amulius lands on the ground with a thud, sending sparks flying. he gives up his search through the smoke and parker raises the crook of her arm to her mouth, crouching low where she can take in lungfuls of less dense air, but it's a moot point. all around her is fire. all around her is smoke. 

"mul," she chokes out and her feathered companion watches his own flames as he hunkers over her as a makeshift blanket, staving off the worst of the heat. "we gotta - ack - find nomes."

and maybe she could have, if not for the amalgamations that emerged from the smoke. a splitting headache knifes its way through her as her brain scrambles to forget what it's seeing, but layer upon layer of truth burns away those protective barriers and exposes her nerve endings. 

a ghost glints gnarled teeth, swiping with the fractal shards of its pronged arms. monsters from nightmares too close to nostalgia make her stumble back, away from the gathering cataclysm and remnants of ruination. 

she feels the heat second, the panic first. every ounce of her being switches from fight to flight in an instant before amulius is hauling her back out from the lava. angry, shrieking chirps are leaving his mouth by the time it hits her and she screams. and she screams, furiously raking her hands down her arm, watching it bubble like putty underneath her fingers and slough to the ground in a mixture of blood and flesh and molten rock. 

her bravado is gone. there's nothing else in the world. not even nomi, in the face of this pain. just - IT FUCKING HURTS AND I'M DYING AND I'M DYING I'M DYING I'M DYING AND

I KNEW WE'D DIE HERE. I KNEW WE'D NEVER GET HOME.

Gunner Graves PENELOPE LIVY Naomi Sato

☉

nostalgia wraps around nomi in a different way it does parker. she thinks fondly back on honey-colored memories with her grandmother and when avery looks at parker like she's seen a ghost, parker is treated to a rapid-fire snapshot of their own bittersweet history, stained sepia. 

hands in the candy jar, legs swinging off the counter, an old man's drawn face while he sutured her skin back together. nights curled up on the floor, then on an air mattress, then a cot in the garage, promises of this isn't permanent, kids, but knowing that was a half-lie. 

"yeah," she says, "yeah, 'e is. devoted wholly to the candy business now, s'posedly." 

parker slings her arm around nomi's waist and starts wheeling their ragtag procession over to the next street. maisey dutifully picks up her ball and carries it in her mouth, chewing it as though it were bubblegum. 

"sal," parker confirms and scratches her neck with her other hand. "'ve brought sweets home from 'im before. he's the alfred to our batman 'n robin, but like, ten million years old."

the mouthwatering smell of grease and grease and more grease hits the roof of her mouth as they near the rundown brick building with a takeout window. they're busy as all fuck and the line's long 'cause everyone in slateport knows sloppy sam makes love to these potatoes. 

avery jones Naomi Sato

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parker can't summon magma from her fingertips. parker can't curve a bullet in the air. there's a lot of things parker can't do, but parker can fight, and right now that's all that matters. her adrenal glands squeeze and her brain strips away all the excess, all the shit that doesn't matter - like the stinging in her eyes and the burning in her lungs and the way they're definitely, probably royally fucked. 

remus barks and amulius reacts, but the jackal can't deflect the bullet and the bird's too busy keeping the flames away from them. parker lurches to the side, into a thick plume of smoke. red, angry pain spurts in her shoulder, lancing down her side. 

(the nerve damage is permanent this time)

nomi, crying, fumbling over a ring, saying her name over and over again. parker wipes her nose, can't see the ash mixed with blood, and she steels herself. her friendship bracelet glows and amulius emerges like a phoenix, screeching bloody fucking murder as he aims a blast of fire toward the man they once called brother. 

PENELOPE LIVY Gunner Graves Naomi Sato

☉

parker doesn't mind the fact that becky doesn't seem to give two shits about her input. it'll be nice, pretty womaning her when the time is right. nomi's putting a good chunk of change into the place, but parker's insisted a lot of it be hers. she's always wanted a house. 

always thought it was a pipe dream too. 

it has character to it. someone who cares about aesthetics lived here, for sure. the paint on the walls is a little scuffed; some of the plaster is worn down in places. but parker squeezes her way into any small crawl spaces to check for water damage or shoddy craftsmanship. 

"yeah, for cooking," parker says, every bit of it dripping with sarcasm, complete with a brow waggle. neither of them partake in the Devil's Lettuce, but it's fun to see becky look a little uncomfortable.

parker tromps up the stairs and then pokes her head back over the open air walkway. "becky, can ya watch maisey? haaates stairs and nomes, come look at this bathtub," she says, fiending by the door, waiting to snap her hand out to snatch nomi by the waist and yank her close. 

