#cr!au

[ember-nby]

[BE!AU]

Recent Drawings/Sketches

[clanofjones]

The (Un) Secret Garden: Chapter One

Finally posting this!

My first ROTTMNT fic, I hope you all like it!

EDIT: The entirety of this fic is posted on my writing blog, @jaywritesturtles! Subsequent sequels will be posted there too.

Next Chapter

Ao3: complete!

Summary: The thing with an impromptu apocalypse is that it forces people - even those who hated each other prior - to join forces for the sake of survival. However, when the aforementioned apocalypse is averted - and by proxy, no stressed bonds are forced - then enemies are liable to remain enemies. Casey Jones never got that particular memo. Or: Big Mama manipulates Casey and the Disaster Twins gotta help him out.

Chapter One: Don't Crash Cars, it's Bad for the Economy

April's POV

"Go topside, they said. It'll be fun, they said!" April O'Neil grumbled as she, Cassandra Jones, and her son from the future, Casey Jones, sat in police custody.

A more accurate statement might be that April and Casey sat in government custody. Cassandra was hitting and kicking the bars as a policeman confiscated her bent naginata, Casey's tech-saw, and April's bat, shouting at levels previously thought not to be possible by human(?) lungs. 

The only good thing about it was that the policeman couldn't hear a single word from the other two. 

Or, rather, he wouldn't have been able to. Casey hadn't said a single word since being pulled over.

April nudged the future boy. 

"You doing okay, Jones?"

"I think all the police were dead by the time I was born."

It was a very good thing Cassandra was making so much noise. Unless they had much more open minds since April had last been pulled over, then it would have been a very interesting conversation.

On April's last bout to the police station, it hadn't been her fault.

It had been Donnie and Sunita's fault.

April made a mental note to check if her friends could pass for humans as well as drive in a non-apocalyptic fashion that happened to spare any and all adjacent fire hydrants.

The policeman walked up to the temporary cell they had been placed in, apparently unperturbed by Cassandra's incessant screeching until she decided to spare her lungs. April looked at the officer 

"Can we have our phone call?"

April tugged on the cord gently as the phone rang. Cassandra glowered at a man who was clearly actually incarcerated, and Casey's leg twitched as he shifted anxiously on a cold, hard bench.

"Chello~?"

April could make out Mikey's voice through the receiver and frowned slightly. She had called Donnie, right? But a garbled voice on the other end confirmed her suspicions.

"Mikey! Stop 'Chello~'ing a possible enemy!" That was (probably) Raph.

"And stop stealing my things!" Definitely Donnie...

"Hey, Donnie's stuff is fair game!" Leo.

"When did we decide that?" Donnie again. April sighed on her end and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Guys!" she said in a tone just below a shout.

"April!" Mikey exclaimed over the other end.

"Why are you calling from a station phone? I gifted you a Genius Built tech - trademarked, obviously - phone for a reason, April."

April cleared her throat and rolled on the balls of her feet. "Welp," she began, drawing out the 'e' in 'welp' before deciding to just bite the bullet and do it. "Remember when I said I'd take Casey and Casey topside to teach 'em driving?"

"Yes, we have the you-know-what all ready for them upon your return..." Donnie said skeptically.

"Well... We might've gotten into the smallest little crash ever," April could feel the crushing, expecting silence as her voice trailed off as someone dropped something. "And Casey jumped out of the window of the driver's seat, so Cass grabbed the wheel so we wouldn't crash into a pet store, and we crashed into a fire hydrant."

Silence on the other end. April chanced a glance at Cassandra and Casey and saw that Casey seemed to be expecting the electric chair. Cassandra, on the other hand, wasn't paying attention at all and was about five seconds from turning a staring-contest-turned-battle-of-wits into an actual fistfight with a definitely actually incarcerated prisoner.

"Is Casey okay?"

April nodded before she realized that they couldn't see her.

"Yeah, he's good. This lady shouted at him for a bit for jumping out of a car window and in front of her car, but he's fine now."

After a moment in which her friends on the other end seems to be taking the information in, April continued: "In any case, we still have a car with a busted hood, one grand to pay for the fire hydrant, and another three hundred apiece to Cass and Casey for driving without licenses. Mine's been revoked for a couple of weeks. If we can pay the fines now, then maybe we can get off without either of them serving any time," April explained.

"If Michael would give me my phone, then you'll be out before Pizza Week." April knew full well Donnie didn't need his phone to pay their fines, but there was no use bargaining with Donnie once you stole his phone. "Nay, within the hour!" Donnie amended, and April bet the first slice that he was posing dramatically if Leo's snickers were anything to go by.

"Thanks, Donnie. See ya in a few," April said as she placed the phone on its base.

Casey looked up at her with mild interest and pulled his jacket around himself slightly. 

"Everything's fine. Knowing Dee, we'll be out in about an hour. We'll just have to stay off the roads for now, and maybe we can practice your and Cass's driving in Repo Mantis' junkyard if Mikey can convince him."

That seemed to placate him enough, although he still looked plenty guilty as his feet shifted awkwardly.

