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colormeyondublue · 3 years

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Chapter 4: First Date

Chapter 3 Here - Chapter 5 Here

The next morning came and you went about your business as usual, making sure everything was in top shape in your office. If your work was coming in slow without much needing done, you often just checked to see if anyone needed help with anything, played games, or jammed out to whatever music was on. This time, you found yourself getting lost in your thoughts. It had been a long time since you were home. You found yourself not thinking much about your family or old friends recently. But somehow, it didn’t bother you. You felt like you were home. You couldn’t tell if you should feel guilty for feeling that way…but it was the truth. Although you definitely missed your family at times, this whole journey seemed to change who you were as a person.

Meanwhile, Yondu was pacing in his cabin. He asked you on a date, and he had no idea what to do. He hasn’t really dated, or courted, in years. Besides that, he’s never taken a terran out before! He decided to call someone for help. The last thing he wanted to do was get anyone else involved, but Tullk was someone he could trust. He picked up his communicator and pressed a few buttons. The comm beeped and he heard Tullk’s voice. “Yeah, Cap’n? What canneh dae fer ya?” “Uhh, this might sound strange, but could ya come to ma quarters? I need your help with somethin’.” He could hear Tullk hesitate. But then he said, “Ya, sure boss. I’ll be up in just a bit.” The comm clicked off, and Yondu walked to his desk chair and sat down with a huff. He was asking for help. This was unbelievable. “I can’t believe this girl has gotten into my head already.” He muttered to himself. A little while later, there was a loud knock at his door. “Get in here Tullk!” Tullk walked in the room and closed the door behind him. “What did ya need, sir?” He asked nonchalantly. “Well, this ain't easy to ask but, ya got any datin’ advice?” “Datin’ advice? Ya got a lass yer interested in?” “Well, yeah! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have asked!” “Well…its been quite a while since I took a nice lass out. She’s nice is she?” Tulk asked. “Of course she’s nice! She’s damn near perfect. She’s sweet and funny…and smart, and I just wanna show her a good time.” Tullk was surprised to hear his Captain use words like that. He was typically crass, rude, and a straight forward kind of guy. But everyone deserves to be loved, or at least have a chance at love, right? “So you wanna know what to do? On this date? Well…I only know about terran dates. I’m not sure what other races might do fer that kinda’ thing.” The Captain glared at him. “She IS terran ya idiot. That’s why I asked for yer help!” “Yer goin out with a terran lass? But, how? Where did ya meet a -… OH!” A devious grin appeared on Tullk’s face at the realization. “Choose yer next words carefully.” Yondu growled. Tullk let out a boisterous laugh. “You’re takin y/n out on a date? I can’t believe it!” Yondu began to grow an odd mixture of embarrassed and angry. “Yeah! I’m takin y/n out. Ya got a problem with that?!” “No, no, sir. I just honestly didn’t think she’d go for any of us. I’m not laughin’ atcha. I’m just…surprised – is all.” Tullk said with a shrug. “Well, believe it. So shut up and tell me what I need to do fer this to go right.” “Well, it’s pretty simple really. What I always keep in mind, as a Terran man, is to just be maself. Don’t try to be something you’re not, because them Terran lasses will see right through it. Trust me. Terran girls like to go out and just have a nice time. Food, drink, and good company. Don’t be lookin’ or flirtin’ with other women, or she’ll walk right outta there. Think ya can handle that?” He asked with one eyebrow raised. “Yeah, yeah, I figured that much. Is that all?” “That’s about all the advice I have. Just relax and have a nice time.” Tullk stands upright from where he was leaning on the wall by the door. “Need anything else Cap’n? He asks. “Nah, just don’t say a word to the crew!”

"Ah never do!" Tullk shouted back toward the door as he walked away.

___ The ship begins to near it’s destination, Johpar. Yondu is dressed in relaxed black leather pants, with his usual maroon long coat. The handkerchief tucked in his collar is a dark black, to match his matte black boots. The boots are adorned with a narrow gold metal strip at the edge of his toe. The gold matches his belt buckle and ravager badge. He made sure to trim and shape his beard nicely before heading down to the docking bay to meet you. As he comes in, he looks around to see if you had arrived yet. To his surprise, you weren’t there. “She’s probably just gettin’ dolled up is all.” He mutters to himself. The thought of you getting all dressed up for him makes his heart do a little backflip. “The hell?” He whispers as he lifts a hand to his chest. “That’s new.” Just as the words left his lips, he sees you. You cautiously walk into the docking bay. You were wearing a casual tan and black patterned dress, quarter sleeves, that tapers at your waist, and comes down mid thigh. You’re also wearing knee high lace up high heel boots with some black laced stockings just barely visible between the bottom of your dress and the tops of your boots. Your hair is done in a half updo. You’re holding a black leather jacket over your shoulder and glance around the room. The last thing you want is a bunch of grimy ravagers sneering at you. To your relief, there was no one around – but Yondu. You lock eyes with him and your step falters. Wow, as if I wasn’t nervous before. You try to keep your composure as you approach him. He looks you up and down and visibly swallows. “Ya look real nice.” He said. “Thank you.” You answered with a slight blush. “You clean up pretty nice yourself.” “Well thanks, sweetheart. If yer ready, we’ll head out.” and jabs a thumb toward the bay door. The two of you walk together off the ship and quietly chit chat until you reach the rows of shops and bars. You both walk into the bar and notice it isn’t particularly busy. Yondu offers to get you a drink. “What’ll ya have darlin’”? You think about it for a moment, and realize you have no idea. Last time you ordered a drink was back on Earth. Sure, there was always beer and whiskey on the ship, but that was getting old. You decide to play it safe with a glass of wine. “Any kind of sweet wine. I’m not picky.” You smile up at him and he gives you a polite nod. “Go have a seat there in that booth, and I’ll meet you over there.”

“Okay!” You respond with a sweet smile.

He watches you make your way to the booth, noting the way your hips move as you walk. His mind goes blank for a few seconds, your legs and ass are hypnotizing. You turn to seat yourself in the booth and notice that he’s staring. You blush and smile at him. With a small wave of your hand, he snaps out his trance, and heads to the bar. His cheeks are flushed.

Upon getting drinks for the two of you, Yondu plops down in the booth across the table from you. He slides your wine to you, and you take it from him with a gentle, “Thank you.”

“So,” Yondu begins. “You been on my ship for a couple a month’s now, how’s Ravager life treatin’ ya? Better than you thought I hope?”

You take a sip of your wine and shrug timidly, “It’s definitely better than where I came from. But, my story is pretty much the same as any terran or human that ends up way out here.” “Traffickers?” Yondu says with what looks like a little sadness in his eyes. “Yeah, traffickers.” “How old were ya?” He asks. “Honestly, it wasn’t too long ago. Few years maybe? I was on a camping trip with my family. We were way out in the Ozarks when they took me. We were camped in the mountains, a fairly thick wooded place surrounded by rivers and glens. My family used to camp there every summer and I always got up with the sun when we would camp. I’ll never forget it…I got up that morning, put on a tank top, shorts, and my hiking boots and went down to the river just to breathe in the morning. I thought I was completely alone until I heard some gravel on the bank crunch behind me. I turned and expected to see a deer or another hiker or something. But I saw a strange figure. Next thing I know, everything is black. I woke up on a strange ship hearing voices that didn’t make sense. Eventually I put two and two together.” “I’m sorry.” Is all Yondu could say. He understood how horrible that might have been. He recalls his years aboard slave ships. “It’s okay. I think I was on that ship for about 6 months before they sold me to someone else. The ones who gave me a translator implant had green skin and pointed ears. Skrull maybe? I don’t know. Then they stopped on Krylor one day. I saw it as a window of opportunity, so I took it. The Skrull were a bit more flexible or lenient than the ones who took me, so I had a chance to run. I hid for 3 days before coming across that pawn shop. Worked there as cheap labor for a few years. Then I met you.” You smile at the memory of first seeing Yondu at your old job. “And then you met me.” Yondu returned your smile. Although he hasn’t mentioned it, he thinks you have the most adorable smile. The way it makes your eyes sparkle and come to life is something he’s never seen in any other woman. He continued, “Well, I’m sure glad yer here…despite what ya been through.” “Honestly, me too. I mean sure, I miss my family. I hate to think that they’re heartbroken over me. I’m sure they are. Especially my mom and sister. I don’t even want to imagine how they felt when I disappeared.” Your face turned solemn. “What about yer daddy?” Yondy asked quietly. "Oh, he died. He passed away about a year before I was taken. It makes me sick to think to think about how much my family has lost. Dad…then me. Problem is, they know what happened to dad. He got cancer...but I just vanished.” You dropped your gaze to the table. The date started to take a really depressing turn. Yondu thought quickly to change the subject. He wanted you to have a good time, after all. Yondu reached out across the table and gently placed a couple fingers under your chin. He lifts your gaze to meet his and said, “You ain’t alone. Most of us on this crew have a similar story. We been stolen, sold, lost people, seen death…we got each other though. You’re in good company.” His gentle and genuine smile spreads to your face and you simply nod without another word. “You hungry? We could get somethin’ here or we could swing by another place.” “Honestly, unless you are….I’m really not that hungry. But I would like to take a walk and look around this place a little bit?” “Sure thing darlin’. Anything you want.” As you get up and leave the bar, Yondu leaves a stack of units at the table. You walk out of the bar with your Captain in toe behind you. “Besides, I can’t really eat much when I’m nervous anyway.” Nervous? Yondu thought. Why is she nervous? She ain’t scared of me is she? “Nervous?” He asked warily. “Well, not like a bad nervous. Like a good nervous.” You assure him. “There such a thing as ‘good nervous’”? He laughs. “Well, yeah.” You said shyly. “There’s good nervous and bad nervous. Bad nervous is self-explanatory. But good nervous is…well…” You trailed off as you walked through the brightly lit streets with Yondu. There were colorful shops everywhere. Stores were selling various items like clothing, food, jewelry and gifts from various planets. “Oh, I got it! Okay, there is a creature on my planet called a butterfly. They’re hard to describe unless I could draw you a picture of one, but they have wings. They’re very gentle and delicate. Good nervous feels like having butterflies in your stomach. It’s like a fluttery feeling. It’s a good thing!” You smile at him. Yondu just smiles to himself and looks down toward his boots while shaking his head. This girl is somethin’ else. The rest of your evening is spent wandering around the shops looking at interesting items and relishing in sights you’ve never seen before. Eventually, you end up in a part of the district that is pretty quiet. You find a bench near a fountain and sit together looking out at Krylor. “It’s so beautiful. I’ve never been on a moon before…this really is amazing. I never thought all this could be on a moon. Our moon back home is small and desolate. My people have visited it a few times, but there’s nothing up there.” “Ya know, yer really pretty when yer face lights up like that. I been a lotta places and met a lotta different people, and nobody cares about stuff like you do. I hafta say, I really like that about ya.” He says quietly. You smile, and blush lightly at his comment. You both continue talking about nothing in particular for a while. Yondu loves listening to you talk about your home, or anything you find interesting. You’re so bright and happy when you speak. You carry a light with you wherever you go. A light that, he now realizes, he would follow anywhere. As you arrive back to the ship later that night, Yondu walks you back to your cabin with your jacket slung over his shoulder. As you tell him goodnight and thank him for a wonderful evening, he says he had a great time too. He takes your hand and leans in to gently kiss the top of it. “Goodnight, y/n.” He hands you your jacket, smiles at you one last time, and casually swaggers toward his quarters.

You’ve kept your composure until now. You scurry into your cabin, slam the door shut behind you and lean up against it – breathing heavily. “Ohh my gosh. Ohh my gosh okay. OOHkay. Wow…that just happened.” You can’t stop smiling and get ready for bed. Finally, you throw yourself into your bed with a long sigh. You fall asleep almost immediately, only to find your Captain in your dreams. Yondu enters his quarters and just stands there, staring off into space. He doesn’t move, doesn’t speak, his breathing is heavy. After what feels like ages, he finally begins to undress himself for bed. He can’t get you off his mind. Your smile, that dress, your voice, your eyes…all flicker through his mind. “So, this is love. Huh. Ain’t so bad.” He smiles and snuggles down into his furs and blankets and drifts into a peaceful sleep.

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marvinswriting · 4 years

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heatwave

Prompt: no prompt, just stay hydrated bbys. this is me projecting the fear from the first time i passed out onto Janis, ft my dumb thought process of 'im fine'. Yes, that's right. I too, refuse to ask for help when I need it. Not just Janis. whoops. G/T MEAN GIRLS AU

The tiny portion of the school doesn't have AC. Which to be honest shouldn't be legal, but a lot of things at Northshore shouldn't be legal. No proper heating or cooling was the least of the tiny's issues.

When it's too cold, you wear a jacket. (Or skip and stay with Damian). When it's too hot, the tiny teachers bring in electric fans for their classrooms. Besides, the tinies only have like- four periods in the walls.

But it does become an issue during a heatwave.

It was almost 100 degrees in Northshore. There was no wind so the air felt stale and dry. Now imagine being in a wall.

I think I'm being cooked alive. The baggy jacket I live in probably doesn't help much though.

It was global, my last tiny class of the day. Aaron and I had advanced global together while Regina had normal global in the room next door.

I slumped in my chair not listening to the teacher at all.

Aaron and I sat together in the front of the room and the only pro to that was the fan was right there.

Not that it did much.

It was old and moved slow. It wasn't cooling anyone, just circulating the hot air.

I finished my water bottle three periods ago and I still had a headache. It wasn't awful, just annoying.

I tried to ignore the little spots in the corner of my eyes every time I moved my head.

Just a small headache.

Suddenly, the breeze disappears.

The fucking fan died.

"Oh, dear." My teacher says.

She a short old lady with circle glasses on the bridge of her nose.

"Oh, dear is an understatement," I mumble to Aaron who just shakes his head.

Our teacher tries to turn on the fan, but there's no sign of life. She even unplugs the wire and tries again.

"I guess it's fried." She says with a small laugh.

"So are we!" Some kid calls from the back of the class. I think its Glen Coco but I don't have enough energy to turn around and check as the rest of the class laughs.

Our teacher smiles warmly. "We've got ten minutes left in the period. Go hang out in the tiny cafeteria or something."

The tiny cafeteria is one of the few places in the school with AC for tinies. Which is nice because it's bearly bigger than a classroom, but they expect to fit all of us in it. It gets crowded and hot even with air conditioning.

Our teacher continues. "Just get somewhere cool. And drink water!"

Water sounded nice. I should have brought more than one bottle. I knew it'd be hot today.

Aaron ad I pack up our bags before standing. The world spins a bit but it feels just like my typical low iron issue.

The spots fade just like normal when I stand up too quickly and Aaron and I are off.

We pull Regina out of her class early saying 'it's for a class project'. The teacher didn't ask what class so we didn't specify.

"So," Regina says. "How did you guys get out of class?"

"Our teacher let us," Aaron explains as we walk through the halls. We're in the very back of the tiny section, furthest away from the tiny pick up zone. "Her fan died."

"No!" Regina said with genuine concern.

"Yeah, but she didn't make us stay long," I explained. My throat was dry and my voice sounded weird, but neither friends paid mind to it.

I tried to ignore the way the hallways spun. My limbs felt slow and heavy despite how fast I walked to keep up with Aaron and Regina.

