(no subject)
Annnd Lightwaves update, two for the not price of one, yay!
I'm sure you're thrilled.
Right, well, first we have an interlude written by Hoseki. Because Veser is awesome and we love ruining his life writing about how awesome he is.
First: Here
Previous: Here
Title: Lightwaves Interlude -- Veser
Authors: HosekiDragon
Rating: PG-13 at present
Characters: Veser, Hanna
Chapters: 3/6
Description: Sprawling thousands of miles and surrounded by walls, the City of Varuna is a sight to behold. People are under constant watch and surveillance under the name of protection. The only issue now is Undesirables. Paranormal creatures, vampires and werewolves, remnants of an ancient and dying world. These creatures are expected to register with the government and are seen as second class citizens, living in oppression so as to avoid tainting the other citizens and ruining their quality of life.
"Eli" is a member of the Ahimsa, the police agency charged with dealing with Undesirables. He's beginning to feel rather disillusioned with the world he's living in. Fortunately for him, a certain redhead is about to come crashing into his life...
It had started out good.
But things always seemed to start out good.
So Veser Hatch had thought that his story was just like that. It had started out good so therefore it had to end good.
He'd lived in a middle class home with a middle class life with his middle class parents. And they had been happy, for the most part. Veser didn't know the whole story but from what he understood, his father had found his mother--a selkie--fleeing from the Ahimsa in the slums. He'd promised to protect her if she gave him her pelt, the key to her transformation from human to seal. Desperate and not knowing what else to do, she'd agreed. From that day forward, Veser's father had kept their existence a secret from the government.
And Veser had been happy.
He hadn't understood the whispers from the adults about the burning buildings and writing on the walls that had flashed across the holoscreens. All he had understood was that, no, Veser, those teeth are not for biting, you are not supposed to bite your classmates. What else was there to life than a place to sleep, food on table, a place to play, and a family that loved him?
Until a week after his sixteenth birthday.
He'd gotten home from school and was sitting at the kitchen table, doing his homework, listening to his mother sing as she'd worked on supper. It had seemed like an average day; school had been the same, the ride home the same, the homework was the same, everything was the same. He was restless with the normalcy of it, the monotone day-after-day routine, but he could live with it. After all, his life was pretty much perfect.
So he had sat there, doing his homework, listening to his mother sing, content. He'd glanced up when the singing had stopped to see his father giving his mother a lovely kiss. And he'd turned away, smirking to himself, only to look back up again when he heard his mother say that she needed to return to the sea. His father had refused. They had begun arguing.
Veser could only sit there, staring. He'd never seen his parents fight before. It was almost scary. And he did get a little scared when his father hit his mother and she fell back with a cry. And the his father had turned his gaze to Veser and demanded to know if he was going to run off as well. Veser couldn't find his voice, he couldn't speak, couldn't answer. And apparently that was enough for his father because his fist came down and he was suddenly hitting Veser and yelling at him that it was his fault and Veser couldn't understand why.
What was going on? Why was this happening? Why was his father hitting them? Was this what humans were really like underneath?
Veser couldn't wrap his mind around it and the blows from his father were aching and his ears rang with his mother's pleas and the shouting. He was so confused, so hurt, that he finally just wanted it to stop. So he bit his father.
Normally this wouldn't have been a problem but Veser wasn't a normal child. He had selkie blood running through his veins, giving him large, neon green eyes and a nasty set of dangerously sharp teeth. So when he bit his father, he drew blood.
Silence reigned for a moment or two and then Mr. Hatch was grabbing for the phone with his good hand, screaming into it that a couple of Undesirables had attacked him in his home. Veser's mother grabbed him and tried to drag him from the room and Veser could only stumble after her, dazed. He knew what his father was doing, he was calling the Ahimsa. And he knew what Ahimsa did, they hunted Undesirables. And his father--the man who had raised and protected him and his mother for years--had just turned them over to the Ahimsa.
It had been a nightmare. His mother was screaming and trying to escape before the law could arrive. But the Ahimsa had come through the front door and Veser had been shouting, and his father had been shouting, and his mother had been screaming, and the Ahimsa were all shouting too.
Then the guns had gone off. The air had cracked and lights had flashed and his mother's grip had loosened and she'd fallen to the floor.
Veser had stared at her, sprawled there, so limp in death, dark crimson blood pooling beneath her. His mind couldn't seem to focus. His large eyes traveled from his lifeless mother to the Ahimsa, their weapons still aimed at him. And that's when it had finally settled in.
His father had betrayed them.
His mother was dead.
And these Ahimsa would kill him too unless he ran.
They were aiming the guns at him now and telling him to get down on the floor. Veser glared at them, hot anger and fear bubbling up inside him. With an incoherent cry, he charged them, knocking them aside as he tore down the hall and towards the stairs. He heard shouting and the sound of a gun being fired but he didn't look back. He just kept going. Terror and hurt and pain blazed in his mind as his feet carried him down the sidewalk; his home was gone, his mother was gone, his father might as well be gone. There was only one place left he could think of to go.
He slammed into the familiar apartment door and pounded a fist on it, calling out for Lee Fauln to answer. The man--a friend of Veser's father--had answered the door, looking a little confused, and had asked Veser what the problem was.
Veser felt something inside him turn inside out and his eyes had swam with tears, hot and burning. He fell against the man he almost considered an uncle, fingers clutching tight onto Lee's shirt, tears streaming down his face. Lee had hauled him inside and sat him down and Veser had told the man the whole story. At first, Lee had been furious and wanted to storm back to the house and give Veser's father a piece of his mind. But one look at the distraught expression on the young Veser's face changed his mind. There was a half-selkie that needed to be taken care of.
A day went by without incident. Veser stayed inside; did not return to school, did not even venture towards the windows.
