Have An Allan Doodle!

Tang au Drabbles 2!

Ok, I have more info on what happens before tang crashes into the town!

This will contain spoilers for the upcoming fic

The wind demon Tang encounters on the way to the airport is Heifeng Guai, also known as The Black Wind Demon.

Tangs taxi driver, a teenager that talked his ear off for most of the ride, immediately starts to panic when they start getting chased by the wind demon and started to hyperventilate, causing the taxi to go off-road and towards the edges of the grass plains they were driving through.

Tang, obviously panicked, grabs the teen, opens his door, and jumps into the long grass, hoping to not be noticed in the heat of the chase.

Tang tries tobsilently console the teen as the demon continues towards the taxi as it drives towards the surrounding river as the demon throws their spear through the back of the taxi.

The taxi explodes as shrapnel flies in every direction. Though, none of it hit Tang or the teen that had stopped hyperventilating, for some reason...

The demon stops, seemingly annoyed by no bloodshed, and starts to search the area, hoping to find its prey again.

Tang and the teen freeze on the ground as they hear the wind pick up and then relax as they hear a curse, and then tree branches blowing around until silence.

I hope you guys liked that little snipbit of the plot I have coming up for the fic! I now know that I probably get an ao3 account this summer, but idk when.

Hello! I just wanted to clarify some things and give some warnings about my A World Without Him au.

1. My update schedule isn't concrete, but I'll try to update every 1-2 weeks, usually on Thursdays or Fridays

2. This au will get pretty dark. I just wanted to warn people reading about future topics after Tang leaves Metrapolis. There's character death (no major character death, im not that evil), lots of graphic violence/gore, and immense self hatred from certain characters. So be a bit wary if you are sensitive to any of those topics.

3. The first couple of chapters will be pretty tame compared to the later chapters. The first couple of chapters are meant to set things into perspective of how my au's Tang had it before the things that added up to him leaving started. Though, you can definitely spot where some of those things started to develop.

4. THERE WILL BE A HAPPY ENDING. I don't just want my story to just be pain and suffering, so there will definitely be some calm alongside the numerous amounts of angst. I already have an ending planned out! (Even tho lots of arcs still aren't fully developed...)

5. I also just wanted to say that there's a lot of canon divergence going into S4 of monkie kid. I will also be including lots of headcanons regarding all major characters. Also, OC's will be important in this fic, mostly because I have to come up with an entire new town with lots of new people to name... (says the person who hasn't even named the town yet)

(Also, my Tang Drabbles have major spoilers for this au, so if you don't want to see those yet, then I would steer clear of them for now. They also contain some events I've put later in the story or scrapped all together, so take all the information in them considering my actual writing with a grain of salt.)

Anyways, these are just points I wanted to get clear before people read this and suddenly get bombarded with things they didn't expect because of earlier chapters or tags.

Start

Hello!

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I just didn't know what to post because I'm still waiting for my ao3 account and I haven't had anything else really interesting to post other than my aus.

I have developed more of the A Word Without Him au and have put more depth into why Tang is more self-conscious and beats himself up more.

I probably won't post anything else except maybe more Tang au dribbles until this polls duration is up because of the reasons above the poll. I do hope most of you guys are still interested in my au and can stick it out long enough for me to finally get an ao3 account.

Hello! Guess who finally got motivation to write? I'll be posting chapters on Tumblr for now until i can FINALLY get an ao3 account.

CHAPTER 1

-About 2 months after LBD defeat-

Nothing.

Everything around him was just void. No color, no feeling, just, nothing.

He couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't see, couldn't hear, anything.

He was stuck.

So he waited. Waited for something to happen. Something to change the endless black around him, so he could feel anything again.

Then everything became too much.

Overwhelming colors and sounds suddenly filled the area. Voices overlapped, and silhouettes blended together.

He could hear people speaking, to him or to someone else he didn't know.

They suddenly got louder, and the colors got brighter as they burned into his vision.

He could suddenly feel hands grabbing his ankles, trying to pull him down to somewhere.

The voices didn't stop, they only got louder as more and more hands tried to pull him down.

He started to thrash and pull away, but he couldn't escape. Every hand that let go, two more would start to drag him down in their place.

He felt hopeless. He felt useless. He felt weak.

He was stuck.

But still, he continued to thrash, kick, bite, anything just to slow down his fate.

