The Exchange III Round Two, Part Three Danger Zone Marigold pulled the shutters closed on the windows, locked the door, and turned the lights down to a level that, in a different situation, could have been romantic. The sounds outside the door, yelling and screaming in the streets and the still-present far off gunfire, told a different story. I’d already thanked Marigold for putting herself out by harboring us, and she’d again simply stated her wish to go with us when we found our way out. It’s funny, I thought as I watched her pull the curtain to the kitchenette behind the bar; I had a character named Marigold once. ̶

EXIII - 2.2 by fancylances, literature

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EXIII - 2.2

The Exchange III Round Two, Part Two Danger Zone “Cernun!” Matthew snapped, his cool demeanor managing to keep its hold despite the loss of control on the situation. “What was that for?” He shrugged in reply. “She was following us. Shame on me for intercepting a spy, I suppose.” “Does she look like a spy?” Matthew asked, gesturing down the alley. “She doesn’t have any chains, and she’s wearing a hoodie. I’m not a detective, but I think she’s safe.” His eyes slid down the alley and all over the surrounding area. “She doesn’t even have anyone with

EXIII - 2.1 by fancylances, literature

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EXIII - 2.1

The Exchange III Round Two, Part One Danger Zone James was gone. I didn’t find out until I had stumbled around in a daze, pawing at my door as if it might give me some coffee. Dev appeared only half a minute later, toeing open the door with four mugs of coffee held precariously in her hands. She grinned at the way my glazed eyes sparkled when the smell hit me, and I took the offering with gracious platitudes muttered into the cup. Roxanne perked up immediately, her sleep-mangled hair like a blonde poof of steel wool on her head, and piling on the thanks for the coffee. Edie, barely awake, muttered something almost human. Andie had a

EXIII - 2.0 by fancylances, literature

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EXIII - 2.0

The Exchange III Round Two, Prologue Danger Zone I wasn’t sure if we’d held each other for too long or not long enough, but I split apart from James quite too fast for my own liking. He looked older than I remembered him, but it had been five years. Five years does a lot to people. I should know. I gulped something down my throat as we watched each other, maybe expecting the other one to say something profound first. “I need a drink,” I warbled. “Do you need a drink?” “God, yes,” James answered almost too quickly, already cramming himself into his boots. Across the street and three building

EXIII - 1.3 by fancylances, literature

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EXIII - 1.3

The Exchange III Round One, Part Three Done Dirt Cheap I wasn’t dead. Of course, my mind was so rattled at the time that I didn’t stop to remember that I couldn’t be dead, as long as I was in Nothing. I took stock of my limbs, made sure I could still see and hear, and then went looking for my people. I wondered if we’d actually managed to make it home. Maybe Yang had been right—murderous, but right. The place that I’d ended up didn’t look much like Nothing, but it didn’t really look like home, either. It looked peaceful, if not cold. It looked like springtime Alaska, to my untrained eyes (used

EXIII - 1.2 by fancylances, literature

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EXIII - 1.2

The Exchange III Round One, Part Two Done Dirt Cheap Dev was the one to find me in the hurtling crowd, and she grabbed me by the wrist to keep us together. It was only moments later that she had Andie in her other hand, and fought her way through the lost souls and off the street. We came to a stumbling halt through the swinging doorway of a saloon, and any dignity I had left was lost when a chair went into my stomach and I fell over sideways onto the floor. There were more graceful ways to make an entrance, but at least getting thrown into or out of saloons in Nothing must have been something of a regular occurrence. We didn’t get mu

EXIII - 1.1 by fancylances, literature

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EXIII - 1.1

The Exchange III Round One, Part One Done Dirt Cheap I wasn’t sure what was the most surprising part about confronting four of the characters I’d only ever seen in my head: that they were here in the first place, flesh and blood, breathing and doing all the other weird things that people do when they exist; or that they seemed to take it rather well. Edie had immediately tried to pull her act over on all of us. Once the arguing had died down and I’d started my spiel on how none of them were real (or, they didn’t used to be, but now they were, and wasn’t that an awesome happenstance) she had gone sweet and tacit

EXIII - Audition by fancylances, literature

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EXIII - Audition

The Exchange III Audition Electricity The wind was coming cold from the north, over the lake, and it carried the storm with it. Leaves bent and swayed in waves, and the summer heat drained from the world as the clouds darkened the overhead sun. The redhead’s hair whipped around her face as she rose from the rooftop garden, holding the wide-brimmed hat close to her head. At her side, the little blond with fists full of dirt, didn’t so much as notice. “Emi Kate,” her father chided from somewhere very near. “Don’t you dare stick that in your mouth, young lady.” She replied with a loud raspberry, tongu

EXIII - The Soul by fancylances, literature

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EXIII - The Soul

DEMOGRAPHICS Name: Devansha “Dev” Suravinda Age: 33 Gender: female Species: human, Indian Primary Language: English APPEARANCE Height: 5’ 11” Weight: average, slightly muscled Build: tall, athletic Skin: light brown Hair: straight, black, very short; just long enough to pull back into a “pony stump” Eyes: brown, almond shaped Other traits: missing the ring finger on her left hand Clothes: Dev wears the same uniform that every Galactic Entente Trooper wears—white jumpsuit, highlighted with red accents to indicate Earth origin, with red corporal chevrons on each shoulder. Her last name is printed at he

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