"Let's stop and grab food at the cafeteria. I'm starving and we have time." Regina said grabbing both Aaron and I's wrists and dragging us in the opposite direction from the air conditions hallways.

No!

Food was the last thing I wanted right now. Just the thought of it made me sick. I wanted water, not salty cheese fries.

I watched the ground as we walked. The hallways were empty but Regina stopped us to look at one of the message boards.

"Janis, the theater performance is next week?"

"Yeah," I say without looking up. The world spun each time I moved my head. "Damian's got lead."

"Of course he does." Regina said.

She and Aaron continued talking but I didn't contribute to the conversation.

I guess I need water more then I realized.

The spots in my eyes covered my whole vision.

It went from a small headache to the end of the world real fast.

I couldn't tell if my eyes were opened or closed. It was all a grey swarm.

"I think I'm gonna pass out." I whispered.

Aaron and Regina didn't pay any mind.

"Guys." I spoke louder.

Was I even audible? No matter how loud I tried to speak it never came out in more than a mumble.

My legs felt heavy and weak at the same time. Like my knees would give at any second.

"Guys." I repeat myself.

I can't even hear Aaron and Regina talking over the buzz in my ear. My head felt heavy and I could feel every time it tipped in the slightest.

My vision was totally replaced by spots and I couldn't see anything.

My throat was so dry it felt like it was closing as I tried to speak.

I need water. Fuck. I need water.

"....anis."

I could see it again, but my brain wasn't processing. Aaron was in front of me. His mouth was moving but I don't know what he's saying.

I'm on the floor leaning against someone.

It's too hot for that.

I try and sit up but arms wrap around me, pulling me back down. I don't fight it as spots appear in my vision again.

A water bottle is handed to me.

I bring it to my lips without question.

My brain still isn't working.

The person behind me is slipping my jacket off my arms. I try and fight it.

My jacket is like my comfort blanket. I can't take it off. I can't-

"Janis, please."

Regina.

It was Regina.

I place the empty water bottle next to me and let my jacket get stripped off.

I never drink a full water bottle in one sitting.

Yet I still felt thirsty.

"You okay?" Aaron asks as I push myself out of Regina's lap. "You passed out for a second. You just crumpled. We were worried. You-"

"Aaron," Regina says sternly. "For god's sake she just passed out, let her breath."

"You need more water?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah." I say softly.

"I'll go swing by the cafeteria," Aaron says getting his bag and standing up.

"Look," Regina joked as Aaron turned the corner. "You broke him."

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Regina says turning me so we're both leaning against the wall. "It's hot as fuck out. I'm not surprised it happened. You just get a little nervous when your friend just drops to the ground."

I nod. The ringing in my head had gone away but my mouth still felt dry. Regina held my jacket folded over her arms.

"You fell into me when you passed out." Regina laughed. "Almost took me down with you."

My face flushed with embarrassment. "Whoops."

There were footsteps as Aaron can back. "I bought three, I figured we all need water."

"Thanks, man." I say reaching into my bag to grab my wallet.

"No. No, it's fine." Aaron said pushing my hand away from my bag and tossing both Regina and I a bottle.

"You sure?" Regina asked.

"Yeah." Aaron nods. "Feel better Janis?"

I nod, slipping the water. It was ice cold and made me feel a lot better. I still felt nauseous and a bit dizzy, but not like I would pass out. "I don't think I trust myself to get up yet," I say, leaning against the wall.

"You'd feel better in the AC." Regina points out.

I nod but make no effort to get up. Regina reaches over and presses her cold waterbottle against my forehead.

"If I catch you wearing a jacket in a heatwave again you can catch my hands." She says, but she doesn't sound very threatening.

Aaron hums an agreement as the bell rings.

Students walk past us but nobody pays us much mind. Everyone wants to get to ac as soon as possible.

"We need to call Damian" Regina says.

"Or- oh I dunno....her mom" Aaron says, glaring up at Regina.

"Yeah we can do that too, but how the fuck is Janis gonna get home? Walk?"

"We should call her mom first. I know I'd wanna know if my kid passed out."

"You have a kid?" I laugh.

"This is a hypothetical situation," Aaron says.

"But this-" Regina points to me. "-isnt hypothtical. If Karen or Gretchen passed out, I'd wanna fucking know. They're my giants."

"Guys," I groan, looking up to the ceiling. "We can do both. Regina, you know my phone password, don't call my mom because she's at work but text her."

Aaron and Regina glare at each other momentarily without moving. I clear my throat and Regina breaks her gaze to reach for my phone. Aaron picks up his phone and begins dialing.

I can't hear the other line but it doesn't take long for Aaron to start talking.

"Hey, Damian. You think you can meet us at the tiny pick up? Regina, Janis, and I. Janis needs a ride home." He paused. "Yeah, she's fine now...she passed out- wait no- Damian she's fine. It wasn't like- No, dude. She-"

Regina and I laugh as Aaron tried to explain what happened.

"She just fell, she's fine now- no- shes oka- Damian!"

"Poor Aaron." Regina chuckled.

"Damian, Aaron rolled his eyes. "Do you want to talk to her?"

I lower my hand from my mouth where I was trying to hide my laughter as Aaron passed the phone.

"Janis?!"

"Hey, dude." I can't help but laugh. The panic Aaron had when I first passed out seemed tenfold from Damian over the line. "I'm tits, man. Just overheated a bit."

"Were you wearing your jacket?"

"I was."

"Janis!"

"Not anymore, I'm not!"

There's hushed speaking on the other line. "Cady says it's stupid of you."

"Tell Cady she's stupid."

"That would be a lie." Aaron points out. He can't hear Damian, he just decided his input was necessary. It wasn't.

"Met us at the pick-up zone, okay?" Damian asks.

"Yeah," I say. "Love you."

"Love you too."

The line clicks and I pass the phone back to Aaron. Regina is still texting on mine so I stand up to look ever her shoulder. My mom seems a lot more chill about it then Damian was. I told her not to wear a jacket. I don't even think she needs to leave school but just send her home and we can talk later. Glad she's okay.

"What does everyone have against my jacket?"

"It's hot as fuck, Janis." Regina deadpans.

Aaron takes my bag from me. "Let's go."

"I can carry my bag-" I try to protest.

"Nu-uh. Aaron, you hand Janis her bag back and I'll push you off the platform." Regina interrupts me.

I finish off my water as Aaron chuckles. "What's with you and pushing people from high places, Gina?"

Regina shrugged, my jacket still in her arms. "It's fun. Besides, you think one of us would really get hurt? With the people we're friends with?"

"True." I point out.

As we get closer to the tiny exist I can feel the ac already. Damian and Cady are already at the platform, Damian looking incredibly stressed. I throw up jazz hands the second he sees me.

"I'm all good!"

"Getting calls like that never fail to scare me," Damian says with a worried smile. "Glad you're okay."

Aaron hands me my bag and Regina draped my jacket over my shoulders as I walk over to Damian.

The first thing he does is lift the jacket off of me and glare at Regina who laughs, raising her hands in defense.

Damian scoops me up, letting me fall backward into his hand. I don't even bother to sit up as he pulls his hand close to his chest. The ceiling lights were bright, but I'd rather see that then grey spots.

"I'm gonna get this reckless girl home."

I can head Aaron and Regina faintly say goodbye over Cady's bye.

I prop myself up on my forearms as Damian begins walking. "What are we gonna do with you, Janis?" He asks.

I shrug forgetting he can't see. "I'm tired."

"Wouldn't be surprised silly."

He gets us both checked out at the office. Tinies passing out during a heatwave isn't an uncommon occurrence and I'm not even the first today. They don't question it and let us leave.

I already feel a lot better by the time Damian makes it to his car. Mom was right and I definitely could have stayed in school. But hey, an excuse for nap time is an excuse for nap time. Especially during a heatwave when I can lay in my bedroom with a fucking ac.

Fun fact, the first time I passed out I was at an airplane show during a heatwave. The blacktop made everything hotter than normal and it was like 110 degrees. I- like Janis, almost pulled my friend down with me. I don't remember half the shit after I passed out bc my brain was like- viewing everything but not processing it. What I do remember is downing three water bottles on the spot and being like- Holy Shit. Bc, i cant even drink half a water bottle in one sitting. TAGS! @realmisspolarbear @musicallygt @smallsoysauce @sourishlemons

#if youre reading this tag go drink water #if you dont regina will push you off a table #g/t mean girls #giant tiny #tiny aaron #tiny regina #giant damian #giant cady #g/t #g/t writing #Giant/tiny

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aye-write · 3 years

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Summary: Research student Isla Reid has been fascinated with the legend of the Kildonian Chessmen - a trio of mythical Pokemon rumoured to have lived centuries ago on the remote region of Kildo - for as long as she can remember. So, when a museum exhibit on the Chessmen is set to open in Kildo’s Hydrogate City, coinciding with her independent research project, she packs herself and her trusty partner Furret onto the long ferry journey bound for this new region.

However, when she arrives in Kildo, thoughts of her research, new friends, and an entire Pokedex’s worth of new Pokemon, are quickly dashed. Kildo is a troubled place, beset by natural disasters and fierce rivalries among its people. Isla suddenly finds herself at the centre of a centuries-old plot to invoke the wrath of the Chessmen, and is set on a race against time to stop them, before it spells destruction for the entire region.

Other Links: Read it on Ao3!

Tags: OC Pokemon journey, OC region, Fakemon region, bisexual main character, found family, ace main character.

If you are not interested in these posts, especially as I know Pokemon journeyfic is fairly niche, please blacklist the tag #Checkmate. Most of the story will be put under a Readmore anyway!

Author’s Note: If you’re interested in more information, exclusive updates, character art, and teasers for this fic, please consider following its sister tumblr @kildo-pokedex

*****

Chapter Two

The kitchen was teeming with heat when Isla walked in. Everyone’s eyes flickered towards her, leaving her feeling very much like a prized Miltank on show. Heat crept into her cheeks. She glanced around, trying to find somewhere to let her gaze settle. Skye and Blair were working through plates of pancakes. Kenneth leaned against the countertop sipping black coffee. Rhona had her sleeves rolled up and was tending to something on the stove. Anxiety spiked in her chest. Discounting Nana Morag, she was the last one up.

“Good morning!” Isla said, trying to inject cheer into her voice.

Rhona turned around to face her. “Good morning, chick!”

She was smiling. Good. At least Isla knew she hadn’t committed some unspeakable faux pas before it even turned ten in the morning.

“Have a seat,” Rhona continued. “Do you want tea? Breakfast? It’s just pancakes today, so I hope you like them.”

What kind of world did she live in where home-made pancakes were “just pancakes”? Rhona obviously didn’t get enough appreciation. “I love them! And tea would be grand, thank you.”

“Help yourself, there’s some in the pot.”

A fat teapot sat in the middle of the table with a brown tea cosy pulled around it. Fixed with a pair of floppy wings and a crocheted head, the Pokemon it was supposed to represent looked like a fatter, happier version of Rhona’s Ruchter. Isla sploshed milk into her tea from a jug that looked suspiciously like a Miltank and loaded it with sugar, the first sip sending a pleasant, energising warmth through her.

The tea worked its magic on Isla, but everyone else looked pale and withdrawn, like they’d woken up on low battery. Isla sipped her tea and battled between two impulses that both felt equally rude.

Eventually, she settled on, “Is there anything I can help you with today? Like around the croft or… or anything?”

Blair leant back into his chair and stretched. “It’s all done,” he said. Something in his back popped, the noise like a gun going off.

Isla blinked. “Really?”

“Yeah. We start at six.”

“In the morning?”

Everyone stopped. Kenneth’s eyes found Isla’s over the rim of his coffee mug.

“Sorry,” she murmured. “I just didn’t… hear anything.”

“We wouldn’t ask you to help out with anything,” Rhona said kindly. “And we didn’t want to wake you either. Especially with last night’s storm. We’re used to it here, but it can be quite distracting for folks not local.”

Isla had almost forgotten about the storm. The mention sent the image of the child from last night flashing into her head like the sear of a lightbulb. Her fingers tightened around her mug of tea. “Yeah,” she heard her voice waver. “The thunder and lightning were something else.”

Rhona’s eyebrows creased. “Thunder and lightning?”

“Yeah,” Isla said. Then she saw everyone else’s expression. “You guys didn’t hear it? It was like… It was like the world was coming to an end out there.”

They all returned blank looks.

“Well, did you guys notice the power going off?” Isla tried. “About 3am, I think it was.”

“I was asleep,” Skye said, spearing her pancakes and oozing sauce all over the table.

“So was I,” Rhona said, and Kenneth nodded his agreement. Isla was beginning to wonder if that man ever spoke.

Everyone looked at Blair, who bristled under their stares.

“I don’t remember the power going off,” he said, swilling the liquid in his mug. It smelled bitter and strong. Black coffee. No wonder.

“Then you didn’t see the—” Isla stopped herself. What would they think if she told them what she saw? She wasn’t even sure she knew what it was. Something deep inside her told her to hang onto it. At least for now. At least until she could do some further research.

Luckily, her trailing off went unnoticed as Rhona put a plate of pancakes down in front of her. She busied herself adding sugar and a squeeze of lemon as conversation slowly resumed around the kitchen table.

“So what’s on your agenda today, Isla?” Rhona asked, sitting down heavily in the spare chair.

“I’d like to get started on my research,” Isla replied, her mouth full of soft, fluffy pancake. “I brought some books and copies of old script with me, so I’d like to start organising my thoughts and think about what I’d like to tackle first.”

The others nodded politely as Isla explained her plans. Kenneth was the first to leave, dumping his coffee mug in the sink and ducking outside. Isla saw him lumbering towards the field of Wooloo in the distance a few moments later. After that, the rest of the family moved off like falling dominoes, until it was only Rhona and Isla left at the table.

“You’ll need the Wi-Fi password,” Rhona said, tearing off a strip of paper. “You might have a couple of wee connection issues since you’re a bit far away from the router, but you can always come down and work in the living room if you need to. Here,” she handed Isla the paper with the code. “We’ll try keep out of your way. We’ll be out working on the croft for a bit. Skye’s got some work to do in her room, but she should give you peace. Oh, and help yourself to anything you like from the fridge. Lunch will be about 1 o’clock. I’ll shout you down or I can take something up to you if you like?”

“It’s okay, Rhona,” Isla interrupted gently. “You’re doing so much for me at as it is. I’ll come down for lunch. I’ll probably need the distraction,” she paused. “Thank you, Rhona. I mean it.”

“It’s okay, chick. We’re family. That’s what we do.”

With that, Rhona headed out, leaving Isla standing in the kitchen, fighting a lump the size of a walnut in her throat. A minute to compose herself and she turned with renewed determination towards the stairs.

Back in her room, with the door shut against the world, she let out a long, slow sigh. The bedroom wasn’t the best as far as study spaces went. It was pretty small for a start. And like everything else in the house, it was cluttered and claustrophobic. But it was welcomely cool after the humid heat of the kitchen and after taking ten minutes to straighten up her things and clear the desk of all the tat and mess, she was starting to see its potential as a working space.

Isla unearthed her laptop from under a pile of clothes and plugged it in. As it chuntered into life, she released Soba, who curled herself up into a tight ball on the rumpled bedclothes. The WiFi was a bit dodgy as Rhona had fretted, but it was serviceable. As long as it didn’t drop entirely whenever she’d have to have a video call with the university department, she’d be fine.