"Sorry about the car." If April hadn't seen his lips move, then she likely wouldn't have heard him.

"Pssh, it's fine. I'm sure Donnie would have lost his mind with all his genius energy and nothing to do with it if nobody ever broke anything. Think of it as us three keeping him sane." 

Casey allowed himself to smile as April eased Cassandra out of her confrontation (fight?) by covering the ex-foot general's eyes and dragging her back by her hoodie, smiling awkwardly at the convict.

"Unhand me, O'Neil!"

April sighed as Cassandra allowed her to guide her to their holding cell.

"Good news is we're out in an hour or so. Donnie's taking care of the fees."

Cassandra pried April's hand from her eyes so that she could cast the convict one last glare, and pointed at her own eyes with two fingers, then flicking them to the convict, in an 'I'm watching you' gesture. However, even as her feet dragged on the cold floor, she allowed April to move her, which April supposed was a good sign.

As the lock clicked behind Casey, and April relinquished Cassandra, the latter sat with her legs crossed. April lay on her back with her legs propped up against the stone wall. She was suddenly exceptionally glad that they all had jackets on them, even if Casey's 'just in-case' hand warmers had been confiscated, along with everything else in their pockets and hands.

April supposed there were worst times to have been arrested, not even counting if any of them had been caught from the pictures taken during what Mikey had abbreviated to the 'Krangvasion' because boy would that have been a loaded conversation. At least by now, her human friends had learned to dress like humans, even if they couldn't drive like them.

Casey had situated himself in a corner, every few seconds his eyes would make repetitive rounds around the cell as if he were waiting for Krang to slither through the barred windows or the vents in the ceiling and floor. April sighed to herself -- the future boy hadn't given up his paranoid behaviors for anything since the invasion, barring pizza dinners and whenever the future boy played Mario Kart.

It was almost curious - Casey seemed to be trying to look for every conceivable problem known to humans, turtles, rats, or yokai whilst looking out for all of the aforementioned.

Looking back to Cassandra, April saw that the former seemed to have given up on demanding that their weapons be returned, as retrieval was imminent. Cassandra had situated herself nearest the bars in a perch-like stance.

An embarrassingly small amount of things followed in the stretching silence, especially since these were the two oddest, funniest humans she knew.

April supposed it was to be expected, especially considering that she hadn't exactly given the turtles the full story. The crash hadn't been strictly Casey's fault, and even so, he had reacted as April would have expected.

What had shocked Casey happened to be a relatively small portion - only about a foot or two in length, no more than half a foot tall - of Krang slime had emerged from a manhole.

If the phone call was anything to go by, none of the turtles were aware of it. Leo was the only one remotely capable of lying, and when it came to the Krang, the most popular reaction was to either break something or end up in a turtle pile - sometimes both, sometimes with the latter including their human friends. Either way, the turtles didn't know about the Krang's small return, and April intended to keep it like that unless Casey deemed it important enough to share.

Of the three of them, it was more his grounds for revelatory truths than April or Cassandra's.

However, after a numbing silence that stretched itself out, leaving recent events to linger with the three of them for who knows how long, April heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, girl!"

She sat up and saw Sunita - her slime yokai friend who so happened to be a cute fantastic friend and fighter - with her cloaking brooch on securely this time around, walk up to the holding cell as the hatch popped up, and she swung the door open by proxy.

"Sunita!" April cheered, and the Joneses' looked up as well. "Cass, you remember Sunita, you fought her when Leo and Donnie were dressed like old ladies and we were playing Lazer tag, remember?"

"I do recall. Lazer Tag is sacred." April and Sunita nodded.

"What's Lazer Tag?" Casey asked in a small voice, and Sunita's gaze flicked to him.

"Oh, you poor soul! I'm taking you to Lazer Tag. Saturday good?" Sunita asked instantly, and Casey blinked.

"Is it?" he responded in a tone of slight hysteria, like he wasn't sure if Saturday was cursed or not.

"Yes, you need to get out more," Cassandra said before turning to Sunita. "You were a worthy opponent, friend of April O'Neil," Cassandra said and extended a hand for Sunita to shake. "I am Cassandra Jones. You may call me Cassandra, Cass, or Casey."

"Nice to meetcha on the same side, Cassandra! I'm Sunita," the yokai said with a dashing smile that caused April to feel a little warm around the general region of her face, even if it wasn't directed at her. "Maybe you wanna come with me and your friend to Lazer Tag?"

"I shall attend!" Cassandra announced and pumped her fist into the air.

"And you've already met the other Casey," April continued, drawing Sunita's attention to her as she gestured to Casey, who was standing up as he watched Sunita carefully. Not unkindly, April made sure to note as she spoke. "Bit of a long story, so we'll tell you on the ride back."

Sunita waved to Casey, who waved back after a moment, as if realizing that was the appropriate thing to do, before offering a slightly belated smile of his own.

"Nice to meet you, Casey. Leo and Donnie are waiting for us with their ride, so we just gotta grab your stuff before heading out!"

