The 92nd Assault Brigade, Part 1

Field insignia of the 92nd.
The Ukrainian army has undergone a significant transformation since the country regained independence: from the remnants of a Soviet structure, to powerful units that have been repelling Russian armed aggression for over 10 years. Soldiers have strengthened their might in battles, trained with Western colleagues, and continue to do so today.
One of the leading units, especially during the full-scale invasion by Russia, is the 92nd Assault Brigade named after Kozak Otaman Ivan Sirko. In this special documentary project "Units of Victory," we talk about the brigade’s combat achievements and the fiercest battles.
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Profile of the 92nd Assault Brigade named after Kozak Otaman Ivan Sirko

• Branch: Ground Forces
• Type: Mechanized Infantry
• Year of Formation: 2000
• Base Location: Village of Kluhyno-Bashkyrivka, Slobozhanshchyna
• Command: Operational Command "East"
• Anthem: Performed by the band "Tin Sontsya" (leader — Serhii Vasyliuk, who currently serves in the 130th Reconnaissance Battalion of the Territorial Defense Forces).
• Symbol: The emblem features crossed stylized muskets of the Zaporozhian Cossacks (yanycharky) over the palisade of the Cossack Sich on a green background.
• Motto: "Honor for us, glory to Ukraine!"
• Social Media: Facebook, Instagram (links will be provided in the comments!)

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History of the Brigade's Formation and Early Combat Encounters
The 92nd Brigade was formed on the basis of the 6th Division of the National Guard of Ukraine, which had been part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 1999 and was called the 6th Mechanized Division. In 2000, the then-President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, approved the creation of a new unit—the 92nd Mechanized Ropsha Brigade of the Orders of the October Revolution and the Red Banner. Thus, this year is considered the founding year of the 92nd Assault Brigade (92 OShBr).
The unit's name was changed in 2015 when the Ukrainian army began the process of decommunization. The brigade became the 92nd Mechanized Brigade. The honorary name—named after Kozak’s Otaman Ivan Sirko—was granted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyi in 2019.
The Brigade maintains close connection to the Kozaks and the Zaporozhian Sich as part of Ukrainian combat tradition. For example, the sleeve emblem features the muskets of the Zaporozhian Kozaks — yanycharky. These were commonly used among the Kozaks of Slobozhanshchyna—the region where the 92nd Brigade was formed and is based, and which Brigade’s defended in 2022 during the Kharkiv counteroffensive. During these events of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the Brigade's soldiers demonstrated their offensive capabilities, leading to the unit's designation changing from mechanized to assault in August 2023.
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In 2011, the 92nd Brigade, which was then preparing to protect state facilities during "Euro 2012" in Donetsk, faced significant reductions by the government and was slated for disbandment by 2015. However, the events of the Revolution of Dignity and the onset of Russian aggression in the East re-drew these plans. The Brigade's soldiers were able to demonstrate their effectiveness: in 2014, they participated in the attempt to break the encirclement of troops at Ilovaisk, fought in the areas around Stanytsia Luhanska, Shchastia, and along the Bakhmutka river. In 2015, the 92nd Brigade engaged in battle and captured two soldiers from the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) and recaptured the town of Shchastia.
Since 2020, the Brigade has been led by Colonel Pavlo Fedosenko. From 2014 to 2015, he served in the volunteer battalion "Kryvbas," which was formed in response to Russian aggression by the residents of Kryvyi Rih. Pavlo participated in the battles of Ilovaisk and Debaltseve. He continued his military career in the 54th Mechanized Brigade, and later in the 92nd Assault Brigade (92 OShBr). The commander values the unit's soldiers for their cohesive work:

"This is a powerful Brigade with principles and traditions. Therefore, it was very easy to command this Brigade; there was no need to change or break any foundations. It was just a matter of leading and managing."

For Pavlo Fedosenko, it is important to be close to the personnel, understand the situation, and know what is happening on the front lines; otherwise, he says, he cannot make decisions. This has not changed since the Brigade was granted assault status. On the contrary, according to the commander, it adds to the responsibility as well as the prestige:

"First of all, it is prestigious for every warrior to be considered an assault soldier [...] Secondly, we are always at the forefront. Thirdly, we are at the spearhead of attacks. We are more often on the offensive than on the defensive. [...] Every warrior is proud to be an assault soldier."

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The Start of the Full-Scale Invasion: The Defense of Kharkiv
In 2022, the Brigade faced the Russian offensive along the entire border line in the Slobozhanshchyna and Donetsk regions. The invasion was not a surprise to them; the soldiers had been preparing for months, creating the illusion of troop deployments for the enemy. They also improved the level of training for their personnel: in November 2021, infantry and officers participated in the Combined Resolve XVI Exercises in Germany as part of an American battalion.
February 24, 2022, was more tumultuous for the 92nd Assault Brigade (92 OShBr) than anticipated, despite their readiness for enemy actions. They had to constantly relocate and establish new positions. According to the commander of the tank battalion, Oleksandr (call sign Phoenix), the start of the full-scale invasion felt like a movie:

"We were just near the military camp, standing in a grove. The funny thing was, we were near the RAA (Rocket and Artillery Armament) depots where ammunition is stored. We were essentially sitting on a powder keg. [...] We were lying in a tent, sleeping. One of our guys came in. At that time we already heard some 'bangs.' And we were like, 'Is it like fireworks.' It was something unclear, completely incomprehensible. He turned on the light, looked at all of us, and we were already lifting our heads, realizing something was happening. He said, 'Guys, this is no f’ fireworks.'"

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The military Brigades knew their objectives and had prepared defensive positions, but they couldn't occupy every one of them in time. The enemy advanced in a wide strip along the entire border, following military manuals to the letter. Artillery Brigade Commander Andrii recalls:

"At first, the enemy's artillery operated strictly by the book. They would bombard areas exactly as the manuals said, covering hectares with hundreds of shells, without discerning specific targets. I think they started the war using Soviet Union methods, as written in their combat regulations, showing no initiative, sparing no ammunition. They didn’t care about their own units or people, standing in a line. In the first week, they didn’t even try to hide. But I realized that when the Russians understood they were taking losses, they also wanted to live. [...] Something awakened in them, and they started to hide."

Brigade Commander Pavlo Fedosenko estimates that the initial force ratio in the Kharkiv direction was approximately 1:10 in favor of the occupiers. Ukrainian defenses had significant gaps that the Russians could have exploited if they had wanted to. Commander of the 4th Assault Battalion Petro was surprised that the enemy did not take advantage of this. The opponent moved as systematically matching the organized defense.
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One of the reasons for this could have been that the Russian soldiers genuinely believed they would be greeted in Kharkiv with flowers and happy cheers. As a result, they often did not plan their logistics carefully, losing equipment due to a lack of fuel and facing food shortages. Additionally, Ukrainian soldiers were not merely retreating; they were also managing to strike the enemy, engage in battles, and complicate the advancement of Russian columns as much as they could. The Brigade's artillery units constantly fired at the enemy, day and night. Commander of the Rocket Artillery Battery, Oleksii, with his division, struck Russian forces near the village of Pechenihy, close to Chuhuiv, on the first day. He and his mates were near the Pechenihy dam when they learned from intelligence that the enemy had once again set up pontoons and started crossing in columns. The artillerymen then opened fire.

