Really nervous about this chapter. First time I've done anything like this, so I'm hoping it turned out alright. It was written in one sitting over the course of about four hours, and it was largely borne from a desire to simply get back into writing. I really hope it's good. I think so, but uh...be gentle in those reviews, if it's horrible. I'll put more at the bottom, so read on.
[Are you sure it was wise to let your mate go alone? The insane holy man is on the loose.]
"Are you kidding? Freed wouldn't be any match for Raynare on his best day, much less down an arm. Plus, it wouldn't make any difference if I was there or not. She's so much stronger than me it's funny."
Issei spoke to his arm without looking at it, instead focusing on another parenthood book as he idly flipped the pages. Raynare and Kalawarner had elected to go shopping at Kuoh's mall, while Issei chose to stay home and read, not wanting to intrude on them.
That was several hours ago, and it was now night. Issei had avoided worrying about her the whole time, but now Ddraig's words whispered doubt into his mind.
[That's your fault. My balance breaker would've proven invaluable if you'd only activated it.]
"You know as well as I do it would've hurt the baby."
[...You're right. I misspoke. Regardless, don't you think...someone's here.]
Issei instantly put the book down and summoned his sacred gear, moving silently from the couch to his front door, ready for anything. Seconds after Ddraig spoke, a knock came.
'Whoever it is, they're polite enough to knock.'
[I sense holy power. Be ready for anything.]
Issei hesitantly looked out of his peephole, half expecting Freed Selzen's mad grin on the other side. Much to his surprise, it was Xenovia and Irina. He sighed in relief, opening the door for them.
"How'd you two find this place?" Issei asked, wondering how and why his apartment from Lisa Lisa had turned into a supernatural hub. "Let me guess. Either Rias, or Azazel?"
"As if we'd consort with a Fallen Angel. Your address was given to us by the Gremory devil, yes." Xenovia said, narrowing her eyes at the thought of talking with the Governor General of the Fallen Angels.
"Yeah, well, coming here was as close as 'consorting with a Fallen Angel' as you can get without poking one. But, don't let that stop you. Come on in." Issei said, motioning for them to come inside.
The two exorcists obliged, stepping into Issei's living room and turning all about, admiring his decorum and penthouse view.
Issei was a naturally tidy person, so the general area of the penthouse stayed extremely well-kempt. Funnily enough, and not that he'd never admit it to anyone, but Raynare was actually a bit of a layabout, and liked to leave things laying around for Issei to pick up. Her particular favorite surprise to leave for him was to just randomly take off a bra and throw it somewhere, so she could watch him blush when he went to pick it up later.
Luckily for Issei's easily embarrassed self, he'd already tidied up for the day, so the two exorcists had nothing to see but a pristine penthouse with a gorgeous view and spectacular decorations. Inherited artifacts, pictures, and various other baubles lined the room, and Issei's taste for decorum was remarkable.
"This is your house, Issei? You're totally loaded…"
Irina, twirling around in amazement and thoroughly inspecting anything that looked mildly interesting, once again spoke like she knew him well. His brows furrowed in confusion, trying to piece together why in the world she spoke so familiarly.
"You really don't remember, do you?" Irina asked, suddenly in his face.
Issei unconsciously took a step back. Irina's bubbly extraversion was in sharp contrast to his own reserved nature, and she moved quicker than he could react.
"I, uh...no? Sorry, but I really don't remember ever meeting you or anything like that."
Irina sighed, not really expecting anything else, but she was disappointed nonetheless. Xenovia, sensing a conversation she didn't want anything to do with, silently excused herself to poke around in the kitchen.
Of course, the kitchen and living room were connected, so it wasn't really much of an escape.
"We were friends when we were little. At that fancy restaurant, Shangri-La? My dad and your dad constantly talked, so we ended up playing together."
Issei racked his mind, trying to remember. Something clicked, and the vaguest hint of a faint memory drifted into his mind. "Wait. Were you the boy with the cross necklace?"
Contrary to popular belief, Issei had not always been a friendless loser. At one point, when his parents were still alive, he had a group of several children that he'd call his friends. But, after he'd moved in with his step parents, he never saw a single one of them again, and they'd faded from his memory.
One of them, that he might even call one of his best friends, had been a chestnut-haired boy with an immaculate cross necklace. His father had indeed been a friend of Issei's dad, and had a personality much like Irina's.
