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After winning the singing competition Zari was met with the alien suit bowing at their feet. When the suit’s face split up everyone prepared for the worst until a tiny green alien with long, furry ears crawled out and landed on the floor. Zari’s brother dropped to the floor to get eye level with the creature and watched as it spoke in a wining high pitch tone. It was a little bit of a headache to listen too but that was far overshadowed by the fact an alien was freaking talking.“It’s kinda cute?” Zari spoke up though their face was covered in layers of disgust. The little green creature was talking about something about his home planet when Rory came in stomping. Just before his foot was going to take the little guy out like a bug Ava scooped it up in her palms. Rory grunted in frustration but didn’t try to swat the tiny thing. He just glared at it until he gave up and stomped away to get more beer. More fucking beer. How many bottles has he had today? Five? Ten? Ava was loosing count.“What do we do with…it?” Zari asked while motioning at the little green guy. The alien bowed in her direction before bowing in Ava’s, probably a thank you for saving its tiny green life.“I am willing to serve you in any way I can,” The little green guy spoke up with a smile. It was so proud of being useful that Ava didn’t have the heart to tell it that it was kinda useless. What could this green creature do? Would it even be useful to finding Sara?“That’s cute,” Zari spoke up before they wandered off, probably headed to their room to work on make up or their hair. The little green creature watched them leave before turning to Ava and motioning to its suit.“Could you put me up there real quick?” It asked politely and Ava obliged, setting it in the cockpit of the machine. Once the green guy was inside it closed the mask up and activated the suit. The lights flashed on and the machine made a quiet powering up noise before the creature made a bow with the suit. Now Constantine spoke up.“Can we kill it?” He asked which got a yell of agreement across the ship from Mick.“We are not killing it! That’s final. Maybe it has valuable intel it could offer us!” Ava cut in while standing between the group and the alien machine. She was desperate for leads that lead to Sara’s discovery and this alien’s cooperation seemed promising. Course she jinxed it.“I will only give my information to my liege, I’m sorry. Unless of course they command me to share it,” The machine spoke and Ava mentally face palmed. She just had to go and jinx it didn’t she?“Well then let’s go get Zari,” B piped up as he started to make a b-line to Zari’s room. Ava put up a hand and he stopped in his tracks. With Sara gone Ava was the authority figure and apparently that commanded respect, well except for Rory’s.“Hold it. They went through a lot today so let’s give them a break, hmm? We can discus alien intel in the morning,” Ava commanded and got a range of responses. Nate and B gave her a thumbs up and salut before heading off to their respective relaxation places. Rory gave a grunt before going back to getting more beer and Spooner followed suit. John let out a sigh before wandering in the direction Zari was, only to be stopped by their new personal guard.“I shall not let anyone disturb my king,” It spoke while blocking all of John’s path in that direction. It was both entertaining to watch and terrifying because Constantine could snap and use magic that could ruin the temporary alliance with these alien species.“I’m not gonna disturb them you wanker!” John yelled which just got him a more defensive shove from the bot. When John started chanting Ava bolted in to stop a fire bursting through the ship.“Let’s ask Zari what they want,” She cut in while putting his hands up to either side. John scoffed but the bot nodded.“I must do what my liege commands. I must ask their will,” The robot spoke before heading down the hall to Zari’s room and waiting in front of their door. It didn’t knock or call or disturb Zari in the slightest, just waited.“You can knock gently to get their attention,” Ava suggested and the bot nodded. It followed the instruction and gently banged on the door. Then waited. Then knocked again. After the third try Zari opened their door with annoyance only to be met with a bowing bot.“It’s you…again,” Zari spoke while shooing the bot to the side so they could get past. The creature obliged, but did not stand up. In fact it didn’t make a move till Zari asked it to grab her a juice. The creature snapped upright and made a beeline to the food generator. Ava was impressed it knew where to go.“Is it going to watch me sleep or something? Creepy,” Zari complained before waving at John. Ava chose to just space them out as they talked, it was better for her mind that way. They talked a load of weird topics that were so disturbing once Ava begged Gideon to give her mental bleach. She always wondered if John and Sara ever talked in such ways, but it always hurt to imagine it, especially now. Any thought of Sara hurt while she was god knows where probably fighting for her life.“You can be a good-“ Zari was talking and Ava couldn’t zone it out anymore so she turned around and interjected.“Someone better figure out their sleeping arrangements before John zaps our new friend,” Ava snapped before rushing it down the hall. She did not need to hear the end of that sentence and defiantly didn’t want to deal with John and the new bot fighting all night. That was Zari’s problem now.“That was rude,” Zari spoke with their usual spoiled tone. Sometimes it was annoying but tonight it was comforting. Zari was still Zari.“You want to see rude? Your new friend wouldn’t let me even walk down that bloody hallway!” John snapped as he leaned on the center console. Zari was about to speak but was interrupted by a cup in their face.“I have returned with this beverage your kind call ‘juice’ my liege,” The bot interjected while bowing and handing the glass of orange juice out like it was offering a blade. It was a little creepy but Zari let it slide once they took a sip of the drink. It was cold, and comforting.“Thanks…knight,” Zari responded as they took another sip. What else were they to call this new friend? A knight was what princesses had in their castles right? Dragon girl now had a knight in shining armor, what else was next? A golden crown with magic spells? A curse? True love?“Of course my king,” The bot responded before standing upright. John still gave it glares but seemed tired of bickering with a chunk of metal.“So what all do you do?” Zari asked the metal warrior half heartedly. They didn’t really care about this creature but if it could do something useful maybe Zari would change their mind.“Whatever is required of me,” The bot responded and Zari rolled their eyes.“Anything more specific?” They asked.