"At that time, we weren't sure about the results of our fire. [...] We fired, and I heard the shells falling, a few seconds later I heard explosions, and I heard the detonation of ammunition. I understood then that it was 100% hitting enemy ammunition, not residential houses or fields. I realized we were doing something significant. Within the first 24 hours, I understood we had hit very well. A few days later, it became clear that our Division alone had destroyed three enemy columns. These were not just 10 vehicles each; they were kilometer-long columns."

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The 92nd Assault Brigade regrouped near Kharkiv and, together with other units, maintained the defense. Sometimes, clashes with the Russian army occurred within the city itself — the enemy managed to break through from the outskirts only once (they took positions on the ring road around the city). For example, soldiers from the Brigade were among those who fought against special forces in Kharkiv Specialized School No. 134 on February 27.
One of the key operations, according to the soldiers of the 92 Brigade, was the assault on the village of Mala Rohan, approximately 22 kilometers from Kharkiv. Lieutenant Colonel Oleh (callsign Barracuda) recalls that they faced well-prepared and equipped Russian troops. The enemy had heavy flamethrower systems (known in Russian as TOS) with thermobaric rockets that disperse an explosive substance which mixes with the air and detonates, as well as Nona towed artillery installations. According to Oleh, the Russian soldiers managed to establish a foothold in a wooded area between the road and Mala Rohan, where they held out for quite some time before retreating after a battle.
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However, this assault was pivotal, demonstrating to both the soldiers of the 92nd Brigade and the Russians that Ukrainians could and would not only defend but also go on the offensive. Brigade Commander Pavlo Fedosenko emphasized:

"The entire war is difficult. It was harder in the early days to break the enemy. Transitioning to a counteroffensive, moving on to Mala Rohan—these were the most challenging moments. When we had to overcome, when we had to rise, stand up, and move forward. After we went forward, we realized that we were capable, that the enemy was not as terrifying and strong as portrayed. After this, we continue to move forward and will keep advancing until victory."

During the defense of Kharkiv, the 92nd Brigade captured its first prisoners. Commander of the 4th Assault Battalion Petro said:

"Our first prisoners turned out not to be Russians, but our Ukrainians from the occupied territories. These were 18-20-year-old guys from Makiivka, Donetsk, and Yasynuvata. Students. We talked to them about how just yesterday they could travel anywhere across Europe. Their parents came to visit them from Europe. [...] And all of this ceased to exist in an instant."

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He was most surprised by the number of Ukrainians recruited into the ranks of the Russian Federation. Among the Russian prisoners, there were both experienced soldiers and newly mobilized ones. They all had a common explanation for their presence in another country's territory. According to the Brigade Commander Pavlo Fedosenko, all the captured Russians claimed they were on exercises and didn't know where they were going.
In those early days, the main thing was for Kharkiv to be defended. Major Oleksandr (callsign Skat), Commander of the 22nd Motorized Infantry Battalion, believes that it helped significantly that most of the Brigade's soldiers were from Slobozhanshchyna. They understood they were defending their own land:

"Nobody wanted, nobody, nobody even had the thought to abandon Kharkiv, to retreat somewhere, to leave."

According to Pavlo Fedosenko, the successful defense of Kharkiv was also possible thanks to unity. Soldiers from different Brigades and units worked together, supported by police, territorial defense, and volunteers who promptly responded to requests, while civilians provided situational updates:

"Everyone fought. Everyone who could hold a weapon. Those who couldn't hold a weapon—the phones were 'red hot.' People helped, called: 'The enemy is there, we see them there, we see them there.' And not just from Kharkiv, from the entire region. 'There’s a column, there’s something'—[they told us]. Accordingly, everything was promptly responded to, processed, and fire damage was inflicted."

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Join us later in the week for Part 2!
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The 819th day of a nine year invasion that has been going on for centuries.
One day closer to victory.

🇺🇦 HEROYAM SLAVA! 🇺🇦

My first custom water cooled system build! I’ve been specing this build out for a few months now, been Corsair heavy, and gotten some inspiration from some recent Corsair builds on this page to finish specing it out and pulling the trigger! Not sponsored by Corsair for this build sadly :/ Going with a smaller form factor case, 2500D, and full GPU/CPU cooling. Hoping to build this over the weekend, but still waiting on a few parts. Looking at 2 options to run the loop if I can make it fit.

1. Pump > GPU > Top 360 Rad > CPU > Side 240 Rad > Pump - worried I may not be able to fit a rear fan and tap into the rad on the rear side for a clean tube look
2. Pump > GPU > CPU > Top 360 Rad > Side 240 Rad > Pump - this is how I see a ton of configurations done and how it’s cleanly recommended for most builds. Not super concerned with this way, but if I can bring in cooler liquid to the CPU, wanted to try to.

Will provide some updates over the weekend if I’m able to complete the build, but would love any input, suggestions, or things to look out for as this is my first fully custom loop and definitely a little nervous!
Parts list: * Corsair 2500D * MSI project zero 650m * AMD Ryzen 9 7950X * 64 GB of DDR5 Corsair Vengeance * Samsung 2TB 990 Pro * Samsung 500GB 980 Pro * Corsair SF1000L * Asus 4080 Super * Corsair XG7 RGB 4080 SUPRIM/TRIO Block * Corsair Vertical GPU Mount kit * Corsair Hydro X XR5 240mm and 360mm rads * Corsair RX 120mm Fans * System Hub * 2x Corsair Link 4 way splitters * Internal 2.0 USB Splitter with SATA Power 4 way splitter * Corsair XC7 CPU Block * Corsair XD5 Pump * CORSAIR Hydro X Series XT Hardline 14mm Tubing * 90 degree fittings, Regular fittings, Y-sputter valve, drain valve and plugs * ICue link cables, 90 and regular * CORSAIR Hydro X Series, XL8, Performance Coolant - Blue * Hardline bending and pressure kit