"Ouch, Issei. I may have been a bit of a tomboy, but as a woman, don't you think that's a bit too harsh…?" Irina asked, poking her index fingers together in embarrassment. Issei, dumbfounded, took a closer look. Much to his surprise, the same cross necklace rested on her chest.
"No way...Aaron?" Of course, Issei only half-remembered the boy's name, but he supposed it did sound kind of like Irina.
"It's Irina! You always messed it up even then, it's Irina! I'm a girl, doofus! What kind of girl is named Aaron?!" Irina said, exploding as his childhood nickname for her resurfaced.
"That's...you're a girl?!" Issei yelled, shocked. He never in a million years would've guessed the boy he was friends with was a girl. The news was like a slap in the face.
"Of course I'm a girl!" Irina's face was bright red. "Do boys have…well, just look at these!" In her frenzy, she gestured to her chest, and Issei accidentally looked without really thinking about it.
Of course, with Issei's nasty luck, he picked a horrible time to be caught in that particular situation.
Raynare had just stepped through the door. Kalawarner walked in behind her, whistling in apprehension. "Bad move, kid. Raynare's the jealous type." The bluenette said with a knowing smirk, wasting no time in retreating to the kitchen beside Xenovia.
"Wait, Raynare, I can-"
"Issei's mine you skank!" Raynare's six wings all flared out as she lunged at Irina, Issei only barely managing to hold her back by grabbing her under the arms.
"Raynare, calm down! Your wings!" Issei was extremely frantic, because unlike the first time Raynare and Irina had interacted, the Angel didn't have her wings under an illusion- they were shining silver, for everyone to see.
Raynare stopping struggling against her fiance, realizing she'd accidentally revealed her silver wings to people that definitely shouldn't have seen them. She quickly retracted them, and Issei pulled her into his arms from behind.
He was whispering something about how he'd never cheat on her and she didn't have to worry, but she knew all that stuff- she was paying more attention to the girl in front of her.
Irina was kneeling down on one knee in front of her, hand across her heart and face pointing at the ground. As Issei saw what she was looking at, he let go of Raynare and stepped away, wondering what in the world Irina was doing.
"Forgive me, Miss Angel. I didn't mean to intrude."
Raynare looked flabbergasted. She hadn't been called anything like 'Miss Angel' since before she Fell, and she hadn't had a human kneel to her in centuries.
"Uh, Irina...what are you doing?" Issei asked, just as confused as Raynare.
Irina didn't respond, choosing instead to keep kneeling in silence. Issei quickly glanced over at Xenovia, who was wide-eyed but quickly moved into her own kneel.
Kalawarner was mildly spooked, but she'd kinda suspected something like this ever since she found a silver feather on the couch.
"...At ease…?" Raynare offered hesitantly, trying to remember how she used to act when she was actually an Angel of proper rank and stature.
It seemed to work, as Irina instantly shot off the ground, running up to Raynare and grabbing her hands. Her eyes were wide and filled with awe, and she could hardly contain herself.
"You're one of the new angels, right? A redeemed one? Your wings are so amazing, can I see them again?" Irina was obviously struggling to keep herself at a polite level of hyperactivity, but her excitement at meeting one of the rumored Risen angels was too much for the poor girl to bear.
Raynare opened and closed her mouth in mute shock, but did as she was asked. Her six silver wings once again leapt from her back, and both Irina and Xenovia were in total bewilderment.
"You know about Risen angels?" Issei asked, wondering how they'd found out about something even Azazel barely knew about.
"We've only heard rumors. But, to see a real one...even more amazing than I could've imagined."
Issei never would've pegged Xenovia as the starstruck type, but the girl was practically foaming at the mouth as she and Irina poured over Raynare's wings from every angle.
"Okay, okay, can we all...come back to Earth for a second? You guys never even told me what you were doing here." Issei asked, trying to get the conversation back on to some kind of path that actually made sense. In no less than a couple minutes of talking, they'd gone all over the place, and he'd never even found out why Irina and Xenovia were there in the first place.
Raynare retracted her wings, much to the chagrin of the two exorcists. Sighing in barely-concealed disappointment, they stepped away.
"We came to warn you. Freed Selzen is active in the area, and he's apparently after you guys." Irina said, looking a little worried.