“I could guard your door, defend you in battle, or fetch you more of this ‘juice’ if you command it,” The alien explained and Zari could feel ideas sparking in their mind. So many ideas and so many ways to get in trouble with Ava, or Rory, or Spooner. So many ideas of how to mess with their brother. So many ideas on how to mess with John, or Nate, or Sara if she came back. So many horrible ideas all turned into a wicked smile. Zari couldn’t help it, they wanted to smile and it wasn’t going away no matter how hard they tried.“Then I would like to be left alone tonight, undisturbed,” Zari demanded with a flick of their head. The bot bowed in agreement before following Zari to their room and watching them enter. Once the door locked the machine planted its feet and went into defensive mode. John tried to walk in to talk to Zari but couldn’t even get to the door. The boy stopped him just out of reach when he was civil but then stopped him at the start of the hall and further based on John’s irritation. Eventually he just screamed at the bot to “piss off” before storming to his own private room. Zari could just sleep alone for a night, then they will be all about staying in John’s room the next night. It was a schedule John had long gotten used to despite how irritating it could be.“Stupid bugger of a bot,” He muttered until the door of his room slammed closed and he opened a new bottle of whiskey. He was just going to have to drink till he slept tonight. Unfortunately sleeping meant dreaming and dreaming meant nightmares. It was always the same nightmares, Astra getting dragged to hell, Desmond getting dragged to hell, happy memories of Desmond before he made a deal with a demon. It was all painful to experience for the millionth time. Maybe that’s why he slept around so much, it distracted him. If he slept with someone then his dreams would be about them and not those he lost. Though if he did dream of Desmond after a hookup it felt wrong, like he was cheating on one of them, the ex or the one night stand, he couldn’t tell.“Curses,” John muttered before downing the rest of the bottle.Zari was siting in their room and watching their reflection in the mirror when their brain clicked another memory. Something about a video game other them did. Zari 1.0 or something, they could never remember what they were calling the two anymore. Zari always felt like the only Zari but that apparently false. Typical. Not only did they share their family’s love with their brother they shared their friendships with other Zari. At least the robot guard was something only this Zari had. This was their thing, no one else’s. It was their moment.“Could you grab me some tea?” Zari asked while poking their head out of their door. The knight turned to face them then bowed, full bow once again, before scampering off to grab the drink. Zari watched it go until it turned the corner towards the kitchen and went out of sight. They were about to slam their door closed when motion caught their eye.Zari stepped out a little more to look down the hall and saw the same tan coat they would see on the floors some nights stumbling through the long hallways. It was the other half of the ship but Zari could tell John was drunk just by how he was walking. Maybe they ought to get the wizard to quick drinking too. Why Gidget let him and Rory drink their souls away was beyond Zari.“John!” Zari whisper yelled to the tan cloak. It paused in its stumble frenzy and they saw John’s face peaking out. It was too dark to meet eyes but Zari could tell roughly where Constantine’s head was. It took a few moments for John’s drunk brain to compute that Zari didn’t have their guard before he bolted. Zari almost jumped back when Constantine stopped centimeters from their face.“My knight will be back soon. You staying here with me or going back to…drinking your sorrows away?” Zari asked as they wrinkled their nose at the smell of booze coming from John’s breath. It wasn’t even a question when drunk Constantine slumped in through the doors and right smack down on Zari’s floor. His empty bottle rolled under Zari’s bed but they ignored it as they helped place some pillows under John’s head. Just as the door shut and Constantine slipped into drunken slumber the metal knight returned with a fresh cut of tea, no doubt made by Gidget.“Thank you, now you may rest,” Zari commanded before slipping back into their room, not even bothering to hear the knight’s response. The robot would probably stay in front of their room for the rest of the night regardless of what Zari said.“Sweet dreams,” Zari whispered in John’s ear before slipping onto their own cot and wrapping up in the millions of blankets. It was comfortable silence and Zari took in one deep breath before speaking into the dark.“Turn off the lights, Gidget,” They spoke into the darkness. The AI didn’t seem thrilled but the lights shut off one by one. Once the room was swarmed in darkness Zari smiled into the abyss.“Thanks Gideon.”
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Breakfast was same as always, the legends all crowded around their one dining table with breakfast ranging from beer and cheese to pancakes and waffles. Everyone was laughing and chatting while Zari and John dosed off into the late morning. When Zari woke up they nearly tripped themselves scrambling out of bed. They never stayed up this late before.When Zari got down to grab clothes out of their closet they realized John was snoring on the floor. They completely forgot he was in here.“Wake up sleepy head,” Zari whispered into John’s ear, not waiting for a response. They didn’t have to because John woke up with a hangover strong enough to break his skull. He rolled over with a groan when his eyes opened to blinding lights. He was going to need a bucket of pain meds.“Five more minutes,” Zari heard Constantine mumble under his breath as he pulled the covers over his face. They chose to sneak out with their clothes in hand and leave John to his slumber. He could sleep in all he wanted but Zari had a morning routine to get to.When Zari flopped down at the breakfast table their knight in metal armor was standing right behind them. The conversations didn’t seem to dim with the added presence but they weren’t as free as usual. The little green alien had gotten out of its suit and was eating on the table while holding conversation with B and Nate, something about the meaning of life or something Zari didn’t care about. After Zari had finished eating John had stumbled out of their room and down to the kitchen. His clothes were ruffled and lopsided and Zari wasn’t going to mention that Constantine’s tie was practically gone. It got a load of looks that the mage was too tired to deal with. The hangover meds weren’t working and he was running purely on spite. Spite to not let anyone see him suffering stupid nightmares.