Aegis 3.0

[Scripted Away]

Mac nodded, smiling happily as hunter suggested a movie night.
"And I could make us popcorn or so. Or ice cream."
When Sam opened the buffet, his smile turned into a hungry smirk and he went backwards towards the food, winking at Hunter. "What do you wanna- hhffff!"
He made a weird sound when he bumped into a ghost that was standing behind him, and stared up at the dark blonde, tall, middle aged man in front of him with wide eyes, shock written in them.
"H-H..."
He stumbled backwards, right into the next decoration, stared at it hastily for a moment before he glued his eyes back to the man like prey, frozen fearfully in the state of the predator.
"I-... You aren't-..."
"I'm not what, Paul?"
Mac's breath was going heavy by now as his left hand just clinched to a table behind him, his entire body completely emotionless.

Rachel smiled softly at Jim and shook her head.
"Why in all world's should I ever ask you to wreck the baby? I love that car, it's awesome! And it's important."
When he spoke about going to mayrose, she pursed her lips for a moment, thinking heavily.
"Honey...but are you really ready to reveal all those things you always keep hidden from everyone to me? You keep telling me that you are scared if run off when you tell me about everything that's wrong inside you, and now you want me to hear it all?"

Bailey chuckled softly and smiled at Emily, drawing a cross on her heart and holding up her hand. "I hereby solemnly swear that we will come visit you as soon as possible, okay?"
Smiling softly at Cole, she lifted her shoulders. "And maybe you'd like to get to know the Spanish half of my family?"

Sam nodded, smirking softly at Emma before he looked at all their guests.
"Hey guys, it's so great to have you all here. We really have to catch up on a lot, and I promise, we will. I missed you all. But for now, let's enjoy this party, and the awesome food grandma Ally and her restaurant made for us.
The buffet is open now, so dig in! And eh..."
He let go of Emma's hand and made his way on the stage where the band was playing, picking up quite an old-looking guitar; his guitar, that his family had brought from Germany just for him.
He took a deep breath, playing a few chores to get in again, and smiled at Emma slightly awkwardly.
"I have to mention I've never really sang before, so please be easy on me", he chuckled, nervously taking a deep breath.
"9 — She's got nine fancy pillows on our bed
And we've got towels she won't let anyone get wet
No, I don't get her

Cry — She always cries at happy endings on TV
She even cries at some commercials in between
No, I don't get her
She's about as clear to me as a mystery

She's got a closet full of nothing to wear
So many shoes she needs another pair
When she gets to talkin',
Lord, you just can't stop her
She's everything I didn't know I needed
The perfect fit, the missing piece
I might not get her
But thank God I got her

Fine — When she says that she's just fine
That's when she's not
And she's still right
When we both know she's dead wrong
No, I don't get her
But I smile cause I can see
forever in those big brown eyes
You know she could've had 1,000,000 other guys
Somehow I got her

She's got a closet full of nothing to wear
So many shoes she needs another pair
When she gets to talkin',
Lord, you just can't stop her
She's everything I didn't know I needed
The perfect fit, the missing piece
I might not get her
But thank God I got her

Even when I don't understand
Thank God I got her
I know she's making me a better man

She's got a way of changing everything
with just her touch and just her kiss
And I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost her

She's everything I didn't know I needed
The perfect fit, the missing piece
I might not get her
But you know I want her
I might not get her
But thank God I got her

But thank God I got her

9—She's got nine fancy pillows on our bed
But thank God I got her..."

Ava sighed silently as she took out her phone.
"Fox? Could you please do me a favor and take over my night shift? Recruit needs some help as it seems.
...
Good.
...
Thanks."
She hang up, smiled sadly at Mike and grabbed his hand, just to appear in a dim room, with stone things standing everywhere...
All of a sudden, an invisible light source lit up the room, and revealed the center room of a pyramid, with a sarcophagus and all the treasures untouched by anyone.
"I always come here for comfort", she mumbled as an explanation. "I figured this talk will be quite serious... so, yeah...take a seat or so, grandma won't mind."
She hopped in the sarcophagus to sit on it and looked at Mike with a mixture of curiosity and sadness in her gaze.
"What do you think would be logical do to now, alone with me, a witch, in this inescapable room several feet below Gizeh, Egypt? You think you have to find a way to escape or fight me, because I'm dangerous, right? I could be killing you here and nobody would ever know it was me, not find you.
And what does your heart tell you? Does it say it's necessary to be afraid of being alone here with me? Does it also think I will hurt you?"
She slightly shook her head.
"We have to stop thinking like hack. They taught us that our hearts are our weaknesses, but fact is that it knows what to do. Better than the mind, most of the time. Don't think too much."

 

[Wyosch]

Hunter just stared confused at Macon, yet decided to step in front of him as he seemed to be completely terrified.
Which wasn't good.
She didn't know who that man was, but she knew that if Macon was scared of him - she had to do something about it.
"I'm politely asking you to please step away from me, my husband and our kids, Sir - or face the consequences."

Jim flinched as he heard some loud, especially to him, noises, that sounded as if someone had made some glasses fall.
What was his brother doing there?
"Something's wrong.", he mumbled, alarmed, his eyes gaining the fiery sparkling they had when he was going back to into fight-mode.
"Hold that thought-", he mumbled to Rachel, making his way over to Macon, his heart beginning to pound as he saw his brother's terrified expression.
Something was clearly wrong.
And he knew what when he arrived.
A ghost.
Howard's ghost.
"Back off now, or I'll send you to hell and have you tortured until you beg me to fully end your miserable existence. Don't mess with me now, leave peacefully and don't ever get near my brother again - or face the devil."
While Jim was talking to the ghost, Hunter helped Macon steady himself, worriedly looking deep into his eyes.
"Don't look back, honey, focus on me."

Cole nodded, grinning widely.
"Sì!", he replied, winking. "I should maybe learn some more Spanish words until then."
"He always said 'grassy ass' instead of gracias.", Emily giggled, making Cole roll his eyes.
"I was 7 then, I'm now 11 years older."

Emma jumped into Sam's arms as he had finished his song, tears rolling down her cheeks - probably ruining her makeup but who cared - smiling softly.
"Oh my god honey... that was amazing! So cute and thoughtful... god I love you!"
She kissed him all over his face, hugging him as tightly as possible.
"I love you so much!"

