#pp au

also its just catnap and dogday for now cause there are 6 other characters.

"And...it'll be safe?"

"Sure it will, buddy!" the worker who had freed them said, smiling at them. The elevator continued to crank up and up. "It's probably been a while since you guys have seen the sun, haven't you?"

"Have we?" The words came unbidden from his mouth.

The worker's smile faded, just a bit. "Yeah, bud." He held out a hand. Kickin felt his own hand rise and take it, making sure to be gentle. They all had to go through training to make sure they didn't hurt any of the kids. "You had to, before the factory."

"Will CatNap..." DogDay started. He was holding Bobby's hand, her eyes confused. The scientists had never been able to fix her ears. Bubba stood on her other side, holding her other hand, signing somehow. The other worker in the elevator hovered next to him, looking interested. "Will CatNap be there?"

"Yes," the worker said as the elevator doors opened. "He should-"

DogDay was already out and running, leaving CraftyCorn to hold Bobby's hand, straight towards CatNap. A worker who was talking to the purple cat jumped aside before the orange dog hugged the cat's face.

"How's it going?" the worker called.

"We need to go the back way, since the police are in the front," the other worker called. "But it's a nice sunny day!"

Sunny. The sun.

Kickin felt himself launch into motion, heading for the back door. The hand he held yelped, but he was more focused on the idea of the sun. Of being Outside.

He stopped at the glass doors.

Sudden nerves swept over him as he stared through the glass. It was tinted, but it couldn't hide the green grass or the blue sky.

There was a squeeze of his hand.

He looked back. Instead of the worker, who was poking his head out to guide CatNap and DogDay, Hoppy smiled at him. A chain of Smiling Critters waited.

Happy October! Here's some Pokemon AU stuff. Thank you to Servantparent as always for the help with Allen's outfit.

Allen is fire, Nori is fighting, Maria is ghost, and Emi is dragon! Hopefully more will come, but I figured I'd pop these into a post.

hetaween | free day prompt 🧠

From his office, Antonio went back downstairs and towards the rear of the house. There was a set of doors shut behind another set of doors that protected his research; he pulled a key from his pocket to let himself into the first room, where he sanitised and sterilised. He then swapped bare hands for gloves and a thick apron, wrapped tightly around waistcoat and shirt, before he then proceeded straight through to his private, personal theatre.

As one might have guessed, it was a theatre in the surgical sense. But that did not mean it was entirely without performance.

[ read full fic on ao3! ]

event: @hetaween-event

A/N: Still alive. Still thinking of words for different fics. Trying not to let a Wild West oneshot take over my brain. Anyway here are some vampires and a necromancer.

Aubrey

Aubrey froze at Chloe’s last statement. The air around them grew tight with tension and she raised her head slowly to pin her friend with a stare.

“Have a care what words you utter next, Chloe.”

Chloe’s shoulders slumped and she reached out toward the blonde as if to bridge the chasm that had suddenly cracked and threatened to tear open at their feet. Beca for once held her tongue, perhaps sensing the danger in the stillness of the tomb.

“I swear everything I say now is the truth. I have spent century after century chasing every half whispered rumor and witness I could find. Many of whom did not long survive their interrogation I’m sorry to say. But I could have no loose ends, no one to run back to their master in warning.”

“Of course not.” Both vampires turned to look at the necromancer who rolled her eyes and made a vague gesture for Chloe to continue. “Vampires are brutal bastards, we get it, moving on.”

Aubrey tipped her head in thought as she judged the value of Chloe’s actions. “I prefer ‘practical bastards’ but yes. We are.”

Beca opened her mouth to give a cutting retort when Chloe spoke over her to prevent any further distraction. Aubrey appreciated reminder that there were more important things than debating how vicious her kind could be.

“As I was saying, it’s taken me a long time to put the pieces together Aubrey, but I have, and someone did this to you on purpose. That day Harun and his people came to Tønsberg was no coincidence. Rumors had been fed to the clans through spies and traitors to the Council, urging them to make a move on the Northern territories. If they could strike a blow at the heart of the Council then they could take control of the North and eventually every known vampire stronghold.”