“What took you so long?” Nate asked with his usual joking tone, his alien conversation cut short as the green guy crawled back into his suit. Apparently the alien didn’t like John very much, and the feeling was mutual.“Some of us aren’t exactly morning people Big Man.” John muttered while grabbing some juice from the fridge. His stomach couldn’t handle any actual food so the juice would have to do.“Here. here,” Ava mumbled as she took a sip of coffee. The caffeine wasn’t working properly because she was still tired from staying up all night worrying about Sara. Day in and day out it was worry, worry, worry. When would she actually get any leads on finding her girlfriend? Next week? Next month? Next year?“So what’s the plan for the day?” Zari asked as they made one of their juice smoothies. The green drink was somehow delicious to their taste buds but that sentiment was only reciprocated by Spooner, everyone else hated it.“Whatever we can do. I want you and John to try and get some information from our new friend. It seems to like you,” Ava instructed while taking another sip of coffee and savoring the buzz.“And the rest of us?” B asked, half hoping he could go take some of his thinking weed and sleep the day away.“We have a mission to run,”Zari was first to their room to flop down on their bed. John wasn’t allowed in because the guard kept its metal arms in the way. It was entertaining to watch John struggle to keep his cool as his nerves got trampled. Even so it got old after an hour and Zari told the knight that he could come in. It hesitated for a moment before John barreled in through its limp arms.“Your new friend is one bloody pain in the ass I’ll tell you,” John spat as he flopped down in the recliner chair Zari had in their room. Zari hid their grin with their phone as they pretended to ignore the man.“Maybe it just wants what’s best for me,” Zari explained while feeling John’s glare at the wall as if it was aimed in their direction.“Since when did you let someone tell you what’s best for you?” Constantine asked and Zari just shrugged. The bottle of whiskey in John’s hands was painfully obvious and told all Zari needed to know about his sleep. It was restless, and probably filled with some sort of nightmare. John always drank his sorrows away when he had a nightmare about Desmond or Astra. It was just something Zari had picked up on throughout the year.“Rough night?” Zari asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence. Constantine just shrugged before downing another swig of the alcoholic drink. John took forty percent of Gideon’s alcohol production with his crappy drinking habits alone. It didn’t help that whenever he was in a slump and Zari wasn’t around he would drink with Rory or alone. Neither was good for his liver, and if it was really bad he would get back into smoking. Of course John would quit the cigarettes after a day or two but it was a rollercoaster to watch him on and off smoke. Zari always worried he would slip back into bad habits and get addicted, again.“It was a night,” John muttered into his bottle as he took another drink. Zari always wrinkled their nose at the smell but didn’t force Constantine to quit drinking cold turkey. They knew it would only cause more problems anyways.“Who was it?” Zari asked while staring at the blank, empty screen of their phone. They were giving all their attention to the wizard but didn’t have the guts to show it. John let out a sigh before downing the rest of the bottle.“Desmond,” The one word told Zari all they needed to know. Those nightmares hurt more than the ones of Astra, for both Zari and John. Zari knows Constantine blames himself for his ex’s demise but it still hurt to know that love never really faded, just got sent into hell. At least dreams of Astra, Zari knew, were of how he failed her mom, but that was another ex. How many exes did John have at this point? Ten? Twenty? That’s not even counting one night stands. It was a headache to keep track of and Zari didn’t even know half of them.“Need anything? I could make you tea,” Zari asked while stealing a few glances to check John’s mental state. It was bad based off the bags under his eyes. When Constantine turned to look at them Zari snapped their head back to their phone. It was still powered off but at least they could hide behind it.“Got a fucking kettle in here?” John asked sarcastically and Zari smiled.“Absolutely,” They responded just as sarcastically before looking back at the blank screen. John raised an eyebrow and Zari rolled their eyes.“I’ll go have Gidget make you a tea,” They spoke before John could argue and bolted out the door. When the door closed and Zari was standing in front of it with their new guard they let out a sigh.“Don’t let him out,” They commanded as they let their head rest of the door. The bot gave another bow on its knees but Zari made it stand back up.“And only do full body bows when I ask you two. I simple lean will be enough,” Zari spoke after manifesting their acting voice. They had to be strong, no emotions, only smiles, only Zari T.Zari walked into the kitchen while Rory was making another six pack of beer. Gideon was talking to Ava right at the front of the hall. It wasn’t a stealthy conversation but everyone could tell what it was about, even if they couldn’t hear it. Sara. It was always Sara and Ava had every right to be worried. How many times have the Legends nearly died? Too many times for Zari, that’s for sure.“Gidget, I need a cup of tea,” Zari demanded though their heart wasn’t in it. Being the spoiled media star wasn’t what they were, not anymore. Of course Zari still tuned in on the media and their followers but they weren’t basking in the fame anymore. It wasn’t worth it when they had a wind totem to fight the world with.“Coming right up.” Gideon called through the ship speakers and Rory had to move his beer so the mug could be made. He gave Zari a glare but he wasn’t fighting as much anymore. Rory was hit by Sara’s disappearance just like Ava, but in more of a sibling way.“Thanks Gidget!” Zari spoke while walking up to the food manufacturer. Their hands and arms in T-Rex pose as they walked with their head high, old habits died hard.“Next time wait till I have my beer before making something on top of it,” Rory snapped before sulking away to drink his sorrows into an abyss. His drinking habit had gotten better when he realized he had a daughter but ever since Sara’s disappearance it took a slump twice as bad as before. It worried everyone on the ship, especially Ava. Rory was a backbone to the team, hesitant back bone but one nonetheless. He was last of the originals and that made him the most experienced. Even though he was an ass everyone respected him in one way or another. Ava leaned on him when her mental state wasn’t good enough to lead the ship. Gideon couldn’t take up the roll of a captain either so it just put more on Rory’s back.