Doctor, why is there propaganda that says your Tails' father? There's nothing in the files that says that this was planned. What damage control can be done to stop this mess from spiraling out of hand?
Huh, since when were people going around saying I'm his father? How would that even be possible? If it was a case of adoption, I certainly don't have any papers saying that.
Well I'm sure that can easily be resolved by me saying that if he were my son, I'd never have let him get the chance to run around with that irritating hedgehog and meddle with my plans!
And he would've made a far more interesting and more valuable life for himself by now, instead of wasting any time, intelligence and skill on him. I feel this should be obvious.
Instead, the kid has constantly gotten in my way, we've gone toe to toe and tried to kill each other a couple of times. He's also acted like quite the little brat, taking shots at me any time he could when I made a false truce with him and Sonic to help me deal with the Deadly Six. Sure, I was going to betray them all along and he saw through me and is still bitter about how I've tried to kill him and his best buddy a couple of times but sheesh!
I would never have let him get to the point of even thinking to disrespect me in such ways if I were in control as his parent. Surely that should be enough for people to understand that I'm not! As it stands, we have nothing of a father and son relationship. Unless you have a very confused or twisted definition, I suppose.
Though I admit, I would be interested in becoming his mentor of sorts in the realm of science, machinery and robotics and using it to my advantage. But I fear it's much too late with him being the the closest victim to the influence of Sonic that one has ever been. I'm really not sure if I could trust him now.
(It’s happening folks. The big reveal, four years in the making.)
NotWhat He Seems: Chapter 1
Thomas' heart always beat a little faster when he summoned something, even after several years in this job. It was the thrill of calling a powerful being into this reality with only your wits and some chalk lines as protection.
Beëlzebob was an intermediate-level demon. He took the appearance of every cliché devil ever - hairy black goat legs, a ridiculously buff and gleaming red upper body, large curled horns. The works.
He was also not cooperating at all.
"You are... di̵s̢tra͢c̢te͜d," the demon whispered, his voice echoing back strangely from the corners of the summoning lab. The shadows seemed to thicken.
Thomas kept his face impassive. These were just some special effects, after all. His binding circle was perfect, he didn't need to worry.
"I have outlined our offer in this document. These are the terms you have previously discussed at length with my colleague," he said, reaching out slightly to hand Beëlzebob the carefully rolled up contract. "All should be in order."
The demon unrolled it and took his sweet time reading it through. He would make a good addition to the safe summons list, despite being a bit higher level than their usual choices. This old-fashioned approach, with the written contract and all - it would teach the students to be patient and give them time to focus on the details before shaking on anything.
"Yes," the demon said, dragging a black claw over the parchment. "These terms are acceptable. However, there is one issue."
"Is there?"
A horrible, fanged grin. "The contract must be written in your o̦̰͚w̮̮n̬͇̹̕ blood, mortal."
Maybe it was his experience with grandstanding demons, or Tyrone had been rubbing off on him, but Thomas was not impressed. "That wasn't in the agreement."
"You will rewrite it. Ḩè̲̙͙̩̤r̦e̹̦ ͏͕̥a̝̱̺͟n̘͔d ̛̦̱̲̖n̩͈̪o̰̻͓͓͢w̺͍͎̦.̪̣͇̩́"
"No, I don't think so," Thomas said, mildly. Seriously? All that work was just wasted? Typical. He was not going to use his own blood to write it, sheesh. With all those clauses and addendums the thing was way too long. Not to mention willingly given human blood had power - power that wasn't a part of this offer.
The shadows twisted - the candles flared. "You will, little mortal, or I will step over this boundary and write it myself, straight from your veins."
"This attitude is not convincing me you're a good fit for our list."
"You have summoned me and I will not leave without my deal!" Red-tinged smoke filled the circle, edging over the chalk lines and spreading into the room. It stank of sulphur and decay.
Thomas coughed. Dramatics aside, maybe it was time to get rid of Beëlzebob. Too bad, Hicks would be disappointed to cross off another name on the safe summons list… It had shrunk a lot in the past years. If this kept up their students would soon only get to summon the Organ Duck. If they couldn’t offer a proper practical education they might eventually run out of interested students as well, which was bad news for the survival of the demonology department.
"Whoa, did someone drop a rotten egg in here?"
Tyrone usually didn't barge in during summonings, especially when they were trying to get more demons for the safe summons list, but this time Thomas didn't mind. The open door let in some fresh air and that was very welcome at the moment.
Tyrone entered the room, waving away some of the smoke. "Hey, Hicks mentioned you wanted to have a talk?"
"What? Oh, yeah," Thomas said, distracted. The smoke was dissipating with record speed and Beëlzebob was visible again, staring at Tyrone in abject terror. "I'm a bit busy right now though."
"Do you need any help?" Tyrone offered. His smile was perfectly friendly.
Thomas glanced at Beëlzebob. "As a matter of fact, he was just leaving."
"Yes! Yes indeed," the demon hurried to say. "Just leaving. Right now. I’m going. Big misunderstanding, you know how it is, have to be somewhere else, goodbye now!"
“Thanks buddy," Tyrone said. "Very accommodating of you, leaving without a deal like that. I will remember this. Here, have a snack."
With a snap of his fingers a familiar deep-fried ball appeared, partly wrapped in a festive paper towel.
Beëlzebob caught it with a flinch and popped away without another sound.
“So, what exactly did you want to talk about?”
“Just a second, let me clean up first.” He frowned at Tyrone. “Speaking of cleaning up, what happened to your shirt?”
“What?” Tyrone glanced down at the brown stains on his usually so crisp white shirt, and made a face. “Aw man, seriously?”
“Do I want to know?”
“I bumped into Banerjee on my way here. He was carrying samples. And he didn’t even apologize, can you believe it?”
Banerjee was the Cryptozoology department’s newest hire, working on his doctorate involving – honestly, Thomas had no idea, he just knew it involved a lot of mud. He wasn’t aware of Tyrone’s true identity. The university staff tried to keep that one under wraps. Parents might object to their children coming to a university where Alcor the Dreambender was frequently hanging around.
“He owes me a new shirt.”
Thomas rolled his eyes. “You can literally make it brand new with a thought.”
“He doesn’t know that. It’s about the principle of the thing.”
Shaking his head, Thomas set to work. To his students it often came as a surprise that practical demonology involved a lot of cleaning up. The preparations were extensive, of course, but afterwards someone had to put away the candles and mop up the chalk, blood, and other assorted fluids the demons occasionally left behind. Beëlzebob in particular had left footprints of some kind of sulphurous ooze that he probably shouldn’t handle without gloves…
Safely removing summoning circles was an art, really. It’s not like you could just start scrubbing away with these things – the outer part was usually the binding circle, and you never knew if the demon was still hanging around, invisible, waiting for you to make a mistake. Not that he expected something to happen while Alcor the Dreambender was literally waiting at the door, but proper caution was a good habit to have.
“You know, I could clean this up for you with a snap of my fingers,” Tyrone mused, lounging against the wall while he waited. His shirt held no trace of the brown stains.
“Are you offering?”
“For free?”
Thomas snickered at the almost scandalous look on Tyrone’s face. Put down his cleaning supplies. He had planned to do this differently, but you know what? Now might be as good a time as ever. And it would be fun, wouldn’t it, to put Tyrone off-balance for a moment? “How about a deal then?”
Tyrone perked up.
“You get this room back to its cleaned-up, usable state,” said Thomas, and felt the smile break through on his face. “In return, you get to be my best man.”
To his credit, it didn’t take Tyrone long to realise. “Thomas! You finally popped the question then?”
“Yep. I said I was going to do it soon, this can’t be a surprise –“
“And she said yes?”
“We did talk about it beforehand, you know –“
“Congrats!”
“Thanks,” Thomas grinned. “So, what do you say? Fair warning though, being my best man comes with certain responsibilities. Making sure I’m on time at the wedding and such.”
Organising the stag night as well, technically. Though Thomas suspected Brad already had some thoughts in that direction.
“I’ve been someone’s best man before, I know how it goes,” Tyrone said. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Thomas.”
The room around them shifted, the magical arrays fading away and taking the trailing odour of brimstone with them.
Tyrone’s expression shifted too, as he let go of Thomas’ hand.