Maybe his efforts would amount to something, maybe all the work he's put in will let him feel anything, or at least get away from them.

He was scared. Scared of what would happen if they dragged him down far enough, scared of what he would become after.

He. Was. Stuck.

Now all he felt was anger. At this stupid situation, at them, and at himself. He couldn't do anything at the end of it all.

So he became engrossed in his thoughts, as the hands reached his head, and his vision turned black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tang shot up from his desk. He looked franticly around where he woke up.

He realised he was at The Metrapolis Library. The section near the back, where most of the architecture and city records were located, with only a small lamp for light among the shelves.

"Dang, not again..." Tang groaned as he started to look through the scattered papers and opened books laid on his desk.

That dream... wasn't an uncommon occurrence for Tang. He seemed to always have it when he fell asleep at the library, or when he passed out after reading too many articles before bed.

It was never a pleasant experience, so he usually didn't try to think about that dream after waking up.

Tang finally decided to check his phone when an alarm went off while he was putting away The Mythos Sites: Professional Study.

He set that alarm for an event at the library tomorrow so he could leave 5 minutes early to avoid the crowds. Apparently he set it a day early. Just great.

He groaned in annoyance, but when he went to turn it off, he saw the time, and then started to panic.

"Aw crap! Nonononono-" Tang then started to clean up faster as he was apparently late for the weekly noodle night at Pigsy's.

This was a night every Friday that Sandy, Mei, Mk, Pigsy, Tang, sometimes including Red Son or Wukong, where they would all come to Pigsy's at a set time and then just hang out and talk for an entire evening.

This wasn't high scale or anything like that, but it was important to Tang. This was the one day of the week he would finally see everyone for once.

Mk seemed to almost always be either hanging out with Mei and/or Red Son, training, fighting demons, or delivering orders for Pigsy. He barely got to talk to Mk even when he was 'Freeloading' (as Pigsy would call it) at Pigsy's.

Everyone else also seems have their own things going on. Pigsy obviously has the shop, and now he seems to have more customers than ever after the whole LBD situation, so he usually has less time to talk, inside and outside of his restaurant.

Mei is usually just hanging out and having fun, but will almost never answer texts when she's 'in the zone' with video games, streaming, or anything else, which has been almost her entire mood lately.

The only one he really does talk to more than once a week is Sandy. But Tang does stay at home most of the time while Sandy also barely leaves his boat as is.

So you can understand why Tang is speeding towards Pigsy's with apologies and excuses about to tumble out as he crashes through the doors.

"Phew... Hey *huff* sorry I'm... *huff* late again!" Tang yells as he lays his messenger bag down and sits on one of Pigsy's stools.

Tang starts to stretch as he looks around Pigsy's. He then notices that the only other people in the restaurant are Pigsy and Sandy.

"Hey Sandy, where's everyone else?" Tang asks as he goes to sit down with Sandy at one of Pigsy's tables.

"Oh, hello Tang! We were worried you wouldn't show up!" Sandy exclaimed as Pigsy came out from the kitchen, noodles in hand.

"Hey Tang. Yeah, the kids left after Mk got a demon attack notification, and Mei followed after him. So it's just been me and Sandy for a bit." Pigsy said as he sat down with them.

"I missed them?! Aw, I haven't seen them all week! I at least wanted to see how they were doing." Tang then grabbed his own bowl of noodles, eating with a sour look on his face.

"It's ok, Tang! Maybe you can join them in something else? We all know you've been pretty couped up recently." Sandy said as he started to brew his own tea to go with the noodles.

"Maybe, but I'm not sure there's anything we can do together, especially with all of Mk and Mei's new responsibilities and my own... uh, research I've been engrossed in." Tang sighs as he pushes away the now empty bowl.

"That's why I'm always excited for this hangout every week. It's some of my only time to see you guys and for all of us to have a break from everything. And who can say no to free noodles from Pisgy's?" Tang smirks as Pisgy chuckled a little and murmured something along the lines of "freeloader. "

"I guess I can't argue with that. But don't worry, Tang, I bet that those kids will be here next time." Pisgy says as he puts an arm around Tangs shoulders.

Tang smiles softly at Pigsy, "Yeah, I hope so."

After that exchange, they trio hung around a little longer, talking about their days and interesting things that happened in their own time.

But of course, these things eventually come to an end, so Sandy and Tang eventually left to let Pisgy close up shop.

