a cry in the dark (whax)
Title: A Cry In The Dark
Rating: MA15+
Summary: Just how thin is the line between love and hate?
Disclaimer
Notes: My very first Whax fic. Written for the brilliant Shay at Raising Hell who insists on pushing me out of my comfort zone. I don't know if this is any good but it was the only thing I could think of when the completely foreign notion of Whax was thrust at me.
There was a constant dripping somewhere nearby that was irritating her. In her current predicament, there was certainly a lot to be concerned about but all she could focus on was the dripdripdrip that was coming from behind her. She didn’t know what was dripping, nor did she really care to find out - it was bound to be disgusting. But she did want it to stop. A small voice whispered that if the dripping stopped, she’d realise just how much danger she was in but that part was continuously muffled by the dripdripdrip.
She gave her wrists a tug and was once more greeted by the stabbing pain as the cuffs dug even further into her skin. She could feel the blood running down her hands and as she hung her head forward, her hair created a curtain around her face and her neck was brushed by a small bit of cool air.
Max’s head shot up as footsteps approached and she schooled her features into a scowl. She didn’t know how long she’d been here but she was not going to let them have the satisfaction of seeing her hurting. There was a large creak as the solid door opened and White stepped in.
“452.”
~.~.~
“452.”
Max spun around quickly and her heart sank. Standing in front of them was White, a gun in his hand and a trio of Familiars behind him. She felt Alec pull her back slightly.
“494. Aren’t you dead yet?”
“Guess you’re just not that good.”
There was a split second before he attacked. They had known it, seen the signs before he had even moved and they’d been ready. As the four of them had launched themselves forward, Alec leapt at the wall beside them and used the motion to fling himself out at the Familiars. He bunched up and landed in a roll as the three Familiars went crashing down with him. By the time they were standing, Alec was ready for them.
White, on the other hand, had taken a bee line straight for Max. In hindsight, he hadn’t put too much effort into his attack and she should have noticed. Noticed how the first punch was far too wide, the backhand too sloppy. She’d felt the tiny pinprick to her neck just before one of his punches landed and he spun around, sweeping her feet out from under her.
In the moment before she lost consciousness, Max saw Alec take a hit from a Familiar. One Familiar lay at his feet with a broken neck and one wasn’t too far away, mopping up the blood spilling into his eyes. She could have sworn she saw a moment of fear in his eyes as he saw her lying on the ground but the drugs had done their work and the darkness swept in.
~.~.~
She glowered at him but he continued smiling.
“You know, you could make this easier on yourself. Just let us know what we wanna know.” She glared and he gave a soft laugh. “You know what? I hoping you don’t tell us anything. Victory is going to be so much sweeter if I can see the look on your face when your ‘people’ fall.”
Max forced the bile back down her throat. She heard him mutter something to the Familiar at the door. It was the same Familiar that had been torturing her on and off for the last day and a half and by the looks of it, they were in for another round. But she wasn’t going to give anything up.
Alec knew what to do. When they’d first put together a system after they been forced into TC, the Transgenics had needed a leader. Having spent their whole lives in Manticore, it was the only system they knew. The Transgenics had insisted on Alec, saying that he was the only one who’d understand what they’d been through but the Transhumans had refused. They’d wanted Max for the exact reason the others didn’t - she’d been on the outside. It was the Transhumans she worried about.
Even though Max had eventually gotten leadership, it was on the provision that Alec was her 2IC; someone to make sure that everyone would be getting a say. And they had decided that day, the two of them, that if one was to fall, the other would pick up TC and move them. There was too much danger in staying where they were after that. The Transgenics still had Alec to lead them and although there’d been more unity between them, several were still somewhat distrustful of Alec. She’d have to hope that Josh would be able to convince them to trust Alec.
The other thing that concerned her was Alec. She’d seen that expression before she passed out. Although the rule was to take TC and run, Alec had no doubt gotten a team together first that would be staying behind looking for her. That’s what she would have done. Despite their disagreements, she and Alec made a good team. She would do anything for family.
The Familiar was expressionless as he nodded and stepped inside, closing the door on a smiling White. She didn’t scream; not when the first electric shock ripped through her system and made her blood feel like it was boiling nor when he turned up the current and the pressure began building in her head. She didn’t cry either; she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of thinking she was broken. If there was a rescue on the way, she needed to be ready. If not, she’d hold out as long as she could and then she’d shut off.
