There's a video of Piano Hands Guy™️ Ves below the cut for this week's lost media post. It is a different setup from the others, but still does not show his face. There is a brief glimpse of neck and a lot of hand/arm (also a bit of shaky cam).

The title of this video was: Red Seas Fire- Skye (Live Piano Cover), which intends there was a normal piano cover that he did in his room but alas I don't think I have that one 😩 When you're done watching this video go listen to Skye and sit in awe of Ves's piano prowess 👍(also its an amazing song, so glad he indirectly introduced me to RSF).

March 2024 Update

RSF = Win indeed

Triple threat

Heya everyone I hope you're having a wonderful day (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ 💕

I have a few hours to kill at the airport so let's enjoy a little bonus post to my fanfiction Never leave me again (check my pinned post 📌) which I could call: Buggy's offsprings appreciation post ♪~ ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ

Flash forward to years after the fanfiction timeline: Buggy's triplets are now 12 and they all have inherited traits from their father - which make your parenting journey an highway to hell sometimes. Let's meet them ~

BLAZE

First born of your little clown litter

No braincell - only chaos

He has destruction in his blood.

Very adventurous! Never reluctant to go on a mission.

...Even if you never ask him to come, tho.

Randomly put fires to things, most times by accident.

Golden retriever energy, but a crazy one

He shares his father's laugh

SKYE

Natural born leader, she wants to become captain herself later.

Most cautious of the three. She has destructive impulse like her brothers, she just makes sure the twins get caught and not her.

Has a passion for sea creatures, dream of having one as a pet

Growing with Buggy and the twins she ironically became self conscious about her nose, wishing to have a natural red round nose like her father & brothers.

Her axe is made out of wood - for now, to her great dispair.

Have her father's ego and taste for the grandiose.

RORY

The one of the twins who actually have braincells.

Very crafty and imaginative.

Love to invent, craft and test other Buggy's bombs.

For the moment they are pretty inoffensive : smoke bombs and laughing gas bombs mostly.

He crafted Blaze's gauntlets with rusty pieces of armor he found in the big top's hold.

Inherited his father's grumpiness and shitty temper.

~

As I said some post ago I have the plan to make a little webcomic with them. I have so much fun drawing them ! Hope you like the doodles & stay tuned, next part of the fanfiction is written and I'll post it when I'll have some times. ~(˘▾˘~)

Akin to the faery dog are the cro sith, or faery cattle. These creatures are said to be dun-coloured usually, and hornless. In the Isle of Skye and in Tiree, however, it is held that they are oftener red or speckled, and that, more- over, they are able to swim across the sea. Not on every earthly pasture will they graze. It is computed that they have been known to graze on no more than ten spots throughout the Highlands and Islands. (...)

This strange species of cattle, resembling so little the cattle of ordinary origin, have been found on the strand at Luskentyre, in Harris, Scorribreac, in Skye, on the Isle of Tiree, and also on the Island of Berneray, in the Sound of Harris. They are believed to feed not on grass,but on seaweed under the sea, where they usually live.

The Peat-Fire Flame : folk-tales and traditions of the Highlands & Islands, Alasdair A. MacGregor

Kloktober 2023: Day 8 - Mermaids or Monsters

Featuring Vater Orlaag x my OC Lucy Skye Desmond, and the Siren song from 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?'

Vater Orlaag had been the stand in captain of his ship since the ship’s captain Salacia had been seriously wounded in the last battle. A group of rival pirates had put up more of a fight than they had anticipated, and they had left the battle with quite a bit of damage to the ship.

These waters were uncharted, and there had been rumors of sirens and mermaids in the area. Though, in all of his years on the high seas, he had never actually encountered one in spite of the rumors of them in other areas that he had sailed through.

There was a flash of regret at his own hubris as he heard music coming from a group of rocks on the horizon. There were nine figures there, and a melody so haunting that it wrapped around his spine and gripped at his heart like a vice, compelling him to move as though his limbs were no longer his own. There was one voice that stood out, a feminine voice that called to him.

♪Go to sleep you little babe, go to sleep you little babe

You and me and the Devil makes three

Don't need no other lovin' baby♫

The other men were already jumping overboard and he found himself in the water and swimming toward her before he could even think about what he was doing. As he came upon her, she was lounging on a rock, her hair and her tail were a brilliant rainbow, and her eyes the deepest blue. As he got closer to her, he wondered if he could drown in the depths of her eyes alone, and he found that he wanted to drown if only it was by her hand. She ran a hand with sharp claws through his long red hair and he let his eyes drift shut as her beautiful voice led him further into the depths of her spell.

♪Go to sleep you little babe, go to sleep you little babe

Come and lay your bones on the alabaster stones

And be my ever-lovin' baby♫

She ran a taloned claw over his bottom lip, a little half smile playing on her lips. “What are you doing in our waters, sailor? Don’t you know what kind of danger you’re in?”

He shivered at her touch, his pupils wide and a burning need consuming him. “We lost a battle, we were headed back to Tortuga to get our ship repaired.”

She laughed, the sound warm and stoking the flames within him. “You’re a long way from Tortuga, darlin’.”

“I’d rather be lost in your beauty than be anywhere else, I’d let myself drown in your eyes if it meant moments with you,” he felt drugged, consumed by something that he didn’t understand, but he had never wanted anything more in his life.

Her eyes widened slightly. Oh, she wasn’t used to them sweet talking her either, not like this. Usually, they were back to screaming the second that she stopped singing. As if on cue, the melodies around her ceased and his shipmates started screaming as her companions revealed themselves. But he just kept gazing at her with awe and wonder. She put a claw under his chin and drew him into a kiss, and it felt like white hot fire under his skin. She wrapped her arms around him, and with webbed fingers and sharp claws sunk into his shoulders, she dove with him into the depths, kissing him until she took the last of his breath away. He gasped at the water as he felt the pain and anguish of his body transforming, but he held her gaze, letting himself drown in her eyes as he was reborn.

Quick note: The nine mermaids were Lucy, Nathan, Pickles, Murderface, Toki, Skwisgaar, Dick, Charles, and Magnus. Because why not?

Toontown: Corporate Clash Recap: Barnacle Boatyard Sidetasks (Part 1)

First and foremost, a correction: Winn Dos is a mouse, not a koala. She’s only ever appeared in supplementary materials as a 2D drawing, and as such is fluffy enough to look like the in-game koala model. She has never physically appeared in-game, only communicating with the players through blog posts and in-game alerts.

Also, I forgot to mention that Penny Pinchers have a signature attack now:

Penny Pinch: The Penny Pincher yoinks a penny from the pocket of a single Toon, dealing some damage.

Okay, now for the sidetasks!

Pilfering Propellers

To start this task, you have to speak with N.D. Skye in Island, You Land! Airplanes on Anchor Avenue.

N.D. Skye does not have an article on the Corporate Clash wiki, and it’s impossible to review task dialogue for Tasks you’ve already turned in in-game, so this is mostly going off of what I can remember.

First, N.D. Skye asks you to get 3 Propellers from Glad Handers in Barnacle Boatyard. I can’t remember if the Gland Handers stole them or if you’re taking the Propellers they use to fly away, but that’s still the first step.

After returning the propellers to N.D. Skye, you are then tasked with defeating 7 Level 4+ Cogs. You can do this anywhere.

Now, all airplanes still need windows, so after taking care of those Cogs, you are sent to take “Some Window Panes” from a Cog Building right here in Barnacle Boatyard.

Upon completing this, N.D. Skye has plenty of airplanes for the shop and gives you 2388 experience, teleport access to Barnacle Boatyard (allowing you to teleport to it form almost anywhere in Toontown), and 200 Jellybeans.

The Salty Spit-Toon

To start this task, you need to talk to Reg at The Salty Spit-Toon on Anchor Avenue.

“Welcome to the Salty Spit-Toon, how tough are ya?”

Yep, this is a reference to that Spongebob episode, but Reg, unlike the bouncer in that episode, wants to make you tough.

To start, you have to defeat 12 level 3+ Cogs anywhere.

After that, report back to Reg, you tasks you with taking down 2 Cog Buildings.

Once you’ve liberated 2 shops (or the same shop twice), Reg wants you to defeat 3 Yesmen anywhere.

Once those Cogs have been defeated, Reg has one final task for you.

In order to prove how tough you are, you need to give him 5 level 3 Gags.

Once you’ve done that, your training is complete, although you might’ve gone a bit overboard with your leg muscles.

This unlocks the Nautical Nametag, the Big Legs cheesy effect, and rewards 3580 experience and 200 Jellybeans.

Swimming Kiwi

Hey look who it is, it’s Tumbles! In order for Tumbles to even be here, you need to complete New Toony Tourist back in Toontown Central. Anyway, he’s hanging out on the island in the middle of the body of water the S.S. Day-Sea is sailing on.

“Yeah maaaaaaan, how’s it going? Exploring the docks as well I assune?”

“I just love the water, something about it is so calming.”

“I’d love to go for a swim myself, but I forogt to pack a pair of my trusty swimming goggles.”

“I’ve seen some Cogs around town that have those neat looking goggles…”

“I think I’ve heard some Toons call them Conveyancers?”

“If you find one of these Cogs could you try and get a pair of their goggles for me? I really want to take a swim!”

Oh Tumbles, never change. (Note: I don’t know if those typos are also present in game, or just the result of wiki editors not paying attention.)

Regardless, you now need to go and defeat Conveyencers until one drops his goggles.

Once you’ve done that, return to Tumbles.

“These are a bit of a bland grey color, the pair I had at home were blue, but these should work quite swimmingly!”

“Alright [Toon Name], let’s dive in!”

“Wait a second…”

“I’d hate to trouble you again.”

“But it seems that I have forgotten my sunscreen as well!”

“If I don’t wear it, I’ll be as red as a fire hydrant!”

“I overheard some ducks earlier saying that they were able to get some from this shop called The Reel Deal here in Barnacle Boatyard.”

“Could you possibly find that shop and see if they have any sunscreen, make sure to tell them I need something around 95SPF…”

“I’m kinda sensitive to the sun. It’s embarassing to say the least.”

To get Tumbles the sunscreen he needs, you need to speak with Blisters McKee, the teal bat who runs The Reel Deal on Seaweed Street.

“Sunscreen? Sure, I have some.”

“You want 95SPF?!? Hmm… I might have some…”

“If I ‘could’ find some, I’ll need something in return.”

“Why don’t you defeat one of those Cog Buildings nearby and then we can talk.”

After reclaiming some territory from the Cogs, you can now report back to Blisters McKee.

“You should consider yourself lucky, I found a tube in the back.”

“Is that building gone? Good, it’s as good as yours.”

“Thanks for the business.”

With the sunscreen in hand, you must now deliver it to Tumbles!

“Totally nautical, dude!”

“Alright, I’m all ready! Surf’s up!”

Now, all you have to do is go swimming anywhere, and you can speak with Tumbles to complete the task!

“That was awesome, I was able to find a few seashells too! These will be perfect for my collection!”

“As you were diving into the water, I was able to get a picture of you! I’m sure you can add it as your Profile in your Shtickerbook!”

“See ya around, [Toon Name]!”

Tumbles gives you the Diving Profile Pose, 2608 experience, and 200 Jellybeans.

Also, if you leave the Playground and come back, you’ll find that Tumbles has moved on to the next Neighborhood.

As for you, however, there are still three tasks left.

-

Well if nautical nonsense be something ye wish.....

Charizard themed Neos + Names list

Requested by anon

Names

Blaze ✦ Burne ✦ Bryn ✦ Ash ✦ Aine

Pyro ✦ Pyre ✦ Phoenix ✦ Koal ✦ Flint

Cinder ✦ Sol ✦ Eldur ✦ Cyrus ✦ Red

Igno ✦ Sky ✦ Skye✦ Storm ✦ Avel

Ryuu ✦ Drake

Neos

cha/char/chariz/charizard/charizardself

char/izard/charz/izards/charizardself

cha/char/charz/charz/charself

cha/char/chars/chars/charself

fire/fire/fires/fires/fireself

fi/fire/fires/fires/fireself

flame/flame/flames/flames/flameself

fla/flame/flames/flames/flameself

flare/flare/flares/flares/flareself

fa/flare/flares/flares/flareself

blaze/blaze/blazes/blazes/blazeself

bla/blaze/blazes/blazes/blazeself

burn/burn/burns/burns/burnself

bur/burn/burns/burnself

burn/burne/burns/burns/burnself

pyro/pyro/pyros/pyros/pyroself

py/pyro/pyros/pyros/pyroself

smold/smolder/smolders/smolders/smolderself

smo/smolder/smolders/smolders/smolderself

smoke/smoke/smokes/smokes/smokeself

smo/smoke/smokes/smokes/smokeself

sear/sear/sears/sears/searself

sea/sear/sears/sears/searself

rage/rage/rages/rages/rageself

ra/rage/rages/rages/rageself

shred/shred/shreds/shreds/shredself

shr/shred/shreds/shreds/shredself

stomp/stomp/stomps/stomps/stompself

claw/claw/claws/claws/clawself

fang/fang/fangs/fangs/fangself

fa/fang/fangs/fangs/fangself

wing/wing/wings/wings/wingself

win/wing/wings/wings/wingself

dra/dragon/dragons/dragons/dragonself

dra/drag/dragon/dragons/dragonself

dra/dras/drag/drag/dragonself

draco/draco/dracos/dracos/dracoself

dra/draco/dracos/dracos/dracoself

💥/💥/💥s/💥s/💥self

🔥/🔥/🔥s/🔥s/🔥self

Skye - Red Seas Fire (Live Piano Cover) - Leo Faulkner Upload Date: February 23, 2012 Description: "Red Seas Fire = Win

Do you love ice cream? If your answer was yes then you should definitely subscribe."

well folks, first Wicker Man (1973) complete

thoughts below (mostly silly, contains spoilers)

Despite having come across quite a few spoilers for this film over the years, I had somehow missed the memo about them all being Scottish, so I was VERY surprised when I heard Howie's Rs during his reading at the start

The start was all very Rocky Horror in that it reminded me of Brad and Janet's wedding.

