.

Lucifer’s memories dwindled, slowly drifting away from him despite his efforts to keep his mind together. His very essence, the very core of who he was slipped through his mental fingers. His vessel screamed his name in full on panic - but as he slowly forgot who he was, not sure if Nick was real or a figment of his imagination anymore, the man’s voice grew fainter and fainter until Lucifer couldn't hear him at all anymore.

Vaguely, he heard a dog barking in the distance as he lost the last of his memories and darkness took him.

There is always a price to pay. And the price for his freedom were his own memories.

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ellanainthetardis · 6 years

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We have a long night ahead of us today! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please do let me know!

[FF] or [AO3]

Chapter 20 : Dead Man Walking

On the third night of Training, Haymitch woke up damp with sweat.

He was sitting, panting hard, eyes searching the dark corners of the room for… What? Danger. He gripped the handle of his knife harder, ready to jump at any possible threat. Ready to…

“Haymitch.”

He blinked as light flooded the bedroom.

He didn’t understand at first.

Effie was standing there in the crumpled tee-shirt he had worn all day, staring at him with uncertainty, her hands up in the air in a gesture of peace. His eyes darted around, surprised to find himself in her bedroom when he had been so sure he was… there.

“It’s alright, Haymitch.” she coaxed slowly. “It was just a nightmare.”

There was nothing just about his nightmare.

For her to have gotten out of bed – and thank God she had gotten out of bed before he could stab her – it must have been a bad one.

He looked down at his hand, expecting his fingers and the handle of the knife to be covered in blood…

There was no knife. There was no knife because he never brought it to her room at night exactly in case this sort of things happened. Her hairbrush was trapped in his fist.

He had all the pain in the world letting go.

His breathing wasn’t calming down and he felt dizzy. His ears were ringing, his stomach was churning and he bolted out of bed and to the bathroom before he could be sick right there.

He kneeled in front of the toilets but it wouldn’t come out.

It wouldn’t…

He was aware Effie was hovering nearby, hesitating to approach yet.

He was shivering badly and, coupled with his short breathing, it was making it very difficult to remain conscious. He wanted to throw up, somehow confusedly thinking it would make him feel better. His stomach hurt and he gagged a few times but couldn’t actually manage to puke. He slumped on the open toilets without any care for how pitiful it must have looked. He was hot, too hot, like he was running a fever.

Images kept flashing in front of his eyes.

Effie’s voice was coming from very far away.

She must have tossed caution to the wind because next thing he knew, there was a damp towel patting at his nape. He flinched when her hand grabbed his shoulder but he didn’t lash out. He was too weak to lash out.

He collapsed back against her. It took her aback and she almost overbalanced. She managed to keep them both steady though, as steady as they could be when they were sitting on the bathroom’s cold tiles in the dead of night.

The damp towel on his face was a relief and he clung to that feeling. He clung to that feeling with all his might and tried to ignore everything else. Block the images. Swallow back the panic.

The cloth left his cheek to run down on his throat, the back of his neck…

The shaking didn’t ease but the dizziness slowly receded, the nausea calmed down enough that he could try to work on his breathing. It wasn’t easy. It came out as loud heavy pants and every intake of breath was a painful whizzing punch to the chest.

“C… Cold.” he stuttered after a few minutes.

He wouldn’t have been able to sit by himself and she must have realized that because instead of fetching something warm, she simply shed her – his – shirt and slipped it over his head, guiding his arms in the sleeves like one would have done with a child.

It wasn’t exactly a rampart against that cold that came from within but her body was warm enough and he burrowed into it. She discarded the towel and wrapped herself around him like an octopus, apparently getting the idea.

If anyone else had seen him like that, he might have been mortified.

Effie… It wasn’t the first time. It was hard to be mortified with her when she had cleaned him up after he had been sick on himself more times than he could count. It was hard to be mortified when he had drunkenly ranted his pathetic life story to her enough times for her to know it by heart. It was hard to be mortified when she had seen him at his lowest point.

