A/N: Wow. I'm so done with this month, man.
Well technically the problems started really bad in August when some stuff with college fell through, and then Hurricane Ida knocked over a tree in my backyard which cut my power and WiFi lines just when I was starting to proofread this chapter. That took two weeks to fix completely, but then I got somewhat behind on homework and I had to fight off an infestation.
Sigh.
The result? I feel like I wasn't able to find a groove on this chapter. So if it feels a little bit off, let me know.
Also, I just realized something. Something I'm miffed that I didn't realize sooner.
Shirshus don't have eyes.
. . . I'm honestly annoyed that I missed that with all of the research I did before this (including literally looking at multiple close ups of a Shirshu. . .). Ah well, I'll just have that Shirshu be genetically unique or something I guess.
But ignoring those little hiccups, I am glad to say that this chapter is finally out! I swear that it won't be like this for a super long time; I just need some time to adjust to college and everything and fix my time management schedule again.
But yeah, I'll be responding to reviews at the bottom of this chapter like usual and, uh, here y'all go! Chapter 6!
Chapter 6: The Rose of the Desert
The unforgiving sun was something Gohan would never get used to. It wasn't as if they'd been out in the desert for a long time; in fact, they'd only been there for a day. Or maybe it had been longer than a day? It was an absolute chore trying to measure the days with the sun beating down, relentlessly. He could feel the energy practically draining out of him. It almost made him miss the Swamp.
Almost.
He glanced over to his companions, seeing that they didn't seem to be faring much better. Shen looked like she'd showered in sweat with how much was dripping down her face despite how quickly she brushed it away. Her bangs were practically glued to her forehead and her rat's nest of a hairdo was even more frizzy than usual. It looked more than a tad bit ridiculous, and if he wasn't so exhausted, he probably would've laughed a little at the sight.
Meanwhile, Toph was. . . more irritable than usual.
She was stopping ahead of the duo, not at all hiding her keenness to be out of the desert. He couldn't blame her. If he remembered correctly, she couldn't see all that well in sand due to it being all too shifty. She needed a firm platform to "see" the world around her. She too was sweating up a storm, but it wasn't as bad as Shen's case.
"It's only gonna take a little while, he said."
Gohan perked up at Shen's voice, but quickly gave her the stink eye as he registered her words. "It hasn't been that long. We just have a little bit longer to go. You just need to be patient."
"And ya know this with what map?!"
"I memorized the map, and I wouldn't have had to memorize a map if you would have just let me buy one before we left!"
"Because buying a map is stupid! We can literally ask people for directions!"
"Then why would you start complaining about me not having a map?!"
"I dunno!" Shen pulled at her hair and let out a long groan. "I'm fucking hungry!"
"Hey guys, can it for a second. You guys are grating my ears!"
Gohan's ears reddened in embarrassment as he turned to his blind companion to apologize. That is, until he caught sight of a far off structure. "Hey! I think that's the Oasis!"
Toph stopped her hurried charge as she cocked her head. "The Oasis?"
"Yeah, the Misty Palms Oasis. It's a small trading center town. They've got food and water in some of their taverns. We can rest up over there before we finish our trek!"
"Shit!" Shen grinned. "Sounds great to me!"
"Langu-"
"Shut the hell up, Gohan! I'm going in!"
Before Gohan could say another word, Shen was off like a bullet.
"-age. . ."
"Thank goodness!" Toph cheered, taking a long stretch. "Water!"
Before he knew it, he was standing alone. Gohan heaved a deep sigh as wiped a few beads of sweat from his brow. "These two are gonna be the death of me."
The city wasn't too different from back home. Of course, there were booths lined up just about every street with vendors selling everything under the sun: dolls, weapons, clothes, and even cabbages were among the goods being sold. He could only guess where most of them had come from, whether it be as far as the Northern Water Tribe or as close as Ba Sing Se. All of that grandeur and variety did little to hinder the rich and familiar stone and wooden Earth Kingdom buildings from showing through with their trademark vibrant green and yellow colors.
It was a shame that he didn't get much time to reflect on it being seemingly the only level-headed person in the trio.
"You guys shouldn't run off like that," Gohan chided. "We need to stick together. We wouldn't want a repeat of the Swamp."
"Yeah, yeah, Rice Cake," Toph scowled. "We'll be fine!"
"We can finally get more food!" Shen cheered. "I'm starving!"