Mike listened to Ava with big eyes, trying not to feel too uncomfortable in the pyramid, and lastly made his shoulders sink, his expression softening and making himself look like a shy, insecure guy.
"You do have a point there, but how am I supposed to suddenly think with my heart when I was always taught to think with my mind?", he asked, akwardly running his hand through his dark blonde hair.
"Eh... hey, thanks for trying to help. You're the first.", he mumbled silently, just looking away from her - feeling really uncomfortable right now. She was his boss, not someone to usually help with personal problems, yet she did...

 

[Scripted Away]

Mac shut his eyes tightly, his hand probably holding Hunter's a bit too tight, but he couldn't help it.
He had overcome his fear of big boxes.
His fear of closed doors.
His fear of mirrors.
His fear of turning into an Android again.
But that man, Howard, was his ultimate fear, the one thing he'd never be able to overcome.
"He can't be back, I ended him, I killed him, he's dead, he can't be here, he can't be after me again..."
Mac suddenly turned around to Hunter, his gaze mindless of fear.
"He will kill us all!"

"Hey Paul, still hiding behind your big brother, eh?! What happened to the last big brother who protected you? Oh right..."
Howard grinned evil, while another ghost, this time a blonde young man with warm, deep brown eyes and a deep, bloody shotwound, appeared beside him, with something like a collar around his neck.
"Hey Paul! Remember this?", Howard laughed, while an electrician shock lit up the collar and left the boy groaning in pain.
"Leave him alone, dad!", He begged, but just got another shock.
"Nico!", Mac shouted with tears in his eyes, his entire posture changing from mighty archangel to little afraid boy.
"Run away! I'm- ARGH! I'm okay!"
"Nico!!" Even Mac's voice had changed, thin and hoarse, completely frozen in fear.

Bailey burst into laughter at Cole's grassy ass and faceplamed.
"Bueno, mi corazón, si quieres te puedo enseñar algo de España antes de visitar al resto de mi familia."
She winked, speaking on with a Spanish accent.
"After all you got a real Spanish girl by your side, mi corazón."

Sam grinned awkwardly and cuddled against Emma tightly, resting his chin on her head.
"Seriously though- how can someone cry at a commercial?", He chuckled with twinkling eyes.

Ava sighed silently, her gaze soft and understanding, even caring, for the first time in years.
"As I said, I care for my people. And I just know too well how you feel. Hell I'm going through the same. C'mon, I'm pretty sure it's quite obvious I rarely ever let my heart do...anything..."
She sighed sadly, changing from her strict office outfit into a comfy maxi skirt and top, going shoeless.
"My last boyfriend left me because he said I was cold and hard as stone...and even though I'm not happy about it... It leaves me cold. I don't remember ever feeling anything...the only thing I ever felt is being terrified of myself because I'm so... Cold."
She looked up at Mike with big, sad eyes, and then just rested her forehead on her pulled up knees.
"But, I mean, four eyes see better than two, right? Maybe we can find a way to fix ourselves together...?"

 

[Wyosch]

Hunter painfully clenched her teeth together as Macon hurt her hand, but didn't say anything - instead she just hugged Macon tightly, turning him away from the scene so she'd watch it now.
"Noah, get Heather and Misha to aunt Rachel NOW!", she yelled, Misha immediately grabbing his brother's arm and pulling him with him, while his sister had shifted into her horse form and gallopped away.

Jim never liked it when Macon mentioned his other non-biological big brother, but he never showed it - and this wasn't the time either.
He shifted his big, bat wings onto his back, his devil tail and horns growing out of his skin, until he stood there with his scary, pitch black eyes and an expressionless face.
"Now you made me angry.", he mumbled, his voice suddenly having a deeper and more demonic tone.
The scenery suddenly changed into a deep blackness, until only Howard and Jim were standing in something that looked like a prison cell - but it was so much more.
"Welcome to my reign.", the devil spoke, an evil smirk appearing on his face as the room lit up - showing dozens of torture devices of the worst kind.
The people on the wedding would be able to see them and hear what they said, but not what they were seeing.
"So, tell me, Howard - how would you like to be treated for eternity? Want your limps slowly ripped off? Or maybe your skin peeled off while you're still alive? What about I feed you to my hungry hellhounds - alive?", he lifted his head, walking up to Howard in a slow pace, making him look even creepier than usually - especially because he didn't seem to be evil at all. He only looked like it.
"And don't try to run. Nobody can get out, and nobody can get in. You're all alone now, Howard. What's that I see there in your eyes? A hint of fear?"
He now only stood a couple of inches away from Howard, using his tail to lift up his face so he'd look into Jim's black eyes.
"Oh, you should be. Be very afraid. I don't like people who physically hurt others for fun. And especially not when I'm talking about my brother. Because, unlike you, I care. And believe me, Howie, it was a very bad idea to make me angry."

"I have no idea what you just said, but that was really hot.", Cole replied, laughing.
"Are you really that stupid? Mi corazòn - my heart.", Emily replied, rolling her eyes at her brother - sighing frustratedly as a loud crying was heard.
"Not again... I gotta go. One of the kids is awake - again - and hungry... I'll talk to you later.", she mumbled, running her hand through her hair. "I'll see you later, Ashley. Love you.", and she hung up.

"You feel love, though.", Mike replied. "I saw you with your dog. That wasn't being cold, that was being loving. If you could just be like that with people... and hey, you're helping me, aren't you? Cold-hearted people don't do stuff like that."
He smiled softly, sighing silently.
"And yeah, that's a good idea, I think."

 

[Scripted Away]

While Noah was getting Misha and Heather into safety, Mac was frozen in panicked, unable to move a single feather while his eyes were lifeless and empty, and his mind went through every single second of pain Howard had faded to him all over again.
"He's back...he's back...he can't be back...", He mumbled with a high pitched voice, digging his fingers into his hair.

"Oh you can do whatever you want to me, devil, my task is fulfilled", Howard laughed with an ice cold smile, wiggling his eyebrows at Jim.
"You can torture me as long as want. But good luck patching up your cute little brother now. How many years did it take the last time until he was over me? Oh wait-"
His grin turned purely evil as he ran his finger over the blade of a sword, watching the blood run down with a cold smile.
"He never overcame me."

