08/29/2022 12:19 PM  Hearts Divide     Hearts Divide       Vitals are stable. Ready to launch. Count down in 10 seconds. "But what if you don't come back?"  That had been a constant worry for the younger Kaiba over the mission his brother was so eager to embark on. Seto said it was something he needed. Something that had to be done. But it left Mokuba riddled with concern and worry. To a degree, he understood but didn't like it. He had tried to argue with his brother over it. But the elder Kaiba wouldn't budge. Stubborn. They were both stubborn in their own ways. To another degree he hoped that this would help solve the darkness in his older brothers heart.  If he were honest, Mokuba forgot how long it had been since he had seen Seto smile. Years had passed by since they truly seemed happy and he knew it was all because of the self sacrifice Seto had made when they were back in the orphanage. Yes, Gozaburo had gifted them a home. He had provided money, fame, and put the world at their feet. But he also took so much more from the boys than anyone outside of the two brothers could ever begin to fathom and understand.  With money and power often came corruption. It wasn't to say that Seto had become corrupted, but he had fallen into a pit of darkness that was too vast for Mokuba to extend his hand and pull him out. He had tried. He had tried when they were kids to be there for his brother. When he drew the first Blue Eyes White dragon card, he was trying to reach out to him. They needed that card. They needed something to strive for. "We've always been there to support one another, and we always will be." But while Mokuba could only sit back and try to support his brother in ways a child could, his brother had expended everything by putting it on the line for them. "Everything I did, I did for us. So we could have a better life." Those words spoken by his brother rang through his head as he stood frozen in place while looking up at the monitor. It was the monitor in the control station; separate from the docking port where his brother had just been before launching into Ancient Egypt. "Seto...." Peering at the now empty screen that had switched over to open static, he felt a sense of emptiness falling into the pit of his stomach. "Please come back."  Through all the years, all the adventures, the tournaments, even the times they fought, he had always believed in his brother. Mokuba was perhaps the only person that knew there was still light inside of his brother. Yugi had even tried to once reassure him that he was right. Yugi believed that Seto just needed to put his heart back together. That he'd come back after that and the darkness wouldn't be so strong once Seto truly found himself again. It was why Mokuba made them their locket necklaces. "As long as we have these, we'll always find our way back to each other!" Mokuba said that to Seto once. He refused to give up on that. But the darkness was driving Seto to do things that made Mokuba scared. Not angry. Never angry. It was pure, raw, fear.  Now he remained frozen, peering at the screen as he tried to understand and navigate the emotions swelling up inside of himself. He wanted to cry, to suddenly scream at the monitor. He wanted his brother to come back. This wasn't safe, it had never been tested, it was a prototype. But Seto had decided to go forward because he couldn't wait on the pharaoh any longer. He couldn't simply understand the pharaoh was gone and always would be. That state of suspension in his own mind caused him to jolt slightly when Roland spoke. "Mr. Mokuba."  How many minutes had passed by since Seto had left the docking station? "I want a full report on vitals inside the ship until he reaches his destination." That ship had been crafted to keep track of Seto's heart and other vitals while inside. It would only code once he stepped out of the ship. It had been a compromise between brothers so that Mokuba could know he was safe. If Seto's vitals coded for any other reason than him stepping out, it would send a different signal to alert his brother.  "I want..." Words continued before he paused. "Until my brother returns, there will be someone on duty every hour of the clock, for every day of the week. I want to be notified if anything comes through. Distress signals, encrypted messages, an incoming vessel. Anything!" It was a lot to ask but he didn't care.  "But, Mr. Mokuba some of us have--" One of the other men besides Roland began to speak. But their words were cut off. "I don't care!" Slamming his hand down on the control panel he turned and narrowed his gaze. "That is my brother! While he's gone I'm in charge! This isn't safe! He's out there alone while you're in here safe!" Extending an arm, he pointed at the monitor with a single finger. The other digits of his hand curled inwards to the palm so tightly that he could feel the nails biting into the skin. "If you want to defy my orders then you can be fired by me too! This isn't a game! This is not as simple as Seto walking onto a dueling platform to face the pharaoh and then stepping down and coming home that same night. This is not as simple as me being able to call him to make sure he's okay. WHAT IF HE IS NOT OKAY?" Voice raising by the end, he lowered his arm and took a deep breath. Mokuba usually was not one to get worked up. He was usually a happy child, full of energy, laughter, and joy. But over the years he had started to grow up. In a way he was becoming just like Seto, but there were his own bits of personality popping up too. "I understand you all have a life and family." Allowing his voice to vanish for a moment he looked at everyone in the room. At this point they were all standing at attention. "But Seto is all I have anymore!" He wouldn't lose him the way he had lost everything else. Mokuba would fight tooth and nail to keep that final piece of his life in tact. "So if the one thing I am asking you to do, as your vice president, is too much, then you can walk out that door and not come back. You can leave Kaiba Corp, you can leave me, and you can leave Seto! His life could depend on this." Nevermind the teenager had said on duty every hour of the clock. That would take rotating shifts. It didn't mean it would be one person for the entirety of Seto's journey. "I will be taking shifts also. Until he's back, this is how it's going to be!" Feeling the rage slowly leave himself again, he allowed amethysts to fall upon the floor. Another moment would rush by before he turned his back to everyone and let out a sigh. "Dismissed." Hopefully, in his heart of hearts, Seto just wouldn't take as long as he feared and everything truly would be okay.  0 Comments