Sandy and Tang then have their goodbyes outside of Pisgy's and went their own ways.

Tang walked along cracked sidewalks on his way home. Streetlights lighting almost every section.

It was an oddly quiet night. No music, no yelling from demon fights or otherwise, and no bright lights shining in his face.

It was calm. It was nice.

'What are we going to do about him?'

It was too nice to last, apparently.

Previous || Next

A World Without Him

Chapter 10

Oh my goodness, what was I thinking?!

Tang had gotten over his shock when he finally walked far enough to actually think about what just happened. But in his haste, he had already walked a couple of blocks when he had been lost in the moment.

Now, though, he's stopped at that bakery with the make-it-yourself type deal that he remembered opening a couple of days ago. The only reason he could recognize it was because he was currently pacing past its window.

He had been freaking out ever since he got over his grogginess from the previous haze. He hasn't been out since last night, he doesn't have any supplies with him (including his dead phone left on the bedside table) other than a nearly empty backpack, and now he's walking aimlessly towards something he doesn't even know exists or not because of a random dream!

I should just go home. I dont know what to look for or what I'm doing. Tang thought, stopping his continuous pacing.

Now he was right in front of the store window, seeing his tired reflection looking right back at him with the sun highlighting his face from behind. He could only sigh before sitting on one of the outside tables in front of said window. Then he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, releasing the tension from between them. The colors around blended together as his vision distorted and stretched.

It was only after he opened and refocussed his eyes agin, that he noticed the deathly silence around him. His surroundings now seemed blurry without his glasses, but he could still feel the lifelessness his surroundings now held.

The street looked dark and colorless, almost as if the color had been faded out of a photograph. The blurry shapes around him never moved, never made a sound. The only thing in his ears was his heartbeat, which steadily kept rising against his will.

He hastily grabbed his glasses, his eyes widening when the surroundings seemed to warp with his vision.

The street was now in full gray-scale, with the shadows being pitch black against the light gray buildings. Everything seemed frozen in time, with the people around him gaining soft, colorful outlines while frozen in place.

Tang didn't know what was going on, and didn't want to know what was going on. Maybe he finally snapped. Maybe he's full on hallucinating now. All he could think about now was getting back home.

So he violently stood up from the table and started to speed walk back home. The still, almost completely colorless figures of the civillians unnerved him to no end.

From closer inspection, they seemed to be in slow motion; it was just enough to where they seems like statues at a first glance. Tang didn't notice this until he saw one guy's drink slowly spread onto the sidewalk from a supposedly clumsy passerby.

I'm going insane.

He side-stepped another civillian on the street with their bright purple hue overpowering the soft sky blue of the person beside them. He tried not to pay too much attention to these strange details.

The one time I try to find some answers about my recent episodes and now I'm back into a worse version of one!

With an irritated grunt, Tang kicks a stray can on the street, now a block away from the start of this limbo type place. The can only went up about a foot before slowing down to the speed of its surroundings.

A small breeze pucks up through his street, not affected by the slowing time. Yet he didn't acknowledge the change, only focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

Why am I so unlucky to have this happen right after yesterday?

He yet again speeds up his pace, now almost a complete sprint past all the still moments around him. He needs to get home. He needs to be sane to actually know what's going on.

Is any of this even happening? I'm an idiot: of course this isn't real. I'm just having another episode, after another horrible dream, after another person died in my arms-

...Why can't I just get over it already. I can't change anything.

The breeze picked up suddenly, whipping past Tang's grimaced face. The intense force of the wind didn't seem to affect him, though, as it swerved around him and through his hair.

Wisps of messy hair flowed in front of his face as he continued on his way home.

Why do I always let something like this happen? When can this finally just stop? I can't keep helplessly watching from the sidelines as people like Allan risk their lives for cowards like me.

He could feel wet tears roll down his face. They dropped to the still ground in waves as he continued to walk. He couldn't waste any more time in this nightmare world unless he wanted his brain to snap.

He walked past many construction sites over the next couple of blocks. He didn't remember walking this far out, but he didn't want to think about the connotations of what that could mean.

He could see the foundations crushed to bits from the empty sidewalk; the concrete walls and floor were all cracked or completely torn through by what Tang could only assume was one of Mk's many battles.

