Febuwhumpday7 - Tumblr Posts

I Gotchu

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Febuwhump Prompt - Used as an experiment

Prompt - ‘I'd fight the whole world for you, so rest now, you're safe with me.’

Frank had been sitting on the same rooftop for three days now, watching as people came and went from the building across the street. He knew the routines, he knew the shift changes, he knew which routes were patrolled and yet he still didn’t know what for, he didn’t know why this gang had shifted from killing every night to hiding away in an abandoned warehouse.

Sometimes he heard screams echoing from inside, heard them from his position all the way across the street and grimaced as he thought of what was happening inside. Tomorrow night he was going to move in, rid the world of the newest gang to pop up in Hell’s Kitchen and get in and out before he had Red on his arse, spouting the word of God and redemption to him.

A small chuckle made its way out of Frank’s throat before he heard the screaming start up. It was always the same scream, scared and in pain but try as he might Frank couldn’t get even a hint of what was happening.

He listened to those screams for hours before he sat down with a grunt and started assembling his weapons. Frank was a strong man but even he couldn’t listen to those screams anymore and what was the difference between going in today and going in tomorrow.

He waited until well into the night before he finally stood up again and made his way down to the building in between the shift changes, knowing that he could sneak in through the side doors and start taking the gang members down quick and easy from there.

It was laughably easy to walk into the warehouse, even more laughable how quickly he killed seven men, silently making his way through the building. He could still hear the screams and made his way towards them, checking all the rooms as he went.

The warehouse was big but it didn’t take him long to arrive at a metal door, rolling his eyes as he saw he couldn’t enter without a damn badge. He looked around at the dead bodies he’d left behind him before squatting down and rummaging through the pockets, nodding as he found the card and let himself through the doors.

“Shit,” he muttered as he looked around, this section of the building was nothing like the rundown shit hole he’d just come through, no this bit was clean and sterile, it smelt strongly like a hospital causing Frank to turn his nose up and walk further into the room.

There was only one door in the room, another metal one but he couldn’t see anywhere to scan in so tried his luck with pushing the door open, raising his gun as it opened for him quietly.

“Stop!” The voice screamed again causing Frank to stop in his tracks next to the door that shut with a quiet click that couldn’t be heard over the begging.

“Stop, stop! Please!” The voice screamed, vocal cords sounding hoarse and the screams were mixed with sobs and cut off when the need to breathe became too much, the sound of panting filling the room.

Frank watched, unnoticed in the shadows, as a girl writhed against the restraints that tied her wrists to the big, metal chair, restraints also tied your ankles and torso to ensure she couldn’t escape.

Frank thought it seemed a bit overkill, you looked tiny against the size of the chair, face sunken from lack of food, skin grey as you threw your head back in pain. Frank continued to watch, trying to see where the pain was coming from as the men in the room stood away from you, all staring at chart boards and the information that was showing on the computer screens.

That’s when Frank saw the white pads stuck to your temples and knew enough to know they were shocking you.

He watched as you bucked up in the seat, an ear deafening scream leaving your mouth as Frank watched in confusion as every object in the room began to float higher and higher before smashing down to the ground.

The other men in the room looked at their ruined computers before looking at you with disturbing grins and wild eyes.

Frank watched as one of the men stepped forward until he was next to you, leaning down slightly so he was face to face as he ran a finger along your cheek down to your chin and pulled your head up.

You looked up at him panting and Frank could see the defeat in your eyes, tears made their way silently down your face.

Frank lifted the gun up, aiming it at the man who stood close to you and took the shot without hesitation causing everybody’s attention to snap to him, everybody but yours. You just closed your eyes as you felt defeat run through you.

It was a quick fight, if you could even call Frank turning his gun on the other men in the room and taking them out before they could even draw their own weapons a fight. Then he moved the gun so it rested on his back and made his way over to you, crouching down so he was below you.

“Hey,” He said, voice quiet and gentle but he made sure not to touch you, “You’re gonna be just fine, m’gonna get you outta here.”

