#mcsmaumonth

[definedvines]

@doodlingcubes‘s centuar reubs for Day 23: Mythical Creatures AU

[lunaraen]

July 20: Reuben Lives AU

Reuben has gone through a lot of things in his life, considering that he's just a pig.

Even if he wasn't a pig, if he was a horse, or a dog, or a cat, or even human, he gets the feeling that he's seen an awful lot for the time he's been alive, met many people and twice as many monsters he'd be fine not meeting.

He also gets the feeling that he's a lucky little swine to be alive at all, and not just because he was initially destined for the chopping block.

(Reuben got out of that one himself, pushed his way through a gate that had been left just open enough.

What was beyond that gate was a forest filled with fields and lakes and monsters, but the last part didn't bother him when he could find carrots whenever he wanted and had plenty of places to hide. Monsters were better than people, because monsters didn't want to eat him.

He'd met Jesse at a waterfall a little after that, and his life got a lot better after that, with less monsters and more carrots.

And a warm bed.

Reuben had never been in a bed before, so he couldn't miss the feeling, but once he had it? Once he'd rested on a soft mattress in a cozy bed, half tucked under the blankets and half on them? He still won't give up that feeling for the world, even if during summer nights the floor is cooler.)

It starts with the Witherstorm, though for a while there it feels a bit like the end.

Maybe their warm home is gone, or maybe it's just empty and as lonely as Reuben feels, but they can't go back and he's bitter that this is how his first Endercon goes.

The getting captured by the butcher thing is bad, and reminds him of times he'd rather not remember when he was a smaller, just as terrified piglet, and the fire on his costume is almost as bad, and the comments from Aiden about wanting to eat him are just rude, but the Witherstorm takes the cake for most horrifying highlight.

(He's a bit emotional, for a pig, but it makes life fun most of the time.

And even if he wasn't, now is the perfect time to be bitter, when he's hungry, terrified, and confused.

Most monsters don't care about farm animals, but that one almost seemed like it had a taste for pork, along with everything else.)

They live, though, because Jesse is awesome and she has some help from him and her almost as cool friends. Reuben almost dies in the nether thanks to a different flying monstrosity that gasped and moaned like it was desperate to kill, and then gets blasted in a competition that's maybe too explosive for a pig like him.

He thinks he's what made it so special, though, and Jesse needed the help.

(Magnus is loud, full of himself, a cheater, and smells like twenty different kinds of smoke. Reuben didn't even know there were that many.

He still feels bad, when Magnus rasps out what sounds like a joke later before going still. It's harder to kill humans than it is to kill most creatures, and maybe that makes death an even bigger deal to them, but he mourns all the same. That would be Jesse lying on the ground dead, if Magnus hadn't given her his armor, and it makes it easier to forgive Magnus for nearly blowing them both to fiery bits.

It also helps that Reuben can smell death, better than he thinks humans can, and he knows how this is going to end even before Magnus goes limp, his hand lax while his head hits the dirt.)

Then they find Petra, who Reuben really knows and is more than happy to see alive.

(Humans are weirdly resilient in the same ways they're weirdly fragile.)

But Petra isn't happy, or anything, her eyes blank and then confused, and she sounds like her but she doesn’t move or act the way he knows she does.

She doesn't recognize them.

That hurts, too, because Petra almost always has a carrot for him or a scratch behind the ears, or some neat item for him and Jesse.

There's been a disappointing lack of carrots during this entire disaster, but it's to be expected.

They all still recognize him, pick him up and save him when they need to and get saved by him at other times, and that's what matters, but Petra doesn't seem like she likes him or other pigs very much right now.

(He gets a bit of a sulk in after that because he's exhausted and scared.

And hurt.

It works out well that it gives Jesse time to sulk too, because Jesse's been just as scared and tired and Petra doesn't recognize her either.)

The weeks of travel are as scary as they are boring, but Jesse laughs and smiles, out of desperation maybe but smiles all the same, more during the trip than she's had a chance to in their faster days of chaos and death.

And then it's over, because Reuben's stubborn like Jesse but it pays off.

The payoff might involve running for his life when his legs feel like slime, dodging tentacles that focus on Jesse and trying to choke the life out of her.

The payoff might be a long drop into freezing water while those same heavy, inky limbs tumble down to the ground around them and threaten to crush them.

The payoff might be dangerous and nearly deadly, but Jesse springs out of the water right after he does and they're safe and it's over.

She calls him a hero and hugs him, and maybe there's a scolding for coming along when he shouldn't have but he gets more carrots later that night than he's had in weeks.

So it's worth it.

And when it gets crazy again after that, with building and moving scared people and Jesse actually sleeping like she should've been for over a month before, it's not trying to actively kill them.

But the memories don't go away, and thunderstorms aren't relaxing the way they once were.

(Jesse helped him get over his fear of lightning and thunder once before; now it's something they have to turn to each other and the others to help them with.)

The nightmares wake him up for years after that, when he gets his tusks and grows to full size and even gets the strongest body armor a pig's ever been lucky enough to wear, though the terrors aren't always his own. 

Sometimes Jesse ends up nudging him in her sleep, busy clawing at the sheets or trying to stop a fall that lasted too long and too little, and sometimes she screams, and sometimes she goes looking for him and just pets him or hugs him until the sun comes up or she drifts off to sleep.

He has no idea what she'd do without him.

(Or what he would do without her, because in the end, he's just a pig who came very close to dying. Maybe he's a hero, but the stories Jesse likes never involved dealing with the aftermath, with heroes sobbing in their sleep.)

It's okay. He's here, and he'll always try to help, no matter what kind of crazy adventures come their way.

Reuben’s that kind of friend and that kind of pig, and he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

[november-venom]

July 27: Fusion AU

Woo! My one and probably only fic for the AU month.  just couldn’t not contribute somehow after my silence. This is a big one, especially for me, and feature’s my fusion character Fire Aspect. Enjoy! 

Fire Aspect

[READ IT ON AO3!] 

The Aspect of Fire had been born of passion. She had been born on a whim, driven by the valiant instinct that the strong protect the weak, to fight against the odds and survive. If not for the sake of herself, then for the sake of those she loved.

No matter what those around her spoke, Fire Aspect refused to believe she’d been an accident.

Some would argue that separated, the warrior and alchemist who stood as the respective halves of Fire Aspect were mistakes in themselves. A girl long disowned by her parents for reasons lost to her new adopted family, and a man who had nearly brought about the end of the world in a poorly planned and frugal attempt at revenge, now part of that family.

