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23.2 VISIT TO HOUSE ZAGREB
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2021-08-08 15:07:45“…Are you being serious right now?” demanded Jester.
“If I am?”
“That’s absurd!”
“It is, isn’t it?” the old lady said. Then she cackled loudly, and Jester felt like an idiot for believing her, even if it was just for a moment.
“It is quite a ridiculous notion. To think that the well-being of all three worlds would depend on the love between two people. It’s like a romance novel.”
“It’s not a funny joke, Commander.”
“Oh, let an old lady have her fun. In such troubled times, we can’t forget to have a laugh now and then.”
Jester just sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Try not to drag other people into your jokes, please.” He glanced at the time, did some quick calculations in his mind. He decided it would be a good opportunity to excuse himself. “If there’s nothing urgent you want from me, C
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I Make My Own Happy Ending 23.3 VISIT TO HOUSE ZAGREB 2
Freya couldn’t have been more shocked if I had taken out a laser gun and hit her between the eyes. Before she could comment though, I hurriedly explained.“Oh, don’t look so horrified. Think of it as an undercover operation,” I said, smiling winningly at her—it works on everyone, except Jester (believe me, I have tried). “Besides, you’re not the only one who’ll be there. It’s going to be fun!”She glared at me. “Who else is coming?”“Well, everyone. Except the doctor and Diane.”“…even the Vice-Commander? He’ll have to dress up all fancy, too?”My cheeks turned red as my imagination went into overdrive. A grin split my face as I saw an image in my head of Jester Lee with his hair swept back, wearing a black tuxedo, offering me his arm as my escort…“Oh, yes. Definitely. Absolutely,” I answered Freya. I will use any
Last Updated : 2021-08-15I Make My Own Happy Ending 24.1 TO LOOK BUT NOT SEE
Traffic was bad for a weekday night. Alisa searched for a better route on the display on her dash, and she didn’t answer right away. Maybe she was gathering her thoughts, and Freya wondered if what she had asked was something a little too personal. Maybe she shouldn’t pry—“I think the answer to your question…isn’t just one thing. I had a pretty hard time growing up because of my Gift and my family. Don’t get me wrong—I am very much the spoiled little princess you think I am,” said Alisa with a small smile. “I grew up with plenty of love. I have a great relationship with my dad and siblings and even our extended family. But it wasn’t always like that. When my Gift was discovered, and the details were disclosed, people began to treat me…differently. Among the Vegas, there are quite a few of the Gifted. But I’m the only one who was ever included among the TWMO’s Most Dangerous, and that became
Last Updated : 2021-08-22I Make My Own Happy Ending 24.2 TO LOOK BUT NOT SEE 2
Jester knew he said something very wrong before he even got the last word out. Alisa’s gaze turned hard, and her lips pressed together.“Are you telling me what to do?” she asked, in a tone that clearly indicated that the only correct answer would be ‘no’.So, Jester said, “No.” Then he added, “I’m just saying you should be more careful. Simply leaving the HQ puts you at risk. We don’t know who the spy is inside the AG, much less who could be a threat to you outside.”“I don’t see what the problem is. The Commander gave me permission, and Freya was with me.”“Still. If it’s not necessary for you to go out, then you shouldn’t. If there’s something you need that the HQ can’t provide, then have your PA bring it over, or send someone else to—"“It was necessary,” said Alisa. “I went to House Zagreb for my fitting&mda
Last Updated : 2021-08-30I Make My Own Happy Ending 24.3 TO LOOK BUT NOT SEE 3
“What many people do not know,” Jester continued, and the way he spoke caught my attention, made me curious. He brought up a short video clip that had my mouth dropping to the floor. “Is that Anomalies are not naturally created. They are…manufactured. Well, the ones in Gaia, at the beginning, were.”The video was crisp and clear, and though there was no sound, it wasn’t hard to imagine the grisly noise accompanying those vicious claws and teeth. It was a horde of lizard-like Anomalies rampaging through something that looked like a city street (though it didn’t resemble any city I knew, but then, all the smoke and chaos made it difficult to be sure). They clashed against silver leopard-like creatures and huge black bears in an all-out brawl. One odd thing was that the Anomalies seemed to be wearing some sort of collar, and they had black patterns on their bodies that reminded me very much of the symbols of the Border System Grandpa Al