For the first ten minutes, she picked between a handful of internet tabs tuned to information she’d found vaguely useful in the initial research stage. Now that she was supposed to actually make sense of it all and turn it into something halfway presentable, it was like her brain had stalled entirely.

No, she told herself. She wouldn’t be beaten. She clicked open a new Word document and started to type.

To Do For Thesis:

Get translations for Kildonian Chessmen texts

Interview locals about legends

Find, research, and visit rumoured Chessmen resting places

Research divide in Kildonian population (Vitalities?)

She paused, then added in:

Find out what was in the garden on the night of the storm.

A knock at the bedroom door startled her. Soba’s ears pricked up as Isla dragged herself back to reality. What was the time? She glanced at the clock. Nearly midday. Almost three hours had gone by no quicker than a blink as she clicked through research articles and flicked through books.

Scrambling to her feet, she answered the door to Nana Morag’s lined face. She was smiling, in a sort of mischievous way, one side of the mouth curved more upwards than the other.

“Heard you had a little powercut last night,” she said, conspiringly.

“Yeah,” Isla rubbed the back of her neck. “I think it must have skipped the rest of the house though. Or… or maybe it was just my imagination.”

“You think so?”

“I mean, it could have been,” Isla said, half-wondering why she was trying to rationalise it. “I was pretty tired. My mind could have been playing tricks on me.”

“Hm,” Nana Morag didn’t sound convinced. She glanced back down the hallway, before taking a step closer. “Isla, have you heard of Basinish Island?” When Isla shook her head, Nana Morag’s whole face illuminated. “Basinish Island is a small, abandoned island off the coast of Port Glen. About three or four miles…. that direction,” she pointed over Isla’s shoulder, past the window and towards the tracing-paper grey sky. “Legend has it that you can walk there and back from Port Glen on days when the tide goes out. Of course, no-one ever tries. It’s very dangerous.”

“Okay,” Isla said, wondering exactly what Nana Morag was getting at. “What does this have to do with—”

“There’s rumours that Voltean – the Electric Vitality – lives out that way. Of course, it’s never been proven,” she said, in an off-hand way like she was telling Isla the brands of cereal in the cupboards. “But I thought you might like to read about them in this.”

Nana Morag pressed a thick hardback book into Isla’s hands.

“This is an old text,” Nana Morag continued. “There are some newer edits now, but I think you still might find it relevant. Especially for your research. It’s translated, so it might read a little funny. But there should be plenty there to keep you occupied.”

Isla looked through the book in awe. Pages of intricate illustrations and small, looped writing teased her from within. She could barely get her words out to thank Nana Morag. Soba purred and chirruped from the bed in appreciation.

“Nana Morag, thank you so much. I’ll take really good care of it. I promise.”

“Not to worry, Isla. You seem to have your head screwed on tight. If there’s anything in there you need some help with decoding, you let me know and I’ll try and help.”

“That would be wonderful. I was actually wondering if I could ask another favour of you,” Isla said, feeling opportunity shoulder its way in. “I have some old translations about the Kildonian Chessmen and I need some help translating them. Could you help?”

“I can do one better,” Nana Morag said. “Come along to my class this afternoon. I teach the young ones how to read and write the old language. I find there’s so much more meaning in having done the work myself. Don’t you agree?”

The expectation trickled down Isla’s back like a sliver of ice. Would she have the time to learn for something like that? Surely it would only take a couple of hours, tops, for someone to translate the documents rather than possible weeks to learn even the basics of an entire ancient language? It didn’t seem like a good trade off. But Nana Morag had already been so kind to her. And there was no telling how she’d react if she refused. Maybe if she showed willing now, Nana Morag would be more flexible later.

Isla clutched the book to her chest. “When does it start?”

“I’ll be leaving now,” Nana Morag said, her eyes gleaming.

“Alright,” Isla nodded. “I’m with you.”

Nana Morag lead Isla towards a small community centre, off a narrow lane from the high street. The whole area was residential, cluttered with redbrick terraces and full of people going around their daily business even with the biting wind and the overhanging threat of rain. Nana Morag was stopped nearly a dozen times by passers-by, each one making the same guarded enquiries about Isla, wondering who she “belonged to”. Isla couldn’t tell if they were pleased or not when Nana Morag explained they were family.

The classroom was perfect for children, bright, colourful, and visually appealing, but its cheery theme did little to soften the sharp edges of anxiety in Isla’s stomach. It spiked even more when she sat down, on a too-small chair that creaked every time she even considered moving.

Nana Morag didn’t call attention to Isla when the children came in for her class, which she was eternally grateful for. Along with the rest of the children, she was given an easy-reader book in Old Kildonian, a language heavy with vowels and punctuated with strange looping symbols. There was also a sheet of paper, typed in large print, with what looked like an alphabet and a few short words paired with an English equivalent. Isla stared at them until her eyes went blurry. She couldn’t even figure out how to make her mouth contort itself to make those noises. But that wasn’t the worst of it.

The words were simple. Too simple. Words for “Mum”, “Dad”, “good”, “nice”, “friend”, and other twee phrases ran through her head. Not even a full sentence. Not even “Mum is nice”, “my friend is good”, just words, scattered over the page as if they were plucked from the ether. How would this help her? How could she translate complicated archaic documents with these basics?

The class hadn’t even started yet. Nana Morag was still talking to a parent while the children shouted and ran around the tables, obviously too overstimulated even before the lesson began. And Isla was spiralling. She could feel it percolating within her. As her breath raced out, she tried to clear her head.

This wouldn’t do. It couldn’t. Even if she attended one of these classes every day for a month, she’d be nowhere near ready to decode the Chessmen documents herself. She didn’t have that time to waste. The exhibition in Hydrogate opened in three weeks and she still had most of the region to see. Places to go. People to interview. Legends to find. She just couldn’t do it.

A blip pinged her phone, making her jump. While Nana Morag’s back was turned, still in conversation, Isla slid it out of her pocket and looked at it under the table.

Isla,

The Anthropology Department is concerned that you have not yet been in touch to update on your project. As such, we are writing to inform you that we have arranged a video conference with you at 1pm Johto Standard Time in two days’ time. Please follow the link below to attend your slot.

The department would like you to prepare a short presentation to highlight your progress as part of the video conference.

Please also remember you must submit proof of your passage to the Kildo region as evidence.

Regards,

Prof F. S. Gardener

Isla could only stare numbly at the email for the first few minutes. Slowly, heat crept into her face. Anger bubbled in the pit of her stomach. How dare they? How dare they talk to her like that? The condescending attitude dripped off the words like hot grease from a searing grill. They wanted a presentation? In two days? It couldn’t be done.

At least, not while she allowed her time to be wasted.

Nana Morag looked disappointed, but said she understood when Isla explained that something had come up that meant she had to leave early. It didn’t make her feel better.

Outside the community centre, she sat on the nearest bench and took large lungfuls of crisp, cool air until the anger and anxiety gurgling in her stomach finally ebbed away. She cast a guilty look back at the door. Hopefully Nana Morag would forgive her.

It would take nearly half an hour to walk back to the house. Plenty of time to think about what direction to take the presentation. Even as she thought about it, her mind unspooled ideas. She could look through the book Nana Morag gave her, cite the conversation they’d had about the Vitalities, maybe ask Rhona and the family for any other stories they had. She could do this. She could pull this together. She’d show that professor exactly what she was made of.

Just as she pushed herself to her feet, something thudded to the ground. Isla froze, her concentration shattered. Her hand sought the familiar Pokeball hanging at her waist and she rolled her fingertips across its keenly smoothed surface. Something crept into the corner of her peripheral vision. A dull, murky, red-brown shape, a rusted stain on the greenery encroaching the community centre. Her stomach tightened. Nausea crept up her throat and she had to fight a sudden, violent urge to vomit.

When the nausea passed, and the world faded back in, a noise trembled through the earth under her feet. A low rumbling whinny followed by the steady, echoing beat of hooves.

Isla called Soba out. It was an unwelcome return to reality. She was in a new region with strange new Pokemon and she hadn’t even taken five minutes to look at the kinds of creatures that lived in the area. If there was something there that could hurt her, then she was playing a dangerous game. Could she even defend herself?

She should ignore it, she reasoned. Ignore it and head back to the croft. Wild Pokemon attacks on humans weren’t common, especially in fairly urban areas, but something still spurred her into action. Sweat stood out on her brow as she circled the Community Centre, Soba in pursuit.

There was nothing there. No people. No Pokemon. The only thing that stood out was a patch of disturbed grass by the window that looked into Nana Morag’s classroom. A line of hoofprints sunk into the long, leafy fronds, each one fringed with thin purple liquid. .

Soba coughed and retched.

“Easy, girl,” Isla returned Soba to her Pokeball. The last thing she needed was for her only Pokemon to become unwell. That would just be the rotten cherry on the top of the already disgusting cake.

She took one last cautionary glance around the area. Leaves trembled in the trees. Cars sloped down the road. Children played in a park down the street, their voices carrying over a thin, brisk wind.

When she looked down at the prints again, the strange liquid was gone.

Back at home, Isla shut herself back in the tiny room, opened her laptop, and focused. Hours fell away. Daylight morphed into darkness. All Isla knew was the tapping of keys and the pages of books stiff with bookmarks and post-it notes.

She was turning over into a new chapter – The Shifting Traditions – when her stomach gurgled, lifting her out of her study induced stupor. What time was it? It had gotten dark without her even noticing. She groped for the desk light and clicked it on, the room touched by a jaundiced yellow light.

The clock flashed back; 18:47.

She didn’t want to seem presumptuous. Running a croft with only a few family members must have been tough. She could imagine it was the kind of work that never had a clear end goal, that there was always something that needed done. And she’d only been here a full day. She didn’t know their routines yet. Maybe they were a late dinner type of family. And she definitely didn’t want to pressure anyone. But it was very late now. She hadn’t eaten any lunch. And there hadn’t been any noises in the house for hours.

Downstairs, every room was draped in darkness. Isla felt around for the light switches, but the unfamiliar walls wouldn’t give up their secrets, and she clattering through the house like a particularly ungraceful Hippopotas. It confirmed one thing. There was nobody home.

Panic rose in her chest as she picked her way towards the windows, hoping that she could let some light in via the curtains. I

With a bang, the door opened, bounced off the wall, and light spilled into the room. Rhona stood in the hallway, shelling herself from a puffy jacket.

“Rhona?” Isla squeaked.

“Oh, gosh! Isla!” Rhona’s hand flew to her chest, her skin translucent. “Chick, why were you standing there in the dark?”

“I couldn’t find the light switch,” she said lamely. “I’d been upstairs, and I got a bit worried I hadn’t heard anything down here for a while.”

“Oh, God. You didn’t get the message?”

“What message?”

“Kenneth sent Drambark to the house with it,” Rhona said, hanging up her coat.

Isla wasn’t sure exactly what a Drambark was, but she didn’t think now was the right time to ask. “I didn’t get anything, sorry. What’s happened?”

“It’s Nana Morag, chick. She came over very ill just before she finished her class. She was taken to hospital.”

“Hospital?!” Isla gasped.

“Yes,” she said. “Oh, but she’s okay, she’s stable and responsive. They’re keeping her in overnight, but I think it’s just as a precaution.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“They don’t know yet. They were running tests when I left.”

“I’m sorry, I…” Isla stammered. “I should have stayed with her.”

The look in Rhona’s eyes became sharp and probing. “Yes, why did you leave? I thought you wanted to learn about the language.”

“I do, but…” Isla heaved a sigh. “I got an email from my course supervisor when I was in the class telling me I have to do a presentation for them. In two days. About the progress I’ve made in the project. And I haven’t… I haven’t had much progress yet because I’ve only just got here. So I panicked and came back here to start working on that immediately because… well, if I don’t jump through their hoops, they’ll pull approval on the project.”

Rhona nodded the whole time Isla spoke. “Och, chick, maybe it’s for the better that you didn’t stay.”

Isla frowned. “Why?”

“Because it wasn’t just Nana Morag who became ill. Everyone attending that class did.”

#checkmate #pokemon fan fic #fakemon #pokemon fanfic #pokemon fanfiction #my writing #long post

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teenwolfseason7 · 4 years

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Teen Wolf and Shadowhunters Crossover