Sure, the lowest point wasn’t too far from this moment, because having panic attacks in the middle of the night didn’t rank high on his list of good times but…

Slowly, painfully, he managed to get his breathing back under control until it came out in slightly heavy puffs.

“Do you want to try and go back to bed?” she asked, detached.

She wouldn’t make the mistake of sounding commiserating. She knew him too well. He didn’t want sympathy and she wouldn’t give it. She would give affection and fondness and… that word that still terrified him sick but that he was becoming accustomed with because he was going to die so it couldn’t be the death sentence it used to be, could it?

He shook his head hard at her suggestion though.

There was no way he was lying back down, no way he would close his eyes again. Not without a bottle or two. Not without…

“Alright.” she agreed easily. “We can get up. I will have some tea brought for us in the living-room. We can play chess.”

“You… You suck at chess.” he pointed out through still chattering teeth.

“Poker, then.” she retorted. “You cannot beat me out at poker.”

“You wish.” he joked, for her sake more than his.

She helped him up and he tried not to feel too humiliated by that. She made sure his legs would hold before letting go, not meeting his eyes. She was naked now and he briefly entertained thoughts of funnier activities than a game of poker but he dismissed it quickly enough. He wasn’t in any shape to do that.

He checked the clock while she got dressed in silky blue shorts and a top. It was only three a.m. He knew she was tired from all her days of walking around on high heels and courting sponsors. He used to mock her for that but he had eventually understood it took energy to be so cheerful and bubbly all the time.

“You should go back to sleep.” he suggested half-heartedly.

She tied her silk dressing gown around her waist and picked up the sweatpants that had somehow gravitated to her room from the dresser. “I was not sleeping. I had a nightmare of my own. Truly, you are making me a favor by keeping me company.”

He wasn’t sure if she was lying or not but the perspective of killing time on his own until dawn rose was too daunting for him to insist. He put on the sweatpants and went in search of the stash of board games and cards that were stocked somewhere in a cupboard in the living-room – in case the tributes were in the mood for more games, he figured. They had used them occasionally when other victors had stayed for a late night drink.

He grabbed a few boxes of Effie’s favorites as well as the cards and the chessboard.

The living-room was cold, dark and empty and it made him shiver. He turned the lights to the maximum, as bright as they could go. There were flashes of colors from outside and he wandered to the bay window, wondering if the Capitol ever slept. It was a stupid question. He knew the answer to that, naturally.

He had always hated the Games parties but he would have taken them over being forced to get up for Training now.

He hated being back on the other side. The routine… Waking up at a designated time, sitting through advices during breakfast like he was a rookie and the boy had all the wisdom, heading down on the dot because Effie was obsessive about being on time and it wasn’t worth a fight, waiting for at least a good hour alone with Two’s victors for everyone else to show up, training in itself…

Katniss hung around the mostly empty stations, stuff that the other tributes dismissed to focus on weaponry. Sometimes Haymitch stuck with her because he wasn’t in the mood for socializing. Sometimes he made an effort to mix with the others in an attempt to find out more about their weaknesses.

He had trained in hand to hand combat with Chaff that day. Eleven’s victor was swifter than expected but Haymitch was stronger and he had pinned him down in a couple of minutes, his arm wrapped tight around his friend’s throat in a move that could have been deadly. He could have snapped Chaff’s neck.

The instructor had congratulated him. Chaff had joked it off. The few who had stopped to watch had turned away with a new information to keep in mind: he could fight.

He had hated every second it.

The knowledge that it could so easily become real in a few days.

Johanna and Finnick were avoiding him and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He loved those kids but… He supposed putting some distance between the three of them wasn’t the worst idea. Mags had come to him a few times but their conversations had been mostly superficial aside for one or two vague exchanges about what had happened to make the rebellion collapse. People covertly came to him about that as if he had any answer.

He was envious.

He was envious of the boy who got to go to the parties, drink the booze, joke with their escort…

It didn’t help that he had grown so dependent on the comfort Effie could provide. It was pathetic, really. He was a grown man, not a teenager, and yet he behaved exactly like Katniss.