Their becoming was almost ironic considering their very first meetings, all the way back before the Endercon incident, were seasoned with resentment and distrust for eachother, and could arguably the very events that started the near apocalypse. Though, with too many other factors unaccounted for, it was difficult to determine.

It had been a long while before Ivor and Petra become fond enough of eachother to consider themselves friends, and even longer to be truly family, bound by a real connection and not blood or vows. Despite all of Jesse’s suggestions or attempts at creating something other than resentment between them, it was a relationship only they could build with combined and sometimes absent-minded efforts, such as quiet acceptance following actions and gut feelings that had begun to feel natural when they’d never been before.

Months ago Petra found herself pierced with a skeleton’s arrow, having leapt in front of Ivor to prevent the piercing of the alchemist’s own heart. The stone arrowhead embedded itself in the shoulder blade of her swinging arm. That night, wounds from the warrior’s deed were treated with unconditional care, healed without even a scar left behind thanks to Ivor’s absolute mastery of healing arts. Soon, sitting next to each other at dinner became an option. With time the exchange of gifts became prominent- a little bird told Ivor that the brash warrior happened to be a fan of sappy, poorly written romance novels. He’d provided bountifully with enough books to amount to a small library, and Petra had been thrilled to a point where stunting her excitement in front of the others proved difficult. He was given an awkward, fakely disappointed “thanks.”, notably full of spirit. The Order hadn’t known of her guilty pleasure, except his little bird Jesse. In return, Ivor had woken up with more than a month’s worth of blaze rods piled on his desk roughly two days later. This turned to verbal thanks, then training together, eventually sharing a drink by the glowing warmth of a fireplace. each and every moment amounted to something. Small, yes, but something, The regularity of these special moments began to increase, like embers to a newborn fire rising in a furor ready to ignite. Romantically involved? No. What they had was something more.

After everything they’d been through, All but Jesse assumed they would fail in forming a bond strong enough to unlock the highest magical potential: Fusion.

There were a rare few in the world capable of such a thing as fusion. The art of it spanned beyond thousands of years into the past. They were called Atunes, a people- by the passing of bloodline, chance, or blessing -who held a source of powerful magic within them, that of which could only be tapped into with the strength of two hearts over one. Some bloodlines showed to be more powerful than others. However, the mythic force within all Atunes was known to be far too overbearing for one heart and mind to handle, with recorded deaths in the past of those who’d tried to reach the power on their own. Thus, with the united force of two Atunes, two sources of power are unlocked, channeled into one complete being in a spontaneous fusing of two Atunes. These complex beings relied not only on their powers to remain stable, but on the mental cooperation of their Atunes. An unstable mind meant an unstable fusion.

For the New Order To find themselves with the status of Atunes was a shock to all of them, though Ivor hardly seemed surprised. It was simply destiny, he’d said. Or maybe a gift from a grateful unseen creator of their world. They wore their titles well, but some fusions came easier than others.

To think Ivor and Petra could fuse, though? It was a stretch.

...Until the day of the Ice Spikes expedition.

Technology is their world was an eclectic thing; With enough time and effort, one could build enormous automated machinery the likes of which only ancient cities could dream of, or massive massive automatrons built to farm or fight and so much more. All the same, some technological advances had yet to be properly invented. Weather patterns were guesswork at best, the only indication of what was to come being the direction of wind and the enormity of clouds.

Going to a land resemblant of the jaws of some terrible crystal beast, with unspeakable mountains of snow and ice accompanied by sharp blue fang-like ice formations jutting from the ground at every corner? Of course they’d come expecting danger. Of course they’d come expecting flurries of snow and hail. What they had not expected was the days-long blizzard that hit nearly as soon as Jesse, Petra, and Ivor arrived to the location.

It was not something they had prepared to face. The dread set in as soon as this fact had come to its fruition.

Three days passed. The cave they sought shelter in was small, a branching off from the larger cave they’d discovered in a revine in the ice on the surface. Food was running low past the point of alarm, fuel for the fire was nearly nonexistent at this point. No fire meant no melting ice for water. No fire meant no warmth; therefore, death. The storm above them refused to let up, howling wind occasionally reverberating through the caves like the wicked laughing of a beast.

So there they sat, Petra and Ivor, staring longingly into the weakening embers of the fire as they waited to be devoured by the icy maw of the earth.

They’d both agreed behind Jesse’s back. They were not going to make it out of this alive. Amends were made, both verbally and mentally, words thought of that would never be spoken to the New Order or anyone else.

In fleeting moments, it wasn't out of place for Petra to feel death watching her from around the corner. To fear it like the wolf snapping at her heels, and to think of it as something that could be evaded with luck and precision. For most of these encounters, she wasn't wrong, as the difference between life and death- between bounty and starvation -was often a chase. Now it was different. Now she sat right In its den, Death prowling in the corners of her vision, licking its chops hungrily as she waited for the end. It was then she decided that the greatest dread was not death, but the fear of death and the waiting games in which it played.

Because she didn't want to think about it anymore. She was tired of regretting and contemplating their fate. She wanted it to be over.

Ivor's face being blank as it was, it was best assumed he'd been thinking the same.

He’d had his retribution already. He was old, tired, only slightly less bitter than he'd been before. With his glory days behind him, it had been decided that if now was his time, he wouldn't run.

Because Magnus couldn't run. Everyone else who'd met an end at the cruel touch of the Witherstorm could only pray desperate prayers that would go unanswered just like his, because the gods were dead and the Witherstorm had killed them.

Jesse’s face was just barely illuminated in warm light as she laid close to the fire, curled around it like a cat to absorb as much of the warmth as she could. She’d barely said a word to the other two in the past few hours. Despite it, a hopeful look had been set in her eyes from the moment they had crawled into what was soon to be their grave.

One hour more and the fire was out. Jesse was asleep, Ivor leaning against a wall by the entrance of the cave and Petra sitting on her own somewhere between them, all of them embraced by the darkness and its chill. The only thing that opposed complete blackness were the glowing vials set about the floor, two or three sloppily spilling from Ivor's bag. Some had been moved across the room, Petra assumed to act as nightlights. Yet their glow was faint, just enough to highlight the silhouettes of stalagmites and crevices in the frozen cave. Light was the only good the potions would offer them now. If any one of them would have allowed them escape, the three of them would have been home two days prior. All that remained were either useless, or would speed up the inevitable process of death.