His thoughts carried on to the library, with the sunken roof and the crumblibg walls, but he quickly shut down whatever he was about to think next. Mk was always reckless; it's just who he is. A bad feeling always seemed to overwhelm his stomach when he thought about Mk after yesterday.

Oh please, it's not like you would be any better in his position.

The wind kicks up again, slightly pushing him forward.

Do you think you're any different from the demons he fights every day? How you've probably done worse things than what those bastards could ever dream of?

The tears continue down his face as he walks by the many windows of the street. The shop fronts seem just as lifeless as the rest of the street. He stares as his feet when he walks, avoiding looking at the shops while creating a trail behind him as the waterworks don't seem to stop.

Harina would've left you there to die if she knew what you would become.

Tang's breathes were heavy as he slowed down his steps, almost stopping entirely in front of a stores window. He noticed it had sunflower motifs as he raised his head up to look in the window.

He could only see himself looking back. His hair messy and unkempt, his body highlited in a soft orange glow, his eyes puffy from sobbing all the way here, and his suddenly pale face as he noticed the figure standing beside him.

A tall, young woman stood behind him, staring into his eyes over his shoulder. Her eyes were hollow and blood dripped slowly from her mouth and he long black hair swayed with the breeze.

You were, and still are a pathetic, worthless piece of shit that doesn't even try to live on in her memory as you just lounge over their hundreds of sacrifices-

"JUST LEAVE, ME, ALONE." Tang had shouted, grabbing his own head and crouching down onto the ground. The wind howled in his ears and started to harshly whip the street, shattering every window as far as the eye could see.

Glass rained down over him and the street as he looked up, not caring if he was struck with the shimmering downpour. The glass slowly fell onto the surrounding area, and eventually slowing to a stop like the rest of this hellish place.

He could only stare at the moment frozen in time. The reflections in them proved irksome as they seemed to drown in the orange glow from behind him.

He was yet again tired of this place. How many times does he have to go through this? Enough to please whatever God he had pissed off probably. He laughed bitterly to himself.

He didn't turn around. He closed his eyes. He didn't want to give whatever those monsters wanted out of him; he just wanted to go home.

So only when the whispers from behind finally faded, and the piercing eyes slowly disappeared, was when Tang opened his eyes again.

Now everything was truly quiet. No buzzing, no whispers in the back of his mind, just silence.

He slowly tilted his head up from his perch on the sidewalk, taking everything in slowly. A tall building was in front of him. He could already feel how it was steril, blank, and full of mixed emotions.

The doors in front of him show many different signs, but one caught his eyes immeadietly, "Metrapolis Springs Hospital: First Responder volunteers needed!"

The golden lettering was all it took for his eyes to widen from the initial numbness. Those letters important, he knew. It's just that he didn't know why.

And he would never find out at this moment, as looking too hard at the building caused his vision to blur once again, causing him to lean on a nearby electrical pole for balance.

It getting hard to keep his eyes open as his eyelids became heavy and the whispers started up again. However, there was only one this time. It talked smoothly through his head as his conscious slipped away from his grasp, leaving him up against the pole.

When he woke up again, the world suddenly gained more colors than before, causing Tang's eyes to hurt from the brightness. When he refocussed again, he could tell that the sky had darkened and the sun was about to set.

Where am I?...

He slowly looked around in his grogginess, coming to realize he was right outside of his apartment. He had been sat down on the outside electrical pole with all the posters. He could even see the one for the Metrapolis Library still up with some new tears...

He needed to go back home. Getting inside where it was safe was his top priority. He grabbed the side of the splintered pole to pull himself up and steady his unstable stance, letting him stand up after some struggle.

His mind knew he needed to do something today, something that was important enough to make him feel uneasy, yet his body didn't cooperate as it lead him through the double doors of his apartment building.

The golden letters repeated over and over in his mind as he walked up the steps. They were ingrained into his brain as he reached his final floor.

And then, yet again, Tang could only open the door and slam it behind him as he slid down on the other side. He put his head between his knees as he closed his eyes once again.

I can't keep living like this: these, these horrible trances everyday just kept getting worse and worse as I continue to stay here. I need to leave. I just need to... get away from it all...

And finally, he could only succumb to sleep at the end of it all. His body went limp, and he passed out even before his body hit the floor.

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A World Without Him

Chapter 21

Tang only got a few seconds to process what exactly he was stuck with before he was hauled up by the back of his uniform shirt and onto his feet. He stumbled forward at the sudden force, broken glass crunching beneath his feet.