Effie and Peeta had stayed out late the previous evening. It was probably sad how he and Katniss had lingered in front of movies neither of them had been watching just because they couldn’t go to bed by themselves. At least, Katniss could acknowledge that she was scared of having nightmares without Peeta there. Haymitch had muttered an unconvincing excuse about wanting to know how they had fared with sponsors.

He had never thought he would miss the city but being trapped in the Center really was doing nothing good to him. He missed the freedom most of all. He would have given anything to be allowed out in the streets, to breathe the air that never felt pure to him, to be free to wander all he wanted without Peacekeepers behind his back.

“I ordered teapots.” Effie declared, interrupting his musing. “I thought it would be easier than going back to the kitchen every five minutes.”

They had barely settled down on either side of the coffee table – and he wondered what the kids would have to say if they got up and stumbled on them sitting cross-legged on the expensive rug like overgrown children – when the redheaded Avox girl whose sight had upset Katniss the previous year rolled a cart with two steaming teapots in the room.

“Thanks.” he mumbled automatically.

“Thank you, I will pour.” Effie said distractedly. “You may go back to bed. I will ring if I need anything else.”

The girl gave her an obedient nod and disappeared back in the dark corridors.

He swallowed back a remark on the way she treated Avoxes. She was more polite than most as it was and it always led to an argument anyway – because to her eyes they were criminals – so he let it rest. He didn’t have the energy to get into that tonight.

She was still so prejudiced on certain things…

She poured them two mugs while he dealt the cards.

They played two rounds, betting stupid things like oral or different sex positions… It was mostly for fun since neither of them was keeping tracks. Haymitch couldn’t quite focus, his body felt heavy like often after a panic attack, and Effie was far too good at bluffing. She was seriously kicking his ass but he didn’t mind. His favorite herbal tea went a long way into soothing his fray nerves. It would have been better with some whiskey in it but… He guessed you couldn’t have everything.

The smell of Effie’s strawberry tea was comforting too. Familiar.

She probably would have preferred white wine.

His eyes lingered on the only piece of jewelry she had on. The iris shaped ring was taunting him. It looked like she never took it off. She wore it to bed. She kept it in the shower. She kept it under her delicate lace gloves…

It wasn’t that she liked the ring so much, he figured, the diamond was too small compared to the huge rings she favored and the crafted petals and leaves were too discreet for her flashy tastes. It was the fact that he had given it to her. He had meant this as something she could sometimes take out of her box of memories and… Recollect.

If he had known she wanted some actual jewelry to wear…

The ring was inconspicuous because it was so simple. Nothing was ever so plain and simple in the Capitol. He would have gotten her a shiny pink gemstone or something.

His own train of thoughts took him aback.

She was wearing that ring like some sort of proof of commitment. She was wearing it on her left hand. She was never taking it off. She was treating it like a wedding band. He had never intended it like that. He had asked nothing. He had never claimed strings were attached to the gift. Granted, she had never mentioned or requested anything but the way she wore the ring was enough. She was treating it like a wedding band.

And his only reaction to that was wishing he had gotten her a proper ring?

He was a dead man walking. He had nothing to offer her. Anything they would do would have no long term meaning.

And it was dangerous.

Except…

He was a dead man walking.

What does the Capitol care about who he slept with? It didn’t matter anymore. They had no reason to hold anyone against him. They were done with him.

“You want to have a toasting?”

The question passed his lips before he could hold it back.

He couldn’t get a real ring and it was probably for the best. That ring was simple. Like him. It wasn’t fake or…

Maybe he could give her something else anyway.

She had been studying her cards and she choked on her mouthful of tea. She coughed hard into the back of her hand, her bright eyes riveted on him.

“My apologies, what did you just say?” she asked.

He was considering suggesting they played it at poker when the scream echoed throughout the penthouse.

Katniss.

He was on his feet in seconds, heart racing in his chest, suddenly hyper-aware of his surroundings, hands patting at his waist for a weapon that wasn’t there. He would have rushed head first deep into the penthouse if Effie hadn’t planted herself in his path, hands wrapped tight around his forearms.