Upon doing so, all three of them were significantly disenchanted upon the realization most of their weapons and tools had all been tampered with.

Cassandra's naginata had been visibly bent back into its original shape, although she re-bent it almost immediately.

Casey's hockey stick's chainsaw function had been removed, the small blades on their track removed separately, and he gathered them in a bag for reassembly.

Casey also managed to keep several weapons on his person, the same as his mother. Upon determining from fingerprinting that neither of them had committed any war crimes, Casey's grappling hook and Cassandra's blades were all returned, although promptly thrown out by the two, both claiming that any sort of tracer was dangerous. Besides, as Casey was quick to point out, they had a surplus back at the lair.

April's bat, it appeared, had remained untouched. She counted herself lucky Casey had used up his stash of the herbicide chemical that April had taken from one of Eastlaird's biochemistry labs that turned out to be lethal against the Krang, and the very same that Donnie had been replicating for such an occasion as today. If he hadn't, then there surely would have been questions, none of which any of them could safely answer.

But, one part of April's brain reminded her, Donnie would notice that Casey, the one whom you could count on to use resources sparingly, if nothing else, was out of the chemical, and he was the only one who had left the lair with any.

April had only just realized it as they stepped over the threshold, and saw the turtle tank within walking distance from the parking lot.

"Casey," she whispered to the future boy, and he leaned over to hear her properly. "I think we're going to have to tell Dee about the you-know-what. You're out of the chemical from my school that kills it, and you know how he gets about using it for anything short of another apocalypse."

Casey seemed to be slowing down as he took it in. "So, it's either we tell them or Donatello finds out."

April nodded. Cassandra had also slowed down, and April supposed she shouldn't have been surprised that her former enemy had been listening to the entire exchange.

"Do you want to tell them, or should Cass and I?" April whispered back, and Casey shrugged subconsciously before delivering his answer.

"I'll tell them. I crashed the car, after all."

April shared a small glance with Cassandra before Sunita turned around to look at them.

"Are you three doing good?"

"You betcha, Sunita!" April hurried to supply as the other two rushed to confirm it and picked up the pace. April could see the tank more clearly now, next to a car dealership. The large doors opened, and the four of them all checked a rough 360 degrees before entering, Cassandra pulling up the rear, and walking backward.

Casey's POV

Casey was currently regretting absolutely everything. The only good news he could gleam was that inventory wasn't ever taken until Donatello could spare more than ten minutes, back at the lair.

"Hey, could you drop me off at the Met? I've got a project I should get started on over there," Sunita - Commander O'Neil April's friend asked Donatello. Casey couldn't recall a Sunita from the apocalypse, so he figured she was either frequently gone, or had been one of the first to be killed or lost abroad.

Donnie must have nodded or something of the like because Sunita started heading towards a seat with a smile. As April and Mom Cassandra started towards the area where he assumed Sensei Leo was, he figured that was likely a better option than standing by the doorway. The retrieval was done, and he wasn't even the one retrieving, he was the one to be retrieved.

"Well, Case, good job," Casey turned abruptly and saw Leo standing there with an expression portraying vague pride, smugness, and utmost correctness. "You crashed your first car!" He held a three-fingered fist up but didn't follow through on what Casey had been sure would be a soft hit to his shoulder.

"What are you-"

"It's a fist bump, Case." Leo was looking at him like... Well, Casey wasn't sure how  Leonardo was looking at him. It wasn't a face he'd ever seen the ninja make before, closer to a soft grimace than anything else.

"You make a fist," Leo waited for Casey to follow through, "and bump it against mine!" 

Tentatively, Casey brought his fist against Leonardo's, and the latter grinned smugly, like always.

"Good job. Sometimes people do an explosion with a fist bump -" As he saw Casey's expression move in time with his rampant confusion (why would anyone have a bomb for a fist bump) he moved to explain: "Not an actual explosion! Like this, watch."

Casey did so as he lowered his fist, and Leo brought his own two fists together in a soft bump before drawing them away from each other, expanding his fists into open-palmed hands and making an exaggerated explosion sound.

Casey raised his fist again, and they brought their fists together, making that exaggerated explosion noise again.

"Nice," Leo said. Casey smiled to himself with the knowledge that he had done it right.

"Sincerest apologies for the interruption, but crashing a car is not an achievement, Nardo!" Donnie called from the driver's seat, spinning in it so that for about half a second, you could see a glaring softshell from any given angle.

"Hey, we've all done it, hermano.  That makes it an achievement."

"Since when have I ever crashed a car, dearest brother?"

"Since you tried the auto-drive program on this very tank that you came up with, as I do recall!"

With a huff, Donnie spun his chair back to the windshield. "Well, I didn't give that elderly woman a heart attack, who is, might I remind you, the same woman whose 95th birthday our dear, dear brother Raphael ruined."

"Oh yeah, how's she doing?"

"Dead! Very, very, dead, Leo! Deader than the deadliest death that has ever been accosted by you dum-dums!"