Aubrey scoffed at that and crossed her arms over her chest. The Great Clans hadn’t enough people to make a run at Tønsberg. Even if they had put a sword in every man, woman, and child’s hand. Even if they had all been necromancers, it would not have been a successful campaign. “A plan only a fool would consider. It was my home to defend and the base of the Blood Guard. Harun was no fool, he would not have fallen for such ridiculous lure.”

“I don’t think it was ever his real intention to bring the fight to us but he had to answer to the will of his people and someone had been inciting them, pushing them to demand action. So they came, perhaps only to prove to them what a mistake it would be, perhaps to see if it was even possible. Whatever reason he had; it died the moment he met you.”

She looked away from Chloe, her eyes shifting to far wall because that was so much easier to face than the other woman and all her truths. Beca seemed to understand that she hadn’t the control to speak without shattering like glass and thankfully broke the silence.

“So. He legit loved her back? That’s wild, man. But I don’t get it, what did someone have to gain by all of this? If there wasn’t a shot in hell of that plan working what was the point?”

Aubrey frowned in thought as she considered the possibilities of such an event. “It would have forced me into the same position Harun was in. The vampires would have demanded action against the Clans, it would result in a huge loss of life on both sides and we would lose the confidence of our people.”

“Except none of that happened.”

“No, it didn’t. Instead Aubrey found an entirely new way to be a threat to her own kind.”

Chloe smirked at her and Aubrey ducked her head. She had to smile at that. Few things stroked her ego like the reminder that even vampires feared her. Aubrey gave a slight nod.

“That’s true. Our alliance made me quite terrifying.”

“It also gave your enemy the chance to seize control without shedding blood or losing powerful potential allies on the Council. It would have been perfect if you hadn’t actually done the impossible. You were gaining too much support among the people, mortal and vampire. That could not be allowed but to attack you directly? That would be a mistake. If they somehow managed to wound or even kill you there would be another uprising against your attackers. And if they didn’t…”

“I’m assuming if they didn’t finish her off…bad things?” Beca made stink face and shook her head trying not to think about what all those bad things could be. “But none of that happened…so…?”

“So they chose another way to break her. Harun’s attack wasn’t anymore random than his arrival to our home. His loss was meant to punish you, cripple you, and get you the hell out of the way. I don’t think anyone thought you would try to turn him but…it ended up being the nail in your coffin. So to speak.”

“Ha. Nail in the coffin.”

“The nail in your coffin too, Beca. With Aubrey gone there was no one to defend the Clans, and the first one to go was yours. Couldn’t have anymore like Harun running around with the power to influence vampires against their own kind.”

“Oh. Well fuck all that.”

“Totes.”

Aubrey stood silently, trying to sift through the torrent of emotion the memories had stirred in her heart. When she could speak with her voice shaking she raised her head and pinned Chloe with a hard stare that demanded absolute honesty.

“How did you come to know that those men were paid to kill Harun? I took their lives myself while they laughed and drank and boasted of their bravery and skill…I took them all that very night.”

It had been shortsighted of her but her grief had driven her to seek them out and pay them in kind for their crimes. If they had been nothing but mercenaries, none knew of it but the dead. Their bodies no more than dust by now.

“Because I killed the vampire that paid them.”

Rage coursed through her and her fangs lengthened at the idea. “You had proof and you killed them before they could bear witness to me?”

“I told you Aubrey, I couldn’t leave anyone alive to give warning. Aldrik was too weak to run with me, too loyal to them be trusted. I had to kill him and leave before the Blood Guard arrived, so I ended him painfully for his transgressions.”

“Aldrik…he was my mother’s favorite consort. He never did like me.”

Beca raised her brows at that. “Uh was he your mom’s…you know what that kinda sounds like your mom had a harem of dudes she just kept around. How many other consorts were there?”

She shrugged. “As many as she desired.”

“Wow. Including demon daddy. We’re still circling around back to that later, because….I mean.”

She made a vague gesture that Aubrey took to mean that Beca was interested in what that made her if not just a vampire. So she ignored Beca and paced across the open space. Now wasn’t the time to get into all of that either. They had to remain on task with what little time they had. Aubrey had not forgotten the feeling of something out there hunting just before they had arrived.