You let your eyes open, looking down at the man who shot you a comforting smile, letting your eyebrows knit together in confusion.

“You’re not-” You began but cut yourself off as you started coughing, turning your head into your shoulder before taking a deep breath, voice hoarse after days of screaming and no water, “You’re not with them?”

“Not with them,” Frank confirmed, still smiling as he stood up, “I’ve gotta take these off you, alright?”

“Please,” You gasped, tilting your head towards him, “Please, please get them off.”

“Alright, I gotchu, you’re ok.” He murmured as he pulled the shock pads off as gently as he could, trying not to let the smile fall as he watched you wince and grimace. “Sorry,” He said as he had to tug harder to pull one from your temple.

It didn’t take too long for him to get you unhooked but when he helped you up from the chair he had to grab you before you hit the floor, legs weak and jelly like after days of not moving.

“I gotchu,” Frank told you again, wrapping your arm around his neck, his arm resting around your waist as he began to lead you out of the room.

It was slow work getting you out of the building, he had no trouble taking your weight himself, watching as your eyes closed and your head drifted onto his shoulder.

“Hey, you awake?” He asked once he finally got you both outside.

“M’awake,” you slurred, relishing in the feel of the cold air and the wind against your skin.

“Attagirl,” He praised and a small, tired smile made its way onto your face, “You got somewhere I can take you?” He asked as he crossed the street and made his way over to the van.

“They killed everyone,” You told him, blinking against the sudden flood of tears. “Killed them all.” You cried, lips pursing as you tried to hold back a sob but failed.

Frank looked at you sympathetically before turning you so your head rested on his chest, your hand coming up to grip the vest as you cried, remembering as the gang busted into the tiny apartment, killing everybody in sight, everybody who was there because they had nowhere else to go.

You had used your gifts, ripping the guns from their hands but you were too late.

“I was too late,” You mumbled against the vest and Frank shushed you, his palm resting against your hair as he held you close.

“C’mon,” He said once the tears had slowed down, leaving you sniffing and pulling away. Frank let his hand move from the back of your head over to your cheeks, using his thumbs to gently brush away the tears. “We’ll go back to my place, yeah, get some food in you.”

You didn’t hesitate to climb into the van as he opened the door for you, you probably should have but what more did you have to lose? Besides, the man had just saved you and there was something about him that seemed trustworthy.

The car drive was silent as you closed your eyes and let your head rest against the cold window, at some point falling into a light slumber. Frank glanced over at you and smiled before he turned into the first food place he saw and parked the van up.

“Hey, I’ll be right back, alright?” Frank said quietly, watching how your eyes snapped open as you turned to him but before you could speak he was already talking, voice low and calm, “I’ll be right back, just gonna grab us some food. You’ll be fine, I ain’t letting anything happen to you.”

You looked at him for a moment, seeing nothing on his face to indicate he was lying and nodded uncertainty.

“Attagirl,” Frank murmured before climbing out of the van.

Your knitted eyebrows relaxed as you smiled at the retreating figure before you settled back against the window and let your eyes close once more.

When you woke again you could smell fast food and felt the van come to a gentle stop but kept your eyes closed and only seconds later you heard the man’s seat belt unbuckle and the rustle of the food bag.

Frank got out of the van and made his way around to your side, watching as you blinked tiredly and sat up. He opened the door and reached over you to unbuckle your belt before he carefully helped you from the car, wrapping his arm around your shoulder and taking most of your weight as he led you up to his apartment.

“Shush,” Frank muttered to the dog who immediately started barking and dancing around his legs as the two of you entered the apartment. “C’mon.” He mumbled to you as he led you over to the sofa and gently lowered you onto down, watching you reach forward and pet Max as he went over to shut the door.

It wasn’t long before the two of you were settled in and eating, you were never more thankful for food than in that moment, days without anything to eat or drink had you feeling so weak, add that with the experiments and you were in desperate need of rest.