(Originally posted to tumblr in 2021 + some new edits)
Emilace is the pairing of Grace Monroe from Infinity Train and Emily Wong from Galactaron; in addition to being fantastically written, their respective narratives share a number of parallels!
But first…
Who is Emily Wong?
As stated before, Emily Wong is the protagonist of Galactaron, a virtual band created by Owen Dennis. This connection has led me to associate the universe and lore of Galactaron with that of IT as well, and therefore strengthened my love for this ship.
The Parallels:
Given the existence of the ties between Infinity Train and Galactaron via their creator, I think it’s reasonable to deduce that certain thematic, symbolic, and aesthetic parallels are a direct result of this link (such as the design/concept of Singer and One-One). In regards to Grace and Emily, there are many such parallels—enough to the point that if they were to meet, they’d quickly realize just how much they have in common. Emily vs. the government is very similar to Grace vs. Simon in that both girls feel the need to conceal a problem so as to appease the antagonist and protect their friends. In Emily’s case, she’s pressured by the government to lie to Galactaron about humanity’s flaws, hiding them in the same way Grace tells Hazel to conceal her shell, lest Simon learn her true nature. In the end, the truth gets out, and Emily and Grace have to deal with the resulting tragedy. When she discovers the government’s true motives, Emily apologizes profusely, announcing her hatred for the dreaded Landmine Operation; when Galactaron departs from Earth, they invite her to join them, and as evidenced by Replicator’s Tide, she does so. Grace is left with Simon, meanwhile, when Hazel chooses to leave with Amelia.
Another parallel comes in the form of the robotic mind-invasion and subsequent revelation both girls experience near the end of their arcs: Grace is trapped inside her mind by the tape, and upon self-reflection, fully deconstructs her Apex mentality and escapes to set things right once and for all. In Replicator’s Tide, Emily is separated from her friends by the nanobots consuming the planet; they enter her mind and interrogate her as to what the true nature of humanity is, for they can hardly comprehend the complexity and nuance comprising us as a species. Subsequently, Emily has some solo songs wherein she questions herself and the choices she’s made, and it’s through her self-reflection that the planet too discovers its identity.
Lastly, one trait I’ve observed in Grace and Emily alike is ego: it’s simultaneously endearing and detrimental in a sense. For Grace, ego manifests as a royal and elegant persona, whilst in actuality, it exists primarily as a means to fill the void of loneliness she experienced as a child. For Emily, it’s her connection to Galactaron which sparks her idea of a pre-established destiny, as well as her obsession with being the archetypal “Chosen One.” Songs like “My Own Corona” (this album was made in 2013 and the title’s a reference to crowns/a phenomenon related to the Sun) is all ABOUT Emily’s eagerness to pursue her life in space as the author of her own story, even going so far as to exclaim that without Singer and the band, she never would have realized this confidence. However, like Grace again, this also has its detriments. Whilst Grace feels the need to be perceived as perfect, Emily wants to present everything else as if it’s perfect (a mindset induced, or at the very least encouraged, by the government so as to further deceive Galactaron). This results in her only showing the good sides of humanity to her alien friends, which inevitably backfires when the government takes advantage of the band for their own selfish means.
The Ship:
I can see Grace finally receiving her exit, ready to enter a new chapter of her life, only to end up on Galactaron’s ship due to a glitch in space-time. It’s my belief that a place distinct from the home she hasn’t seen in 9ish years and the interdimensional nightmare Train that gave her 9ish years of trauma is what she needs in order to properly heal from her ordeal.
The reason I love this relationship is that Emily Wong can empathize with Grace’s experience. She listens to the horrors she’s endured and believes every word of what she says. On Earth, I don’t know if anyone who hasn’t experienced the Train would so much as be able to comprehend what Grace has been through, and I doubt many former passengers literally grew up on the Train. But Emily’s survived black holes and vengeful robots; if anyone would understand, it’s her.
Galactaron is comprised of five aliens, each originating from a different planet, each more bizarre and mysterious than the last. They speak through music. Grace is a dancer. Not to mention, Emily sings. Ergo, Grace would likely feel very at home with the group, accompanying their songs with her ballet. Plus, it would be nice for Emily to have a human friend in space! Grace wouldn’t be surprised by Galactaron’s strangeness either, as she’s accustomed to these sorts of entities from all her years on the Train.
One of my favorite Emilace headcanons is that when Grace gets scared or anxious, Emily sings her Hazel’s song. They talk extensively about their adventures, and when they know each other well enough, discuss their mistakes openly, how they feel about their pasts, and their hopes for the future. The most important aspect of this relationship is the validation of each other’s trauma; Emily lets Grace talk as much as she needs, especially because it’s been so long since Grace had a friend her age to confide in. Grace tells her everything she could never tell to the Apex kids; she lets herself cry, and she lets herself mourn, which are instrumental in her healing process. And Emily listens. And Emily tells her that she knows exactly how she feels, because in some cases, she does. And each ensures the other’s self-esteem is never low, and Grace befriends Galactaron as well. It’s a classic found-family situation, and for now it all exists solely in my head.
But I wanted to tell you about this, because I love Grace and she deserves to fall in love and be loved in return.
When it comes to Emilace, it’s my personal connection to Galactaron and Infinity Train (and the literal marrying of the two) that makes this pairing so special.
Addendum: While I don’t consider Dennis’s input much of a legitimizing factor, it may be worth noting that he liked the first edit I made with a Galactaron song, which combined the track Artificial/Organic with Grace’s memory sequence, drawing direct parallels between Emily and Grace’s narratives.