“No promises,” Zari called down the hall before snatching the cup and hurrying it back to their room. Knowing John, he could probably be fighting with the new alien friend about now.When Zari made it back to their room their hunch was correct. Constantine was yelling at the robot about something and was starting to chant some spell of some kind. Zari quickly interjected by getting between the two. The guard moved immediately and the power of having someone working to your will made Zari’s ego rise.“Got you some tea, Gidget’s recipe this time,” Zari called as they handed the mug to John. He took it hesitantly before getting out of the influencer’s way so they could get in.“No special Zari blend?” Constantine asked.“Nope,” Zari responded with a smile. This was their petty revenge, though they know their teas and smoothies are of specific tastes. Whenever Zari was ticked off but it wasn’t serious or it was for a stupid reason they would make Gideon drinks. John’s yet to realize that’s what these random drink changes mean, and Zari has fun watching his mind try to process it. It’s like something in his brain knows that this isn’t a pure hearted gesture but the rest of his mind can’t figure out why. It was just an entertaining as getting their anger out.“You should hold off on the liquor, it kills your liver,” Zari suggested, though really they didn’t want Constantine to do something stupid while drunk.“No one drinks to live longer,” John remarked, which and another set of meanings. The sooner John dies the sooner he gets reunited with all the dead lovers he has wronged. It was irritating to hear about but Zari did understand. When they lost their brother, even though it was for a short time, it hurt like hell. Being able to reunite with B was the only thing on their mind.“I know,”
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A week later and Zari slept alone another night in a row. John would go to his own room every night no matter his or Zari’s mental state, like he was distancing himself. Then about half way through the night the wizard would get a nightmare and come barging into Zari’s room with a bottle and then knock out on their floor. At this point, unless Zari needed sleep, they told their guard to just let John in. Better than then have to deal with him arguing.When Zari woke in the morning there was no John on the floor, though they could have sworn he was there last night. When they got ready and headed out to breakfast a surprise awaited.“Who’s this?” Zari asked when they saw the nervous nerd waiting at the dinner table. Gary had his glasses on and seemed doubly as restless as usual. It was like he was hiding something from everyone.While Zari observed their surroundings for food they completely missed the fact that Sara was standing in the far corner of the room, basked in shadows. They also missed that Ava had yet to come down to eat, again. Nate and B were silent, for once, and John had a stronger alcohol than usual. In fact he had the cigarette box on the table, though it was unopened. Something had hit home and it was like cutting open a fresh wound.“This…” John spoke up while motioning to Gary with his bottle, “Is Gary Green,”Wonderful, another of John’s exes/one night stands. Zari was getting tired of meeting or hearing about the people John used to lean on, and that was petty. They knew it was petty, but it didn’t fix the feeling of pain, of hurt. Gary Green, what did he do again? Was he another super powered Legend? A tech nerd?“I see,” Zari spoke before sneaking into the kitchen and grabbing a snack. Gary didn’t seem to relax at all when Zari gently sat down in their chair. It was strange, and eerie.“Got something to say, Gary?” John pried and Zari watched the two have a very brief staring contest. There was something else going on.“Well…uh,” Gary started and Zari watched him fidget with his fingers by twisting them around and tapping them on the table.“He brought me back,” Sara blurted out before taking a step out of the shadows. Attention snapped in her direction and a cup dropped to the floor. All heads snapped in the direction of the noise to see Ava, still in her morning robes, right at the kitchen entrance. It was the first time she was out of her room in weeks.“Sara?” Ava spoke as if she couldn’t believe her own eyes. There was no way her girlfriend, who was kidnapped by aliens, was back in their ship. There was no way she had returned unscathed. There wasn’t…“It’s good to see you, Ava,” Sara responded while holding her arms out to her girlfriend. Tears were crawling up into here eyes and Ava let out a sob of joy before running into her lover’s arms. Zari watched them embrace with a small smile crawling onto their face. It was a heartwarming reunion until Gary cleared his throat.“So I’ll just head on out,” Gary spoke while pointing to the ship door. Immediately everyone started raising their hands at him and yelling no. A few of the group even got up to block his path. The commotion must have woken up Rory because he came in with a bottle of beer and a frown engraved in his face.“What’s with all the racket?” Mick yelled before seeing Gary, “You!”“Woah, it’s ok Mick,” Sara spoke while bolting to get between the two men. Rory seemed like he was going to punch the old captain but stopped when he realized who it was.“Sara?” Rory asked no one in particular before blinking respectively and turning around and stomping out the door. Once he was long out of earshot Nate and B let out small laughs before going up to hug Sara, their long lost friend.“Long time no see!” Behrad laughed as he gave the old captain a quick hug. Nate was right behind him with a hug of his own. Everyone gave Sara at least one hug, or handshake, before sitting down to finish their meals. Just when Zari was about to relax their personal guard chose now to interrupt the meal. The robot walked in and both it and Sara went into attack mode. It was tense for a few minutes as the two sized each other up before Zari waved the machine off.“Who is our new friend?” Sara asked once she relaxed enough to sit down at the table. Zari opened their mouth to speak but John interjected.“A pain in the ass,” Constantine scoffed before downing another swig of his drink. The machine responded by stealing the bottle away and bringing it back to Zari, setting it at their side.“You wanted me to snatch all bottles this human collects, right?” It asked and Zari nodded, their smile breaking through their usual facade. Sara raised an eyebrow before slapping John in the arm playfully.“Looks like you have been replaced,” She joked and John rolled his eyes before smacking Sara back. It was like they were old friends, which they technically were if you ignore their old fling.“So where were you?” Nate asked after the group finished eating. Sara shrugged.“I have no idea, some space ship if I had to guess,” She explained sarcastically which ended in a small round of laughter. Gary, though, didn’t even let a smile reach his face based off how nervous he was.