“So,” Frank said, pausing to take a sip of his drink, “what’s your name anyway?”

“Y/N,” You told him softly, holding out a french fry to the dog and missing the fond eye roll Frank gave.

“How’d you end up with them?” He asked, leaning back in his seat and giving you his full attention.

You shifted in your own seat before clearing your throat and looking over to Frank.

“Do you know who they were?” You asked him instead, watching as he raised an eyebrow at you and then shook his head. “The men in the room I was in, they were scientists. I was a part of their study years ago when I was a kid, I was sick and one of the doctors told my parents about a new drug that could save my life but it wasn’t approved yet so it all had to be administered privately. My parents signed me out of the hospital that day and then I don’t remember much just that I never saw my parents again. Whatever they did to me gave me these, these,” Here you trailed off, looking away from Frank and down at the dog who had settled in between your knees.

You smiled as you leaned forward and began petting the dog, finding it was easier to tell your story that way.

“These abilities.” You finally settled on. “I was there for a long time and then one day the pain was too much, you know? I didn’t even mean to do it, didn’t know how I did it but one minute they were pinning me down and injecting me with something and the next,” You paused again to let out a shuddering breath, blinking against the tears, “The next they were all pinned to the wall, each of them with needles barely an inch away from their faces.”

Frank listened to your story, trying to keep his face neutral so that he didn’t scare you when inside he was furious. How the hell could people do that to a kid? A scared little kid who was ripped away from her parents and turned into something she didn’t want to be. His heart ached for you and as he saw a tear make its way down your cheek he stood up and took a seat on the sofa next to you, gently cupping the back of your head and guiding you over to him.

“You’re ok, you’re safe now,” He murmured as he held you close.

You willingly went and buried your face in his chest, hand coming up to fist the shirt he wore as you desperately tried to hold back the tears but a few more managed to trickle down your cheek.

It took a few moments before you were able to take a deep, steadying breath, the sound of Frank’s heartbeat in your ear helped calm you down and eventually you began talking again, thankful that Frank was being so patient with you.

“I ran after that, ran as far as I could and did my best to survive on my own but it’s hard, you know? I was ten when they took me, I had no education, no family, I had nothing. I was staying at shelters and getting food where I could but then I met this man, his name was Paul, and he told me that he and a couple of others had an apartment they shared, they invited me in. I probably shouldn’t have followed him but it was freezing and it turned out fine so,” You shrugged, feeling Frank chuckle beneath you.

“I was staying with them, I was with them for a year and I let myself think I was safe but then a few days ago when everyone was asleep these people broke the door down and just started shooting everybody and I, I just froze,” Frank watched you close your eyes again, no doubt reliving the moment.

He let his hand move from your head to around your shoulders giving you a grounding, gentle squeeze, smiling sympathetically as you took a deep breath.

“They killed everyone and I couldn’t do anything. They knocked me out and the next thing I know I’m being strapped to a chair and shocked because I refused to help them.”

“What did they need help with?” Frank asked gently.

“They didn’t tell me,” You said, wracking your brain for any information that could help, “Something about a devil and making things hard for the gang they had working for them.”

Frank let out a soft chuckle because of course fucking Red wasn’t going to let a new gang wreak havoc on his city.

“Yeah that sounds like him,” Frank said, “Why’d a bunch of scientists need a gang?”

“They were taking the kids,” You told him with a grimace, “Injecting them with whatever they injected me with except not exactly because everyone gets different abilities.”

“They’re using gangs to take kids?” He snarled, “Was that all of them with you or is there more?”

“S’all of them.” You told him tiredly, feeling your eyes pull shut and you struggled when you tried to open them so decided just to let them stay closed.

“Good.” Frank said darkly, he assumed there would be more gang members involved but Red seemed to be causing enough trouble there but Frank would still keep an eye on it.

By the time he pulled himself away from his thoughts you had fallen asleep, his shirt loosely held in your fist and Frank couldn’t stop his face from softening into a smile, letting himself stay there for another minute or two before he gently pulled himself away from you, shushing Max as he stood up and went in search of a blanket for you.