I found this in my feed just now. Has anyone had this appear?
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Uranus - Secret Underwater Lab, formerly of Tyl Regor
It was a strange homecoming for the Grineer tubeman Kahl-175 after they left Cetus and departed Earth. The two of them had barely managed to exit the atmosphere when the RailJack expertly maneuvered in the zero-G environment to lock umbilicus and essentially tow the Skaut along, Cephalon Cy’s voice broadcasting over the comm-link.
“Locked and loaded. Uranus course plotted. Reliquary Drive online.”
“Belay. Utilize the solar rail network instead.” Wukong said quickly.
“Affirmative. Update: riding the rails will be two hours with current traffic volume.”
Wukong waved a taloned hand dismissively, “Acknowledged. Let’s get under-way.”
Kahl-175’s deep-set features were furrowed and perplexed, his voice rumbling out from under his camo helmet. “This longer. You said Blue-Girl saved with plan.”
“That’s correct, Kahl. But I don’t like being under anyone’s thumb, so to speak, thus we’re using the solar rails instead.” the space simian said over his shoulder as his tail wrapped around the ceremonial urn and walked with it towards the umbilicus. “I’ll be aboard the RailJack, stay here and monitor the link between the ships as they’re non-standard connections.”
Kahl-175 made a meaty fist in his ballistics glove with his thumb extended, gazing at it curiously, “Under whose thumb?” he mused aloud but when he looked up, he was alone.
The solar rail network was a series of space stations at nearly every major planet which provided relatively safe and efficient travel to and from each other for vessels that weren’t inherently capable of the velocity required for interplanetary travel. For a modest transit fee, and another less-than-modest bribe, you could ride the light-rails inspection free with the other jockeys from one end of the Origin system to the other in less than a day. As previously stated, it was relatively safe but there are always reports from time to time of space pirates and the like, interrupting the flow of orbital and extra-orbital traffic with their brutal raids and swift pilferings. Such is life in the Origin system.
Thankfully that was not the case when the Railjack reached Mars’ solar rail junction with the Skaut in tow, which appeared to be light with transiting craft. The singular but sizable fee was paid, as it was not standard procedure to have two separate craft buddy-jump together as it was likely an attempt to avoid paying a second transit fee, but Cy cited to the junction cephalon an obscure and entirely likely out-of-date policy about military vessels that was entirely too long and too complicated for it to argue with.
Once their tethered ships were aligned and they were given a healthy push to the next rail transit at Ceres, Cy gave a short laugh with Wukong standing at the Navigation display.
“Ignorant specter. Solar rail junctions have a one minute window to launch. Cephalon interactions, after the fee paid, are manually overridden after sixty seconds. I call it the Ordis Clause. Ha ha.”
“Clever. Ceres to Jupiter, to Saturn, to Uranus then?”
“Correct.”
“Highest degree of probability of attack from undesirables?” the space simian inquired, tilting his head back and looking up at the ceiling from their mapped path after noting the region that Cy marked while he asked.
“Ceres to Jupiter. Sixty-four point six percent chance of incident this solar cycle.”
“Noted. Considering we’re towing another ship, we’re two for the price of one. They’ll probably make a run at us. Link comms to the Skaut. Kahl-175?”
After a brief pause, “Kahl here. Ship still secure.”
“There is a chance we’ll be attacked during the next transit jump at Ceres, so immediately after the push, I’m going to seal the two ships and detach the umbilicus. If we do get attacked, we won’t be connected and can maneuver independently. Are you able to pilot that vehicle in a fight?”
“Kahl came out tube able.” he rumbled quite proudly. “Kahl need someone to shoot tail gun.”
“I’ll handle that. Thank you, Kahl.” and as he spoke, another Wukong came down out of the dorsal turret and headed over to the Skaut while they were still connected.
“Welcome.”
The remaining transit to Ceres was uneventful with Wukong leaving the piloting and forward artillery to Cephalon Cy after he took position in the dorsal turret, which would allow him three hundred and sixty degrees of upper hemisphere coverage. And yet another Wukong was waiting patiently towards the rear of the vessel near what had been deemed the Slingshot. Similar to a coil- or rail-gun, it magnetically propelled whatever object inside it to incredible velocities, and depending on the object, the ability to gain forcible entry to large space-faring ships. This Wukong had also taken the time to don an Itzal-model Archwing chassis and weapon harness allowing him to maneuver in zero-g along with providing more-agile fire support. He wouldn’t be as well protected outside the RailJack’s impressively dense hull but the Itzal was specifically designed for stealth engagement with sensor bafflers and visual distortion, which cumulatively would render him effectively invisible against the black backdrop of stellar space.
Kahl-175 was familiar with the concept of vehicular space combat but he was a foot-slogger by design, so he had spent the intervening time memorizing the various switches and modes he would have to operate in a combat scenario.
“Autocannons online? Check. Engine boost charged? Check. Shields? Hull integrity? Check.”
The Ceres rail junction inquired electronically, re-confirmed their transit and payment, then pushed them along without any audio interaction. Once the tethered craft were outside of the junction’s sensor range, Wukong and Kahl went ahead and locked down their respective vessels, sealing off and retracting the umbilicus to coast together towards the scattered remains of a former asteroid belt that drifted between Ceres and Jupiter. The iron and rubido composition of asteroids had a scattering effect on ship’s sensors, which made it an effective area for ambushes.
Radio silence.
Space pirates, as a whole, aren’t particularly intelligent except for their captains and maybe their enterprising first mates, but even they were more cunning than brilliant. Smarter raiders would have chosen to attack commercial vessels, but perhaps the allure of capturing military vessels and adding them to their armada was too good to ignore.
Once the RailJack and Skaut were fully within the scan-disruptive effects of the surrounding debris, the pirates struck, swarming out from their hiding holes, mostly naturally occurring crevasses, and approached the pair from several attack vectors, radio comms exploding with unshielded demands to surrender and prepare to be boarded.
Cy broadcast in a flattened tone, “Raiders, your short lives are about to become crap dipped in misery. Crew, if you would.”
The Grineer military-grade autocannons on the nose and tail cut loose at that moment as well the Railjack’s Vekti model Laith shrapnel blasters unloaded their barrages from the forward artillery points and dorsal turret while simultaneously executing a split-Y maneuver to distance their vessels away and broaden the enemy’s field of fire from being concentrated on them together.
Wukong stepped onto the chambering sconce, powering up the Archwing chassis, which dutifully fed him into the Slingshot’s barrel.
“Cy, if you’ve got eyes on the lead vessel.” the celestial chimp prompted.
“Prepare to ring their doorbell.”
The RailJack performed a short engine boost, abruptly thrusting forward to gain some distance from the pursuing raiders, quickly spun port-side before fully stopping to briefly divert engine power to the Slingshot, and with a crackle of discharged electricity briefly along the skin of the ship, Wukong was fired out towards a large Corpus crewship. Cy continued his turning maneuver and plowed forward back into the teeth of the now-incoming pirates, guns blazing.
Wukong smashed explosively through the reinforced hull of the crewship, a brilliant shower of sparks flying as he ruptured conduits and circuitry in the skin of the vessel, pulling the emergency release valve on the Archwing unit right before impact, leaving it in standby mode outside the ship with its stealth systems engaged.
Klaxons blared deafeningly with flashing lights at the explosive decompression in the area of the ship he erupted into, which appeared to be an upper bay. The space simian reached out and found the comforting weight of his staff in his hand, raptor-beak blades no longer hinged down but outward like sickles ready to thresh wheat.
He stalked forward at a quickened pace, eyes fixed forward to the corridor outside the bay. Motion ahead.
Uranus - Secret Underwater Lab, formerly of Tyl Regor
The Grineer cloning facility on Uranus, once considered hidden beneath its vast ocean, had been operated under the sole discretion of the renowned biologic experimenter Tyl Regor seeking a reliable means to either treat or ultimately cure the clone rot which plagued the Grineer forces. It provided all the necessary infrastructure that Wukong required for this part of his plan and as it was relatively difficult to reach without detection, they would hopefully remain undisturbed for the duration.
The Skaut craft slowly surfaced into the dock section of the facility, grapples launched, reeled-in, and locked. Wukong regarded their impressive haul of raw Tower material while speaking into the comm to Cy as the exit ramp descended to the loading dock.
“Return to Earth and get those repairs taken care of as soon as possible. You’re free to resume Reliquary Drive use at this time.”
“Inquiry: why is it now permissible to use the-” Cy began.
“That’ll be all. Over and out.” Wukong interjected before muting the comm and turning to regard Kahl-175 with his impassive countenance, the high-pitched screams of the dying space pirates still ringing in his ears. “Do you know this place, Kahl?”
The Grineer tubeman had indeed been looking about fervently, eye, both natural and cybernetic, darting around like he was attempting to spot incoming sniper fire. “Yes. Born here.”
“Is that going to be a problem?”
“No problem. Familiar ground.” he replied with a small shake of his head.
“Excellent. Then I shouldn’t have to show you around.” Wukong said with a curt toss of his own head towards the chamber exit. “Let’s get this loaded onto the lift to sub-level 13-40 with the large centrifurnace. We’ve got a significant amount of work ahead of us.”
Wukong firmly closed the lid atop the thermal centrifuge, spinning the wheel tight after flipping the latches until the seal indicator flashed green. The space simian stepped off the top of the two story tall machine and drifted downward to the floor next to Kahl-175.
“Big tubeman.” the former Grineer rumbled.
“Not exactly.” Wukong replied laconically while giving a thorough final check over the machine as he walked around it. It was essentially a large, transparent sphere, now full to the brim with the Unum’s Tower flesh, that would use a low, simmering heat and centrifugal force to separate the varying densities of organic material, which would either be siphoned off to the seven surrounding smaller, vertical tubes for storage or reintroduced to the suspension for further rendering.
“And by that, I mean this machine will be doing the exact opposite of growing flesh. It will break down the material to its most basic parts, or specifically to the one part I require, which is called ‘amino’. The basic building blocks of life, Kahl.” the mercurial monkey explained as he approached the control panel, striking several keys in quick succession. A slow but insistent hum started beneath their feet, drawing Kahl’s attention downward. “There. I’ve initiated the process by activating the heater cores beneath the centrifuge. It will take some time to bring the mass up to proper temperature, so you have time at your leisure to either eat, rest, whatever it is that you do when you aren’t involving yourself in guerilla tactics with the Narmer.”
Kahl-175 opened his mouth to reply as he brought his attention up from the vibrating floor only to find himself alone with his thoughts in the very place he was created.
A full day passed before Wukong would find Kahl-175 in the centrifuge chamber, which had significantly grown in temperature and noise in the interim. The tubeman was watching the machine with an intense expression, almost a rapt fascination that Wukong wasn’t sure the former Grineer had noticed his approach.
He simply said, “Wukong.” to which the space simian inclined his head in acknowledgement before taking a lap around the machine, noticing that the lateral tubes were indeed beginning to collect liquid. Wukong gestured to the tubeman over to the control panel as he read over the various gauges and indicators on the large holographic display. The vast majority of this field of science wasn’t within Wukong’s realm of esoteric knowledge, but thankfully the computer knew what to do as it had been originally designed to perform a very similar function to Tyl Regor’s tubemen that failed his various experiments.
“Kahl, this reading here is the important one.” Wukong said, pointing a glinting talon at the display before gesturing to one vertical tube over his shoulder nearest the control panel. “That tube is collecting the first render of amino. It’s unfortunately also the material that takes the longest to process, however as we are now operating at full temperature and speed, it’ll go quicker moving forward. Once that tube is full, which means the gauge will be read one hundred percent, we’ll make our trip to Deimos and talk to Kaelli.”
Kahl went to speak, just opening his mouth before Wukong interjected with a raised hand, “Yes, I know you’re eager to move forward but I require a bit more patience and there is still work to be done here, work you and I can accomplish together which should take your mind off things. How does that sound?”
“How long?” Kahl inquired finally.
“Three days.”
“When can we start?”
Kahl-175 and Wukong worked tirelessly over the next few days, disconnecting equipment from one of the various entrances to the facility and then reinstalling around the amino collection tubes as to prevent any type of viral or bacterial contamination, breaking only for Kahl-175 to get food and grab maybe a few hours of sleep before getting back to it. The amino, in its purest state, was extremely susceptible to biological influence and it was of the utmost importance to keep it free from contagion. The devices were powerful entropic field generators that any organic substance would be disintegrated passing through them and their calibrations were very delicate and their alignment with respect to each other very specific as not to inadvertently destroy the sample that they were meant to protect. After the final series of calibrations were complete, Wukong stepped away from the console and turned to Kahl-175.
“It’s time. Let’s go.”