Hi! So, for anyone interested, I have been inspired to write a TW and SH crossover. That being said, I did not read the original books, I’ve just seen the Shadowhunters TV-show, therefor this might not be completely accurate to that storyline. This fic is set after a few years after Teen Wolf season 6 and mid season 2 of Shadowhunters. It will focus on Scott (main), Alec (main), Stiles, Lydia, Liam, Izzy, Jace, Clary, Simon, Luke, Monroe and Valentine. Other characters might occur, however, even though I love me some Malec, in this fic they start broken up, and who knows what might happen? Magnus might make an appearance or not, I haven’t decided that yet. I have not forgotten about my Teen Wolf Season 7 fic, I am simply working on the storyline, and more chapters will evidently follow. But for some reason I need to get this out of my system first. Now enough rambling, here’s chapter 1: collision. TW and SH crossover Chapter one: Collision It was chaos, pure chaos. Blades clashed together cascading with the roars and grunts of people fighting each other. His hand clutched around the blade harder after slicing into one of the demons ambushing Izzy, before swiftly tucking it away and running back towards his hide-out on top of the small hill. He provided cover, shooting arrow after arrow into the sinister black creatures, effectively causing them to perish. The circle had somehow managed to unleash them onto the seeliecourt, targeting all downworlders as most of them were seeking refuge in the sanctuary. He wasn’t paying much attention to his own surroundings, as his focus was mainly on the protection of his family. Therefore, when he heard a short click a few feet away from him, he instantly turned around, startled, and aimed his bow in the direction of the sound. “Drop your weapon!” A trembling voice announced. It was then that he spotted the guy, hiding halfway behind a tree, pointing a gun at him. Alec internally groaned at the sight of the mundane meddling and clenched his teeth in an attempt to refrain himself from releasing an arrow anyway. The young and inexperienced looking guy slowly emerged from his spot and started closing in on the shadow hunter. “Drop it!” Alec sighed; he didn’t have time for this bullshit. How could the mundane see him anyway? He aimed for the humans’ hand, so it wouldn’t be a fatal shot, but a fair warning to stay away. He locked onto his target, the guy’s fingers that latched onto the handle of the gun, and slowly breathed out, simultaneously releasing an arrow. Seconds before the head could pierce the skin, another hand caught the arrow in mid-air. He saw the eyes before he could even see who they belonged to. They were bright red. Instantly, he reached for his blade again, rotating his bow onto his back, assuming that it hadn’t been just a mundane but rather a possessed one or maybe even a circle member working with a demon and charged towards it. To his surprise, it moved a lot faster and more…graceful than a mundane possessed by a demon would. In between the constant maneuvering, ducking, deflecting and striking, he could barely make-out how young his opponent actually looked. Yet another life destroyed by Valentine and his men. As the thing continuously blocked and diverted his attacks, Alec grew impatient and frustrated. His moves were too predictable, he realized. So fueled by anger, he unexpectedly rotated to his left, but bounced back mid-turn, planting the base of his blade into the jaw of the demon. Annoyingly, it quickly recovered and tackled his with a low growl sending chills down Alec’s spine as he roughly plummeted onto his back. A huff escaped him as his bow and quiver on his back made the crash a lot more painful. For a split second, the thing that was attacking him seemed distracted as well, the red eyes flickering. Alec took the opportunity to slice it’s back with his blade, but somehow it didn’t even wince. Instead it furiously grabbed his wrist forcing his to drop it. He was one step ahead of him and used all his strength to roll them over grabbing at its neck with his free hand, planning on taking an arrow from his quiver and stabbing him with it as soon as he saw an opening. However, the motion had gained more momentum than he had expected it to, because they were at the edge of the glen formed by the forest hill. Consequently, causing both of them to tumble all the way down, neither of them letting go. As the world around them was vigorously spinning, the shadowhunter caught a glimpse of what seemed like sharp white fangs, which he immediately associated with those of a vampire, but amongst the all the confusing sounds and disorientating motions, the questions why and how were quickly banished to the back of his mind. When they finally came to a stop, Alec managed to get the upper hand, and forcefully grabbed at the creature’s throat, whilst attempting to pin its wrists down into the forest ground. He struggled for a moment, but then the downworlder suddenly gave in, as if he went limp. Alec took advantage of the situation, instantly pulling out an arrow and pointing it to its throat, finally taking a glance at the face underneath him. By now it seemed to have transformed, having grown more facial hair, more fangs, whilst sporting the facial characteristics of both human and wolf. What confused the archer even more, was that the young wolf wasn’t looking at him, but behind him. He quickly caught on, and let go of his wrist, planning on turning around to face whatever was lurking behind him. Before he could do just that however, the wolf surged upward with astounding speed, snatching an arrow from his quiver. His chest tightened and eyes widened, as the werewolf’s torso was now pressed against his own, punching the air out of his whilst the demon behind him screeched in agony as it was banished. Ichor splattered onto the back of his neck and jacket, and with a huff the guy fell back into the grass and mud. Within a second, Alec got off of him, creating distance. In one swift movement he was aiming an arrow to the wolf’s chest, still somewhat distraught from the strange contact just then, but adamant on getting answers. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” With a quick glance he saw that once again the mundane was pointing his gun at him from his left, this time however, another person stood next to him. A woman with strawberry blonde hair, pursing her lips and holding her hands up, as if she was going to blow him away with magic or something. “Who are you?!” Alec yelled authoritatively, looking back at the guy lying on the ground. The bright red eyes slowly faded out, and he was now met with an inquisitive stare as all wolf-like features disappeared. Now he could clearly see how young the wolf actually was, and estimated him to be in his early twenties. “Sorry man, but I don’t think you’re in a position to be asking any questions. You might not die from a gunshot, but this unbearably pretty face next to me is capable of screaming that annoying head of yours into pieces”, the mundane rambled. “Just drop the bow and arrow, and then we can negotiate”, the woman added indifferently after a short eyeroll. Alec cocked his brow and made the same face someone would when being told that one plus one did not equal two. He scoffed, “You are the ones breaking the accords by attacking a shadowhunter. Whilst- may I add- we are in the middle of protecting downworlders from a demon invasion. You should know, the clave isn’t exactly forgivi-” “Alec!”, his parabatai yelled from behind him, blade at the ready as he ran towards them. Instantly, the mundane pointed the gun towards Jace, who froze scanning the situation. Luckily, before things could escalate any further, the werewolf spoke up. “Stiles, wait!” Alec frowned even more, wondering what the hell was going on. “Seriously Scott? Were about the be severely outnumbered here, Monroe is out here somewhere. If we’re going to get Liam back, we have to get to her now!”, the guy with the gun argued somewhat annoyed, animatedly emphasizing the words “severely” and “now”. He spoke so fast that it took a moment for Alec to actually understand what he meant. The woman, did lower her hands though, ignoring the mundane. The two already started to annoy him, as they somewhat resembled Simon and Clary, which wasn’t a good thing, but maybe the situation was just aggravating him which was a sensation usually caused by both the vampire and/or the redhead, and that might’ve been the reason for the association rather than actual resemblance. “What’s a shadowhunter?” she inquired, whilst cocking her brow and moving her head sideways intrigued by the situation. Alec’s eyes jumped back to the man on the ground, who was in the process of standing up. “Don’t move”, he ordered, pulling the arrow even more backwards. The werewolf held his hands up, surrendering, and calmly and carefully stated: “Stiles, put the gun down.” Alec realized that he was probably their leader, since the “Stiles” guy reluctantly obliged, and put his weapon back in its holster. “Now explain”, the shadowhunter demanded impatiently with a nod of his head towards the wolf, wondering why his eyes were red and not green.

#alec lightwood #scott mccall #shadowhunters #teen wolf #crossover #stiles stilinski #lydia martin #liam dunbar #jace herondale #clary fairchild #isabelle lightwood

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ventingblacklist · 6 years

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4x4 Gaia “I thought I could make it better, that I could protect my baby. I mean, that’s my one job…to protect my child.”

Gaia is sick. Living in the woods. Calls his wife and kid and tells them to leave town, cuz he has a new target.

He takes out a mechanic so he can take his place and steal a helicopter later.

Liz is going through some of the papers on Kirk when her laptop chirps. Kirk is calling. Kirk: Hello, Masha. I know it’s late, but I wanted to speak to you alone. Liz: Where is she?

Kirk: I never wanted you to be apart from her. Liz: Where’s my daughter?! Kirk: Right here, safe.

“If you so much as… If you hurt her…”

“I know the truth. The only reason you came for me… you think we can cure you, that our blood can…”

Kirk: Yes, the blood is what I need, but it’s not what I want. What I want is for us to be together, but that can’t happen until Reddington’s out of your life. Only you can make that happen.

“I see you’re wearing your mother’s bracelet. I’m glad.”

“I want you to know that your baby is safe. This link is open day or night any time you want to see Agnes.” Tom later discusses the link with Liz. He wants to trace it to get Agnes back. Liz is like, it wouldn’t work, he’s anticipated that.

“If he hurts her, he loses me....What does Kirk want more than anything in the world? For me to trust him… to care for him. And because it’s what he desires most, it’s the easiest way to deceive him.

“He’ll see what he wants to see… my affection. He won’t see what’s real… my deception. This link is an opportunity for me to get close to Kirk. And I can’t do anything to jeopardize that.”

Tom: Liz, I think you’re being naive. Liz: I know you think that. And I’m asking you to trust me.

I kind of agree with Liz on this one. Not just about the link tracing, but the being able to see her thing. Red called it unbelievably cruel. Keeping the kid away, but having that link open. Which, I guess.

I don't have kids so there are some things I'm not going to get, but if I was worried for my kid's well-being, I'd rather be able to see them than not. If I can't get to them at the moment, at least I know they're okay. Drive me nuts, otherwise. Especially in the wake of blood talk. Liz is hoping to use this to get to Kirk. Not in the tracing way, but in the gaining his trust way. She wants to use it.

Kirk isn’t happy about keeping Liz and Agnes apart, but he doesn't want Red near Agnes any more than Red wants Kirk near Agnes.

I think of parallels a lot, and Agnes might be a replay not just for Kaplan, but for Kirk. Red is not going to get his hooks in another one. He took Kirk’s daughter; he will not have his granddaughter.

Agnes is motivation for Kaplan as well. It's too late, she's already failed Liz, but she could still save Agnes.

Kirk here, and Kaplan later, want Reddington out of the picture.

Kirk wants Liz to reject Reddington, later tries to kill Reddington. Talks on his death bed of Liz taking his fortune and getting away from Reddington.

Kirk lets it go after the whisper; lets her go when it’s confirmed beyond doubt that Liz is not his child.

Kaplan never lets it go. To the end, she's trying to get Liz to walk away.

Liz might see this same motivation going forward into season six. Her life is a giant mess, but maybe she can clean it up for Agnes. Agnes’ father is already gone. And she’s away from her mother for a long time. But maybe Liz can stop things from deteriorating further.

Liz meets with Red. He tells her about Gaia.

After Liz briefs the task force, Aram grabs Samar and says sorry for not being able to talk, but they can grab lunch, and Samar is like, it's okay, I figured it out. I’m transferring.

Samar is going to be a bit snippy today as she's all hurt in general. First Liz, now Aram. Ressler grabs her after another Gaia briefing. Ressler: Aram told me you put in for a transfer. Navabi, trust me, I understand how angry you are with Keen for doing what she did…

Samar: Yes, and that is part of why I’m leaving, but it’s not just that. It… It’s this place. You never know where you stand with anyone… whether they’ll be there for you when you need them.

Ressler: If there’s anything I can do to get you to reconsider, you let me know. I’ll do it. You’re a good partner.

Samar: I wish there was. I really do.

Aw, look at them all friends now.

Gaia takes out an energy company guy so he can take his place and sabotage a pipeline. Or something. Kaplan wakes up in hunter guy's cabin.

Kirk gets a transfusion and some bad news from his doc. His body is starting to reject the transfusions. Six months to live, maybe less. Odette: There is a solution. Kirk: We’ve already discussed this. Reifler: It’s unacceptable. Odette: Easy for you to say. You’re not the one that’s gonna die. Kirk: No, I am, and I agree with Sebastian.

Kirk: We’re exploring other cures. Odette: We were. Before we lost the Ribowski virus, before the U.S. government froze your assets.

Reifler: If the girl is a genetic match, and there’s no guarantee that she is, extracting stem cells from such a young child is extremely dangerous and could prove fatal.

Odette: ....We are out of time, and we are out of resources. The only way to save your life is if we put that child’s in jeopardy. Odette is clearly jealous of Kirk's fun new obsession. Doesn't give a crap about Liz or the kid. What a fun new stepmom Liz has acquired.

She also seems to actually care about Kirk. Even though he’s clearly still in love with his dead spy wife.

Ressler and Samar run after Gaia. He gets away. But they nab a fake id he used to get into the faciliity.

Red takes the id to Glen at a bowling alley to find out who made it.

Glen calls in a guy. The guy gives them Gaia’s address.

Red and Liz go out to Gaia's school bus.

"Photo of a pregnant woman. But no child. Maybe the child was taken or… or died....”

“We’re going to get her back, Lizzy.”

Gaia bursts into his ex-wife's house to tell her to get out of the state. We see that his kid is disfigured.

Tom meets with an old colleague to trace the signal and get Agnes back. Aram informs the task force that Gaia's strike on a pipeline will include a nuclear facility in its blast radius. It's gonna be bad.

Night falls. Tom and his little troop prepare to raid the house.

Liz is sitting in the post office working. She opens the video feed and calls Tom.

Liz: I’m looking at our little girl. It’s almost like a baby monitor, like she’s in the next room. Tom: Only she’s not. Kirk has her. Liz: I know. I asked you this morning to trust me, not to trace the link. I want you to know it means everything to me that you are okay with that. Thank you. Tom: Everything’s gonna be all right, Liz. Blow her a kiss for me.

Liz sings Agnes a lullaby while Tom and company raid the place where the servers are, but not where Kirk is.

It’s a setup. A place full of cameras so Kirk can see if she violates his trust. And she did. Or, he thinks she did.

Kirk: I thought we had an understanding. Liz: About what? What are you talking about? Kirk: You traced this feed.

“No. No, I didn’t. There must be some mistake.”

Liz: ...Wait. That had nothing to do with me. Kirk: I’m sorry, Masha. Liz: No, I told Tom. I specifically said…

"No! Please bring her back! I’m begging you! Bring her back!”

Liz has spent like five minutes with her kid since she was born. She's frantic. Desperate to at least see her. Can't do that anymore.

Tom and Liz both trying to get the kid back in their own way. Tom not telling her things. Liz blows up at him at the end of the episode. Perfectly natural fight, I just hate that they patch it up in like two seconds.

Liz all forgiving him, saying that if his family was the reason they were in danger... um. Actually, his family is involved too. Scottie, you may have heard of her, hired Solomon who sent you on a car chase that almost killed Agnes in utero. But Tom hasn't told you that.

Super happy couple. They never talk about anything apparently, but they really like getting married.

Red goes to see Glen. Shows him the picture of the pregnant woman they found in Gaia's bus. Glen screws with him before agreeing to help.

Hunter helps Kate sit up and feeds her. Asks if the people who did this to her are coming back. She says no and thanks him.

The task force finds out who Gaia is. Ressler and Samar go to the helicopter place and just miss him. "I’m a dead man walking thanks to Fukushima. It poisoned my innocent unborn son into someone people look at as if he’s a monster! Now, whoever dies from this, they’ve got it coming." Fun fact: from what I can find, nobody actually died from radiation poisoning following Fukushima. People died from evacuation, displacement. The earthquake and tsunami. I'm not entirely sure how this was supposed to poison his unborn son? Apparently his helicopter was flown into an unscheduled radiation venting. How does that...? Did his wife fly into it too? Does radiation poisoning get passed on? Like, genetically? Seems unlikely. Whatever.

Anyway, they can't scramble fighters or shut down the pipeline fast enough. But Aram hacks into the helicopter and can shut the rotor down. But he freezes.

“If I click on this, he’ll die. I’ve killed somebody once. I can’t take another life again.” Cooper hits the key like it's no big thing. Glad they were in the office instead of Aram alone in the back of a van or something.

Thank goodness all this happened or Gaia would have killed millions of people, probably. One good thing came out of the running/kidnapping.

Red meets with Maya (Gaia’s wife) in a diner. Needs her to contact her kid's doctor, who, incidentally, is also Kirk's doctor.

“My name is Raymond. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Skyler.”

Aw.

“They live in a delightful space somewhere between dreams and reality. They taste color, hear shapes, see sounds. We should all have such special needs.”

"There is a child. Her life hangs in the balance. I believe Skyler’s doctor could save her.”

It's interesting that they go with a special needs child's doctor, when they could have gone with an adult's doctor, to save the child, Agnes. As there's talk of doing a risky stem cell procedure on her. I think perhaps the writers left the door open to have something happen to Agnes and didn't walk through it. Aram comes in all chipper. Samar shuts that right down. “You made the wrong call today.”

She’s not wrong.

Liz: We talked about this! We agreed!

Tom: Yeah, on how you felt. I told you I disagreed.

Liz: What you didn’t tell me was that you were gonna do something about it. Instead, you went behind my back and did exactly what I told you not to do.

Tom: ...I’m not gonna fight with you about this, Liz! I did what I thought was best! And nobody is sorrier than me that it didn’t work!

Liz: Oh, no. I know someone who’s sorrier. Our daughter… who now, because of you, is God knows where. ...She's probably in the same spot, actually. You just can't see her now. And I doubt she even notices this is happening.

Reifler is taken at the end of this ep, after his house call. He’ll tell Liz that Kirk moves Agnes around anyway to keep Reddington from finding her.

There’s a deleted scene that fits in somewhere of Liz staring at her cellphone, willing the video link to reappear.

Meanwhile, the evil stepmother encourages Kirk to take the risk.

"I know you don’t want to. But you need to use the child.”

They really play up Kirk using her. And then never tell us for sure whether or not he used her. Lovely high stakes to nowhere.

At this point, I don’t think he did. He’s still got six months or so at this juncture. Well, maybe less. But he’s fine at the moment. I don’t think he’d use Agnes until it got super desperate. And she wouldn’t be a match to him anyway, apparently.

Red meets with Liz in his car. Tells her what it was all about, getting Skylar's doctor. “Owen Ayers and his son Skyler share a rare blood disorder. But Dr. Sebastian Reifler is one with a particularly relevant distinction. He treats both Skyler Ayers and Alexander Kirk. If we can get to his doctor, we can get to Kirk. We’re getting close, Lizzy.”