The tank came to an abrupt stop, and Casey could see from his limited view of the windshield that they were in front of a grand building, the paint job on the upper-east region looking like it had been scrubbed with a giant piece of sandpaper, due to the Krang that had, until recently, been doomed to reside on it, and very nearly did so for more than a few hours.

"Your stop," Donnie said, spinning slightly to look at Sunita, who chirped out a 'thank you' to Donnie and a 'goodbye' to the rest of them before disappearing into the crowd.

"So... How was prison?" Leonardo asked, leaning back so he had Casey, Cassandra, and April all in his line of sight.

"It wasn't prison, blue one. We were briefly contained," Cassandra spat back, with a sour look on his face.

"In a jail cell. That goes on the record, you know."

"Whatever you call it, it was boring," April said, leaning even further back and landing on her back. Casey took the moment to pull her up, and they caught each other's eye, exchanging a glance with anxious overtones.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked without hardly moving her lips.

After a small pause, Casey nodded, equally inconspicuous.

"What's everyone whispering about?"

Apparently not as inconspicuous as they had both apparently thought, as Leonardo leaned over to better hear their conversation.

"Uh- Nothing! Just something Casey's gotta talk to you guys about!"

Casey swallowed nervously. Now there really isn't a way out of this, he thought to himself. He sent April a small glare, to which she gave him a look reminiscent of one he recalled Commander O'Neil using several times whenever anyone was being particularly dense.

"Alright. Don-Tron! Casey's got something he wants to tell us."

Donnie spun around, raised an eyebrow, held a soda can, and offered it to Leo.

"Spittake," he explained. Well, there was definitely going to be a use for that, Casey thought as his internal struggle increased. "Just don't get it remotely near the controls or I will dropkick you out of this tank."

Ignoring the threat (if it was even a threat anymore), Leo just nodded before responding: "Good thinking, hermano. Watcha got for us, Case?"

Casey took a deep breath as he chanced a glance out the window - the tank was maybe two minutes out from the lair. At least that was good.

"Well... It's about the crash. It-"

Leo cut over him before Casey could deliver the blow.

"It's fine, I don't know a single person who hasn't crashed a car. If they can drive a car, they've crashed it."

"It's not the fact that we crashed a car, it's..." Casey paused and tried to think if there was any way to sugarcoat what he was about to say, dress it up and soften the blow. He decided that there was not any sort of way to do so and that the only way was to bite the bullet and spit it out. "It's the 'why.' The car crashed because we came in contact with a small portion of Krang--"

If anyone ever cared to check the Turtle Tank's camera footage, they would be able to time it down to the exact second that everything spiraled out of control.

Casey paused mid-sentence to gauge the two turtles' reactions as to whether or not he should continue. As it happened, he discovered that he should not, thank you very much, as of about two seconds later, and the tank descended into the lair. Donnie inhaled as Leo continued to stare at Casey as if he had been Krangified.

"I'm sorry, for a second there I thought you said that the Krang are back?" Donnie asked, and his voice shook at the name.

"Only a little bit," April helpfully interjected from a few feet behind Casey.

"What car did you use, I will find it and scour it until I can find how it got in there, it will be gone in a matter of-"

"It wasn't in the car," Cassandra said slowly, cutting Donnie off, and the soft-shelled turtle tapped his hand on Leonardo's shoulder a few times before Leo blinked and took a breath, leaning against the wall of the tank.

"I saw it in the road and kind of freaked out," Casey continued. "Then I grabbed the chemical that Donatello replicated and used it all on the Krang. So, sorry for wasting-"

"Sorry for..." Leo repeated Casey in a low, soft voice before trailing off, and letting out a huff of air. "Casey, we have so much of that stuff, right, Don?" Donnie nodded, looking just as stricken as Leo looked and Casey felt. "Right. So that is the least of our concerns,  mi amigo.  Right now we have to figure out how the Krang got there and found you."

"Right, right," Donnie said distantly, but Casey noted that his death grip on the chair was tightening with each moment. Leo's own gaze was banging off the walls, ceiling, and floor as if expecting the Krang to jump out from nowhere. Casey would be lying if he wasn't paranoid at the moment either, and he cursed the policemen for dismantling his own weapon.

"Well, it came out of a manh-" April cut herself off, and Casey whirled around to look at her, and his mind was firing on all cylinders again, hoping upon hope that he wouldn't see the Krang spreading across her, eyes where eyes shouldn't ever be materializing-

But there was no pink slime, no off-colored or extra eyes, no scalene tentacles or spikes protruding from the wrong places. Just the April O'Neil of twenty-two years ago (or the present, time travel was still so confusing) with a fist closed over her mouth in an expression of deep thinking.

Then her eyes widened, and as Casey reflected on his ex-Commander's words, his own followed suit.

"What? Where'd they come from?" Leo asked, a nervous laugh teetered on the edge of his tone.

Casey cleared his throat of the bile gathering there and prayed that his tone would remain steady.

"Um," Great, one word -- no, not even a word, an onomatopoeia -- in and he'd failed at that. "The Krang are in the sewers."