Petra decided against grabbing the nearby poison vial, the only one which lacked iridescence. It wouldn't be long now.

Petra counted her blessings. Her time with the order, the warm feeling that came with reading her ten-cent novels, happy puppies, Jesse. Sweet Jesse. She’d move over to her soon. If they were going to die, Petra was going to die beside the one person she loved most.

Ivor counted his, but his mind only allowed for the remembrance of one thing: The New Order. Their laughs over the table at dinner, the endless energy and joy of their youth, Jesse’s compassion, her smiles as warm as summer sun that gave him a twinge of purpose when they were shone his way…

Then, something miraculous happened.

The words, in a vigorous act of defiance, willed themselves into existence, crawling from Ivor's throat in a husky tone before he'd had time to think about them. “We’re not dying here. We can’t die here.”

Petra ignored the words, just cocking her head at him. Denial stage, she thought.

Ivor stood up suddenly, pacing toward her in short but quick steps and lifting her by her arms without warning, bringing Petra to a standing position. She looked as rattled as he did. There was a certain look in his eyes that threw her back to their first meeting in the alley; it was the look of a madman. A highly determined madman. “Everything she’s done for us, and we’re giving up? We’re letting ourselves die?” Ivor pointed accusingly with a gloved hand to Jesse’s sleeping form. “We’re letting her die?”

Petra stared blankly at him, but her expression was far from empty. Confusion, realization, and the sudden disposition of gnarled acceptance all twisted within her, making her feel light and ill. Settled in the mix was rekindled dread. He was right, wasn’t he? It was awfully selfish of them.

Yet…

“Ivor…” She loosened. His grip on her wrist refused to do the same. “What else are we supposed to do?”

He let go of her wrist, giving her a moment’s relief before his knuckles turned stark white from gripping her hands so tightly with his own. He held their hands up between the two of them as if the answer to everything lied between their intertwined fingers. “We fight.” Ivor spoke to her through gritted teeth. ‘We’ll fight this. We’ll fight like we always have. Every odd has been against us before and we’re still alive!”

For a moment, she remained hopeless. For another, she wasn’t anymore. He wasn’t wrong. What had she survived… Starvation, the witherstorm, all too many monsters and the wounds that came with their merciless attacks… yeah, severe blizzard would be a good addition to the checklist. Maybe they could do this.

Petra felt a heat rising in her against the chill, and suddenly she found herself matching Ivor’s enthusiasm. “You’re... right.” her voice rose in revelation as she spoke. “Fighting is what I’m good at- maybe we can do this.”

“No, no ‘maybe’, No questioning this, we WILL survive!”

Slowly, feelings and thoughts unlike her own began to flood her mind, the heat her core blazing brighter and brighter with every passing moment. She felt these things, determination and passion, uninvited by her mind but welcomed into her soul. They were answers without questions, solutions to an unfathomable dilemma, they were an enclosing force of everything and nothing that surrounded them in the darkness and drove the shadows away. The cave began to glow, everything began to glow, then her body twisted and thoughts began to swirl like ocean currents in a midsummer storm.

What’s happening?

Don’t question this. You know not to question it.

I won't. It feels right. Will we be okay?

The shift was painful, like being burned alive, tempting a scream yet cathartic in a way they had never felt. Petra refused to resist. She accepted the fire in the midst of ice.

More than okay! We will survive!

We will fight- Together!

We will fight! We will FIGHT!

The world was smaller now, insignificant to the beating and burning of her heart, pounding so immensely that it felt as though the earth shook before them.

I will fight!

I WILL FIGHT!

Then the world went white. Not like the unforgiving snow, but a blinding white-hot glow that filled her with raw, pulsing emotion. The glow became blue, then simmered to a heated orange. Power coursed through her- no, them? She wasn’t alone -power they’d never felt before, but something which held the familiarity of a memory. It was natural. It was right. It was everything- they were everything, and a roar pushed itself from their lungs as they came into being, bright flames swirling around them, the world and its tribulations now insignificant to their sheer power. Yes! YES!

They twisted forward violently, planting their claws in the stone as they heaved. They felt so much, every sense tightened, a single touch putting every hair on end. Smoke puffed from her mouth as she breathed heavily, gaining composure. Little by little, their universe cooled, but the fire in her core was bright.

...just as bright as the tiny flame in the center of the cave which had been rekindled with their becoming. Just as bright as Jesse's eyes as she looked at her friends, now one, in wonderment and fear.

They lifted their own gaze to the girl, vision hazy, locks of red-black hair drifting in front of their face. After a moment, they slumped onto their knees.

“Oh my god… I didn't- I didn't think...” Jesse's voice was so tiny, so weak. Pity flared in their heart. She looked up at them wearily. “Who are you?”

The pity stabbed further. “You don't recognize us?”

Then there was sheer terror of their own. Their hands- all four of them -flew up to cover their mouth as their eyes widened. That voice! It wasn't her own! Or was it? It was monstrous, loud and overlapped like a woman and a beast speaking in perfect sync. Slowly, they lifted their hands from their lips, speaking again to test it. “Is this… what I sound like?”

It was. The voice spilled from them again, coarse and powerful. She huffed, a puff of steam forming from her mouth. It was prominent in the cold.

As they continued to face forward, she realized- her hands. There weren't two, but four of them, all tipped with thick nails that may as well have been claws. She looked between them rapidly, then her gaze ran up her arms, lined with stripes which were then cloaked at the elbow by a black robe that ran down to their knees. There was so much of her. Too much to take in. Their arms felt frozen. Her lower set twitched and fiddled with the belt of their robe in a way that was out of her control. Her head began to spin. Why was this happening? What happened to Petra and Ivor?

Keep it together. Keep it together. You must fight.

Just like that, her lower arms rose to match the position of the others. She stretched them one by one, testing their obedience to her will. Yes, they were in control.

“I- I said who are you?” a weak but now determined voice broke the silence once more. They looked up to see that Jesse, still shivering, had grabbed a stone sword from her bag and held it by the hilt in trembling fingers, pointing it at them. The sword was broken by half, but what remained of the blade was still sharp. “You might- might be good. If you're not, I'll- I'll have to hurt you. But I can't do anything until you say something.”

As if she could hurt them. She looked so small, so fragile… their sweet Jesse.