Her lips were moving but it took him a few seconds to actually hear.

“She is fine. It is just a nightmare.” she promised. “Haymitch. She is fine. Peeta is with her.”

He eventually accepted the words as truth. It was a minute or two before he relaxed though.

“She died.” he said flatly.

“I beg your pardon?” she frowned.

He swallowed hard and reached for her elbows. Their hands trailed down their forearms until they found each others. “In my nightmare. She died. They all died.” Only thinking about it was enough to make him nauseous again. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, defeated. His voice broke. “I can’t fail her.”

“You won’t.” she promised immediately. She stepped in his space and cupped his cheek. He leaned in her caress, not quite comforted by that oath. Her voice became tentative. “Haymitch, you will do everything you can to keep her alive, I know this. Peeta knows this. She might not but she is…”

“An ass.” he finished for her in a snort. He wasn’t sure Katniss was totally aware of what the plan was. She treated the whole thing as if they were both aiming to get out of there. He suspected it was too much for her to accept what he was willing to do for her. It was alright. He could live – and die – with that.

“Quite.” Effie approved, her thumb retracing the line of his cheekbone. “But… You know as well as I do that Games are never predictable. You will do everything you can but if she doesn’t survive…”

“No.” he spat, storming away from her and to the bay window. “No. She needs to win this, you understand? She needs to…” His voice faltered. “I can’t fail her. I failed everyone else. I can’t fail her.”

She didn’t ask who he was referring to. She was smart enough to understand.

His mother. Hayden. Mabel.

His family gone in smoke.

It was all a mess in his head. He was a mess.

He flinched when she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face between his shoulder blades but he didn’t push her away.

“Not dying for her is not failing her, darling.” she whispered carefully. “I am simply saying…”

“Well, don’t.” he snapped.

He waited for her to argue but she kept her peace and it made him feel… He had never expected her to accept this whole thing so easily. She was selfish. Always so selfish. Shouldn’t she be begging for him to get out no matter what? To throw Katniss and everyone else to the wolves and…

How horrible a man was he to want her, to need her, to say those words?

They had made a pledge, long ago. It had gone unvoiced and unacknowledged but it had always been implied that if they ever won, they would do everything they could to protect their victors. He had never thought it would be like this. He had thought it would be the classical stuff: the prostitution, the Capitol’s usual threats, the own stubborn stupidity of every new victor… What they hadn’t bet on was caring so much for those kids.

They might as well have been their own.

They shared them.

He wasn’t just going to save Katniss for his own conscience. It was for her too. For Peeta.

It was a noble sacrifice but, unfortunately, being noble had never been of any comfort to him. Dead was dead. It didn’t matter how it happened or how noble it had been.

Dead was dead and he didn’t want to die.

He really didn’t want to die.

He wanted someone to want him to not die too.

Was that so wrong?

Was that so wrong to want someone in his corner?

Was that so wrong to want someone to choose him?

Was that so wrong to want someone to love him as much as he loved those children?

“What are you even saying that for? You’re rooting for her anyway.” he accused bitterly. It was unfair maybe. Probably. He had asked her to accept it, he hadn’t given her a choice, he had told her…

She pressed a kiss over the fabric of his shirt, moving her hands up from his waist to grab his shoulders from behind, plastering herself even more to his back.

“It kills me, you know.” she said softly. “The thought of the two of you being tossed in there… The fact that I know only one of you will come back… Might come back… The fact that a part of me hopes it won’t be her…”

“Effie.” he snarled. He had been wrong. He didn’t want to hear those words. It felt like betraying their victors. Like…

“I know.” she chuckled. “I am a terrible person. The worst is… I love her. I do. But you… Haymitch, you…”

“Never meant to be.” he reminded her in a sneer.

“You do not believe in fate.” she retorted. “Stop hiding behind it. What does this even mean… Meant to be. We were. We are. I maintain it is enough.”

“It’s easier if…” he sighed.