Ash smiled softly as he put his phone away again, and smirked at Cole and Bailey before he excused himself and disappeared into the crowd, leaving a smirking Bailey behind, who slowly wrapped her arms around Cole's waist.
"Hot, hmm?", She chuckled grinning. "And you know what? This hot girl is your fiancee."
She winked.
"But I have to admit you're hellishly handsome, too, honey."

Smiling sadly, Ava hopped off the sarcophagus and held out her hand to Mike.
"So...I can't afford getting too close at work. That wouldn't be fair for the others, after all I'm your boss, and should treat everyone equally."
Her smile softened slightly as she looked up into his eyes.
"But in private...team?"
She had to chuckle slightly when she noticed he was still wearing the gloves and carefully tried to pull them off without pulling out any hair or so.
As she looked up at him again, stuffing one glove into the other and then stuffing them into the pocket of Mike's jacket, she smiled slightly.
"You asked me if I know how to be good instead of cold to your family. Well...if I think about it really hard, I might be willing to teleport to the wedding with you so you can congratulate them, if you want."

 

[Wyosch]

Hunter frowned sadly, shaking her head at what Macon was telling her.
"No, he's not back! Macon listen to me! He is not back! He's gone! Nobody will ever hurt you again, okay? You got me, you got your brother, you got your kids! You're fine, and nothing will happen to you!"

Jim angrily pinned Howard against the next wall, black smoke coming out of his eyes by now.
"You don't even deserve to be tortured.", he hissed, until his furious expression turned into an evil smirk.
"What about I just kill you from the inside?"
Howard's shadow suddenly started moving on its own, seeming to hug him - until he disappeared right inside of him, slowly murdering him from the inside.
"Goodbye, Howard."

Cole smirked softly, wrapping his arms around Bailey's waist and pulling her close.
"If you say so.", he replied, winking, and sighed silently when he looked into her eyes.
"I honestly keep asking myself what I did to deserve someone as special as you."

Mike shook Ava's hand, nodding.
"Team.", he replied, tilting his head as she suggested going to the wedding.
"What?", he mumbled, thinking hard for a moment.
"Well... but they don't want me there... Sam just made me come here without me attending the funeral."

 

[Scripted Away]

Mac just wrapped his arms tightly around hunter, burying his face in her hair, and tried to calm down while his entire body was shivering.
"I-...."
He sighed silently and closed his eyes as if he just wanted to shut out the whole big bad world.
"I'm scared...", He whispered silently, almost sounding ashamed.

While the shadows were destroying Howard, ripping him apart from the inside, he was just laughing while black blood ran out of his nose, eyes, ears and mouth.
"You can destroy me, devil, but you can't kill me. I will live on forever, in Macon, in his deepest fears and nightmares, and in your own family. I will live on in my heir, and he will destroy you all. Just wait for it."

Bailey smiled happily as she tightened her hug around Cole's waist and cuddled her head against his neck. "Well, you are my dream boy, dummy. You've always been. Remember back when we talked about dream partner? I described what saw in you, right from the start."
Gently stroking over his cheek, she smirked softly. "I've met so many awesome people in my life... But you stand out from all of them. And not only because you are some astral, god-like alien thing."

Ava smiled sadly as she slightly shook her head, looking away.
"Hmh, well, maybe you'll want to wait a bit longer, until the situation calmed down a bit and everything... Oh hey, look at this!"
She pointed at the wall behind mike, and lastly just turned him around to face a beautiful Egyptian painting of the goddess Isis, with beautiful blue wings and, unlike in every other picture of her, with light blonde hair, instead of black.
"Beautiful, isn't it? They outdid themselves. This is the only picture in the entire world, that shows Isis how she really looked."

 

[Wyosch]

Hunter frowned sadly, shaking her head, gently stroking over Macon's back.
"I understand. I'd be afraid too.", she whispered, holding him tightly. "Remember my dad? You protected me from him. And I'll protect you from Howard. You're not alone anymore like you used to. You have a family, and we all protect each other."
She sighed silently, giving Macon a soft kiss on his forehead.
"I know my talking won't help much right now, but I'm here for you, and nothing bad will ever happen to you again as long as we're all around, alright?"

Jim fisted his hands, spreading his wings angrily and lifting his head a little more.
"I will destroy anyone or anything that'll try to hurt my family, as if it's the last I'll do.", he growled back, his eyes glowing back for a moment while his veins lit up black as well.
"You'll die, Howard. Once and for all. Nobody will be able to bring you back, not even if it were a god. You will never hurt anyone ever again."

Cole chuckled, smirking softly at Bailey.
"If I remember correctly... I described you too. Fell for you at first sight when I saw you in the donut shop.", he mumbled, sighing happily as he thought of that moment.
"You know what Sam told me? We unicorns only have one partner in our entire lives. We bond with one, and if they leave us or if they die - we die too.", he explained, smiling lovingly.
"I'm dead serious when I say you're the one."

"How do you know this is how she really looked? Maybe she indeed had black hair.", Mike replied, looking at the drawing for a moment. He'd never been one to understand and love art. Though this was quite pretty drawn.
"So- you're a witch, hm?"

 

[Scripted Away]

Mac shook his head, painfully closing his eyes.
"You don't understand! I... Its all coming back. The persecution complex...the nightmares...he knew my weakest point and used it perfectly. He knew that just his presence is enough to kick me back, he knew I'd never get him out of my mind and he's right! In a way He reached what he always craved for... Immortality. He will never die. Always live on in my mind and nightmares. He might be dead, but he's not gone. He will always be right with me, like a shadow, chasing me down in my own messed up mind... Not as a person anymore...but he doesn't need to exist anymore, to torture me. He just does it by having existed."

"We will see, we will see. Just wait a century or two, and keep my words in mind", Howard laughed, until the claws of his own shadow broke through his chest and he fell down into a puddle of his own blood, slowly dissolving into black smoke.

"You-" Bailey looked up into Cole's eyes, hers wide and sorrowful.
"Wait, are you saying you're giving up an eternity for me? Immortality itself?"
She slowly ran errands fingers down his chest , staring at the ground for a moment.
"And...you're 100% sure you want to give up all that just for a girl? I mean, we're talking about something really big here, honestly even bigger than marriage, I mean-..."
But as she looked up into Cole's warm, sparkling eyes, her slightly scared expression changed to a loving one and she pulled him into a tender kiss.
"You just set whole new lines for commitment in a relationship, you friggin cheese ball", she said with a soft smile and sparkling eyes.