08/20/2022 11:15 PM  Group reply - Unlike his younger sibling, caution wasn't in his being. Throughout his years in life, that had become obvious. If Fenrir had been more cautious with his actions, then so many in his past wouldn't be dead. The wolf wouldn't bare so many physical and mental scars, either. Or, perhaps he wouldn't possibly be turning into the very thing that Odin feared. What made it all worse was that he had no regrets over any of his past actions; not really -- minus the mates he had lost to foolish antics. Yet, from those deaths came other things that made even though foolish decisions worth while. In a way some might see it as a bad thing that he justified those actions. Because it meant that he would never see errors in his ways. He would never change. But he didn't want to. He did everything in his power to stay true to himself; that was just a flaw that had to be accepted. It also went deeper than that if it came to Loki's involvement. Years ago, when he had been the mortal equivalent of a teenage boy, he had made a vow to Loki. Those foolish actions allowed him to hold true to that vow. Such a vow being if Loki needed him, then the boy moved without question. That promise came out in the form of invading Midgard when the Avengers took him into custody. He would never hold regrets over following through. Because, if he were honest, the only thing he feared in life was losing their father. Fenrir would damn himself if that ever came to pass. So when the elder god had been taken into custody upon that realm he had held true to that promise made eons prior. The death of Newton, his fiancé, hadn't made him wish he had turned his back on his father; even if he was lost during that battle. All the same, the death of Nobalie brought about his own bloodline transcending into future generations to carry on their chaotic natures. It wasn't those deaths that made the wolf question any of his actions. It was Loki's. Their fathers. While he realized and accepted that he couldn't have done anything about Thanos, it still ate at him that he didn't at least try. In the days that had followed Loki's existence being erased from the realms, Jorge had been the one to tame Fenrir in ways that others couldn't. He had been the one to devise the plan to escape to Jotunheim. To flee before the rest of their family could come after them. It was in Jotunheim that no one would want to hunt monsters. It was in Jotunheim that Fenrir found an overwhelming sensation of home. It was something he couldn't describe in a verbal sense. But it made sense since the blood of Jotunheim ran through his veins and sang to him anytime he stepped foot near the Ironwood. Ironwood, the one place where he didn't have to bite back on any of his true nature. He could be a monster, he could rip creatures limb from limb, bare fangs if he wanted, allow his temper to flare. Every carnal instinct he had locked inside could be released. In a way, it had to be if he were to survive there. Ironwood was home to werewolves, trolls, giants, and other monsters that many feared. They'd even destroy each other. So he held none of his instincts back. It was there he even allowed his arrogance as a prince to flare. There was little that could stop him or soothe the internal pain he was harboring over their father's loss. All Jorge could do in those days was watch as Fenrir came home time and time again with chunks of flesh missing, or other wounds of infliction on his being. That all led up to now. That flaw shining through yet again as he had been quick to move. It was Jorge's hand latching onto his arm that made him pause. Boots just barely making it more than an inch further from their vantage point. It caused emerald hues to shift within sunken sockets to catch a glimpse of his brother's. "If it's a trick." He wanted to say if it was a trick then obviously they would just attack and go for the kill. But if it was another god using a disguise, there would be no putting that entity to death; not easily. Realizing that, his jaw tensed as it often did when irritation set in. A breath of air was slowly sucked in between his teeth. He knew it wouldn't be easy to reassure Jorge that this wasn't a trick. His brother was all too cautious. Even to this day he was terrible at soothing his brothers cautious tendencies. "What say you we pull out something from our childhood then?" There were plenty of things between the boys and their father. Most of them were known by others in the realm of Asgard, but they each had things that were solely for just them to know; also. It was perhaps the only compromise he could think of that might help Jorge relax. Because while he could feel it in his soul that it was Loki, or he hoped it was Loki, that didn't put enough weight to his brothers concerns. Yet still, while he was trying to take into account how Jorge felt about this, every fiber of his being was reacting to Loki's aura in the not too distant field. "We do that, see how he responds, then act?" Through those words he was thinking about the one thing that he had on him that would work for the occasion; a fire opal. It was an opal that only he, Loki, and Frigga knew about. Their grandmother had given it to Fenrir when he had been locked up in Asgard's prison's at command of their grandfather. It had been kept a secret between the three of them because of the ability it held. An ability to let Fenrir keep an eye on his family members regardless of what realm they were in at the time of use. 0 Comments