Your eyes opened heavily as you felt yourself being pushed down so you were laying on your side.

“Shh, you’re good, go back to sleep, I gotchu,” Frank murmured as he placed a thick blanket around you and tucked a pillow under your head.

You nodded sleepily at him, smiling as you felt the man brush some hair from your face and let yourself do as he said, trusting that you were safe with him.

“I gotchu,” He repeated and for the first time in as long as you could remember you slept through the night without a single nightmare under the watchful eye of Frank Castle and his dog.

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Frank Castle Taglist (Link in bio, add yourself!) - @call-me-a-fool@urbestgrrl, @sylvies4ever

Febuwhump Day 7: Forced to watch

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: The Bad Batch

Warning: graphics depictions of violence

Hunter had been sitting in an empty room for a while now. The cold metal cuffed his wrist like tight bracelets. Short chains attached him to the wall. The mans knees ache and his legs felt numb and cold from sitting on them. He wished to move but he wore a matching set of anklets that kept his feet to the floor.

    The batch had been contacted by Rex to extract one of his clone contacts from the empire. Chex had been found out and he wasn't able to pick him up. The batch complied and left for Coruscant. They were able to grab him but Hunter had been separated from his family and cornered. He instructed them to leave and they reluctantly obeyed.

    "We gotta stop leaving people behind" Echo spoke. He had joined them for the mission and would now help with freeing his younger brother. "I'll contact Rex and let him know what happened."

    Omega uncomfortably shifted "Echo's right."

    Tech turned to the girl, "we couldn't have done anything Omega. We had to leave for our safety and for Chex's."

    "I'm sure Hunter's fine!" Wrecker chimed in. "He probably would have yelled at us had we gone to get him anyway!"

    That was true. Everyone at that point knew Hunter held the others life before his. That seemed to be a trait most clones had, most Jedi too.

    "I didn't mean to cause such a problem for y'all. Sorry." Chex held his hands behind his back, rubbing his fingers together nervously.

    "Na it's fine!" Wrecker slammed his hand on the regs back.

    "Your brother got captured! I can help you get him back if you need?"

    Tech sighed and turned around to face the others "We will be fine. It's not safe for you to go back to Coruscant and it would be a shame if we rescued you just for you to die." With that Tech turned back to piloting the ship.

    Chex opened his mouth to argue but decided he could convince them anyway.

    Crosshair walked into the room that held his former sargent.

    "Hello Crosshair."

    "You're working with the rebels I see" he began. "Such a shame."

    "Only this once" he stated. This wasn't true, they were working for Rex but no matter how hard Hunter might try the sniper wouldn't believe him.

    "I knew you couldn't stay out of trouble." Crosshair antagonized.

    "So why am I alive? Don't you kill traitors?"

    "I need information, I just have to wait a little longer."

    "Longer? What are you waiting for? You have your vibro-knife and I'm sure you can find other methods around here." Hunter pressed, hoping to take Cross off guard. It wasn't that he really minded not being tortured but the sooner it began the sooner it was over. He'd hoped Crosshair wouldn't do that to him but you don't always get what you hoped for, do you.

    "No amount of physical torment will get you to talk." This stuck fear into Hunter and the soldier saw it. No matter how hard his brother may try to hide it, his eyes betrayed him. "I just need the rest of your squad."

    "Crosshair what are you gonna do to them?" His voice wavered.

    "You'll just have to see." Hate, that's all Hunter heard in his brother's voice. He misses the slight caring sound that Crosshair's voice used to be laced with when he was with them. The door closed and Hunter was once more alone with his cruel mind.

    Crosshair was right, of course the batch came back for Hunter. They dropped Chex and Omega off with Rex. Rex didn't mind babysitting for he knew how dangerous infiltrating the empire was and didn't want the kid to get hurt. Omega attempted to argue but was shut down quickly by the harsh reality of the situation. The three 'adults' rushed back to Coruscant. They fell right into Crosshair's uncaring hands.