"I lied to you. You asked if Kirk had reached out, and I told you he hadn’t. That wasn’t true. He set up a link… a video feed so I could see Agnes.”

“How incredibly cruel.”

“Tom tried to trace the link, tried to find Agnes, but Kirk found out, and now, uh…”

“She’s gone.”

“I thought I could make it better, that I could protect my baby. I mean, that’s my one job… to protect my child. Make her feel safe at any cost.”

“To hold her. To tell her everything’s gonna be okay. But now because of me, because of what I’ve done, I can’t even do that.”

♪ How does this happen to us all? ♪

I include those lyrics cuz yeah. I haven't seen such a glaring parallel since Red and Liz sitting over the harbormaster's daughter.

Red is angry at Liz at the start of Miles McGrath. He's still stand offish in Gaia, though not as much after spilling the blood news to Liz at the end of McGrath. There's still distance between them, but he can't sit there and see that pain without having a reaction. Red snatches the doc.

Kaplan wakes up with a chain around her ankle.

#Gaia #rewatch 2017

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kittieswritingspot · 6 years

Text

The Long Road

SEASON 1 EPISODE 4: VATOS

A/N: for those of you who are new - thank you for reading and welcome to kittieswritingspot! This is the second chapter of The Long Road, a Walking Dead fanfic based off the script with the addition of an OC of mine. Some plot lines will be different to incorporate her, some lines will get mixed up (just fyi), some original scenes will be included to make up for unaccounted time. Chapters are long but I appreciate your time! I hope y’all enjoy!

Warnings: again this is SUPER LONG; swearing; blood, gore, the usual zombie apocalypse stuff; also, grammatical and spelling errors (I’m counting it! It bothers me and might bother some of y’all)

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x OC (eventually…like a long ways down the road. Get it? Lol I entertain myself)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This can’t be happening. What the fuck is going on right now? He can’t be dead, what the fuck was he thinking? Oh, of course, nothing. He probably thought we left him for dead, I always knew he was like a goddamn animal…

Thoughts raced through Selene’s mind as she stared down at the severed hand on the rooftop. She couldn’t seem to look away it all seemed too surreal. If it wouldn’t have been so comical she would’ve pinched herself to make sure this wasn’t some terrible dream. Sniffles from Daryl brought her back to the moment. She couldn’t imagine what he was going through. She was just about to turn to comfort him when he swung his crossbow up with a growl and aimed it at Glenn’s head.

Rick’s response was immediate. Barely a second passed before his Python was drawn and pointed at Daryl’s head. Glenn had immediately stilled, sweat dripped down his face and a slight whimper escaped his lips. Selene was unsure of what to do. All she could do was watch with her mouth agape, praying to whoever or whatever was listening that the situation did not get out of hand.

“I won’t hesitate,” Rick said softly, his voice and hand steady. “I don’t care if every walker in the city hears it.” Daryl hesitated for a second before nodding slightly and lowering his crossbow, giving Glenn a slightly apologetic look. Glenn let out a shaky breath and nodded to Daryl.

“You got a rag or somethin’?” Daryl asked Glenn quietly. Glenn reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue rag. Daryl took it and opened it up on the rooftop. “I guess the saw blade was too dull for the handcuffs,” he said, picking up Merle’s decaying hand and folding it up in the rag. “Ain’t that a bitch.”

Standing up, he gestured to Glenn to turn around. Glenn did with a look of disgust when he realized what Daryl was about to do. Opening up the pack, Daryl put the hand on top of whatever else was in there before turning around to pick up his crossbow and survey the area.

“He must have used a tourniquet,” Daryl said, taking notice of the blood that had fallen. “Maybe his belt,” he continued, starting to follow the blood trail. “Be much more blood if he didn’t.” The group followed him as he followed the trail of blood to another set of stairs. Glenn followed last after gathering up Dale’s tools that had been left behind with Merle. Selene let Rick follow Daryl, wanting to check up on her friend.

“Hey,” she said softly, grasping Glenn’s hand softly, “you okay?”

“Yeah,” Glen nodded, a small laugh escaping. “I thought I was dead for a second there.”

“He wouldn’t have done it,” Selene replied. “He was just acting out. Besides, Rick wouldn’t have let him.”

“Why do you do that?” Glenn questioned her. His eyes searched her face; trying to see behind the wall she always had up. “Why do you always back him up?” His accusatory tone made her take a small step back. Releasing his hand, she turned away from him, the wind blowing her hair in her face. She could hear Daryl calling for Merle in the stairway below.

“We should catch up,” she muttered, starting forward toward the door.

“Just tell me why Selene,” Glenn insisted, grabbing her hand, pulling her around to face him again.

“He saved my life Glenn,” she said with tears in her eyes. “He didn’t have to, but him and his dumbass brother both went out of their way to save my life. I owe them everything.” She pulled her hand out of his and wiped the tears away before they could fall. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, once again turning away from him, “he didn’t mean it, I know he didn’t.” She walked away from him without waiting for a response, hurrying through the door to follow Rick and Daryl.

“I know,” Glenn said to himself, sighing before following her through the door and down the stairs.

Selene caught up to Rick and Daryl in a kitchen where they were examining a lit stove and what looked like an old fashioned iron with burnt bits stuck to it. Next to that was a bloodied belt.

“What’s that burned stuff?” She asked, taking a step closer to examine it thoroughly.

“Skin,” Rick said, causing her to take a step back and retch a little. “He cauterized the stump.”

“Told you he was tough,” Daryl spoke up, his eyes scanning the room, resting briefly on Selene as she dry heaved in the corner. “Nobody can kill Merle but Merle.” He moved on when he saw Glenn catch up and rub Selene’s back, helping her fight the revulsion.

“Don’t take that on faith,” Rick replied, also looking around. “He’s lost a lot of blood.”

“Yeah?” Daryl scoffed, reloading his crossbow with a loud click. He walked around again and stopped at a smashed window he had missed earlier. “Didn’t stop him from busting out of this death trap.”

“He left the building?” Glenn asked, looking up from Selene as she gave him a thumbs up. “Why the hell would he do that?” The group gathered around the window to contemplate the possibilities.

“Why wouldn’t he?” Daryl retorted. “He’s out there alone as far as he knows, doing what he’s got to do. Surviving.”

“You call that surviving?” Glenn asked incredulously. “Just wandering out in the streets, maybe passing out? What are his odds out there?” He gestured to the broken window.

“No worse than being handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks,” Daryl sneered at him. “You couldn’t kill him. Ain’t so worried about some dumb dead bastard.”

“What about a thousand dumb dead bastards?” Rick snapped back, stepping close to Daryl. “Different story?”

“Why you don’t take a tally?” Daryl spat back. “Do what you want. I’m gonna go get him.” Selene rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall, waiting for the posturing to end. At the same time, Rick blocked Daryl’s path.

“Daryl,” Rick said, “wait.”

“Get your hands off me!” Daryl shouted. “You can’t stop me.”

“I don’t blame you,” Rick reasoned, still blocking the way. “He’s family, I get that. I went through hell to find mine. I know exactly how you feel. He can’t get far with that injury. We could help you check a few blocks around but only if we keep a level head.”

Daryl glanced at Selene briefly, watching her nod along with Rick’s words. “I could do that,” he said calmly.

“Only if we get those guns first Rick,” Selene interjected. “I ain’t walking through those hordes with just my pistol and bow.” Rick and Daryl both looked back at her before exchanging a glance. They nodded, knowing that the smarter move was to look for the guns for added protection before facing the walker infested streets below.

“Alright,” Rick started. “So how to we go about getting those guns?” He looked over at Glenn who was already deep in thought.

“Here, I have an idea,” Glenn said with a nod. “Give me a sec’.” He moved off into an office-like space to plan. Rick followed him with Selene just behind him. Daryl grabbed her arm, pulling her back, and waited until Rick disappeared through the entryway.

“You alright?” He asked Selene, pulling her around to look at her face.

“I’m okay,” she nodded, pushing her hair out of her face. He studied her for a second, taking in her pasty appearance and the quiver in her lip.

“Okay,” he mumbled before pushing past her to follow the others into the room. If she didn’t want to tell him, that was her business. And besides, she did seem fine. When he entered the room, he saw a crude map Glenn had drawn on the floor, with small office supplied standing in as landmarks.

“I can go get the guns on my own,” he was saying, starting to point out his plan to Rick.

“You’re not doing this alone,” Selene said sternly, standing next to Daryl who was leaning backwards against a desk. Placing her bow on the desk, she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Glenn.

“Even I think that’s a bad idea, and I don’t even like you much,” Daryl offered.

“It’s a good idea okay,” Glenn sighed, “if you just hear me out. If we go out there in a group, we’re slow, drawing attention. If I’m alone, I can move fast.” He started pointing out the different markers on the map as he explained. “Look. That’s the tank, five blocks from where we are now. That’s the bag of guns.” He pointed to an empty corridor on the map. “Here’s the alley I dragged you into when we first met,” he said to Rick. “That’s where Daryl and I will go.”

“Why me?” Daryl asked.

“Your crossbow is quieter than his gun,” Glenn explained. “Selene can cover Rick with her bow. While Daryl waits here in the alley, I run up the street, grab the bag.”

“You got us elsewhere?” Rick questioned, wanting to get all the details down.

“You two will be in this alley here,” Glenn answered, pointing to another offshoot from the main road.

“Two blocks away?” Rick asked, exchanging a confused look with Selene. “Why?”

“I may not be able to come back the same way,” Glenn said matter of factly. “Walkers might cut me off. If that happens, I won’t go back to Daryl. I’ll go forward instead, all the way around to that alley where you guys are. Whichever direction I go, I got you in both places to cover me. Afterwards, we’ll all meet back here.” The other three looked at each other and nodded, somewhat surprised at the depth behind the plan.

“Hey, kid, what’d you do before all this?” Daryl asked him.

“Delivered pizzas,” Glenn replied before stopping to think about the question. “Why?”

Selene snorted with laughter while Daryl and Rick exchanged amused looks before nodding to each other. She laughed again when Glenn looked at her questioningly.

“Don’t worry about it,” she giggled, picking up her bow off the desk. Glenn’s brow was still furrowed with confusion when they started to make their way out of the building via the fire escape. Rick went down first, followed by Glenn, then Daryl, and finally Selene. When they all reached the street the pairs split up, taking off in opposite directions to their respective locations. Briefly before leaving, Daryl had placed a hand on Selene’s shoulder and nodded to her, turning away quickly and charging down the alleyway.

“So what’s with the two of you?” Rick asked her quietly when they reached their alleyway.

“What d’ya mean?” she responded, confused as to what he was talking about. The only thing running through her mind was to keep an eye out and her ears open for walkers.

“You and Daryl,” Rick pushed, also standing ready to fight, his gun in his hand.

“What? Nothing,” she replied in an annoyed whisper. His question surprised her when she finally understood what he was talking about.

“Well it’s just that sometimes you two seem pretty close,” he continued, his eyes scanning the road.

“Rick,” she said between gritted teeth, “is this really the time? There’s nothing. He, his brother, and I were on the road together before we met up with the rest of the camp, you just grow close with that sort of thing. We’re like brothers…except that I’m a girl so I’m probably more like a sister.” She shook her head at the ridiculousness of the situation. “Do you seriously want to have a conversation like this at a time like this?”

“Well I just thought we’d pass the time,” he said with a huff of laughter. “Didn’t mean to get you all riled up.”

“I am not,” Selene shot back, her voice rising. “I swear to God, if Merle doesn’t kick your ass when we find him, I just might.”

“I know,” Rick snorted, “the way you took down Shane, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were able to take me down as well.” Selene smirked at that and was about to reply when they heard an unfamiliar voice yelling from the direction of the alley Daryl and Glenn were in. Exchanging a terrified glance, they took off towards the alley, afraid of what they would find. More yells erupted as they raced down the alley, Daryl’s and Glenn’s voices added to cacophony of sound.

When Selene and Rick reached the end of the alley, they saw Daryl against a chain-link gate that was blocking the end of the alley, keeping a group of walkers out. The bag of guns, along with a sheriff’s hat on the ground next to him, a Mexican kid they didn’t recognize and no Glenn. Daryl was shouting after a car that was speeding down the road and out of sight.

Selene stopped just short of the kid, aiming an arrow at his head. “What the fuck is going on?” she growled at him. Rick had run on past the kid, towards Daryl, stopping Daryl from turning around and running after the kid, probably to beat him up.

“Woah, woah, woah,” Rick said loudly, trying to get his voice over Daryl’s. “Stop it!”

“I’m gonna kick your nuts up in your throat!” Daryl threatened the boy. The boy turned as if to run, only to remember that Selene was still standing their, bow raised and ready to fire.

“Get out of my way,” the kid said, trying to side step Selene.

“Chill out,” she replied, following his every move.

“They took Glenn,” Daryl yelled from the end of the alley. Rick was still trying to hold him back. “That little bastard and his little bastard homie friends. I’m gonna stomp your ass!” Daryl made a motion as if to kick the kid and Rick took that opportunity to push Daryl back, forcing him to stop his tirade to regain his balance.

“Come on guys!” Selene called, her arm was tiring from holding her bow at the ready for so long. “We’re cut off, we gotta go!” Rick turned to her and nodded up the alley.

“Get back to the room. Go.”

Selene nodded and put down her bow, grabbing the kid’s arm before he could run off and leading him to the fire escape ladder. She pushed him up first and followed him, checking to make sure that Rick and Daryl were following. They were a few yards behind her, Daryl had his crossbow slung across his back and Rick was hauling the heavy bag of guns up the ladder, his Sheriff’s hat on top of his head.

When they reached the room Selene drew her gun on the kid and motioned for him to sit in one of the chairs. She stood there watching him until Daryl and Rick made it through the window. Putting their weapons down, Rick took over questioning the kid.

“Those men you were with,” he started, leaning in close to kid’s face, “we need to know where they went.” Selene imagined this is what it looked like when Rick was interrogating people for his job.

“I ain’t telling you nothing,” the kid spit at him, looking defiantly into Rick’s eyes. Selene wasn’t fooled though, she had had a younger brother, and she knew when kids were covering up fear with bravado.

“What the hell happened down there?” she questioned Daryl, pulling her gaze away from the interrogation happening in front of her.

“I told you!” Daryl exploded; all his pacing back and forth was doing nothing to calm him down. “This little turd and his douchebag friends came out of nowhere and jumped me.”

“You’re the one who jumped me, puto,” the kid fired back, “screaming about trying to find his brother like it’s my damn fault.”

“They took Glenn,” Daryl said to Rick, “could have taken Merle too.”

“Merle?” the kid asked with a laugh. “What kind of hick name is that? I wouldn’t name my dog Merle.”

Selene couldn’t help herself when she snorted with laughter. Daryl ignored her as he went to kick the kid in the face, only to be stopped by Rick pushing him back.

“Dammit Daryl, back off,” Rick huffed, holding him back with his arm outstretched. Daryl glared at Rick for a second before an idea came to him. Crossing to where Glenn had stashed his bag, he rummaged through it until he brought out the folded up rag. Glancing at Selene, he unwrapped Merle’s hand.

“Want to see what happened to the last guy that pissed me off?” Daryl threatened as he threw the hand into the kid’s lap. It took a moment for the kid to realize what he was looking at but when he did, he freaked out and fell out of the chair in an attempt to get away.