He flew over Skye and I was like I'VE BEEN UP THERE (Old Man of Storr). And it would be so much fun to be in a plane on water

Chocolate babies, totally normal thing for a shop to have. Gives a new meaning to the phrase ‘aw you're so cute I could just EAT YOU UP.’

When they started singing in the pub: well this is all very awkward for the poor girl

*Christopher Lee appears* HE

And for those of you who also like kilts.... there you go, double whammy

I don’t know what kind of red flag all this Aphrodite stuff is but it sure is one

is that a metaphorical snail

(I meant symbolic but anyway)

THAT'S A FLIPPIN POEM I KNOW THAT ONE

...they were indeed metaphorical snails

‘yes, in comparative religion’ the boot’s on the other foot now or however the saying goes

Ye Ancient Lawnmower

The POOR FROG having to go in the girl's mouth

(seeing the picture in the registrar's office) Oh there’s Rabbie Burns

(when Lord Summerisle's castle/house appears) Now I should know where that is. But do I? No. Could be Dunvegan if it was filmed on Skye

Inside it just looked like a posh stately home which isn't really what I expected for a pagan dude [edit: what I meant was a movie pagan dude]

Lord Summerisle popping out of the chair like

What is his hair doing

He's more affable-seeming than I expected (I know he's actually not)

‘It’s much too dangerous to jump through the fire with your clothes on’ I hate to say this but he does have a point

Something something tension between Christianity and nature/paganism, but alas I am distracted by Christopher Lee

(body falls out of the wardrobe) OH SHIT

Oh they’re all just messing with him now. Is this turning into a comedy

(Howie hits McGregor with a candlestick) Here we go

Okay the 70s guitar music really isn’t lending itself to the atmosphere

(they appear on the cliff) Oh fuckin’ ‘ell

Er, technically is it now not his own free will, since clearly he doesn't want to be sacrificed?

'Willing-king-like-virgin-fool' that’s a lot of words put together

They could’ve just thrown him into the sea right there but I guess that wouldn’t fit their ceremony

Oh come on, you didn’t need to put ducks in there. And a goat!

Lee is going full Saruman now I see

And with the wisdom of someone who has read A Tale Etched in Blood and Hard Black Pencil: that’s gonna take a while

I wasn't expecting the whole Christianity thing to be so pronounced, it did make it more interesting at the end

I should have watched this instead of Midsommar. I was able to be silly about this one. (That is not a criticism!) There were some 'oh shit's fucked up' moments but it wasn't as unsettling to me

I'm watching the second one for Nicolas Cage (and the meme) but I definitely watched this one for Christopher Lee. I wish he'd had more screen time.

All the bands I saw at SXSW this year:

SATURDAY 3/18

1 Drakulas - Hotel Vegas Patio

2 TVOD - Hotel Vegas inside

3 DANA - Hotel Vegas Patio

4 Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - Hotel Vegas Patio

5 Kiwi Jr. (again) - Lazarus Brewing Co.

6 Golden Dregs - Lazarus Brewing Co.

7 Sego - Zilker Brewing Co.

8 Night Cap - Low Down Lounge

9 Floodlights - Valhalla

10 Free Range - Seven Grand

11 Personal Trainer - Esther’s Follies

FRIDAY 3/17

1 Dean Forever - Lucille

2 River Boy - Lucille

3 MANE - Lucille

4 Ashli - Lucille

5 Civic - Lucille

6 Tulliah - Lucille

7 Annie Hamilton - Lucille

8 Nat Vazer - Lucille

9 Ron Gallo - Clive Bar

10 Rock Eupora - Lamberts

11 Molly Martin - Lamberts

12 Future Crib - Lamberts

13 The Minks - Lamberts

14 Indigo de Souza - Half Step

15 Husbands - Chess Club

THURSDAY 3/16

1 Y La Bamba - Empire Garage

2 Bartees Strange - Empire Garage

3 Kiwi Jr. - Empire Control Room

4 Protomartyr - Empire Garage

5 Cheekface - Empire Control Room

6 Lee Bains III and the Glory Fires - Side Bar

7 Margaritas Podridas - Chess Club

8 Snooper - Chess Club

9 Jobber - Latchkey

10 Friko - Seven Grand

11 The Trials of Cato - The Creek and the Cave

12 Say Zuzu - Antone’s

13 Bonny Doon - Antone’s

14 The Scratch - The Velveeta Room

15 Silverbacks - The Velveeta Room

WEDNESDAY 3/15

1 Hans Pucket - 13th Floor

2 Be Your Own Pet - Mohawk Outdoor

3 Girl Scout - Mohawk Indoor

4 SOAK - Cedar Street Courtyard

5 Dead Gowns - Velveeta Room

6 The Garrys - Swan Dive Patio

7 Skye Wallace - Swan Dive

8 Mariel Buckley - Swan Dive Patio

9 Death Valley Girls - Lucille

10 Sabrina Ellis - Valhalla

11 Sports Team - The Creek and the Cave

TUESDAY 3/14

1 Sea Lemon - Side Bar

2 Pat G - JNL BBQ

3 Timothy Eerie - JNL BBQ

4 Enjoyable Listens - JNL BBQ

5 Cherym - JNL BBQ

6 The Ophelias - Central Presbyterian Church

7 Katie Malco - Central Presbyterian Church

8 Le Ren - Central Presbyterian Church

9 Bartees Strange - The Belmont

10 Foyer Red - Vaquero Taquero

11 Hamish Hawk - 13th Floor

12 Voka Gentle - 13th Floor

13 English Teacher - Seven Grand

MONDAY 3/13

1 Gen and the Degenerates - Cedar Street Courtyard

2 Panic Shack - Cedar Street Courtyard

3 Puppy Angst - 13th Floor

4 Foamboy - 13th Floor

1.FM - Chillout Lounge Radio (January 13, 2023)