Chapter Two ->

[josiesparklelove]

“I can’t see anything.” “Hold on I’ll set something on fire.” -Josie/Impey

@labyrinthofleah

The group was making their way in the hidden bunker under the cemetery. Isaac Bedford’s hidden lab was immense as it was imposing. After making it through a few of the traps, they continued walking down the long hallway. 

“What do you think is down here?” Impey absently asked, his eyes roaming about for any other signs of a trap, as was the rest of the group. 

“The secret lab of Isaac Bedford. Could be anything.” Victor replied, his finger tightened around a few vials in his jacket. 

“Not as stale as I would have expected of a place shut up for a number of years.” Josie remarked, and everyone was suddenly struck with the same thought. 

“Hm. A curious thought.” Saint Germain hummed. “Perhaps there is another entrance? Or exit?” 

“It looks like there are some doors up ahead.” Leah said and quickly pointed forward. Several heavy looking doors lined the hallway hiding away any number of things. 

As they began to approach, however, all of the electric lights suddenly went out, throwing the group into pitch black. A soft gasp left Leah and the others quickly readied themselves for an ambush. 

“Another trap?” Lupin asked, his harsh whisper suddenly loud in the enclosed space. 

“Could be… or just old wiring?” Impey added, he ran his hands along the walls in an attempt to see if he could find an access panel. 

“I can’t see anything.” Victor said. 

“Hold on.” Impey replied and suddenly there was rustling of fabric and something metallic. “I’ll set something on fire.” He said. 

“No!” came a chorus of harsh whispers from the group and suddenly a flame appeared behind them and Leah quickly ducked into Saint Germain’s chest for safety, the others all braced for an inevitable explosion. Only to pause for a moment before seeing Josie looking back to them confused as she held a lit torch. 

“What?” She asked and everyone sighed a moment in relief. “I saw the torch near the front of the passage, thought it would be helpful.”

“MY KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR IS SO SMART!” Impey wailed and jumped towards her arms wide open. 

“I-Impey, stop, I’m holding a flame.” She said and pushed her free hand towards him to stop his advances. 

“My flame of love for you is stronger than any-OOF! LUPIN!” Suddenly Impey was being dragged backwards as Lupin grabbed hold of his collar and pulled him down the hallway. 

“Not now, lover-boy.” He groaned as Impey struggled to break free to run to Josie who sighed and rolled her eyes. The group continued walking forward. Thankfully the lights flickered back on and they were able to search properly. 

[ember-nby]

CR!AU

First kiss(es)in their relationship

[ember-nby]

[CR!AU] got out of artblock, happy pride month everyone

[josiesparklelove]

“I love you.” “I’m sorry … I don’t love you like that.” “I know.” -Josie/Impey :)

@labyrinthofleah

Josie was sitting outside of the mansion pretty late in the evening looking at stars in the garden. She was without her armor, having discarded it to go to sleep, but as time went on, she was unable to succumb to her slumber. Soon a porcelain cup was sat beside her, a faint steam rising from the amber liquid inside. 

“Thought you might be cold.” Impey said cradling his own cup in his hands and looking up to where she was looking. 

She smiled sadly as she sat up and took the drink. He looked to her and smiled. 

“Thanks, Impey. But you know we don’t get cold that easy.” 

“Yeah, but ... it’s the thought, right?” He smiled again and took a sip of his drink. “Besides...”

Josie sighed and placed her drink down. “Impey...” She lamented and looked at him, a look of despair in her blue eyes. 

“What? Can’t say ‘I love you’?” He asked and shrugged his shoulders. 

“I’m sorry... I don’t... I don’t love you like that.” Finally she couldn’t bare his eyes and lowered her gaze, suddenly feeling entirely too exposed without her armor. 

Impey suddenly raised his eyes staring up to the stars, up to where his desirous moon lay so inviting in the sky. “I know.” He said simply. Another sip of his drink. “Figured I at least had to tell ya before you went off with V-.... Anyone else.”

She let out a huff of a self-depricating chuckle. “Not that it helps, but we’re all probably dead tomorrow if we mess up fighting off the Agents of Idea, Twilight, and Finis.” She sighed. “Not to mention, Van Helsing and maybe Saint Germain.”

“That’s no way for a Royal Knight to talk.” He said and they made eye contact, his smile wide as ever. “Plus we’ve got to make sure we knock the sense back into both of them. Just make sure to leave me a few hits to Van Helsing for good measure.”

“Hah. You’ve got it.” She gulped down her drink feeling it’s warmth flow through her. “Thanks, Impey.” She handed her cup back to him and for a brief moment he let his fingers linger on hers before taking the cup away. 

“Anytime.”

Josie swore she saw his eyes drop sadly as he turned away. And her heart which she thought was more broken than she believe was possible shattered just a bit more. She couldn’t tell if she was looking forward to the battle the next day or not. But she vowed, she would fight with everything she had. 

[josiesparklelove]

Lost in the Forbidden Garden

Code Realize!AU  (Josie x Van Helsing Universe)

For @labyrinthofleah since she suggested it.

Based on this post.