"Or finally get out of this stupid desert."
"That too."
"I don't think we have enough money for all of us," Gohan frowned, listlessly palming their meager bag of money. The whole thing could fit easily in his hand and didn't have much weight to it, betraying the low funds within. "We could barely sustain ourselves for a few days, if even that."
Shen snorted. "More like half a day. But that's why we'll just make some money!"
"Where? I don't see any fights happening around here. There's just a bunch of trading and bartering."
"Who says it's gotta be a fighting thing? They've gotta have a lot of contests over here, Gohan! We've just gotta find them."
Gohan couldn't help but envy Shen's mind in his incredulity. What world would she have to be living in for her to think that they would win enough money to sate everyone's appetite, including his own, for an extensive amount of time? Shen was truly mind-boggling that way.
Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and gestured off to a nearby tavern. He had to be the level-headed one, after all. "We should go get something to drink."
Shen raised a brow at him. "And spend all the money you're so fond of? On alcohol, no less? I mean, hey, I'm not complaining, but-"
Gohan's face reddened as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I didn't mean alcohol! I meant water, and in some places here, they'll give you some water for free."
Shen's nose wrinkled with disgust. "Ugh, does it have to be water?"
"Are the floors wooden or something?"
Gohan blinked at Toph's sudden question before humming in acknowledgement. "Uh, I'm pretty sure they're stone?"
"Outta my way, then! I need to see!"
Toph ran faster than he'd ever seen her move into the tavern.
"Well," Gohan said, glancing cheekily at Shen. "Seems like we're getting water."
He cockily strode into the bar, ignoring the gagging sounds Shen made behind him. For all the teasing she'd given him, there was no way he'd pass up this victory. No matter how minor.
"My men have found some children matching a civilian's description heading west. We presume that they've headed into Foggy Swamp and are likely on their way to Serpent's Pass or some other destination."
Lao nodded. Progress. That was good. "Any other leads?"
The man shook his head, apologetically. "Nothing else has turned up. I'll let you know what I can as soon as I can."
Lao gave the man another curt nod as he showed him out the door. The sinking feeling in his gut had started to mount. He was not a quitter by any sense of the word, but he couldn't help the bleak feeling that began to encompass his mind. Trying to be strong for his wife was difficult enough on its own, but adding on the shit he had going on with his business and how little information he was getting, he could feel himself starting to reach a breaking point.
"Mr. Beifong, sir!" called a servant. "There's someone here to see you. They claim that they have a lead on your daughter."
Lao's brows shot up as he gave his servant his full attention. "What are you waiting for?! Bring them in!"
"Yes sir!"
The servant scurried away and soon came back with a rather stout looking man. He had a slight potbelly and a trim beard. His white suit looked pristine and expensive which comforted and unnerved Lao all at once. Could he have slipped up and let someone in the wealthy circle know he had a daughter?
No. He'd been careful. He was sure of it, and he'd never seen the man before in his life.
"Hello, Mr. Beifong," the man boomed, holding out a hand.
Lao glanced down at the hand before glaring at the man. "What do you know about my daughter? For that matter, how did you even come to know her? Her existence has been hidden from the public for years! Just who are you-?"
"Hey, hey, hey, man!" The stout man raised his palms. "If you wanna play twenty questions, ya gotta give me some time to answer."
Lao's teeth gritted as he glared at the man. He hated him already. "Spit. It. Out."
"Hm. Where should I start? Oh, I know! I came here on a lead about your daughter. A couple of days ago, some hunters came back from Foggy Swamp. They were hunting a rare Shirshu that they'd heard was in the area. Unfortunately for them, they hadn't been told about the kids who were about to kick their asses."
"The kids?"
"Yes!" The man pointed at him, excitedly. "There were three of the little bastards, in fact. So they say, anyways. Now that doesn't seem like much, but I've heard through the grapevine that there was one boy and two girls. One of the girls was this master earthbender and the other one had crutches."
"And this matters why?"
"Simple! I've just so happened to have seen the three people who match their description."
Lao glared at the man with no small amount of intensity. "How do you know it was them?"
"I was holding a fighting ring and these three kids popped up. One of the girls decided to take on my prized fighter and got demolished. Interestingly enough, she was taken out with a high-speed pebble to the ankle. She was screamin' bloody murder when that thing hit. Anyone with eyes could see that she wouldn't walk it off."