23:59 The Style Counci - Long Hot Summer 23:54 Cafe Americaine - Kashmir Wanderer (Nylons Cut) 23:48 Green Lemon Feat Magica Fe - 11 O Clock (Pure Beach Cut) 23:44 Eighty Mile Beach - There Are No Angels Found In Nature (Thievery Corporation Mix) 23:40 Jose Ramos - Acalento 23:35 Kate The Cat - I Was Made For Lovin' You 23:28 Coastline - Adriatic Sea (Lounge Cafe Chillout Del Mar Mix) 23:23 Kaxamalka - True Vibe 23:17 F.c. Kahuna - Hayling 23:10 Sundial Aeon - Stock On You 23:04 Marc Antoine - Unity 22:56 Daniele Nacci - Aurora Borealis 22:51 Genuine Childs Vs Dj Ru - Deeper Shades Of Ru 22:44 Sin Plomo & Torsten Stenzel - Sweet Suffering 22:38 Dj Lounge Del Mar - Sentosa Beach Cafe - Tribute To Cafe Del Mar Guitar Mix 22:33 In Credo - The Lovers Theme 22:28 Ra-qi Gong - Rainy Days In Shanghai (Buddha Cafe Del Mar Bar Mix) 22:20 Tommy Awards - Hotel Odemark 22:17 Kurt Hummel - Hermigua 22:12 Triangle Sun - Beautiful 22:08 Blue Six - Pure 22:03 Noel - Chalito - Ibiza Chillhouse Lounge Mix 21:55 Bent - Swollen (Napoleon Remix) 21:49 Steen Thottrup Feat. Annette Berg - Heading For The Sunrise 21:44 Jessie Pinkman - Do I Know You (Lost In Lust Version) 21:39 Dj Pippi Presents Pasion Flamenca - Fatal Fatal 21:33 Chilloutlounge - Allstars 21:27 Jjos - Let It Go (Remix) 21:21 James Bright - Set Me Free 21:14 Massive Gold - Follow Me (Feat Jaywee) (Chillout Del Mar Cafe Instrumental) 21:09 Amethystium - Fable 21:03 Noel - Hold Me (Relax Lounge Cafe Chillout Mix) 20:58 Santessa - Phased 20:52 Royspop - Mid Summer Nights (Luxury Deluxe Del Mar Mix) 20:48 The Fairchild - Piano Colors 20:44 Trentemoeller - Miss You (Live At Roskilde 2007) 20:37 Alex Paterson - Flex-e-fun 20:33 Jan Vayne - Canon Ball (Fred Baker Chill Mix) 20:29 Skye - Love Show 20:22 San Martino - Es Cavalett (Piano Dream Mix) 20:17 Rhodescreen - Peace System (Original Mix) 20:13 Zino & Tommy - - Ain't Feel Noth 20:09 Mel. T Waters - Glass Reflections 20:05 Bent - Sunday 29th 20:01 York - Bye Bye Baby (Chill Out Mix) 19:56 Maricopa - Sun Scope 19:49 Eliya - New Earth 19:44 Cdm - Many Rivers To Cross 19:38 Timo Garcia Ft Manu Delago - The Hang Drum Track (Timo's Balearica Remix) 19:34 Synkro - Distant Eyes 19:28 Alex Cortiz - Six Feat Under 19:25 Rue Du Soleil - We Can Fly (El Eterno Verano) 19:20 Lounge Worship - Above All (Instrumental) 19:15 Ling Ludd - Waterfront Dub 19:09 Miss Luna - Space Funk 19:06 Energy 52 - Cafe Del Mar 19:02 No Logo - Matter Of Time 18:56 Muki - Track 1 18:48 Freddy Fresh - Shijinku 18:44 Robin Butler - Gymnopedie No.1 (Smooth Mix) 18:39 Sunsea - Light The Fire (Chillout Mix) 18:33 Various - Las Brisas 18:28 Manoa - Repeat It In Slow Motion (Trippin Clouds Mix) 18:22 Mark Gorbulew's Manhattan Groove - Dreamsville 18:16 Digby Jones - Pina Colada 18:11 Staqueando - Band 18:06 Chilloutlounge - Track 8 18:00 Jeff Bennets Lounge Experience - Sympathy 17:56 Vio Beach - Piano Chillout (Ambient Dream Mix) 17:51 Noise Boyz - Honeytrap (Keys & Trumpet Mix) 17:42 Va - Soar Angelic 17:36 Polished Chrome - Mala (Original Mix) 17:32 Jazz 4 - When You Touch Me 17:26 Mark's & Henry's - The Making 17:23 Anarchy Group - Fade To Grey 17:18 Alex Cortiz - Afterworld 17:13 Kenny Fontana - Wonderful Life 17:07 De Clive-lowe, Mark - Day By Day 17:02 Fresh Moods - Solarcell 16:55 The Funk Pirates - Mocking Bird 16:49 Chilloutlounge - Track 5 16:44 Miraflores - Waves Of Love 16:38 Synthetic Substance - Littoral Twilight 16:32 Jjos - Heartbeat (Balearic Club Mix) 16:27 Afterlife - Dub In Ya Mind 16:20 Baby Mammoth - Frank's Angels (Tetris Remix) 16:14 Future Loop Foundation - Monika's Summer 16:08 One Minds Eye Feat. Elsieanne - Shiva 16:02 Cantoma - Moonsmith 15:58 Noise Boyz - With My Own Eyes (Keys Of Da Sea Mix) 15:52 Melibea - Fusion 15:45 Muki - Track 7 15:40 Polished Chrome - Your Shoes (Original Mix) 15:33 Musikk - Sunset Chill 15:28 Jjos - Hold Me Tonight 15:23 James Asher - Red Desert (Yellow Magnetic Star Remix) 15:19 Beth Orton - Central Reservation (The Then Again Version) 15:14 Boozoo Bajou Feat. Wayne Martin - Every Hour 15:09 Lounge Pilots - Ienergize - Stereo Love Mix 15:03 Tina Dico - Break Of Day 14:56 Deep-dive-corp. - Imagination 14:52 Marc C. Griso I Antoni Just Palleja - Spring In Barcelona 14:47 Weed - A Sigh Becomes A Thousand Tre 14:42 Uko - Sunbeams 14:36 Blank & Jones Feat. Cathy Battistessa - Miracle Man (Beached Mix) 14:31 Domestic Sol - The Living Room (Femme Fatale Mix) 14:26 Friction - Looking Down 14:21 Bright And Beautiful - Night Rains (Sound Of Ibiza Mix) 14:16 Va - Serpentine 14:08 Sven Andersson Iii - Lost In Mind - Rolling In The Deep Lounge Mix 14:03 Alex Gold - String Theory 13:58 Liedschatten - Seaside (Original Mix 2006) 13:52 Moby - A Case For Shame (With Cold Specks) 13:45 Unknown - Unknown 13:41 Camille - In A Manner Of Speaking 13:35 Wonderphazz - Watermelons ( Boyz Of Noize Mix) 13:29 Pep Llado Feat. Antonio Martin - Vai Vedere 13:23 Freemasons - Love On My Mind 13:19 The Diventa Project - Jazz Room 13 (Mazelo Nostra Chill Mix) 13:14 Moa X - Beating Of My Heart 13:08 Art Of Lounge - Moments In Love (Buddha Bar Mix) 13:00 Linden - Seaside (Doerfler Remix) 12:52 Dr Drummer - Galactica Soul 12:47 Exit Mars - Gliding (Comfort Version) 12:43 Vanilla - Dreamcatcher 12:34 Puff Dragon - Spacefunk 12:28 Chilloutlounge - Letting The Cables Sleep 12:24 Alex Cortiz - Fingerprints 12:19 Luminous Feat. Julie Harrington - Let You In 12:15 Dj Destruction - Symphony To Arcadia 12:10 Kid Stone Feat. Lovely Laura - Rio 12:03 Phonosynthese - Traumzauberwald 11:56 Lux - So La Ra Dsa 11:52 The Avener & Mazzy Star - Fade Into You (The Avener Rework) 11:46 Miss Caramelle & Miguel Lando - Behind The Horizon (Lounge Del Mar Mix) 11:41 Shakrag - From Singapore To Ibiza (Tribute To Cafe Del Mar Mix) 11:33 Koru - Otis 11:28 Chillwalker - Sunday Morning (Future Break Mix) 11:21 Coastline - Adriatic Sea - Lounge Cafe Chillout Del Mar Mix 11:18 Marsmobil - Dark Star 11:13 Heso - Never Ending Time 11:06 Language Lab - Burning Disaster (Groove Armada Bedtime Story Mix) 11:02 3 Liquid Hz - Metropolitan 10:57 Tranquillo - Elaborated Compassion 10:53 Bissen Ft Victoria Gross - Like I Do (Chill Out Mix) 10:47 Frank Borell - Wake Up In Paradise 10:41 Atjazz - Peanuts 10:34 Ficci - Edge Of The Night 10:30 Cantoma - Padajero (Visti & Meyland Mix) 10:22 Muki - Track 5 10:19 68 Moves - Underwolves 10:14 Pathetique - Dis Moi - Instrumental Cafe Costes Del Mar Sunset Hotel Chillout Mix 10:09 Coastline - Adriatic Sea - Dj Lounge Del Mar Vs. Milews Ambience Mix 10:05 Chilling Crew - Space Rumba 09:57 Universe Music - Guitar Beach Lounge 09:52 The River Gods - Forever 09:48 Jaron - Catch 09:42 4tunes - Twenty Eight Times (Beach Lounge Del Mar Mix) 09:37 Koru - I Believe 09:32 Dj Milews - Sunset At Palm Island 09:25 Hot & Chilled - Follow The Sun (Day At The Beach Mix) 09:19 Blue Metheny - I'm Calling Out 09:11 Puff Dragon - Skin As Soft (Soft As Silk Remix) 09:06 Joey Fehrenbach - Untouchable (Feat. Vi Flaten) 09:00 Frankie Knuckles - The Whistle Song 08:51 Sisterlove - The Hypnotist 08:47 Nightmares On Wax - Nights 08:42 Kinobe - Lotus Eater 08:38 Triangle Sun - Beautiful 08:32 Dhamika - Never Let The Sun Go Down (Original Mix) 08:27 Senda Urbana - Chordless Theory 08:23 Erotic Lounge Buddha Chill Out Music Cafe - Te Amo (Chillout Music) 08:18 Andrew Cope - Anything That Feels 08:13 Vanegas - Te Voy A Querer 08:09 Moby - When It's Cold I'd Like To Die 08:03 Satin Dub Soul - Warm Summer (Feat. Richard Clarkson) 07:57 Ganga - Hi-fi Love 07:52 Visit Venus - Home 07:47 Mahoroba - Atmospheric Pearls (Wide Open Space Cut) 07:39 Deep-dive-corp. - Relaxer 07:30 Krivi - Adriatic 07:25 Gelka Feat. Phoenix Pearle - Million Nights 07:20 Sleepingroom Armada - Hope (Feat Inocencia Comas) (Easy Erotic Groove Lounge Mix) 07:16 Vibrasphere - Tierra Azul (Omnimotion Feat. Krister Linder Remix) 07:10 Aural Float - Still Here 07:05 Nightmares On Wax - Fire In The Middle 07:00 Aloha From Hawai - Sunset Cocktail Lounge (Cafe Bar Chillout Del Mar Cafe Mix) 06:55 Flamingo - My Friend (Mercer & Gissal Chilled Version) 06:49 Tina Dico - Break Of Day (The Stella Polaris Allstars Remix) 06:44 Lifeforce / Lifeforce (20 - 20 Vision Remix) 06:40 Michael Hornstein - Carma 06:36 Pines - Tell Me (Feat. Water Park) 06:30 Luxmusic - Northern Lights 06:26 Ben Leela - Dreaming A Dream 06:21 Sine - Flying (Original Mix) 06:16 Direct To Dreams - Le Miroir Bleu 06:11 Melibea - Lamento 06:06 Jjos - Body & Soul 06:02 Coco Puttnam Feat. Cathy Battistessa - Starlight 05:57 Chill Air - Autumn's Back 05:52 Aromabar - Renegade 05:46 Caya Levantado - Caribbean Daydreaming ( Jazzy Del Mar Cafe Lounge Mix0 05:40 Schwarz & Funk - Remando Al Viento 05:37 Gabriel Le Mar - Seaside (Original Vrsion) 05:30 Carbon Based Lifeforms - Central Plain 05:24 Bedroom Surfer - Make It Happen - Meet Her At Costa Del Sol Mix 05:18 Zero 7 - Look Up 05:11 Rediophonic - Desert Wind 05:05 Frontera - A Baia 05:00 Moon De Lounge - La Mer Se Calme ( Mounier Oriental Sunset Dub Mix) 04:53 Humat - 3.2 Bedrock 04:48 Elmara - Training 04:41 Jjos & Fede Garcia - Foolish Game (Feat Deary's) 04:37 Fidelity - You Don't Know 04:32 Proxy Brides - Can I Be 04:28 Moodorama - I Think It's... 04:22 Farbor Resande Mac - Stockholmsnatt 04:18 For - For Want Of Her 04:12 Alex Cortiz - Deja Vu 04:08 Paul Murs - Sun Goes Down 04:03 Gelka Feat. Phoenix Pearle - Being You 04:00 Telecast - Daydreams 03:54 Jazz L'amour - Summer Dreams - See The Light Mix 03:46 Muki - Track 3 03:41 Soleil Fisher - Beautiful Nights In Ibiza (Tribute To Cafe Del Mar Mix) 03:37 Erotic Lounge Deluxe - Gimme The Night 03:33 Mastermind - Empty Road 03:27 Fragile State - Hoop Dreams (Ralph Myery 5th Floor Magic Retake) 03:23 Lemon Sol - Beautiful Morning (Piano Cafe Chillout To Ibiza Del Mar) 03:18 Guardner - Low Summer Frequenencies 03:11 Blue Chakra - Free From You (Half Tempo Long Chill Mix) 03:05 Wonderphazz - Memories (Chill Guide Mix) 02:59 Paco Fernבndez - Al Lado Del Mar 02:55 Verano Portenyo - Nutmeg 02:50 Pig & Dan - Friday Freaks 02:45 Purplastic - Nathalia (Ambient Mix) 02:39 Dab - Pure Joy 02:32 Eighth Wave - Panama Bazaar 02:24 Little Big Bee - Searchin' (At Jazz Remix) 02:19 Lustral - Everytime (A Man Called Adam Mix) 02:16 Adrien Aubrun - My Last Poem 02:10 Pusteblume - Cold As Ice (Beautiful Chillout Mix) 02:03 Sly - Like Love (Original Mix) 01:56 Dj Disse - Walk On The Wild Side 01:51 Coronado (Pianofly Mix) - Bay Area 01:45 Banderas - This Is Your Life (Easy Life Mix) 01:39 Teddy Rok Seven - Feel 01:33 Espresso Del Lago - The Spirit Of Buddha 01:28 Atalanta - Autumn Sky 01:24 Washed Out - Face Up 01:19 Gxr With Kathie Talbot - 5 A.m. 01:13 Albert St.barth - Mesmerizing Moonlight (St. Tropez Chill Out Mix) 01:06 Adrien Aubrun - Always The Same Thing 01:01 Mamani - Glowing Desert (Aloe Trumpet Mix) 00:55 The Man Behind C. Feat.debora Vilchez - Fluye 00:49 Jazzy Pecada - Slow Down 00:43 Ibizarre - Las Brisas 00:36 Chicane - Low Sun 00:31 O Sevag And L Patey - Cahuita 00:25 Joey Fehrenbach - Particles 00:20 Polished Chrome - Soundsystem 00:15 Orange Music - For Your Pleasure (Open Mind Mix) 00:09 Green Lemon Feat. Bernd Langer - Rauchy Stranger 00:02 Dab - Have A Smoke

Welcome to my OC ask blog, I made this so I can give info about my characters/story that I want to give, but can't find any other way to include it

Main blog @cytras-world-machine

Rules: No 18+ asks as most characters are under 18, please state who the ask is for (e.g. for Skye: why did you choose blue eyes instead of any other color), as I will not really know who it is for otherwise, and

Characters open for asks plus a bit of info about them:

Splatoon universe- uses the normal text for answers

Skylar: an octoling who wields the octobrush as her main weapon of choice, she was Agent 8 in the metro, but after being officially recruited became agent 5. Uses she/her, and her text is blue

Rei: an inkling who wields the dualies as his main weapon of choice, he is known as agent 4. Uses he/him, and his text is orange

Topaz: an inkling who uses the splattershot as his main weapon, he is known as captain 3. Uses he/him and his text is purple

Amber: an octoling who uses the roller as her main weapon, she is known as neo 3. Uses she/her and her text is red

Original universe- uses the oneshot textbox generator but without a portrait as Tumblr doesn't have many text colors

!REWRITING! Not everything here will be canon in one way or another

Cytra Sea: She is known to cause fires if unattended, and is drawn to flames earning the nickname seamoth. Uses she/her and her text color is pink.

Frost Flare: She has ice magic and is known to make frostfire with Cytra. Uses she/her and her text color is cyan.

Alex: He can teleport with portals and doesn't get along with Crystal at all. Uses he/him and his text color is yellow

Terra Gaia: She has plant magic and is the only mostly sane one. Uses she/her and her text color is green

Solar Eclipse: He has fire magic, however he won't help Frost and Cytra with their chaos as his magic is stronger than theirs. Uses he/him and his text color is orange.

Amethyst Ore: She is a potion and medical expert, allowing her to heal most injuries. Uses she/her and her text color is purple

Aurora: He has water magic and enjoys watching the chaos that Cytra, Frost, and Crystal cause, but will help stop it before it gets out of hand. Uses he/him and his text color is blue

Grimm Stone: . Uses they/them and their text color is dark gray.

Crystal Quartz: She helps Frost and Cytra with their antics but will stop when she starts to notice it getting out of hand. Uses she/her and her text color is white

Bikepacking the Hebridean Way - Part 5 - Harris to Lewis via Tarbert

Read: Part 4

Packing up on a bright morning at Horgabost campsite I noticed a food van parking in the carpark and I thought I'd pop around to get some breakfast. I asked the proprietor "Will you be here for a while?". "Oh yeah" was the reply. What I should have asked was "How long will you be here?" because he left fairly soon after that. Although as we were about to leave we stopped at a little food truck and got some breakfast which was very welcome.

The ride on Harris over to Tarbert was stunning, although the wind had returned in full-effect and so cranking up a climb with a full headwind was tiring. The scenery reminded me of Norway and as we dropped down the other side of the climb and into Tarbert the roads became fast and swooping, threaded between outcrops of granite and the ubiquitous sea thrift flowers rustling in the wind.

As we arrived into Tarbert we met the two women again although this was where they would stop as they had some kayaking planned for the next day. We said our goodbyes but I half expected to see them again but we didn't have any more punctures so that's probably why...

We rolled into Tarbert and there was the distillery! As it turned out I didn't get that much chance to visit although I did pop into the shop and buy a little pin badge, some hand cream, and some sea kelp water (it makes your gin taste of the sea!). I got to sit in front of the peat fire in there which was really exciting but probably more atmospheric in the winter rather than with sunburn and blistered lips! But we planned to head back via Stornoway and get the ferry from Tarbert to Skye so there'd be another chance...and plans never change, do they... ;)

The others were after some substantial food so we headed off around town and eventually found a nice deli and got some supplies from that. We had planned to head to Calanish that night although there was a discussion about heading off the Hebridean Way and going straight to Stornoway and then picking the route back up again. Instead I managed to find a hotel just past Calanish and booked us in for 8pm that night. "Could you come a little earlier?" the lady asked. "We'll try!" I replied thinking of the remaining 70km between me and my dinner.