Naomi Sato

☉

somewhere, someone lets out a disjointed howl after stepping on a fucked up stunfisk. but avery and parker are too far away to hear it, so does it really exist?

"uhh, speak for yerself. i clean up good." there was that time she went to the holiday party. even put on mascara? which made her look kinda crazy, but in a hot butch kind of way. the glitter she could've done without, but her hair stylist had thought otherwise. 

yoinky sploinky the murder machine comes back with a half-dead mawile and some of the people enjoying their lattes beside them gape with open mouths. parker waves. 

"sure, yeah, next week. and uh, y'know," she starts, "if you gotta hit your quota, i got some time to take a couple jobs. can hit my beat too. got a couple people i needa shakedown soon."

avery jones

☉

she is, by all accounts, completely oblivious to nomi's fidgeting and bumbling on account of any jealousy or existential trauma. she notices enough to raise a brow at her, but then she squats down right next to avery while she squeezes maisey's perfect chubby cheeks and pushes the pupper down. 

she whines, exposes her belly for the not-so-secret-secret belly rubs and nips playfully at the toes of avery's shoes. 

"oh right. i forgot to tell ya 'bout the ciders ave sent. ave, nomes used to own a brewery." then real life and saving the world and every other bullshit got in the way of that, but y'know, that part can remain unsaid.

"'kay, so i'm starvin' 'n sloppy sam's is still around." she jerks her chin real quick over to nomi. "best chili dogs in town an' their fries? slap. then was thinkin' maybe we'd stop by the candy shop?"

avery jones Naomi Sato

☉

maisey absolutely loses her fucking mind when she hears the sound of avery's voice. the ball is completely forgotten as she hastily gets to her feet, slobber dribbling down both sides of her mouth. her rump wriggles so hard parker thinks she might dislocate her hips and when she nears, she barrels through nomi's handshake with a shoulder-clapping hug. 

"yeah, i'unno if i want my sis callin' you babe, nomes," parker teases. 

she doesn't notice the awkward lull. she's too happy to see the two of them standing next to each other. like worlds colliding. it makes her realize just how fucking empty she's been without her sis. nomi's perfect, but ave's blood and ain't nothing can replace that. 

"mhm, this is kowabunga," she says, steel-blue eyes flickering up to the shiny eye. "and oh my god, please pet mais before she absolutely loses her shit." 

avery jones Naomi Sato

☉

remus knows something's coming before the inferno races towards them. the jackal's appendages glow, head turning, and the light dies from its paws quickly enough for parker to seize nomi closer and protect her from whatever approaches. 

flames dance around them, but while nomi panics, parker's gaze hardens. her eyes water from the smoke, but their attackers aren't coming at them from the shadows. the only unown floating around them is mr k-man. 

"i lied," she says gently, dropping her mouth close to nomi's ear. "got a little anger left for these fucks."

Isaac Merlo 's gifts, hanging off her hip, are slipped over her knuckles. the firelight dances over the brass. one nod at remus and the lucario takes over as nomi's protector, sheltering her with body and mind. parker stands, clangs her fists together, and grins when the tornado of fire is smothered by another wave of flame. 

amulius' blaze kick steals the air, leaving their surroundings smoldering. 

"ayo, councilbitch and - you." who? she doesn't fucking know. but she recognizes the stupid familiarity of not remembering and shoves that away with a shrug of her shoulders, a raising of her arms. "you want her? you gotta get through me."

Naomi Sato PENELOPE LIVY Gunner Graves

☉

she's seen worse, all things considered, but that's never made her feel better about it before. nomi sleeps on, remus beside her with pale pink pulses emanating from his palms, and parker prays with every minute that passes that those drk triad fucks don't find them.

king gave her the rundown after she stopped yelling in the most king way possible and it's only added to the foul backyard mud pie soup stirring in her gut - full of anxiety, paranoia, and undying devotion. 

you idiot. you stupid, beautiful too-good-for-this-world idiot, she thinks when nomi's lashes flutter, as she curls towards her like she thinks parker could ever walk away from her. not in a million and one other universes. 

even in that other one, she came around, didn't she?

"i know. i know, baby. it's okay." rough knuckles smooth gently over nomi's pale cheek. she thumbs her lower lip and then reaches to cradle her closer. 

"don't worry; i got all my anger out on wayland." this she says with a wolfish grin, but the playful smile doesn't meet her eyes. 

Naomi Sato  Gunner Graves PENELOPE LIVY

☉