Lao wouldn't call himself a rash or unreasonable man. Stubborn, sure. Demanding, you bet. But not rash or unreasonable. That's why he had no qualms about striding up to the rotund man and yanking him forward, by the collar, so that they were face to face. He could see the slightest bit of fear in the whites of the man's eyes. It pleased him to know that the man wasn't so foolish as to not know when he was outmatched. "Your fighter put my daughter in crutches?!"
"Ah, I never said that! I'm getting to your daughter, my good man!"
Lao could feel the man trying to back away, but he kept hold of him for a little bit longer. He wanted there to be absolutely no illusions on who was the more powerful one. Once he'd let the man go, he scurried back like an insect and straightened out his now rumpled collar.
"Then out with it!" Lao spat.
"Fine, fine! No one appreciates good set up anymore, damn! But yeah, your daughter was the other girl."
"How do you know this? She was hidden from the public eye for years! My wife and I took every precaution!"
The stout man chuckled, seemingly recovered from his past terror. "Ya mean, ya thought she was hidden. I mean, in a way, she was. She fought in a bunch of tournaments under a pseudonym. The Blind Bandit."
Lao's face turned ashen as he vaguely recalled the name. He was hardly one of those brutish Earth Rumble IV consumers, but even he had heard of the Blind Bandit. A little girl who had the Earth Rumble tournaments in a frenzy. Even though the name sounded like a giant hint, it couldn't have been true. His daughter had only learned the basics of earthbending (that he made sure of) and was weak and frail; there was no way that she was some sort of secret master bender. The entire idea of it was laughable.
Even so, his resolve was being chipped away.
"That is impossible," Lao stated. He could feel his mouth drying up. "My daughter is frail and weak-"
"And blind. Like the bandit."
"It's likely just some foolish moniker! Have you seen a blind earthbender?!"
The man snorted. "Yeah, your daughter. But whatever, how do you think that I know your daughter is missing?"
"A leak in the police intelligence, perhaps! Maybe a-a-a. . . business associate told you! Anything other than this silly master earthbending nonsense would be more plausible!"
His voice had started to raise more than he would have liked. This man was getting under his skin.
The man groaned as he glared at Lao. "I really didn't wanna have to do this, but you're being a dick. Either we join forces, or I tell the good people of the Earth Kingdom that the daughter of one of the most powerful merchants this nation has to offer ran away under his very nose. Oh yeah, and I'll tell em that ya have a daughter in the first place! How's that for a leak?"
Lao could practically feel his teeth turning to dust with how hard they were grinding. "Fine, if only to stop your fantasy of my daughter being this supposed Blind Bandit."
The stout man waved a hand as he pulled himself a chair. "Whatever helps ya sleep at night, pal. Whatever helps ya sleep at night."
Gohan spread out his map on the wood bar table, pointing down at the Oasis. "If we leave today and keep heading east, we can be out of the desert in a handful of days."
"It would be faster if we had that Shirshu," Shen spat.
Gohan glared at her. "I wasn't about to force that Shrishu to come with us if it didn't want to! That's wrong!"
Shen just "hmph'd" and took a swig of her water.
"A Shirshu, you say?"
Gohan glanced up to find an older man, standing beside them. He seemed to be about middle-aged and tall with a straw hat to protect him from the unrelenting sun. He seemed prepared to make multiple ventures out into the desert heat if the face cloth knitted into his hat and wide satchel were anything to go by. He could sense that the man had a cheerful aura and didn't seem to have any malice in him.
That was a new thing from the Swamp. He couldn't feel everything on the level that he'd been able to before, but he could feel certain emotions well enough. Not to say that he hadn't been decent enough at it before, but now it was more certain and almost a tangible feeling. It was hard to describe, but it was almost like seeing new colors. How he recognized which "colors" meant what was anyone's guess.
"Yeah, why?" Shen responded, slouching back against the counter.
The man looked to his left and right before leaning in conspiratorially. "I've heard that there's been a Shirshu imported into the area recently."
Gohan felt his heart drop. "Wh-What?!"
The man didn't seem to misunderstand Gohan's shock as he addressed the group with a wide smile. "I know! It's very shocking that a creature as rare as the Shirshu gets found. I was just as surprised! That species holds so many secrets!"
Gohan licked at his rapidly drying lips before he leaped out of his chair. "Who took it?!"