Of course she didn't recognize them. They weren't Ivor, they weren't Petra either. They were…

There was a shifting in their molten core at the question, and very quickly an answer without thought bubbled forth. She was the scent of smoke thick in the air of a hot pine forest. She was the wildfire which burst through thick trunks like a beast on the chase, and the splatter of magma on black stone. Yet, she was the candle on the windowsill. She was the joy of a towering bonfire muffling laughter in the dark woods, She was the warm glow of the fireplace, or the life-giving heat of a campfire. She realized with a pulse of heat in her middle, she was the very concept of flame and beyond that. She was…

“I am... “ She spoke slowly, thinking deeply of her words. “I am the Aspect of Fire.”

A pregnant pause followed her statement. It seemed to hold all meaning, yet none in the world that Jesse could understand.

“That's… that's good.” the girl mumbled. “It was getting really cold. I'm glad you're here.”

Fire Aspect's eyes narrowed. Every one of Jesse's words were so weak, so oddly simple. It was unlike the Jesse they knew. Their Jesse would be leaping in celebration at the fusion of Petra and Ivor, prancing like a playful rabbit around their new form, congratulating them. She was obviously fatigued, sluggish in both her words and the way she held herself, which was only natural in the chill. But this? Looking at Aspect as if she were a stranger? This was different.

Something was very, very wrong. That was now apparent.

Fire Aspect crawled forward, bending down further to meet Jesse's eyes. They were eerily glazed over, and the spark of happiness and life within them was far more faint than it should have been. “Something is wrong with you. Why didn't you say anything?”

“No, I'm fine.” Jesse very obviously lied. “Just tired.”

“You're… burning up.” Fire Aspect's fingers brushed with Jesse's, temperature only slightly cooler from Aspect’s own. The concern was only grounded as she placed a palm on the smaller girl's cheek to find it even warmer. To a living force of flame, it was healthy, but for a human? Not good. Now much closer, Aspect could see that her cheeks were flushed and breaths were labored. “You're sick.” how did that even happen?

“I'm cold…” Jesse placed her hand over Fire Aspect's, leaning into the touch. “You're the one who's warm. Heh.”

Fire Aspect had only existed for a few minutes. That was well established, so it only seemed reasonable that her emotions shifted from one side of the spectrum to another in the blink of an eye. Of course she was empathetic, but a flash of anger outshone the feeling. Jesse was going to die if they didn't get her out of here, and the risk was so much higher now that they'd waited. What the hell were they thinking? Why would Petra and Ivor abandon Jesse like this? Their Jesse! Fire Aspect hated them. She hated this place, and she very well hated hypothermia or whatever else had her sweet Jesse in death's grip.

As promised, she was going to fight it. Jesse's fate was going to meet a fiery end, melted under the heat of her anger.

And her love, too. Such a thing was not to be forgotten. After all, it was all Jesse had shown them and more.

Fire Aspect leaned in further, sharing a pulse of warmth before wrapping her lower arms around her and lifting her with extreme care like a mother lifting her child. She was as light as she was sick. Another hand drifted down to brush a lock of hair from Jesse's face. The girl looked up at her happily, far too unaware.

“Hold on tight, sugar pie."

“Sugar pie”? Seriously?

Not right now!

Fire Aspect snatched Jesse's knapsack, as well as the scattered potions with Ivor's bag and slung the supplies over her shoulder with ease. Leaning down, she launched herself forward and sprinted through the cavern, away from the darkness and toward the blue glow of muffled sunlight on ice. Monsters cowered in their dens as the Aspect of Fire darted past, dodging stalagmites and crevices. In the damp silence. At last, they found themselves at the bottom of a ravine, sickly white light shining down from above and flurries of snow billowing into the stone crack. If not for a rock ledge above them, their exit would have been blocked.

Her heart burned with rage as she set her gaze on the sparking white. It was a poison that had trapped them, nearly choked the life from them- she hated it, too. She hated the whole damn biome. How many had been lost to the frigid maze of icy fangs and the dark tunnels underneath? How many like their innocent Jesse? Ice and fire were crucial to the balance of life, but it did not mean the respective elements were each incapable of cruelty. Right now, Ice took the shape of a villain. It was the warmth and light of life against the chill dark of death.

Fire Aspect- no matter how miniscule in the blinding expanse of white -would win. For Jesse. For herself.

Aspect leapt upward, grabbing the ledge above and launching herself higher as soon as she'd made contact. She leapt again, grabbing another jutting stone only to find herself clawing empty air as she slipped back down. The next ledge had been coating in a thick layer of ice, dusted with snow. The feeling of ice under her claws reminded her of nails on a chalkboard; she cringed, growling in frustration. Jesse was held tighter.

Without even thinking about it, Fire Aspect spit fire at the stone. Their power came as naturally as breathing did. The flames swirled from her maw, roaring distinctly as they reduced the ice to a meager puff of steam, which Aspect found herself smugly proud of. There was no need to repeat the process, as the blast had melted most of the surrounding ice as well.

At last she heaved herself over the edge of the ravine, nearly losing balance and tripping in the snow. Despite her heat, white flakes dotted her hair, as it did Jesse's, who now appeared to be asleep. Again, Aspect brushed the speckles from the girl’s hair and clothing. The heat of rage had receded in favor of caring warmth and determination.

It was time to give back.

Fire Aspect rose to full height and looked eastward. A dark muddled figure stood out against the white mist; it was a spruce tree. Beyond that one would be another, and a few more scattered plants until a tree line was eventually formed. She knew the way home, every twist and turn of it.

With a starting stride, she bounded to the east. Whatever was foolish enough to hold her back would meet and end in her fire.

The temple buzzed like a nest of furious hornets. An odd sight at the time of year, but with good reason. A fusion they'd never seen appearing at the door carrying a sick Jesse was enough to set off plenty of panic. Lukas began to prepare the infirmary, snatching books from Ivor's collection that held special ailments. Lukas was the one to do this not because Ivor was gone, but because he simply did not exist at the moment. Soon he would have to, whether their new fusion liked that fact or not.

The shock of Fire Aspect in general was easily outshone in favor of Jesse. Her ego considered, she wouldn't have wanted it any different. Jesse was the sick one, after all.