“What’s wrong?” Thomas asked.
“Nothing.”
“You seem upset?”
“I am happy for you,” Tyrone said. “It’s just… you’re getting old.”
“Wow, thanks.”
“No, I mean – look at you! Getting married. Maybe kids and a house, soon.”
“I’m not buying a house on a teacher’s salary,” Thomas said. “The rest… who knows? We’ll see how it goes. Is that what’s upsetting you? That I’m growing up?”
Tyrone shrugged awkwardly. He seemed smaller somehow. “You’re going to be very busy with all that – that life stuff. It’s happening already. Everyone is so busy. Your dates with Elisha, Eddy’s got his new job, Brad’s mucking around in his dad’s company - when was the last time we all hung out, just for fun? Not because it was someone’s birthday or anything? It’s been ages since we had a game night.”
That… had been a while, true. “I guess that’s what happens when you get older. There are more demands on your time, you get to juggle more responsibilities.”
“I’m not getting older.”
“Right.” Thomas took a deep breath. “Listen, so… we’re busy more often. And it’s not like in college, where we all could just hang out all the time. But you’re basically part of the family, Tyrone. Alcor. You’ll always have a place here. And I’m sure the rest of the gang would say the same.”
“Promise?”
“Promise,” Thomas said. And smiled, to lighten the mood. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
“You’d just miss all the amazing deals I make with you.”
“Of course” Thomas said, glad Tyrone was now teasing instead of moping. “I’m clearly only using you for your clout as Alcor. You’ve made my life so much easier.”
Tyrone mimed a gasp. “Sarcasm, Thomas? Ouch.”
“Not entirely sarcasm,” Thomas admitted. “You do make my life easier, sometimes. When you feel like it. For instance, vanishing that sulphurous stuff Beëlzebob left behind, I was not looking forward to handling that. The smell lingered.”
Tyrone suddenly looked way too innocent. “Oh, I didn’t exactly vanish it.”
Oh Stars. “What did you do?”
“Might have put it somewhere. Like, oh, I dunno… Banerjee’s car.”
Thomas facepalmed. Serves him right for making a vague deal like that. “Is it at least safe?”
“Define ‘safe’.”
“Tyrone!”
“Don’t worry, Thomas, I promised not to deliberately harm the university’s students and faculty, remember? He’ll be fine.”
“All this for an accidental stain on your shirt, really?”
Tyrone folded his arms in front of him. “He didn’t apologize.”
Thomas shook his head, exasperated.
Demons. They really knew how to hold grudges.
--------------
The Mindscape was a vast, endless realm where the strong hunted the weak and territories were defined, invaded, and redefined. This was the place where demons lived, and they didn’t like each other any better than they liked humans. The collective noun for a group of demons, as they say, is ‘a carnage’. Teaming up was rare, and more often than not ended in the stronger one destroying the other as soon as their goal was met. That was just the natural order of things.
Even so, sometimes even they needed a neutral place to go. Somewhere deals could be made without worrying about being devoured. This place was the Midway Bar, run by a demon known only as the Bartender, and for the past six years it had attracted a group of regulars.
They took over the table in the corner. Sometimes the group lost a member, occasionally it gained one. They weren’t here to make deals. They were here to drown their misery and sneak away before a stronger demon took advantage of their intoxication to ambush them outside these walls.
Beëlzebob entered the Midway Bar. He went straight to the Bartender, who after a short conversation pointed in the direction of the gloomy table in the corner.
“Get lost,” Flaga the Eagle-winged said, at his approach.
The demon next to her, who mostly looked like a giant fungus with teeth, curled a green tendril around their glass. “Yeah. This is a private party.”
Beëlzebob paused. He was stronger than each of them, he knew. But this was no place for threats. “Apologies for the interruption. May I sit?”
That wasn’t how demons talked to each other, especially not to a bunch of low-levels like them. They shared a suspicious glance. The one across from Flaga, some kind of feathered crocodile hybrid, raised his empty glass meaningfully.
Of course. “Listening can parch the throat so,” Beëlzebob said. “Let me get those refilled for you, and then we̙̮'̥͉̘ll̟̮ ț̳̮a̪̩̗̥l̯̹̹k̰.”
How about Souper Boris and the Sheep Triplets Vs Supervillains for a prompt?
Summary: Boris is temporarily forced to get back into the crime fighting stint to help clean up an unreasonable amount of trouble that's been brewing in Bouillonburg's streets.
---
[[MORE]]
"Golly gosh Alice, I really don't know if I got it in me anymore..." The modestly dressed cartoon wolf known as Boris, admitted as he was presented with an offer he didn't ever think possible: To bring back Souper Boris. "I mean, my powers aren't exactly permanent. I can't float like you can, and uh, yeah you were always pretty amazing already being an angel and all... I just drank some funky soup."
"Oh nonsense..." Alice held out his discarded Souper outfit, smiling encouragingly as she did so. "Your sense of honor and your wiles are what made you a great superhero! Not just the horribly irradiated soup."
"I'm pretty sure my street smarts never made me shoot lasers from my eyes..." Boris frowned. "Nor uh, lift a moving car..."
"Boris I've seen you lift a car without there being any super soup involved." The angel pointed out. "Although there was a candy bar involved... Come to think of it I've seen you do plenty of impossible feats of strength when food was involved..."
"Fair point, but that's different." He conceded "That's just me being hungry..."
"Yes I do understand dear, but uh..." She paused when an explosion rocked Boris's humble little home. "Please, please, PLEASE reconsider..."
The city had become a bit chaotic since he'd hung up his cape. The influx of supervillains had easily outclassed the arrival of new superheroes, and not even his little Woolly Sidekicks nor Souper Alice had been able to clean the streets of the supposed lesser threats.
Then of course the high crime rate lead to some pretty devastating infighting in the villain community. It turns out the Butcher Gang and the Society for the Shellacking of Souper Boris (yes they kept that ridiculous name) didn't take kindly to having so many idiots encroach on their territory... So they'd started an all out turf war with the city stuck smack dab right in the middle of it all.
Thus Alice's desperate plea for him to go back into the crime fighting scene while the Woolly Triplets attempted to fend off the current troublesome mayhem. To the best of their abilities really.
"I would like to help, really I would Alice... But my doctor said I'm not allowed to eat bacon for a month." He smiled sheepishly. "My cholesterol isn't looking too good..."
"Is there no way I can make you change your mind?" Another explosion sent a toon cat flying into the distance, followed by a crowd running past the house, being chased by a mechanical crocodile. "Things are really out of hand."
"I mean, if you could somehow give me my Souper Boris powers without me having to eat the stuff?" The wolf shrugged.
"Lucky for us I know the right guy for that sort of unbelievable shenanigans... Bendy! Bendy where are you?!" Alice looked around as she called out to the mischievous lesser demon, standing back when said Imp poofed into the mortal realm wearing only a bathing cap and holding a sponge.
He looked around in surprise and, upon seeing them both and remembering his state of undress, yelped as he scrambled to cover himself up.
"Sheesh! Can't a demon take a shower without gettin' an unexpected call?!" He snapped his fingers, a towel appearing out of thin air and wrapping around him. "What do ya want toots? And why are ya wearing a cookin' pot on your head?"
"It's part of the Souper Alice super suit... Bendy do you have any idea of how to give Boris his superpowers back? Without the soup?" Alice asked, dismissing the initial question pertaining her current gettup. "Its kind of an emergency..."
"Well I'll say... And last I checked Boris's superhero business thingy was your typical radioactive mutation cliche. Just throw him in a barrel o' toxic waste. That should do it... Oh hey look it's the Triplets! I ain't seen them since... I donno, time passes weirdly in hell!"
The trio watched the three small sheep toons overpower a newbie villain and proceed to assault them into submission with plungers and hammers. Bendy whistled.
"Savage for three cute little sheep uh?"
"Where do we even find a barrel of toxic waste?" Alice frowned as she tapped her chin in thought.
"Well you could try a power plant, or go behind Greg's in Ducktail Boulevard." Bendy suggested. "That guy's a real freak. Papa Pluto likes to sit at one of the booths and watch his cookin' ruin people's lives."
"I'm not sure I like this plan..." Boris gulped.