The next part is here! This episode is so long that I had to split it, and today, you're finally getting part 3 of 3.
You can find the previous episodes in the side bar! (Community info page in the app)
DISCLAIMERS (the same ones as before)
The point of this fanfiction is not to be a straight-up continuation of events with the same themes, intensity, and tone. If you go into it with those expectations, you are probably not going to like it. Rather, it’s supposed to be how I wish things went if these events were real life. The resolution you want for a real-life situation isn’t often the right choice for a show, but it can be incredibly beautiful. Think of what you’re about to read to be a separate show then.
Episode 1 of this fanfiction begins after the episode “2:00” (season 2 episode 4), so it replaces the episode “Cake” and the ones that follow it. This fanfiction expects you to have seen the entirety of seasons 1 and 2, so you should watch those first.
I myself am bursting into the story here. The narrator and me are the same. While my character is like 95% real me, don’t take events about my life described here as facts. Some aspects of my life have been changed for the story. In my head, I started writing like an “alternate me” character in 2016, fulfilling a lot of the things that I wish I had in life, adding that to my story. I’m not really from Ukraine. I speak fluent Ukrainian as a foreign language, I started learning it in 2014, and I’ve talked to tons of people from there, but I’m not from Ukraine. I also don’t have as much money as I do in the story. I wish lmao.
If you want to post your own fanfiction, feel free to do so! To get your own post flair for your fanfic, and to appear in the side bar, please message me.

Part 3 (days 3 and 4)

We’d wake up on day three, and still, nothing would be any different - we’re still locked up. We’d both feel really worried not knowing if we’ll have to forfeit our whole plan because we might run out of food and water and take the risky route - calling the police and getting ourselves into a situation where we’d have to be freed by force, which would be so dangerous because the Turners have proven that there’s nothing they’re not prepared to do to us to “get Jericho back”. Leanne would ask me “What do we do if we call the police, and Mrs. Turner comes up here and tries to hurt us?” At first, I’d insist that we start thinking about that when we do run out of food the next day, but she’d insist we should come up with a plan. I’d point at the corner on the edge of the attic facing Spruce Street, the corner that’s to one’s right when coming up into the attic,
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and say “Then you’d curl up and hide over there, and I’d take the radio, you’d take the metronome, and I’d sit down in front of you, shielding you, and if she gets in here before the cops do, we’ll defend ourselves. And we’d record everything on my phone. And we should probably hide behind the sofa. Maybe then, she might not notice we’re still up here at first. She’d probably be in a state of panic.” She’d look at me with sad, but touched eyes and just hug me and say thank you. I’d reply “Of course”. After some silence, I’d tell her “If anything happens to me… Please bring me back”.

She’d be touched by that, but say that if she reanimates me, the Church of Lesser Saints will come after ME as well because they’ll believe that I’ll be obligated to join. With a worried smile, I’d say “I know... But they’re probably already gonna do that, right? Because I won’t let them get to you!” We’d both nod with the same half-happy, half-worried expression. “And if things go terribly wrong and you have to bring me back, we can try again!”

I’d ask if I’m getting it right that the “great sins” they think she’s committing are not spending time with the Church and helping another family from the one that was assigned to her. She’d say yes and add that there’s a lot more they hate her for, like her “disobedient and rebellious streak”, disobeying their instructions, putting curses on people, and now, leaving the Marinos.
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After a few seconds of silence (out of shock that this is how the Church of Lesser Saints frames it), I’d be like “If you disobey so many of their instructions, then...”, look her directly in the eyes, and go “Good! Keep on disobeying them! I’m actually kind of stunned that this is how they frame your actions, because that is so manipulative. Wanting to have a life where you don’t have to worry about your every step being watched and controlled, where you can actually freely explore what you believe – not what they tell you to believe, but what YOU believe, where you can do totally normal human things like listen to music, and where you can go wherever you want and make some basic decisions for yourself and work wherever you want, that doesn’t make you...” (doing the “quote-on-quote” with my hands while I say it) “quote-on-quote ‘disobedient’ or ‘rebellious’, it makes you a normal human being. If they forbid every little thing that people do that makes you happy, if you then look for happiness elsewhere, that’s on them. You can’t take every bit of joy away from people and then expect them to just deal with it. You wanting to run away, that’s the logical result of their bullshit. And you didn’t ‘leave’ the Marinos, you were taken. Don’t let them think you’re at fault in any way!” She might have never heard any verbal confirmation before that her feelings about leaving are valid, and this would be so reassuring to her. She’d tell me that whenever she did things like not be there for meals at the Church, skip assemblies, or curse people without permission, she would be brought before May and the rest of the community, get questioned about her behavior, and she’d have to self-flagellate to receive forgiveness.
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I’d go really still and quiet when she mentions the self-flagellation, which she’d then explain is a frequent punishment. That would freaking break my heart... I’d ask her when was the last time she hurt herself, and it was a little less than two weeks ago, before she was forced to leave the Turners. Very carefully and quietly, I’d ask her if it would be okay if she can show me her scars and add “You do NOT have to if you’re not comfortable, PLEASE don’t do it if you’re not”, and after a second, she’d nod and show me her back. My heart would break for her even more seeing her scars, I’d just express how horrible it is that they made her do that… I’d show her some of my cut wounds from when I self-harmed, which I hadn’t done in like three and a half years at that point. I’d want her to know that way that I get the urge, that I really do, but I’d tell her that hurting oneself achieves nothing. All it does is make you feel horrible mentally and physically, and every time you do it, there’s a risk of infection and even death. I’d just tell her I understand while taking her in my arms. I’d ask her to please look me in the eyes and tell me she won’t hurt herself again, and that when she feels like doing it again, to please talk to me first. She’d quietly say “I promise” while looking me in the eyes, and after some longer embraces, we’d both smile a bit, that would make me really happy to hear! I’d ask that when we’re out of here, if we can call a doctor sometime soon and get them to look at her scars to make sure none of them are infected, if she’s comfortable enough, and she’d nod and smile at me a little bit some more.