“Nothing about this is easy.” she cut him off. “I love Katniss. I will do my best to help save her and so will you. But if we do not succeed, if she does not survive, I won’t sit here and give up. I will get you sponsors. I will do everything I can to save you. Katniss comes first but do not ask me to watch you die without a fight. I will fight. With all I have. ”

He briefly closed his eyes before turning around to hug her close.

“I don’t want to die.” he confessed in her hair. “But I’m not sure I’d know how to survive this, sweetheart. If it comes to that… Might be kinder to… let me go.”

“No.” she refused calmly and flatly. She was stating a fact, not having a discussion. “It is preposterous to speculate anyway. We won’t know until we are there. And when we are…”

“We save Katniss.” he finished.

“We try to save Katniss.” she amended.

She brushed her lips against his neck, brushed words against his skin.

He melt in those words even if he left them unacknowledged yet again.

He had forgotten how it felt to feel them. He had forgotten and now…

He leaned in to kiss her, to somehow try to pay her back in kind…

The sound of footsteps broke the spell and they jumped apart just in time not to be surprised by the two sleepy looking teenagers.

“Oh, this won’t do!” Effie clucked her tongue, self-consciously patting her bare blond hair. He wasn’t sure she had ever been caught without her wig by one of the kids. “You both need your beauty sleep and…”

“No.” Katniss refused with the same determination Haymitch had showed earlier, hugging herself.

Peeta’s arm immediately wrapped around her shoulders in a protective embrace. The boy gaze passed on them and to the abandoned cards on the table. “Can we play with you?”

Effie blinked - about to insist they should try to get some proper sleep, Haymitch was sure.

“Depends.�� he shrugged, settling back on the rug and patting the empty space next to him so their escort would sit. “You know how to play poker?”

Unsurprisingly, they didn’t.

Teaching them was fun. Katniss was helpless at it and drank half the strawberry tea, to Effie’s dismay. Peeta caught up quickly and turned out to be good. Haymitch laughed more than once when it came to a battle between the boy and their escort.

Nobody could bluff like Effie though and so she won most of the rounds.

They moved on to a board game after a while.

Katniss ended up falling asleep with her head on Peeta’s shoulder a little after five. The boy carried her back to bed.

“You should try to get an hour or two of rest too.” Effie advised. “You cannot be tired during Training.”

“You know we mostly joke around and only throw stuff once in awhile, yeah?” he mocked, rubbing his eyes.

He let her drag him back to bed by hooking her fingers around his gold bangle though. He had known there was a hidden purpose to that thing.

She crawled on top of his chest and settled there like a warm blanket.

He coiled his fingers around her nape, slowly rubbing his thumb up and down her neck. She made her ring turn thoughtfully around her finger.

Neither of them slept.

Neither of them talked either.

#hayffie #effie trinket #haymitch abernathy #into that good night

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New Release Roundup – 28 April, 2018: Science Fiction

Robot geneticists, grand strategists, A. I. invaders, and time-lost explorers feature in this week’s roundup of the newest releases in science fiction.

A. I. Battle Fleet (The A. I. War #5) – Vaughn Heppner

It came from deep space. It sent the signal. Now our computers are killing us, helping the enemy drive us into extinction.

But some of us refuse to die. We fight back. We learn.

In a desperate fight, we captured one of the machine empire’s factory planets. Can we now defeat an interstellar superpower that has exterminated thousands of sentient races across the galaxy and slaughtered billions of us in the Solar System?

Not bloody likely, but Captain Jon Hawkins is on a mission. Using new warships from the factory planet, he’s searching for alien allies, more battle stations to storm and death machines to kill. He’s buying us time to turn the Solar System into a fortress…if he can stay alive long enough.

Alliance Stars (The Alliance Trilogy #1) – Michael Wallace

Captain Jess Tolvern of HMS Blackbeard is leading a Royal Navy expedition across long-dormant space lanes toward Old Earth when an alien fleet ambushes her battle cruiser. The aliens are Adjudicators, an ancient race whose ethos is to judge other species and reduce their survivors to a stone age existence.

