Howl at the Moon 14/?
Title: Howl at the Moon 14/?
Series: TDS, Countdown w/ KO.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Language, Violence
Disclaimer: I do not own Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow, or any known political figures who appear in this story.
Summary: AU. Sequel to Rage at the Moon
Life seems to be going well for the werewolf pack of seven. Then comes the call from the leader of the French werewolves. What does he want, and what will he do to get it from our werewolves?
Author's Note: Please comment. Feedback is good.
Also, shout-out to my lovely beta tigris18
One / Two / Three / Four / Five / Six / Seven / Eight / Nine / Ten / Eleven / Twelve / Thirteen
Chapter 14
“Well, that didn’t take long at all,” Dan quipped as guards came running towards them. He and Keith had only been able to get over the gate before setting off some sort of alarm.
Getting caught wasn’t part of their intent, but they needed to get inside the mansion, and this looked like the fastest way in. It probably wasn’t the best or the safest, but it would have to do.
“Tell me again why we’re standing here, waiting for them to catch us?” Dan requested.
“Because after we do this, we can go home,” reminded Keith.
“Ah, right. Home.” Dan took a breath. “In that case-“ He was suddenly knocked to the ground by two vampires from behind.
Keith found himself face-down in the dirt a second after, a heavy weight on his back made sure he stayed down. “We’re not resisting!” he shouted after two blows struck the back of his head. His face was shoved down into the dirt. He accidently inhaled some of it and choked until he was able to spit it out.
The next thing Keith felt was handcuffs restraining his wrists behind his back. Then a needle was inserted into his bicep, and he groaned.
Dan’s breathing hastened and his heart rate rose as a needle was stuck into the back of his neck. He bit his bottom lip to stop himself from panicking too much. Still, he instinctively tried to change to his wolf body. He bit down on his lip harder when he couldn’t change a single part of his body. Of course they would use that.
Dan didn’t struggle when he was lifted up to his feet. He closed his eyes, hoping that might help calm his growing anxiety.
One of the guards started speaking Italian to them. His fangs showed. He smirked and stopped mid-sentence. “Of course you wouldn’t understand such a language.”
Dan’s head snapped to the side when a set of sharp claws raked across his cheek. Keith growled and tried to change to protect his friend.
“Look at me when I speak to you,” was the lead guard’s warning.
Dan looked up. He could feel warm blood trickling down his face. With his hands behind his back, he couldn’t do anything to wipe it away.
“Much better,” was the guard’s hollow praise. His dark eyes looked over Keith and Dan. “What purpose would bring two werewolves to Raniero’s home?” He stared at their faces. “Not to mention that I don’t recognize you as one of those who we’re keeping in Italy.”
The lead guard spoke into his phone in Italian. Keith and Dan hoped they would be brought directly to Raniero.
Keith noticed how on-edge his friend was. “Dan?”
“I-I’ll be fine.”
Keith leaned over to whisper, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Dan was about to reply, but didn’t because the lead guard snapped his phone shut and ordered, “Let’s go.”
Keith and Dan were silent as they were lead inside and to the security office. The flanking guards weren’t gentle as they pushed and pulled at their clothes to make them walk faster.
The leader made them sit on the floor of the office as he looked for their faces in a computer file. His frown deepened as he clicked past each face on the screen. After a few minutes, he looked to the werewolves and said, “Looks like I was right. You’re not in the system. Would you like to explain?”
Keith and Dan didn’t answer. The guard shook his head. “You’re going to give me the silent treatment? That’s fine. Raniero wants to see you, anyway. Get up.”
They were taken to a large and lavishly furnished room. An older vampire with handsome facial features kissed the hand of a young woman and said something to her in Italian. She nodded, then left the room.
The vampire turned to the two werewolves and the four guards. “I take it that these are our unexpected guests, Giovanni?”
“Yes, sir. You said you wanted to see them?” replied the lead guard.
“I do. But first, are they two of the werewolves we keep in Italy?”
“No.”
Raniero took a long breath. He clasped his hands behind his back and stood with an expression of interest on his face. “Well now, that is interesting.” He nodded to the guards, who then forced Keith and Dan down to their knees.
Raniero continued, “That means either one of two things. One: you were detained in Italy, but weren’t recorded. Two: you somehow managed to cross into our country. We were extremely thorough when we closed the border and registered those who were still here, so I don’t think it’s the first option. Care to shed some light on the matter?”
Dan looked to Keith and nodded, conveying the message that he wanted Keith to take the lead with this.