"It's either that, or eatin' irradiated bacon soup." Bendy pointed out. "Now if you'll excuse me, I got a nice hot shower to return to."
And with that, the little grinning Imp vanished. Leaving the wolf and the angel to their half-baked plan.
Seeing no other options, they decided to follow Bendy's advice against their better judgement. What could possibly go wrong right?
-
"Remind me again why we're helping these troublesome do-gooders, when we could instead disintegrate them and claim the city for ourselves?" Cameraman asked Miss Twisted as he grabbed as many of his equipment as he could fit in his arms.
The demoness shrugged before raising three fingers. She began listing off of them.
"Well they got rid of those schmucks who thought they were real bonafide villains, thus decreasing the competition exponentially." She began. "Then the little trio of sheep threatened us with severe painful harm, which Brute thought was really super cute, which it was... And can you really deny the big guy that?"
Both looked over at the burly wolf who was currently on the floor cooing at the three sheep currently biting his ears and trying to intimidate him into submission.
"Aww..."
"I know right?" She chuckled. "Finally... That angel is super hot and you'd help a fellow villain out, wouldn't you?"
"So in essence, I'm playing wingman by fixing the horrendous mutations that came from Souper Boris deciding to bathe in toxic waste?" Cameraman deadpanned.
"Yep~"
"What a grand and glamorous life I'm living..." He sighed, clearly exasperated. "My father was right, I should have just been a street lamp instead..."
"Love you too Cammy~" the demoness cackled "Now let's go decrease the number of heads and limbs on that wolf. The staring and wiggling is really starting to freak me out...Brute be careful with your new buddies, they're only little!"
"Me like soft cute sheepies!" The large brutish wolf ignored the kicking and biting, joyfully holding the Woolly Triplets as if they were little fragile china dolls.
After this, Boris was definitely never trying this hero business stuff ever again... Or maybe he should rectify what he'd said in the past. Bendy's ideas really were the worst!
Little Mac walked in the kitchen and dug through the pantry. “Where are those protein bars?” He muttered to himself. Eventually, he pulled found the box and pulled on out. He walked out the kitchen and began eating his bar when he noticed a door right across from the closets. “How long has that been there?"
Walking over to it, he opened the door and saw stairs that went into a deep basement. He followed those stairs and kept walking straight. The hall felt as if it had gone forever when Mac heard some muttering. With the slightest sound, he his by a wall and peered past the corner. He saw Dr. Mario surrounded by chalkboards covered top to bottom in pictures, with a few dim lights above his head with the occasional flicker.
A bit worried, Mac slowly walked to the doctor. "Hey, Dr. M? What’s… What’s all of this?"
No response.
"Uh, Dr. Mario?” He called again, getting closer.
No response again. Just eerie muttering.
“Dr….?” He reached out and tapped his shoulder.
Dr. Mario swiftly turned around and had a crazed look on his face. “Fliggityjibbitubibbidyswoooity!” He started shrieking jibberish.
“Gah!” Mac took a few steps back.
“…..” Dr. Mario regained some of his composer. “Hello, Mac.”
“H-hey…uh, whatcha…whatcha up to?” Mac asked, slightly nervous.
“Oh, y'know. A bit of research.” He answered. Little Mac could easily tell that it had been days since the doctor had slept.
“Researching what, exactly?” Mac questioned.
Dr. Mario slowly turned around and faced the chalkboards. “All of the incidents…”
“Incidents?” Mac tilted his head.
“Haven’t you noticed that ever since that purple pterodactyl got announced, more people have been getting hurt?” Dr. Mario asked.
“It’s pretty hard not to.” Mac answered flatly.
“First was with Regular Mario and Megaman…” Dr. Mario started.
“Wait, you two are for real not the same person? I thought you just go by that since your in doctor clothes.” Mac commented.
Dr. Mario rolled his eyes and ignored the comment. “Then, when the Belmont’s showed up, Luigi had his soul snatched. And King K. Rool? We all know what he did to Dedede."
"Didn’t he just hit him really hard?” Mac asked.
Dr. Mario held up a sheet that showed Dedede’s skull facing right with a small crack in the back. “This is what happened.”
“Dr. M? Pretty sure you showed us all our X-rays before. That crack has been there for a while.” Little Mac told him.
“Dedede was facing forward. His skull was facing was right.” Dr. Mario replied.
“Sheesh! No wonder we didn’t hear him eat raid the kitchen for a couple of days.” Mac said, shuddering.
Dr. Mario nodded. “And its only a matter of time until Dark Samus or who knows who else hurts anyone else."
”…Wait, else?“ Mac repeated, worried.
Dr. Marion held a finger up. "And don’t you think this is a bit odd that Ridley came right after the Inklings? Things are happening and they’re all trying to make some sort of pattern.”
“Hold the phone, doc. First, I don’t think you have a degree for investigating stuff this deeply. It’s great you care this much about us, but I’m pretty sure that even Mario has his limits. Your a doctor, stick to that. Second, I know that specific people getting injured this badly is horrible, but I’m 100% certain that the Belmont’s and Inklings are just as worried as we are. They wouldn’t think for a second of hurting the group like this.” Mac told the Doctor.
——(Elsewhere)—–
Inkling Girl, Ness, Corrin, and Richter were playing UNO while Villager was watching from the sidelines. Richter sneezed, which would be the fifth time in the game he had done that.
“Are you alright, Richter? That’s the fifth time you sneezed in under two minutes.” Corrin asked.
“Hey, do you guys ever feel like someone’s mentioning you behind your back?” Inkling Girl asked.
“Eh, not really.” Ness answered.
“I feel like mentioning something…” Corrin said. She then slammed her cards down in the pile. “UNO!”
“W-what?! That’s not fair! You cheated.” Inkling Girl interjected.
“If you call cheating winning, then I guess I did.” Corrin replied. “Vill, can you mark down another win for me?”
Villager gave her a thumbs up, and pulled out a note pad from his pocket and was about to write it down.
“Villager, don’t write anything!” Inkling pointed at Villager, which he then put the notepad down. “Corrin, admit that you cheated.”
Ness put a hand on her shoulder. “Calm down, Orange, it’s just a game."
Inkling then turned around and gave Ness a death glare.
Ness had a pale expression on his face, and quickly took his hand off of her shoulder. He then scuttled and hid behind Richter.
Inkling turned her attention towards Corrin. "Admit that you cheated!"
"Or what? You’ll to shoot paintballs at me?” Corrin said with a smug look on her face.
Inkling Girls’ pupils shrank. She cocked her head to the side. “What’d you call my ink?”
“Paintballs.” Corrin repeated.
Inkling Girls stared at Corrin for a few more seconds. Next thing the group knew, Inkling and Corrin were engaged in a classic cartoon dustcloud fight.
Villager walked over to Ness and Richter. Ness looked at Villager. “Dude, why did you pick out UNO when you specifically know that it can cause fighting among friends and that these two are incredibly competitive?”
Villager shrugged. ;)
Richter sighed. “You love mayhem, don’t you little buddy?"
Villager looked away before nodding with a grin. Ness and Richter sighed once more.
—-(Back to Doc and Mac)—-
"Mac, you don’t understand. I’m not saying they’re trying to hurt us. I’m saying that whenever a villain is on screen, one of us is injured.” Dr. Mario defended.
“Well, that’s kinda why they’re villains. They hate heroes.” Mac told him.
“I know that! I’m just saying that there’s something lying beneath the surface. Remember those purple and yellow chairs we saw?” Dr. Mario said, shifting the conversation forward.
“Doc, if this is about what I think you’re making this about and annoy me for weeks about it, I’m going to hit you.” Mac told him in a straightforward manner.
“What? No, of course not.” Dr. M told him. “Isn’t it weird that we have a lot of villains coming out this time?”
“Well, now that you mention it, we do have a slightly higher amount of bad guys around.” Mac agreed.
“And the moon. It is it’s own Assist Trophy now, correct?"
"Wait, you keep tabs on Assist Trophies? Do you even get enough sleep? I’m pretty sure we have someone to do that.” Little Mac questioned.