“Start with the feet this time,” Daryl taunted, pulling on the front of the kid’s wife beater while the kid whimpered in fear. Both Rick and Selene pulled Daryl off the kid. She held him back while Rick turned his attention back to the kid.

“The men you were with took our friend,” he said calmly. “All we want to do is talk to them, see if we can work something out.”

The kid nodded meekly, still staring at the hand that had landed on the floor. “They’re at a building a few blocks from here,” he said shakily, “I can take you there.”

“Okay,” Rick nodded, “let’s go.” Selene had started to remove her pack from her shoulders when a hand stopped her movement.

“I think you should stay here,” Daryl’s gruff voice said behind her. “We dunno what we’re getting into.”

“You’re kidding me,” she scoffed, turning to look at him. “You had no problem with me coming along on this run to begin with. Why’s this any different?”

Daryl just stood there a moment, staring at her, chewing on his lip. Rick had the kid by the arm, already halfway out the room when he turned to look at the pair, a look of urgency on his face. Flicking her eyes to him, Selene nodded knowing that time was short. Whatever complex Dixon was having right now, she brushed it aside; Glenn needed to be saved.

“We don’t have time for this Daryl,” she snapped, jerking him out of his thoughts. “We need to save Glenn.” She readjusted her quiver and reached around him for her bow, feeling his gaze bore into her.

“Fine,” he said with a sneer. “You do what you want. See if I care.”

She snorted at his remark. It wasn’t the first time she heard a sentiment similar to that from him. The first time it happened, she had taken it seriously and started packing up to leave. The more she thought about it though, the angrier she got and by the time she was packed up to leave, she swung a fist at him instead, effectively putting an end to his sourness at her. It would pass, it always did. Besides, Glenn was her friend and she wasn’t about to leave him to a bunch of assholes.

She brushed passed him to follow Rick out the door, discussing the strategy they would use when they reached the hideout of the kid’s buddies. Daryl caught up with them when they reached the street; by then Rick and Selene already had a plan in place. Judging by the kid’s reaction to certain guesses they were making, they figured out that the hideout was pretty well fortified and that there were a lot more of his friends than they had originally thought.

“So Daryl and I’ll take the kid up to the door,” Rick was saying when Daryl caught up. “You’ll keep an lookout from a vantage point and cover us.”

“Sounds good,” Selene replied, “I won’t let you down.”

Daryl brushed against her arm as he walked past her to catch up with Rick, pushing the kid along the road. It wasn’t long until they reached a cluster of buildings. One in particular stood out, a strong door completing the look of the fortress-like appearance. Rick briefly pointed out a smaller building with a direct line of sight to the clearing in front of the door. Selene nodded stiffly, feeling her heart pounding in her chest. She reached into the bag and found a rifle, running her hands over it; she familiarized herself with it while Rick readied himself with a shotgun. She could feel agitation rolling off of Daryl who stood next to her, leaning against a crumbling brick wall. He was chewing on his lip while keeping an eye on the kid, who was sitting on the grass at Daryl’s feet.

“You sure you’re up for this?” Rick asked her, noticing her nervousness.

“Yeah,” she replied, exhaling a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.

“You know how to use that?” Rick continued. Selene shot him a look before realizing he didn’t mean it in an insulting way.

“Yeah,” she said, “used to go hunting with my dad. It’s just been awhile, is all.” Rick nodded to her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder before sending her off. Sparing a look at Daryl, she grabbed the duffel bag and walked away towards the building Rick had indicated earlier. She could hear the other three talking, something about the leader of the kid’s group. Picking up the pace, she jogged to the entrance of the building, hoping to get in position before they made their move. The duffel bag slowed her down as she raced up the stairs. By the time she reached the roof, she was huffing and a pain was stuck in her side. Guess I gotta start working out more, she thought to herself with a grim smile. Placing the duffel bag on the rooftop, she found her vantage point and got in position. The rifle rested heavily in her hands as she peered through the scope.

Rick and Daryl had the kid in front of them, and the doors to the fortress were slowly opening. Taking a deep breath to steady herself Selene watched the events unfold in front of her, wishing she could be down there with them. She knew that Rick was right, however, Daryl was the more logical choice to have down there and they did need someone to cover them. It didn’t mean she had to like it though. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she went back to the task at hand. They were talking with a rather skinny Mexican guy. She couldn’t hear what was said but it didn’t look like they were making a lot of progress.

Suddenly, two other guys came out of the door, one holding a rag to his ass, limping a little. He was gesturing towards Daryl with his gun, accusing him of something. Selene tensed, her finger edging closer to the trigger until it looked like the leader was telling his man to calm down. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. More talking…more gesturing. What’s taking so long? She was getting impatient. At one point, Rick tilted his head in her direction, the leader following his gaze, spotting her and smirking.

“Come on, asshole,” she muttered, adjusting her grip on the rifle. “Just make the fucking trade.”

She saw the leader call out and two men appeared at the edge of the roof of the fortress above her, a bound and gagged Glenn between them. Terror pasted itself to his features; his breathing was erratic and he was visibly shaking at his predicament. Fuck, Selene thought, her heart racing at the sight. Tearing her eyes away from Glenn, she forced herself to focus on the situation on the ground. A few more words were exchanged before the groups backed away from each other, the kid still in their custody, Glenn still in the hands of the gang. Growling in frustration, she stood up and headed back down to the ground to meet up with Rick and Daryl.

------

“We need to regroup,” Rick said tersely, leading them out of the immediate area.

“What the fuck is going on?” Selene asked as Daryl stomped off to a nearby building.

“We were given an ultimatum,” Rick replied, pushing the kid along and following Daryl. “We give them the kid and the guns or we go out shooting.” Once they got inside Rick pushed the kid down onto the floor and told him to stay there. He then opened the duffel bag and started to divide up the guns. Selene was still trying to process what Rick had told her, only looking up when a conversation started.

“Them guns are worth more than gold,” Daryl spoke up, pacing slightly back and forth in front of the desk Rick was working on. “Gold won’t protect your family or put food on the table. You’re gonna give that up for that kid?”

“You’re kidding me right?” Selene snapped at him, stopping him in his tracks. “This is Glenn we’re talking about. The only question is whether or not we can make sure that Vato keeps his word.”

“You calling G a liar?” the kid accused from the floor.

“Are you a part of this?” Daryl yelled at him, slapping his head. “You want to hold on to your teeth?”

“Do you think he’ll keep his word?” Selene pushed Rick.

“No,” Daryl interrupted, “the question is what are you willing to bet on it? Could be more than them guns. Could be your life. Glenn worth that to you?”

“What life I have I owe to him,” Rick said, stopping Selene before she could launch back at Daryl. “I was nobody to Glenn, just some idiot stuck in a tank. He could have walked away, but he didn’t. Neither will I.”

“So you’re gonna hand the guns over?” Daryl asked incredulously.

“I didn’t say that,” Rick replied with a shake of his head. “There’s nothing keeping you two here. You should get out, head back to camp.”

“And tell your family what?” Selene asked heavily, her head in her hands. She peeked up from between her fingers at Rick, waiting for some sort of decision to be made. She already knew that she was going to do whatever she could to help get Glenn back; she just hoped she wouldn’t have to do it alone. After looking at her, Rick turned his gaze back to Daryl. There was a moment’s hesitation, where Daryl mulled over the situation in his head, before he finally nodded, reaching forward to grab a shotgun offered by Rick. Selene also reached over and plucked a shotgun off the table, checking to see that it was loaded and familiarizing herself with the weight.

“Come on,” the kid whined, “this is nuts. Just do like G says.” He started to rise up from the floor as if to confront the three of them but was stopped when Daryl motioned for him to sit back down. Realizing that there was nothing he could do to change their mind, the kid sat there quietly, hoping that it wouldn’t go south.

“Come on, let’s go,” Rick said when they were thoroughly armed. To prevent the kid from messing with negotiations, his hands were tied behind his back and a thick rag was tied around his mouth, courtesy of Daryl. It hardly seemed necessary to Selene; she thought it was pretty obvious what they intended to do. Slinging the duffel bag across this back, Rick led the way back to the fortress, his gun pushing the kid forward every step of the way.

As they approached the fortress, the doors opened and they stepped over the threshold. Selene could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest and her hands starting to sweat. Hearing her shaky breath, Daryl glanced over at her and gave her a reassuring nod. Just wanting it to be over, she gave a slight nod back, not really looking at him as she took in the sight before her. There were at least two dozen Vatos surrounding them, each of them armed. The leader, Guillermo, stepped out from the group to address them.

“I see my guns but they’re not all in the bag,” he said to Rick, gesturing to the guns they held.

“That’s because they’re not yours,” Rick replied, tilting his head slightly. “I thought I mentioned that.”

Christ, Selene thought, shaking her head internally, is this really the time to be a smart ass Rick?

“Let’s just shoot these fools right now, ese, all right?” the same wounded man from earlier shouted. “Unload on their asses, ese.” He was directly in front of her, waving his outstretched gun at them. Selene could feel her skin prickling at the thought of the danger they were in. Surrounded, in a fortress, with two dozen guns pointed at them, if not more. They would be lucky to get out of this alive. Her heart hammered in her chest and it took everything in her to take slow, measured breaths and exude the same calm she felt from both Rick and Daryl.

Ignoring his henchman, Guillermo continued to speak to Rick, “I don’t think you fully appreciate the gravity of the situation.”

“No, I’m pretty clear,” Rick retorted. After a moment’s hesitation, Rick lowered his shotgun to cut the kid free. Without looking back, the kid disappeared into the gang. Quickly putting his knife away, Rick once again raised his gun. “You have your man; I want mine.”

A visibly agitated Guillermo pushed back, “I’m gonna chop up your boy. I’m gonna feed him to my dogs. They’re the evilest, nastiest man-eating bitches you ever saw. I picked them up from Satan at a yard sale. I told you how it has to be, are you woefully deaf?” He was moving constantly, stepping from foot to foot as he attempted to intimidate Rick.

At the mention of Glenn, Selene gasped softly, just loud enough for Daryl to hear. He took a quick glance at her and saw her pale, her stance faltered and her gun dropped ever so slightly. He immediately stepped next to her, under the guise of getting a better angle to cover Rick. The movement caused her to look up at him and when she did, he quickly shook his head. He needed her head in the game, they all did, or they wouldn’t stand a chance. She gave a small nod of understanding and took a deep breath, forcing herself to get back into the situation at hand.

“No,” Rick was saying, “my hearing’s fine. You said come locked and loaded.” Daryl and Selene took that as a cue and immediately cocked their shotguns, taking aim at the closest of the Vatos. “Okay then, we’re here.” The Vatos reacted instantly, moving the circle closer and aiming their weapons as well. The tension in the air was thick, each side waiting for the other to make the wrong move. Selene’s finger moved to hover over the trigger, all thought of Glenn momentarily gone from her mind. The only thing that mattered in this moment was how to get out of this alive, and if she were to be honest, she didn’t think they had a chance in hell.

Suddenly, a feeble voice called from behind the wall of Vatos, “Felipe! Felipe!” It sounded like an old woman.

“Abuela,” the injured Vato in front of Selene said when the old woman appeared next to him, “go back with the others…now.”

Others? Selene tilted her head, trying to assess the situation. Chancing a glance at Rick, she saw confusion spread across his face.

“Get that old lady out of the line of fire!” Daryl yelled, gun still raised and ready to shoot.

“Abuela, listen to your mijo, okay?” Guillermo said to her, annoyance crossing his face. “This is not the place for you right now.”

Not listening to anyone, the old lady tugged on Felipe’s sleeve, forcing him to look at her, “Mr. Gilbert is having trouble breathing. He needs his asthma stuff. Carlitos didn’t find it. He needs his medicine.”

What the fuck is going on right now? Selene thought to herself. Like Rick, she was slowly lowering her gun. Sure, it could be some kind of elaborate ruse, but would these guys really be so cold hearted as to use an old lady to lure them into lowering their guns?

“Felipe, go take care of it, okay? And take your grandmother with you.” Guillermo was visibly annoyed now. This didn’t seem like it was part of any plan. Felipe turned to his grandmother to speak to her.

“Abuela! Ven conmigo por favor.”

Completely ignoring Felipe, the old lady turned to look at Rick, Daryl, and Selene, her eyes widening as if she was only noticing them now. “Who are those people?” she asked Felipe

Shaking his head, and trying to lead her away, Felipe said more urgently, “por favor, ven conmigo.”

“Don’t you take him,” she suddenly spoke up, walking towards Rick while gesturing to Felipe, a stern look on her face.

Taking an uncertain glance around, Rick questioned her, “ma’am?”

“Felipe’s a good boy,” the old lady said, “he has his trouble but he pulls himself together. We need him here.” Rick sighed, looking as if he were trying to figure out how to deal with the situation. With Rick letting down his guard, Selene brought her gun back up again, training it on Guillermo, who was looking very tense at the exchange.

“Ma’am,” he said, lowering his gun, “I’m not here to arrest your grandson.”

“Then what do you want him for?”

“He’s…” Rick struggled to figure out what to say, “he’s helping us find a missing person. Fella named Glenn.”

“The Asian boy?” she questioned, understanding finding a way to her features. “He’s with Mr. Gilbert. Come.” She walked closer to Rick to take his hand, which he obliged. “Come, I’ll show you.” Rick followed the old woman as she led him away, paying no mind to the air of hostility lingering. Looking over at Daryl, Selene slowly lowered the gun, unsure of what to do.

“Let ‘em pass,” Guillermo said to the gang with an exasperated sigh. Things were obviously not going as he planned. Daryl gestured for Selene to follow Rick first, allowing him to take up the rear.

Leaving the fortified area, they walked through a garden and up some stairs into another building. Looking back at Daryl, they exchanged a confused look, still on edge, unsure if they were walking into a trap. He still had his hands tight on the shotgun, his brow furrowed with concern. Following his lead, she kept alert to any movements around her, until they started passing room after room of elderly patients and attendees caring for them. The more rooms they passed, the more it confused her. What were the Vatos doing in a place like this?

There was a slight pause in the procession when Rick stopped to get a better look into one of the rooms they were passing. Felipe walked past him to urge his grandmother onward, asking her to take him to whoever this Mr. Gilbert was. They’re protecting these people? Selene asked herself as realization dawned on her. Relief suddenly flooded through her, they had almost made a huge mistake.

Walking into a larger, auditorium-like room, they heard Felipe helping an elderly man who was wheezing. They gathered around, almost missing Glenn who was standing there, watching the scene take place, not bound or gagged, a look of concern on his face. When Selene saw him, she breathed a sigh of relief and was surprised to feel all her muscles relax; she had no idea that she had been that tense for so long.

“What the hell is this?” Rick asked him in a hushed voice, confusion at the entire situation winning out.

“An asthma attack,” Glenn responded, eyes still on the old man. “Couldn’t get his breath all of a sudden.”

Annoyed at his nonchalance of the situation, Selene accusingly said, “we thought you were being eaten by dogs!” Glenn looked around behind him, causing the Daryl, Rick, and Selene to follow his gaze. There in a pink dog bed were three Chihuahuas. Selene couldn’t do anything but shake her head at the ridiculousness, turning to walk away. She wanted nothing more than to go up to Guillermo to beat the shit out of him for creating this conflict but decided against it. Better to not make matters worse, especially not in front of the elderly people. She paced back and forth, waiting for the next cue from Rick. Daryl watched her out of the corner of his eye, also floored by the outcome of the day’s events.