Ava chuckled softly as she stood up beside the picture, smirking slightly.
"Baffling similarity, no? Here, look at the amulet Isis is wearing on this picture. It's called the knot of Isis."
With a smirk, she pulled exactly the same amulet out from under her shirt.
"The Egyptian gods fell long ago, and walked this Earth as humans with extraordinary powers for many, many centuries. Well and what do many humans like to do when they meet someone they get along with really really good?" She winked. "Isis eventually got married at some point after the big fall, and had a daughter. Darna Romanov. My mother. Grandma sadly died a couple of years ago, after she had turned fully human because her divine powers were used up, but only before she taught me everything she knew. Then we had this argument... She told me I should never use my powers, that it was too dangerous and I had no idea of what I'm capable of, and that lastly led me to joining hack because I was just...an ass..m but that's another story." Smiling up at him as she put her amulet back into her shirt, she nodded. "So, yeah, I'm a witch. Though we prefer 'caster'. You know, calling a caster 'witch' is like calling girl 'hoe'. It has just gained a rude note during the last few decades."

 

[Wyosch]

"No he won't!", Hunter yelled back at Macon, tears gathering in her eyes. "You just have to forget it! Accept that what he's done is done and you can't change it and it wasn't your fault!"
She painfully shut her eyes before she looked back up at him.
"You can't let that stupid asshole ruin our perfect life again! Do you think I let my father ruin my life? He did horrible things to me, things I never even told anyone, but that didn't stop me from being fearless and loving others! And I will not let your trauma hurt me or the kids... Take action against it, talk to a psychologist or psychiatrist... just don't let it ruin you..."
She had buried her face into her hands by now, sobbing hard, thinking back to all the hard times they'd had because of Macon's fears. She couldn't do that again. She wasn't strong enough to go through any of that again...
"Please..."

As Howard dissolved into nothing but black smoke, Jim shot some lightning bolts out of his fingertips and let out a growl.
"Mylord, are you ruining the decor again?", an old voice asked, a small, elder man walking in - looking as if there were only bones left.
"No."
"I see you were busy.", the man mumbled and gestured at the black smoke which had almost vanished by now, making Jim lift his shoulders.
"Whatever. I gotta go back now. Keep an eye on the hellhounds, don't want them to eat the prisoners again."
"Of course, Sire."
"And stop with that."
"Yes, my Lord."
"Urgh."

Cole raised an eyebrow at Bailey, seemingly surprised by her reaction.
"Why would I want to be immortal if I could spend a life time with you?", he asked, frowning slightly. "I mean, would you prefer immortality on your own or a lifetime with the love of your life?"

"So you're saying you're the descendant of a goddess? Where there isn't any proof of her ever having existed?", Mike asked, staring at the drawing with a confused expression on his face.
"And what is it a witch- caster, can do?"

 

[Scripted Away]

Mac was taken aback by Hunter's outburst, let go of her and looked at her like a beaten old man.
"I never forget", he said with a completely cold voice, before he straightened up, his expression lost all it's fear and...basically every emotion at all, along with the sparkling in his eyes, and he looked like the past minutes hadn't happened at all.
"I believe we were about to go to the buffet before we were interrupted", he said with his typical warm voice and smile, just that something was missing this time. It was a perfect facade, but that gentle kind of...glow... He usually had inside him was barely more than a flickering. But he didn't let it show. Not a single tear would make it past his eyes again, he wasn't allowed to cry, to be weak, to just sob for a while without trying to find a solution. He wasn't allowed to break, not for a minute, or someone would be hurt again.
"I think I'll try the salmon fillets there. They look heavenly. Pun intended."

Bailey lifted her shoulders, smiling awkwardly before she planted a kiss on Cole's neck.
"I guess it's just hard to wrap my mind around the fact that there's someone who loves me so much", she said with a soft smile, her eyes widening when the band played 'beauty and the beast'. "Our song!", Bailey gasped grinning, grabbed Cole's hands and pulled him on the dance floor. "I love you. And you're right, I'd give up a trillion years for a day with you, baby."

"Well, she's my grandma. I've seen her, talked to her...that's proof enough for me, she never had a weak mind or so.", Ava explained smiling, shrugging at his question.
"Reality warping. We can't create anything, but we can change almost everything around us, down to the atoms, and manipulate the probability of events that are ruled by coincidence. I also possess chaos magic. It's really hard to explain...basically it's... Changing laws of nature into chaos. Up becomes down, left turns right, time runs backwards and stretches out till milliseconds become millennia or the exact other way round. It's very dangerous though. Once I've released the chaos, it's basically impossible to control it. Last time I almost opened a rift into another dimension by accident and reset the world to stone age. Not to mention the bugs. Bugs everywhere..."

 

[Wyosch]

Hunter watched Macon with big eyes, only more tears rolling down her cheeks as she figured out what he was doing.
She'd done that only too often herself.
"Do you want to end up like your brother?", she called to him, a broken expression on her face as she stared at him.
"Do you want to pity yourself and relive your past day after day? Do you? Do you wish to hurt, not only yourself, but your wife, children and others around you too? We've been through this all once, we've fought because of this before - I don't want that all to happen again, that's all you have to understand... I don't want our kids to be disappointed in their father like Jim's."
She sighed silently, wiping some of her tears away, still looking at the floor.
"We were both doing so great... I don't think I can handle a fallback... I just want you to be okay and I don't want you to hurt. So please, stop playing pretend and talk to me..."

Jim took a deep breath as he returned to earth, making his way back to Rachel, not wanting to disturb Macon now. Hunter was probably taking care of him. He'd talk to him later.
"Okay honey, I'm back.", he mumbled, smiling softly, yet tiredly, at his wife. "Where were we? You said something about the shrink, I believe."

Cole smiled lovingly, stroking a streak of hair behind Bailey's ear before he started dancing with her.
"So, Bailey Anderson?", he asked, playfully raising an eyebrow. "Or would you prefer to keep your surname and make me a Grigio?"
((I keep forgetting her surname, just pretend it was correct))

"Yikes, bugs.", Mike replied, frowning disgustedly for a moment before he smiled gently at Ava.
"So did you always know you were a caster or do you learn stuff like that?"