And it was well known that some fusions are unstable, sometimes literally, many times, mentally- power that rushes to their heads and disregards moral code or humanity their Atunes may have had. Fire Aspect wasn't one of those fusions. At least, not so far and not most of the time, because while she was arrogant she proved to be equally as loving. She’d refused to let go of Jesse thus far, holding the girl in her lap as preparations were made. Even asleep, Jesse leaned into Fire Aspect's warmth.

Olivia had placed a cool rag on Jesse's head moments earlier with Fire Aspect's permission, not daring to come too close afterward. Aspect took it as a compliment; she was powerful, everything and everyone had a right to fear her. Still, she drifted closely.

Lukas appeared at the door, curling his fingers around the door frame and barely peeking in before making himself known. He was as nervous as Olivia, if not more. “Hey, Fire Aspect. You've done pretty well looking after Jess, but…” he reached back to rest his palm on the side of his neck. “She needs to be in the infirmary. She needs Ivor.”

Some part of Fire Aspect was tempted to whine or grumble, but the noise was held back. She retorted with a nod, looking down at their Jesse with a smile and rubbing her cheek once more. “This is the last you will see of me in a while, little one. I need to unfuse so Ivor can take care of you.”

Fire Aspect didn't get a response, but she didn't need one. Jesse was carefully placed into the arms of Lukas, who took the girl expectantly.

Fusing was one thing and unfusing was another. The question of how exactly to go about it was one hot on their minds even on the sprint home, but just as fusion came naturally to them, the concept of its undoing was not far different. It was the opposite: A split, but not a loss. A storing of unbridled power. A calming of the storm,

Fire Aspect, as she stood, let every muscle in her body relax. Her breaths came deeply and slowly, little focus put into the falling action and rather what was happening inside. She let go of her anger; the winter chill would wrong her no more. They let go of their passion; Jesse was safe. Gradually her core began to cool, the volcano going dormant once again.

Petra and Ivor each had their own purpose. They were each a cog in the great machine that was the Order of the Stone. Fire Aspect was great, graceful, powerful- but without her Atunes’ place in the world, her existence meant nothing. Especially when they were desperately needed. Fire Aspect would have her time again to feel pride, wrath, compassion, and everything else. She would return again to grow, to become arrogant and lovable all the same. Demanding and powerful, but protective and loving of who she deemed fit for the cause.

But now was no longer the time. The feeling of separation was a sorrow one, bathed in a soft glow, but with it came a calmness.

Jesse would be alright. So would Petra and Ivor. It was all thanks to them, after all.

[lunaraen]

July 30: Youtuber AU

Making videos can pay off well and be a lot of fun in the long run.

It's nice to know that other people enjoy what they make and enjoy their antics, and it's nice to feel appreciated for the work that does go into their content, but that means there is some downright deplorable work leading up to that recognition.

Their work can't be validated if there isn't any to begin with, and Olivia knows exactly why she's the one stuck doing the editing.

It's boring, it's tedious, it requires patience that only she's willing to have and use, and her sense of effects may not be as flashy as Axel's, but it's still sharp and well-paced enough to be enjoyable.

And Olivia's always been the responsible one, so why break tradition now?

She doesn't edit all their videos, because that would leave her little time to make her own, or eat, or sleep, or live her life beyond video making.

All the same, they're lucky enough to make enough off of what they enjoy doing to make a living, so she's fine with editing the bulk of what they produce in the office.

Her redstone tutorials don't require too much anyhow, Jesse's videos are more like pet vlogs and inspirational Q&As most the time that require nearly nothing besides a cute title card, and Axel's gaming stuff is laid back enough unless he tries to be a jerk and ask her in the footage to do something over the top in editing.

It's a bit like when they used to all share an apartment, but the office feels roomier and this way there's a lot less arguing and bickering at odd hours of the night over who gets to use the bath.

Bickering still happens, but at least it's usually when the sun's out and it tends to be a lot more fun than late grumpy arguing over bathing.

"And now we have a wild Jesse, nesting in her natural habitat as she hoards stacks of paper."

Olivia does her best to not be too obvious as she peeks over her screen, focus switching from the current work in progress to whatever Axel's trying to do now, more slinging himself against his chair than sitting in it as he shifts closer to Jesse, camera in his free hand while his other one keeps him from toppling over altogether.

"A curious creature. Not even Jesse experts know why she does this, though the popular theory among professionals is that it's either a stress response or an attempt to remind herself of her dorky mate."

There's a brief but sudden desire to snicker clawing its way at her throat, passed off as a poor cough as she grins.

It might be the jab about Lukas or it might be the goofy documentary voice Axel's doing, both getting Jesse to look up from her mound of paperwork and half-baked jotted down ideas, but either way, it's great.

Jesse's response, a sound that's a mishmash of a squeak, a hiss, and a croaky roar, gets Olivia's coughing to turn into full on laughter, a bark escaping her before she can think to hold it back.

And after that, there's not much point in trying to stay quiet.

So Olivia doesn't bother, instead enjoying a good, long laugh while Jesse bats at Axel's arm, trying to get at the camera as he pulls it away from her and stops filming.

Jesse doesn't try long, sinking into her chair as she pouts up at Axel, waiting for his laughter to stop.

It takes a bit longer to die down than Olivia's, both of them grinning widely at Jesse.

"You're not uploading that."

"I'm totally uploading that, and the editing is gonna rock."

Jesse picks up one of the several colored pens resting by her keyboard, scribbling random lines onto the corner of one of the sheets of scrap paper. For as dreadfully mopey as she looks, there's a small smile slowly forming, her shoulders relaxing and her other fingers no longer furiously drumming against her desk, and her tone is openly curious as she glances back up at Axel.

"What kind of editing would you have to even do?"

"Dramatic lighting, maybe some animal sounds in the background, and a real roar at the end." Axel shrugs, free hand absently flicking at one of the springy desk toys Nell gave Jesse a while back. "Or something like a kitten mew. Maybe I'll just leave that part as it is, because you did a really good job being adorable."

Jesse grins, wide and too large, as sweet as the thick syrupy voice she uses next.

"It's a gift."

"No kidding. Seriously, why don't you leave the worrying over paper to Lukas?" Lukas's videos range from writing advice to baking videos, and Jesse seems to have the elements of both today, a plate of cookies baked by Lukas resting under her computer monitor while the paper not filled with official looking form questions has the same swirling pattern as Lukas's rough draft sheets. "You didn't steal any of this from him, did you?"