“Did Gary kidnap you?” Ava demanded while sending Gary a cold hearted glare. It made the entire room turn into ice and even Gideon seemed to freeze up. The freaking AI!“Yes and no,” Sara shrugged the question off with a wave of her hand through the air, like swatting a fly. Ava gave her a raised eyebrow but didn’t pry, though the ex-director gave Gary another glare before wrapping her arm around Sara.“Glad you’re back, babe,” Ava mumbled into Sara’s neck as she hugged the co-captain’s shoulders. Sara ran her fingers through Ava’s hair with hum, not needing to respond verbally to get the point across. The feeling was mutual and everyone in the room could only add to it.Once Sara got caught up on all that happened while she was gone Zari chose to introduce their new alien friend. When they waved the bot over there was a wave of tension before it bowed so its face was even with the table. When the face opened up and the little green guy crawled out Zari let their face beam with pride.“Meet Emerald,” Zari introduced the little green guy with the first word that came to mind and they couldn’t remember the alien’s actual name. The green gems were always fun to look at and it was the only green thing in Zari’s mind besides smoothies. The little green guy bowed on top of the table and Sara gave a head tilt of confusion.“Do I want to know?” She asked and Ava laughed with a shake of her one head.“Just know it owns that metal suit and serves ‘King Zari’” Behrad added on while putting his face level with the green creature just as he did when he first met it and Ava saved “Emerald” from Rory’s shoe.“I know this kind of alien,” Gary spoke up which got him a range of expressions. Sara was giving him a glare, Ava was giving him a look demanding answers, Nate and B looked confused but curious, Rory couldn’t care less, Spooner seemed like they just confirmed something they suspected for ages, and John was same as always. Only Emerald seemed to know what was going on as it sized Gary up. Once it seemed to make a conclusion it waddled over to Zari’s place at the table and whispered in their ear. The words were in a dialect that Zari had no hope of understanding but the tone told them plenty. Suspicion.“How do you know alien’s Gary?” John cut in, though at this point the entire ship knew Gary was an alien and had some involvement in Sara’s kidnapping but they all wanted to hear it from his mouth. If Gary confessed he was an alien it might ease part of the group’s conscience.“I uh…I am one?” Gary spoke the statement like a question as he seemed to sink in his chair. Sara faced palmed which got her a load of looks.“Well we knew that much,” Spooner cut in before stomping their feet on the floor, “You are why I’ve been feeling antsy!”“Guilty as charged?” Gary squeaked out and Zari lost interest in the conversation. They were much more focused on their little knight and how it seemed defensive and wary of Gary, the clumsy nerd. It didn’t add up until Gary reached up for his glasses. Nate and B were quick to place their hands to block Gary’s action, like he was going to explode.“Maybe we should hold off on the show and tell,” Sara added in before anyone else could speak. It added a new layer of hesitation before Ava patted her girlfriend’s back reassuringly.“It’s ok. Right?” Ava asked, always needing approval of some kind before moving forward. Sara let out a sigh before flopping back in her chair and letting Gary take his glasses fully off. The monster that showed up the second the plastic was off his face made Zari choke on her smoothie.“Ta da?” Gary tried to speak but he forgot that no one could understand his alien tongue, well except for Zari’s new friend. Instead Gary raised his hands up like he just did a magic trick and looked around the room for any signs of violence. Not a single person had a blade in their hands but everyone was tense. That wasn’t good.“Gary?” Nate asked while waving his hand in front of Gary’s alien face. Gary nodded with his alien head and grabbed his glasses off of the table. When they were placed back on his face Gary turned back into Gary.“I’m harmless I swear!” Gary yelled the second the group could understand him. His hands were up in the air long before anyone even dared to speak.“No you aren’t,” The tiny, high pitched voice of Emerald broke through the tense silence. Zari glanced down at their friend to see them resting one tiny palm on their sleeve, like a child with their mother. Zari knew better, it was supposed to comfort them and not the little guy, like a firm hand on their shoulder, but they couldn’t help but smile. Maybe having a pet alien wasn’t so bad.“Excuse me?” Sara was first to break into the conversation. This must be a whole lot more than her Brian could handle because she and to keep taking mental breaks to keep track of all she missed. A tiny green alien saying Gary was dangerous was not something it could handle at the moment.“Their kind is formidable,” Emerald explained as he walked a little bit further down Zari’s arm. Gary seemed to flinch back with every tiny step. It was amusing but also worrying.“Your kind is creepy,” Gary called back. It wasn’t spoken like an insult, it was almost a compliment based off Gary’s tone, but the little green guy scoffed.“And yet we make progress in our world conquering,” The green guy snapped back and Gary leaned as far back as he possibly could. He was surrendering without even putting up a fight, that was definitely Gary Green in there.“Wait you conquer worlds?” Sara turned the conversation around, showing how brief her catch up was. The little green guy puffed up its chest and stood with pride, or at least as much pride as one could as three inches tall.“We got a lot to explain, don’t we?”
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A new day was filled with catching up and explaining how things changed. Sara went through a headache of work trying to understand everything everyone was saying. After an hour or two of discussions and happy tears, Sara and Ava snuck off to have their own little catch up moment. They said it was because there were personal topics that Sara didn’t want to share to the group yet, though everyone knew that was mostly just an excuse. Sara did have things she wanted to wait to share, everyone knew that, but she hadn’t been with her girlfriend in months. They needed their moment and no one was going to stop them as they practically ran into Sara’s room.Once they were out of sight the group turned their attention from Sara to Gary. He still had a lot to explain before anyone let him roam free on the ship.“Why the hell did you kidnap Sara?” Was the first question blurted out by the whole group. Gary seemed to be trying to crawl out of his skin, and the fact he was an alien meant he might be able to.