By the time White walked back in, she’d already had a blade taken to her and Max knew she looked bad. Even still, she noticed the look of surprise before he schooled his features. He nodded for the guard to leave and knelt in front of her. When she’d first been captured, she’d been strung up in chains just in case she had any intention of escaping. But once the Familiar had broken her leg, they’d put her in a chair with handcuffs. She’d originally found the seat better because blood flow was returning to her arms but it had just put her at a better height for the Familiar.
“Why won’t you just give them up? We know they’ve moved on; Terminal City is empty and they’ve left you here alone. There’s no trace of a single one of them in Seattle. No one is coming for you.”
Max shifted slightly in her seat as she turned to look at him but the long cut along her abdomen pulled open again and she let out a small moan of pain. Something akin to pity flashed across his eyes but she just growled low. She didn’t need his pity.
“Bite me!”
“They’re not gonna let you go. When the Conclave gets word of your capture, they’re gonna come in here and take you. They’re gonna dissect you every way they can to find out what it is about you that Sandeman made so damn special.”
Max offered him nothing. She raised her chin slightly in defiance and he stood up in anger. White opened his mouth, as if to say something, before closing it tightly and walking out the door. She let her head drop back down and tried to rest; rest as much as she could with the hot, bright lights glaring down at her.
~.~.~
It was some time after that, hours perhaps, when the Familiar walked back into the room. He said nothing in response, merely picked up the equipment that he’d been using before and began separating it as he looked for specific instruments. By the time he had pulled off her third fingernail, Max’s jaw felt like it was going to be locked in the same position for the rest of her life. If the torture was anything to go by, it might not be that far off anyway.
The Familiar had picked up her right thumb, one of the few fingers that wasn’t currently broken, when the door to the room opened and White walked in. He nodded his head back into the corridor and the Familiar nodded.
“The Conclave is here. Make sure they have everything they need. The prisoner will be out shortly.”
The door closed behind the Familiar and White moved quickly toward Max. Despite herself, she flinched as he drew near and she leant back ever so slightly in the chair she was in. An ordinary human probably wouldn’t have seen the tiny movement but White did and he raised an eyebrow at her.
“If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”
There was an urgency to his voice that she wasn’t used to hearing and he refused to look her in the eye as he unlocked the handcuffs around her wrists and ankles. She had no intention of letting him hand her over to the Conclave so that they could play a sick and twisted version of ‘Operation’ on her and she flung her leg out at him in an attempt to sweep his feet out from under him. However, White had predicted the move and held fast to her leg as he leant in.
“If you wanna get out of here alive, I suggest you play nice.”
He pulled her into a standing position and gave her a moment to find her balance before escorting her to the door. He opened it and peered outside before pulling her out after him and leading them down the corridor, away from the main part of the building. Just around the corner, White pulled open an access door that was partially rusted shut and shoved her through it. She looked back at him in anger but he just silenced any question she might have with a glare and shut the door behind him. He stilled as he listened for a moment before gripping her elbow and pulling her along the access tunnel.
They moved in silence for almost five minutes before he stopped her and and pushed her into what she thought was a wall. She growled in protest but the ‘wall’ behind her gave way and she realised it was a door to the outside. Bright light filtered through the opened doorway and she saw a non-descript dark blue car a few feet away. She turned back to him but he refused to meet her questioning look as he closed the door and pulled her along toward it. He opened the backdoor, lifted the back seat to reveal a hidden compartment underneath it and pushed her into the small concealed space.
She should have struggled. If she’d fought then, even though he was probably expecting it, she might have been able to escape him and blur away fast enough to put some distance between them. But for now he was the one with a car that was obviously taking her away from the Conclave and until she was far enough away from them, she’d play along. Then she’d escape him.
“Be still and quiet.”
He shut the seat and she tried not to pay any mind to the small, almost coffin-like space and listened as he turned the engine on and drove through, what she assumed was the compound. They stopped at the edge and there was a brief exchange before the boot opened and closed. She held her breath until the car started again and closed her eyes as she memorised the distance they travelled and the turns they made until reaching their destination.
She done a lot of thinking and decided that she’d see where they had ended up before attacking him. She didn’t want to knock him down only to find out that she was surrounded by something worse. For whatever reason, he’d pulled her away from the Conclave and she was only hoping that it was so that he could get the information he needed from her about his son and not so that he could sell her to the Reds. Or something equally as terrifying.