    Crosshair forced Tech into the cell Hunter occupied. He pushed the mercenary to he's knees in front of Hunter. Stepping on the others legs Crosshair placed two strong, half circle magnets over Tech's ankles and activated them.

    Attempting to free himself Tech tried to pull his leg up. He came to the conclusion that only Wrecker would be able to lift the magnets.

    "Tech" Hunter assessed his brother to find any injuries. He began to breathe again when he saw he was uninjured. "Where's-" Tech cut him off.

    "I'm not sure. I only know where Omega is and she's safe off world."

    Hunter sighed in relief. Now he just had to figure out how to get the others to safety.

    Crosshair pulled his vibro-knife out and stared into Hunter's eyes. "I'll give you one chance before I harm him."

    Hunter looked at Tech. Tech of course shook his head no. The leader looked back to Crosshair who sighed and stepped behind Tech. The clone prepared himself for the burning pain that came with knives. The knife easily slid over the victim's chest. He gasped and looked away from Hunter.

    Both understood what was happening, the batch had been trained to withstand large amounts of pain. Out of the two, Hunter had the bigger heart and would break before Tech would.

    "Hunter." Tech looked back up at him. Hunter met his eyes. "Don't tell him anything."

    Hunter nodded. From their it only got worse. Crosshair knew how to inflict unbearable pain. It used to work in their favor. None of them ever thought their brother could hurt them the way he hurt strangers. Now they seemed to be strangers with memories.

    The knife wasn't the only method of torment Crosshair had brought. Electricity would course though the mans body. Hunter could do nothing other than watch as his brother tore apart his other brother. As he continued Hunter started to fight against the chains. Despite to get help Tech he pulled and pulled, tiring himself. Warm blood ran over his hands from his wrist. Hunter didn't even know.

    Tech's screams shattered Hunter's heart. He would open his mouth to speak but Tech would stop him with a look or verbally if he could. He knew what was coming for him if this continued but he also knew the empire could never know that Rex was alive.

   Hunter once more opened his mouth. "No" Tech breathed. "It won't matter anyway." He struggled to speak but he knew he had to tell Hunter. "I'll... die anyway." Tech's voice was always sort of monotone. Hearing so much emotion and pain slip though his mouth scared them both. 

    Crosshair spoke over Tech's sobs and Hunter's soft crying, "you like taking Tech, you always have." He moved from his position next to Tech to behind him. Hunter fought the chains harder, not that he hasn't been fighting as hard as he could.

    Crosshair took the knife to a little bit under Tech's right tear duct and angled it at around seven o'clock. He slowly dragged the knife down until it retched the bottom of his face. The wound ran over his lips making it difficult but not impossible to speak.

    Tech's head was spinning, it had been for a while. The wounds he has received could not hurt him as much as the hopeless feeling that came with them. He hated that Hunter must be feeling the same way. Forced to watch as he slowly died, unable to help him. Somewhere in Hunter's brain he needed to protect them.

    "Tech!" Hunter had been calling for his brother for almost a minute now. Crosshair rose the knife again. "Wait" Hunter yelled. He looked at Tech who looked out of it. His breathing had become labored and blood ran down his face and body. "I'll tell you just please stop, you're gonna kill him!"

    The leaders broken screams pleased Crosshair. He'd won. "Go on."

    "Omega's" Tech coughed "with" his voice drifted. The clone used his last bit of energy trying to keep his little sister safe. He collapsed.

    "Tech!" Hunter stared at his brother helplessly.

    Crosshair kicked Tech to the side and kneeled down in front of Hunter. He grabbed his face and forced him to look him to the eyes, "look what you've done." He hissed.

    "No." Hunter whispered. "Is he?"

    "He is and it's your fault."

    The soft cry became a full sob. He was forced to watch his brother die. He couldn't save him. That helpless feeling made him sick.

    Crosshair stood and walked out the door, leaving Hunter to deal with his mind once more.