“Note to self.” Josie’s thoughts began to herself as she wandered aimlessly through the Queen’s palace devoid of her usual armor. “Kill Lupin next time I see him. On the spot. As painfully as possible.”

The day before Lupin assembled all those living at Saint Germain’s mansion into the living room to discuss a new development. Or a possible development Lupin corrected as they all took their seats. Josie remained standing somewhat near the doorway in between where Delly sat on the couch and the door opening which would allow her more room if needed to protect her master. Impey sat on the same couch as Delly as Victor who had been volunteered against his will sat between the with Sisi in his lap.

Across from them, Saint Germain sat next to Leah in his brand new two-seater couch - a ‘love-seat’ which had been very recently acquired. Only he and Leah sat there together, the Count’s obvious message being somewhat lost on poor Leah. Lupin stood in front of everyone near the mantle and a suspicious looking blueprint of the palace which he just… happened to come across. And Van Helsing had chosen a chair a little away from the others which so happened to be nearest to Josie. He had offered her the chair once, but she refused stating it would be improper to her duties, he only rolled his eyes.

And so, Lupin delivered his plan. Apparently he had heard whispers of a possible clue to Isaac Beckford’s location. There was supposed to be a meeting held within the palace to discuss it, which meant that they needed to be present. After a very vague explanation as to why he had sealed blueprints of the Queen’s Palace in his arsenal Lupin began his explanation.

They would split into three groups: Infiltration Team - Lupin, Leah, and Saint Germain. Diversion Team: Impey and Victor. And the Lookout/Guard Team: Van Helsing and Josie. Though Saint Germain had originally been on the Lookout team he… requested his present be at Leah’s side and…. Well Lupin couldn’t exactly say too much and so the teams were formed. Though not without loud protesting from Impey who also wanted to be on the Infiltration team with Leah but was very quickly dismissed.

Lupin then began to give out the instructions which Josie listened to with no particular interest until her name came up in conversation and she looked up.

“So? Do you have anything suitable?” Lupin asked with a terrible looking grin spreading on his face.

“Suitable… for what?” Josie asked irritation running high just from the look of his wicked grin.

“I have some items she could borrow but…” Leah started and then looked down a little sheepishly.

“I doubt they would… uh … be inconspicuous.” Victor added a bit of pink dusting his cheeks in apology. And Josie only scrunched her brow at the scene.

“I don’t-”

“Do you have any clothes that aren’t armor?” Van Helsing said bluntly as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

“My under armor?” Josie responded confusedly.

“Perhaps something a bit less risque.” Saint Germain added with a small nod.

“Oh! But you could wear that more around the man- OUCH! Fran! Don’t pinch my leg.” Impey wailed.

“Be grateful it was just a pinch, Impey. I think Vanny was grabbing his gun.” Lupin chuckled

“Huh?” Impey quickly turned around as Van Helsing adjust his arms across the chest. Whether he was previously holding something was left to be seen by the redhead who quietly sunk down into his seat.

“My under armor is… risque?” Josie asked quietly almost to herself when Leah jumped up excitedly.

“Oh! We can quickly head into the city and find some casual clothes. That would be fun. Would that be okay, Saint Germain? Today was supposed to be our day in the city.”

“Oh, well. We can consider it a little test on your progress.” Saint Germain responded his normal smile only dropping for a quick moment before returning.

“Great!” Lupin exclaimed. “Well, with the costume change taken care of let’s continue with the rest of the plan.

Josie was no less confused as when the conversation began as she silently began to glance down at her attire confused as to why her clothes could be considered risque. Van Helsing snuck a few peeks towards the confused woman and had to stifle a smile.

Eventually as Lupin’s explanation continued he turned towards Leah. “Now, I have no doubts that you will do just fine while we sneak inside, however. What’s our rule #2?”

“Always have an escape plan.” Leah announce determinedly.

“Correct! Such a great little student.” Lupin praised and nearly pat her on the shoulder until he saw a glint come off from Saint Germain’s eyes. “Ah… Anyway. So I have an idea for a possible escape route for you. ‘Damsel in Distress’.” Josie rolled her eyes as Leah was sure to write it down in her little notebook.

The rest of the conversation droned on to Josie who thoroughly decided that humans planned too much. She could have saved them all times by just walking in and putting her sword to the throat of anyone with news, but no one asked her for her opinion. Later that day Leah dragged Josie into town to purchase some casual clothes outfits. She was then forced to provide a mini fashion show to the men of the mansion since Leah was so excited to show her off.

Finally the day of the mission and Josie stood with her arms squarely crossed across her chest with a scowl plastered on her face.

“Josie! You look super cute!” Leah announced bouncing on her toes. Impey stood behind her also bouncing on his toes but quickly shriveled at her glare.

“I feel really exposed.” Josie complained an worried the light fabric of her blouse.

“You’d be more exposed in your under-armor.” Van Helsing said from his location leaning against the wall near the front door. Josie shot him a glare.