Tolvern sends a desperate message back to headquarters and retreats with her damaged ship to friendly systems. By the time she returns, the aliens have already invaded Alliance territory with a powerful fleet of star fortresses and accompanying dragoon ships, trapping and laying siege to the allied fleet.

While repairing her ship, Tolvern cobbles together a squadron of damaged allied warships, former raiders, and the local survivors of an Adjudicator attack to drive off the alien fleet.

Ascension (Ascension #6) – Ken Lozito

Earth’s greatest protection will become its biggest threat.

When the Confederation gathers a grand armada ostensibly to liberate Earth from the Boxans, the crew of the Athena must stop them before it’s too late.

Some species believe they can avoid war and endure the oppression of the Confederation while others choose to resist. The Athena and her crew struggle to keep the Star Alliance from splintering apart by offering them something unthinkable.

Ascension, is the final book in the Ascension series, an action-packed space opera saga that spans worlds. A journey that began when the brave crew of the Athena left Earth to investigate an alien structure discovered in the furthest reaches of the solar system will now come to an end.

Broadswords and Blasters #5

In this issue we’ve got a tale loosely based on the legend of Yennenga of Burkina Faso. What happens when the prophesied warrior wants something more out of life than warfare?

When the palace guards stage a coup against the royal family, will the young daughter of the family escape to a new world or stay where her home and heart are?

What happens when a small town calls out to the evil that dwells in dark places, and the evil answers?

Can a small contingent of warriors hold back the villainous forces of Kagan Kadir, whose lieutenants are each more horrific than the last?

Stranded on a planet, can a frontier space man escape? If he leaves, what will he be forced to leave behind?

A man can’t remember how he got on the train. He doesn’t know the other passengers, but each has a story to tell. What kind of destination is Oblivion anyway?

And finally, our cover story—to what ends will an emperor go to become a god, and what might it cost a man to oppose him?

Beyond Eternity (Paradox #2) – Phillip P. Peterson

Travel to the Stars . . . A Dream Fulfilled or Humankind’s Worst Nightmare?

Assumed dead, four astronauts are fighting for the future of humankind at the end of time and space.

After their mission to the outer limits of the solar system failed, David and his crewmates wake up at a strange place at the end of time. The alien intelligence wants them to go on a dangerous mission: circumnavigate the universe. If they succeed, they will secure the future of humankind.

But the universe is even more threatening than the AI believed. In the end, David, Ed, Grace, and Wendy must fight for survival at a place beyond space and time.

Exiles of the Belt (Void Dragon Hunters #4) – Felix R. Savage

They made him Commander of the Dragon Corps.

And left him to die.

With his Void Dragon, Tancred, Jay Scattergood has been given command of a newly formed unit: the Dragon Corps. Stuck on a remote asteroid in the Jovian Belt, Jay and his friends know they’ve been sidelined. Jay is determined to expose and defeat the conspiracy of traitors in the Department of Defense.

But a sneak attack on their asteroid changes his plans. The Dragon Corps launches into a death-defying mission that will take them deep into enemy space, where they will face the full might of the Offense’s firepower … and discover the truth about the conspiracy.

The Void Dragons are about to face their biggest test yet.

Flight (Legend of the Galactic Heroes #6) – Yoshiki Tanaka

“The Golden Brat” Reinhard von Lohengramm, a military prodigy and admiral of the Galactic Empire, has ambitions beyond protecting the borders or even defeating the Empire’s enemies. He seeks to overthrow the old order and become a truly absolute—yet benevolent—dictator. His rival, the humble Yang Wen-li of the Free Planets Alliance, wishes to preserve democracy even if he must sacrifice his political ideals to defeat the Empire. Their political and military battles play out over a galactic chessboard in an epic saga fifteen centuries in the making!

After donning the emperor’s crown, Reinhard becomes the target of an assassination plot. Knowing that the Church of Terra is behind it, he deploys his troops to the church’s holy land: Earth. Meanwhile, Yang’s leisurely retirement is tempered by the surveillance networks watching his every move from both sides. And when he is one day visited by a group of men dressed in black, the galaxy, too, relinquishes peace to become embroiled in upheaval once again. Welcome to the turning point in the war for the fate of the galaxy!