    Rex, Omega, and Chex knew something wasn't right. When Phee and Cid agreed they decided to contact Trevor, another informant of Rex's. Soon after the five would depart from Ord Mentell.

    Arriving the group located the brothers and snuck to break them out. Finding the cell block they stopped Infront of Wreckers cell. Omega went to open the door but Rex reached out his arm out, stopping her. "Be careful, I'm not sure what we're gonna find." Cautiously Omega opened the door.

    Wrecker looked up at his found family and smiled, "good to see ya!"

    "Not so loud!" Cid whisper yelled.   

    "Wrecker!" Omega ran to the large man and hugged him.

    "Hey kid" he spoke softly. "Let's go get the others."

    Walking down the hall the band kept the same cautiousness as before when opening the door. When Echo greeted them with a thankful smile, Rex let himself relax a little. Yes he cared for all of them but none of them fought beside him as long as Echo had. The two were close and Rex wasn't sure what he'd do if he lost Echo again.

    Now seven the group quickly moved to the cell Tech was supposed to occupy. Opening the door to not find him scared them.

    "Where's Tech? He's supposed to be here." Omega turned back to Rex. Rex looked at the adults, all assuming the worst.

    Echo kneeled down to Omega, resting a hand on her little shoulder. "I'm sure we'll find him." The group walked to Hunter's cell and paused. Phee pushed the combination into the panel and the door slid open.

    Inside Hunter leaned against the wall softly crying. Tech rested on the cold floor. The noise startled the leader and he looked up.

    Rushing into the room Omega ran to Hunter to release him of the heavy chains. The others spread across the room as Echo dropped to check on Tech. As eyes landed to Tech feelings rose. Anger, sadness, fear, everything.

    As soon as Hunter was free he attended to stand. His numb legs failed him and he collapsed. Phee caught him and gently placed him back on the ground. "Careful dark and broody, take your time. You're safe." Her soft voice took Hunter off guard and he leaned into her.

    "He wasn't. I failed him Phee. I could have saved him and now-" He couldn't say it.

    Phee ran her hands over his head and looked to the others. Was brown eyes dead?

    Echo checked Tech for a pulse. "He's got a pulse! It's weak but it's there!"

    Hunter quickly sat up and looked over to the others "Crosshair told me" he smiled softly"he's okay?"

    "Far from okay but yeah he's definitely alive." Cid shook her head.

    "It'll take more than that to kill Tech! He's too stubborn to die!" Wrecker walked over to Tech and picked him up, "now let's get out of here!"

    Hunter tried to stand again, some feeling in his legs had returned but he still wobbled. "Here" Phee grabbed the sergeant, "I gotta."

    The team made their way out of the cell block. Once outside the building Phhe set Hunter down. "Thanks." The clone felt somewhat embarrassed by Phee carrying him the whole way out but being close to someone was nice. He tried to get her to set him down a few times but she wouldn't budge.

    The group ran to the Marauder and headed back to Ord Mantell. Tech would be fine. When he'd wake up Hunter apologized profusely. Of course Tech wasn't even upset. He would have to get used to the mark across his face but that was miner. It would always remind Hunter of his failure to protect his brother. For Tech it was a reminder of the monster Crosshair had become.

    Hunter always hated that helpless feeling when he could help anyone, he always would. Being forced to watch what he thought was his brother's demise stayed with him, hunting his dreams forever.

What will happen when Peter's Aunt May is abducted on the day of the first anniversary of his Uncle Ben's death? 

TW: kidnapping, human experimentation, non-consensual drug use, restraints

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my plot!

@febuwhump

My first fic for Febuwhump this year! And it’s not Legend-centric? *Le gasp*! Impossible! Anyway I hope you enjoy.

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Four & Hyrule & Legend & Sky & Time & Twilight & Warriors & Wild & Wind (Linked Universe), Sky/Sun (Linked Universe) Additional Tags: Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Whump, Selective Mutism, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Link is Bad at Feelings (Legend of Zelda), Link Has PTSD (Legend of Zelda) Summary:

Words are difficult, and there are times when the Links would prefer to avoid them altogether.