The man backed up slightly, seemingly at a loss for words. "The sandbenders should have it right now, I believe. At least, that's the last I've heard. I can take you to them, if you'd like?"
"Definitely!"
"What's the deal?" Shen asked. "I thought you didn't care where the Shirshu went?"
Toph slammed her glass of water down, nearly making Shen fall over in surprise. "That was before the Shirshu got captured. Now we're gonna free it! Right?"
Gohan smiled with a resolute nod. "Right."
"Alright then, it's settled! Let's go kick some sandbender, butt!"
It had taken a good handful of hot and sweaty minutes to find the sandbenders, but once they'd found the abductors, things seemed to move a lot faster.
They moved their way through the compound with relative ease. A couple of bandits looked at them kinda funny, but it didn't last too long. The man, who they'd come to know as Professor Zei, had explained how they had nothing to worry about so long as they'd stuck with him, but Gohan still felt a little weird under their gazes. He knew that they didn't know about his origins and sudden new powers, but he couldn't help but imagine them thinking about how much of a freak he was.
Before long, the professor was talking to one of the sandbenders off to the side. They were speaking in low enough tones that Gohan wasn't able to make out what they were saying. The professor nodded to the man before they both went their separate ways.
Gohan watched him curiously as he came within earshot. "What was that about?"
"Just sorting a few things out. He said that the leader should be here shortly."
Almost immediately after the professor had finished his sentence, a new man came forward. His face was covered by bandages that seemed to travel down under his robes to the entirety of his body. His hardened, beady eyes remained uncovered as he stared at the ragtag group. Gohan was surprised to find that his heartbeat wasn't beating as fast as it normally would in a situation like this. He felt his lips twitch upwards as he felt a swell of pride. "I hear that you all have come for the Shirshu," stated the man, his voice swift and to the point. "You got any money for it? It's a hefty price."
"How about you just give us the Shirshu and nobody gets hurt?" Toph asked, punching her palm for emphasis.
The man simply stared at Toph. Gohan inched protectively over to Toph out of instinct. He was surprised when the man's eyes suddenly narrowed. "I thought you looked familiar."
Gohan's heart was jack-hammering in his chest as he turned around and shouted, "Run!"
"Seize them!"
In an instant, Gohan tripped and fell face first into the sand. He barely had the time to wince from the hot sand and spit it out of his mouth before he was dragged along. Against his better judgement, his hands went scraping for some sort of handhold to stop his motion. Of course, it was futile under the shifting sand.
"There's a reward out for the girl. Grab all of the kids, though. I think that other girl looks familiar as well, and we can't have that boy running away."
"Unhand those children right now, mister!" shouted Professor Zei.
Gohan had to admire the courage that man must have had because he too was soon detained by the rushing sand before being brought face to face with the leader. "I think you'll be coming with us then, Professor."
Gohan stared ahead in slight shock as he saw Toph and Shen being carried away as he was pulled further and further away from the group. The Professor was being hauled off alongside them with his hands bound by sand behind his back. Gohan struggled harder against the sand, even as the sand whipped at his eyes and nose. It seemed like the harder he fought, the faster he was pulled away.
'No!' Gohan internally seethed. 'Why am I so weak?! No! I can't. . . I won't let them do this!'
"Hey, let me go!" Toph shouted. "I'm going to kick your butts once I get out of this!"
The sandbender scoffed in derision as he continued on. "Yeah, right. Just shut up and keep it moving, brat."
"You're gonna regret this!" Shen shouted back.
Another sandbender laughed. "Uh huh. We're gonna regret all the coins you guys are gonna make us for sure!"
What happened next would not be nearly as funny to the sandbender.
"ARGH!"
Toph's heart just about jumped out of her chest as an explosion knocked her off of her feet. She went tumbling through the air head over heels before slamming into the thick sand, flat on her face. She spat out a mouthful of sand as she pushed herself up with a groan. "What the hell was that?"
"You're not going to take them! I won't let you!"
Toph came to a startling realization as she turned wide-eyed. ". . . Gohan?"
There was a loud boom, again and again. It sounded like a swath of cannons were consecutively going off around her. She would never admit it out loud, but she was scared shitless. She couldn't see a damn thing, but she could feel every quake. She felt like every bit of the blind and helpless little girl that her parents believed her to be.
And just like that it all stopped.