"Not this time." Jesse's smile is cheeky, wide and toothy as she picks up a handful of pages and straightens them out against the desk, a corner of the pages managing to dog ear itself in the corner of her keyboard. "It was a gift, he gave it me."

Axel and Olivia share a glance before nodding, sounding entirely smug as they both speak.

"Nesting material."

Olivia has a monitor to hide behind, but Axel isn't so lucky, tossed a face-full of already crumpled paper. It doesn't keep him from snickering as Jesse visibly pouts again, her lower lip sticking out as she gives an melodramatic mutter.

"You guys suck."

It doesn't deter the snickering or Olivia's own growing giggles any, and Jesse's only likely supporter happens to be wedged somewhat under Olivia's desk. 

In Reuben's defense, he seems awful comfy, his head against her leg while he lies down.

He also happens to be getting bribes in ear scratchings, and doesn't seem too bothered by Jesse's current plight. He’s either too sleepy to notice or more than used to their shenanigans by now to worry.

(Axel says it's like Jesse got a huge dog, but Olivia thinks Reuben's size is closer to a short but long pony. He's good at getting attention when he wants it, regardless of what exactly his size is like, because a pig resting its head against your knee, begging for an ear scratching or belly rub, is a hard force to ignore.)

Olivia shifts her other hand slowly, pressing a button on the camera she happens to have set up beside her computer, clearing her throat as she smirks.

Jesse's been conveniently too preoccupied having banter with Axel to notice how it's been pointed at her desk the entire time.

Frankly, she thinks Axel has too, which works well.

Olivia’s always happy to get to use her documentary voice, and she knows she looks as cocky as she sounds, chin resting on her interlocking fingers while her elbows relax against the smooth wood of her desk.

"Despite all attempts, there is no consoling the lone, mopey Jesse. The dejected Axel then absconds with the ultimate prize, swindling his prey of one plate of cookies."

There's a pause as Axel and Jesse both freeze, Axel cradling the stolen plate close to his chest, tipped enough to not let the cookies slide off, as Jesse's gaze darts from where her snacks were to where they now are.

"Axel!"

Oh yeah, they're going to have a lot of fun editing this. It'll make for a fun little behind the scenes video, if nothing else.

[lunaraen]

July 17: Superhero AU

Having powers isn't a rare thing.

It's not that common, but every good hero has them, anybody worth telling stories about or looking up to. The best adventurers can do so much for not only themselves, but everyone around them, using sharpened wits and charm right alongside honed natural talents.

Olivia's spent a long time torn between feeling as lucky as she knows she is and ungrateful for a gift some people can't even understand.

Because, for an engineer? Like her? Who wants to work with redstone?

Super strength is kind of a pain.

In the sense that she can crush rocks in the palm of her hand, which she doesn't need to do often, and crush redstone into expensive glitter or send it flying when she means to only adjust it a little, which is something she does and miscalculates often.

Confidence goes a long way and she's better now than she was when she was a nobody, easily manipulated by the looks people threw their way and the pressure that made her fingers tremble, but even now it occasionally happens.

She's a new hero, and that's as confidence-boosting as it is anxiety inducing, because now so many more people care about what she does, so many more are watching her.

They depend on her and rely on her, on what new inventions she can make and use, and that's a new pressure.

It steels her in a way that stills her fingers, keeps them as stable and gentle as needed, but makes her heart clench.

Powers don't define people, shouldn't, but sometimes they manage to anyway.

It's the sort of thing that makes people a target, Jesse's lack of powers making her easy for the Ocelots to tease for years even though Lukas seemingly had none himself, and makes other people want to lie about or hide them.

Lukas, it turns out, does have a power, though he put off using it until he had to. The ability to control shadows, to melt into them, isn't a common one.

(Not outside of being used by villains in stories.)

And Olivia couldn't figure out how a spider bite gave Petra the ability to control rocks, since it was a normal cave spider and the two seem entirely unrelated, but powers are weird and fickle and it's not like she could explain hers any better even now; Olivia's always had hers, and plenty of people out there don't discover or gain theirs until something weird and random happens.

Still, it made a lot more sense once Petra admitted she'd been lying, about the spider thing. She just didn't want people to think that her power was the only reason she's cool, and that makes sense to Olivia.

(As much as the Order faking always having powers to seem cooler and make their story more believable does, at least.)

They're both good examples of people, heroes, who refuse to bow to what they should be.

Lukas is a hero, though Olivia doesn't know where to find him, where he went to after they saved the world and he left. He's not a coward or a villain, as mixed as her feelings might still be about how he stood aside and let them be bullied before, and he likes cats and cookies way more than he likes stealing or hurting people.

And Petra's like Olivia, not fitting into what kind of hero people expect her to be.

Ellegaard, the engineer, had the ability to control metal, to move it and control it at will. It's Gabriel, the warrior, who has super strength, the ability to defend and attack at great length. Axel at least is like Magnus, with the ability to create fire and explosions.

(And more harmless spark effects that look like fireworks, dazzling at night and more calming than anything when the teasing gets to be too much or she and Jesse are feeling down.

A power that can destroy so much doesn't keep him from creating or being kind.)

Olivia prefers working with redstone instead of weapons, prefers even a bow to the sword, and Petra's far more skilled at using her body as a weapon and her weapons as extensions of her body. The rock control is useful, especially whenever Petra goes on a mining trip or when a boulder can finish off a battle, but it doesn't define her in any sense.

(Maya has the ability to move and bend metal at will, just like Ellegaard. Olivia would say she's not bitter, but she'd be lying. She's been bitter about that since the first time it was thrown in her face, used to push her down.)

Olivia's spent most of her life fighting against what her power has labeled her, what her power can have her do. She's fought against battle and violence, turning towards it only recently to protect and help her friends, only started using it in training so she can better it.

And now?

Now, Aiden's shirt collar peeking out from under his armor and held tightly in one of her fists, now she's going to embrace it more than she ever did before. The night wind is cool, managing to tickle its way under her cap and to play with the ends of her hair, and the branch under her foot breaks in one loud crunch as she presses her boot down on it.

And he’s not saying anything, not making any more threats and not even trying to scream.

She’s not expecting him to be scared, but Aiden’s thing is voice amplification. His scream could probably take her down, but he’s too quiet right now.

He’s still quiet when she throws him and he lands between two trees, groaning enough to let her know he’s not hurt.

Not badly, and that’s what matters.