The scholar blinked indignantly at the rough handling, but he couldn't even get a huff of displeasure in before the soldier was already walking out of the curtained area and gunning for the front exit. Tang couldn't hide his annoyance as he groaned loudly into his hands and started to go after the guy, wiping his face with his sleeve while he tried to follow.

Every one of his steps crunched on the stone floor, somehow powering over all the other noises in the medical tent as he tried to pursue the guy, glass shards almost definitely embedded into the soles of his boots now.

It was uncomfortable, but the growing sense of exhaustion quickly drew more attention. He’d already been drained from that ghost intervention, but he didn't realize how badly he was affected until he couldn’t even take two steps without his lungs burning up. Tang knew that this was a losing battle.

He leaned on one of the empty beds when his head started pounding and looked ahead with bleary eyes. Squinting, he only saw a glimpse of how the soldier seamlessly passed by the staff and wandering patients, seemingly dead focussed on getting out as fast as possible with practiced ease.

The scholar could only grit his teeth as he pushed himself back onto his feet as the body's silhouette got smaller and smaller. As he tried to move forward, his body became more slow and lethargic; he felt disconnected to his limbs, almost numb.

I guess there just had to be side effects for anything giving me a boon here. He thought bitterly, pushing himself forward. He could barely keep the guy in focus as he was already so far ahead while he tried to dodge and swerve to get to the exit himself, noticing the feeling was achingly similar to the streets back in Megatropolis.

Pushing the small feeling to the back of his mind, Tang saw that the soldier was no longer in his line of sight, most likely frolicking outside in the grass while getting further and further away from his tag-along.

Tang clenched his fists at the thought and if you were to ask anyone in the vicinity, they would have said that smoke was billowing out of his ears. Tang silently prayed that he would make the trip to wherever he's being forced without his legs giving up and moving to the Bahamas because of unsafe working conditions.

He huffed a bit at the thought as his legs started to twinge even worse, almost as if they were dignifying his thoughts with a response. Tang just frowned, pushing himself past one more staff member before he was finally in front of the exit. He took no hesitation in pushing the tent flap open and stepping outside, the dirt cushioning the glass in his soles.

A breeze kicked up at his exit, blowing wisps of hair behind him as he quickly walked a few feet before plopping himself down onto the ground, relishing in the feeling of his legs not giving in their two weeks notice. This, along with the nostalgic feeling of grass swaying in the wind, helped him relax.

He squinted up at the darkening sky af6er a moment, seeing how rish blue started to fade into vibrant hues of magenta and navy. As the sun was no longer visible beyond the treeline, electric torches started being lit all across the clearing pathways, giving everything a soft yellow glow as the area began to darken.

Tang just sat still at the view, taking in the scenery as fragments of memories flooded into his mind. A glance at the willow tree showed its hanging branches swaying in the wind, a single torch laying under it for some light amongst the grass. He put his elbow onto his knee and leaned into his hand for a better position, even if he knew there was nothing stopping the pain he would feel from his hunched position.

Behind him, a surprisingly soft voice knocked him out of his trance. “It's almost beautiful by itself, isn't it? If you can ignore the lake filled with mush and the tents covering every inch of solid ground with patrolling officers.”

Tang sucked in a breath and snapped his head to the voice, half-expecting it to have come from his own head and for nothing to be behind him. Instead, he saw Harrison leaning against the monastery wall, a blank look in his eyes as he looked over the clearing.

Tang didn't know how to react, giving the guy a blank stare as he tried reasoning in his head. Did he wait for me here? I thought he really didn't like me. That’s surprisingly nice considering he looked seconds away from maiming someone a couple of minutes ago…

He didn't know what to respond with, only opening and closing his mouth as no words actually came out. He eventually decided not to say anything and looked back towards the clearing, his eyes trailing back to the willow tree. He heard footsteps approaching after a minute, stopping right next to him as Harrison spoke up yet again.

“We need to get moving. Make sure to keep up this time.” He mumbled, reaching a hand down for Tang to grab. The scholar hesitated for a moment before grabbing the offered hand and being hoisted up again, much more smooth and comfortable than the first time.

Harrison quickly let go as Tang got to his feet, brushing past him and heading towards the dirt stairs now illuminated with torch light. The scholar blew a piece of hair out of his face before following right behind, his hands unconsciously starting to fidget with the bell on his wrist.