Toph hated the long silence that followed. At least, it felt long from where she was standing. "What just happened?"
"Th-That was remarkable!" came Zei's voice. "I've never seen anything like it before!"
Toph had to admit that despite her fear, she was curious. She'd been reevaluating him ever since he'd sent Yaton to kingdom come. The whole scenario in the Swamp had only amplified her curiosity (as weird as the whole thing was). She wished she could see it. For real. It seemed so interesting. Although she knew he was different, it would be another thing to be able to witness him going all out.
"W-We should go free the Shirshu," Gohan said. "Th-These guys won't stay down fo-forever."
There was another bout of silence. On second thought that wasn't quite true. She could swear that she'd heard a sharp intake of breath intermingled with some hyperventilating.
"Hey, what happened?" Toph asked. Her arms crossed as she strained her ears. The hyperventilating had quieted down a bit, but she was no closer to figuring out what was happening. "Don't leave me in the dark here!"
"Ah, don't w-worry about it!" Shen chirped. "Gohan's right. We need to get a move on if we're gonna get outta this desert."
Toph's eyes narrowed. That was weird.
"I-I'm just going to. . . go back to the Oasis," Zei stammered out. "Good luck!"
Toph could hear the man's quick footsteps trudging away through the sand as Toph was left more puzzled than ever.
When they'd reached the Shirshu, Gohan had no idea how long it'd taken them to get there. Time had blended together. It could've been minutes or hours. He just couldn't get that sandbender out of his mind. The one that he'd. . .
"Gohan!"
Gohan turned to Shen with slight surprise. He couldn't help the twinge of hurt he felt at the slight recoil Shen made at the sight. He quickly pushed it to the back of his mind. "What's up?"
"What's the plan?"
Gohan's mind was moving a mile a minute to assess the situation as he felt the hazy fog lift. There were two guards about five or so meters away from them. He could barely make out iron bars from the wall he was hiding behind. He didn't hear any other sandbenders too close by that didn't seem to be preoccupied. The noise that the working sandbenders were making could be the perfect cover for a heist. "Toph and I can distract the two guards," Gohan started, "and you can take them down."
Shen shot him an odd look. "With bending? Cause I can't bend sand, Gohan."
"I know that! Just figure out something and improvise! Come on, Toph!"
Without another word, he sped out into the open. In truth, he had almost little to no faith in his plan. Toph wasn't able to see much of anything, none of them had any weapons, and none of them could bend sand. Despite all of those bleak facts, he welcomed the temporary relief from the morbid thoughts that had been plaguing his mind.
Gohan waved towards the sandbenders with more confidence than he felt. "Hey there! I was hoping you two could give us directions! My friend and I got a bit lost."
The sandbenders stood up alert with one of them even starting to approach them. "You're not supposed to be back here unless you've got money."
"Uh, really? I-I hadn't noticed. Could you direct us back to the bar?"
"Are you dense?! You're not supposed to be here!"
"Hey, don't be so hard on them!" the other sandbender chided. "Just go back that way and keep heading straight. You should make it back to the Springs in an hour or two."
Gohan tried not to let his panic show. He wasn't planning on his imaginary problem being solved so quickly. Suddenly, the temporary relief didn't seem that worth it. "Th-Thank you, sir. I really a-"
The rude sandbender was sent flying by a projectile to the head. The other sandbender only had the time to gasp in shock before he was conked on the head by a rock, himself. It was the same rock that had taken out the rude one, Gohan noted.
"Improv rules!"
Gohan couldn't help the weak smile that creeped onto his face as he let out a tired chuckle, turning towards her. "Thanks Shen- OW!" His hand flew up to nurse a burgeoning bump on his head. "The heck was that for?!"
"Making me do improv!" Shen growled. "I haven't had a heart attack that bad in a while!"
"Stop your whining and let's get the Shirshu out! I wanna get out of here."
Gohan glanced back at Toph before nodding resolutely. The trio made their way over to the cage as Gohan scowled. The Shirshu was not only trapped in bars of iron. There was also a large padlock securing the cage.
"Darn," Gohan muttered. "How're gonna get it out now?"
"Hey look!" Shen chirped as she stooped low. A key!"
Sure enough, one of the unconscious guards had a golden key hanging on a chain at his side. Shen scooped it up and easily turned it in the lock, opening the door for the beast.