Last Updated : 2021-09-05I Make My Own Happy Ending 25.1 HONEST FEELINGS
I like the sea.It was a place my mother loved, so I’ve always thought it was special.Dad told us they first met on a beach in the Wildlands. Something about a malfunctioning Portal and a mutated piglet that stole Mom’s clothes while she was bathing. Mom had mistaken Dad for the thief. “I thought I could face anything,” I remember Dad saying, smiling fondly and a little sadly at the memory, “until that moment. I didn’t know whether I should be glad she was aiming for my head and not…some other vital body part.”They managed to clear up the misunderstanding, though, and two years later they married each other on the very same shore where my mother almost killed him. Dad spent millions on that wedding—since the island is in the Wildlands, you can own it as long as you can sustain it. It’s more of a safety issue than anything, really. Aside from the fact that Breaches are fifty percent more likely to for
Last Updated : 2021-09-12I Make My Own Happy Ending 25.2 HONEST FEELINGS 2
I am so happy I could cry.Well, okay, I did cry—just a little. And Jester was so cute making a joke out of it while wiping away my tears.It all feels so unreal. I never expected that Jester and I would reconcile this way.I didn’t think he’d run after me at all. And in the slightest chance that he did, all I was expecting was another apology at best, and getting scolded for walking out in the middle of a meeting at worst.The way that Jester spoke about his past and his identity had sounded like he was trying to build an insurmountable wall between us. Like he was making himself into some untouchable creature that I shouldn’t even consider approaching, because we were too different and I could never measure up to his lofty standards. I’m sure he wanted me to think of him that way, so that I would give up and leave him alone.I admit that it hurt. After spending so much time with him, after putting in so much effort t
Last Updated : 2021-09-20I Make My Own Happy Ending 26.1 SON OF A GOD
Stepping into the Lee’s apartment always makes me think of cozy Sunday mornings. I could easily picture them all in the kitchen, the brothers sitting on the counter, with their mother heaping pancakes and bacon and eggs on their plates. If I were part of the scene, I’d be making coffee (I know I can at least whip up a decent cup). The TV would be tuned into some morning talk show, and we’d talk about our plans for the day—maybe Jester and I could go for a lunch date, and Ms. Lee would go out with her friends, and Rigel would stay home and play holo-games all day.Could I hope for something that normal and carefree in the future? More importantly, would a future like that be possible once we stop the Coven and get through the Wane?“Sorry to intrude, Ms Lee,” I said, when Jester’s mother ushered us inside. She had an apron over her pajamas, and I realized that ordinary folk would have gone to bed already. I remember from the cas
Last Updated : 2021-09-26I Make My Own Happy Ending 26.2 SON OF A GOD 2
This must be what Jester meant when he said that I should think about what I was getting into by dating him.I suppose, for most people, learning that your boyfriend’s father was some evil overlord who was responsible for the universe-altering disaster that had caused so much carnage that six hundred-odd years into the future, everyone is still suffering from the consequences, would be sensible grounds for breaking up with him. And Jester is expecting—or hoping?—I would choose to do that. Probably for some reason like it being safer for me or some similar shit.Yeah, fat chance.I became his girlfriend barely three hours ago. I’m not letting go so easily.I told him as much.“Alisa,” he said, giving me one of his signature scowls. It’s been getting easier for me to decipher what those minute changes in his scowling face mean—to the usual observer, they would all look the same, but for someone who&rsqu
Last Updated : 2021-10-02
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I Make My Own Happy Ending 41.1 AGAINST GRAVITY 1