Raiding a small grocery shop of biscuits, Red Bull, and instant porridge we headed off north out of Tarbert but as we left I spotted Matt and David up the road so went to say hi. They had decided to head down via Skye now and not bother to try to get to the Butt of Lewis on mountainbikes. But I later found out they ended up having to get a taxi from Stornoway to Leverburgh and then get back to Barra where they were stuck with the weather for a while before getting the ferry back to their van in Oban. It'd definitely been an eventful trip for all of us!

Fairly shortly as you leave the town the road rises up into a beautiful craggy valley, reminiscent of the Alps I thought. Tarbert is a fairly common place name in Scotland and comes from the Norse tairbeart or "draw-boat" so is a good location for a portage as two bodies of water meet. This of course means it's low-lying so that also means a climb out.

[map copyright Ordnance Survey - reproduced under fair use terms]

In all honesty I was struggling by this point. I was really hot and every heartbeat pumped a wave of pain through my face...and there were a lot of heartbeats climbing up out of Tarbert! My internal monologue was something like "thisishorriblethisishorrible OH WOW THAT'S PRETTY thisishorriblethisishorrible..."

We needed to ride a fair bit along the A859 which was quiet although still with that ever-present headwind meaning that all but the steepest downhills had to be pedalled. Although the roads were stunning!

In time we turned westward along the A858 but by this point every slope upwards felt like Mont Ventoux and my legs were empty. Thankfully this section of road was the sort of thing I really enjoy; rolling "rouleur" type of roads, good for a diesel engine rather than a sports car. ;) The road here was generally sloping downwards with kickers although they could be rolled by getting on the drops and picking up speed. This was a relatively fast section, especially compared to the previous few KM. This section made me think of a wide open road in the US. It was beautiful.

Eventually we reached Calanish and passed it; heading straight for the restaurant. I counted down every single KM to that restaurant and eventually I found myself pulling into a carpark, swinging my leg off my bike and standing in a daze for a few moments. It was 7pm and we'd made decent time, despite feeling like I'd been crawling through treacle.

That evening WE DINED! We had beers, starters, mains, puddings, then more beer. By this point we were getting side-eyed by the staff who were really lovely but probably wanted these odd, strange-smelling cyclists to move on by this point. All we needed to do was to roll the 8km downhill along the road to Calanish to camp up for the night... Or so we thought...

On the map there is an area of "camping pods" at Calanish. I'd mistakenly assumed that it would be ok to pitch a tent there too but when we arrived it was clear that wasn't the case. So we spent the next 20km riding around in a futile attempt to find somewhere to pitch up under the ever-darkening sky. In fact we'd remarked that during this trip we hadn't needed torches because it's so light until late. Although previous evenings we'd been set up by 8pm and in bed not much after 10pm but this was the first night we'd spent the evening drinking and eating and then trying to find a spot to pitch up. We'd got over-confident, some might say. ;)

Some time later, after more KM than we needed to have done on top of the 90km that day, after some tears, and a technical section of singletrack we arrived back at the hotel we'd left earlier that evening and pitched up right next to it. In fact it actually wasn't a bad spot but by that point I was "tired and emotional".

I did sleep really well that night, serenaded by a "car alarm bird" on the loch next to us.

The next morning we packed up and the good thing about being next to the hotel was dropping in for a full Scottish three-course breakfast! You have your porridge (starter) course, your cooked breakfast main, then your toast and jam pudding. I was starting to feel a bit better about things although while I had wanted to visit Calanish standing stones I just didn't have the heart to ride back down that road again.

It was good that I had had that big breakfast though because we planned to make the Butt of Lewis today. Little did I know that this inauspicious 60km would be one of the toughest rides I've ever done!

Read: Part 6

“Oh, what pleasure she'll bring to us -- Make us pockets and sing to us --  Tell us stories we've been longing to hear, Over and over... She'll be waiting at the door -- We won't be lonely anymore, Since Wendy -- lovely Wendy's here to stay!” 

~“Wendy” from Peter Pan (musical)

x~x~x~x

full tag for this AU here! // thanks to @ag907​​ for reminding me how much I absolutely love this song! 💚

x~x~x~x

Carewyn, Bill, and Charlie’s arrival in Neverland was anything but serene. 

Although yes, it was beautiful in a way that Carewyn couldn’t have ever imagined, flying through the night sky so high that all the colors of the rainbow engulfed them and light itself seemed to explode and transform into a brand new, amazing island on a sea as sparkling as a galaxy below them before their very eyes, that beauty was soon accompanied by real danger. For not long after Orion returned to Neverland, his three new red-haired “Lost Kids” in tow, the eternally youthful boy had been spotted by his arch enemy, the fearsome pirate Captain Hook, through his spyglass. And thus, within moments, his pirate ship -- the Jolly Roger -- started firing upon the four children, the first cannon ball nearly colliding with Carewyn and sending her tumbling down toward the island below. 

Bill had just barely managed to grab onto both a screaming Charlie and the edge of one of the pink cotton-candy clouds before they could fall too. Orion immediately decided he’d have to distract Hook away from the others, so he instructed Merula to help Carewyn and bring her down to the Lost Kids’ hideout at Hangman’s Tree, until he and the Weasleys could catch up. 

Merula, however, was not keen on the idea. She still didn’t trust the “pirate-eyed” Carewyn as far as she could throw her, no matter how quickly Orion or his shadow seemed have taken to her. And so Merula set about zipping down to Hangman’s Tree alone, to find the remaining Lost Kids. She rallied Skye, McNully, Erika, Face Paint Kid, Jae, Tulip, and Tonks with the message that a “tiny pirate” had arrived on the island, embellished with the lie that Orion had instructed them to “deal with her,” and the Kids -- with Skye in the lead -- charged out to search.

The Lost Kids, however, were a little confused when they finally caught sight of that aforementioned “tiny pirate.” Carewyn had managed to land on a branch at the top of a very tall tree and was looking out at the horizon anxiously -- and, true to Merula’s words, she was small: smaller than all of the other Lost Kids. Tonks and Jae even questioned whether this girl could really be a pirate, with how tiny and fragile she seemed. McNully, arguably the smartest of the bunch and the only Lost Kid who exclusively flew rather than run like the others, took out his own spyglass to get a better look -- and when he did, his face went very white. 

“‘Blue eyes which are of the blue of the forget-me-not,’” he whispered, “‘save when they turn red, when he’s going in for the kill...’”

McNully’s voice was both awed and faintly intimidated as he looked up from his spyglass at Skye. 

“Those are Hook’s eyes, exactly.” 

And so, on Merula’s order, the Lost Kids fired their weapons. Carewyn was abruptly assaulted by a hail of clubs, rocks, and arrows -- she tried desperately to dodge them while holding onto the high branch, but unfortunately, one of the largest rocks ended up colliding squarely with her forehead, right between the eyes. In an instant, Carewyn was knocked unconscious -- and seconds later, she fell right off the branch like dead weight. 

If it wasn’t for Orion having finished up with Hook and the pirates and flown back down toward Hangman’s Tree, he wouldn’t have heard the commotion and swooped in just in time to catch Carewyn before she could collide with the ground. 

As he floated back down to Earth, carrying the little white-dressed “pirate girl” in his arms, his calm, serene face betrayed something oddly, but very silently displeased. It filled his subordinates with the kind of foreboding you might feel seeing darkening clouds before a thunderstorm.

“Whose rock left the mark on her head?” he asked very softly.

None of the Lost Kids spoke. Then finally the tallest, Erika, took a step out from the rest, her posture as strong as she could manage despite her apparent misgivings. 

“Mine,” she said, her voice just as low as Orion’s.  

Orion’s eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly upon Erika’s face as he strode over. Although Erika was the tallest of the Lost Kids, Orion was the oldest, and so he looked down on her without much difficulty. 

“Dastard hand,” he whispered. The lack of volume only seemed to accent how very, very disquieted Orion was.

Erika stuck her chin out stoically as she picked up the closest club and held it out to Orion. 

“Strike, Orion,” she said, trying very hard not to choke. “Strike true -- ”

But Orion gave a terse shake of his head. 

“I cannot and will not,” he said levelly. “Not without knowing why.”

He looked from McNully to Skye, his eye faintly critical despite the amazing calmness of his voice. 

“You are Lost Children. Is she not one also? What reason do you have to strike Carewyn, when I have brought her to stay with us -- to make us pockets and sing for us? To tell us those stories we’ve all been longing to hear?”

Skye was flushing in shame. “Hey, Merula told us to!”

Orion’s eyebrows furrowed. “Merula?”

“She said that there was a tiny pirate on her way here, and you said we had to shoot her down!” said Tulip, looking both very upset and very frustrated. 

“Technically she said you wanted us to ‘deal with her,’” McNully corrected quickly. “And then Skye said ‘come then, let’s go!’, so we followed her and then Merula pointed Carewyn out, up in the tree -- Jae said she didn’t look like a pirate, and Tonks said she looked too small and fragile to be a pirate, and Face Paint Kid said that she could be in disguise -- so I took out my spyglass and I saw she had eyes just like Hook’s, so I said -- ”

“Shut up already,” Erika said very dully. “You’ve made your point.”

Orion’s face was placid, but his black eyes had narrowed, swiveling over to the closest tree, where he could see Merula’s light poking out from behind the leaves. Clearly the fairy thought she was hiding well enough that no one could see her. 

“You said...she’s here to make us pockets?” said Face Paint Kid hesitantly. The copious amounts of green, yellow, and red on their face couldn’t mask their shy eagerness.

Orion regarded the smallest member of the group with patience. “Yes.”

“I didn’t know pirates could make pockets,” Tulip said thoughtfully. 

“I just always reckoned they stole them, like they do everything else,” Jae added dryly. 

Orion adjusted Carewyn in his arms. Although she was small and Orion truly didn’t have that much difficulty carrying her weight, he wasn’t used to holding anyone like this. 

“She is not a pirate,” he said. 

“But her eyes,” said Jae, his eyebrows knitting together over his eyes tensely, “McNully said they were just like -- ”

“Eyes or no, she is a lady,” Orion cut him off cleanly, “and one who needs somewhere peaceful to rest until she wakes.”

The Lost Kids’ faces all lit up.

“Then she’s not dead?” Tonks said, her voice breathy with relief.

“Merely sleeping,” said Orion, his calm voice only touched with the slightest hint of sternness. “One can only hope that we all can put forward a better impression when next she sees us. We do want her to stay with us, do we not?”

“Of course we do!” said Skye at once. “She’s a Lost Kid -- she belongs with us.”

“It has been a long time since any of us have had pockets,” said Tulip with a wry grin.

“Have we ever had pockets?” asked Tonks in confusion.

Tulip blinked, faintly bemused. “...I forget.”

“We must’ve at some point,” McNully said thoughtfully. “Otherwise, how else would we know what they are?” 

“What does it matter?” Skye pushed this line of questioning away, her face breaking into a grin. “If this ‘Carey-Wyn’ can make pockets, maybe she can make other things too! Like socks!”

“Maybe she can fix the rips in our shirts,” proposed Jae.

“And give us buttons!” said Face Paint Kid excitedly. 

Orion’s mouth spread into a more pleasant, satisfied smile. “She is very good at sewing and mending. She even sewed my shadow back on, when it came off.”

“Really!?” said the other children. 

The Boy Who Was Reunited with His Shadow wiggled his foot in explanation, so as to show off Carewyn’s handiwork. The Lost Kids shared eager glances among themselves. 

“That’s perfect!” Tulip said. “Carey-Wyn can sew, sing songs, tell us stories...she’s like a mother!” 

“A what?” asked Skye.

“I remember what that is!” said Tonks at once, sounding oddly excited. “Mothers stay at home while fathers are away at work. They cook, clean, care for the children -- mend clothing, tell bedtime stories...oh, and they always kiss you goodnight.”

Jae looked genuinely curious. “Do you have a mother?” 

Tonks’s smile faded as she considered this. “I dunno. Maybe? I think I lost her, somewhere...”

Face Paint Kid’s eyes were as bright as streetlamps. “Well, then...maybe Carey can be our mother! She’s going to stay with us, isn’t she?”

The other Kids looked excited at this thought. 

“Do you think she would, if we asked her?”

“Can’t hurt to try -- ”

“Oh, it’d be so lovely to have a real mother -- ”

Orion’s mouth had spread into a fuller, brighter smile -- one that actually showed teeth. 

Mothers stayed at home while fathers were away at work. That would be a lovely game to play, to ensure the pirates didn’t discover Carewyn was with them. After all, neither Hook nor any of his crew knew the location of their home, under Hangman’s Tree. If Carewyn remained safe underground, then she would be out of their reach. And someone with as sensitive of a heart as Carewyn’s -- someone who cared so deeply about other people’s feelings -- would be delighted to suddenly have so many children to take care of...children who undoubtedly would take to her just as quickly as he had.  

Yes, indeed. This would work out very nicely.

“Then let us bring her inside,” he said serenely. “Go below -- make up a bed for your new mother.”

The Lost Kids all rushed back toward Hangman’s Tree, ready to flip open the fake tree stump and slip down the slide into their hideout below. 