The Shirshu took no time in scurrying out of the cage. It gave pause for a moment, once again looking Gohan in the eyes. Gohan could feel a connection again. It wasn't energy that he was sensing, at least he didn't think it was; rather, it was the feeling of union between kindred souls. They were different and, in that way, the same.
So, he got the scare of his life when the moment was broken.
The Shirshu let out a mighty roar as it dug its claws into the sand. Gohan jumped back in bewilderment and shock, unconsciously raising his hands in a futile effort to calm the animal. "D-Don't worry! We're not trying to hurt-!"
"I thought I heard some noise!"
Gohan turned in surprise to see about five sandbenders, each of them glaring at the kids. The realization hit Gohan like a stack of bricks as he felt a twinge of guilt for his shameful assumptions. "Ah no."
With a deep growl, Gohan was sent stumbling away as the Shirshu leaped over his head, crashing in front of the sandbenders and kicking up a cloud of sand.
The men hesitated for a slight second, and that was all the Shirshu needed.
It was on them like a hurricane, thrashing the men around like ragdolls. A few yelps and screams were all that filled the air as the Shirshu nimbly moved in the cover of the dust cloud. In a few seconds, all of the men were unconscious. Gohan felt a mix of joy and apprehension. On the bright side, the immediate threat was gone. On the other, the amount of ruckus that the Shirshu made was sure to have alerted the other sandbenders.
Even so, the beast looked back at Gohan and stalked over to him. Gohan almost took an involuntary step back before he caught himself as the Shirshu continued on. He wouldn't meet the creature with fear. Not this time.
In Gohan's calmness, he noticed something in the creature's eyes. They weren't filled with malice. Instead, they were warm and, dare he say, thankful.
Without much fanfare, the Shirshu dropped down onto its belly and nudged him with its nose. Gohan stared at it in surprise as it repeated the action, this time more forcefully.
"What's going on?" Shen asked.
"I think it wants me to get on its back?" Gohan muttered.
Hesitantly, he grabbed on, thanking the spirits that the Shirshu didn't buck him off. He motioned to his friends once he was sturdily on the animal. "I think he'll let you guys on, too!"
Shen clambered on fairly easily, but Toph tentatively climbed on. Gohan tried to help but she stubbornly smacked his hands away and got on herself.
The second she had gotten on, however, the Shirshu bounded off out of the sandbenders' compound.
Fast.
Toph screamed as she tried to grip onto its fir, only to miss most of the time and accidentally pull some off on other attempts. If anything, it seemed to make the Shirshu go even faster. Gohan was thankfully able to grab hold of her arm and right her on the animal's back. She wasn't as quick to shoo him away this time as she held onto him with a death grip.
"WOO-HOO!" Shen cheered, pumping her fists. "This is so fun!"
"Shut it, Shen!" Toph screamed, her eyes shut tight.
Gohan held on tight to the Shirshu as he heaved an exhausted sigh. They'd really managed to bust out the Shirshu without any of them getting hurt. It would've seemed so laughably unbelievable just a few short weeks ago, but it wasn't some daydream.
They'd really done it, and he'd never felt so alive. And on the brink of a heart attack.
A/N: Aight review time people!
X3runner: Thank you for the very extensive review! I'm not gonna lie, I unfortunately haven't read Journey to the West yet so any similarities were almost likely accidental T-T but I might be willing to draw on some inspirations from it. I do like to explore stuff like that after all. As far as Shen using a bo staff though. . . I may have a little scene where she uses one, but I'm not entirely sure I could see her using one. I don't think she'd be patient enough to learn the art of bojutsu as she would with earthbending (which I don't think she's quite patient enough for that one either sometimes lol). Also, a lot of this story is going to be very chronologically different from Avatar (as in I'm probably never going to do specific episodes with Gohan put in them). They'll go to a bunch of places in the Avatar world, but it won't be like what happens in the episode, basically. I don't know if that made sense or not lol but yeah.
However, the girls day out episode that you referenced could still definitely happen in some capacity. And about Katara playing matchmaker for Toph and Gohan. . . we'll see ;)
dcsonic 10: Thank you! I appreciate the encouragement.
As always guys feel free to review, it helps a lot. Also, feel free to drop a follow or a favorite as it also helps me figure out if people like what I'm writing or not.
But yeah, have a good one and I hope you guys are having a good September at least lol.
Uploaded: September 14th, 2021