When the car stopped, Max prepared herself for a fight. The top of the seat lifted and she saw White standing in front of her, looking around to make sure no one was watching. She climbed out slowly and saw that they were in a fairly typical middle class neighbourhood and White lowered the seat and led her to the front door of a light blue house that they were parked beside. She eyed him carefully and followed him inside, prepared to fight if necessary, but he merely took off his coat when he entered and dropped it on the lounge. She stopped in the hall and just stared at his back as he walked away. Sensing no immediate danger, and seeing the opportunity, she turned back toward the door.
“Max!” he called as her hand reached for the door knob.
She stilled. Not only had he caught her fairly lame attempt at escape but he had called her by her name, not designation. She turned slowly as he approached her.
“Where do you think you are going? You step outside this door, you’ll be on your way to a research lab within the hour!”
Surprisingly, despite the tone, it was more of a statement than a threat and her mouth fell open in surprise. She pulled her hand back and one of her broken fingers hit the brass knob causing a jolt of pain to course through her. She pulled her hand back quickly as though she had been burnt and White looked down at her hands. Pulling her by her forearm into the kitchen, he pushed her into a chair and retrieved a first aid kit from the cupboard beside her. He didn’t even look up as he set the fingers that needed setting before cleaning and wrapping the wounds. There was barely a trace of emotion on his face throughout the whole thing and Max struggled to figure out why she felt like she’d stepped into an alternate universe.
“Why are you doing this?”
He paused before sitting back. “The Conclave will kill you if they get you.” he all but mumbled.
Max nearly laughed. “That’s all you’ve ever tried to do! What makes the Conclave so special? Want all the glory for yourself?”
“I can take you back there if you’d prefer!” he practically spat. He stood and started pacing as he argued with himself, seemingly oblivious to her presence. “I don’t even know why I’m doing this! They’ll have figured it out by now and no doubt I’m as good as dead anyway.”
“I’m not going to tell you where your son is.”
White turned to her incredulously. “You thi-, you think that’s what this is about? I’ve put my life on the line, I’ve risked everything so far and all because I’m- “ He looked her up and down and his disgusted look made her bristle. “I can’t get you out of my head! You’re nothing more than some lab abomination that my father created, a plague on an already ruined world and there’s just something about you that stops me from killing you every time. It’s as though he knew it would be me trying to stop him and he’s- ”
Max’s eyes widened as he strode quickly across the room and fiercely pressed his lips to hers. She was completely stunned and remained still as he pulled away from her without looking her in the eye and disappeared down the corridor.
Things had certainly just gotten more complicated.
Rating: MA15+
Summary: Just how thin is the line between love and hate?
Disclaimer
Notes: My very first Whax fic. Written for the brilliant Shay at Raising Hell who insists on pushing me out of my comfort zone. I don't know if this is any good but it was the only thing I could think of when the completely foreign notion of Whax was thrust at me.
There was a constant dripping somewhere nearby that was irritating her. In her current predicament, there was certainly a lot to be concerned about but all she could focus on was the dripdripdrip that was coming from behind her. She didn’t know what was dripping, nor did she really care to find out - it was bound to be disgusting. But she did want it to stop. A small voice whispered that if the dripping stopped, she’d realise just how much danger she was in but that part was continuously muffled by the dripdripdrip.
She gave her wrists a tug and was once more greeted by the stabbing pain as the cuffs dug even further into her skin. She could feel the blood running down her hands and as she hung her head forward, her hair created a curtain around her face and her neck was brushed by a small bit of cool air.
Max’s head shot up as footsteps approached and she schooled her features into a scowl. She didn’t know how long she’d been here but she was not going to let them have the satisfaction of seeing her hurting. There was a large creak as the solid door opened and White stepped in.
“452.”
~.~.~
“452.”
Max spun around quickly and her heart sank. Standing in front of them was White, a gun in his hand and a trio of Familiars behind him. She felt Alec pull her back slightly.
“494. Aren’t you dead yet?”
“Guess you’re just not that good.”
There was a split second before he attacked. They had known it, seen the signs before he had even moved and they’d been ready. As the four of them had launched themselves forward, Alec leapt at the wall beside them and used the motion to fling himself out at the Familiars. He bunched up and landed in a roll as the three Familiars went crashing down with him. By the time they were standing, Alec was ready for them.
White, on the other hand, had taken a bee line straight for Max. In hindsight, he hadn’t put too much effort into his attack and she should have noticed. Noticed how the first punch was far too wide, the backhand too sloppy. She’d felt the tiny pinprick to her neck just before one of his punches landed and he spun around, sweeping her feet out from under her.
In the moment before she lost consciousness, Max saw Alec take a hit from a Familiar. One Familiar lay at his feet with a broken neck and one wasn’t too far away, mopping up the blood spilling into his eyes. She could have sworn she saw a moment of fear in his eyes as he saw her lying on the ground but the drugs had done their work and the darkness swept in.