We’d eat after that. We’d run out of tomato soup that meal, and I’d tell her that when we’re getting out of there, I’d get her all the tomato soup in the world! “We’re gonna fill a whole hotel fridge with tomato soup!” “And with Ben & Jerry’s?”, she’d ask, and I’d say yes and say that we’re probably gonna need more than one fridge. I’d say we’re gonna pick the nicest and most expensive hotel to stay at, an idea that she’d love! “You still think Allentown is a good idea?”, I’d ask her, and she’d think my reasoning from the day before makes sense and say yes. We’d look for the nicest hotel in Allentown online and see that there are “only” three-star hotels in Allentown. Leanne would ask if getting such an expensive place to stay is really okay, and I’d say “Money is not an issue, don’t worry about it” while reaching across her back and like caressing her right shoulder, looking her in the eyes, and smiling. “And besides, let’s spoil you, you fucking deserve it after all this!” We wouldn’t book anything yet because we wouldn’t know when we can get out of there yet, but looking at all those insanely nice hotels would lift our spirits a bit.

After eating the first half of that day’s rations (only two half day’s rations would be left after that…), we’d think that it would probably be a good idea if we started writing the document for the police right now. Writing it can take hours upon hours, and there’s no point in delaying the rescue to write the document after I leave if we can do it right now, so we’d begin right that moment. It would begin something like “My name is Daria Horenko, born July 30, 1999 in Odesa, Ukraine, residing in 501 Pembroke Ave, Philadelphia 19050, Pennsylvania...” (I don’t live there. I have no idea who does. Please leave them alone lmao) “...I sent this statement to my Facebook friend Liam [...] (residing in Tipperary, Ireland, using Facebook as Liam [...]) as a PDF file and told him to call the Philadelphia police and read this statement to them if I don’t come back online and confirm that I’m okay by 10 PM Philadelphia time / 3 PM London, UK time on December 22, 2022. If he is reading this to you, it probably means that there was no sign of life from me by that time, and that I’m not safe, probably kidnapped and locked up by Dorothy Turner, Sean Turner, Julian (I’m not sure about his surname, but I’m referring to Dorothy Turner’s brother - redhead, not very tall, moderately overweight) in the attic of their residence at 9780 Spruce Street, Philadelphia 19139, Pennsylvania”, and then document everything I’ve seen in chronological order and everything that Leanne has told me, with a link to our video and photographic evidence, references to DNA evidence that can probably be found in the hole in the basement if they haven’t covered it up by now, and a statement at the end saying that I’ve written it together with Leanne to make sure that everything is correct. That would take a really long time, hours for sure. But when it’s done, I’d run spell- and grammar checks on it and send it to my printer at home, to be queued for printing when I get home and turn it on. We’d also know that today (December 21) or tomorrow will be the day when we leave one way or another, so I’d schedule a text message to 911 in 30 hours from that moment. The message would say “This is a scheduled message. If you’ve received it, then Leanne Grayson (born October 13, 2001)...” (We only ever learn Leanne’s birth year from the gravestone. October 13 is Nell Tiger Free’s birthday, so October 13, 2001 being Leanne’s birthday is kind of my headcanon)
https://preview.redd.it/0hr9niq1pu1d1.png?width=975&format=png&auto=webp&s=4dbead2015781ed8beee236188b8273aac1b3fb0
“...and me (Daria Horenko, born July 30, 1999) are probably not safe, abducted and locked up against our will by Dorothy Turner, her brother Julian, and Sean Turner in the attic of their house at 9780 Spruce Street, Philadelphia 19139, Pennsylvania or somewhere else on the property. We need help immediately. The Turners should be considered dangerous and very clearly willing to use violence and intimidation. We need help NOW. Details in our prepared statement: [the link]”. Because we’re holding out hope that we won’t have to call the police from inside the attic, the document would include information on what our plan is to get Leanne (and me) out of there as safely as possible and call the police from the taxi, but that if we run out of rations, we won’t have a choice but to call the police while we’re unarmed and while the Turners still have the upper hand.

We would debate whether we should include information about the Church of Lesser Saints right away or tell the police about them later because we know how that sounds, considering that this would hurt the credibility of our testimony,
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but we’d modify the document and include the most important information about them as well, with more believable explanations - how they forced Leanne and other members to self-harm (meaning that current members or those who recently left), where they’re currently operating from in Lancaster,
https://preview.redd.it/mxbm8445pu1d1.png?width=975&format=png&auto=webp&s=1f9b5f1c671c15afce7149eeb90926c2c29b9bdb
that they faked their deaths, that they forced Leanne to leave the Turners, and the necessary lie that they took the real baby, and that Leanne hasn’t seen it since that day and doesn’t know where they’ve taken it. We’d also include names and stuff, and most importantly, reference the baptism tape and say that it shows May and George watching us from the sidewalk outside the church less than three weeks ago, and that piece of evidence would change everything in regards to investigating the Church of Lesser Saints and make the police believe us. We’d add that it’s probably among the other DVDs in the Turners’ living room, and that I’ll try to get it when leaving the building if our original plan is still going to be an option, rip the DVD at home, and add a link to the video file to the document. We’d modify the scheduled text message as well, and we’d charge both phones, mine first because the scheduled message is so important, but it’s an iPhone, so we could charge it to 100% rather quickly and then charge hers. And we’d add that we’d want the police to get Leanne’s things from the Marino estate. All her stuff being there would be further evidence that she was taken suddenly and against her will. We’d also add what number Leanne can be reached at for now with the Samsung Galaxy phone. And then, I’d send the document to Liam on all platforms where I know how to reach him, followed by a message to alert the authorities if I’m not back online confirming that we’re both okay in what’s now probably more like 29 hours, the phone number of the Philadelphia police, and caps at the beginning saying that it’s an actual emergency.