He tried his best to keep close behind this time, never letting the guy more than 2 feet away from him lest he lose his next guide and get lost in the labyrinth of white fabric. He did trip more than once on the uneven ground trying to keep up, but if Harrison noticed it, he didn't care to mention it as he only kept his head forward.

As the walk went on, the talk with those voices(? Spirits? Ghosts? He didn't exactly know what they were still) pushed to the front of his mind as he got more used to the white noise of the camp, replaying the conversation over and over as he tried to find anything useful he didn't already know.

All he could remember in detail was not to go to the Monastery, avoid Cian as much as he could, and basically nothing else. He frowns at the memory, millions of questions flying through his mind at what was going on.

He did know they had some sort of master, though, maybe a higher up who also put them in charge of watching over him. But why did he need watching over in the first place? (The job itself seemed like a punishment, though, considering those voices were obviously displeased with the work.) What deities are they most likely working with, and who exactly is the master they were referring to?

He doesn't have much to go on. Maybe that's the point, though, as those beings seemed shocked that he could hear and see them while all the info they did reveal was mostly slipped out by the younger looking one in a panic.

The more he tries to think about those things, his powers, Cian’s whole deal, and the apparent upcoming demonic war going on at his hometown if the vague (and straight up) threats from human military with whole towns being blown up are anything to go by… he really just wants to go back to Megatropolis, sit down at Pigsy’s and talk that grumpy cook’s ear off with Sandy, Mei, and Mk while scarfing as many noodles as he can down his throat.

However, he knows he needed to go somewhere other than there; that staying any longer would either break him, or cause trouble to the people around him. He knows what's been going on is most likely highly dangerous with the burn marks, strange dreams, and magic voices floating around his head among other (terrible) things giving some indicators.

He really wishes that it could all go away, that one morning the voices, dreams, and stupid bell would all just disappear. But it can't, not really, unless Mk's mentor has been storing up some magical cure or curse that could cancel out the presumed magic in that cave somewhere.

He wishes that he could go straight to his friends, ask for help, get all the support he could ever want, and end up ok. But it's not like that would happen. They would definitely try to help, of course, they're his friends. However, what could they really do for this? What could they do for the voices? The outbursts? He doesn't even recognize what's happening himself, and he's the certified scholar of the group who's read every legend and story he could get his hands on!

Another problem is that he still doesn't know the extent of how bad his magical episodes can get, if he can even control them, if he could stop them from happening, if he could actually hurt his friends during one of them.

Mk would probably be alright, he's got a good amount of Monkey King's powers with decent durability and is on an all time high right now after LBD got put into the ground. But he can't exactly be that sure for the others, or the city, for that matter.

He remembered what happened during one of his episodes, the foggy memory bubbling to the surface; glass scattered all over the streets and sidewalks. The shards silently crashed onto the unforgiving floor. Did anyone get hurt from that? Did that actually happen?

Tang couldn't remember. No faces came to mind, no news report on the TV or gossip overheard on the street were talking about it. But he can't be too sure, as almost everything after the Megatropolis Library fell was shaky at best and he wasn't exactly focussing on his surroundings.

The Library still hangs heavy in his mind. The screams, the crumbling ceiling, Allan, the poor kid, Mk… he still doesn't know exactly how to feel about that, either. He's seen Mk be reckless before. Hell, he's seen entire buildings go up in smoke trying to destroy one villain, but he never batted an eye. Never really thought about the “collateral damage”.

Until he experienced it. The fear, not even from the fight itself, but from the careless swings that could send tons of rubble towards them at any moment. The fighting style solely focussed on the opponent, uncaring if the missed shots or flying bodies caused damage to the city as long as the enemy stayed down.

That was something so different from the fear he's experienced before. Something so different compared to facing a common foe. Those are straight up. You know what you're getting into, that these guys will try and take you down however they see fit. You know they're trying to stop you, that you have to stop them in turn. You can run, hide, fight, do whatever in combat, adrenaline keeping you standing until you can get away or win at least.

But that moment in the library was something so raw, from not knowing what could happen next, that powers beyond your control could send something crashing down at you at any second, and you couldn't do anything to stop it. That powerlessness, that feeling of dread growing bigger and bigger every time a piece of the ceiling or wall crashed to the ground, was eating him alive from the inside out.