 

[Scripted Away]

"no hunter, I was your fears, your trauma, your past, that brought us so many arguments in the past, because it had left you so afraid to lose the only man you felt you could trust that you sticker to me like bubblegum! And I have been there for you, I have tried!"
Mac scoffed angrily, wrinkling his nose how he only did it when he was really pissed.
"Oh but as soon as i have a problem, or don't work how you want me to, I'm- what did you call me back then again? Ah yes- a stupid idiot. In case you haven't noticed: I just tried to talk to you but that only ended up in you yelling at me!"
He had hissed the last words in anger, and crossed his arms. "And I am not like my brother!"

Rachel nodded at Jim as he appeared again, smiling indecisively. "I asked you if you're really ready to reveal all those things you always kept to yourself to me. I thought you are afraid to losing me to your problems? I just don't want to disturb the therapy, you know?"

Bailey lifted her shoulders as she thought about Cole's question and lastly looked up at him sheepishly.
"To be honest...my surname is the last thing I have left from Spain. Ever since we moved here, it was the one thing that I felt still connected me to my old friends, my old home and so on-..."

"It is possible to learn minor casting by a lot of practising, if you have a strong enough energy and will", Ava explained shrugging, and rubbed her arm as it was getting colder in here because night had fallen off the desert.
"But when you are a natural, a born caster, you are capable of a lot more. Especially as a female caster. While male casters develop their magic talents during their while childhood and youth, female casters experience something we call 'the choice'. It brings an extreme boost to our powers, that makes most female casters far stronger than male. And dark casters like me overpower every other, most of the time."
She shrugged. "See, when a female caster reaches 16 years, the choice is made. Her true nature leads her either to the light or to the dark side. Light casters use white magic, enabling them to heal and foresee the future, things like that, while dark casters, possessing dark magic, do things like chaos magic, alchemy and astral projections. I was born during an eclipse, and my choice was made during a new moon. I'm what they call a 'darkborn'. Born for the dark magic."
Her smile turned awkward as she looked up at Mike and ran her hand through her hair. "Sorry, I got carried away there. It's just really seldom that I get to talk to anyone about anything. Especially me being a darkborn. It's said to mean bad luck and a dark future, that's why most of us just ignore the fact that darkborns even exists, no matter how rare they are."

 

[Wyosch]

((what the fuck my entire post is just gone?!?))

 

[Wyosch]

Hunter stared at Macon for a moment, tears rolling down her cheeks, her fingernails digging into her skin.
"Is that how you think of me?", she asked silently, a sad frown on her face as she looked down at her arms for a moment before back up at her husband.
"Am I really that annoying to you? Do you only see me as some crybaby who sticks to you like - how did you say? - bubblegum?", she repeated, her gaze gaining that broken expression again she used to have when she was about to hurt herself.
"Well why don't I just leave then, so you'll be rid of your annoying crybaby wife who's clingy because she's scared to lose the one she cares for most, and who only wants the best for you which is not ending up like her with a trauma affecting everything she did and who doesn't want you to hurt and who loves you more than anything else? If you find me that annoying..."
Hunter turned away from Macon, wiping her tears away.
"I love you... is that so annoying?", she whispered, looking down at her arms once more, painfully closing her eyes before she teleported away.

Jim's gaze suddenly lowered to the floor, a sad flickering in his eyes, before he looked back up at Rachel.
"Eh... yeah yeah...", he mumbled, putting his hands in the pockets of his pants.
"Why don't we just eh... go to the buffet...?"

"Cole Grigio.", Cole replied, smirking softly. "That sounds pretty good, doesn't it?", he asked, wrapping one arm around Bailey's shoulders. "Now I gotta learn Spanish so people will think I'm Spanish too!", he chuckled, smiling lovingly as he stared at his fiancée for a moment, before he gently kissed her cheek.
"I love you."

Mike raised an eyebrow at Ava, thinking about everything she had just told him.
"So everyone ignores you, technically, because you're different than them?", he asked. "Though black magic doesn't make you evil. What you do with it makes you evil, or good, right?"

 

[Scripted Away]

"I SAID WAS!!", Macon yelled into the air in front of him, steaming inside by now.
Why did she always have to teleport away?! Goddamn couldn't she just once stop running from arguments and accept that they belonged to a relationship?!
That even the best people argued sometime?!
With a scoff, he turned to the buffet, shook his head and just stole the entire big bowl of chocolate ice cream, two spoons, and teleported after Hunter, internally rolling his eyes. Good thing he was great at swallowing his pride.
"I said 'was', Hunter", he explained, straining himself to stay calm and keep his voice as soft as possible. "You know you have been clingy, in the past, and it drove me insane- in the past. You have grown so much stronger than that though. But this time it's me who needs your help. Do you really expect me to just get over it when I've just seen myself biggest nightmare torturing my big brother who died for me? What do you think did that do to me? Sometimes I just can't be strong, sometimes I have my Breakdown too, and situations that scare the shit out of me for longer than two heartbeats. Did I ever yell at you when you ran from a spider? Or when I had to double check that the front door was locked at night? No, never. But as soon as I'm not strong, I'm the stupid idiot again. See now where I come from?"
He sighed, holding out the bucket of ice cream. "Needless to say Sam wasn't happy I stole the dessert, but I figured you could need a moodlifter."

Rachel tilted her head, worry written in her eyes. "What's wrong honey?", She asked carefully, stroking over his back. "C'mon, I see something just happened.."

"I love you too", Bailey sighed happily, closing her eyes as she cuddled against Cole.
"What about...I almost don't dare to ask, but- what about your... Bio father? Somewhere from the Arabic region? Those hair and eyes don't lie, and your mom is clearly American."

Ava shrugged vaguely. "Thing is, almost all dark casters turned evil, and we all have a problem with accidentally put even intentionally unleashing chaos magic when we get angry. See, it's the casters true nature that determines her choice, so... You can say dark casters are dark persons. I know I can be pretty eerie..."
Leaning against the wall, she looked up at Mike. "But, I mean, they don't ignore me because I'm dark. They distrust me because of that, but honestly I do too. They just ignore the fact that I'm darkborn. Calling it all bullshit although we all know what I have done in the past."