Dr. Mario ignored the question. “Now, who could make it so that villains are becoming more cunning and increasing in their ranks, and the heores (and to a lesser extent) Dedede are met with a terrible fate?!” Dr. Mario asked, his eye twitching. “I’ll tell you who. It was none other than-MMPH!”
Little Mac covered the Doctor’s mouth before he could finish. “Doc. I think you’re over thinking it.” Dr. M was about to come with a comeback, but Mac I interrupted him. “I know that all of our friends getting hurt is really worrying, but jumping at random conclusions based on random evidence isn’t gonna help. You’re only going to tire yourself out and you won’t be able to be there for the people that need you."
Dr. Mario looked down and looked around at where he had been for the past couple of days. It was a total mess, and he had let it get to his head.
”*sigh* You’re right. I’ve been trying to figure out what would happen next for so long that it started messing with my head. I can’t stay cooped down here when there are others that need me.“ Dr. Mario said. A smile grew on his face. "Funny how the boxer, the one who typically needs a doctor to patch him up after a fight, helped to heal a doctor who was stuck beating himself up.”
“Well, you either go down doing what you can to help others, or worry long enough to need some outside assistance.” Little Mac said. “…I don’t think that’s the right way to say it, but let’s get out of here. It smell like mushrooms down here."
As the duo walked back, Little Mac turned to Dr. Mario. "How long have you been down here?”
“What day is it?” Dr. Mario asked, rubbing his tired eyes.
“Sheesh.” Little Mac said.
On the table of the doctors notes, there was one thing that all the notes led up to. No matter which one was examined, they all led to the same terrible fate. A fate that would most likely change the course of Smash history forever. And that change would all start…
With a mask.
———
After 15 minutes, Inkling and Corrin’s cartoon dust cloud fighting turned into gentle pats. Ness, Richter, and Villager came back from the other room to with snacks.
Richter saw them on the ground. “You two are still going?”
Villager stared at Ness. “Villager’s right. You two should stop fighting. Its not like you bet coins on it.” Ness said, slightly glaring at Villager, who was silently laughing.
Inkling Girl sighed. “Okay. Corrin, I’m sorry for getting mad and fighting you. Even though I was winning."
"I’m sorry also.” Corrin replied. “And I may have been cheating a little bit.”
“AHA!! I knew it!” Inkling shouted.
Richter chuckled. “Wow, you were lying this whole time? Corrin, you’re hilarious!” Corrin blushed at this comment
“So, you happy you won?” Ness asked Inkling with a grin.
“You know it, ya lunkhead. My night plans have been complete.” Inkling said proudly.
“Well, the nights still young. What should we do?” Richter asked.
The group had a long pause before Ness came with a suggestion. “You wanna go mess with Wario?"
Villager smiled and pulled out a basket of eggs while the rest of the group grinned.
"I’ll take that as a resounding yes.” Ness grinned.
“Last one there is a mean old Tom Nook!” Inkling Girl shouted, running off. The other four followed in pursuit. Though Villager did have a small sweat drop hearing Tom Nook’s name.
You sit at the bed looking at Mac and start to tear in the eyes because you’ve always loved him but,it hurts to see him like that.You start to speak and say lowly to him “Hey Mac you probably won’t hear me but,I have to get it off my chest.I love you so much and I know that’s crazy but, you always have seen me as a friends and that’s all.I know we’ll stay friends and never go further but,just know my feelings for you will never go away.” You kiss his forehead and start to cry looking at the floor when you a raspy voice say “Hey.” You look up and see Mac looking at you slightly.(gif above) You say lowly “Mac you’re alive.” Mac says “Yeah i’ve been alive thus whole time.” Mac smiles at you and you look in shock realizing Mac heard you the whole entire time.You say “I…..um have to go now.” You start to get up and Mac tries to reach for you but,he’s too weak….
10 days later…..
Jack is sitting in the office and when Mac walks in he asks “Mac you seen Y/N?” Mac says “No….last time she seen me she ran off because I found she loved me..and more than a friend when she thought I was unconscious.” Jack says “Oh man..”,Mac says “I know I messed up but,I didn’t want her to hide it from for so long.” Jack stands up and says “You’re going to see her.” Mac says “But she doesn’t want to see me and to be exact I’m probably the last person she wants to see.” Jack gets stern and says “Mac you are a man and I know you love her too and Damn it if you don’t set this straight it won’t be pretty.”(gif below)
Mac says “Understood.”
You are driving home after work and you start to feel weird as you drive and all of a sudden you crash into a wall.(gif below)
You start to bleed as you mistakenly speed dial Mac thinking it’s 911 and say “Help me….” You start to cry as you bleed and cough.Mac hangs up and says “Jack Y/N is hurt.” Mac and Jack start to drive when he sees a car with smoke in it and stops the car running towards it.Jack says “Mac there she is…” You lie unconscious whike Mac and Jack carefully get you from underneath the car and get you to a hospital….
As you may unconscious on a buddy as the doctors immediately pull you away Mac starts to burst into tears.(gif below)
Jack says “Everything will be okay Mac.I promise you she will be okay.” Mac says “The day I was going to tell her I love her this happens and I feel like it’s all my fault Jack.” Jack says “Mac none of this us your fault okay?” Mac asks “How is it not Jack?” Jack says “It’s not your fault because she would never do something like this because of you she loves you too much to have you like this Mac we will find out what happened I have a bad feeling someone plotted this.” Mac says “This is so hard to deal with.” Jack says “We will get through this….the both of you will get through this together.” Mac hugs Jack and they wait…
You wake up in a bed and open your eyes slightly to see Mac staring at you.(gif below)
You say “Mac?” Mac says “Y/N it’s me.” You ask “What happened?” Mac starts to talk about what happened and you start to cry leading Mac to wipe tears from your eyes.Mac lays next to you and holds you close to his chest.Mac says “Everything will be okay……”, You look up at Macs’ face and ask “Really?” Mac says “Yes ofcourse I will protect you my love.” You look in shock and ask “Mac did you just say love?” Mac nods and kisses your lips softly as you kiss him back.Then it leads to sensual loving….
5 days later….
You walk into the office where Mac and the crew are asking “What are we going to do?” Mac starts gathering his stuff looking angry and Jack says “Mac relax.” Mac says “No.” You ask “Guys what’s going on?” Mac walks towards you and kisses your cheek then puts on his jacket then stomps to the car.Jack starts to run after Mac and after they leave you ask Riley “What’s going on?” Wilt says “Mac found out who was the person that led to your car crash.” You say “Oh no.” You start to massage your temples and say “This is horrible.” Riley says “I got a camera that I set up in his jacket sneakily before he left as soon as I saw he was getting angry I put in.” Matilda says “Riley tap into it.” Riley hacks into the camera and see the highway as Mac and Jack drive.Mac makes it to a place and makes a key Jack to get in the door quietly.Jack sneaks up on the guy and says “You’re going nowhere.” The guy tries to run but, Mac approaches on the other side then punches the guy in the face.(gif below)
Wilt says “Damn I didn’t know Mac could hit that Damn hard sheesh.” You look in shock froze and Riley tries to snap you out of it but, you stay standing frozen….
Later that day…
You and the crew sit at a fire pit and you rub your hands.Mac asks “Babe what’s wrong?” Wilt says “You knocked out that guy like a punching bag man.”(gif below)
You laugh and say “Wilt you read my mind.” Wilt says “It’s good I got you.” Mac says “Y/N can we talk in private.” You say “Yeah.” You and Mac get up then go inside the house.You ask “What’s up?” Mac says “You’ve been acting distant from me ever since earlier today what’s going on?” You gulp really hard and say “I’m scared Mac.” Mac asks “Scared of what?” You say “I’m scared of us.” Mac asks “What do you mean?” You say “I’m scared that what if we like….broke up I would be so sad and like I couldn’t move on with life.I wouldn’t be able to stand seeing with someone else or hurt someone because they hurt me.I love you too much Mac.” Mac says “Babe I promise that this will never end okay?” You are still looking down and Mac lifts your face to face him then says “I know I want you in my life forever okay?” You nod and kiss him…..
4 years later…..