There's something gratifying about being able to just pick up and throw Aiden out of the way, make him look as insignificant as he's made her feel, and it's the one time she's really had a chance to without making trouble for herself or the others.

This?

This is self-defense; he threatened them, all of them, after they saved his life and everyone else's, and it goes way beyond teasing or bullying.

Maybe it's because he's been so cocky about his new gear, wherever they got it or whoever they stole it from. Probably the same place as the strength potions, his breath reeking of ash and sparks while she can nearly see the blaze powder lighting up his eyes. None of it kept her from being able to twist the sword out of his hand.

Or maybe it's because she's never used her power against him before. Knowing she has it hasn't taught him to really be aware of what she can do when he's never had to worry about it.

It might explain why Maya and Gill still seem like they’re in shock.

(She's Olivia, the one with fraying gloves and goggles that Aiden used to steal until Axel lit one of his sleeves on fire after he made fun of them for 'being a couple'. She's the loser he picked on every year, whose dry retorts never do the same damage to Aiden as he does to her. She's the inventor who never wins. She's the one who'll never beat Maya, no matter how hard she practices and studies, because her power isn't meant for it.

And she packs a punch.)

Whatever the reason, it feels good, energy pounding in her ears as it mingles with the worn adrenaline of having already been through an adventure before this, and she doesn’t bother hiding her grin as Axel laughs and Jesse gives some kind of sheepish one-liner about having warned Aiden.

[lunaraen]

July 4: Order Swap AU

In the end, because there's no doubt this is the end, Olivia doesn't think there was ever a big fight.

Not after Jesse left.

(Like Jesse had a choice, when Lukas pushed her away, yelled at her to leave and never bother them again, and the rest of them did nothing to help her. When they watched or turned away as she left, some of them never saying goodbyes and some swallowing whatever they'd had to say.

Olivia wants to believe she had something profound, something deep that could come close to explaining how sorry she was, how much Jesse meant to her and the others, how big a mistake the entire mess was, but over so many years, so many seasons, she's forgotten. It's another thing that's been shoved from her mind, refused and denied until it evaporated, leaving nothing but empty space and the desire to imagine all the ways it could've gone.)

Olivia's decent when it comes to tricking her own mind, which is a good thing. Otherwise, she's not sure how she'd have been able to live with herself.

She can almost believe the story now, if she tries hard enough and focuses on the happy people in her city. They all deserve a real hero, as much as they deserve a real engineer, and it's easier to be happy when she doesn't have to accept that they're all settling for her, whether they know it or not.

She’s grateful to have Radar to deal with the people, to handle them kindly when she herself is so tired and bitter. She’s pushed so many people away, disgusted with them and herself; it was no surprise when Petra followed Lukas, but...

But she and Axel should’ve been better, and that’s a feeling Olivia will never be able to rid herself of, no matter what she forgets or tries to insert as reality.

The command block may have been their last chance at defeating the Witherstorm on their own, but it wasn't what it was designed for. It wasn't even going to be released to the public at all. Olivia didn't pour hours, weeks, months, years of plotting and work into what could've been her greatest invention just for it to give everyone too much power, to put her citizens and followers at so much risk.

Absolute power like that only does one thing, even if it tries to shield itself behind pretty lies and flashy distractions.

So much for fighting fire with fire, for hunting down the person who tore them all apart and making sure he could never use that power again, for ripping that temptation from him forever.

(The idea of using a command block to destroy another one isn't a new idea either, even if the targeted monster changed.

Plans shift that way, though, and now they need Lukas.

Lukas, with his kind eyes and big ideas and nasty temper, his dreams of amazing builds and polished inventions and his fears of judgement from everyone around him, the friend who worked alongside her for so long and lashed out at her closest friend.

Who yelled and screamed, holding more power than he was ever meant to wield, destroyer of the Enderdragon and liar to all the world, who threw Jesse away and terrified his other friends into submission, whether he knew it or cared about it at all or not, the leader and the planner and the scapegoat for all the simmering rage and paralyzing fear stewing at Olivia's core.)

Their defenses mean nothing, her defenses mean nothing, redstone lighting up and rockets, fire, and arrows doing nothing for her people but briefly distracting the many tentacled abomination.

And even that distraction means nothing, when one writhing tentacle can wipe out all the redstone, suck up all the materials and items, while the rest wrap around and pull screaming people towards one of the three giant waiting maws. The projectiles don't even pierce it's inky hide, bouncing off or vanishing entirely into its demanding abyss of a body.

Its eyes are purple spotlights, huge, entrancing, and horrifying as they're used to stir up confusion and seek out more prey.

Everything Olivia's worked to create, everyone she's grown to known, and it's all gone like that, torn to pieces and greedily devoured, everything she's truly earned taken as easily as her empty glory was granted.

This is a punishment meant for her, for her and her likewise untrustworthy friends, for them and all they did and never tried to do.

Olivia tries to struggle, to argue, to scream, when Ivor grabs her by the arm and tugs, but her anger's not meant for him. Her confusion and temper are not meant for him, easily extinguished by how desperate and scared he looks himself, looking to her as a hero and a key. There's nothing she can do now, not here, and the cowardice that kept her from speaking up when she should've so many years ago spurs her into grabbing their wrists, one Ivor's and one Ellegaard's, and running for the portal.

She can't save anyone else, but she can keep them alive another day, and she doesn't look back at what remains of her destroyed home or the roaring demon in the sky.

This is Jesse's beast, Jesse's storm, Jesse's rage and revenge incarnate. Jesse, who loved stupid puns and crappy jokes, who loved everything and anything deeply, so curious about so much and so willing to give everything a chance.

Jesse, who's doomed the world and everyone in it.

Jesse, who Olivia last saw leaving, the Endercrystals in tow and Reuben at her side. Who, when last seen by Ivor and Ellegaard, had little more than shabby clothes, filled with hatred and fury and painfully alone. Who unleashed a monster on Petra, a monster on an unsuspecting, innocent, crowd, with a failsafe that nearly exploded when it failed. Who abandoned the few people to escape in the nether, leaving them to rot, die, or somehow survive on their own.

(Their Jesse? Her Jesse? Her best friend? Lover of all, kind to a fault, put so many in danger and ran from her failure, her mistake that's doomed the world?

It's too late to ask where it went wrong, not when Olivia already knows the answer.)