 

[Wyosch]

Hunter had teleported onto a cliff with high winds on the coast of France, sitting on the floor, having pulled up her knees to sob into them.
When Macon suddenly appeared at her crying spot too, she sighed silently - not sure wether to be happy or not.
"I know I annoyed you with my fears and clingyness. And even though it's not as bad as it was anymore, I still fear that you find me annoying when I act clingy... which is just a part of my personality.", she mumbled silently. "And I never even meant to yell at you, I just wanted you to stop thinking it would never get better. I know you never forget, but you're not the only one. You need to learn how to ignore those thoughts and fears, and maybe you'll someday forget them..."
She quickly glanced up at him and the ice cream before back at the raging sea.
"I didn't mean to yell at you, I was just reminded of everything we went through because of me and I couldn't go through all those fights and what more again... I didn't mean to teleport away but it seemed like my only way, I mean... you brought up all those things that I'm still scared of, and I still feel guilty about me ever having said all those things to you... you just brought everything up again, I don't know if on purpose or not, but it was just too much. Quite disappointing that you're wife is such a crybaby, hm?"

Jim sighed silently, gulping sadly.
"Well, you know, me being a wolf, my hearing is a 100x - 1000x better than the ones of a human. And I just eh... I heard...", he sighed, running his hand through his hair and looking at Rachel with a sad expression in his eyes.
"I heard both Hunter and Macon say something... quite hurtful about me, but it's fine. Not that it actually affected me.", he mumbled, walking up to the buffet and staring at all the food for a moment before he turned around to Rachel.
"What do you want to have?"

"My biological father was Arabi.", Cole replied, his entire expression subtly changing a bit, straightening his back and lifting his head, no smile on his face, eyes flickering.
"He wanted to kill my sister.", he mumbled, a frown appearing on his face. "You know... Emily is, how do I say? The "real" Emily was a stillborn. And there was this one doctor who suggested something to my mom and she accepted. A puppy. With a human shift, just like us anoms. He took my mom's DNA and so we indeed had a sister. That's why Ems doesn't look Arabi like me, even though we technically have the same bio father. I don't know if mom ever told her that like the way she told us, but no matter what she's just our sister. Well, when asshole found out, he thought my mom had cheated, and beat her up - then me because I wanted to protect my sister. Glad he died in the car accident."
Cole raised an eyebrow at Bailey, his expression softening again.
"Why do you ask?"

Mike was now curious.
"What did you do in the past that make then distrust you even more? HACK?", he asked, preparing himself to be turned back into wood.

 

[Scripted Away]

Mac sighed silently, his angrily lifted and tensed shoulders dropping.
"My queen...", He mumbled softly as he sat down behind her, his legs left and right beside her, his arms resting on her knees while he planted a soft kiss on her shoulder.
"C'mon, you know me better than that. You know I'd never call you a crybaby or be disappointed in you because you bruise easily. Metaphorically, of course."
He watched the raging sea for a moment, until he stretched out his hand and calmed it to softly sparkling and swaying waves.
"Tell me about this place...", He mumbled softly as he watched the waves while his heart slowly calmed down with it.
"How'd you find it? Where exactly are we? You...you didn't find this place sometime in your youth because you had actually planned to...you know...make the great escape...right?" There was a hint of fear in his voice as he tightened his hug around her.

Rachel crossed her arms, sighing silently as she shook her head. "See? That's why I don't want to accompany you to the shrink. You would never be honest about the severity of what is going on inside you when I'm around. I mean, you aren't even honest right now."
She gently ran his hand down his back and looked up into his eyes.
"Do you really think you could make anyone believe that you wouldn't be hurt by your brother talking badly about you? Come on, you know I'm not that stupid, honey."

Bailey shrugged as Cole asked why she asked.
"I don't know, I'm just curious", she admitted with a soft smile. "But man after what you told me I'm actually glad I'm probably never going to meet your bio father...", She mumbled sheepishly, holding his hand a bit tighter, but soon smirked mischievously again. "If it cheers you up- you might have inherited your father's looks, nationality-wise, but you are nothing like him. And I might have to admit I've always had a weak spot for dark eyes and hair."

Ava pursed her lips as she stared at the ground and more or less hugged herself.
"Not to be rude or anything...", She sighed sadly, shaking her head. "But I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to scare you even more than you already are. I'm sorry. Maybe sometime in the future... But not now..."
With a flick of her fingers, she turned the last bit of his Ring finger back into normal and smiled sheepishly at him. "We've talked so much about me now. Mike, you said you don't care about the people you have killed or whose deaths you have caused. I don't believe that."
With a sad smile, she put her hand on his upper arm and shook her head. "You aren't a bad person per se. So don't act like you are. You deserve better."

 

[Wyosch]

Hunter leaned back onto her husband's chest, not saying anything as she was calming down and letting her last tears roll down her rosy cheeks.
"Étretat, the most scenic spot on Normandy’s chalky northern coastline.", she replied after a while, her voice still sounding teary, but not as worryingly as before.
"Yes. I did find this spot when I wanted to... make the great escape. A girl, about the same age as me, somehow was able to talk me out of it. A week later, she jumped."

Jim frowned sadly, looking like a big, sad puppy, and sighed silently.
"Hunter asked Macon if he wanted to end up like me, hurting and disappointing his wife and kids and never truly getting out of it...", he mumbled, faking a soft smirk.
"Macon replied that he's not like me. I mean, yeah, we're not twins so..."
His gaze lowered to the floor again, his eyes gaining an even sadder expression than before, and he just wrapped his arms around Rachel's waist, burying his face into her neck - not saying a word anymore.

"You'll never meet him. He's gone-gone.", Cole replied. "Remember the tall guy who congratulated us when I proposed? I tried to steal his car when I was still... you know. Turned out he's some sort of super protective car-fanatic, calling his car 'baby' - and giving me an electric shock when I tried to break his Mustang open. He wasn't that mad about it, told me he'd done that too as a kid, and just gave me some fighting tips - probably knowing nobody would've been able to talk me out of that life. Well, I asked him how he'd done that car shocking thing, where he told me he was an anom. And a demon. Fast forward, I asked him to track down my biological father if he were alive as a ghost, and if yes, to end him. I don't want that guy around when I'm gonna marry you, and now I know he'll never be.", he smiled softly, his smile turning into a grin as Bailey complimented him.
"Oh man, you're really so damn perfect.", he mumbled, sighing happily. "I still wonder why you didn't go for one of the - at that time - popular guys at school who were all staring at you when you walked by."