“We weren’t here when you closed the border to werewolves,” Keith answered.
“Which means you found a way not only into Italy, but into Rome,” Raniero concluded. His eyes narrowed. “Please, do tell how you did it.” He smirked at the silence. “Don’t worry, we can get back to that later. What I’m really interested in at the moment is why you’d risk your lives to come here.”
“For you. We-“
“I guess that explains why you came to my home instead of the compound the other leaders live in.”
“We… we’re not here to kill you,” Dan answered.
“It would’ve been quite the failed assassination attempt,” remarked Raniero. “You still haven’t answered my question.”
“We want to negotiate with you,” replied Keith.
Raneiro and the guards laughed. “Really? You want to negotiate with me? What makes you think that a vampire, especially of my standing, would negotiate with you dogs? Is this what Aldric has finally come to?”
“N-not exactly,” Dan stammered.
“Ah, so you were sent by Aldric. That sneaky bastard, thinking he could send two American werewolves and not be suspected. So, what exactly are your orders from him?”
“We’re here to talk. That’s it,” Keith assured.
“Once again, I must laugh. Negotiations are not going to happen.”
“Why not? Why can’t you put aside our diff-“
“Someone here has forgotten his place,” warned Raniero. “There will be no negotiations with animals. Aldric should consider himself lucky that we agreed on the airport issue.”
“He’s grateful for that. He really is, but-“
“He should be eternally grateful that-“
“We want to make some kind of peace with your people, Raniero. Can’t you understand that?”
“The animal dares to insult my intelligence. I understand what you want. But we do not make peace with animals.” Raniero shook his head. “This has gone on for far too long. You are nothing like us. We are cultured and intelligent superhumans. You are nothing, nothing but animals. You don’t even deserve names.”
Dan flinched, and the vampire noticed. Raniero smirked at the reaction. He menacingly stepped closer. “You haven’t said much at all. In fact, I get the feeling that you’re so very uncomfortable.”
Raniero crouched down in front of Dan and looked into his eyes. Dan averted his gaze down to the carpeted floor, but the vampire’s hand forced him to look up again.
“You’ve suffered at our hands before,” stated Raniero. “Quite traumatically.”
Dan bit his lip and once again tried to look away from those dark piercing eyes. The strong hand tightened around his chin. Raniero bared his fangs at him.
“What was the lesson they beat into you? Was it that you don’t have a name, because you’ll never be anything but an animal?”
Keith growled, “Leave him alone.”
Raniero ignored Keith and extended his claws to scratch over the already opened skin from Giovanni’s strike out in the courtyard. Dan couldn’t hide his body’s trembling. “Did they convince you, wolf?”
Dan’s mind quickly went to what was, without a doubt, the worst night of his life.
“Aww, are you scared, Danny boy? Well, you have every right to be. You didn’t exile or kill yourself when you first became an animal. You still think you’re human…”
Dan turned his head away when Beck caressed his cheek. Beck said, “You still think you’re human. You’re not, and I’m going to make sure you understand that…”
Every time he answered, Dan could feel his conviction weakening. He knew the exact moment where he gave up. He could barely breathe. He was bleeding and broken.
“What is your name?”
“…no name…” Dan choked out.
“What was that?”
“Have… no name…”
Dan was snapped back to reality with a backhand across the open wounds on his cheek. He was knocked sideways into Keith, who barely managed to stay upright.
Keith bared his teeth and nearly jumped at the vampire. He was held back by two hands on his shoulder.
“Behave yourselves while I’m gone,” Raniero warned. “Giovanni, you know where to take them.”
Keith and Dan were suddenly yanked up to their feet and blindfolded. They protested as they were half-dragged along, tripping over various objects in their way.
They were thrown into the back of a van and left unrestrained as they were driven somewhere. Nowhere good.
The van stopped soon enough, and, still blindfolded, Keith and Dan were led inside a building a down a couple flights of stairs. They couldn’t fight back, couldn’t change into their more powerful wolf forms.
They were cuffed to chairs, back-to-back. Their blindfolds were left on. The guards left them completely alone, wherever they were.
Keith could feel Dan’s breathing begin to hasten again. “Dan?”
“I-I can’t do this, K-Keith. Not again.”
“Dan, I know you can’t see me.” Keith leaned his head back to nuzzle their cheeks together. “I’m here. You’re not alone.”
“Okay.”
Even with Keith’s reassurance, Dan couldn’t erase the words echoing in his mind. His words.