Tang wouldn't want that to happen again, especially not because of him. That was a big factor in why he left, the faint feeling of hopelessness eating at his insides when he's alone with his thoughts for too long.

He frowns at the depressing thoughts, feeling his eyes start to burn again. He knows he should take more time to take these thoughts in, to take them seriously and pick them apart, but he's not exactly in the right environment to do so at the moment as he looks up and notices they’re nearing the edge of the clearing.

He rubs his eyes before focussing back into his surroundings. The glass in his soles still grate onto the floor uncomfortably, but it's lessened by the softer dirt path he's currently walking on. Looking past Harrison, Tang can make out a few vehicles lined up next to each other, most likely trucks based on the cargo beds full of people in each of them.

When they finally get close enough, Harrison leads him to a half empty truck and gestures half-heartedly for him to get in. He walks away quickly after and starts to talk with a different soldier in the driver's seat of the first truck, leaving Tang to awkwardly hoist himself up and onto the cargo bed.

He doesn't recognize anyone in the truck, and he’s silently grateful for that as he doesn't think he can take any social interaction at this point in time. He sits down a decent amount away from the other passengers as he sags in relief at finally getting a longer break.

He does jump slightly as the tailgate of his truck gets slammed shut almost immediately after he gets comfortable, but he quickly relaxes again from the utter exhaustion creeping back into his body.

As the trucks get started and slowly start moving forward, Tang can barely keep his eyes open any longer as he starts to succumb to his fatigue. His eyelids droop as he lazily watches the trees swish by and the torches from the clearing get duller and duller until they're fully covered by the foliage.

He wraps his arms around himself as the breeze comes by again, causing a chill to run up his spine. But that's not enough to stop his eyelids from closing completely and his mind to finally take a rest from the day's events, drawing him into a deep, deep slumber as more trees roll on by, branches and leaves shaking in the wind almost like a lullaby.

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Hello 👋 my ❤ friends !

I am asking you to support my newly created campaign to help my family survive the gruesome war over Gaza to safety and ✌️ peace.

Life has become incredibly harsh, tough and full of hardship and painful suffering. We lack all he basic living essentials and necessities such as food, water , medicine and other needs.

The war has made our life hopeless and desperate. My six-member family has been going through the hardest days they have ever experience for almost eleven months due to the disastrous war.

The war has taken every beautiful thing from us, leaving us homeless, displaced and jobless.

The rising prices of all necessary items of life has complicated our living conditions especially when all our savings were spent over the least necessities and needs.

So I am now asking you to lessen and minimize our burdens and loads of life through your contribution. You can help my family survive through donating whatever you can or reposting my messages.

Yours

Rewaa

https://gofund.me/07f652e2

gofundme.com

Donate to Support Rewaa's Family: Restore Hope and Safety, organized by Rewaa Omari

Rawaa and my four children Rewaa & her four kids October 7, 202… Rewaa Omari needs your support for Support Rewaa's Family: Resto

Shadow Trails ~~~~~~~~~~

The limo was silent with the swish of a window divider opening and closing in the background.

The Princess of Hell and a very pissed off lady can be seen sitting next to each other. Across from them is a famous porn star as he keeps flipping the divider switch over and over.

*swish* Up it goes. *swosh* Down it goes. *swish* Up it goes. *swosh* Down it-

"Do you even know what your little stunt did to us?" The lady growled, seemingly getting even more peeved than before.

The star stopped and rolled his eyes as he sat back into his seat. "Calm down toots, it was just a small turf war -"

The lady stood up to look him in the eyes. "Your small turf war goes against everything our hotel is about, Angel Dust! And you just had to go and do this during Charlie's interview as well! You made us look like a joke!" She spout with venom.

A hand interlocks with hers as she looks down to see Charlie holding her hand. She says, "It's okay, Vaggie." In a quiet voice. Vaggie sighed as Angel Dust started to talk again.

"Ah, no. I didn't make you look like a joke. Jokes are funny!" Angel Dust starts to wave his top pair of hands. "I made you look, eh, pathetic! Like an orphan, with no arms, who was pushed into a river or something. Damn, now you've got me bummed out."

Charlie seemed to shrink into herself as she pushed her body against the window. Vaggie sits violently back down, still holding Charlie's hand. "I'm gonna kill him." She spats.