"Aw, really? I was kind of hoping he'd bleed to death after I'd ripped his arm off..." Raynare mourned, half sadistic and half wistful. Truthfully, even though she'd been on the same side as the rouge exorcist just a few months prior, she'd always hated him. She was her antithesis as a natural angel, fallen or not, and his pure psychosis disguised as religious devotion was something she could barely stomach.
"Yeah, Sona and Rias both texted me that exact thing an hour or so ago. Isn't he kind of, like, a non-threat, at this point? I mean, he cut Kiba up pretty bad the one time, but if he fought any of us in anything but a one-on-one, he'd definitely lose. Especially me or Raynare." Issei said, gesturing to his still-present Gauntlet and Raynare.
"That would be the case, if he wasn't carrying an Excalibur." Xenovia began to explain. "We hadn't seen any signs of him, till we found a mangled body last night- a stray devil. Cut to bits, with a residual holy aura on what was left. That's why the devils warned you, and why we came to do the same. Also, to ask for your help."
Issei grimaced. An insane priest with a holy sword and a hard-on for revenge against his fiance was absolutely not good news. But, he'd agreed to help, and he couldn't really sit back and do nothing while Freed Selzen stalked the streets at night, could he? Talk about a monster in the closet.
"So, what's our plan?" Issei asked, skipping to the heart of the matter.
"You, me, Irina, and Miss Raynare go out looking for him. Get rid of him, and take back the fragments." Xenovia said shortly, explaining the plan in full.
"Alright, that sounds good, but Raynare's not coming." Issei said, in a tone that offered absolutely no argument.
"Woah, hey, I'm absolutely comin-" Raynare began to protest, but Issei silenced her with a pleading look.
"If there's even a one percent chance he could hurt you or the baby, I have to take it as an absolute certainty. Please sit this one out? Please? It's just Freed, we won't have any trouble." Issei took Raynare's hands, and, looking her in the eyes, he practically begged his fiance to stay out of harm's way.
"Issei, there's no way in hell I'm gonna sit back up here while you prowl around looking for a fight with a murdering psycho. You're out of luck." Raynare flatly denied his request.
"Raynare, I'm begging you. Stay here. Please."
"Probably a good idea, Ray. How about I go with the kid, and if anything goes bad, I'll get him out." Kalawarner offered, leaning on a counter in the kitchen.
Raynare glanced between her and Issei. His eyes, filled with concern for her and their child, were unrelenting. "...You promise?"
Kalawarner nodded, a no-nonsense attitude replacing her normal aloof nature. "I promise."
Raynare sighed in defeat. It would worry her to no end, and without a doubt she'd be yearning to leave the whole time, but she'd stay put. "Fine. Fine! But Issei, I swear to God, if you get hurt and make me worry I'll never forgive you!" Raynare pulled him into a kiss by his shirt's collar, surprising the boy, then stepped back. She fled to their room and closed the door, leaving Issei and everyone else standing around.
"I...guess we're good." Issei said, briefly wondering if he'd made a mistake.
"Don't worry. Xenovia and I have our Excaliburs, and you're the Red Dragon. There's no way Freed can beat us all!" Irina said, chipper as ever.
"Yeah, you're probably right, but...I dunno. Feels like I might've just made Raynare angry."
"Nah, she's just worried. She knows you're right, but she's still gonna worry about you. I've never seen her like this, kid. You must be something special." Kalawarner said, tussling his hair as she passed him on the way to the front door. "So, we going or what?"
"I guess so. Lead the way." Issei said, gesturing to the door. Kalawarner stepped out, with Issei and the exorcists in tow.
Raynare was starting to freak out. It had been two hours. She'd gnawed her fingernails down to the base, she was shaking, and she could've sworn her hair was starting to fall out. She'd only been away from Issei for an extended period a handful of times since they'd met, and it always made her nervous, but this time something felt...off.
She hadn't heard anything from anyone except a text from Issei an hour ago that everything was fine and not to worry, but obviously that hadn't done much. She was definitely still worrying.
As if on cue, a knock came from the front door, loud enough to be heard all the way in her room. Raynare practically raced to open it, beyond eager to make sure Issei was alright.
"Issei-!" She began to yell in anticipation, flinging open the front door.
Only...it wasn't him.
It was most certainly not her beloved fiance and the father of their child.
No, on the other side of the door was none other than Freed Selzen himself.
"Miss me?" Freed had a wicked grin, and his one arm held a pitch black sword, wreathed in twisting shadows.
Before Raynare could even react, the priest hit her over the head with the sword's hilt. Her eyes rolled back, and she crumpled to the ground.