You walk into your room and see Mac handcuffed to your bed post,he says “H-Hey!”(gif below)
You ask “Mac why are you handcuffed to my bed.You start to laugh and Mac says "I wanted to make you more excited about when we make loooooove.” You sit over next to him and say “You’re a dorky romantic you know that right?” Mac laughs and say “Yeah I know but,is it working…”, Mac starts to raise his eyebrows smiling at you.You say “Ofcourse Mac.” Your start to passionately kiss Mac and become impatient wanting to touch you but,he’s handcuffed so your in control and you guys finally start to make love……
8 months later….
You and the crew are at a job baseball game and you see Mac is up then you scream “Go Mac!!!!!!!!!!” Mac turns over to you and smiles.(gif below)
You smile back then look down to rub your big belly and whisper to your belly “Can’t wait for you to come into the world my little princess.You would be so proud to see your dad right now.” Riley rubs your belly and says “Y/N You know Mac is going to be protective even more right?” You laugh and say “Most definitely.” Riley asks “Did you plan a name for her?” You nod no then say “I know I need to think quickly.”
2 years later….
You and Mac sit next to each other on a plane.Riley looks over at your toddler daughter smiling at her and reaching to touch her hair.(gif below)
She says “Rilwey.” You look in shock and says “That was her first word,we’ve been so close as friends that your name is her first word.” Mac,Riley,You,Jack,Wilt and Matilda start to play with the baby…..
Okaaaay so I've been struggling alot with Sparks origins and his parentage. For those who know and have read the previous story with Sparks i had wrote him with a mother named Aura. Unfortunately due to struggles with designing her character and personality (mainly because she was a literal random on the spot character) I decided to rework his backstory a little bit where my sona is the one caring for him.
So while thinking of ideas like, creating him myself or adopting him from an orphanage, I jokingly suggested finding him in the trash and a certain someone thought it would be a good idea, plus i got hit by a wave of inspiration and so here we are.... =w=
Anyways, here is a small origin story for baby Sparks, Enjoy! :’D
It was pretty late by the time Bloo had finished up for the day, and she was more than ready for home.
"Finally all done for the day! Man i thought it would never end!" She sighed heavily as she finishied packing her stuff, stored the art materials back into the cupboard by the desk and made her way out of the building.
"Freeedoom!" she half yelled as she almost ran outside into the cool evening air, arms spread out.
People were probably staring but honestly Bloo couldn't care less. She was just glad to be all done and finished with the coursework and free to do as she pleased for the rest of the week. It was reading week next week, so she had plenty of time to rest and catch up on her other personal projects.
"Ahh sheesh i'm SO glad its all over! At least for a week heh"
Bloo lowered her arms and let out a long sigh. College work was always so boooooring and took so looooong! Ah well at least its all done for now and she could get a nice longish break!
"Welp, best be heading home then"
Bloo stood for a little moment and just breathed in the fresh cool air before shifting the bag on her shoulder slightly and began making her way back home. It wasn't too far to walk, and it was nearly dark but Bloo didn't really mind. Was quite nice for a change. Plus being a weird looking half skeleton half animal thing tended to be enough to make people keep their distance. All she had to do was give a flash of the ol' fangs and BOOM! Any one lookin for trouble would be gone in an instant!
Heh. Ok, maybe not quite, but still least she could still enjoy her fantasies about it. Bloo prefererd to avoid conflict whenever possible, mainly due to the ah.. side effect of her magic if she got riled up too much.
Shape shifting magic seemed to have that weird effect, at least for her.
Hmm... She noticed it was strangly quiet for this time of the day. Then again at this time of the day people would be at home eating dinner she supposed.
Bloo huffed and kept walking, her bare feet clacking against the pavement as she continued on further away from the town. The buildings around her were beginning to get more and more downtrodden and graffiti covered, as she headed further away from the town and towards the outskirts that led to the housing areas outside of the town. Bloo frowned and quickened her pace.
She never liked walking through this place.
It was usually pretty busy and loud with all the people and traffic but thankfully it was fairly quiet at the moment. This was what Bloo liked to call the "twilight zone" where all the party goers would either be still getting ready to go out, or have yet to be drunk enough to be out causing havoc on the streets and she wanted to make sure to be long gone before any of that started.
"Alright, almost outta here" Bloo mumbled to herself. The street lights were starting to turn on, and she continued muttering to herself. It was a habit she had for a while now. Guess it was a quirk of being an introvert.
"Will be home in no time! Spaghetti tonight? Mmm! Maybe a movie too? Havn't had much time for movies, will certainly be nice to be able t-"
Waaahhhh!
She stopped.
....what?
W-whaaaah!
Bloo's ears twitched and she turned her head sharply around, towards a small alleyway.
Was that.... crying?
Waaaahhhh!!
Ok what.
WAAAHHH!
Bloo shifted slightly on her feet, uncertain. Sounds of crying from within an alleyway were always cause for concern, and many of her senses were going off.
Something wasn't right...
"Ah uh...."
W-whaah waaah....
Bloo had no idea what to do.... Standing there awkwardly like a doofus probably wasn't helping either.
She strained her ears again. She could still hear the faint sounds of wailing but...
What.... what if it was just some persons kid crying from within one of the houses? Wouldn't be the first time she's had that kind of encounter.
She let out a slightly nervous laugh.
"Ha.. what am i thinking? Course no one would just up and leave a kid in an alley or something thats just stupid! Besides theres laws and everything against that kind of thing anyway. No one would dare to-"
Woudn't they?
Bloo froze just as she had turned away to keep walking as a small voice in the back of her mind spoke up. She groaned.
"Ugh fiiiiine!"
Bloo quickly turned heel and headed quickly into the alley, albeit cautiously. As she headed further in, the faint muffled crying of the child grew louder, and the alarm bells started going off in Bloo's mind.
Ok. Something was definitely not right here.
As she headed further in and turned a corner, Bloo noticed some giant dumpster bins near a dead end. The wails seemed to be coming from there. Bloo froze on the spot as shivers ran up her spine.
Oh...
Oh no...
Someone didn't...
Bloo quickly approached the dumpsters and to her fear, indeed the wailing got louder as she got closer and approached on the the dumpster bins. The smell was awful, and she almost gagged as she reached out a trembling hand and pushed the big lid off of the bin. She peeked inside and all the fur on her head and tail floofed up in anger and shock.
Inside the bin was a tiny unclothed baby skeleton. He was flailing weakly, and was crying his tiny heart out. Underneath him was some dirty blankets which i could only assume has been wrapped around the child before being shifted by his struggling.
Bloo's soul clenched painfully at the sight and she couldn't stop herself from raising a hand to her mouth. The sight of the poor child was enough to bring tears to her eyes. (Not to mention the smell wasn't helping....)
"Ohh... child..." She could barely contain her emotions.
The baby skeleton seemed to have heard her voice as he stopped crying and looked up at the bigger skeleton hybrid with large blue tear filled eyes.
"Wah?" He whimpered slightly and reached out for Bloo with his tiny hands. "W-waaaah!" He wailed again.
Bloo swore her soul shattered on the spot.
"Ohh you poor thing..."
Bloo did not hesitate to reach in and gather the child out from the bin and into her arms. She left the dirty soggy blankets, since they were definitely of no use to contain a tiny child. She immediately shrugged off her bag and undid the zipper of her orange hoodie and awkwardly tugged it off while cradling the tiny skeleton baby in one arm.
The child, fearful of being abandoned again began attempting to weakly cling to Bloo's shirt, and wailed again and began to struggle as she gently pried his tiny hands off of her shirt. Bloo quickly did her best to shush him as he began crying.
"Hey hey hey its ok! I just need to wrap you up in my hoodie, lil guy! Your freezing cold buddy!" Bloo gently soothed, as she rubbed his tiny skull.
The baby sniffled and looked up at her with large teary eyes.
"W-wah?"
“Heh, y-yeah see Your gonna be alright kiddo, i’m not gonna leave you!” She smiled reassuringly at the baby.
He didn't seem to understand what she said, but then that was to be expected. Still, he seemed to calm down at the sound of her voice, and so Bloo was able to carefully wrap her hoodie around his frail little body. The child squirmed a bit before settling and going still. He continued making small gurgling noises, so Bloo knew he was still awake. However, now that he was bundled up safe in her arms, it suddenly dawned on Bloo exactly what had just happened.
Someone had abandoned this child
Someone had literally dumped them in a trash bin.