With a polite cough from Victor trying to squelch the conversation they had a final meeting before departing towards Steel London. Victor, Van Helsing, and Lupin each had to wear some type of disguise as they could be recognized by some personnel so the idea had come to pass for Van Helsing and Josie to pose… as a married couple visiting the palace. The suggestion was made by Lupin who had made sure to stay several meters away from Josie at all times.

And so they made their way to the palace. Josie was as stiff as a board as she walked arm in arm with a disguised yet smiling Van Helsing into the Palace. While walking through the Palace with a group they confirmed with the other members of the group at specific areas that the mission was going according to plan. Eventually they ducked out from the group easily and Josie heaved a sigh of relief. She was more than sure that Van Helsing could hear her thunderous heart beating out of her chest. So some space apart was very welcome.

Though as she looked up from where she was leaning over catching her breath she noticed she was suspiciously alone. She surveyed the area for Van Helsing but to no avail. She couldn’t call out to him since she was in a quarantined area so she decided to just continue forward for her segment of the mission. It was a few minutes of aimless walking when she suddenly stopped in a garden area and inwardly cursed herself for not paying more attention to the suspicious map from Lupin.

As she internally berated herself a voice called out to her.

“Miss. May I help you?”  A guard called out to her from the garden entrance.

“Uh. I …” She hesitated suddenly feeling so much more exposed and really wishing she had her armor and sword.

“Are you lost?” He asked one hand still perched on the hilt of his sword.

Am I lost? Josie asked herself. She was but why would she ever admit that. It’s not like she was in distress or-  With a sudden memory of Lupin’s suggestion to Leah, Josie quickly turned to the guard and said a bit too loudly.

“YES! Yes… I am lost.”

“You are?”

“Yes. I … was on the group tour with my h-h-hus..band….  when I went in search of a restroom.”

“You got lost… looking for the restroom?” He asked inquisitively.

“Yes.” Josie said affirmatively and attempted to look demure.

“And you ended up in the middle of the Queen’s forbidden garden?”

“...Yes.” Josie replied quickly glancing around for why it would be forbidden but attempted to bat her eyes.

“Can you explain yourself?”

“Uh… I was… hoping a cute guard would show up to save me?” She asked sweetly tilting her head in the way that always annoyed her when she saw human females do so in town.

The guard quirked his head in confusion. “But weren’t you here with your husband, you said?”

“Oh… uh… well, it worked! Thank you so much for the help sir! But.. uh I really should be going… You know I heard this garden’s forbidden?” She awkwardly laughed before she attempted to sidestep the man and make her escape.

“Miss.” The guard demanded and he reached out and grabbed Josie’s arm to stop her. Josie quickly glanced down to the arm that held her and debated over four different ways she would tear this pathetic human apart for daring to touch her when she heard a voice.

“Duck.” Van Helsing said from the shadows and Josie spied a quick glint of light reflected from his glasses before she did as instructed and heard the sound of Van Helsing’s gun unloading what she supposed was a rock salt round at point blank range.   Next thing she knew the man slumped to the ground unconscious and she wiped off her clothes from the residual salt that fell on her clothes.

“Damsel in distress?” Van Helsing asked with a cocky smile on his face as he approached and reloaded his gun.

“Hm. Figured it would be less suspicious than a loud gun fire like your little stunt.” She casually said as she leaned down and divested the guard of his sword and armor from his right hand and arm up to his pauldrons.

“Oh, and here I thought the damsel is supposed to give her hero a kiss for their bravery.” He replied with a smirk. Josie paused for a moment before quickly leaning over and kissing his cheek. Van Helsing retreated for a moment to look at her in surprise. He was gifted with the small blush that crossed her cheeks.

“Human customs are very strange.” She replied before nudging the unconscious guard with her foot.  “Let’s get back to the others.”

As Josie began to escape from the garden, Van Helsing stood rooted to the spot for a moment more as his hand unconsciously went and felt the area on his cheek where her lips touched. A small smile crept to his own lips before he thought of a few other human customs he would need to teach her in time. But… that was for another time. For now let’s go save the others. There’d be time for that later, he hoped.

[josiesparklelove]

“Do you think…do you think you can defeat evil without becoming evil?”“I don’t know. Maybe that’s just the price we pay.” I'm getting CR!AU vibes Josie help

*rubs hands together* Get ready @labyrinthofleah

--------------------

Van Helsing had been becoming increasingly distant in the days after they ventured into the underground bunker. Josie did not join the others on the trip as she chose to stay back at the mansion with Delly. Though after seeing how much Van Helsing was affected she desperately wished she could turn back time to help. She noticed little things in his attitude. Things she wished she didn’t recognize as familiar. Or at least, things she wished that she had never seen before or had to see again. 

He began to disappear from the mansion at odd times only to return with a distant look and fresh scrapes and bruises. Even if he were in the same room his mind would be somewhere far out of the mansion. And any conversations had with him were quick at best. Van Helsing had not been the most forthcoming of people even before the trip to the bunker. But now, it was as if his walls had not only been put up but a steel barrier put in front of it. 