Turning to Guillermo, Rick motioned a room adjacent to the hall, “could I have a word with you?” Guillermo nodded and walked into the room, Rick right behind him and Daryl, Glenn, and Selene following closely. Guillermo and Rick walked into the small room, with the other three hovering just inside the doorway to listen. “You’re the dumbest son of a bitch I ever met,” Rick continued his hushed tirade once Guillermo leaned against a table to look at him. “We walked in there ready to kill every last one of you.”

“Still might,” Selene muttered under her breath, still annoyed at the situation. Daryl scoffed lightly and nudged her arm before turning his attention back to the conversation.

“Well I’m glad it didn’t go down that way,” Guillermo replied, a small smile on his face.

“If it had, that blood would be on my hands,” Rick said forcefully, trying to get his point across.

“Mine too,” Guillermo said with a sigh. “We’d have fought back. Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had to. Protect the food, the medicine. What’s left of it. These people, the old ones; the staff took off, just left ‘em here to die. Me and Felipe are the only ones who stayed.”

“What are you,” Rick questioned, “doctors?”

Guillermo shook his head, looking at the ground before taking a breath and looking back up at Rick, “Felipe’s a nurse, a special care provider. Me, I’m the custodian.”

“What about the rest of your crew?” Rick asked.

“The Vatos trickle in to check on their parents, their grandparents,” Guillermo explained. “They see how things are and most decide to stay. It’s a good thing too. We need the muscle. The people we’ve encountered since things fell apart, the worst kind…plunderers, the kind that take by force.”

“That’s not who we are,” Rick pressed, gesturing to his small crew.

“How was I to know?” Guillermo ask, glancing at the three of them in the doorway. “My people got attacked and you show up with Miguel hostage…appearances.”

“Guess the world changed,” Glenn said, shaking his head.

“No,” Guillermo looked at him, before addressing the room. “It’s the same as it ever was. The weak get taken. So we do what we can here. The Vatos work on those cars, talk about getting the old people out of the city. But most can’t even get to the bathroom by themselves, still, it keeps the crew busy, and that’s worth something. So we barred all the windows, welded all the doors shut except for one entrance. The Vatos, they go out, scavenge what they can to keep us going. We watch the perimeter night and day and we wait. The people here, they all look to me now. I don’t even know why.”

“Because they can,” Rick said, a look of understanding on his face. Selene understood where he was coming from; the way Guillermo held himself when he was in front of the Vatos was different than his demeanor in the small room. He exuded confidence out there.

Fake it til you make it, I guess, Selene thought to herself. Rick’s movement caught her attention. He was taking the duffle bag off his back and offering some of the guns and ammo in it to Guillermo, who took them with a grateful smile. Daryl scoffed next to her and stalked out of the room. She followed him, not wanting him to make a scene while they were still at the nursing home.

“Daryl,” she started, reaching out to grab his shoulder.

“What?” he spat, turning to face her briefly. She merely sighed and removed her hand; there was nothing she could say right now to calm him down. Seeing she didn’t have anything to say, he spun around and continued walking back the way they had come in, muttering something under his breath. She followed him at a distance, allowing Glenn and Rick to catch up to them, which they did when she was just leaving the first building they were in.

Beaming at Glenn, she threw an arm around his shoulders and stole his hat for a few minutes, happy to have her friend back. They walked in silence back to the building they had left their gear in, becoming more cautious the further into the city they went. Daryl was there waiting for them, his agitation mostly gone. He looked apologetically at Selene when she entered to gather her things but she ignored him, tired from the long and stressful day, wanting nothing more than to get back to camp and fall asleep.

“Ready to go?” Rick asked when everything had been packed up and slung over their shoulders. They nodded in agreement and headed back out to the road, this time allowing their cautiousness to ease up the further they got from the center of the city. Glenn chuckling to himself caught Selene’s attention as they walked back to the truck.

“What?” she asked, looking at him as she walked. He shook his head at first before gesturing to Rick who was walking on the other side of Glenn.

“Admit it,” he chuckled when Rick looked at him, “you only came back to Atlanta for the hat.” Selene giggled, ignoring the huff of annoyance that came from her left.

Rick smiled, “don’t tell anybody.”

“You’ve given away half our guns and ammo,” Daryl finally spoke up in an annoyed voice, causing Selene to glare at him for ruining the fun.

“Not nearly half,” Rick replied in a weary tone.

“For what?” Daryl continued, undeterred. “Bunch of old farts who are gonna die off momentarily anyhow? Seriously, how long you think they got?”

“How long do any of us?” Selene retorted, staring at Daryl. It took a moment for the two of them to realize that Rick and Glenn had stopped in their tracks.

“Oh my God,” Glenn breathed. Turning to look, Selene realized that they were where the truck was supposed to be only it wasn’t there.

“Where the hell’s our truck?” Daryl asked no one in particular.

“We left it right there,” Glenn said, desperation creeping into his voice.

“Who would take it?” Selene asked, looking around at Rick while trying to figure out who else could possibly be out here.

“Merle,” Rick growled, realization spreading across his features.

“He’s gonna be taking some vengeance back to camp,” Daryl said quietly, worry evident in his tone as he looked at the group. Selene and Glenn exchanged terrified glances at the thought. Even injured, Selene knew that Merle was still capable of heavy damage to the unprepared people of the camp.

“Come on,” Rick urged them, shifting the duffle bag into a more comfortable position across his back. “We got a long way to go and we gotta hurry.” Following his lead, they took off at a brisk pace, back down the road toward camp.

“What d’you think he’ll do?” Glenn asked Selene, knowing she knew the Dixon brothers best.

“Hopefully nothing too bad,” she replied, the brisk pace set by Rick making it hard for her to keep up and talk at the same time. “If anything, he’ll go after the people who were on the run first…Andrea, Morales, definitely T-Dog. With luck, he’ll give up after that and move on, maybe wait for Daryl to get back.”

Daryl stiffened slightly at the thought – his brother hanging around, terrorizing the women and kids just to wait for him to get back. Breaking out into a slight jog, he caught up to Rick and led the group, urging them on to move even faster. Selene fell behind, unable to keep up with the long legs of her companions. Glenn noticed first, as he was the one walking beside her. He turned to tell Rick and Daryl to wait but she motioned for her to keep going.

“Don’t worry,” she called, “I’ll keep up.” Glenn hesitated for a second before nodding at her, knowing the camp needed them to go back. Moving on, he was surprised when Daryl suddenly walked past him in the opposite direction towards Selene. Confused, Selene stood from her bent position. “What are you doing?” she asked Daryl as he approached her. He didn’t reply, just grabbed her backpack strap and pulled, yanking it off her in one quick motion that left her spinning.

“I told ya to stop bringing this thing,” he grumbled, putting the pack on his back and adjusting the straps.

“The one day I don’t bring it is the one day someone will get hurt,” she bit back, embarrassed by her need for help. His expression softened slightly when he noticed her embarrassment; the tightness in his lips eased a little, if only for a second, and his brow became less furrowed.

“Come on,” he urged her, starting to walk away to catch back up with Rick, “we gotta go.” He walked off before she had a chance to respond, taking her first aid pack with him.

“Okay,” she said to herself, taking a deep breath. “You can do this.” Bouncing a couple times, she broke into a jog to catch up with the group, having only her bow and quiver to carry making it easier to keep up. Rick smiled when he saw her running with the group.

“If we keep up this pace, we’ll probably make it back by nightfall,” he announced, taking the lead once again.

I hope we’re not too late, Selene thought as they jogged out of the city together.

------

Night had fallen by the time the group started to get near the camp. They had continued their steady jog, for the last couple of miles, the sun going down pushing them past the exhaustion and the pain. The only time they stopped was when Rick insisted they each have a gun, just in case. Already having a handgun on her, Selene opted to grab some extra ammo, not wanting to carry the extra weight. The others had shotguns in hand. Selene had no idea how the others were keeping up the pace, especially Rick. Since Daryl had taken her pack she was able to keep up with the group but it was still a struggle, the only thing pushing her forward was the idea of Merle terrorizing the camp. She couldn’t imagine running with a duffle bag filled with guns and ammo slung across her back.

Looking around, Selene started to recognize her surroundings, and she quickened her pace, eager to get back to camp. There were no sounds that she could hear, and that was either a very good or a very bad sign; she was impatient to find out which it was. The feeling of relief was short lived, however, when screaming erupted up ahead and the sound of gunshots could be heard. The group paused for a second, a shiver running up Selene’s spine. They looked to each other, not knowing what they were hoping for more, that it was Merle running amok back at camp or that it was walkers. Either of those options was deadly. When the shots didn’t cease, they ran full tilt up the last hill, coming upon a terrifying scene.

The camp was in utter chaos; walkers had invaded camp and were ripping people apart. Looking around in horror, Selene saw Amy covered in blood on the ground near the RV, Andrea hovering over her, screaming into the night. The sounds of the kids screaming for their parents tore through her, causing her to gasp for air as her vision blurred. Her little brother’s strangled screams as the walker tore into his neck rang out loudest of all. The sound of a gunshot next to her violently snapped her out of her waking nightmare. Daryl was standing next to her, firing into the crowd of walkers, yelling something she couldn’t quite make out.

Turning to her, he took precious seconds to shake her shoulder hard, almost making her fall to the ground. “Selene!” he yelled, his face just inches from hers. “We gotta go! Come on!”

Blinking furiously she forced herself to come back to the present, the sound of her brother’s cries fading, replaced instead by the shouts of the others in the camp. Nodding quickly to Daryl, she pulled out her gun and followed him into the chaos, ignoring the panicked shouts of others in the camp, determination making her hand steady when she pulled the trigger. She covered Daryl as they made their way through the camp, taking down walker after walker.

When she heard the scream of one of the children, she broke away, sprinting further into the horde. She immediately regretted that decision. Unable to locate the child, she found herself surrounded on all sides, right in the middle of the worst of the mob. Firing repeatedly, her heart hammered wildly and she fought like mad to keep calm. Just as her clip was emptied, a walker slammed into her from her left, knocking her to the ground. She screamed upon seeing the face of the undead above her, its jaws snapping just inches from her face as she fought to keep it at bay. Using her left arm to keep it from biting her, she reached frantically for her knife with her right hand.

This isn’t how this ends! She thought to wildly, her fear growing swiftly into anger. Gotta get this fucking thing off me. I am not fucking going out like this! With a primal growl, she gave one final push, lifting the walker off of her torso enough to reach down and grab her knife, unsheathing it and plunging it into the walker’s skull. It immediately stilled and was suddenly dead weight on top of her. She tried in vain to push it off but the exhaustion from the day’s events was taking over, causing her vision to blur and start to fade.

The fighting had ceased and she could hear Rick calling for Carl and Lori, terrified that they had been bit. She heard Daryl calling her name, realizing that she hadn’t said anything to him when she made the snap decision to go off on her own. She tried to call back but it was everything she could do to keep from passing out, the weight of the walker making it increasingly harder to breathe. On the edge of unconsciousness, she tentatively reached out her hand, hoping someone would notice her pinned under the body. Thankfully, someone did.

“She’s over here,” she heard a voice call out above her. The walker was pulled off her and she took in a deep breath, coughing slightly with the effort. “Selene! Selene! Hey, you with me? You okay?” she recognized Glenn’s voice as he gently pulled her up into a sitting position, taking in her bloodstained clothes and trying to discern if she was bit or not.

“I’m fine,” she wheezed out, still trying to keep from passing out. The darkness was passing but her head was still swimming. “I’m fine,” she repeated, waving Glenn away as she stood. He was about to respond when Daryl ran up to them, yanking her up and around to face him.

“You bit?” he asked frantically, holding her at arm’s length while he looked over her bloody clothes. She shook her head.

“No,” she grumbled, hating the fuss. “It’s just walker blood, one knocked me over…it’s fine.” Daryl scoffed, letting her go with a slight shove.

“I can’t believe ya did that,” he suddenly scolded, his voice raised. “What were you thinking? You should have said something when you took off! How stupid are you?!” His raised voice carrying into the night, causing those nearby to look over; Glenn fidgeted nearby, uncertain of what to do with himself.

“I heard a kid screaming, alright?” she yelled back, anger giving her the energy to fight back. “I didn’t have time to say anything! And last I checked, I’m a grown ass woman, I don’t need to tell you every time I decide to go and do something!” He glowered at her, his chest puffed out as he breathed heavily. She returned his glare, feeling everyone else turn away, going back to their grieving. She took a deep, steadying breath. “Look I’m sorry alright,” she said as calmly as she could, “but this isn’t the time or place.” She gestured to the carnage around her. He looked around and saw people grieving all over the campsite; so many people died. Glaring back at her, he let out a sharp exhale before turning away and stomping off.

“You okay?” Glenn asked timidly.