Jester swiped his hand to the left. The wall before him tore itself up and crumbled to dust before being sucked into a void known as Jorus, exposing the figures inside.Only two people remained standing. One was a familiar figure, tall and broad, with a white mask covering his face. The other was leaner, smaller than the masked man, with a handsome face and cold, dead eyes. This man held in his arms a woman with golden hair in a fancy red dress. The features of her beautiful face were obscured by the blood seeping from her head, and around her slender neck was a fiery tattoo, like a necklace of thorns painted on her skin.A curse mark, in its most potent form.Alisa. His Alisa.Everything in Jester fell still, and whatever rationality he had left was burned away by fear and fury.*****An explosion of black—an oppressive, all-consuming darkness surrounded them in the blink of an eye. This darkness was unnatural. It wasn’t a darkness born from a lack of light, rather, it felt to him li
I Make My Own Happy Ending 40.2 A GIFTED'S POWER
Jester had several misgivings about attending the Finale as Alisa’s date. He had to dress fancy. He had to listen to a rabid crowd scream his name and fight the urge to run away. He had to let the paparazzi take pictures without breaking their limbs. He even had to stop scowling.But the Finale was important to Alisa. She had asked him to come, and he knew if he did, it would mean the world to her, so how could he refuse her?At first, it wasn’t so bad. The suit was surprisingly comfortable, and though it was fancier than what he was used to wearing (it had a cape, for crying out loud) at least it was in black and grey, and not—gods forbid—egg-yolk yellow or neon green (like what he saw some of the other guests were wearing). Their red-carpet entrance was also quickly over with, and like what Aisha had said, all that was left to endure was the small-talk.It only took a few minutes after Alisa left, though, for Jester to realize he could only bear with this situation in her presence.
I Make My Own Happy Ending 40.1 A GIFTED'S POWER
TEN MINUTES BEFORE EVERYTHING WENT TO HELL, VIP SECTIONAn intense tremor shook the Stadium, accompanied by alarmed yelling and swearing and the sound of shattering glasses as surprised guests dropped to the floor or crawled under the tables. Before the shaking even stopped, an alarm ripped through the air. Colin felt a foreboding sense of deja vu when he recognized what it meant.CODE BLACK: ANOMALY BREACH DETECTEDLOCKDOWN PROTOCOL IN EFFECT. THIS EVENT IS HEREBY CANCELLED. ALL GUESTS AND RESIDENTS ARE ADVISED TO REMAIN WITHIN THE BORDER. PLEASE REMAIN CALM AND FOLLOW EVACUATION PROTOCOL.The last time M’lonia had a Breach was nearly fifty years ago. Not only were there fewer active Faults in Ellenis as a whole (when you compare it to Earth or Oren), but the Elven capital of M’lonia was literally in the middle of nowhere, and under miles of sand and bedrock to boot. Some studies have claimed that the possibility of a new Breach forming in an area without a history of a Fault decreas
I Make My Own Happy Ending 39.2 A HEALTH BREAK 2
I suddenly stopped feeling bad for my PA when I realized why she was so on edge.They were hiding things from me again. They knew—Bea, Dad, Jester, they all knew—how much I hated that.“Give me my earpiece,” I said to Freya, pointing at the tiny purse on the couch beside her.“You have to focus on the Finale.” Bea said, snatching it away before Freya could even reach for it. “Forget what I said about New York. Right now, focus on the show, and when everything’s done, you can go and cuddle up to Jester as much as you like and have that talk.”“And if I say, ‘No, I don’t want to go to New York?’”Bea wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Come on. Be reasonable. It’s just a health break…”I narrowed my eyes at her, focusing on Bea’s emotions.How suspicious. There was concern for my health, certainly. But strangely, Bea seems to be more focused on my safety rather than the possibility of me relapsing into anorexia. Then, there’s the thing about Sir Merrion following me around on the orders of the King
I Make My Own Happy Ending 39.1 A HEALTH BREAK
It was Jester who first stepped out of the car.Broad-shouldered, long and lean, he wore the dark grey suit Alisa had picked out for him, and it fit him like a dream. Unbeknownst to the stylists, the white shirt he was wearing underneath was actually his AG suit, which he had adjusted to copy its appearance. He told Alisa it just felt wrong for him to wear normal clothes when out in public, and convinced her to let him use the suit. Draped over his shoulders was the luxurious cape trimmed with black fur and embroidered in gold that Holly had waved under his nose, and in the flashing lights, the gold thread shimmered.From LeBlanc’s position on the balcony, and with the help of his favorite camera, he could see very clearly why Alisa Vega had fallen for the AG rookie. Had he been into men, LeBlanc himself would have fallen head-over-heels and off of a cliff for him. The build, the figure—there was no angle from which you could take a photograph that wouldn’t flatter him. And that face-