The one Lost Kid to linger behind, however, was McNully, who hovered in mid-air beside Orion, regarding him a bit more hesitantly.

“What about Merula?” he asked. “Have you decided what to do about her?”

Orion’s eyes darted over to where he still saw Merula’s light hiding. 

“There is nothing to do about Merula,” he said in a rather quiet, cold voice. "Until she’s ready to apologize to me, Carewyn, and the remainder of the Lost Children for her betrayal.”

Now most people -- in Merula’s shoes -- might’ve been tempted to come out and do just that, even if they didn’t mean it. Merula, however, was a fairy...and fairies sadly are so small that their bodies only have room for one emotion at a time. Although very often that emotion could be good things like courage, determination, or even loyalty, that emotion right now was resentment, most notably toward Carewyn -- and it was that resentment toward Carewyn that Merula wore on her sleeve when she came up out of her hiding place and jingled furiously at Orion.

“NO WAY! I will NEVER apologize to that -- that dull, ugly, old, pretentious little PIRATE!”

And with that, she was off like a shot into the heavy trees.

McNully glanced at Orion with some concern, but Orion looked completely unperturbed.

“She’ll be back,” he said airily. 

Without skipping a beat, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up carefully climbed over the fake stump down onto the slide and, adjusting Carewyn’s frame in his arms so her head and legs wouldn’t hit the edges of the tunnel, slid down into the underground. 

The Lost Kids made Carewyn a bed made out of all of the softest leaves and flower petals they could find. Once Orion was certain she would be comfortable, he laid the unconscious Carewyn down upon the makeshift cot, before he hovered back across the room so as to head out.

“I must be heading out now,” he said in an oddly wry voice. “I’ll be back tonight, once your ‘mother’ has put you to bed.”

And so he headed out, so as to search for the other two “Lost Children” he’d collected on his way back to Neverland.

For yes, while Orion had been trying to distract Hook and the pirates away from Bill, Charlie, and Carewyn, he’d also effectively lost sight of the two Weasley boys, who were -- at that very moment -- in the midst of an adventure all their own. 

Out Of Time ~ 106

MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 3,350ish

Summary: Y/N gets a call. (Yep, that’s it.)

Summer came and went. Tony and Y/N spent every second that they could together. And when they weren’t together it was because Pepper had forced Tony into meetings and Y/N was at the new facility training.

Talks of having children never came up again, but that’s also because Y/N was doing everything in her power to avoid it.

Before they knew it, it was October. Y/N and Tony were currently laying in bed after another round of sex. They were both shocked when FRIDAY interrupted their peace with an announcement.

“Excuse me, Boss,” the AI started, “but someone’s trying to reach you using the private line.”

“The private line?” Tony repeated.

“Only one person uses the private line,” Y/N stated. “After six months, now is when he decides to call? Not impressed.”

“Ignore it, FRIDAY.”

“I have tried,” FRIDAY said. “But it had been ringing off the hook for the past hour.” 

Y/N groaned, burying her face into Tony’s neck. “Just answer it,” she said quietly.

“Y/N? You there?” Coulson’s voice filled the room.

“She’s here,” Tony replied. “Have you decided to finally call and apologize?”

“I have bigger issues right now.”

“Really, Phil?” Y/N questioned. “Like what?”

“Simmons is missing.”

~~~

Coulson went on to explain that Simmons disappeared about 6 months ago, after looking into the rock, the monolith, that was on Gonzalez’ ship. Fitz had been trying his best to find a way to reach her, but nothing. Coulson decided that he needed Y/N’s help on this one, to at least bring Fitz back to reality. That Simmons may never be coming back.

Y/N and Tony quickly dressed. Tony ordered for all the information to be sent to him so that he could also work on it. He gave her a kiss goodbye before she went through a portal to Coulson’s office in the base. 

There Phil also explained what had and was happening the Inhumans. Jiaying had killed Gonzalez, trying to start a war. Cal was forced to kill Jiaying in front of Skye, who was now going by Daisy. The crystals had fallen into the ocean and were absorbed by the fish. Causing people to start unlocking there Inhuman DNA without the risk of others dying.

“I do want to apologize,” Coulson finished off his briefing. “You didn’t deserve any of how you were treated. I’m so sorry.”

“Where is everyone?” Y/N asked.

“Skye—Daisy,  I mean, Mack, and Hunter are on an extraction mission right now. An Inhuman after terrigensis.”

“Do they know you’re bringing me in?”

“Not yet. Thought it might be a welcome surprise for them.” Coulson checked his watch. “I’m actually running late to meet them. You wanna come with me or stay here?” Coulson began leaving his office.

“You said you were just bringing me in to help Fitz.”

“Yeah, well, I have a new plane. You wanna see it?”

~~~

Y/N was in awe off the new plane, Zephyr One. It was definitely more suited to the team’s needs than the Bus was. Coulson told Y/N to stay hidden while he went to talk to Daisy. She couldn’t help but follow them.

“How’s he doing?” Coulson asked, speaking of the man in the containment module.

“Okay,” Daisy answered. “For now.” 

“Third incident already this month, but at least we were able to get our hands on this one.”

“The rate of new cases is increasing.”

“We knew it would after the initial reports.”

“A new inhuman could emerge anywhere, without having any idea what’s happened.”

“Only in the continental US so far. Plus, this new aircraft can stay in the air much longer than the old plane. Days, really, so rapid response anywhere is—“

“You love your new toy, don’t you?”

“I ver much love my new toy. But even with the mind-boggling range of this puppy—“

“Inhumans are still disappearing.”

“This is the first one in a while we’ve been able to secure.”

“Well, it’s no mystery who’s taking them. That black-ops group was there before us.”

“I know.”

“Again. Whoever they are. How many do you think they’ve taken?”

“We know of at least five sightings. Five individuals who vanished before we could get to them. But the real mystery is, who’s running that group?” Coulson and Daisy walked over to the monitors.

“Not if you did your part. How did it feel to join the paparazzi, Phil?”

“I think I might have missed my calling. I have every body, every piece of software, tasked with identifying that woman.” He pointed to the woman on the monitor. “So we can figure out where she’s taking inhuman and what exactly she plans to do with them.”

“Sounds like you need me for more than just hutting down Simmons and calming Fitz then,” Y/N stated as she walked up behind them.

“Y/N?” Daisy gasped with surprise. “How— why—“ She ran up to hug her. “I’ve missed you.”

Y/N welcomed the hug. “I’ve missed you, too.” She pulled back to get a look at her friend. “Well you sure have changed. Chopped your hair off and are going by a different name? Sure sounds like I missed a lot.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I called her in,” Coulson responded. “To help Fitz.”

“Anyone else know you’re here yet?”

“No,” Y/N replied. “Not yet anyway.”

~~~

Everyone was surprised to see Y/N back. But no one risked questioning it, not wanting to get on her or Coulson’s bad sides. She followed Hunter and Coulson to his office, waiting for instructions.

“They’re not HYDRA,” Hunter stated. “You know, I’ve been digging, and my street sources tell me HYDRA’s gone silent. Eerily silent.”

“Really?’ Y/N questioned.

“Yes, but—“

“Yeah, the HYDRA finances we track are static,” Coulson interrupted. “No money’s changing hands.” 

They entered his office, where Mack was waiting for them with pictures of the woman they were tracking up on the monitor.

“And by the looks of the hardware these gung-ho nutters are using,” Hunter added, “they’re well-funded.”

“So if this woman’s not HYDRA, what is she?” Coulson asked.

“Everything else,” Mack answered. “I mean, look at this.” He motioned to the monitor. “Two years CIA.”

“Is that MI6?” Hunter wondered.

“She really gets around,” Y/N muttered, reading off the monitor as well.

“Yeah,” Mack continued, “under which time, she was consulting with the CDC, apparently.”

“All under different aliases,” Coulson stated.

“Oh, I like her,” Hunter commented.

“Me too,” Y/N added with a smirk.

“Yeah, but how are you supposed to track down someone like this?” Mack asked. “We can’t look everywhere.”

“If we can trace that hardware,” Coulson said, pointing to the gun Hunter had brought in, “that could give us a place to start. Take that down to Bobbi in the lab.” Coulson moved over to an open briefcase underneath a red axe. “Have the team analyze it.”

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no,” Hunter quickly refused. “No, no, I’m— I’m…. Not going anywhere near Bobbi.”

“Really?” Y/N questioned. “Again?”

“Fine,” Coulson conceded. “Y/N and I will take it to her. Wouldn’t want you to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.” Suddenly, Coulson twisted off his left hand.

“Hold up! What is that? And when did it happen?” Y/N pointed at Coulson’s fake hand. “You lost your hand?!”

“Did I forget to mention that?”

“Uh, yeah.” 

“I know that’s sarcasm,” Hunter continued with his rambling. “And I’m choosing to accept your thoughtfulness at face value.”

“Mack, you should head downstairs,” Coulson ordered. “Assist Skye with intake.”

“Daisy,” the other three corrected.

“Daisy. Damn it. Hard for us to get used to, huh?”

“Mm… no.” / “No, just you.” / “I just found out and I seem to be doing okay.”

“Okay. So, what do we know about this Jose Gutierrez?”

“He goes by Joey,” Mack answered. “Construction foreman, motorcycle enthusiast.”

“Appears to be able to liquefy certain metals spontaneously at a distance of up to 3 meters.”

“Good thing I kept Tony home then,” Y/N commented.

“Yeah,” Mack agreed. “And understandably, that development has scared the living crap out of him.”

~~~

Mack headed down to help Skye while Y/N and Coulson made their way to the lab. As they entered, the base shook.

“New readings on the monolith?” Coulson asked Bobbi.

“Nope,” she responded. “That was Daisy firing a warning shot.” She turned to see Y/N standing next to Coulson. “Good to have you back, Y/N.”

“I’m not back,” Y/N responded. “Just visiting.”

“Anyway, there’s been no new readings, no new anything on the monolith in months. Fitz even stopped sending automated probes into that room. No one’s stepped foot in there since… Simmons was swallowed up by it.” 

Coulson was staring at the monitor, showing the fed of Daisy and Mack with Joey. “This was fish oil again?” He asked.

“What can I say? We pulled the product off shelves, but we can’t track down every bottle sold. The good news, if you want to call it that, is the deadly metallic elements sank to the bottom.” Bobbi led them to another part of the lab. “So the chemical contaminating the sea life isn’t deadly to humans just game-changing for inhumans. The bad news—“

“It’s not just in the fish oil. Where else could it have spread?”

“Other sea life. With ocean currents, it’s dispersed into the ecosystem.”

“I need to know how wide a range we’re talking.”

“Fitz and I have the team working on a computer simulation.”

“That biology degree’s finally coming in handy, huh?”

“Leaving me stuck staring at screens in here for all eternity.”

“I get it. Rehab’s a bitch. At least you’re not hoping your knee will grow back.”

They had stopped in front of a few scientists working and a glass box with a hand clutching a crystal in it.

“Is that—“ Y/N started. “Is that your hand?”

“Yep,” Coulson answered.

“Sorry,” Bobbi said. “I’m just frustrated. The simulation’s taking a while.”

“Have Fitz look into this, too.” Coulson handed her the gun from earlier. “If we can figure out where it came from—“

“We could narrow the search on the mystery girl.”

“I’m sure she’d prefer mystery woman. Oh, and by the way, where is he? Y/N’s been brought in to help him.”

“Fitz?”

“He requested yesterday to do some research at SHIELD archives, but I haven’t seen him all day.”

“All call him in. He’s chasing down on last lead on the monolith.”

“I’m guessing he’s had a lot of last leads,” Y/N said.

“Yes.”