Mike looked up at the ceiling for a moment, thinking of how he should formulate his response.
"Well... saying you don't care is easier than having to deal with the feelings.", he replied, running his hand through his hair as he looked back at Ava.
"I care. I just don't show it. I don't want to deal with stuff like that."

 

[Scripted Away]

"I'm glad she talked you out of it...", Mac whispered softly as he leaned his chin on Hunter's shoulder and gently ran his nosetip over her cheekbone.
"Sometimes I wish we had known eachother already when times were so hard. I bet we would've protected eachother from giving up and found a way to fight the madness..."
He sighed silently.
"Honey..."
Cuddling against her a bit as if he was a tiny cat, he looked at her with big puppy eyes, the same ones Jim always made.
"I don't want to argue..."

Rachel sighed sadly as he hugged him tightly, gently stroking through his hair.
"You can prove them wrong", she whispered to his ear with a sad smile. "You can show them all that you aren't someone who will let his family down anymore. That you are a brave man, a wonderful husband and a good father. It won't be easy, but I believe in your I know you can do it."
She softly kissed his cheek.
"You can do it, hun."

Bailey chuckled softly as she ruffled Cole's hair and looked up at him with sparkling eyes.
"Well, because I was in love with you of course, dummy", she said smirking. "I mean, sure, you were - are - my best friend, but you know I've been crushing on you ever since. I remember when Sam threw his donut at me and I came over to bring it back to him, I noticed you, with your...deep...gentle...feelful...I believe I'm starting to blabber... Whatever! I saw you and was like 'damn he's cute' and then I got to know you with your amazing personality and just fell so hard I was scared to break if I hit the ground...luckily you were there to catch me, feeling the same. And ever since, you ain't getting rid of me."
She smirked softly as she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him softly. "See, I don't need a guy who stares at me, who thinks I'm the most beautiful lbeing on earth- which I am clearly not- but whatever. Of course I'm happy you think so, though." She blushed slightly. "But what counts for me is that you are honest, and natural, and true. I know I could trust you with everything blindly, and that's also why I am not afraid to marry you at such a young age. I know it will work out. I know I don't have to worry that you will let me down, because you won't. It's like...it's like we are two persons, but one soul. Two halves of a whole."
Grinning awkwardly, she ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm so cheesy..."

Ava slightly shook her head, still resting her hand on Mike's arm.
"What happens if you drive a glass shard into your foot and leave it there?", She asked, her voice gentle even though her expression was dead serious. "It will inflame. It will hurt more and more and more, until you wish you could just cut off your foot because the wound hurts so bad. It will destroy you from the inside."
She looked up p into his eyes, her smile understanding and soft. "I know it's hard. I've been through the same. Actually still are there. Guess I've just never found someone to help me pull the glass shard out. But hey- if you ever need help or want to talk- you can always come to me, okay? I will listen, and I won't judge."

 

[Wyosch]

Hunter sighed silently, cuddling her face against Macon's arm, enjoying his warmth and familiar scent.
"Me neither.", she replied, mumbling, making a sad pouty face as she looked up at him.
"I'm sorry I reacted like that... I really didn't mean to. I hope you do understand that."
She ran her fingers over his hand, playing around with his ring for a moment, before she leaned back into his arms and smiled.
"Vis-tu pour la joie, ou morts-tu pour la tristesse? - that's what the girl who saved me told me. It means, 'do you live for happiness, or do you die from sadness?'. Really beautiful."
She sighed silently, peacefully closing her eyes and listening to the waves.
"I love this.", she mumbled. "You know, just us..."
She slightly tilted her head so she'd look up to him, smiling lovingly.
"We should really go on a vacation. A well deserved only the two of us vacation. See it as our honeymoon."

Jim lifted his head off of Rachel's shoulder, a nervous smile on his face, yet a determined sparkling in his eyes, nodding.
"Yeah, you're right... I'll prove 'em all wrong. I'm not just the failure everyone sees in me...", he replied, still unsure about his words, but hey, at least he'd said something like that. Positivity starts small.
"Hey honey?", he grabbed her hand, gently stroking over her palm, and kissed her cheek.
"Thank you. For always believing in me even though nobody did, well, does."

Cole was staring at Bailey with a dreamy expression on his face, sighing peacefully as she had finished talking.
"Oh man babe, you should know by now that I love cheesy. Cheesy spaghetti, cheesy meatballs, nice.", he winked, tightening his grip around her waist. "Wait, don't the Spanish usually add the name they're marrying into to their last name? Aka Bailey Grigio y Anderson? Man that sounds weird."

Mike smiled thankfully, a sincere and honest smile, not one of those fake ones he used all the time.
"Thank you, Ava... I... I honestly don't really know what to say. I mean you're the only one who's ever tried to understand me and I can't thank you enough for that. So just... thanks.", he akwardly held out his hand to her to thank her for what she was doing, which she didn't even have to, but chose to do.
"No matter how wicked you might be, you're still a beautiful person. Like in having a great personality. Not that you're ugly, but- urgh. You know what I mean. and man I just made this akward."

 

[Scripted Away]

Mac nodded while his gentle smile turned excited and he leaned his head against Hunter's with a happy sigh.
"A vacation sounds like a great idea. We could go to Italy or so. Or, if you want the cold, we could go to Norway or Greenland or so. Or we go on an adventure trip to find Atlantis."
He winked, chuckling silently as he enjoyed the feeling of hunter being so close. He had time enough to worry about Howard and frown in nightmares sometime later.
He just had to watch out that Hunter wouldn't notice his nightmares, but he had become a master in pretending he was fast asleep anyway.
"I can't wait for our only-the-two-of-us vacation."

Rachel smiled softly as she stroked over Jim's cheek and lastly just cuddled against him.
"Nothing to thank me for, honey. I've believed in you when we came together, I've believed in you when we had to split up for years. I still do, and I always will."
With a happy sparkling in her eyes, she stood up on her tiptoes and hugged him tightly.
"So, did you already decide wether it's a bad or good idea to want me to accompany you to mayrose?"