And now, Josie can say, that’s she’s seen this before. She saw it right before the massacre at the Dracula mansion. She remembers how weeks before Van Helsing had been open and almost friendly with the Vampires. He even helped train both the new recruits and the young master Delecroix. She would even dare to say there were moments where she saw him crack a smile. But then something changed. And had she been more observant... or a better knight... she may have been able to see it back then. Had she been better, she may have been able to protect her Master and his parents. But she hadn’t been good enough. She didn’t know the signs. 

But things have changed now. And with this new realization she inwardly curses herself for allowing him to creep back into her heart. A heart she had vowed to close in order to make up for her mistakes. A heart that was to be used for one thing, dedicated to serve her master no matter the cost. A heart that she once again needed to close off in order to protect it and her master... and new friends. 

It was late one evening, probably sometime into the following morning that Josie laid on the small wall in the garden alone staring up to the stars. She had cast her normal clunky armor off towards the garden shed, choosing to wear her under-armor instead. It was a little nerve-wracking not having the extra layers of protection around her, but she pushed back those anxious thoughts, trying to clear her mind for an upcoming battle. And soon a small sound of rustling grass alerted her that it was time to attack. 

“It’s pretty late to be sneaking into the mansion.” She announced to the sky. 

The rustling silenced as Van Helsing abruptly stopped walking. He adjusted his eyes in the dark and spied Josie on the wall and considered walking past. 

“Even proper thieves would be asleep at this time.” 

“No matter what Lupin says. There is no such thing.” Van Helsing huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. He did not want to be around Josie right now. No he did not want to be around anyone. Let alone someone who he felt he was going to disappoint again. Best to keep distance to make sure the damage is lessened. 

Van Helsing wasn’t sure why Josie was outside at this time. He knew she usually woke up quite early to practice her swordsmanship and occasionally had joined her training. However, he’s not sure that waking up at this time could be considered early. He did note, however that she was not in her armor, something that he still had not had the chance to get used to. Honestly, he would not be surprised if she slept in it. But what alerted him most was her tone of voice. 

After living together at both the Dracula mansion and Saint Germain’s mansion he has to admit that he feels that he was pretty in tune with most of her expressions. It was not as if she were an unreadable book, though she did have a way of shielding herself from too much inspection (the massive armor helped). He had seen what he thought was all of her emotions, from happiness of getting a new friend, the pride of receiving a praise from Delly, the slight blushing of her cheeks when she was training hard or he had said something just slightly suggestive, to the rage she had when in the midst of a battle where her movement were as beautiful as they were deadly. But this was new. 

“Van Helsing.” She said flatly, her eyes trained towards the sky, and he felt himself take a small step towards her even though his brain was screaming for him to leave. "You’re a trained soldier, a knight at that.” She began. “And it is a knight’s duty to protect - to be a shield, right?”

“Mmhmm.” Van let out a small hum as he inched ever closer. 

“But sometimes, to protect also means you have to kill.” At the mention of the last word he felt his legs stiffen. “As a knight sometimes we have to do the very thing that we are trained to stop others from doing.” A moment of silence passed through them before she continued. “Don’t you think that’s strange?” She asked before she shifted and sat up looking him dead in the eye. Though it was dark outside he could see her eyes were trained on him a hint of red beginning to outline her normally blue eyes. This wasn’t anger, he thought to himself. Though it wasn’t sadness. He couldn’t tear himself away. 

“Do you ... do you think you can defeat evil without becoming evil?: She asked as she tilted her head to the side, her eyes still trained on him. He noticed a faint waver of her blue eyes and he glanced away. 

“I don’t know.” He replied and glanced up to the sky. Trying to see what it was that Josie had been looking at. “Maybe that’s the price we pay.” He wanted to laugh at the moment. Why should someone as honorable as Josie - the embodiment in his eyes of a true and pure knight to be asking him. He who had been a major part in the massacre of her species, of her friends, of... possibly her own family. He clenches his hands as he is reminded of just how much blood they are covered with, and lets out a sigh. With that in mind, there’s no way he could let her get any closer. Not when he is so dirty and even still out for more blood. 

He steels himself and lowers his head to look towards the mansion. “Sometimes a knight’s job is to be a sword.... But these aren’t things you need to think about. It’s late you should go to bed.” As he went to take a step forward a sudden gust of wind flew past him and there in between him and the mansion, she stood. He knew she was quick, she was a vampire of course. And without her armor she was quick as the wind. Suddenly she was directly in front of him, if he leaned forward even a centimeter they would be touching.

“I will always be a shield. Even if it means to fall before the sword.” She said her eyes boring into him. Her eyes no longer wavered, no, now he saw a small fire of red burning behind her normal blue eyes. He closed his eyes to blink and the gust of wind returned, he knew when he opened his eyes she would be gone. 

Her threat was hanging heavy in the air around him, he almost felt bolted to the ground. She couldn’t know the reason, but he figures she could see something was up. But he couldn’t let her stop him. Not how. Not when he had to revenge his family. It would be better that she hated him now anyway, maybe it would be easier for them both to not allow each other any closer.  And with that he opened his eyes, a quick glance around to ensure he was indeed alone before he walked off into the mansion.