"I can't believe we didn't find him after all that time." Issei said, walking up to the door of his penthouse.
As soon as his eyes reached it, he was on high-alert.
Something was wrong.
The door was wide open.
Issei dashed inside, his three companions in tow. Inside was a sight that chilled him to the bone.
Writing on the wall. In red. Like something out of a slasher movie. Written in red, all over the walls, were three simple words:
COME TO SCHOOL
[It's...her blood. It's Raynare's.]
Pure and unfiltered rage flooded Issei's psyche. His eyes began to glow green, and his gauntlet was aflame with scorching draconic fire.
[BALANCE BREAKER! SCALE MAIL!]
Wrapped in a plume of flames, Issei Hyoudou let out a single roar and leapt from his high-rise window-wall, shattering and evaporating the entire thing.
A wave of incomprehensible power nearly swept the three girls in the penthouse to their knees, but they were quick to recover. Kalawarner grabbed the other two by their arms and dashed after Issei, flying from the destroyed wall on two black wings and following the crimson streak in the sky.
"He'll kill you for this! You're a dead man, Freed!" Raynare screamed and bucked against her shackles, writhing in anger. Whatever he'd done to her had left her powerless, so all she could do was wail and hope Issei would find her in time.
The sword he'd hit her with was Excalibur Nightmare, a horrific weapon infamous for it's mind warping abilities. He'd used that power to knock her out and disable her powers, then bring her to a shed at Kuoh Academy of all places, where she was now shackled to a metal pipe. She bled profusely from a wound on her right leg, where Freed had cut her to write his note for Issei.
"Shut up! As if I cared about any of that bullshit! All I've thought about for the past however fucking long is getting you back for ripping off my arm! You didn't even care! You turned traitor, dismembered me, and went back to living a cozy life with your disgusting dragon boyfriend in a penthouse apartment! You stupid bitch!"
Freed slapped Raynare in the face, but she barely even flinched. She spat at him, hitting the priest in his left eye. The priest snarled, raising his hand again, but thought better of it.
"You know, at first, I just wanted to hurt you. But, how boring would that be?! SO, I found a bETTER WAY! It's 100% going to kill me, but man it'll be good. You know what this is, right~?" Freed asked, waving Excalibur Nightmare in her face. She knew very well what it was.
"The best way to hurt you wouldn't be to hurt you at all! It would be to do this!" Freed pressed the sword's flat side against Raynare's forehead and sneered. She began to writhe and scream, and she knew exactly what was happening.
Excalibur Nightmare was digging up her darkest fears, bringing them to the surface. She was helpless to resist.
Issei, barely coherent, slammed into the Kuoh Academy's track circle with the force of an earthquake, sending debris everywhere. He was covered from head to toe in wicked draconic plate-mail, and the armor was cloaked in blinding orange flames. Two green gems shone where his eyes were, and a whip-tail protruded behind him.
"FREED!" Issei roared, his voice becoming dragon-like and horrific midway into it. His was a terror to behold, but Freed Selzen was far past the point of being sane enough to feel fear at this point. The priest walked cockily out into the track field, leaving the shed without hesitation.
"Yo, dragon boy! How's it hanging?!" Freed cackled, dancing as he approached the Red Dragon.
Issei exhaled fire, trying to keep himself calm enough to stay in control.
"Where is she?"
Issei's voice shook the ground, and the air around him shimmered with power.
"Oh, she's right in there," Freed said in a sing-song voice, gesturing to the shed he'd just left, "but I don't think she wants to see you right now-"
There was a sickening crunch, and a splash to follow.
In less than a millisecond, Freed was dead.
Issei pulled his hand out of Freed's torso and discarded the monster's heart to the side. The body was burnt to ashes in mere moments as Issei stepped over it.
He had no time for games.
"Raynare…?!" Issei called out, willing his Balance Breaker to disappear. The power was overwhelming, and he almost could feel himself slipping into madness, but he could not allow himself to hurt Raynare in his rage. It was physically one of the hardest things he'd ever done, but he forced the armor to disperse.
He opened the door to the shed fred had come out of, and quickly entered. His eyes turned green once more, and the pitch black shed was illuminated.
On the floor was Raynare, twitching in the fetal position.
"Raynare!"
Issei was with her in an instant, smashing the chains that bound her into dust with his newfound strength, and cradling her in his arms.