05/01/2019 07:32 PM  Some Gods Can Break - drabble Some gods can break -       Time to a god usually held no value. Some believed it was because god's and goddess' lived much longer than a typical entity. Keeping track of time would just be too much effort for some when they could focus on other things. But sometimes, even a god or goddess found an event in their life that stood out.  Manhattan, New York, 2012. It was a year that would forever be engraved into the young gods mind; specifically for a certain event that took place. Loki had waged war on Midgard, he had been taken into custody by the Avengers. Word had spread quickly through the nine realms and his eldest son, Fenrir, had kept to a promise made around the equivalent age of fourteen. "I will always be loyal to you, father. When you need me to move, I move. No questions. Should anything happen, every part of my being is yours to command. Even if Hela shall see me again soon." They were words a child shouldn't speak, but to Fenrir, his father was everything. He would follow with blind loyalty; even if death was waiting. As promised, the moment he had heard that Loki had been taken into custody, he had stormed Manhattan too. Naturally, the Avengers had come after him. He had put up a fight against them. It waged for a couple hours or more. Every blow, every howl, every building that came crumbling down only made him feel closer to getting his father back. None of the destruction truly phased the young prince as he went against their strength. Only when Thor had appeared did the wolf falter and sway in his stance. Similar to Loki, Fenrir held hatred in his heart for his uncle. Thor, God of Thunder, the rightful heir of Asgard. This was the entity that drove Loki to this; in his mind at least. If Thor would just stand down. But standing down wasn't their way. Though while his way was more primal and instinctual, Thor tried to reason with his nephew instead of having them wage even more of an all out battle. Seemingly, Thor understood that Fenrir was under the influence of his father. He was a pup being led by the wrong side of righteousness. It took what felt like ages, literal moments of the clocks ticking past as Thor tried to get through to his nephew. He was trying to make Fenrir understand that Loki's desires, his view point about the Midgardian's were wrong. Fenrir, stubborn as he was didn't seem to understand. There was only one Midgardian he had ever known - their encounter and overall relationship was a secret. If only that secret could've remained. For after the battle, after Thor finally coaxed Fenrir into taking on his humanoid appearance, the destruction would truly set in.  Death was always waiting. On that day in Manhattan, death claimed someone that Fenrir hadn't meant for it too. Agent Newton of S.H.I.E.L.D. Yes, the wolf had been locked in an intimate relationship with a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. Beyond that really, they had been secretly engaged to be wed but months away. But Newton had fallen victim to the young gods mindless antics. He wasn't meant to be there when Fenrir stormed Manhattan that day. Newton was meant to stay away from that city, off of those streets. But the agent had been there, locked in that fight beyond the wolves own knowledge. His untimely demise was over the actions of the prince himself; crushed beneath the buildings. They both paid the price that day. One was left to live and the other was lost to Valhalla.  Years had gone by since that day. The young prince had grown up under strict supervision of the Avengers; under Thor's request while he remained on Midgard of course. Thor had made it his responsibility in those years to try and aid in Fenrir's understanding of the Midgardian's. He wanted the prince to see that Midgardian's weren't as bad as Loki had led him to believe. That they were people, just like Asgardian's were. That they didn't deserve to be ruled like animals. Naturally, Odin had interjected at some intervals during all of these lessons. His grand son still had to answer to his crimes back home for aiding the God of Mischief in his conquest. Little did they know that Fenrir would always aid Loki; even after Andy Newton's death. But he served his time and kept his head down. Though, even those days came to an end and Fenrir was free to roam again. In his terminology of roaming, it usually meant certain things; drinking, dancing, prowling as wolves often did. Carnal sins was perhaps among that mixture of antics for the young god . It was during a night out on the streets of Asgard that he had met her. The connection they shared from the very start was electric. While he couldn't place his finger on why, one thing was for sure, it was like that cliche saying of finding a flame from a past life. Odd for him, since he was known to only sleep with a woman in order to produce offspring. Fenrir had always, always, been drawn to the male form if he were to solidify a relationship. But there was something to her. Something more, and no one could really understand why he wanted her. The only woman to catch his heart; a witch. For all of the pain that Fenrir had suffered up until that point, for all of the misunderstandings cast upon him from both Asgardian's and Midgardian's alike; she got him. There was never a thought he could have that she wouldn't be able to pluck from his mind. Never a word he could utter, that she couldn't finish before his maw fell to close again. They worked together. Their souls danced as a single unit and he felt a fire wash over him every time he laid his eyes on her. Inseparable.  While the spark between the prince and witch was undeniably strong, his past still did haunt him. But even in those moments, she didn't turn her back on him. In ways, she reminded him of Newton. So much so that it almost pained him further, but they worked through it.  Admittedly, it was also Frigga who helped him through it. She helped her grandson separate the identity of his new beloved from his past flame. Made him realize that it was okay to let go of Andy once and for all. It didn't come without a struggle if truth were told.  Once Fenrir made his peace with the S.H.I.E.L.D agent, months passed. By the years end, his mate had both fallen pregnant and given birth to a child; a girl. Seila Grey Fenrirsdottir. While the birth of a new goddess was cause of celebration for many, it was yet another time of change for Fenrir. His mate had died during the child birthing process and he was yet again burdened by his path as a chaotic god. Only now there was a child involved for him to lay his life on the line for; the same vow he made to Loki all those years ago.    0 Comments

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