Angel Dust giggles in his seat. "Hah! And what'll that do?" He jests, laying down even more. "Make me double dead? Send me to double hell? Sorry, but you're stuck with me, bitch. Get used to it."

Vaggie is restless in her seat, making hand motions of choking and other gestures. Charlie pulls herself from the window to pat her on the back before turning to Angel Dust. "That was really uncool back there, Angel."

"Uncool?!" Vaggie interrupts, glaring back at Angel Dust. "After an incident like that, we'll be lucky if anyone's still interested in the hotel! And that's all because of YOU and all your impulsive bullshit!"

Angel Dust suddenly sits up, seemingly more serious than he had been the entire conversation. "Wait, does that mean I can't keep crashing here?" He says while looking at the two directly.

Vaggie is about to speak before Charlie pipes up, preventing another yelling match. "Hey Vaggie, I bet we'll still have some people visit the hotel! I mean, it's not like all of hell has seen the interview, and some might still want to give it a try anyway!" She gives a reassuring smile.

Vaggie sags in her seat for a moment, then looks to Charlie, who's staring at her hopefully. She sighs as she smiles a bit back. "You're right, Charlie."

The limo arrives at the hotel a few moments later. Angel jumps out of the car first, leaving the other two a step behind.

The hotel is the same as ever when the stained glass doors open. Cobwebs in the corners, jumbled furniture all over the place, bugs running amok, and beams laying in crooked ways near the top and bottom of the floors.

Angel immediately goes for the fridge as Vaggie violently throws herself onto a nearby couch. Charlie sits down on a cloth-covered piece of furniture(?) as she thinks about what happened.

Her interview ended up in disaster, with a fight against that vile news reporter no less. Then there was Angel's fight, which destroyed a lot of the downtrodden area. Charlie's frustrated just thinking about it.

Angel, now with a popsicle in hand, starts to walk over to her. "Hey, you may need to stock up the food a bit more. Y'know, for all these wayward souls you got here!" He says while gesturing to the empty lobby with a smirk.

Charlie just sighs before rebutting Angel Dust. "I don't really need jests right now, Angel. I need to think of how people will take us seriously again after... everything, today."

Angel Dust seemed a bit shocked at that. After a couple of seconds, he frowned and started to reach out a bit. He stops right over her shoulder before pulling back and walking towards Vaggie's couch.

Charlie grumbled in frustration before getting up off the cloth. Moping won't do anything to get the hotel back up and running.

She walks back out the two entrance doors as she dials her mom's number. It rings twice before immediately going to voice-mail.

Charlie sighs before starting her message. "Hey, mom. I know you've been busy, and I keep calling, but, uh, the interview didn't go well, and I don't really know what to do now."

She takes a deep breath before continuing. "I really need some guidance, maybe some advice, or really anything just to know you're at least listening to these messages."

The line is silent before Charlie gives another huff. "Maybe dad was right. Maybe all this can't happen. Maybe I'm just chasing a crazy dream." She sniffs before continuing. "I just don't know what I can do anymore."

Charlie rubs her temple before finishing weakly. "I love you, mom." She ends the voice-mail. She walks back inside and dejectedly plops herself down in front of the doors.

She sits there for a moment.

Then, a knock sounds behind her. She gets up quickly and waits to see if she was imagining it. Another knock sounds throughout the lobby, quick and polite.

Charlie opens the door, suddenly face to face with a tall, cat-like demon with wings. He looks down, then gives her a friendly smirk.

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Lovely supporter, I hope this message finds you and your family in good health and high spirits.

This is Eman Zaqout a Biotechnologist and PhD student from Gaza. I've started a fundraising campaign and urgently need your help to spread it to the world, after losing my house and my job in the genocide in Gaza and living in a life that you can't bear watch it behind screens.

I hope you can take a look at my campaign on the pinned post on my profile, and help us by donating or sharing our campaign to reach the largest number of supporters.

Thank you for your continuous help for the Palestinian cause until freedom is achieved.

Please know that our campaign is verified by @90-ghost, @aces-and-angels

gofundme.com

Donate to Help my family survive famine and have secure life, organized by Mazin Fakak

Dear friends, family, and compassionate supporters, My name is Eman Za… Mazin Fakak needs your support for Help my family survive famine an

I forgot to post the chapters after chapter 4, so I'll just put the latest one here.