“If there are none to corroborate these claims, you have no proof, Chloe. What would you have me do?”

“Okay but what if you could hear it straight the from horse’s mouth? If the horse was a Viking you killed a few centuries ago.”

How?? Her lips turned down in a frown unsure what Chloe was asking of her. Those men were long gone and unremembered by any save herself. And even if there were one still around he was still deader by far than she.

Beca seemed to catch on a great deal faster and snorted. Her arms came up across her chest defensively as she glared at Chloe.

“Oh. I get it. Wow. I gotta admit you almost fucking had me reeled in. Jesus fuck. If you wanted me to raise the dead you could have just said so. And FYI I don’t think any necromancer can raise a body that old. It’s probably not even bones anymore. There is absolutely no way I can raise dust.”

“He’s frozen actually…”

“I-I’m sorry?? He’s what??”

“It’s fine, a little digging, a small fire, he should be mostly intact.”

“I don’t…I don’t even know what to say to how insane you sound right now. I don’t think that you being super-hot is enough for me to still be on this crazy train.”

“ENOUGH!” Aubrey whirled on them with a soft growl. “Enough with this childish discourse. If it were even possible there could be nothing gained from this venture. To know I have enemies? I have had them from the moment I was conceived, what is one more?”

“Damnit Aubrey! To fight! To take back what is yours and to finally do right by Harun’s line as you swore to do the day you took him as your husband! And if you will not honor your word then I must do it for you. Alone if necessary.”

“Not alone.”

Both vampires turned to eye the smaller woman. She sighed heavily and straightened her shoulders.

“Clearly you guys suck. That’s a given. But even I can see this is bigger than my natural inclination to run far away. And I don’t even know what your plan is so it’s already doomed to fail but I’m in. Because if what you say is true, the vampires are gonna take over again. And everyone I have ever loved or could ever love will be dead or worse. So. Let’s save the fucking world or whatever.”

“You two and what army against thousands of Council influenced vampires and the Blood Guard?”

“Well it’d be easier if you’d just sack up and help but we’ll figure out something. Oh God, I’m partnering with a vampire. Willingly. Jesus, can my life get any weirder?”

The defiant tilt of chin, the shadow of dread in her eyes warring with the gleam of anticipation reminded Aubrey so much of someone else. Someone with far more courage than she ever pretended to have. Aubrey let herself feel the throb of pain once more before she let it go and smiled softly.

“You sound like him. A sharp tongue must be a family trait.”

“Lady you don’t know the half of it. So. Are you in or what?”

Aubrey sighed and nodded once. “I suppose I better. You’ll most certainly die otherwise.”

“Please, like I haven’t heard that before.” Beca gave a cocky shrug and leaned against the wall. “I’m still standing.”

Chloe bit her lip to keep the laugh from bubbling out but Aubrey could see the mirth in her eyes. “Yeah. Except that there are probably half a dozen blood guard hunkered down surrounding our position by now. So that might change the ‘still standing’ part of your swagger.”

“What the shit, dude?”

“Aubrey and I sensed something earlier. We were on our way to check on you when um…”

“Overwhelmed you with zombies and threatened to leave you out in the sun?”

“Yes. That.”

“You do realize I was perfectly safe until you kidnapped me, right?”

“Do not trouble yourselves over them. I will see to the Blood Guard.” Aubrey let her fingers trail over still strong handle of a long forgotten battle ax. Her palm tingled with the remembered feel of the coarse wood and leather handle against her skin. “As soon as night falls you and Chloe will head for our steeds. I will clear the way.”

“Okay…two things. One, you’re kinda scary. Two, it’s a little warm in here, right?”

Chloe fanned herself when Aubrey hefted her axe and rested it against her shoulder. “Yep. Definitely warm in here.”

Aubrey took up a spot just near the door and closed her eyes. “Rest for now. You’ll need the energy to run later.”

Beca shifted from foot to foot nervously before speaking. “And six badass Blood Guard are nothing to worry about?”