Febuwhump day 7: Suffering in Silence

@febuwhump prompt: suffering in silence

***

His grandmother had taught him that a good solid meal could fix just about any problem. Or at least give you the fortitude and energy needed to go out and handle whatever needed handling. It was important to eat well - or at least regularly - to keep your mind and body and spirit sustained.

There was an ache inside his chest. He tried to fool himself into thinking it was lower, deep down in his belly. Hunger was surely responsible. And while they hadn't snagged a big bounty today, they had been given a ton of eggs from Ed's fa...

At any rate, they had a ton of eggs. Boiled up and painstakingly shelled by yours truly and then stacked - nearly a dozen per dish - into four serving plates and one dog dish.

He and Spike sat across from one another in the living room, no words spoken.

The silence was massive. It was suffocating. It was positively unnatural after what the two men had grown used to over the past few months.

There was no clacking of computer keys, no humming or bursts of song, no childish gleeful giggles. There was no hot dog breath panting against their ankles, no random scratching of doggy claws against a furry body, no whines that somehow communicated the intent of a conversation so well. There were no playing cards being shuffled, no woman's voice bemoaning her boredom or slyly teasing, no sound of heeled boots wandering down the hall as the owner returned from a senseless shopping spree.

Hell, he had no fucking clue where Faye had disappeared to. He hadn't seen her since sometime before the girls reprogrammed the ship to land here instead of going to Mars. The dog being gone made some sense... no doubt he'd trailed along after Ed when she departed. Ein had been stuck to her side since the hacker had first boarded the ship - literally, he'd even been glued to her at one point.

It's not like Ed had been kidnapped either. He had a pretty good idea of where she'd gone given who they'd met that day.

So the kid had a father. An actual living breathing blood-related family member. An absent-minded easily distractible work-focused father who probably wouldn't remember to instruct her to bathe once a week, who wouldn't bring her along on general wellness appointments so she could see a doctor too, who wouldn't keep her adequately fed...

His heart twisted painfully.

Or maybe it was his stomach. Maybe it was the bellyache of having finished his own pile of eggs and having ruthlessly and wordlessly joined Spike in devouring the plates that had been set out for the girls.

They hadn't even eaten anything today...

Gone. Not even a goodbye from Faye, though why they ought to have expected one...

When she bailed on them on Callisto there had been a note at least. But that was because she had been secretly hoping they'd track her down. She'd never admit as much, hell, she'd deny it if she bothered to acknowledge the accusation but they'd never had a conversation about it after he'd brought her back.

So this... this meant she didn't want to be found. Didn't want to be brought back like a wayward child.

Another pang as he polished off the second plate and then looked up to catch Spike's troubled eyes before they both glanced at Ein's untouched dish. A growling rumble echoed in the strained silence - was that his belly or Spike's? It didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

Silently, they both dove for the dish and scrambled to shove as many of the by-now repulsive eggs into their mouths.

It had to be done. He wanted no leftovers to sit in the fridge, mocking him that they had all chosen to leave. He wanted no evidence that he'd cared enough to try and provide for each of them.

Hell, he never wanted to lay eyes on an egg ever again.

Spike disappeared without saying a thing, leaving Jet in his apron in the living room all alone. Futilely trying to convince himself that the rawness of his battered heart was the food not sitting well in his stomach. Crossing his arms high on his chest, Jet closed his eyes and ground his teeth together, suffering in silence.

It would be easier to just go to sleep. No need then to be bothered by the lack of missing companions.

Instead, he opened his eyes again and forced himself to his feet. He made the climb to the bridge and stared hard at the words scrawled on the deck of the ship.

Swallowing past a lump in his throat, Jet turned away and moved to the navigation panel. Programmed the ship to launch and resume course towards Mars.

There was nothing good from Earth to bother with anymore.