“Call him in. Tell him I’m here. If you need to, put me on the phone.”

~~~

Daisy, Coulson, Mack, and Y/N were all in the common area, watching their new inhuman, Joey, on the monitor.

“He’s going nuts,” Daisy said. “Joey’s have a tough time. The change is hard enough physically. But emotionally, it’s a whole other thing. I tried talking him down, but I blew it in here. And Mack is not exactly coming off as a teddy bear.”

“You just told the guy I’m a teddy bear,” Mack defended.

“And then you told him the best case scenario was his head blown off.”

“Yeah.”

“I need help, and there’s one person who’s better at that than anyone.”

“Lincoln?” Coulson guessed. “You really want to go there again?” Coulson headed out of the room, the others following.

“He could help with intake. Plus, he understands the physical change. He’s a doctor, whereas we don’t even know what medical treatments to give.”

“Daisy’s got a point,” Y/N agreed.

“Last time you tried to sell him on it, he wasn’t exactly buying,” Coulson said.

“I’d like to try again,” Daisy said.

“Mack, what’s your take?” The paused in the middle of the hallway.

“I voiced my feelings about letting Lincoln roam free,” Mack responded. “I’d gladly drag him in here where he can’t hurt anyone. But if Daisy can talk him in… he might actually do some good.”

“Both of you go. Requisition a flight team and a quinjet.”

“You wanna come?” Daisy asked Y/N.

“I’ll pass on this one since I’m technically here for something else,” Y/N answered, throwing a glare Coulson’s way. “But that plan doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Now I’m wondering if this was all a ploy to get me back on the team.”

“Hey, Coulson,” Bobbi called from the lab. “Got her.” Y/N and Coulson followed Bobbi into the lab. They stopped in front of a screen with the woman pictured on it. “Weapon is a DARPA prototype. We tapped surveillance at multiple DARPA facilities, got a hit. The DC branch office. She visits every few days.” 

“A routine,” Coulson said. “Tell me there’s a window where we can get to her.”

“It’s a small one. Every night she visits, she leaves at approximately 9:00 pm, with a small security detail. They’re all three dropped at the metro station on 12th. Half an hour later, her escorts buy her a coffee on the walk to the platform. But she boards the 9:35 train alone. Sits in the middle, drinks her coffee, and answers e-mails. It’s the only time she’s alone all day.”

“You’re going in to talk to her aren’t you?” Y/N questioned. “Phil, where the hell is Fitz? And why the hell am I here?” 

“To help Fitz,” Coulson answered.

“Yeah, then where is he?” Suddenly, Y/N could feel Bobbi’s mind.

“Shit,” Bobbi thought, “Fitz is causing some real trouble. If only he would have stayed back like I told him to.”

“I don’t know where he is,” Coulson replied. “If I did, then you’d be helping him.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Y/N said. “It appears that I’m a little tired. While you are off meeting the woman, I think I’ll stay behind, rest and search for Fitz.”

Coulson was put off by the quick change in Y/N. “Okay… you do that. Let me know how it goes.” Coulson walked way and Y/N spun around to face Bobbi.

“Where is he?”

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

“Cut the crap, Bobbi. Have you forgotten that I can read minds? Where is Fitz?”

“He found a lead in Morocco,” she whispered. “I’ve been covering for him.”

“Is he safe?”

“Lost contact a few hours ago.” 

“Damn it, Fitz. Give me his number. I’m tracking him down.”

“Y/N, I think that—“

“I was literally pulled out of my bed to come here. And I was really enjoying retirement. So, you either willingly give me his number or I force it from you.”

~~~

Unfortunately, for Y/N, she had never been to Morocco. So she wasn’t able to create a teleport to get to Fitz. She was working on a tablet in the common area, when the team turned on the tv. President Mathew Ellis was on it, doing a press conference from the White House.

“Good evening,” Ellis greeted. “I’m here tonight to address growing concerns among out citizens of the threats we face that are not of this world. I don’t need to remind people of the catastrophes in New York, London, and, most recently, Sokovia. Tragedies that seem to be growing in number and scale. And the organization we had in place to protect us, SHIELD, brought airships raining down in our nation’s capital.”

“Every day, new dangers present themselves,” Ellis continued, “filling our peaceful streets with chaos. By executive order, I have created a special task force to neutralize these alien threats on our soil. The Advanced Threat Containment Unit, or ATCU, will be given full license to act with whatever authority is necessary. The laws of nature have changed. And until the laws of man change to reflect that, we must do what we feel is right.”

“I’ve never liked Ellis,” Y/N muttered. 

Her tablet finally showed Fitz’ flight. He was coming back. And so she’d wait. Coulson found her that night, waiting alone in the lab and joined her. Neither of them said anything. Suddenly, Fitz came through the doors, tearing off his suit coat as he worked on the small object in his hands. Rolling up his sleeves, Fitz turned and noticed the other two. They slowly come closer to Fitz.

“We’ve been waiting for a while,” Coulson said.

“Had to be done,” Fitz responded. “It’s my last shot.”

“What’s supposed to be in there?” Y/N asked, looking at the object on his desk.

“The answer.”

“You’ve thought you’ve had the answers before,” Coulson said. “I think you’ve considered every possible answer… except the obvious one.”

“That’s why you brought Y/N here, isn’t it?” Fitz continued to work as he questioned them. “To change my mind?”

“I’m only here to help,” Y/N stated.

“You thought Simmons was trapped inside the monolith, but every instrument scan showed the stone was solid all the way through,” Coulson explained. “After hearing about the Pym Technologies disaster, you even thought she’d been reduced to a microscopic level. But no evidence supported that. And now… 

“And now I think—I know—it’s a black hole,” Fitz said, frustrated. “It’s dark matter made solid. It can warp space-time. It— look, regardless— okay?” He picked up the object he’d been working on. “This is gonna tell us exactly what that monolith is. So…” 

Fitz slammed it down on the desk, breaking it open. Coulson and Y/N shared a worried look. Fitz took out an old, rolled up piece of paper.

“Should we scan it?” Coulson suggested. “See if the computer can decipher what the—“

“It’s Hebrew,” Fitz answered, not looking up from the paper. “It’s just one word.”

“What does it mean?” Y/N asked, stepping closer to look at it.

“Death.”

“Fitz,” Coulson carefully called, “I’m gonna make the trip to Sheffield. Jemma’s family to deserves to know that she’s MIA.”

“Ohh,” Fitz scoffed, getting emotional.

“They need to be able to move on. And so do we. You have shown so much heart, never giving up on Simmons, and I will always, always respect you for it. But look around. We need you. We need that big brain of yours and that heart here. Okay? I miss her, too. I’m having a hard time accepting it. All of it. I-I’m on my third hand. But nothing feels normal because nothing will feel normal. Y/N went into retirement, and I know she’s mad I brought her back. May took off on vacation and never came back. So I lost my right hands, too. We have got to accept it, to say goodbye. We need to say goodbye.”

“Jemma would want us to do that, Fitz,” Y/N quietly added, her voice filled with emotion. “Okay?”

“Okay.”

Coulson walked away but Y/N stayed back to watch Fitz. He was clearly struggling with this. He paused at the door on his way out of the lab before quickly going in the direction of where the monolith was being stored. Y/N rushed to follow him.

“Fitz!” She called. “What are you doing?”

He grabbed a gun off the wall and marched towards the room. Fitz tore the caution tape away and broke into the room.

“Fitz! Stop!”

Fitz shot at the container, successfully breaking through the lock and straps.

“Fitz!” Y/N rushed up to him, standing in front of him. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing. But it’s not smart. Just think about it for a second!”

Fitz shoved her aside, causing her to fall to the ground, and quickly opened the door to the monolith. He stepped inside it.

“Do something,” he ordered the rock.

Y/N couldn’t do anything but watch. She knew and completely understood how bad he was hurting. It was the same when Bucky fell.

“Do something!” He shouted, breathing heavily. “Do something!” He screamed. “Do something!”

next chapter >

For those who didn’t know, on the series masterlist there is a section that contains the one shots and answered asks for the series. One shot requests and questions are always welcome for this series.

NOTES: from now on the taglist when be added by a reblog. I will reblog it using my second account, @just-dreaming-marvel-2​. Just so that my main page doesn’t get too cluttered.

If you want to be added to the tag list, please dm me or send in an ask.

When Stars Ignite - Chapter 21

HPHM Rockstar AU

A/N: That's a wrap on Part 2 everybody! It's going so fast, wow. We will take a very short break with publishing while we put Part 3 through the final edit stage, but don't worry, it won't be that long as we're actually almost done writing the whole (!!) fic. Very grateful you're on board with us! The lovely KC (in mention) belongs to @kc-and-oc

General Warning: This whole fic has a general warning of being NSFW / 18+. We will give specific warnings for every chapter in itself, but several adult themes will be more or less present in every chapter, may it be explicitly or in mention. These include sexual topics, drug abuse, (ab)use of alcohol, smoking and a whole lot of cursing.

Specific Warning: (more or less) graphic depiction of explicit NSFW content - do NOT read if under the age of 18!

~~~

Find the masterpost here, the previous chapter here and the next one here. The songs featured before every chapter can be found on this pretty badass playlist here.

~~~

This work is a collaboration with @the-al-chemist

Taglist: @slytherindisaster @night-rhea @carewyncromwell @thatravenpuffwitch

You're second hand smoke, second hand smoke

I breathe you in, but honey, I don't know

What you're doing to me, mon chéri

But the truth catches up with us eventually

~ Fall Out Boy - Irresistible ~

When she woke the next morning, it took Lizzie some time to come to grips with where she was. She reluctantly opened her eyes and immediately regretted it; the room started spinning around her and she groaned from the white hot pain in her head.

But her head wasn’t the only thing that hurt; she felt shattered to the bone from the strain of doubling on shows the day before, and she could tell her muscles would be aching like hell before long.

With a heavy sigh she turned her head and frowned at the sight of a familiar shock of black hair next to her. Her frown deepened as she tried and failed to recall last night’s memories.

The last thing she remembered was her sweet-talking the barkeeper into selling them one of the many bottles of whiskeys on display behind the bar where she and Orion had crashed. They had shared it on their way home; maybe the combination of alcohol, complete exhaustion and fresh air hadn’t been the best one after all.

Lizzie rolled onto her stomach and brushed her tangled hair out of her face. She cursed under her breath as the dizziness hit her again; she placed one hand against the headboard of the bed and steadied herself until she didn’t feel like she was in a boat on a rough sea anymore.

The air of the room was cold against her bare skin, making her pull the duvet up around her. She bit her lip with a hint of bad conscience as she watched Orion’s peacefully sleeping face; she had no recollection of last night, neither of hooking up with him or joining him in his room in the first place.

With the warmth of her body suddenly gone from his arms, Orion seemed to be pulled from his dreams as well. He sighed sleepily before opening his eyes. Raking his fingers through his black hair, a smile spread on his face.

“Good morning,” he muttered drowsily, his voice still hoarse from sleep. “How long have you been awake?”

“Just a few minutes.”

Lizzie propped herself up on her elbows and reached for her phone to check the time. It was a lot later than she would have thought; she should have already been in her own room for ages by now.

“Bloody hell, how much did we drink last night?” she muttered as she dropped the phone again and snuggled back into the pillows.

Orion laughed softly. “Me? Not so much. You? Well…” he chuckled, “how much do you remember?”

Lizzie felt the heat rising to her face. “Not that much, to be honest,” she admitted sheepishly.

Orion placed a hand on his chest and feigned a hurt expression. “And there was me thinking last night was special.”

Still red in the face, she swatted him playfully. “You didn’t make that much of an impression if I don’t even remember it.”

He caught her wrist and held it with no effort at all. “Don’t worry, I’m just kidding; nothing to make an impression of. You actually fell asleep on me.”

Mortified at his words, Lizzie buried her face against his chest. “I am so sorry,” she said, the vibrations of her words against his ribcage making Orion laugh.

“Don’t worry, it’s alright; we were both really drunk and really tired.”

She raised his eyes to meet his. “No, it’s not alright.”

Her expression suddenly shifted as her eyes began to sparkle mischievously. She put her hand on his chest, her fingers tiptoeing lightly across his skin.

“That was incredibly impolite of me,” she purred into his ear, making Orion hold his breath. “Let me make it up to you.”

He smirked at her, his thumb running over her lower lip. “We do have some things left unfinished.”

Her eyes flashing, she gave him a short yet passionate kiss before she slowly started moving downwards, her lips and tongue drawing patterns on his skin that were feeling like a trail of fire.

Orion’s smirk vanished from his face as she reached her destination and wrapped her lips around him. His breath hitching, his head dropped back into the pillows and he had to stifle a low moan. When his breathing became more and more ragged, he gently signalled her to stop.

Lizzie looked up at him questioningly, the corners of her mouth twitching into a smirk as she saw the glazed expression in his eyes.

“You alright?” she asked innocently.

She made a disappointed face when he moved out from under her. That quickly changed, however, when he reached out and pulled her to him for a kiss that left both of them breathless.

“That’s a two-way street we’re going down here,” he mumbled between kisses; her hands roaming his body made it hard for him to concentrate on forming a clear sentence.

“You’re not the one who has to make amends,” Lizzie hummed against his mouth.

The feeling of her skin against his was all Orion could think about. His hands ran down her ribcage, over her tattoo and waistline until they came to rest on her hips.

“Then let me decide how I want you to do that.”

The grip on her hips tightening, he pulled her onto his lap and Lizzie moved along on instinct. When she lowered herself on top of him, Orion leaned his head back against the headboard, trying to breathe deeply to not get overwhelmed by the feeling of her.

He waited until she was ready, taking in the sight of her. Her messy hair was spilling over one of her shoulders and he saw the muscles in her toned arms work as she held onto him for support. They made eye contact, and the look in her blue eyes was intense, the smile on her face making them shine. It wasn’t the usual flirty smirk he knew from her, but a lot softer; if Orion hadn’t known any better, he’d called it almost shy.

Her hand went to his face, her thumb running over his unshaved cheek before she leaned in and kissed him.

“Ready?” she whispered, before she started moving on top of him. They immediately found their common rhythm, being well attuned to each other after all these months.

Time seemed to slow down as they moved against each other, everything else fading into the background. All Orion could concentrate on was their synchronised movements, his head spinning from the scent of her and their mingled breaths as Lizzie kissed him again and again.

All his senses were imbued with her as he held her close. It wasn’t long before Orion felt her tensing under his hands. He relished the feeling of her head against his collarbone and her fingers dipping into his shoulders as she rode out her high. Still moving, he felt her lips on the sensitive spot where his shoulder met his neck; when her teeth nipped the soft skin, the momentary flash of sweet pain was enough to send him over the edge as well. Hanging on to the feeling of his release, he only hugged her closer.