“Yeah,” she replied softly, “as okay as I can be I guess.” They looked over the campsite, bodies littering the ground. Andrea was crying loudly over Amy, the others slowly gathering at a distance to mourn as well. Selene hadn’t known her all that well but she liked Amy. Amy was sweet and meant well, and definitely deserved a lot better than she got. Her heart also went out to Andrea. It wasn’t so long ago she was in that same position with her little brother. Shaking her head, she pushed away the thought, now was not the time. There was work to be done.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope y’all enjoyed it! As always, feedback is welcome and thanks for taking the time to read!

~~~~~~~~~~~

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donaldresslerfanfic · 7 years

Text

Apartment 221.

Rating: M

Warnings: Strong Language, Sexual Content.

Word Count: 1891

Donald Ressler X OC Maggie Waters.

Chapter: Twenty Seven.

Chapter Index

Story on Wattpad

Maggie.

“I’ll tell you, you better enjoy this last free flight, because when the baby comes, you won’t be able to do them anymore”

I lifted a wide eyed look to Raymond, who was looking just as shocked at Glen, his tracker.

We were on the plane towards Russia, and Raymond had told me that this guy Glen from the DMV insisted on coming with us to find the vault.

I had the prints of the building sitting on my lap, but I stopped looking at them to give Clara, Raymond’s flight attendant, a mortified look.

She just shook her head dismissively to Ray and walked back to the little kitchen the plane had.

Raymond shook his head and looked at me, I couldn’t containe a chuckle.

“I think I’ll rest my eyes until we get to St. Petersburg” he mentioned, then reclined the seat.

Raymond stood up and walked to me, sitting next to me and my papers

“Anything interesting on these”

“Yeah, I can pretty much tell in which walls the vault could be, and it shouldn’t be a big one given the height and structure of the building. Do you have the model so I can crack it open?”

“I had the combination already, that won’t be necessary”

I rolled the planes again and looked at him

“So you have the location of the box given to you by that guy and have the combination of said box to open it, why are we here with you?”

“I like the company”

I smiled as I left the rolls in the side, then folded my hands in my lap and leaned back on the seat.

“You knew my dad didn’t you”

That was a thing that has been running around my head ever since Don pointed it out back in my sister’s house, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was something more to Ray. He held eye contact with me, until he just nodded

“Yes, I knew him. I knew what he had done for his family, and was saddened to know that he passed away. Of course, when I had you investigated I just couldn’t destroy what your father sacrificed so much to have.”

“What did he sacrificed to have?”

“You with him. What happened to him was a freak unfortunate accident that turned into the best thing that ever happened to him, being able to support his family while watching his children grow. And good thing he did, given what happened to your mother”

“Yeah” I sighed “good thing he did.”

I sat silent for a while, processing this new information. The only reason I was sitting on this key was because Raymond knew my dad.

“And was that the reason why you didn’t kill me? Or was it because of Donald?”

“A bit of both” he admitted. I shook my head at him and looked away.

“Raymond” I said, I knew I would have this conversation sooner or later “I wanted to speak with you about Don, and where we stand” I looked at him again to find him looking at me inquisitively “because Don and I are a thing now… And…” I sighed, then cleared my throat “I just wanted to let you know where my loyalty stands in this case”

He looked at me as if he knew what I was going to say, but I didn’t wanted to let any stone unturned.

“I’m with Don, and he’s with the FBI, and I’m also with you. But if at some point I stand between the both of you, and your interest pull in different directions, my loyalty stands with the person with who I want to spend the rest of my life with. I love Donald, and I’m sorry, but… We end in that moment”

Raymond continued to look at me, then let out a sigh himself.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you Maggie”

“Because I don’t want you to feel betrayed, I’ll do what I can until the point where I see it wont ruin what Don and I have.”

“It’s a difficult situation I have put you in. I understand” he said looking away.

It was a quiet ride after that, we arrived to Russia a few hours later, where we got in a car and in the building were the vault was supposed to be.

I tried to not tear down the room too much, but after a half hour passed and we found nothing, we started to get a little more reckless. I couldn’t believe that my own instinct and knowledge was failing me right now.

I was in the second room where I was checking down the little space behind a heavy piece of furniture, trying to find anything.

I heard Raymond speaking on the phone behind me, and this other dude had locked himself in the bathroom since we came here. I turned around and stupidly stumbled into a little table with a flower vase on it, that ended up in the floor.

Raymond turned to me and spoke on the phone “a vase” he said afterwards.

I’d given up at this point, whatever we were looking for was not here, I walked to where he was waiting for him to finish.

“Something has gone sideways Lizzie, be careful out there”

He hung up and Glenn exited the bathroom.

“Are you sure this is the place?”

“This is the apartment.” He replied confidently

“You’re positive?”

“Your tone is insulting.”

“My tone?!” Okay, here we go “I endured 13 hours with you on my jet, 12 of which you had your shoes off. You snored. You insulted my flight attendant!”

“I thought she was pregnant.”

“Glen, the safe! We haven’t found it yet, have we?!” It was funny and unnerving to see Raymond so upset.

“I know everything one can possibly know about Alan Fitch. I worked on this ‘round the clock, and you know how irritable I can be if I don’t get my 10 hours. I’ve reviewed six years of bank records, and I traced the cash payment he made to purchase an apartment in this very building on this very floor. Trust me, the safe is here.”

“I don’t trust you.” Glen quietly reached out into his briefcase and handed Raymond a piece of paper “What the hell is this?”

“The title to apartment 221.” I couldn’t contain a snort and a shake of my head as I began to walk to the door, Dembe right beside me “Apology accepted.”

Dembe opened the door while Raymond looked at his as if he could kill him where he stood

“What?!”

“We’re in apartment 212.”

Once in the right room, I easily pointed at one of the paintings that could hold the vault, given that there were other paintings to disguise it, but the other ones were too small for the kind of vault I was thinking of.

Raymond continued to argue with Glen while he put the combination in the box, he took out a little piece of paper and handed it to Dembe.

While walking out he said

“In any other occasion I would take you sight seeing, but I’m afraid I’m in hurry Maggie.”

“It’s okay” I dismissed. “It’s that all? A piece of paper”

“Which is why I never hold much expectations when something is great to get, the result is always disappointing” he walked past me.

“If you don’t mind me asking” I said while walking next to him “does crazy cult guy have anything to do with this?”

“It’s not what Justin Ken'yon is, but what he had of mine that I want back”

“And what does he have?”

“A Russian doll” he said vaguely. I frowned and continued walking.

“And what did you mean with 'things have gone sideways’?”

“Justin Ken'yon has something of mine very important, and I needed the task force to lure him away while I retrieve it, but sometimes, there’s a change that I don’t foresee. But I assure you Agent Ressler will be fine”

“I’m not worried about that but… can’t you get another Russian doll?”

“It’s not an actual Russian doll Maggie. It’s a secret within a secret”

Ressler.

I knew I should be resting, going after Ken'yon took a toll on me, and since I couldn’t take pain killers, I had to ride the pain out on my own.

Maggie had a 13 hour flight back from wherever it was Red took her. I wanted to know what had gone down in that trip,but I also wanted to see Maggie. She soothed me, she had become that little piece of my life where I could relax and just think of nothing.

Maggie was going straight to her place, so here I was, heating up the roasted chicken with french fries that I had bought.

I heard a car coming down the street, it was hard to miss, it was almost one am and the neighborhood was dead silent. I walked to the door, the lights were off, when I opened before Maggie could put the key in, I opened it just a few inches when I heard the sliding sound and click of a gun.

I put my hand on the little space between the door and the frame and kept opening.

“It’s me” I said, opening the door further. Maggie relaxed and lowered her gun.

“What are you doing here?” She asked. She didn’t mean to sound upset, but I knew I had scared her.

“I know you had a long flight and wanted to make sure you ate before going to sleep”

She walked into the house with a tired smile, closed the door behind her and pulled her close for a hug. She threw her arms around my shoulders and back, which made me flinch a little while I held her hands and placed them around my neck.

“I’m a little fragile” she chuckled and gave me one short kiss

“Things went South with crazy cult guy?”

“A little, but I still got a few bumps”

I took her by the hand and led her to the kitchen, she took a bottle of water from the fridge and walked to me, I had leaned in front of the oven to keep and even on the food. She told one swig before laying her head on my chest, my hands moved up and down her back. She had taken her coat off, but her skin was still warm.

“So, how crazy were the people there?”

“Well, let’s see” I moved a piece of hair that had slipped from her ponytail, touching her cheek in the process “the leader was using kids to deliver the Apocalypse, and a little girl told me I was going to drown in a lake of fire”

She scoffed and then she chuckled, I downed my lips to hers mid laugh, placing my hand in the back of her neck and pulled her close, she was carefully roaming her hands around my back, trying to find a comfortable position to hold me without hurting me.

My hands slipped down to her back, pulling her on her tiptoes, then another one downed further to her asscheek. She smiled against my lips and I reached behind her to turn the oven off.

“I think the chicken can wait”

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isaac-lahey-imagines · 7 years

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IMAGINE #63 || REQUEST #31 (PART 2)

~~~

OkBRUHIFCKNFORHGOTTOPOSTTHISWTFFFF

Okay, so before you guys get mad at me, i’m sincerely sorry for not uploading this..I honestly forgot to post it here on tumblr because I saw that it was already updated on my wattpad so I thought that maybe it was also done on tumblr..but it wasn’t..so an honest mistake that somehow took me a few months to notice...but anyway here it is! and i’m back! for like a few days only because I am finally entering my Thesis year..hopefully, and that i hopefully get to finish college on time and with my blockmates ♥ hope you guys enjoy this! and I’m trying to recuperate myself back into writing so i’m trying to see what plot there is that I might be able to start wit. Love you all so much for sticking with the Isaac lahey imagiens blog! Also i finally was able to finish season 6 of Teen Wolf..damn the whole thing hit hard on the chest with dem feels.

"Who's he?" Thor asked, his baritone voice could make any lower ranking wolves-or maybe even other supernatural creatures quiver with fear. But to Deaton, he only looked at him before looking at you with a friendly smile. "We don't like anyone going near our Luna-"

"Thor, it's alright." You could almost chuckle at the sight of Stiles just behind Deaton trying to not look at your 2nd in command in the eyes, the intimidating aura of your beta affecting him-this brought back memories of Derek and Stiles' interaction that made you smile.

"What seems to be the problem, Y/N-" Deaton asked.

"Luna Y/N." Thor almost growled, cutting off the vet at what he thinks was a sign of disrespect in calling the highest-ranking werewolf without their title.

"Thor," you called out, a growl almost erupting in your throat in annoyance. You knew he means well but sometimes it was always a bit too much.

"It's fine, they're friends. You may go." You finished your command with a smile to which he bowed before going out the door and closing it with a soft click, you were sure he'd be in front of that door looking like a bouncer.

You were currently inside Deaton's animal clinic, specifically the room where most of the McCall pack meeting was held.

"You have a scary beta." Liam commented glancing at the closed door before looking at you.

"That, she does." Stiles agreed from beside Scott, who only nodded in agreement from across the room beside Deaton while Isaac only watched and naturally brought you closer to his side with the arm wrapped around you.

"That means he's doing his job," you smiled fondly.

"So, what's happening?" Deaton asked again, looking towards you, to Isaac then to Scott.

"I really don't have much recollection as to what happened that night, all I know was that I was about to sleep and then I felt this pain on the back of my neck." You explained what you remembered as much in detail as possible, your hand unconsciously rubbing the back of your neck-right on the spot where you felt it hurt the most. "I slept-or blacked out-or whatever, but all I know was that when I woke up, I was already chained up."

"Chained up? Why?" Mason then asked, looking just as interested in the whole story as those who weren't there that night when the werewolves in your pack decided to call Scott.

"I told some of my trusted deltas to do it-even Thor." You gestured to the werewolf who was now standing just near Stiles who turned around to see where you were pointing at before jerking in surprise, accidentally bumping his knee against a metal table and letting out an "Ow."

"Since when was this 'losing of control' of yours been happening?" Deaton asked, his brain already working out and trying to figure what were the possible answers and solutions.

"I don't know probably a few months or more?" You answered, trying to recall when it actually started happening. "Probably from the place where we stayed the night that messed me up-messed us all up, I guess."

It was only an assumption that it all started there, but it may also not be. Ever since then, a few months or so passed and the occurrences of losing control of your body and mind just kept happening-it was not only putting the others around you in danger, you were also a danger to yourself. And being an Alpha-Luna of a pack, the people under your leadership would start to see you unfit for the position.

"What place? We've been to many places that messed us all up." Stiles spoke up, his mind already going through the catalogues of places you've all been to.

"The motel," you answered, flashbacks of those horrid memories still hunted you.

"I can't find Y/N anywhere!" Allison's worry was evident on her face as she looked around, almost tripping the last steps of the stairs going down.

"It's happening to her too, isn't it?" Lydia, Stiles and Scott all followed down the stairs as they tried to look for your whereabouts.

Before anyone can answer the question, Isaac was already running up the stairs they just went down on while all four looked at him questioningly. But they didn't need an answer when they looked up to see a familiar silhouette that shone in front of the moon on top of the concrete that held the Motel Glen Capri signage.

Your eyes held misery and fear as you slowly walked over the edge of the structure, flashes of your pack members dying in the hands of the alpha pack-new born pups, young and old, everyone. And they all blamed it on you, their screams cursing you.

"Y/N," Calling you from behind, Isaac had his hands up in caution as he slowly inched towards you to which you also inched closer to the edge. "Come here. Please."

You can see your reflection in the tears that was filling the rim of his eyes, you stood there as if you've made your decision clear in ending it all then and there.

"You don't want to do that, please." He begged. He never usually did but at the moment he was ready to kneel down just begged for you to stay put. And don't leave him.

You could only shake your head 'no' while tears endlessly flowed down your cheeks, and without anyone registering what was happening next, you've already stepped on air before you felt yourself falling down.

Isaac didn't know that he would be able to cover the distance from where he was and where you were just milliseconds ago, he had managed to grab your arm just as you were falling. But with the gravity and height of where you both were, your arm got dislocated. You let out a hiss from the pain before letting your eyes wander up the hands that held you while letting a low growl, your claws from the other hand ready to swipe and cut at the dislocated arm. If you were being held from plummeting down, the best and quick solution now for your forever sleep was a great amount of blood loss.

"Y/N, don't-" you were now starting to swipe and cut deep on the arm. You were so concentrated in cutting and slicing the now useless arm Isaac held on to that you didn't get to hear Stiles and Scott shouting to Isaac. With the idea of snapping you out of this suicidal trance, Isaac smashed the LED light signage on the letter M of the motel before struggling to move you near the heat.

And before the last swipe that would drain you of your blood and killing you in the process, Isaac managed to let the hot LED light touch your skin immediately waking you up from the daze with a yelp.

You tried to shake the oncoming feeling of goosebumps at the memory, Isaac noticing this, only rubbed your arm in a comforting manner while leaning down and pressing his lips to your head-lingering there just so he could show you that everything was going to be okay.

"But it was the wolfsbane that this to them," Lydia spoke up, remembering about the coach's whistle that contained the powdered flower. "Is it possible that there were still some residue left?"

"I doubt it," Deaton answered, still deep in thought.

But before anyone can say another word, lights started to flicker and an eerie buzzing noise came from all four corners of the room. Your heart then started beating fast while your palms grew sweaty as you tried to remain calm, you prayed for everything to stop and let you rest from all this chaos that was rising in you.

"No, please." you whispered to yourself breathless, if it weren't for the heightened hearing of the werewolves in the room, they wouldn't be able to catch what you just said.

"Y/N, what's wrong?" Isaac was now cupping your cheeks, making you face him. But you had your eyes shut with your brows furrowed, the familiar pain in the back of your neck making itself known.

"No, no, no..." you mumbled, willing yourself to fight back and remain your own person.

"Luna!"

"Y/N!"

Slowly, bit by bit, the pain subsided and something static was deafening your ear from hearing anything else. All your senses heightened to a degree when your muscles recognized the deconstruction and construction of your bones to form itself into a very large wolf.

Everyone in the room started hearing the same noise you heard just moments ago, while fluorescent now gave up and flickered off and providing only darkness. With flashlights from the cabinet and cellphones, Deaton, Lydia and Mason were the ones providing the light while the wolves relied more on their night visions.

It was suspiciously quiet as Isaac's eyes turned to his side to find it empty.

"Y/N's gone." He announced, sounding frantic as they all looked from left to right to see if you were still there by any chance.

"I have a very bad feeling about this," Mason glanced around, his phone providing light for him.

As he glanced at the far corner of the room, he guessed that he wasn't the only one who noticed it. Almost blocking the doorway stood something large with glowing amber colored eyes, its stance was that of an aggressive yet threatened predator.

"Y/N," Isaac called, recognizing your wolf form but somehow your eyes differed from it's blue-almost silver- colored ones to these fiery looking pupils.

~~~

A/N: And that ends that for now... for those who are still requesting or will be requesting an imagine (or simply send a message), you don't have to ask permission about it because my inbox will always be open. And for those of you who are still not able to read your requested imagine, I am trying my best to think of how I can write it into an imagine. But i hope you guys understand that sending me something like "Can you make an imagine where Isaac and I make out?" is already a consideration in all my writing therefore I don't really consider that as a request.. I mean I can compile it with the other request to make a story line that you guys would enjoy (hope you get my point :( ) and I dont know but there are some who still send requests with the same plot as those imagines I've already done therefore I could only choose and write those I find interesting or because the plot hasn't been done before. I'm sorry for this but I hope you understand :((

Hope you guys enjoyed everything! *sending hugs and kisses to all over the world from my bedroom =))*

EDIT: PART 3

#isaac lahey #isaac lahey imagine #isaac lahey imagines #my imagines #teen wolf #teen wolf imagine #teen wolf imagines

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