“No name… Have no name… Animal, nothing but…”
Series: TDS, Countdown w/ KO.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Language, Violence
Disclaimer: I do not own Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow, or any known political figures who appear in this story.
Summary: AU. Sequel to Rage at the Moon
Life seems to be going well for the werewolf pack of seven. Then comes the call from the leader of the French werewolves. What does he want, and what will he do to get it from our werewolves?
Author's Note: Please comment. Feedback is good.
Also, shout-out to my lovely beta tigris18
One / Two / Three / Four / Five / Six / Seven / Eight / Nine / Ten / Eleven / Twelve / Thirteen
Chapter 14
“Well, that didn’t take long at all,” Dan quipped as guards came running towards them. He and Keith had only been able to get over the gate before setting off some sort of alarm.
Getting caught wasn’t part of their intent, but they needed to get inside the mansion, and this looked like the fastest way in. It probably wasn’t the best or the safest, but it would have to do.
“Tell me again why we’re standing here, waiting for them to catch us?” Dan requested.
“Because after we do this, we can go home,” reminded Keith.
“Ah, right. Home.” Dan took a breath. “In that case-“ He was suddenly knocked to the ground by two vampires from behind.
Keith found himself face-down in the dirt a second after, a heavy weight on his back made sure he stayed down. “We’re not resisting!” he shouted after two blows struck the back of his head. His face was shoved down into the dirt. He accidently inhaled some of it and choked until he was able to spit it out.
The next thing Keith felt was handcuffs restraining his wrists behind his back. Then a needle was inserted into his bicep, and he groaned.
Dan’s breathing hastened and his heart rate rose as a needle was stuck into the back of his neck. He bit his bottom lip to stop himself from panicking too much. Still, he instinctively tried to change to his wolf body. He bit down on his lip harder when he couldn’t change a single part of his body. Of course they would use that.
Dan didn’t struggle when he was lifted up to his feet. He closed his eyes, hoping that might help calm his growing anxiety.
One of the guards started speaking Italian to them. His fangs showed. He smirked and stopped mid-sentence. “Of course you wouldn’t understand such a language.”
Dan’s head snapped to the side when a set of sharp claws raked across his cheek. Keith growled and tried to change to protect his friend.
“Look at me when I speak to you,” was the lead guard’s warning.
Dan looked up. He could feel warm blood trickling down his face. With his hands behind his back, he couldn’t do anything to wipe it away.
“Much better,” was the guard’s hollow praise. His dark eyes looked over Keith and Dan. “What purpose would bring two werewolves to Raniero’s home?” He stared at their faces. “Not to mention that I don’t recognize you as one of those who we’re keeping in Italy.”
The lead guard spoke into his phone in Italian. Keith and Dan hoped they would be brought directly to Raniero.
Keith noticed how on-edge his friend was. “Dan?”
“I-I’ll be fine.”
Keith leaned over to whisper, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Dan was about to reply, but didn’t because the lead guard snapped his phone shut and ordered, “Let’s go.”
Keith and Dan were silent as they were lead inside and to the security office. The flanking guards weren’t gentle as they pushed and pulled at their clothes to make them walk faster.
The leader made them sit on the floor of the office as he looked for their faces in a computer file. His frown deepened as he clicked past each face on the screen. After a few minutes, he looked to the werewolves and said, “Looks like I was right. You’re not in the system. Would you like to explain?”
Keith and Dan didn’t answer. The guard shook his head. “You’re going to give me the silent treatment? That’s fine. Raniero wants to see you, anyway. Get up.”
They were taken to a large and lavishly furnished room. An older vampire with handsome facial features kissed the hand of a young woman and said something to her in Italian. She nodded, then left the room.
The vampire turned to the two werewolves and the four guards. “I take it that these are our unexpected guests, Giovanni?”
“Yes, sir. You said you wanted to see them?” replied the lead guard.
“I do. But first, are they two of the werewolves we keep in Italy?”
“No.”
Raniero took a long breath. He clasped his hands behind his back and stood with an expression of interest on his face. “Well now, that is interesting.” He nodded to the guards, who then forced Keith and Dan down to their knees.
Raniero continued, “That means either one of two things. One: you were detained in Italy, but weren’t recorded. Two: you somehow managed to cross into our country. We were extremely thorough when we closed the border and registered those who were still here, so I don’t think it’s the first option. Care to shed some light on the matter?”
Dan looked to Keith and nodded, conveying the message that he wanted Keith to take the lead with this.