~.~.~
She glowered at him but he continued smiling.
“You know, you could make this easier on yourself. Just let us know what we wanna know.” She glared and he gave a soft laugh. “You know what? I hoping you don’t tell us anything. Victory is going to be so much sweeter if I can see the look on your face when your ‘people’ fall.”
Max forced the bile back down her throat. She heard him mutter something to the Familiar at the door. It was the same Familiar that had been torturing her on and off for the last day and a half and by the looks of it, they were in for another round. But she wasn’t going to give anything up.
Alec knew what to do. When they’d first put together a system after they been forced into TC, the Transgenics had needed a leader. Having spent their whole lives in Manticore, it was the only system they knew. The Transgenics had insisted on Alec, saying that he was the only one who’d understand what they’d been through but the Transhumans had refused. They’d wanted Max for the exact reason the others didn’t - she’d been on the outside. It was the Transhumans she worried about.
Even though Max had eventually gotten leadership, it was on the provision that Alec was her 2IC; someone to make sure that everyone would be getting a say. And they had decided that day, the two of them, that if one was to fall, the other would pick up TC and move them. There was too much danger in staying where they were after that. The Transgenics still had Alec to lead them and although there’d been more unity between them, several were still somewhat distrustful of Alec. She’d have to hope that Josh would be able to convince them to trust Alec.
The other thing that concerned her was Alec. She’d seen that expression before she passed out. Although the rule was to take TC and run, Alec had no doubt gotten a team together first that would be staying behind looking for her. That’s what she would have done. Despite their disagreements, she and Alec made a good team. She would do anything for family.
The Familiar was expressionless as he nodded and stepped inside, closing the door on a smiling White. She didn’t scream; not when the first electric shock ripped through her system and made her blood feel like it was boiling nor when he turned up the current and the pressure began building in her head. She didn’t cry either; she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of thinking she was broken. If there was a rescue on the way, she needed to be ready. If not, she’d hold out as long as she could and then she’d shut off.
By the time White walked back in, she’d already had a blade taken to her and Max knew she looked bad. Even still, she noticed the look of surprise before he schooled his features. He nodded for the guard to leave and knelt in front of her. When she’d first been captured, she’d been strung up in chains just in case she had any intention of escaping. But once the Familiar had broken her leg, they’d put her in a chair with handcuffs. She’d originally found the seat better because blood flow was returning to her arms but it had just put her at a better height for the Familiar.
“Why won’t you just give them up? We know they’ve moved on; Terminal City is empty and they’ve left you here alone. There’s no trace of a single one of them in Seattle. No one is coming for you.”
Max shifted slightly in her seat as she turned to look at him but the long cut along her abdomen pulled open again and she let out a small moan of pain. Something akin to pity flashed across his eyes but she just growled low. She didn’t need his pity.
“Bite me!”
“They’re not gonna let you go. When the Conclave gets word of your capture, they’re gonna come in here and take you. They’re gonna dissect you every way they can to find out what it is about you that Sandeman made so damn special.”
Max offered him nothing. She raised her chin slightly in defiance and he stood up in anger. White opened his mouth, as if to say something, before closing it tightly and walking out the door. She let her head drop back down and tried to rest; rest as much as she could with the hot, bright lights glaring down at her.
~.~.~
It was some time after that, hours perhaps, when the Familiar walked back into the room. He said nothing in response, merely picked up the equipment that he’d been using before and began separating it as he looked for specific instruments. By the time he had pulled off her third fingernail, Max’s jaw felt like it was going to be locked in the same position for the rest of her life. If the torture was anything to go by, it might not be that far off anyway.
The Familiar had picked up her right thumb, one of the few fingers that wasn’t currently broken, when the door to the room opened and White walked in. He nodded his head back into the corridor and the Familiar nodded.
“The Conclave is here. Make sure they have everything they need. The prisoner will be out shortly.”
The door closed behind the Familiar and White moved quickly toward Max. Despite herself, she flinched as he drew near and she leant back ever so slightly in the chair she was in. An ordinary human probably wouldn’t have seen the tiny movement but White did and he raised an eyebrow at her.
“If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”
There was an urgency to his voice that she wasn’t used to hearing and he refused to look her in the eye as he unlocked the handcuffs around her wrists and ankles. She had no intention of letting him hand her over to the Conclave so that they could play a sick and twisted version of ‘Operation’ on her and she flung her leg out at him in an attempt to sweep his feet out from under him. However, White had predicted the move and held fast to her leg as he leant in.