Someone had left this child to die.
Bloo was... furious.
More than furious in fact. She was practically enraged.
How could... why.. how... how could someone DO this??
As she stood there seething and thinking about ways in how she could track down the awful goodfornothings who dared to do this to such a tiny innocent baby, said baby suddenly started coughing quite violently snapping Bloo out of her dark thoughts. She looked down at the child worriedly, all anger quickly dissipating in fear for the child's well being.
That’s... not good.
The baby coughed a few times before looking back up at Bloo with those those dark blue eyes. They were a little hard to see against the dark sockets, but she could just about see the tremors in the eye lights, the obvious signs of soul deficiency issues.
Ohh that’s really not good...
"We need to get you to a doctor kiddo" Bloo said shakily. The adrenaline from her recent burst of anger plus the shock of her discovery had died down just a little, enough to make her entire body tremble. She shifted her hold on the child, picked up her bag and began walking quickly out of the alley, and then breaking out into a slight jog as she continued her way back home.
Through the swirling mass of emotions she was feeling right now, the instense anger and the worry, as Bloo jogged all the way back home with the coughing sickly child cradled in her arms, she slowly came to realise this child had no home. No one to take care of him, no one to feed him, or clothe him or to be his parent, and honestly? She didn’t think she could bring herself to take him to an orphanage.
Not after that.
Not after what she had just seen.
Bloo wasn't sure if she would even be able to take on that role herself. Heck she already had so many other things to worry about! So many other life things, like her course... How would she be able to care for a tiny baby, who looked like practically a newborn and keep up on her coursework?
It was a difficult choice...
But there was no way she was ever going to risk someone doing this to the child again. Bloo was determined to give this child a loving home.
Even if she had to make sacrifices for it.
She looked down at the small child. His coughing fit had died down a little, and he was currently still staring up at her. Bloo noticed he had faint light blue freckles on the bridge of his nose(hole) and had orange markings on his eye sockets.
She smiled at him. "Don't worry kiddo, i'll take care of you". The child blinked and let out a small baby noise as he reached out another hand towards Bloo. Her smile widened at the adorable sight and she let him grasp a hold of one of her fingers. The child giggled softly - a sound that melted her already shattered heart - as he tugged and chewed playfully on the finger with a toothless mouth.
"Hehe, gonna have to give you a name little guy. Hmm.. How does Sparks sound?"
The child only nommed on her finger even more with a happy look on his tiny face. Bloo laughed.
"Sparks it is then! You certanly are quite a fiesty little thing arn't you? I think its a good fit!" She grinned as she slowed her pace slightly.
"Bah!" The newly named Sparks suddenly flung his little arms out with small giggle, that quickly dissolved into more coughing, and the smile on Bloo’s face shifted into a worried frown.
"Oh dear... don't worry i'm gonna get you to a doctor as soon as we get home. We're almost there, just hang in there ok?"
Bloo knew the child had no idea what she was saying, and if she was honest it was also a kind of comfort thing for herself as well as the newly dubbed Sparks. She was legit terrified that the child wasn't going to make it, especially now that she was aware his soul was in poor condition going by the state of his eye lights. She quickened her pace, and tightened her hold on the coughing child slightly. Bloo's eye lights narrowed slightly.
She was determined to not let him die.
She growled slightly. And whosoever had abandoned this child and left him to die in a rotten stinking dumpster bin in the back of an alley had better hope they never cross paths with her, lest they want to keep all their limbs attached to their worthless body.
Fic Summary: All pirates have hordes of treasure. It just so happens in this life, cats are the treasure in Luffy’s.
Chapter Title: Merry Whatsit Things
Words: 2048 (Not the game)
read on ao3
Buggy used to live in a lot of shitty places while on the run from the cops when he was a sprouting young criminal. He liked to think he escaped that life once he established a rule of terror in an unknown East Blue town with a name not worth remembering anymore.
A few years of living as boss gave him a shady construction business in which he was rolling in dough. The whole shindig had illegally imported explosives and everything. Hell, he even provided dental to his workers slash underlings. His life was great.
Straw Hat ruined that window of bliss with his literal homewrecking.
When did the kid even have TIME to hotwire a bulldozer and level his entire base? He had to have stayed in town for two hours at most!
Buggy almost forgave Straw Hat. It took a country bumpkin maniac with a destructive streak to make him realize just how small his worldview had become. Sheesh, he used to have big dreams and shit. The kid reminded him by smacking him in the face like they were basic punks duking it out on the streets.
The kid packed a hefty punch, but Buggy knew he could take it. Later. After the bruise healed.
So yeah, Buggy tried to slash the kid’s tires after finding out where he worked. ‘Tried’ because motherfucking Benn Beckman caught him in the act. He was one man he did not want to cross. Anywhere Beckman was at, Red Hair certainly would be hovering around nearby. The pair were mushy and together like that, reminding single people everywhere that they were SAD, ALONE, and in his case ANGRY. Bastards.
“What about that fling with Alvida?” Luffy asked, interrupting the beautiful monologue of his worthwhile career in crime.
“Work buddies. Don’t shit where you eat,” Buggy sniffed.
Alvida told him the things Luffy did when he disbanded her gang. Frankly, he thought they didn’t measure up to the deeds Straw Hat did to him. It looked like Luffy turned her life around for the better, if the kid couldn’t recognize her from the pig she once was. He avoided a kick to the crotch after that.
Now that he thought about it, Buggy himself was profiting from the waves that kid brought to his nowhere nook town. He’d never tell the brat, but Luffy had punched the idle satisfaction from his body that day.
“Hm,” Luffy said, watching a fly buzz by as he ate.
Buggy could see his reply fazed through him. Anything not concerning meat and cats were filtered out of his brain.
“Speaking of places to eat,” Buggy said, watching Luffy perk up immediately. “You need to get out of this place. I killed like five roaches on my way to kitchen.”
Luffy let Robin, one of the newer additions, settle into his lap. “Whaddya mean? Here is fine,” he said.
“Uh, kid?” Buggy said. He gestured to the peeling walls and the paper panels lined with cat sized holes. Half of them were repaired with index cards and duck tape. “Your house is falling apart. You have a bug problem. I think a freaking rat scuttled past my ankle when I was taking a shit in the toilet. Not a mouse. A RAT.”
Luffy tilted his head. “Robin and Sanji can take care of them. They’re both former barn cats,” he replied.
“Your water doesn’t spit out hot anymore,” Buggy said.
“I can go to the public baths,” Luffy returned easily.
“There’s no AC,” Buggy tried.
“We can open the doors and hang up the mosquito net,” Luffy put forth.
“Kid!” Buggy shouted. “There is MOLD infesting the kitchen ceiling.”
Buggy took brief satisfaction at the way Luffy hesitated. The feeling was short lived, however. He had to break the bad news to Luffy, which was as unpredictable of a situation as predicting a storm. The guy would either take it like a champ or refuse to budge.
...Or, Luffy would make this godawful devastated face like someone had told him one of his cats had died. Buggy HATED the possibility of that outcome. He always knew to avoid it whenever he brushed the topic of family. Despite being unfazed even in the face of death and the muzzle of a gun, Luffy still had hang ups like anyone else.
And Buggy would completely take full advantage of that, if only the threats of an internationally wanted fugitive and the hellstorm that be a retired ATTORNEY GENERAL weren’t breathing down his neck…
Oh, and Shanks could go fuck himself. Those crow’s feet and bleached gray hair all the way down to Beckman’s roots? Nuh-uh. Buggy ain’t taking a part of that circus, not yet.
“That’s not good for you or the cats,” Buggy continued, pushing the Monkey D. elders and the inevitable forthcoming of old age to the back of his mind. “The kitchen is where everyone eats. Not all of the furry things have strong immune systems, not like you.”
Luffy’s face was doing that thing where he was thinking. All signs pointed to this being a herald for bad ideas.
Buggy already made it this far. He might as well finish his guilt trip to the end of its bittersweet journey.
“Straw Hat Luffy,” Buggy said, standing up and heading toward the front door. “You can do better.”
Of course, that was where the metaphorical bad weather ended for a while.
Buggy assumed, with the radio silence, maybe Luffy decided to be sensible for once. Hey, he might even listen to Buggy’s advice and Buggy could rein it over his head forever!