“Well my boss sent me to earth to get the perfect human specimen,” Gary repeated the same excuse over and over again throughout his visit. There had to be more to it, there had to be. Every time the answer was repeated everyone would look at Zari’s companion for answers, like one alien could be a lie detector for another. The little green guy did its best, trying to fulfill the task its king had given, but there was only so much it could do. Zari still rewarded every effort with a one finger swipe on the head, like petting a dog but miniature.“Why pick Sara?” The follow up question had been repeated over a million times in the past few days as everyone pried for answers. Gary slinked further back in his chair before speaking up again.“Because I knew she could escape?” The answer was always framed like a question, like Gary wasn’t sure of himself any more than the Legends were. The big questions were always pushed aside till after answers about Sara were explained in full. The stash of bonus questions was nearly overwhelming but no one dared change topics.“How did you know that Gary?” Nate asked and the group kept their eyes on the alien. Spooner was having migraines the more they questioned Gary but no one was giving up so soon. They owed Sara something better than this.“I rigged my fiancé’s ship so Sara could escape,” Gary added the new information after another round of long staring contests. It was progress that they had yet to get out of the guy. No one knew Sara already knew all this information and they were just bullying Gary for their own enlightenment.“Fiancé?” Zari was first to pry at that information. Was this a blooming romance they could learn about? Was this blackmail material?“Well I bet the wedding is off,” Darn it. Zari couldn’t use that information as a weapon anymore, or at least not as well. Blackmail was defiantly off the table.“Is that good or bad?” B asked, very skeptical.“Good?” Gary said the answer as a question, which said a whole lot about that old relationship.“Enough about Gary’s ex! Gary, why the change of heart?” Nate asked and everyone turned their attention back to staring Gary down.“I loved humanity too much to go through with the kidnapping,” Gary explained, though no one really believed him. Why would they? An alien sent to spy on earth, kidnapped one of their friends, and now says that was all bogus because they loved humanity? Fat chance anyone was going to believe that stupid cover story.“Me too, man,” Behrad spoke while patting Gary on the shoulder. Zari sent him a glare but B didn’t budge, he was genuinely believing Gary after everything? Was he back on the gummy bears again? Zari could have sworn he had quit, maybe it was like John and how he “quit” every other week.“You can’t be serious,” Spooner scoffed and Zari, much as they didn’t want to, agreed. This was Gary they were talking about, who lied to them for years. Why believe him now?“Sense anything Spooner?” Zari asked while keeping an eye on the second alien in the room. Their personal knight, who was standing on the table as their suit stayed on standby, looked up to Spooner with a head tilt.“Sense? My database didn’t have any humans who could sense truth or lies,” Emerald pointed out and Spooner looked down at the little green guy.“That’s because I am one of a kind,” Spooner explained with a shrug before realizing everyone was staring at them now, “Gary is nervous but not because he is lying, because he is…ovulating?”“Pardon?” Zari snapped and Gary seemed even more stressed out now. Spooner put up their hands in defense.“Only saying what I know,” They said. Zari was going to ask more questions but their little alien assistant spoke up.“Gary’s species does not ovulate,” Emerald piped up. Everyone just seemed to keep getting confused over and over again.“I stand corrected,” Spooner spoke up before leaning back into their chair. Gary didn’t even slow breathing by a molecule of oxygen. If his species could crawl out of its skin and run, he would be doing it.“You know what? It doesn’t matter why he is nervous I just want answers!” Rory yelled while slamming his beer bottle into the table. It was the most he had said in weeks. Gary didn’t even last long enough to respond as he fainted on the spot. All the questions, the interrogation, the need to find something the Legends could grab onto, it all came to a halt. Behrad and Nate had to helped carry Gary out of his chair and into the containment cell, which now had a bed and several pillows. It was like getting Gary his own personal room, except it was the cheap, prisoner version. Rory approved, which didn’t help.Gary woke up with a migraine to kill all migraines, and his species couldn’t even get headaches! When he looked around his glasses were on the floor at the base of his bed, except it wasn’t his bed. He was in a white, circle cell with one fluffy cot and three pillows littering the floor. No blankets. He was in the lab, alone. The lights were blinding, stupidly.“Hello?” Gary called only to realize he was in alien form, where no one understood him. Leftie crawled out and looked around for the glasses and found them under Gary’s cot. When they wrapped around the leg the frames were snatched forward and placed on Gary’s face. Now that he could speak English and be translated so the rest of the humans on the ship could understand.“Hello?!” Gary called again. After thinking he had been abandoned, Spooner walked in through the door.“Like your room?” They called and Gary shrugged.“That’s what this is? Not that I’m not grateful! It’s lovely!” Gary blurted out over and over. He was getting nervous again and Spooner could sense it.“What are the tendrils for?” Spooner asked as they walked up to the cell wall. Gary looked at them confused for a moment before realizing Spooner was talking about leftie and rightie.“Can you understand alien?” Gary asked and Spooner nodded. With the go ahead Gary took off his glasses and waved using his right tentacle then his left, then both. Spooner looked them up and down, checking for anything that could be potentially dangerous. There was silence for a whole five minutes before Spooner pulled up a chair and sat right in front of Gary.“What do they do?” Spooner pried as they pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil, they were collecting data. One interrogation to another, though at least this one was less personal. Though, couldn’t “Emerald” have told them everything about his species’ anatomy?“A lot. They can pick things up, help me climb, they are like their own personal beings,” Gary explained while tossing around the pillows between tentacles, juggling until one of the pillows dropped. Spooner watched while scribbling stuff down on the paper.“Anything else? Poison? Spikes? Ooo, lasers?” Spooner asked while leaning forward in their chair. Gary was sorry to disappoint when he shook his alien head.