She feels numb, in the mine cart, fingers trembling and heavy, the fear pounding in her chest unbothered by the sea of lava beneath or the distant, echoing moans of monsters here. It's been so long since she used this system, but it's a small condolence that at least one thing she built still works. It will take them to safety, to her old home, to find her old friend.

Lukas was the closest thing they had to a leader, after Jesse, before he disappeared.

Regardless of her rage and anger, of whatever Ivor and Ellegaard have in mind for themselves and their own friends, she has a feeling this will loop right back to Lukas. Olivia was too weak and failed, but Lukas, despite everything, knows the command block better than she could hope to.

Ivor looks still where he sits in the front, stagnant despite the jolting of his cart or the wobble of squeaky wheels on rusted track, and there's something to be said for how he relaxes, just a bit, when Ellegaard rests her hand on his shoulder. They're in for so much, been through too much already, but in Olivia's experience, having good friends always did seem to help.

She just hopes Lukas doesn't end up breaking them the same way.

They deserve their chance to be happy, to be as innocent as they still can be for a while longer, if they can survive this.

[lunaraen]

July 12: Withersickness AU

Lukas is glaring, eyes narrowed and his fingers curling tighter around the sides of her armor, and Jesse's shoulders tense while the tightness in her chest eases.

He knows.

She doesn't know for how long he's been sure, but Lukas is observant. He's probably suspected since the beginning.

He's waited this long, though, so Jesse pretends not to notice until they're over the worst of the mountain pass, waits until the dip down into the valley to look over her shoulder at him.

(It might be her imagination, but she think the wait's made his glare fiercer, now joined by a scowl that wasn't there before.

If Jesse waited longer, she has a feeling he'd have started the conversation fairly soon.)

"Are you okay?" Jesse's voice is quiet and soft, enough to go unheard by the other over the plodding of hooves and the nearby trickling river.

The question is not the best choice, judging by how Lukas's scowl deepens, and goes unanswered, giving Jesse enough time to notice that Reuben also seems unamused and would probably be as vocal about it if he had the choice.

"You told Petra to stay behind."

It's a simple statement, and it would maybe seem out of place if Jesse's throat wasn't throbbing, the collar of Ellegaard's armor not fully hiding the purple tinge to her skin or the violet lines and strains of color spanning her neck.

"I didn't... I didn't know then, okay? And even if I did, I still would have told her that."

Lukas's look goes from sharp to flat at that, a sting present in the words no matter how quiet or gentle they are or how good of a place they come from.

"And thrown yourself into danger?"

He won't like the answer.

"There's nothing I can do for us now, not without splitting up the group and putting everyone at risk."

She'd feel bad for pulling that card, for bringing other people into this, if it didn't work, Lukas pausing as his brow furrows.

One person wouldn’t split up the group.

"...us? Who?" Her eyes stay on the swaying grass ahead of them, and while it doesn't stop him, his voice finally softens in tone, as does his posture. "Who else, Jesse?"

She wants to tell him, for a moment that flits between them like the pain thrumming in the back of her throat or the ache darting through the back of her head. About Olivia, who pulled Jesse out of the beam, who was at the front of the line, who has purple circles under her eyes that seem too dark to just be from a lack of sleep, whose extra jumpiness isn't so easily brushed off as stress.

About Axel, who walked out of Boom Town like he was down a leg, the right one stiff and with a limp that she doesn't think came from any explosion, who brushed it off as best he could while hanging out with Magnus, whose deep, splotchy purple marks likely aren't just bruises, who's been running for day and days from the Witherstorm to try and buy them all some time.

(She wants to talk about Petra, who's been all by herself for each of those days, dying slowly, maybe already dead from a zombie or the storm itself or just her withersickness, just so she can get that worry off her chest.

Or Gabriel, with them and struggling more with amnesia than the sickness, grappling more with not knowing how much pain walking should give him than the pain itself.

And a tiny part of her wants to mention the purple in Lukas's eyes, the flecks of neon where they shouldn't be.)

But she doesn't.

Instead, she tilts her head enough to nod at where Ivor's riding with Soren, busy fighting off sleep and failing.

"Wait, him?"

Jesse nods, fingers absently tangling themselves in her horse's mane before smoothing it back out.

"I think he came across it when he was trying to get to us, when the storm got back up. Before he started fighting with Soren."

There's been a tired acceptance to Ivor since they left the Far Lands, an easy exhaustion.

The tired acceptance could just be because Soren's lie has finally been exposed for what it really is, tired acceptance that what's done is done and that they're finally going to be done with this mess, but Jesse hasn't missed the trembling fingers, the way Ivor stubbornly keeps his arms covered at all times. She isn't the only one to have noticed.

(Even on their way to Ivor's laboratory, Soren never brought it up, despite how he and Ivor bickered about everything else.)

There's a reason Soren's the one with control of the reins.

She's been selfish, in her thoughts. She's considered insisting that she and Ivor are just slowing them down, that they need rest, and to let the others go on to deal with it...

And it's so very tempting right now, here in this warm clearing, untouched as of now and bathed in warm sunlight. Even if it's too late for Jesse to recover, this wouldn't be a bad place to die, a bad place to hang out with Reuben until then.

But in the end, it's not worth it. Ivor is stubborn and Jesse's too tired to be hypocritical, to demand he stay when Lukas knows better, when Ivor likely knows better, and there's no way Jesse can just sit this out and let her friends march off to their doom, not when she could do her best and take down the Witherstorm, keep any of them from having to go inside.

Lukas could insist, of course, like she did for Petra. He could make her sit it out, take the weapon from her and go on to handle it himself.

But Jesse is stubborn and they're all so very tired, so Lukas instead offers to take control of the reins for a while, letting the two of them swap places while Jesse rests her head on his shoulder. It's the best, least messy way for the conversation to have gone, for all the things left unsaid.

(A very bitter part of her mind whispers that it only works because Lukas is too much of a coward.

It's not fair of her to think that, not when she insisted he come, not when she's kept him from willingly throwing himself in danger and finding his friends, but it's hard not to be at least a little mentally testy at this point. He's had just as much a chance to run, though, to abandon them, and he hasn't yet.

She's never wanted to be a hero, but that's not what this is about. It's about helping her friends, keeping them from being hurt any more than they already have.)

[lunaraen]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

I know it’s been a while, but I finally got around to putting all those AU one-shots for the mcsmAUmonth challenge together on AO3. So, if you ever wanted to see or read them all together in one nice, neat place, here you go!