Their movements slowly came to a halt as their breathing calmed. Orion kissed the top of her head as Lizzie climbed off him. She smiled and leaned against him, her head nestled into the crook of his neck as his arms went around her.

They sat like this for some time, neither one of them speaking, just enjoying the closeness they were sharing. Orion was on the point of dozing off, his fingers drawing lazy circles on Lizzie’s arm, when a sharp knock on the door brought him violently back to the here and now.

“Oi, heads up, lovebirds,” Skye could be heard a moment later. “Dad’s on the way, so you might want to get dressed and get Jameson back to her own room, I’d say.”

With a curse, Lizzie jumped out of the bed, gathering up her clothes that still lay strewn all over the floor. She was only half dressed when another knock sounded on the door. This time, it was Ethan’s voice on the other side.

“Orion, are you up already?”

Lizzie and Orion shared a panicked look. The only way out was blocked by Ethan and hiding in the bathroom was not an option, in case he would want to come in.

Ethan knocked again and Orion looked around the room for a resolution to their problem. When his gaze fell onto the small wardrobe, Lizzie crossed her arms in front of her chest, mouthing a silent “No way”.

***

Ethan was waiting in the doorway with raised eyebrows when Orion finally opened the door. Everybody knew he was an early riser, so Ethan had probably expected him to be awake. Nonetheless, Orion tried putting on his best sleepy face.

“Sorry, did I wake you up?” Ethan said, before a knowing grin spread on his face. He shifted slightly, trying to peek around Orion into the messy room behind him.

“Am I coming at a bad time?” he grinned.

Orion leaned against the doorframe, effectively blocking his view. “Not at all.”

He knew there was nothing compromising Ethan would be able to see from where he was standing, but his tousled hair, lack of shirt and the red mark on his collarbone were telling a story of their own. Ethan had been part of the business for far too long to not come to his own conclusions.

“No shame in taking a groupie to your room after a show, mate,” he laughed jovially, clapping Orion on the shoulder. “We all did it one time or another.”

Orion’s face remained stone cold. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Still laughing, the former rockstar shook his head. “If you say so.”

His face grew more serious as he continued, “Just make sure not to stir up any hopes in the poor girl. That never ends well. Getting too involved can get messy, believe an old stager.”

“If you say so,” Orion echoed his words, making it very clear that it was time for Ethan to leave.

Taking the hint, Ethan stepped back from the door. “You don’t happen to know where Lizzie is, do you? No one answered when I knocked on her door.”

“I’ve literally just woken up,” Orion replied, his voice not betraying his rapidly beating heart. “Maybe she’s on a run with Skye?”

“No, I just saw Skye going downstairs with Erika.”

Orion shrugged. “Then I don’t know. Maybe just text her?”

“Yeah, I’ll do that,” Ethan mused, “anyway, I just wanted to let you know that the band meeting is in half an hour down in the breakfast room. See you then.”

He turned on his heel and marched away, so he didn’t see the relief flickering across Orion’s face as he shut the door again.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t hide his smug grin when he opened the door of his wardrobe. He found Lizzie sitting on the board above the shoe rag, folded together as tightly as she could manage. She stared at him glumly.

“That’s not what I imagined hiding a groupie in my room would be like, but I guess you’ll have to make do,” he laughed as he helped her climb out; all the while, she was muttering curses under her breath.

“You call me a groupie one more time and I swear, you’ll rue the day,” Lizzie grumbled and poked her index finger into his chest, making him grin all the wider. She had shrugged into one of his shirts to cover herself up; it almost reached down to the middle of her thighs, the curves of her breasts barely visible through the open front she was holding together with her hands.

“Stop staring,” she rolled her eyes at him. “You heard Ethan, don’t get too involved with the groupies,” she huffed, but Orion heard the laughter in her voice.

Lizzie shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you shoved me into a cupboard, seriously. I need a moment to cope.”

Orion took her hand and pulled her towards him; she just looked irresistible in his shirt and not much else. “How about I apologise properly?”

With a laugh, Lizzie broke free of him. “Greedy today, aren’t we?”

Ignoring his question, she flashed him a crooked smile as she walked past him into the direction of the bathroom, her hips swaying a lot more than they needed to. She paused at the door and looked over her shoulder. “That shower is awfully large for one person alone, don’t you think?”

She shrugged out of his shirt and casually let it drop to the floor; she didn’t even bother closing the bathroom door behind her.

Orion stared after her for a moment before running his fingers through his hair, smiling to himself.

One day, that woman would be the death of him.

***

Their little shower detour had taken longer than expected and all the others were already assembled and waiting for them in the breakfast room. Lizzie hated having to make them wait even longer after Orion had joined them before her. She didn’t exactly have regrets with how her morning had gone so far, but she knew neither of their friends would be particularly amused that she was so late.

She put on her best apologetic smile as she stepped into the room. As expected, she was greeted by a very pissed looking Ethan, who wanted to know where the hell she’d been.

“Out running,” she mumbled, “got lost on the way, sorry.”

Rolling his eyes, Ethan continued elaborating their program for the day. They would be leaving Birmingham as soon as everything was packed up and would move on to their next location. They were set for Liverpool next, before moving on to Manchester.

Lizzie had been looking forward to returning to Manchester ever since their U.K. tour had begun; it was always nice coming back to the place where everything had started.

She was only listening to Ethan’s roundup of the last few days with half an ear. Although she felt a lot more awake than before, her head had started pounding again and she didn’t even have her first cup of coffee yet. She eyed the cup in KC’s hand wistfully, the smirk of her red-headed friend as she brought it to her lips not lost on her.

As soon as Ethan was done, Lizzie got up and made a beeline for the gleaming coffee machine on the buffet table in the middle of the room. She was just waiting for her latte to run through, when Andre joined her.

He wasn’t saying anything at first as he helped himself to a chai latte, but the disapproval seeping from him as he looked her up and down was palpable.

“You could wear anything and look fabulous in it, sweetheart,” he muttered under his breath, “but do you always have to nick his shirts? They’re so plain.” Coming out of his mouth, it sounded like an insult.

Lizzie almost choked on her coffee at his words. She was still wearing the casual button-up shirt she had found in Orion’s wardrobe but wore it open, the ends tied together at her waist to make it look a little more inconspicuous; she hadn’t had the time to get to her own room and get changed.

Pretending she had burnt her mouth, Lizzie grimaced and blew against her cup. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Andre looked at her dismissively. “Don’t you, now? Let me tell you, darling, I would know any piece of your wardrobe under a thousand. I tend to pick them out for you, remember?”

He turned to her and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but his face was serious. “Don’t get all spooked, I don’t care what you guys are doing. You know me, I’m for love all around, whatever kind, it’s a beautiful thing,” he made a fluttery movement with his hands in the way that was so typically Andre, “but we all know how it is in this band.”

The smile that had appeared on his face vanished again and he looked at Lizzie intensely. “Just take it as a piece of advice from an old friend. Be a little more careful. So far, you’ve been lucky, but we wouldn’t want the wrong people to find you out.”

Alex Final Wars 2: Dark Alex, Chapter 37 - Priority Objective

"Our intelligence from ZIA assets indicates the coastal fortress is heavily guarded," Jack said. He pointed to a projected picture of massive concrete Chinese fortifications on a steep cliffside. There was also a map of the Yellow Sea and Bohai sea between China and Korea. "It's located on the Shandong Peninsula in eastern China, near Korea. You can see here, there's a lot of guns and barriers in place. Now moving on to the next slide... Haida, next slide, please."

"Zzz.... huh? Oh, sorry!" The hyena said, sitting up in his chair at a table in the briefing room. He pressed a key on the laptop in front of him. The slide on the projector advanced towards a picture of Chinese troopers clad in unique faded light green / gray camouflage uniforms, along with face paint.

"As you can see, the fortress is partly guarded by an elite detachment of Chinese oriental swords. Special forces soldiers, highly trained and well equipped. There's also rumors of an elite Chinese operative on sight."

"Well, we've fought well-equipped forces before and came out on top!" Laval said, sparking a few chuckles from the assembled heroes. "Elite soldiers, they're no match for us!"

"Don't get cocky, Laval. You got a blood lust or something." Toothdee said before Jack continued.

"We will be assaulting the fortress with US navy elements. The priority objective is to break through the outer defenses, get inside the fortress, and disable its gun emplacements. This will not only neuter the fortress but also protect our ships in the bay. Those guns are our priority objectives. Alex, I understand you managed to secure some reinforcements for us that could help?"

"That's correct." The captain said, standing up. "The US's ally of Canada has generously donated 2 squadrons of CF-18 Hornet fighters to the operation. Along with a team of JTF-2 commandos."

"Alright, that should be of great help. After our strike, we will fall back to a helicopter extraction outside the fortress, leaving the structure broken. This is a large attack to knock out a key Chinese facility before falling back. However, also have a secondary objective."

Alex sat back down while Jack once again woke up Haida to advance to the next slide.

"As you can see here..." the ZIA agent said, highlighting a picture of what appeared to be files, charts, diagrams, and maps labeled as top secret. "There are vital Chinese war plans on-site that would be of great use to the ZIA and the US military. However, we must move quickly. No doubt Chinese personnel will try to destroy the plans."

Captain Boehm once again took over speaking.

"Kion, Nick, and Judy, you are with me. Jasiri, Toothdee, Laval, Eris, JayJay, you'll be providing support to US forces. Haida, Retsuko, Jack, and Skye will be providing overwatch and comms support. Fabienne, I presume you will be filming from a relatively safe distance?"

"That's correct." The snow leopard responded. "Also, would some of you guys mind doing an interview with me about the war effort at some point?"

"Alright, if anyone here is interested, set up a time to meet with Fabienne. Then, back to the mission, please refer to the printed packets if you have any questions."

There were a few shuffling noises as some of the heroes in the room looked through the paper packets they had received in the briefing room. Each bundle of papers contained pictures of the fortress, along with related intelligence and tactics.

"In the event, resistance is too strong, the marines have assured me they have elite units on standby that we can call in if such a situation arises. Including flame troopers and close combat units. They will assist if we can't punch through defenses. This is a vital strike on Chinese soil, the coast of China itself. Let's make sure we don't disappoint."

000

"You think the typhoon will be safe?" Judy asked.

"I mean, it's not exactly at the center of the battle," Kion said. "It's in the back providing support."

"Yeah, there's plenty of US forces between it and the Chinese," Alex said.

"But there is nothing between the US and the Chinese right now," Nick said, as the amphibious APC they were in shook when an artillery shell landed in the water nearby.

"This is a cut above normal ZPD operations."

"Yep, this is more action than most officers normally see." Judy chimed in.

"Well, sometimes protecting Zootopia means going beyond the city."

"Let me just say it's an honor to be your ZPD liaison."

"You've taught Toothdee and I a lot about working in urban environments, handling prisoners, investigation. The honor is all ours."

The APC shook again as it rolled up on a beach near the Chinese fortress.

"Alright, let's do this!" Kion said as Captain Boehm opened the back door to the APC and the warriors inside exited.

The sky was peppered by a few clouds, and more amphibious vehicles rolled onto the beach, along with hovercraft that deployed tanks. Offshore, US warships battled it out with Chinese warships and land-based gun positions. The sounds of gunfire and artillery were a constant ambiance. Chinese forces were dug behind defensive barricades on the beach, with US APCs deploying troops and providing cover.

The team of mammals took cover behind one of the APCs and engaged the dug-in enemy soldiers.

"Alex, Canadian special forces are in support!" Retsuko said, monitoring friendly enemy positions.

Another APC opened up, and troopers with gray/light blue uniforms & a Canadian flag patch on their uniforms piled out and engaged Chinese forces.

However, the enemy troops were still engaging with mounted machine guns.

"Eris could use a bit of support here!" The captain requested.

"On it!" The eagle responded, strafing the Chinese positions with machine-gun fire from her jet, allowing Heroes and their allies to advance.

Kion cut down some PLA troops with his sword, while the lion's friends used their firearms or bow.

Heroes and their Canadian allies entered a bunker on the beach, leading into the fortress. They were met with another squad of Chinese troops moving to defend their position. However, this squad was immediately gunned down with a hail of bullets from the attacking forces.

"Those cannons should be around here somewhere...." Nick said as the team advanced further into the fortress.

"Away team, those guns are hitting our ships hard," Skye said through the radio. "Judging from your insertion point and the emplacement locations, you should head northeast."

"Affirmative." The captain responded.

Heroes and the special forces checked corridors and kept their weapons leveled as they proceeded through the Chinese structure. Sometimes the Canadians tossed an MTN-55 motion sensor, which would detect any PLA forces in the area.

"No hostiles." One of the Canadians said before the team advanced.

Eventually, just as Nick predicted, they came upon the room where the batteries were located, embedded in the side of the fortress. The floors, ceiling, and three walls of the elongated room were made of metal and concrete. The fourth wall was nonexistent. Instead, the fortress exterior was open to the outside. This allowed the artillery guns in the room a pristine view of the sea and warships outside. Only support pillars and safety railings blocked the line of sight for the canons attached to the floor a few feet away from the open wall.

The gun crews were unprepared for enemies forces to appear, allowing the US and CA troops to quickly take down most of the enemy forces.