I Make My Own Happy Ending 38.2 A RECURRING PROBLEM 2
LeBlanc thought that West Park Stadium had never looked more like a treasure chest than it did tonight. It was bright, and shiny, and loud—and the people inside it were equally so.For most of the normal people in the three worlds, the Fashion Week Finale was a show you watch on your holo-screens. But now, LeBlanc was a part of it. He was there in the flesh.He had been fortunate enough to be invited to the Finale as a guest by his editor, and though he was not strictly required to work during the event, the photographer in him could not resist slinging his favorite camera over his shoulder. Fashion Week was like an all-you-can-eat buffet for him—there was no way he was passing up an opportunity to photograph the elite of the elite of the fashion world, in all their splendor. Of course, he would not be allowed to publicize any of his photographs unless he gains consent from his subjects. But he didn’t mind. He didn’t pursue photography for the money or the potential connections he cou
I Make My Own Happy Ending 38.1 A RECURRING PROBLEM 1
It didn’t take very long for someone to knock on the door and remind them that Alisa had things to do, and places to be.In reality, it had only been about three hours since they left the others in the drawing room. Emotionally though, to Jester it felt like an entire day had gone by. In a mere three hours, Alisa had gone from ‘angry-girlfriend’ to ‘sweet seductress’ to ‘vulnerable, guilt-ridden, accidental murderess’ and finally, now she was ‘the-show-must-go-on, high-fashion supermodel with a probable eating disorder’, and he sat in bed watching her reapplying her makeup and slipping on those icepick heels.As if she hadn’t been crying her eyes out and dripping snot over his shirt a few minutes ago.Alisa is more than just a pretty face, strutting around in glamorous outfits and smiling for the cameras. She was more than just the Vega name and the influence that goes with it. She’s also more than just a girl with a powerful Gift.Alisa—his Alisa—is lovely, complicated, and unique. S
I Make My Own Happy Ending 37.2 WHAT REALLY HAPPENED 2
Things went back to normal almost immediately after that. That mugging incident never happened again, and it was easy to forget about something horrible if it’s not happening directly to you. Marcus was his usual possessive self, and I should have had no expectations otherwise. He changed my memories, so of course I don’t have a proper recollection of what happened. There shouldn’t be any reason for me to feel uneasy with him.But I did. I guess somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew what was really going on. I think Marcus could tell, too. He became even more obsessed with keeping me by his side. There was even a rumor at school going around that he and I were dating secretly, because he’s always holding my hand.I’m sure that Aisha told you Marcus needed physical contact to reinforce his Gift, right? I think at that time Marcus was still testing the limits of his Gift. He was afraid of being apart from me because he wanted to make sure that I wouldn’t remember things I shouldn’t.
I Make My Own Happy Ending 37.1 WHAT REALLY HAPPENED 1
We found ourselves in bed again…though not in the same way as we were a few hours ago.For one thing, we were dressed. Jester now had on a pair of pants and a new shirt, though it was mostly unbuttoned—I hadn’t realized that when he pulled off the first one, it had ripped a little from our eagerness. He said normal clothes were just built too fragile, and he was used to it.“Wow,” I said drily, “How many girls got you ripping your shirt off for them to say you’re used to that?”Jester kissed my forehead. “Just one.”“Really.”“I have the physical strength equal to a hundred humans, Ali. That’s what I meant.”“I know. I was just teasing,” I said.“Huh. Stop trying to distract me.”Resigning myself to the inevitable, I cuddled up to him as I thought about how to begin.Half my hesitation comes from the fact that I still couldn’t wrap my head around what just happened a few hours ago. I’ve always wanted to know how it would feel to kiss someone and touch someone and be so intimate—withou
