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

Ch 50 Trust Shattered Part 1: Impact

Well.

It is here. It has arrived.
It's... really weird to finally post this. I've been hinting at it since... a year or more ago. I posted the original version of this back in May of 2020. That's... jeez over a year and a half ago. Since then, the chapter has definitely mutated into something far far worse than it originally was. At least emotionally. Physical gore is pretty much the same. Not that it makes it any easier for y'all lol.

I'm posting this a day early to avoid hitting y'all with this on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day, I'll be posting the remastered OtRtTW chapters 1-22 on Tumblr (shadowsstorystuff) to make up for this so keep watch over there!

Crosshair... oh man you messed up B A D.

Trigger Warning: Abandonment trauma, ghosting anxiety, broken hearts, near catastrophic insults, heavy heavy angst. Seriously guys, brace yourself its gonna hurt. I actually had nightmares because I wrote this too close to sleep and it mucked up my mental state.

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Time really was funny on this damn planet.

I thought it would already be dark when we escaped the mine tunnels, since we had to take a new route that spit us out halfway up the mountainside, but apparently not.

However, by the time we made it down the side of the mountain the sun had begun to dip behind the trees. Which left us in relative darkness as we crept back to the trail shelter. Between my natural night vision and the artificial night vision in each of the Bad Batcher's helmets, that wasn't a visual issue. But it did make for rather perfect ambush conditions for the droids.

On high alert for droids, I offered to scout ahead in another form. At the very least, it would let my brain focus on something other than that damn premonition.

What... was that? What the hell was up with Crosshair in it?

The longer Crosshair went without speaking, the more worried I became.

Whatever was coming definitely centered around him and me, which was... less than comforting. I'd been in one too many 'character development' catastrophes with him and I was sick to the back teeth of it.

Could he and I go one day without a disaster?

First the stream, then the nightmare, then the commando droid attack, then the damn cave gas...

Give me a break, damnit!

The only silver lining to it all was at least the painful episodes had really good trust building afterwards.

But that didn't give me any comfort about what was to come.

Seekin' out tinnies is far better than being stuck in this downward spiral.

However, my offer to scout ahead was denied.

"No, Ice. You're our only link to the planet now. Without you we have nothin'," Hunter said with a shake of his head.

No... no no I gotta get my mind off this!

"I'll be careful," I said.

"Since when?" came the sniper's sharp rely.

My ears flattened. "Cross-"

"No, we aren't lettin' you out of our sight for the rest of this mission, and that's final!"

Ouch...

Even Wrecker flinched at the snarl. "Squeak, it probably is better for you to stick with us."