Kion instantly sliced through a bear that was carrying an ammo crate to one of the cannons.

Nick fired an arrow that was tipped with flammable material, burning a pair of red panda soldiers. Judy, Alex, and the Canadians opened fire with a hail of lead, putting down the gunners and support personnel before they could react.

"Clear!" One of the Canadians yelled, and the team moved upon the guns. Nick fired an arrow tipped with explosives at one of the canons, rendering it inoperable. Alex detonated an ammunition cache near one of the guns. At the same time, the Canadians placed a thermite grenade in the breach of the third canon. By the time they were done, all 3 artillery pieces were down.

Heroes stacked up on the door to the next room and the next group of artillery guns.  

"They might have heard us. Throw a flash grenade." Judy noted, prompting one of the Canadians to toss a flashbang into the next room.

Friendly forces breached the room. Just as expected, the Chinese troops were prepared. Defensive positions taken, weapons aimed at the door, even wild unevolved attack dogs at the ready. But the Flashbang had disoriented everyone, allowing Heroes to sweep in and take out almost the entire Chinese force.

Kion deflected some incoming fire with his sword before charging forward and cutting down a pair of PLA soldiers. Captain Boehm used expert marksmanship to dispatch 2 enemy troopers and 1 attack dog with well-placed headshots. Meanwhile, Judy and the Canadians took down more enemy forces with a hail of gunfire.

Another force of Chinese troopers burst into the room. But their uniforms were faded green in color, rather than the standard dark grey of Chinese uniforms. Some soldiers also had facepaint and headbands on, while everyone carried a weapon that boasted more attachments than average.

"Oriental swords!" Captain Boehm yelled, engaging the incoming special forces troopers, who tossed grenades at the US troops.

Friendly soldiers were instantly fired upon when coming out of cover, making it hard to engage the enemy troopers.

"Ok, these guys are on another level," Nick said.

"They're elite special forces, Nick. What did you think?" The captain said, returning fire.

Kion, filled with confidence and possibly arrogance, charged at one of the enemy troopers with his blade. But the human soldier managed to parry the attack and get into a weapon lock with the young hero.

Kion didn't expect this much resistance, but with a head butt, he stunned the Solider and then ran his blade through her.

Meanwhile, the other heroes and their allies were striking back at the oriental swords. Then, Captain Boehm tossed a grenade that forced the enemies out of cover behind some supply crates, allowing friendly troops to gun them down.

"Clear!"

However, before Heroes could move to disable the guns, a group of Chinese rushers troopers armed with shotguns burst into the room, weapons ready. The US and CA troops prepared themselves, but suddenly a stray shell entered the room via the opening on one wall. It impacted near the incoming shotgunners, reducing them to nothing before they could attack.

"Well, that takes care of that," Nick said, looking at what was left of the rushers. "Yuck."

"Hey uh guys, I just got a report about a ship requesting backup from some enemy boats and other ships around it," Haida said via the radio.

"We're on it." Captain Boehm said. "Kion, you load, Nick, you fire, I'll aim. Judy, you keep watch with some of the commandos. The rest of you, man, those other guns!"

"Sir, yes sir!" The Canadian commandos said before some took up positions guarding the room entrances. At the same time, the remaining troopers operated some of the artillery guns.

The captain jumped on one of the canons and looked through the sights out onto the sea. CN and US forces battled it out in the rough seas in front of the fortress.

Warships engaged each other with massive cannons. Small escort vessels darted and weaved around the larger ships like small creatures. Airplanes engaged other aircraft and boats alike as they blazed through the sky.

"Uh... I'm not exactly sure how I'm supposed to work this thing..." Nick said, looking over the metal machine.

"Just pull that cord there when I tell you too," Alex said, pointing to the object in question.

"This one?"

"Yeah, pull it when I say 'fire.'"

Kion picked up a shell from a nearby ammo crate and loaded it into the breach before closing it. Meanwhile, the captain sighted a US destroyer set upon by a few smaller escort craft and targeted one of the smaller vessels.

"FIRE!"

Nick pulled the cord, but nothing happened.

"You have to pull it harder!" Kion noted.

The fox obliged, and the gun fired with a deafening blast, knocking Nick off his feet.

"WHOA! Ok, that was something!" Nick said, getting back up.

Captain Boehm watched the shot fly through the air and impact the escort vessel. The small boat exploded in a fireball and shower of debris.

"Direct hit! Get back in position, Nick! We've got a battle to win here!" The captain ordered.

"Well, you don't have to be so rude about it...." Nick teased, taking the firing cord in his paws again as Kion loaded another shell.

The captain targeted another Chinese escort vessel, and it was reduced to rubble by the subsequent shot.

The captain then turned his attention to a small enemy warship and bombarded it with multiple shells. The naval vessel shrugged off the first shot, but it started to show more damage with subsequent strikes. Cracks and indents showed on the vessel's surface, and fire belched from damaged areas. Finally, crewmammals jumped overboard into the sea with life jackets.

"PLAN vessel eliminated. Haida, the destroyer is safe." The captain said into his radio, getting off the artillery piece.

"You know, this reminds me." Kion said, "I've never seen a mouse-sized artillery gun. It must just be a standard-sized gun, right?"

"I've never seen one either. Be ready on the guns in case another ship needs support. Jack, do you read me?"

"Affirmative, go ahead."

"Chinese gun crews are down. Are there any US ships in the bay that require support?"

"That aircraft carrier is taking a bit more of a pounding than it should, but I'm directing friendly forces to assist it. You're clear to go ahead with your secondary objective."

"Roger that. Heroes, Commandos, destroy those guns, and let's move out!"

000

"Come on! Come on! Push up!" Toothdee yelled.

The US troops she was with followed her command and charged towards CN defensive positions on a grassy outcropping near the fortress.

Just like the beach on the other side of the fortress, PLA troops were dug in with machine guns, guarding a vital supply stash on this side of the citadel.

"Toothdee, I'm here!" JayJay yelled, and the Heroes commander turned to see JayJay approaching her. She was wearing a muted gray and green dress, along with her fur being dyed a very muted shade of blue to reduce its visual impact.

"We need to get you some better gear," Toothdee said, looking over the wolf's not precisely regulation-compliant outfit.

"What? It's camouflaged... I have a bulletproof vest..." JayJay said, tugging on her vest to show it was there "...and Alex always says he likes fashion as well as function."

"Well, he doesn't exactly know what he's talking about in that regard."

"What, you guys wear gold armor half the time. Although now I see that you've put gray camouflage paint over it."

Toothdee looked down at her own chest and shoulder armor. Usually, it was gold in color, but now that color was extremely muted and covered with a gray camouflage pattern painted on.

"That gold color is by design," Toothdee said. "The gold is more recognizable, meaning enemies will fire upon the gold area, as opposed to other less vibrant parts of the body. But that gold section is where the armor is strongest. It's like saying 'shoot me here where my armor is thickest' "

"Oooohhhh..... well, like I said, fashion and function."

"Enough chit-chat. We have to assault this side of the fortress and destroy enemy supplies!"

The pair of mammals moved ahead to where enemy soldiers were engaging US forces. A wolf soldier was struck down by shots from PLA troopers in cover.

"JayJay! Keep them bottled up!" Toothdee yelled, prompting her companion to open fire on the enemy positions, giving Toothdee time to pull the wounded trooper to cover.

A medic checked out the injured wolf while the pair of Heroes advanced on enemy positions. They gunned down any hostile trooper that attempted to return fire.

US troops advanced with them, but the pair of Heroes were leading the charge. As a result, all the PLA soldiers were killed, and the attacking mammals went further through enemy lines. Nevertheless, enemy machine gunners and snipers continued to engage, putting out a hail of bullets.

"Skye, we need some artillery support. Can you get a warship to assist? Sending enemy coordinates."

"I'm on it! One second."

There was a slight delay. The American troops continuing to take cover and return fire at the enemy.

"Get down, strike incoming."

JayJay and Toothdee took cover as shells rained down from above, obliterating the hostile Chinese troops. Dirt and debris flew into the air as PLA troops screamed before being torn to shreds.

The barrage ceased, and Heroes advanced with their US marines, gunning down a few Chinese soldiers who had survived the bombardment and were left disoriented.

"Secure the area! Plant charges on those supplies!" Toothdee yelled, the force moving up to a flattened dirt area that contained a large stockpile of crates and drums underneath camouflage netting.

However, People's Liberation Army reinforcements arrived, attacking prepared positions behind the fortress, located far from the main defensive line.

The large group of enemy troops charged towards the US forces with bayonets. Screaming battle cries, striking with extreme fanaticism and ferocity.

Many American troops were impaled by the furious blades, even as they opened fire on the attacking mammals, gunning down dozens of the attackers.

A Chinese trooper charged towards Toothdee with a bayonet, but she managed to parry and strike the soldier with the butt of her own rifle.

JayJay simply used her expert agility to doge two incoming mammals and land hard melee strikes that knocked them out.

The PLA troops lay dead, their desperate last assault blunted.

"See!" JayJay said, "my outfit didn't hinder me at all, Toothdee!"

"Ugh.." Toothdee said, rolling her eyes. "Troopers! Ready your demolition charges!"

000

"Is the planning room this way?" Kion asked, slicing through a PLA trooper with his sword.

"According to Jack's ZIA asset, yes," Alex said, plunging his blade into another trooper.

The pair charged forward with their sword, cutting down Chinese troopers in close quarters and deflecting incoming bullets as they cleared the way for their team and advanced through the fortress.

"Shotgunners!" Kion yelled.

The pair of swordsmen ducked, allowing the Canadian soldiers and ZPD members to fire over their heads and down the hostile troopers. Shotguns were nigh impossible to deflect against.

"Away team, based on footage from your body cams, you're nearing the HQ room," Jack said through the radio. "Next door on the left."

"Affirmative Jack," captain Boehm said, "Heroes, JTF-2, stack up on that door."

The allied forces took up ready positions on the door before Kion kicked it open, and they charged into the war room.

Chinese commanding officers and personnel were busy going over maps on a central table and computer screens displaying tactical information. The officers in the room drew pistols and attempted to fire back at the incoming Heroes but were quickly downed.

Kion parried and cut down an oriental sword on guard near the door before turning his attention to another advancing trooper with an assault rifle.

Nick fired a precise trio of arrow shots, taking down 3 of the officers in the room who were trying to abscond with the items on the war table.

Captain Boehm sliced through an oriental sword on guard before advancing on a Chinese commanding officer. He knocked away her pistol and slammed her face into a computer monitor on a desk.

But then the captain noticed something on another computer monitor on a desk. A human with a sword, cutting through what appeared to be US soldiers holding a position outside the fortress. It only took a few seconds to realize that it was his counterpart.

Anger built inside the captain, seeing the last villain they had to defeat, the being that shared his name and face and was wreaking so much destruction. Nothing would stop him from putting an end to his counterpart's rampage.

While Alex was distracted, an enemy soldier charged at him, but Judy performed a dropkick, knocking the attacker out.

"Clear! Secure those plans!" One of the commandos said before another commando moved over to the war table and started to grab all the maps and documents on it, stuffing them into a secure, watertight, and armored case.

"Alex? What is it?" Judy asked.

The captain gestured to the computer screen and slid a chair over to Judy. The rabbit hopped up on the chair and took a look at the screen.

"Oh... I see now." The bunny said, her ears drooping.

"We have to go after my counterpart. He's the last dark version of us that's still out there."

"Yes!" Kion said, agreeing with his friend. "Let's go get him and finish those dark heroes off once and for all!"

The lion banged his knuckles together.

"What? Kion, Alex, we're here for the war maps and papers. Not to chase down your counterpart."

"Come on, Judy, Alex's counterpart is the last villain we need to defeat! So we have to go get him! He's a vital target!"

"I'm with carrots," Nick said, "knowledge is power. Let's complete our assignment and then go find tall, dark, and evil another day."

"Then let's split up." Alex said, "Kion and I will give chase. You two secure the plans."

"I wouldn't recommend that, sir." One of the Canadians said, "This is a dangerous Chinese facility swarming with hostiles. Splitting up could be disastrous, and there's no guarantee you would be able to extract."

"Look, Alex...." Judy said. "You are our leader, Nick, and I will gladly follow you, but our mission was to get those documents. We have them. Let's make sure we get them somewhere safe."

"As a leader, I can't ignore the sensibilities of those I lead. I'm not gonna force you to follow me."

"Well, then it looks like we're tied," Nick said.

The captain turned to the commandos.

"You guys are the tie-breaking votes."

There was a few moments of discussion between the commandos.

"Our mission is to secure the war plans, sir. We side with the rabbit." The Canadian leader said.

"Alright, we're outvoted, Kion. Reload and prepare to move to the extraction point."

Nick and Judy took up point this time, starting to lead the group back outside the fortress. Alex and Kion serving as rear guards.

The lion turned off his body camera and radio microphone and gestured for captain Boehm to do the same, which he did.

"If you ask me, I say we should be going after your counterpart right now. I mean, who's more of a threat than that!"

"I'm with you." The captain said, "Out of respect for Nick and Judy, we'll get the intelligence out of here. But if I had my way, we would be pursuing my counterpart right now."