Over the River and Through the Woods (Adventures!AU Book 2)

Ch. 44 Delving Deep

WHOS READY FOR PAIN?
Cause y'all gettin a lot in this chapter :D
My AU Cross is definitely growing further and further from canon Cross, but after the finale Im perfectly fine with that.

Also, the big break between them that is Trust Shattered has yet to happen, but these scenes and this connection they're building is gonna be the deciding factor if they can reforge their bond after TS or if it remains broken.
But oh is it gonna be painful. At least there's a happy ending on the horizon past the hurricane.

Also! Starting senior year of college this week so uploads may get spotty!

Warnings! Mentions of canon, strong angst, feelings of abandonment, self hatred, resurfacing trauma, doubts of self worth.
I cracked my soul open a bit for this one so its a bit painful

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How peculiar.

Shadow revealing herself as a Realm Walker had answered many of Tech's endless questions about her, yet now it seemed that even more plagued the engineer.

Why were her lightsabers special?

Why did her life count not tick down until they had a lull in fighting?

Why didn't her 'plot armor' save her this time?

And then there was the issue of the alternate timeline.

It needed a name. Preferably a nice acronym that held significance in its shortened form.

Timeline of Pain? TOP?

Timeline of Betrayal? TOB?

Timeline of Suffering? TOS?

No, none of those made sense as acronyms.

Bleak Alternate Dimension? It did spell out BAD.

Of course, the Bad Timeline, or BT, would work as well as any and it was short. But it was too bland.

"I call front," Shadow said, hopping into the first cart as Wrecker went after the railcart.

Tech started after her, only to be held back by Hunter as Crosshair stepped past him.

"Let him stay with her. He's pretty beat up over what happened," Hunter whispered.

Understandably so.

Shadow had given a life for him, after all.

Tech supposed he would feel some guilt as well if the Realm Walker gave up her health to help him keep his.

Taking the second cart with Hunter, Tech frowned at the rusty metal. "These cannot be remotely up to code."

Shadow poked the side of her and Crosshair's cart. "It is... questionable."

"Questionable does not begin to cover it," Tech retorted.

A grin tugged Shadow's lips. "Always the engineer, ain'tcha?"

A grin. Teasing tone. That was Playful Shadow.

Playful Shadow. Flirty Shadow. Affectionate Shadow. Angry Shadow. Cocky Shadow. Tired Shadow. Laidback Shadow. Protective Shadow.

So many Shadows, so many tones and expressions to categorize and file away.

But he couldn't complain in the least; mapping and memorizing the many sides of Shadow was an interesting side mission and it gave him something to do.

"It is my specialty," he replied to the Realm Walker, chest growing warm as her grin widened.

He regretted not spending as much alone time with her as perhaps Hunter, Wrecker, or even Crosshair, but that was alright.