He Who Crosses Death (Star Warrior #3) – Isaac Hooke

Tane has travelled to Aegean Tetragon in search of the archaeoceti, a mystical race that he believes can restore Sinive to life. He is willing to pay any price to save her.

Any.

Unfortunately, shortly after his team arrives, he discovers that a few uninvited guests have tagged along.

Now Tane must not only complete the trials the archaeoceti have laid before him, but he must outwit his hunters. Either way, he won’t back down. The stakes are too high. And when Tane discovers the true price he must pay, he must make a choice that could destroy him.

For he who crosses death does not do so lightly.

Also available: Doom Wielder (Star Warrior #4)

Human Phase (Robot Geneticists #6) – J. S. Morin

The red planet will run red with blood.

Martian terraformer Kaylee Fourteen is a recent immigrant from Earth. Residents of the domed colonies of Mars can practically smell the day they’ll be able to walk outdoors on their own planet without the need for air supplies. But the committees on Earth control the resources the colonists need and their interference threatens the terraforming project’s very existence…

Until a group of radicals takes hostages to force the release of the tech and materials the terraformers need.

Caught in the crossfire, Kaylee has to navigate the delicate line between sympathy for her captors’ goals and horror at their methods. If she can’t keep the peace and find a way to get the hostage takers what they ask for, humans and robots alike will pay with their lives.

How can anyone negotiate a hostage crisis with a bomb locked around her neck?

The fate of two worlds and the balance of power between humans and robots hang on that answer.

Lucky Empire (Lucky’s Marines #3) – Joshua James

Mankind’s luck has run out…

As humanity rushes toward universal slaughter, the last Marine standing in the way of extinction is the least qualified one around — just ask him.

With the conspiracy now fully in power, Lucky & crew have turned into fugitives within the Empire. As an ancient enemy closes in on humankind, one last, desperate gamble is their only chance at survival — if it isn’t too late already. Luck may not be on their side this time.

Lucky’s Marines are at their over-the-top finest in this third outing, reveling in salty language, violent outbursts, and lucky escapes – even if their fearless leader would rather be dead already.

Osiris (The Locus #3) – Ralph Kern

It’s been three months since the cruise ship M/S Atlantica arrived in a hostile new world.

The survivors dream of building a home, but just as their hopes rise, they learn the true cost of saving thousands of people from catastrophe.

Conrad Wakefield, the architect of the Locus project, killed billions.

Fleeing, Wakefield unleashes the full fury of the advanced weaponry of his ship, the Osiris, leaving a trail of death and destruction. Commander Heather Slater and her battle-damaged destroyer, the USS Paul Ignatius, relentlessly pursue, hungry for revenge.

But two stowaways hide aboard Osiris. Marine Jack Cohen and Karl Grayson, a CIA assassin, have more in common than they care to admit. They must use every skill they have to evade Wakefield’s elite mercenaries and bring him to justice. As they explore the secrets of Osiris, they discover the fate of this new Earth depends on whether the mysterious artificial intelligence aboard truly has humanity’s best interests at heart.

Paradox Slaughter (Roak: Galactic Bounty Hunter #4) – Jake Bible

Robbed of his chits and betrayed by one of his oldest contacts, Roak is now on a rampage across the galaxy to hunt the duplicitous scumbag down and exact some serious payback.

Bishop is on the run and Roak is right behind him.

System by system, planet by planet, contact by contact, Roak leaves no rock unturned and no lead unchecked. He beats answers out of those that dare help Bishop. He kills those that refuse to answer. Roak is waging war on the criminal grapevine and no one is safe from his wrath.

But Roak soon finds out that while he is the galaxy’s preeminent bounty hunter, it is now his turn to be hunted. And the hunter coming for him is a force from his past that he may not be able to escape!

New Release Roundup – 28 April, 2018: Science Fiction published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames

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