“If you wanna get out of here alive, I suggest you play nice.”
He pulled her into a standing position and gave her a moment to find her balance before escorting her to the door. He opened it and peered outside before pulling her out after him and leading them down the corridor, away from the main part of the building. Just around the corner, White pulled open an access door that was partially rusted shut and shoved her through it. She looked back at him in anger but he just silenced any question she might have with a glare and shut the door behind him. He stilled as he listened for a moment before gripping her elbow and pulling her along the access tunnel.
They moved in silence for almost five minutes before he stopped her and and pushed her into what she thought was a wall. She growled in protest but the ‘wall’ behind her gave way and she realised it was a door to the outside. Bright light filtered through the opened doorway and she saw a non-descript dark blue car a few feet away. She turned back to him but he refused to meet her questioning look as he closed the door and pulled her along toward it. He opened the backdoor, lifted the back seat to reveal a hidden compartment underneath it and pushed her into the small concealed space.
She should have struggled. If she’d fought then, even though he was probably expecting it, she might have been able to escape him and blur away fast enough to put some distance between them. But for now he was the one with a car that was obviously taking her away from the Conclave and until she was far enough away from them, she’d play along. Then she’d escape him.
“Be still and quiet.”
He shut the seat and she tried not to pay any mind to the small, almost coffin-like space and listened as he turned the engine on and drove through, what she assumed was the compound. They stopped at the edge and there was a brief exchange before the boot opened and closed. She held her breath until the car started again and closed her eyes as she memorised the distance they travelled and the turns they made until reaching their destination.
She done a lot of thinking and decided that she’d see where they had ended up before attacking him. She didn’t want to knock him down only to find out that she was surrounded by something worse. For whatever reason, he’d pulled her away from the Conclave and she was only hoping that it was so that he could get the information he needed from her about his son and not so that he could sell her to the Reds. Or something equally as terrifying.
When the car stopped, Max prepared herself for a fight. The top of the seat lifted and she saw White standing in front of her, looking around to make sure no one was watching. She climbed out slowly and saw that they were in a fairly typical middle class neighbourhood and White lowered the seat and led her to the front door of a light blue house that they were parked beside. She eyed him carefully and followed him inside, prepared to fight if necessary, but he merely took off his coat when he entered and dropped it on the lounge. She stopped in the hall and just stared at his back as he walked away. Sensing no immediate danger, and seeing the opportunity, she turned back toward the door.
“Max!” he called as her hand reached for the door knob.
She stilled. Not only had he caught her fairly lame attempt at escape but he had called her by her name, not designation. She turned slowly as he approached her.
“Where do you think you are going? You step outside this door, you’ll be on your way to a research lab within the hour!”
Surprisingly, despite the tone, it was more of a statement than a threat and her mouth fell open in surprise. She pulled her hand back and one of her broken fingers hit the brass knob causing a jolt of pain to course through her. She pulled her hand back quickly as though she had been burnt and White looked down at her hands. Pulling her by her forearm into the kitchen, he pushed her into a chair and retrieved a first aid kit from the cupboard beside her. He didn’t even look up as he set the fingers that needed setting before cleaning and wrapping the wounds. There was barely a trace of emotion on his face throughout the whole thing and Max struggled to figure out why she felt like she’d stepped into an alternate universe.
“Why are you doing this?”
He paused before sitting back. “The Conclave will kill you if they get you.” he all but mumbled.
Max nearly laughed. “That’s all you’ve ever tried to do! What makes the Conclave so special? Want all the glory for yourself?”
“I can take you back there if you’d prefer!” he practically spat. He stood and started pacing as he argued with himself, seemingly oblivious to her presence. “I don’t even know why I’m doing this! They’ll have figured it out by now and no doubt I’m as good as dead anyway.”
“I’m not going to tell you where your son is.”
White turned to her incredulously. “You thi-, you think that’s what this is about? I’ve put my life on the line, I’ve risked everything so far and all because I’m- “ He looked her up and down and his disgusted look made her bristle. “I can’t get you out of my head! You’re nothing more than some lab abomination that my father created, a plague on an already ruined world and there’s just something about you that stops me from killing you every time. It’s as though he knew it would be me trying to stop him and he’s- ”
Max’s eyes widened as he strode quickly across the room and fiercely pressed his lips to hers. She was completely stunned and remained still as he pulled away from her without looking her in the eye and disappeared down the corridor.
Things had certainly just gotten more complicated.