Out of nowhere, I’d ask her if she’s seen “Titanic” lmao, and with her near total isolation growing up, she wouldn’t have seen it. “I’ve only seen movies on TV”. I’d be like “I can show you lots of movies if you want! I got several subscriptions to streaming services, and also a bunch of stuff offline on an external drive at home.”
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Back on talking about “Titanic”, I’d tell her it’s wonderful and so freaking romantic, albeit over-the-top at times for sure and a bit overrated. It has that glossy feeling and some superficial characters to it that all James Cameron movies have, but it’s still really wonderful. After explaining the plot to her (since she’s grown up so isolated), I’d tell her about one scene that I’m thinking about a lot from time to time - near the end of the movie, when old Rose is done telling the researchers her story, she says that she doesn’t even have a picture of Jack, and that has hit me so hard from the first time I’ve seen the movie.
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She has no physical memories of him, she can never see his face again, and she can never show people what he looked like. That just rips my heart. I’d ask Leanne if we can take some pictures together. We’d look pretty horrible because we haven’t been able to shower in days, but we wouldn’t care and take them anyway and really, genuinely smile so hard. I’d send them to her email address (leanne_grayson@icloud.com, that email address is on her resume in the show),
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manually sync my gallery with iCloud, and I’d send them to Liam. I’d ask what phone she got back at the Marinos’ and if she’s got any pictures of herself in her iCloud gallery, but she’d tell me she’s rarely ever taken pictures of herself, only for the resume she applied at the Turners’ for, and I’d be like “Whaaaaat? But you’re so beautiful!”, and she’d smile hard, a bit embarrassed. I’d look her straight in the eyes and say it again and say that I mean it for real, she is so incredibly beautiful! It’s probably so rare that anyone’s ever said that to her in her entire life (her mother definitely didn’t, and given that the Church of Lesser Saints believes that anything that feels good is dangerous,
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it’s rather unlikely that they did), Tobe saying it in “Balloon” might even have been the only time ever…
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I’d then add “Inside AND out!”, and she’d smile some more in a bit of embarrassment and then look me in the eyes and say “You, too, Daria!”, and as you’d expect, I’d smile so hard and even with my eyes!

It would be rather late by then, so we’d eat and listen to some more music together from the Spotify playlist I created for her and talk so much about what we’re hearing.

After dinner, she’d bring the topic up on her own (this is kind of making fun of these fan theories) - she’d tell me that some in the Church of Lesser Saints think she’s the Devil or Lilith because of her rebelliousness, and how she’s inspired doubt in some people in the Church. I’d make such a weirded-out face. After realizing she’s serious, I’d say “If you are the Devil, then hail Satan! Like, seriously, if YOU are what God is threatening will happen if we don’t follow him, then that’s literally the weakest threat I’ve ever heard of. Then God is the villain here. We need more people like you in the world!” Shy as she still is, she’d still be almost embarrassed to hear this (she’s so not used to compliments), and I’d make it clear I’m serious, that I really think she’s fricking wonderful and the sweetest, and that she clearly has a huge heart full of so much love, and that she deserves so much better than what she’s ever experienced! Almost in denial, she’d see in my eyes that I really mean it and just smile and hug me, and then, we’d both smile even more! I’d rub her back a lot in that moment and promise her again that everything will be okay. “I’ll make sure of that!”

After some more music together, knowing that tomorrow will be the day we leave, no matter which plan we’ll go with, we’d make sure we haven’t forgotten anything. Looking around, I’d realize I have to give her my earphones with a cord because the internal mic of my Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini is essentially useless. I’d tell her that when I call her the next day to tell her it’s safe to come downstairs now, she should answer the call, plug in the earphones, and then, it will take a few seconds until I can hear her, but then, it should be fine. We’d set a code phrase that I’ll mention to let her know if the Turners got me and it’s NOT safe to come down. She’d suggest “tomato soup”, and I’d smile and say yes, that’s gonna be our code phrase. “And if it IS safe to come down?”, she’d ask, and I’d suggest “ice cream”.

I’d realize that we should probably find her fresh clothes in the attic and a coat right now, so as I said, it’s not too obvious that she’s been locked up for a long time the second she walks out of the door, because if she’s in dirty clothes or nightwear, with it being obvious that she hasn’t showered in days, and I get her out of there and into a taxi to drive off while I got a gun, it would look as if I was kidnapping her, so we’d find her a nice dress and coat up there, and I’d turn around and close my eyes while she puts it on, and when she’s done, I’d tell her again that she looks amazing! 😊
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And she’d smile and thank me this time, sort of the way she says it to the makeup artist at the street fair in S3E5 “Tiger” in that typical way of hers that’s so adorable for real,
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and she’d look in my direction and say “You look really beautiful, too!”, really shy, before peeking me in the eyes for a moment, and we’d just look at each other for a moment. “Can I have your pictures?”, she’d ask me, and I’d say yeah, open my iPhone, and select ALL pictures of myself in my gallery and send them to her email address, and send her those that are too large via a Google Drive link (iCloud isn’t great for sharing files lol), and then, I’d take her Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini, download them all (which would take a while because that phone is ancient), and set one of the pictures we’ve taken together as her wallpaper, and then set it as my wallpaper on my iPhone as well! 😊

We’d consider if there’s anything else we’ve missed. She’d mention that parts of the floor screech, especially one tile, so when I sneak out, I gotta be careful on the stairs, especially with that one tile.
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After a few seconds, she’d ask me if we wanna book a hotel now, and I’d smile and say sure! “Did you like any hotels in particular, out of the ones we looked at?” She’d say “The one with the big jacuzzi looks great” with big eyes and enthusiasm in her voice, like she does during some of her conversations with Tobe in S3E5 “Tiger”. “You’ve ever been in a jacuzzi?”, I’d ask her, and she’d go “Nooo, but I wanna try!” in the same tone,
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and so, after lying down now, we’d look up which hotel she was talking about and book a two-room suite in that hotel in Allentown for three weeks. I’d add “So we can easily look out for each other, and so you’ll also have some privacy.”, and she’d smile and nod, that consideration would probably mean a lot to her.

We’d then get ready for bed. For the next day, I’d get some better clothes as well and put them on while she’s turned around with her eyes closed. I’d take the last ration of food out of my backpack, put the clothes I just took off at the bottom of it, above Leanne’s Bible (the porcelain baby and card are already in one of the other pockets), and put my phone and the chargers in another pocket. I’d look around and ask her if there’s anything else I should take with me to safeguard, and at first, she’d also look around because she wouldn’t know how to answer right away, but she’d then point at Mrs. Barrington with her face,
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and I’d be like “Well, I think she’s a little too big for my backpack, but I can talk to the police when we’re out of here, maybe we can try to get her!”, and Leanne would nod with a big smile again.

We’d lie down on the mattress and share the covers again. Just like the night before, I’d lie down on the side of the mattress that’s closer to the stairs, in case Dorothy changes her mind and tries to assault Leanne again… On the mattress, she’d suddenly hug me really tight, break into tears, and thank me over and over again, and I’d just hold her tight, say “Of course”, and assure her that everything’s gonna be okay, that we’ll get out of there tomorrow. I’d wipe some of her tears off her face 🥺 On the mattress, we’d just look each other in the eyes and both just smile more and more, and after a minute or two, she’d kiss me on the lips for a tiiiiny moment and then, we’d just smile at each other even harder! She’d say “I’m not supposed to do that” while still smiling just as hard and looking me directly in the eyes! “Says who?”, I’d reply. She goes “My aunts and uncles”, and I’d say “I don’t think they’re a reliable source!”, and we’d kiss each other some more and longer, and both feel each other’s smile on our lips, and peek at each other a few times in between 😊🥰❤️ We’d both put our arms around each other before telling each other good night and before I promise her one more time it’s all going to be okay!
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At some point during the night, she’d wake me up, and when she does, I’d realize I had a nightmare, like, not from my night terrors, and she’d tell me I had a nightmare, that I was sniffling in my sleep, and that I told her two days earlier to wake me up if this happens. Still feeling terrible (the feeling of immediate dread always takes a while to subside for me), I’d thank her. I’d ask what I was saying, and she’d say that I wasn’t speaking English. I’d consider if I should tell her for a moment, but then, I’d take a deep breath, look up for a second, and with a heavy voice, slowly say “What if we try plan A tomorrow, and I fail? I’m scared… I don’t wanna mess this up… I don’t wanna fail you…” And she’d slowly look at me and just say two words: “You haven’t!” I’d look at her and almost laugh a bit out of joy. I’d smile and just cuddle up to her a bit, and she’d do it back. I’d say I’ll try to listen to music for a while to calm down because doing something else makes it much easier for me to zone out of the feeling of dread again. “Why only you?”, she’d ask. “I don’t wanna keep you awake”, I’d say, “You need the sleep”, and she’d say “It’s okay” and just smile a bit, and so, we’d listen to some music together for about half an hour.