Bailey chuckled silently as she lifted her shoulders.
"Not always. I mean, okay, I have the American and the Spanish citizenship, but we're living in America here, and you're right. That just sounds weird."
She smiled softly, running her fingers through his hair for a moment, before she kissed him.
"You know what? I think it's actually really cute that you said you want to start a family, even though we're probably still a couple of years till that happens."

Ava looked up at Mike with a touched smile, while tears gathered in her eyes. Lastly, she just darted forward and wrapped her arms around Mike's waist, burying her face into his chest as she hugged him tightly and let out a silent sob.
"Thank you too, Mike...", She whispered. "I'ts been really long since someone saw me as a person, and not just as a boss or witch or fighter."
She took a deep breaths let go 9f Mike again and wiped her tears away while she blushed slightly. "...awkward..."

 

[Wyosch]

"And we could try lots and lots of new food! And explore the foreign markets, and cultures and-", Hunter giggled excitedly, imagining their vacation already. "And having romantic dinners... cuddling, just stargazing..."
She sighed happily, closing her eyes as she cuddled against Macon's warm chest, inhaling his familiar scent.
"That'd mean one week no doing laundry and cleaning up after three toddlers, one week not being woken up at five in the morning and no crying when 'mommy kills a bug'.", she mumbled, letting out a chuckle afterwards. "I love our life. Even if I'm sometimes the annoying, clingy crybaby."

Jim took a deep breath when Rachel asked him about her accompanying him to the shrink, lastly just uncomfortably putting his hand against the back of his neck and letting out a sigh.
"I am honestly terrified of what you'll think of me when you'd hear everything... but I don't want to have any secrets. I mean, I've lied to you often enough about being fine when I wasn't, and maybe one of the reasons I'm not fine is because I don't talk enough about what goes on inside of me."
He looked up from the ground and smiled softly at Rachel, putting a loose streak of hair behind her ear.
"I'll sound like a lil' kid now, but I really need you to come with me... I mean, if I already have so many troubles talking to you all about my issues, I'll just keep my mouth shut in front of a stranger. I just... promise me you won't leave me, please?"

Cole smirked proudly at Bailey's comment, his eyes sparkling lovingly as he pulled her closer.
"Yeah well, I do want to start a family with you. And even though that'll be in a couple of years, I really do. It's usually the girls who say stuff like that first in a relationship, but yeah. I was honestly scared I would scare you away."

Mike just blankly stared at Ava, not even blinking for a moment, until he akwardly cleared his throat and took a step back.
"Oh...eh...well...yeah. You're...eh...welcome.", he stuttered, red as a tomato in his face, gulping nervously afterwards.
"Ehm... yeah eh. Where- where were we? Pyramids? Pharaos? Yeah?"

 

[Scripted Away]

Mac slightly rolled his eyes, however his smirk was amused.
"Hey stop calling yourself like that!", He chuckled, gently poking Hunter's side as he winked at her.
"I married you because I love you as exactly the person you are, even though you can sometimes drive me insane with your yelling and insulting. But everyone's has their quirks, gotta respect that."
Smiling softly, he took out his phone and showed hunter a few pictures of Italy.
"Look, that's the Lago Maggiore. And right over there, that's the seven lounge. You'd love that club; cocktails, blues, right beside the sea, glowing tables and those beach chairs to sit in...it's awesome! We could also go to morcote, they have an awesome town center, with arcades that are over 100 years old. I bet you'd also love fox-town: Europe's biggest outlet center of all brands from Hilfiger to Gucci. And everything for at least 50% off. The laconeria de Locarno is awesome too, and the isolated Bella, isolated de brissago and isolated de pescatori are amazing. Latter has over 500 stray cats who can do tricks for food."

Rachel smiled softly as she made her wings appear on her back and flew a few inches into the air, so she was at one height with Jim and could look straight into his eyes.
"Never in our eternal life, I will ever leave you, my love", she whispered while she gently cupped his face.
"And I'm really proud of you that you want to open up to me finally. I'm glad you trust me so much. "

Bailey smiled softly as she just wrapped her arms around Cole's tightly and ruffled his hair.
"You are the only one I could imagine having a family with. Just 8magine the little ones- with a daddy like you, they just have to be perfect."

Ava chuckled softly as she teleported out of the pyramid and back to America, looking up in wonder as something white fell down from the sky.
She caught it up with one hand, her eyes widening.
"Is that...?"
A wide grin spread on her face as slowly, but surely, more of those white flakes rained down from the sky.
"Snow!", Ava laughed surprised, with sparkling eyes.
"It's snow!! It's been so long since I've last seen that! Maybe we will finally have a white christmas this year, like in the movies!"
Grinning widely, she looked at Mike.
"Snow!", She giggled once more, shivering slightly when a few flakes fell down into her shirt.
"Cold! Ehhheh, i forgot how cold it is!"

 

[Wyosch]

"Hey, I've only insulted you when you were saying you weren't worth anything! I haven't done that anymore in years.", Hunter replied, an excited smile on her face as Macon showed her the pictures of Italy.
"Wow, that sounds so amazing... We can go to the beach and go diving! Imagine finding some new caves!", she grabbed Macon's hand and gently placed it on her stomach, loving the warm feeling of that, and closed her eyes once more.
"It'll be so cool! Like, really! I've always wanted to visit Italy!"

Jim let out a relieved sigh, feeling as if a ton of weight just fell down his shoulders.
"I've literally never been so scared before. Strange coming from a guy like me, but I just- like it's not that I did things you'd leave me for, it's that I'm scared you'll leave because of what I'm terrified of. Like maybe you'll think differently of me and you'll want a guy who's not such a coward and-"
He just sighed, smiling softly and hugging Rachel again.
"Thank you."

Cole smirked, a soft blush on his face, nervously running his hand through his hair.
"You think I'd be a good dad? I mean... I've only had a real dad since I was 16, and before... I don't know."
He chuckled akwardly, noticing how nervous he actually was.
"I can't understand that I'm already worrying about stuff like that now."

Mike was staring up into the sky, frowning confused.
"So... this is what snow feels like?", he mumbled, a soft smile on his face as he caught some snowflakes on his palm.
"Wow. You think we'll have snow here then? In Montana? When has it ever snowed here?"