“Nothing dangerous like that, though they could strangle someone!” Gary explained. He was quick to put his glasses back on so he could be normal, human Gary once more.“Darn,” Spooner mumbled.“I heard that!” Gideon cut in and Spooner apologized to the AI.“Enough about me. Let’s talk about it you,” Gary blurted out. Spooner raised an eyebrow and Gary immediately backtracked, “If you want to,”“And if I don’t?” Spooner pried as they set done their paper and went to grab one of the many work in progress guns in the lab. It was a shotgun that could shoot laser blasts and cut through steel. Spooner had personally requested its creation and who would say no? They would shoot someone point blank for less.“Then we can…sit in silence?” Gary suggested before getting a glare from Spooner. He took that as a sign to shut up and sit down.After sitting in silence for hours another soul entered the room, Ava. Ava had her hair in a messy bun with strands hanging over her eyes and a few in her mouth. Her clothes were wrinkled and offset, she was both stressed and tired.“Learn anything from Gary?” Ava asked and Spooner shook their head, handing over the paper with their scribbled notes. Ava read it over before setting it down on the nearest table and taking the shotgun out of Spooner’s hands.“I’ll talk to him, alone”, Ava declared and Spooner didn’t think twice before turning around and leaving the room. Ava was not in the state to be argued with. Gary almost wanted to beg Spooner not to leave him alone with a very pissed off Ava but he knew that would be digging his own grave.“Hey Ava!” Gary spoke while waving his hands awkwardly. He was met with a very cold glare and a gun dropping to Ava’s heels.“Gary,” Ava was ticked off and that was dangerous. Where was Sara when you needed her?“I’m sorry,” Gary blurted out the moment he could get the worlds through his skull. If he apologized enough maybe, just maybe, Ava wouldn’t kill him. Very much maybe. Ava could very much just choose to shoot him, or make him die of fear.“Sorry doesn’t cut it Gary!” Ava yelled and Gary flinched so hard he fell backwards onto the bed. The gun on the floor seemed much more dangerous and personal the longer Ava stewed.“You kidnapped my fiancé! You tried to kill her! Why do you think two simple words could fix that? Why Gary? Why?!” Ava yelled and screamed before picking up the nearest chair and kicking it to the ground. Gary flinched again and this time he was at the far wall from Ava, hiding.“I…I was following orders,” Gary explained though he didn’t even believe what he was saying. He had no idea why he did what he did, only that he stopped. Ava seemed to realize this too because she cooled down.“I need to know you will cooperate with us. No more lies, no more kidnapping, no more being someone we can’t trust. Can you do that?” Ava asked and Gary let out a sigh of relief.“I will do everything in my power to!” Gary blurted out and Ava cracked a smile.“Same old Gary,” She said while shaking her head. Then she swiped the handheld device and the walls around Gary’s cage fell down. Gary was hesitant before stowing out and back onto the free floor.“Spooner still wants to ask you questions, I suggest you go be honest, they have a gun,” Ava ordered and Gary gulped. Either Spooner was going to be the death of him or the salvation.“When do I start?” Gary asked though he knew the answer long before he was bolting to the door.“Now. Right now,”
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Six months after Gary returned with Sara, John was drinking. It was worse than usual, and Zari could tell. He had gone through triple the usual amount of whiskey and he had not been sleeping, at all. Not even a wink. Zari almost asked Emerald to smack him over the head so he could sleep.“What is it?” Zari asked as they walked in on Constantine lying on their floor. There were hundreds of thousands of empty bottles littering the room and Zari couldn’t even step past the door.“Desmond.” Constantine muttered, though Zari could tell he wasn’t talking to them. John was going through a crisis and there was no way anyone could break into his mind far enough to understand. Zari knows they tried.“You want him back?” Zari asked after choking down their hatred and grief. John always muttered and mumbled gibberish after nightmares of what could have been. What could have been….“I would have loved to meet him,” Zari spoke while slowly moving a few bottles around to make room for them to sit down. When they sat John was quick to grab their fingers, not a full holding of hands but Zari was glad to have something.“I bet he would too,” John responded up to the ceiling with his eyes clouded by booze. Maybe he was right, maybe this Desmond and Zari could have been friends or they would have been bitter enemies. Zari chose not to think on it, as that was a what if that they didn’t need to handle.“What happened this time?” Zari asked as they started to lay down. The floor was still messy and gross but Zari could wrangle in their germ problems for one day, they would just have to clean their clothes for months.“I could fix it,” John told the ceiling. His eyes were watering and Zari could feel theirs watering too. It was the same old wound that never healed reopened again.“How?” The influencer asked, knowing any other question would end with tears.“I could bring him out of hell,” Constantine explained before going into a rant of a million things he could do in hell to get Desmond back. A million things he would risk, alone. Everything he hadn’t already tried at least once before was still in the list.“I’d be going with you,” Zari added on, knowing they wouldn’t let John get himself killed all on his own. Just because they didn’t know Desmond didn’t mean he didn’t matter. If Desmond was brought out of hell maybe, just maybe, John would do better. Less drinking, less nightmares, less tears. It was a hope Zari was going to cling to until there was a whole lot of evidence that it would be futile. Something needed to happen, Zari knew that, but they didn’t know the how or the what.“Sure,” Constantine mumbled before uncapping another bottle and downing it. Zari let him drink his miseries away while rushing out to find Sara and Ava.When Zari found the two women they were hugging in one tight embrace like the other would melt away if they let go. It was bittersweet but Zari couldn’t wait. As soon as the two women noticed them, Zari broke up the hug with their own problems. As much as the two captains would want their own time they also noticed John’s drinking habit and knew this conversation was inevitable.“What happened this time?” Sara was quick to ask while placing a firm hand on Zari’s shoulder. Ava was rushing off to the food creation to make a box of fresh donuts, which Zari would eat only because they needed a distraction. It was comforting to know that Zari had a support system in place with someone who knew how John could get, though that was also annoying that Zari had to ask another ex.