Liv watched with detached uninterest as Xaras, Greed of Xivu Arath was sent screaming back into the void once more. Just over a month ago, the sight of the hulking Taken monster had sent shivers down her spine. Now it was almost like an old friend. Well, an old enemy at any rate. This was her third time defeating it.

As she left Harbinger's Seclude once more, Rhys spoke to her through their bond. "Don't you get tired of killing that...thing?"

Liv shrugged, slinging her sniper rifle over her shoulder. "As long as it keeps coming, I'll be here to stop it."

"You can't mean that! What if it never stops?"

"It will. Just a matter of time. Besides, it's one of the only reliable ways of keeping track of time here."

After word had reached Liv about Harley killing Uldren Sov, she had left her post on Mars and reached out to Petra Venj, the Queen's Wrath. When they'd met in the Tangled Shore, Petra had asked for her assistance.

"The things I will tell you are told in confidence. Nothing of what I say here must reach anyone else, even your Vanguard. Do you understand?"

Liv nodded and raised her hand in an Awoken gesture: fingers together, palm facing out. According to Rae, it was a gesture of openness and trustworthiness. The Hunter saw fleeting surprise in Petra's face as the other women returned the gesture.

As she lowered her hand, Petra cast a quick glance over her shoulder at the Spider. "When your friend Harley Hayden was last here, we tracked Uldren and the Fanatic to a place called the Watchtower. You might have seen it when you arrived." Liv nodded. She had taken note of the gleaming tower on the Shore's horizon. "The Watchtower is the entrance to a sacred place - the Dreaming City. It's become clear to me that an evil has infiltrated it, the same evil linked to Uldren's… sickness. I'm asking you to accompany me."

Liv considered this. What Petra asked was clearly of deep importance. It was also a big deal for an Earthborn Awoken Guardian to be invited into Awoken space, let alone a place of sacred importance. "Count me in," she said.

Petra's face eased slightly in relief. "Excellent. I'll get my ship…" She paused, considering Liv, "I must confess, I'm not sure if your Awoken heritage will gain you access to the Dreaming City. We Awoken were born of both Light and Darkness. In your case, being a Guardian, your Light far outweighs your Darkness." She hesitated again. "There were once items that would gain the bearer access to such places. Talismans of Light and Dark."

Reaching into one of her armor pouches, Liv produced a totem. Petra's eye widened upon seeing it. She reached out, stopping just short of touching it. "How did you get this?"

"A friend gave it to me," said Liv.

Petra's eye was still locked on the talisman. "A rare friend you must have that would possess one of these… and an even rarer one that would willingly give it up…" She was now staring past Liv, as though she were looking at something far off. After a few seconds, she shook it off. "Yes, that should grant you passage… When you got to your ship, follow me to the Dreaming City."

We're no strangers to love

You know the rules and so do I
A full commitment's what I'm thinking of
You wouldn't get this from any other guy

I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

We've known each other for so long
Your heart's been aching but you're too shy to say it
Inside we both know what's been going on
We know the game and we're gonna play it
And if you ask me how I'm feeling
Don't tell me you're too blind to see

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

Never gonna give, never gonna give
(Give you up)

We've known each other for so long
Your heart's been aching but you're too shy to say it
Inside we both know what's been going on
We know the game and we're gonna play it

I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye

Happy April Fool's Day!

I have no idea how many people are going to even read this but I was bored so I thought I might as well. The next part of Chasing Fate isn't ready yet, I'm still in the first draft. The first part IS really from my doc but it may or may not change as I continue working on the story. I'll take this time to confirm that the next story will in fact be following Liv and will be set in the Dreaming City. Everything else is unconfirmed, but there you have it. I have plot ideas out to Season of the Chosen that I want to get around to working on, so bear with me.

In the meantime, I've also been working on fanfiction for the Dream SMP fandom over on Ao3, so if that's something you're interested in, feel free to check them out! So far I have a canon divergent oneshot series in the works, a "what if" take on recent canon, and an Anastasia AU that I'm currently posting the chapters for.