Nope. Someone chose the absolute WORST outcome to come to fruition.
Monkey D. Luffy made his choice, on his own terms.
“Call on line 3 for you…” Mohji said to him one day.
Buggy, like the inattentive fucker he was, didn’t notice how pale his underling looked. He had to go ahead and take the call like an ignorant fool.
“I’ll give back the bulldozer in two days,” Luffy started.
Buggy hurled the entire phone set against the wall.
***
The village mayor had to be certain.
“Are you absolutely sure this is a cat?” Dalton asked the young man.
“Yeah! Geez, I know what’s a cat and what isn’t!” Luffy said.
Dalton looked over at the pudgy hooved animal. It watched him with clear wide eyes from its place in Luffy’s lap, as if daring him to contradict its adopted human.
“It has hooves,” Dalton said.
“He’s self-conscious about that.” Luffy nodded. “He’s not as polycrocodile as Nami and Robin are.”
“No tail?” he asked.
“Chopper is the opposite of Usopp!” Luffy exclaimed with a laugh.
Dalton frowned. “He’s a baby now, but he’ll probably grow horns in the future when he turns into an adult,” he persisted. How would this kid explain that?
“Horns?” Luffy lifted Chopper to look him in the eye. “Are you going to grow horns, Chopper?”
The goat-cat blinked slowly at Luffy. He turned his head to look at Dalton and then turned back to Luffy.
Chopper bleeped.
“He says sure, but they’ll fall off on their own,” Luffy said.
Dalton was at an impasse. He had troubles accepting that someone could be so stubborn about an animal’s presumed classification. Was it against certain animal laws if he just let this boy take a wild deer-goat-cat as a pet?
“No worries, Bull-guy,” Luffy assured, stretching to pat him on the shoulder. “Doctor-lady told me Chopper is a cat. I’ve never seen a cat like him before, so I guess I haven’t seen ‘em all!”
Their resident doctor and veterinarian told Luffy this? Dalton had never questioned her expertise in animal care before, but what would she gain from teasing a young boy from out of town?
“She approves of you taking him with you?” Dalton sighed.
“Mm! I told her my new place is near the sea and mountains, so she Hail Mary-ed Chopper into my arms and told me to get out! You should visit once we’re done building,” Luffy said.
Luffy placed a creased card onto Dalton’s palm. The paper shone in laminated purples, yellows, and reds with a splash of brown. It was all backdrop to a cheery lion shaped cleverly like a sun or a flower.
“The ‘Thousand Sunny’,” Dalton read on the other side.
“For the thousands of sunny days ahead of us,” Luffy followed up, swinging Chopper around in a circle.
It made sense with what Luffy wanted to do with the animal sanctuary. He briefly thought maybe he caught onto what Dr Kureha had intended in leaving the goat-cat-dog-deer to Luffy. Their small suburban town in the cold north was no place for an active animal that belonged in the wild. In an animal sanctuary, Chopper would have a better and longer life than the one he had with his herd, or so the Doctor had bitterly told him while drunk.
“Will Chopper have a lot of friends?” Dalton asked.
Luffy stopped and set down Chopper, who wobbled on shaky legs before collapsing onto a nearby pillow. The goat-cat-dog’s tongue stuck out as he tried to regain his sense of balance.
“You bet! There’s Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji—”
Dalton listened as Luffy told him of their happy and growing family.
“It sounds fun wherever you guys are,” he said once he found a gap in one-sided conversation.
Luffy beamed. “That’s right!” he agreed.
Dalton stepped up and patted the young man on the back. He glanced over his shoulder and grinned at the approaching people, more particularly the grumpy doctor refusing help from the younger veterinarians around her.
“Take care of him. I know Chopper has dealt with plenty of coldness in his life. He could use a lot of warmth from now on,” he said as he turned Luffy to the arrivals.
“Nami! Sanji!” Luffy took off toward the sleeping cats being rolled into the waiting room. He barrelled into the hovering veterinarians in his haste. The room quickly filled with many protests.
“You brats! Don’t wake them! They just came out of surgery and need rest!” Dr. Kureha whipped out a pair of latex gloves and whacked the jumpy young man with them.
“They’re okay now?” Luffy peered at the cats on the cart, taking care to keep his voice significantly lower.
“Yes, you impatient buffoon. Sit with Chopper, I need to pack and write up the basics for his care and the cats’ aftercare for you before you take off.” She waved the boy away and glared at the surrounding vets. “You bunch need to leave me be before I bring out the meter stick.”
Taking heed to the woman’s hand inching toward her hip where she kept the retractable not-weapon, the vets scattered.
Dalton felt he had overstayed his welcome. He headed toward the glass doors of the clinic, before someone cleared their throat behind him.
“You must’ve distracted the brat well enough, if he managed to stay in this room for four hours straight without interrupting me,” the doctor said, one hip and an eyebrow cocked.
He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.
“I think it’s the other way around,” he admitted.
She snorted. “I’m a creature of solitude, so I know when someone isn’t. That boy,” she jutted her chin at Luffy attempting to imitate Chopper’s hops, “is someone who loves and needs love. I’d almost think he’s more animal in that aspect, but most humans need others to live fully. Otherwise, we’d die before our time.”
“Is that so?” Dalton took vague amusement as Chopper perched on Luffy’s shoulder like he was a mountain face, accidentally knocking over his hat.
“Of course. I’m an old woman who has found the secret to longevity. However, I haven’t found the right way to love Chopper in the way he needs. That’s why I’m allowing Straw Hat to steal my cute apprentice.” Dr. Kureha chuckled at Dalton’s baffled expression. “He’s very good at fetch, that Chopper.”
As if to demonstrate, Chopper jumped down and presented Luffy the hat in between his teeth.
“Cats don’t do fetch,” Dalton reminded with a twinge of his lips.
“Oh, shut it, brat,” Dr. Kureha said to the noises of amazement and praise filling up the small clinic waiting room.
Hi, your writings are lovely, and very well thought out ^^ Here's a question: how would each of the guard leaders react at discovering Gardienne was trying to hide a wound from them? Sorry in advance if I have formulated the question poorly ^^'
You flatterer. Now I need to reward you with three scenarios. ;)
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Nevra: Activates ‘Parent’ Mode
Nobody slips past the vampire while he’s awake. His people are evolvedhunters, born with the ability to pinpoint spilled blood from at least aquarter of a mile away, with just their nose. If it’s even closer than that, hecan tell which approximate species just met with an accident.
So the moment the Guardian returns to HQ, and does not make a beeline to the infirmary,he’ll intercept them in private before the hour is out. Spooking them is abonus. Leaning against a convenient pillar right in their path, his armsfolded, and his expression set in a cool frown that simultaneously says “I amdisappointed in you” and “Show me: now.”The business of his soldiers is alwayshis business; that’s what being in a clan team is about.
Even while angry, it’s not Nevra’s style to cut to the chase immediately.Instead, this drama king will guilt-trip rattle the Guardian while outwardly looking as slickas ice. He’ll start by smoothly implying how dense they are for thinking thatthey can waltz right through HQ with untreated lacerations, while he’s inside. Didthey forget who he is? Then he’ll fish for an explanation/admission from themon why they’re on the wrong side of the compound from the infirmary, and finally,what happened out on the field to bring them home in this state. All the while, that dark frown remains fixed on hisface, suggesting that any further fibs at this point will not look good on their track record. He won’t stand for deceptionfrom his own soldiers because if anything, it ought to be the other wayaround.
No matter what the Guardian says, they can expect a short, but barbedlecture on common sense, their responsibility to look after themselves, and howuntreated cuts can fester and potentially maim or kill down the line. What’s the usein trying to look like a suave agent when they’ll suffer a burning infectionthe next morning, and visible scars afterwards? A successful agent is someonewho listens to logic first when taking care of themselves, not their pride. Ifhe’s very familiar with the Guardian though, he’ll end with a lighter joke ontheir trouble-making habits.