I’d tell her that my sleep is so horrible (she’d say she can tell) because I don’t have my meds, and I’m really fricking looking forward to taking them again. Without them, the quality of my sleep is terrible, and it takes so long for me to fall asleep at all if I don’t take them. She’d ask if I’ve taken them for a long time, and I’d say that I haven’t taken these particular meds for long because whatever I take, my body builds up some resistance to them pretty quickly, so after a while, I always have to get new ones, but I’ve taken sleeping meds for years now. “It sounds like they’re really helping you, right?”, she’d ask, and I’d nod and say “Yeah, they really do. I’m also taking antidepressants, and they were an absolute gamechanger for me. It’s okay if I don’t take them for a few days because they don’t work in the moment, but they like rewire your brain over time, and they’re the best thing that’s ever happened to my mental health. Before I started taking them, it was so hard for me to avoid bad thoughts or resist them, like, it was hell, but ever since then, it got sooo much easier, and not letting things get to me or not letting bad things really take over me is just so much easier now.” After a while, I’d say “I was at a psychiatric clinic voluntarily for six months, but I also had nowhere else to go, and the doctors and employees really abused their power. They only intervened when there was physical violence, they didn’t intervene in any other conflicts, so because of them, the patients constantly bullied each other. My doctor switched to another department while I was there, so I got a new one, and the new one wasn’t perfect, but at least, she cared. I got really lucky to get a place at a living group for mentally ill people, which was when I could finally leave. But honestly, all my experiences with mental health professionals since then have been better. I went to a different clinic for four or five days voluntarily in 2019, and even they were far better. “That sounds scary…”, she’d say. I’d reply “It was. But things got much better after that. I had lots of setbacks, like, you know, but if you get help, it’s always better.”

After the current song’s over, we’d lie down to try and sleep again. We’d smile at each other again in bed, and I’d give her a short-ish kiss before saying good night, and we’d both smile even harder after that 😁 And we would fall asleep for good after a while (it would still take me longer than her).

In the morning, Leanne would wake me up again. She’d show me that the door is unlocked and open by a little bit now (they’re “letting” her out for a few hours…),
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and we’d both just embrace and chuckle in huge joy, as we can go with plan A now, the less risky one! We’d remember to quiet down after a few seconds and whisper from then on out. I’d go to the toilet roll, take eight pieces, rip them into two bands of four pieces each, and roll each of them up into a little bunch. I’d give them to her and tell her to put them into the wall pieces of the door when she gets out (so it looks like the door is closed while it can’t actually lock) and give me an audible signal when the third floor is clear, so I’ll get out with my backpack, take out the toilet paper, and hide in her room.
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“Is there anything you want me to get from there?”, I’d ask. “No. Everything is here or at the Marinos’.” I’d go “Okay” and move on - since I’m almost definitely unable to come down to the second floor right away (I’m using American English in all of these episodes. “First floor” in American English = “ground floor” in British English; “Second floor” in American English = “first floor” in British English; “Third floor” in American English = “second floor” in British English, etc.), she’d give me a signal when coming back upstairs. We’d agree that when she comes back upstairs, if it’s safe to go to the second floor, she’d shout something, maybe in conversation, maybe some sort of cry, doesn’t matter, and if not, she’d kick something. She’d be locked upstairs again after that, so I’ll have to tell when to get further downstairs myself, which I’d do as soon as I’ve heard absolutely no sounds from inside the house for at least a few minutes. On the first floor, I’d get the DVD from March 11, 2001, and if the baptism tape isn’t clearly labeled among the tapes, I’d unplug the DVD player from the TV, turn on the player, open the DVD slot, and if the tape isn’t in there, I’d take all unlabeled tapes. I’d then listen in on the basement door for a few seconds, and if I hear no sounds from down there, I’d quietly open the basement door and go downstairs, and if no one’s there, I’d get out through the side entrance down there, out through the back gate, walk back to Spruce Street, drive my bike home, take a shower, watch the tape from March 11, 2011 like she told me I could, hide it somewhere at home, print out the document for the police, take it with me in an envelope, print out a second version of it to give to the taxi driver, so I can say “If I’m not back in an hour, please call the police for me and read this to them”. I’d then call a taxi (a taxi with a large trunk whose driver is allowed to drive to Allentown and back), load my gun, and leave for the Turners’ and get Leanne.

We’d see that Liam has replied by now. Of course, he’d be super worried, but he’s got our backs for the plan, and that would be really reassuring. We’d look each other in the eyes, and then, I’d hug her sooo tight for several seconds, and we’d have one loooong kiss (hoping it’s not the last time we see each other…) before she goes downstairs while looking back at me on the way before putting the toilet paper in the door. I’d then put on my backpack. Once Leanne loudly shouts “Mister Turner?”, that would be my signal, and I’d hide in her room for about 45 minutes before she’s “let” back upstairs and shouts “You can lock me in now, Mrs. Turner”,
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which is when I’d sneak into the storage/guest room and wait. It would take like five hours until I hear nothing for a while, which is when I’d sneak onto the first floor, look around to make extra sure no one’s there, and go to the living room. I’d get the tape from March 11, 2011, and the baptism tape would be among the labeled DVDs, and I’d put it into the box of the March 11, 2011 tape (I’d put the original DVD loose in there and use the spot inside the box for the baptism tape because it’s probably more important. I then wouldn’t hear anything from the basement, so I’d slowly and quietly go down there. No one would be there, so I’d leave as planned and go home and take a shower. I’d watch the March 11, 2011 DVD. I’d be surprised to see the interaction between Leanne and Dorothy for sure, but sort of knowing her, I wouldn’t think anything bad of it. I’d actually get it because of my past celebrity crushes (which I know isn’t what she was feeling for Dorothy) and the desire to meet them, especially with Blanche. I’d get why Leanne wouldn’t want the police to see it, it would look bad for her. I’d wrap up the DVD in a thick piece of paper and tape it to the back of my closet, between the closet and the wall. I’d burn the piece of paper in the DVD case in my bathtub with a bucket of water next to me just in case. I’d test if the DVD of the baptism tape still works (it does), rip it, upload the video file to Google Drive, add it to the document for the police, cancel my printing queue, print the document (two versions of it. The one for the taxi driver would just have a short introduction at the beginning, like, that I’m the person who ordered the taxi), order the taxi, pack my things for the next couple of weeks and anything that Leanne might need, so I’d include any clothes that I think could fit her, and go to the taxi. I’d tell the driver to get me one block away from 9780 Spruce Street (which isn’t actually a real address, by the way) and wait there for me. Before leaving for the Turner house, I’d give him the envelope with his version of the letter for the police and tell him what I said I would tell him. I’d then get my backpack with the gun in it from my luggage in the trunk, and walk to the Turners’ house.

I have already "written" so much more in my head, but I've now reached the end of what I've actually written down, so it will take longer until the next episode is out now! Hope you've enjooooyed this one!