“We weren’t here when you closed the border to werewolves,” Keith answered.
“Which means you found a way not only into Italy, but into Rome,” Raniero concluded. His eyes narrowed. “Please, do tell how you did it.” He smirked at the silence. “Don’t worry, we can get back to that later. What I’m really interested in at the moment is why you’d risk your lives to come here.”
“For you. We-“
“I guess that explains why you came to my home instead of the compound the other leaders live in.”
“We… we’re not here to kill you,” Dan answered.
“It would’ve been quite the failed assassination attempt,” remarked Raniero. “You still haven’t answered my question.”
“We want to negotiate with you,” replied Keith.
Raneiro and the guards laughed. “Really? You want to negotiate with me? What makes you think that a vampire, especially of my standing, would negotiate with you dogs? Is this what Aldric has finally come to?”
“N-not exactly,” Dan stammered.
“Ah, so you were sent by Aldric. That sneaky bastard, thinking he could send two American werewolves and not be suspected. So, what exactly are your orders from him?”
“We’re here to talk. That’s it,” Keith assured.
“Once again, I must laugh. Negotiations are not going to happen.”
“Why not? Why can’t you put aside our diff-“
“Someone here has forgotten his place,” warned Raniero. “There will be no negotiations with animals. Aldric should consider himself lucky that we agreed on the airport issue.”
“He’s grateful for that. He really is, but-“
“He should be eternally grateful that-“
“We want to make some kind of peace with your people, Raniero. Can’t you understand that?”
“The animal dares to insult my intelligence. I understand what you want. But we do not make peace with animals.” Raniero shook his head. “This has gone on for far too long. You are nothing like us. We are cultured and intelligent superhumans. You are nothing, nothing but animals. You don’t even deserve names.”
Dan flinched, and the vampire noticed. Raniero smirked at the reaction. He menacingly stepped closer. “You haven’t said much at all. In fact, I get the feeling that you’re so very uncomfortable.”
Raniero crouched down in front of Dan and looked into his eyes. Dan averted his gaze down to the carpeted floor, but the vampire’s hand forced him to look up again.
“You’ve suffered at our hands before,” stated Raniero. “Quite traumatically.”
Dan bit his lip and once again tried to look away from those dark piercing eyes. The strong hand tightened around his chin. Raniero bared his fangs at him.
“What was the lesson they beat into you? Was it that you don’t have a name, because you’ll never be anything but an animal?”
Keith growled, “Leave him alone.”
Raniero ignored Keith and extended his claws to scratch over the already opened skin from Giovanni’s strike out in the courtyard. Dan couldn’t hide his body’s trembling. “Did they convince you, wolf?”
Dan’s mind quickly went to what was, without a doubt, the worst night of his life.
“Aww, are you scared, Danny boy? Well, you have every right to be. You didn’t exile or kill yourself when you first became an animal. You still think you’re human…”
Dan turned his head away when Beck caressed his cheek. Beck said, “You still think you’re human. You’re not, and I’m going to make sure you understand that…”
Every time he answered, Dan could feel his conviction weakening. He knew the exact moment where he gave up. He could barely breathe. He was bleeding and broken.
“What is your name?”
“…no name…” Dan choked out.
“What was that?”
“Have… no name…”
Dan was snapped back to reality with a backhand across the open wounds on his cheek. He was knocked sideways into Keith, who barely managed to stay upright.
Keith bared his teeth and nearly jumped at the vampire. He was held back by two hands on his shoulder.
“Behave yourselves while I’m gone,” Raniero warned. “Giovanni, you know where to take them.”
Keith and Dan were suddenly yanked up to their feet and blindfolded. They protested as they were half-dragged along, tripping over various objects in their way.
They were thrown into the back of a van and left unrestrained as they were driven somewhere. Nowhere good.
The van stopped soon enough, and, still blindfolded, Keith and Dan were led inside a building a down a couple flights of stairs. They couldn’t fight back, couldn’t change into their more powerful wolf forms.
They were cuffed to chairs, back-to-back. Their blindfolds were left on. The guards left them completely alone, wherever they were.
Keith could feel Dan’s breathing begin to hasten again. “Dan?”
“I-I can’t do this, K-Keith. Not again.”
“Dan, I know you can’t see me.” Keith leaned his head back to nuzzle their cheeks together. “I’m here. You’re not alone.”
“Okay.”
Even with Keith’s reassurance, Dan couldn’t erase the words echoing in his mind. His words.
“No name… Have no name… Animal, nothing but…”