"Raynare, talk to me!"
Raynare made no move or motion, other than her head lolling around.
"Ddraig, is she alright?!"
[Physically, she's fine. I don't know what's wrong with her.]
"Why won't she talk to me?!"
[I don't know, but you have to calm down. You cannot afford to become so agitated after exhausting yourself with Balance Breaker. You are more susceptible to Juggernaut Drive now than ever.]
Issei bit his tongue, nearly biting the appendage off, trying to calm himself down. Panic was rising in him, and it was plain to see something was very wrong with his fiance.
"Raynare, please…" Issei muttered, beginning to cry.
As if sensing his sadness, Raynare looked up at him. Issei felt a spark of hope.
Raynare screamed. Six midnight-black wings shot from her back.
Without warning, her face contorted into one of rage and terror, and she slapped Issei away with enough force to seriously injure a normal human. The boy deftly landed on his feet with just enough time to dodge two incredibly fast spears of light, thrown directly at him. He stumbled backwards out of the shed, not understanding what was happening.
"What are you doing, Raynare?!"
"I'll die before you kill him!"
Elsewhere
Raynare was sleeping quietly with her fiance, when Vali Lucifer slammed through their window and into their bedroom, aiming to murder Issei. For some reason, the boy stayed asleep, but Raynare did not- she was quick enough to deflect the White Dragon's initial assault, and slapped him away. She immediately followed with two light spears, both of which he unfortunately dodged.
"You knew this was coming, Raynare!"
"I'll die before you kill him!"
Vali stumbled out of the room the way he came, and Raynare was quick to pursue. Flaring her wings, she leapt after him as fast as she could, only to find that for some reason, they were now on the ground at Kuoh academy- she didn't stop to think about why, she only flew at the threat to Issei's life.
"Raynare, wake up! Please, stop!" Issei pleaded with his fiance, her relentless assault pushing him to his very limits. Whatever Freed had done to her, she wasn't snapping out of it, and Issei didn't know how long he could fight back; his use of Balance Breaker had exhausted him, and it was all he could do to merely avoid her attacks. On the bright side, if it could even be called that, she seemed to only be using Light attacks, physically trying to hurt him with her spears. He was at least grateful for that; Issei didn't know if he would be able to withstand her real magic at all.
"Raynare, please! I'm begging you, wake up!"
In all honesty, he'd be perfectly alright with giving her his life once more if it meant stopping whatever was terrifying her so much.
But, he knew she could never live with herself if she killed him. The guilt from almost doing it the last time was still eating her alive, and he couldn't bear to see her cry, not again. Even if he was dead, he couldn't bear it. So, he had to live.
"Raynare, please, don't make me do this! Snap out of it!"
[Issei, you do not possess the means to fight! Run away!]
"Damn it, wake up Raynare!"
Vali was proving to be an annoying foe. She'd kept him on the defensive with Light weapons, a poison lethal to devils, so he had yet to use his sacred gear against her, and that was probably the only reason she and Issei were still alive.
"...raynare, wake u…"
Vali had just dodged the latest in a slew of spears when something tugged at her mind. It was a swift yank, like someone had just pulled down on her consciousness itself. A voice came from all around her, and for a second, everything around her melted into a different scene. The bright daytime Kuoh that she'd been fighting Vali in was replaced with a dark and damaged Kuoh and Vali himself was...Issei?
She stopped, suddenly unsure. Was she really fighting the White Dragon, or was something else going on?
"Yes! Raynare, fight it! Fight it, fight it, fight it! Come on, wake up!" Issei cheered Raynare on, a new vigor in his speech.
Raynare had suddenly stopped mid-attack, fidgeting and seemingly fighting with herself. Her black wings tinged silver, and began to waver.
Stealing his resolve, Issei began to approach her. He was too out of steam- he couldn't dodge another of her attacks. This was it.
"Raynare, you're my everything. I can't live a day without you. Please, come back. I love you." Issei said, stepping ever closer to her.
Raynare groaned in pain, and tears began to stream down her face. Issei moved closer, slowly. He was limping, and blood dripped from a dozen cuts all over his body. They were all superficial, and he wasn't seriously injured, but the fact that he was even conscious after his first use of Balance Breaker was a feat in itself. That he could move was phenomenal.
"You know, I was thinking about what we should name our kid! We haven't really talked about it, all that much. I was thinking Maybe Tenshi, if it was a boy- written with the characters of Heaven and Gift- Heaven's Gift. Tenshi! Wouldn't that be great, Raynare?"