But if the Guardian is trying to skip a visit to the infirmary out offear or shame, then Nevra will drop the lecture like a hot potato to avoidfrightening them more. Even if the wounds are grave, strange, or insinuatingthat something is very wrong inside HQ, he’ll switch to complete calm to assurethem that all that matters is that they recover; ignoring an injury will solvenothing. He’ll insist that they trust him in that he won’t ever think badly ofthem for getting hurt, so long as they work with him on the solution. Granted,he has certain obligations as their boss, but if they need him to be discreetabout this, then he will be.
Depending on how much blood he sniffed out from afar, Nevra might ask tocheck their wound himself, and to hell with gender/species barriers: one thingeveryone has in common is a limited capacity to lose blood and stay upright.Understand though that treating an open wound takes significant willpower for avampire. Blood is tempting, tantalizing, and intoxicating; an early food sourcethat calls to them on many levels. It’s hardwired in their system to react withhunger or lust, or both, once fresh blood is spilled in front of them. This iswhy most vampires avoid the medical profession outside of their clans, and thefew that do enter mercenary work prefer to fly solo.
Not Nevra though. If they’re his comrade, he’ll patch them up anywaywithout flinching. He’s damned sure that he has excellent control of himself,and people around him ought to know it. Still, the Guardian will see thetension in his jaw and neck, and in his complete, focused silence as hebandages them, studiously avoiding any skin contact with their blood.
Whether or not he needs to doctor them himself, Nevra will insist that theyget proper treatment that very night. He’ll walk them to the infirmary himself.Forget about escape attempts. But if even that’s too far for them, he’llleave to fetch Ewelein or one of her staff. If he personally tracked them downto lecture and/or bandage them, then it’s only right that he sees them to theclinic as well. Others can say what they like about him when he’s out on thefield, but at home, he looks after his people.
Ezarel: Initiates ‘Ticked-Off Professor’ Mode
Compared to Nevra, Ezarel is more obtuse usually too preoccupied tonotice changes in other people’s health unless they tell him. He has dozens ofhis own projects to keep track of (professional and personal), and besides, people need to learn to take care ofthemselves. Unlike a certain Prince of Darkness, he’s no one’s babysitter. So the only way he’ll notice a hidden injuryis if it’s a.) glaringly obvious from yards away, or b.) waved right under hisnose. Possibly some days after the accident occurred.
Such as when the Guardian’s sleeve rides up in the lab, and in the splitsecond before they pull it down again, he catches sight of a large, ugly burnon their arm. Ezarel freezes on the spot, arms crooked and still in the middleof decanting, his mouth agape; whatever joke/diatribe/smart comment he’s servingup dies on his tongue. He isn’t expecting to see that today.
Sheesh! How stupid can they be to let that go untreated?
Unlike Nevra, who comes after the Guardian like an angry, parentalarrowhead, Ezarel reacts by coolly sliding them under a microscope (figuratively).There’s no use getting upset; what’s done is done, and now’s the time to investigateand diagnose. So he blinks, clearing the shock from his eyes, and slips intofull rational mode, as always whenever faced with a disturbing problem. Hisexpression instantly falls flat, cool, and just a hint dismissive as he asksthem when that happened, how exactly,and what sort of treatments did they try, or rather, did not try? And yes, hehas good eyes; all the better to see his careless little lab techs with.
If the Guardian admits genuine ignorance and/or shame, Ezarel will justsigh, but won’t get angry for a moment. Ignorance is a lamentable fact of life;he’s only sorry that no one tried teaching them the right safety and treatment procedures.So he’ll roll his eyes and rummage through the lab’s emergency medicine cabinetuntil he finds the appropriate bottle of wash, balm, and roll of bandages tomake a poultice. Having seen plenty of similar injuries from apprentices,Ezarel won’t hesitate to treat what he can while rattling off in a clinical waytheir routine for looking after the burn, what not to do in the future, andwhat to expect in the next few weeks. If it’s quite serious, he’ll also send themto see Ewelein (and he will check withher to find out if they’ve followed his instructions). If there’s time, hemight also give them a safety demonstration, and remark that if they fail theirnext ‘safety test’ in his lab, they can expect the boot. (He’s joking, ofcourse, but he will get harsher onthem if they repeat the mistake.)
Ez is decidedly less gentle if the Guardian gets defensive and avoidsanswering his questions. He’ll retaliate by teaching them a lesson in seeingthe obvious: he’ll grab their arm and roll up the sleeve to completely exposethe burn. Then he’ll jibe at the injury, exaggerating his expressions till he looks like Alajea cooing over a new dress in the market. He’ll point out in a lightvoice how this little scald is goingto scar permanently, if there isn’t already alchemical damage in the deepertissues. But don’t worry; disfiguring burns are fashionable these days. Or if they like, they can cover this with chic tourniquets and wristbands and body-paint like Jamon,until they’ll look like the snazziest, most popular lab tech in town; someoneto be buddies with and just die for. Andhe’ll go on in that vein, ridiculing their reasons for ignoring the injury andstaying willfully stupid, until the Guardian tells him to get back to hispoint. Only then will he let go of their arm, flashing a quick, cool smile, seriousagain, and start dressing the wound.
But when they’re not looking, he’ll doodle on the bandages beforereturning to them. He’ll draw little flowers, stick figures settingthemselves on fire, and ‘alchemical hazard!’ warnings, just to embarrass themfurther. And by the time they see what’s on the bandages being wrapped aroundtheir arm, it’s too late to rip them off. Ez will cheerfully add a ‘get wellsoon, hero!’ in big letters right where they can see it. Just to remind them not to make that stupid mistake again.
Then it’s back to work, as though nothing happened. The case is closed. He’sdone what he can. The rest is up to them.
Valkyon: Enters ‘Heroic Firefighter’ Mode
He’s actually very used to comrades hiding or playing down injuries infront of him. (In fact, he likes to return the favor.) No one ends up in theObsidian Guard without having the capacity to take some punches and a littlere-arrangement of bones and internal organs. This career requires a detachedmindset when it comes to physical injuries, and a general code of suffering insilence (or at the very least, covering up pain with bad jokes).
Because he refuses to shame any of his colleagues, Valkyon rarely, ifever, comments on their pain or what wounds and broken bones they’re trying toconceal (even if he can see them as plain as day). Instead, he’ll leave athoughtful supply of bandages, poultices, medicinal moss, and if necessary, abottle of brandy and other painkillers where they’re sure to find them. Then he’llcarry on with the day, though he’ll silently keep an eye on them until they’verecovered. If they’re not taking adequate care of themselves, or if medicalcomplications crop up, he’ll quietly pull them from active duty for the time beingor assign them a low-risk job at headquarters.
The only exception he’ll make to this routine is if a.) the injury issevere enough that simply standing is a trial, and/or b.) he cares deeply for them(in which case his protective urges spike until they threaten to put Nevra’s toshame). In either case, virtually nothing will change his course of action:he’ll sling the Guardian into his arms (or whatever position won’t jostle theirbroken bones too much), and haul them to the nearest medical center himself. He can and will kick down all the doors he encounters en-route. Andheaven help anyone who gets in his way.
The Guardian better forget about complaining, kicking, reasoning with him, orinsisting that they’re fine; his back and chest are virtually made of stone,and his resolve of even harder stuff. As he carries his reluctant charge,Valkyon will very calmly point out that the facts don’t support their claims;now they better stay still, or they might hurt themselves even more. At thispoint, besides his resolve to see them grumbling on a hospital bed, he hasswitched off all emotions. Otherwise, his worry and fear of losing them will gnawaway at him until he’s perfectly useless. And right now, the Guardian needs him(whether or not they’ll admit it).
His years on the field have given him something close to a surgeon’s eyefor identifying injuries at a glance, but Valkyon doesn’t see it as his job topry for details or diagnose an injured colleague. (Much less lecture them formore than fifteen seconds.) That’s for Ewelein and her nurses, who’re betterqualified in the end, though he will share his own observations when asked.
Over the coming daysand weeks, he’ll visit the infirmary regularly to check on the Guardian’s progress, commandconvince them to stay in bed, reassure them that he’s feeding their familiar, and bring additional supplies. When he’s not standing at thecorner of their bed like a watchful statue, completely unembarrassed by their lack of decent clothing. In the end, he never stays forlong, because he’s aware that he isn’t the best company in the sick-room, andmostly visits to reassure himself that they’ll be all right.
