Fill: Challenge 96, Original, Lemy'es

[lantairvlea]

Still writing a bunch in my novel, but decided to take a brief break for some purple prose! This scene (if it were in the book) would be towards the end of chapter one.

( Teigan )

The purple prose made me realize that while I am sometimes verbose, I am not that verbose!

Challenge #101

[shivver]

Oops! Had this written, forgot to click Post!

One of the most fun tropes to work with, and often very satisfying for the reader, is that of enemies agreeing to work with each other. It's common between established enemies who know each other well - such as the Doctor and the Master - but it can happen between any two characters, when fortunes turn and they realize that they will both benefit from working together or, more likely, that they will both lose if they don't.

Most often, this situation is triggered by the arrival of a larger threat to both of them, like Rassilon in "The End fo Time" or the Axos in "Claws of Axos". Another possibility is one party asking the other for support only they can provide in a plan that benefits both of them, such as in Stargate Atlantis' "Coup d'Etat" and "Allies" - in both cases, an enemy asks Atlantis for help and the heroes have to decide if they can trust them to hold up their end of the bargain. The resulting alliance between the enemies could be the driving force of the story, as in "Claws of Axos", or it could be fleeting, as in "The End of Time", when the Master realizes that Rassilon is the real threat and sacrifices himself to drive Gallifrey back into the Time War and save the Doctor.

For this challenge, write a small bit of two enemies working together. It could be one side trying to convince the other side to help; it could be an action scene of them working together among a litany of insults; it could be after the fact, when they end the truce and dive back into their conflict - or maybe they've learned something about each other and part ways amicably until next time. Whatever you choose to do, remember: these people aren't friends. There should always be an undercurrent of distrust and unease.