Raynare struggled, seemingly edging closer and closer to consciousness. Her eyes had some light to them now, and she made eye-contact with Issei. She had fear written all over her expression.
"I don't really have anything for a girl's name, but we can come up with one together! Come on Raynare, please!"
Issei was a meter away.
"Issei? Issei! I'm scared! Where are you, Issei?!" Raynare yelled at the sky. She got glimpses of Issei every few seconds, but nothing solid. All she could see was flashes of Vali and Issei, shifting between the same position. Issei's voice seemed to come from all around, and she didn't know what was happening.
"Issei, I can't find you! Where are you?!"
Raynare was terrified. She was beyond terrified. She couldn't find Issei, she didn't know what was real, and she didn't know what was going on or where she was.
"Raynare, you're my everything. I can't live a day without you. Please, come back. I love you!"
"I want to! I want to, God, I want to! Where are you?! Issei!"
Raynare started to cry.
"You know, I was thinking about what we should name our kid! We haven't really talked about it, all that much. I was thinking Maybe Tenshi, if it was a boy- written with the characters of Heaven and Gift- Heaven's Gift. Tenshi! Wouldn't that be great, Raynare?"
"I...That's beautiful, Issei! Yes, I love it! Issei, I love it! Where are you?!"
Raynare twirled around, searching everywhere for Issei, but she was alone. No Vali, no Issei. No Kuoh. She was just...alone. She was in the middle of a grassy field at night time, with nothing around for miles.
"I don't really have anything for a girl's name, but we can come up with one together! Come on Raynare, please!"
Raynare screamed. She screamed for love, and she screamed for fear, and for everything in-between.
The sky cracked itself cracked to pieces. She looked up, and through her tears, she saw Issei's face. Covered in blood and with tears of his own, he looked back at her.
Slowly, the nightmare she'd been in fell away, leaving only Issei. Him, and nothing else. Just Issei and the stars. She realized she was on her back, looking up.
"You idiot...you made me worry. I guess I know how you feel." Issei said, cradling her in his arms. Tears fell freely down his face as he pulled her further into his embrace.
Raynare breathed heavily, her heart pounding. She was covered from head to toe in a cold sweat and she could barely move, but it didn't really matter. She found her Issei, and she was safe inside his arms.
"Issei! Raynare!" Kalawarner's voice called out from above, and Raynare watched her friend and the two exorcists descend from the sky, landing near her and Issei and hurrying over.
As they approached, Issei began to laugh. A painful, relieved, worrisome and elated laugh. He laughed and laughed, and then passed out beside her, a lovely smile on his face.
Worry shot through Raynare, but Ddraig was quick to assuage her fears.
[He's fine, just exhausted. Go to sleep. This'll all be over when you wake up.]
Raynare didn't need any more encouragement than that. She passed out too, right by her Issei.
Some time later
"Raynare, wake up." Issei shook his fiance lightly by the arm.
Raynare sat up and opened her eyes, yawning. The memories of everything that had happened shot through her in an instant, but before she could do anything, Issei hugged her tightly.
"You're fine. Freed's dead, and I destroyed the sword that did that to you. While I was dealing with Freed, Rias found the guy behind everything, Valper or something like that, and Kiba killed him, and after that I had Azazel check on you while you slept, and he says you're all fine. But, even then, you slept for two days, and I...I missed you."
Raynare hugged him back, her fears soothed. She really didn't even know where to start, but she knew a decent enough thing to talk about.
"Hey, darling? Tenshi is a beautiful name."
Issei laughed.
So...yeah. That's that. The Freed mini-arc or whatever is over now, so that's neat. Like I said up top, this was written quickly because I decided I wanted to post tonight and I also decided I didn't like the other draft of Chapter 22, and it came mostly from me wanting just to write something. I've had a bit of time lately but haven't felt like writing (lots of gnarly shit going on irl right now) so I really just wanted to put a chapter out. Hopefully this chapter didn't suffer for that, and I hope it wasn't too cheesy; it seemed decent to me, but I guess you guys are the judge and jury, so we'll see. If you have any questions or whatever, you know the drill. PM for bad things, review for good things, or just review for whatever I guess. It's about four in the morning at the time of posting, and I really just wanna catch some Z's and be done with it so I'll just leave it at that.
See you next mission!