“Desmond. John thinks he could save him, which at this point I think I might just have to find a way!” Zari complained while grabbing one of the sprinkle covered donuts and stuffing it in their mouth. Ava was eating one too, mostly because Zari wouldn’t be able to stress eat unless someone else was also going through the bad habits. It was a sacrifice Ava was willing to make.“Maybe hold off on the hell vacation until you know what you are dealing with,” Sara suggested while grabbing a pink donut out of the box. Zari knew she was right but that didn’t make it any better.“If I don’t he probably will,” Zari grumbled while taking another giant bite of their donut. It felt good to have carbs for once. It was terrifying, like when Zari first ate a donut because of other them. The woman version, who liked being a woman. Having the woman in the totem on Zari’s wrist might be influencing their stress eating choices.“Probably, but that’s beside the point. Do you want Desmond out of hell?” Sara asked while taking another bite of her one donut.“If it makes this situation better…” Zari started but Ava put a hand up to stop their line of thought.“Not about what it will do for John, pretend he isn’t part of the equation,” Ava explained and Zara tried to make the image up in their mind. Did they really want to meet Desmond or was it all to fix Constantine? Would bringing Desmond back help or hurt things? Would it be worth it?“I would like to meet Desmond, plus it isn’t his fault he is in hell,” Zari pointed out and Sara gave them a nod of approval.“There ya go! Now let’s figure out how we get this man out of torment!” Sara yelled out like it was a new mission for the entire Legends, only for it to be. Spooner jumped out from behind a chair with a gun in hand and a smile on their face.“I’m in, so long as I get to shoot something. My aim is getting rusty,” Spooner explained though everyone knew that was just an excuse. Spooner wanted to help, shooting things was the bonus. It was like Rory, but with more emotional education and expression.“Look at that? It will be a no boys mission, just woman and in between,” Sara pointed out, as Zari was nonbinary and Spooner was genderfluid they were the middle range of the gender spectrum. It would be a fun mission that will probably go terribly wrong.“Someone grab Astra, we got a mission to plan!” Sara yelled triumphantly before grabbing a glass and filling it with whiskey. As Sara took her drink Spooner hurried off to get their second hell specialist.When all the woman and in-betweens had gathered by the main console Rory walked by with a bottle of beer and his child. The teen always loved exploring the ship before the two of them went on father-daughter trips through time. When they saw the group discussing their ideas and possible plans Rory was quick to take an immediate backpedal. If he let his daughter hear any conversation about mission plans then she would want to join, and a no boys mission usually meant something dangerous. Ava and Sara waved goodbye before turning back to the board of ideas.“Hell isn’t a vacation, it’s…well hell,” Astra explained while laying out the main dangers of traveling into the pits of despair. There would be people who would try to kill them, torture them, trade them, or kidnap them, so a load of the usual, plus demons.“How do we get Desmond?” Ava asked and Astra let out a heavy sigh.“I don’t even know how to save my mother, though I have ideas. I am at peace with my mother’s death, but I know how John got her into the world in the first place,” Astra explained but the mentioning of old wounds didn’t help the solemn feel in the air.“Weren’t you traded for your mother? Is there a way to get a soul without trading in a teammate?” Sara pointed out which made everyone look to Astra. That was always a danger that the group pretended to forget, though it needed to be addressed.“There is a way, but you will be striking a deal with a demon. Desmond was taken by the demon you all killed so his soul may be loose cash, that is much trickier to find and steal than one in a vault,” Astra continued her explanation as she got Gideon to pull up a rough image of what hell looks like. It was basically just Central City but dark and covered in fires. It got the ideas across better than anything hand drawn so everyone thanked Gideon for the mental image.“So we have to get to hell, find Desmond’s soul coin, bring it back to the real world, and what, he just magically appears?” Spooner asked and Astra shook her head.“He needs a physical body, though his was also dragged into hell. There might be a spell I can use once his coin is out of hell that will give him a physical form, though I might need John’s help,” Astra explained, though everyone knew John’s help was just to make sure she made the correct body. Astra was getting better and better at her magic so that the only times she needed John’s help was for specifics.“Alright. Any idea on how we get to hell?” Ava asked. Astra shrugged while staring around the room until she found what she was looking for, a key hanging around Zari’s neck.“We use that,” Astra explained while pointing to the fancy, black key hanging from a leather cord. Zari glanced down and instinctively wrapped their fingers around the cold metal.“You want to walk out of the pocket universe into who knows what part of god damn hell?” Spooner complained. Astra put up her hands in a faux surrender.“You got a better plan? Unless any of you have a soul damned to hell that escaped this is our only option,” Astra explained, though they were not happy with the arrangement any more than Spooner was. No one spoke up for a whole five minutes.“Let’s do it,” Zari interrupted the vail of silence while snapping the key off their neck and holding it in their palm.“Are you sure about this? Once we get into hell there is no turning back,” Sara cautioned while placing a comforting hand on Zari’s shoulder once more.“If I can handle John drinking his life away, I can handle whatever else hell throws at me,” Zari confirmed while taking in a deep breath before dropping the key into Astra’s hands.“One person should stay in the house just in case. Any volunteers?” Sara advised and when no one raised their hand she pointed at Ava.“Ava, you will be our best back up plan,” Sara declared which got a mile of complaints from her girlfriend before logic came out of emotions. Ava and Sara were the best for one man jobs, or one woman jobs, so having one do them stick behind would be wisest. Sara is sued to the magic and John’s bullshit so she would be better fit for hell. That didn’t mean Ava had to be happy about it but it did make her cooperate.“If anything goes wrong you come straight back,” Ava demanded in her mother voice.“Yes ma’am,” Sara responded with a small salute, which got smacked down by Ava’s hand.“Now who the hell is ready to go to hell?”