Another day passed. Lee remained with Veser, a comforting hand on his shoulder, someone to lean on.
Half way through the third day, the Ahimsa found them.
The door burst open and Lee had dove for Veser, grabbing the half-selkie's shirt and dragging him out of the way. The Ahimsa had ordered them to stop and to get down on the floor. Lee had not stopped, even when Veser's legs had given out from underneath him, the man kept dragging him onward.
There had been heading towards the window; being on second floor, the worst that could happen was a couple of bruises. Lee had turned to comfort Veser when his eyes had widened in panic. Veser looked around to Ahimsa leveling a gun at him. He'd opened his mouth to scream and suddenly Lee was there in front of him and there was a bang. Lee fell to the floor and did not get up again. Veser had screamed at the man to run but Lee had not moved. Would never move again. And unless he wanted to end up the same way, Veser needed to run. Again.
It had been a short chase. Lee had been right about the window; especially with the aid of a hoverboard, it was the perfect escape route. Veser had charged down the streets, ignoring the automated warnings telling him that hoverboarding was prohibited in undesignated areas. People cursed him, called him names, screamed at him. He ignored them too and headed right for the gate to the slums. Where else could he go? No where. He was alone.
He hid in an abandoned shack for four hours straight, crying until he ran out of tears, his insides aching with hunger and loss. He thought about his mother, dead on the floor. He thought about his father's betrayal. He thought about Lee, dead to save his life. And the half-selkie realized something:
You could not trust humans.
They were selfish, full of anger and hatred and jealousy. And they were stupid. They were stupid and they did stupid things. Like sacrifice themselves for people who didn't deserve it.
And that was how The Gang had found him. Holed up in that "shit hole" as they'd called it, depressed, alone, and angry. At first he'd been wary of them; they were a group of rowdy Undesirables, not a human in the bunch. But they were offering him food, shelter, and the company of fellow outcasts. Veser left with them, not knowing where else to go.
Those had been dangerous times. They had robbed, cheated, beaten, and destroyed anyone who had gotten in their way, ruling the slums with terror and money. Veser quickly became an expert in pickpocketing and explosives. This was power, this was what life was supposed to be like; taking what he wanted whenever he wanted it and blowing the hell out of everything around him.
And then the Ahimsa had ruined it all over again.
There was a part of Veser that seemed to say, "I told you it was too good to be true." as he and the rest of The Gang tore through the streets, running from the raiding Ahimsa. Someone had finally gotten fed up and called in the law on them and now they were running for their lives. Veser wasn't scared, though; he trusted these guys to get him out alive.
That was the final blow.
They were being cornered, slowly losing any hope of escape. The others were getting angry and restless, fearing capture. Veser suggested they just stand and fight instead of running like cowards; they were only Ahimsa, a few lousy humans! The rest of The Gang had agreed and they'd created a plan. Veser would stand at the end of an alley way, back against the wall, looking as though he was trapped. When the Ahimsa came around to attack, the rest of The Gang would jump them and it would be "bye-bye Ahimsa bitches"!
Veser eagerly agreed and took his position at a dead-end alley, waiting for the Ahimsa. They didn't take long to show up and as soon as they'd moved close enough, Veser shouted for his comrades to attack.
But no one had come.
He'd screamed and shouted and cursed but no one had come.
The Ahimsa tackled him to the ground, cuffed him, and started dragging him away. Veser had struggled with all his might, snarling and begging. And as he'd thrashed around, his gaze had found The Gang, safely hidden on the roof of a building, watching the whole thing go down. He'd been their scapegoat. There had been no plan to jump the Ahimsa, those cowards were too scared to do something like that. So they'd left Veser to be swallowed alive by the government.
That was it.
The last straw.
Whatever sort of faith, compassion, or decency Veser had had towards any living thing was squashed in a single instant. He could not trust anyone. If they weren't going to die, then they would just betray him. So why bother? Why bother liking anyone? Why bother making friends? They would just stab you in the back, they would just waste away with time and die. It was pointless. Better to live on your own, never having to lean on anyone. Because sooner or later they would just leave you anyway.
He'd spent a year in the Ahimsa's "correctional facilities" before finally managing to break out and sneak back into the slums. And he never looked back. He'd zipped up his coat, shouldered his hoverboard and did what he could to survive. On his own. He'd lived on the streets, sleeping in doorways or under overhangs, picking pockets and stealing food from stalls at the market, and running from the law if they raided the slums.
That was how he had met Hanna Falk Cross.
It was a cold and wet day and Veser had been huddled in a lonely back alley with the hood of his coat up, tucked underneath a bundle of rotted blankets and rusty metal beams he called a shelter. His knees were drawn up to his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs, shivering from hunger and cold.
A loaf of bread had suddenly appeared in his vision. He followed the length of the bread to a hand, then an arm, a shoulder, and then his gaze had settled on a smile unlike anything he'd seen in almost two years. Bright red hair was a sharp contrast to the dark gloom of the storm clouds overhead, sparkling blue eyes stared at him from behind thick glasses, and that brilliant smile was a wonder all in itself.
The redhead had gestured with the bread, offering it to Veser, saying how the half-selkie probably needed it more anyway and he could find something elsewhere and, hey, it's not poison or anything. So Veser had snatched the bread and had started gnawing on it with his sharp teeth and the redhead had commented on how awesome Veser's teeth were and would probably have said more if Veser hadn't demanded to know what the redhead wanted.
Then came that laugh. It was so... happy. The redhead had laughed and introduced himself as Hanna Cross and asked if Veser wanted to join 'The Justice League"; to become a member of the resistance fighting against the government.
Veser stared at him. Stared at that wide, innocent smile, stared at those incredibly blue eyes, stared at this person--this obvious outcast of society, this human--and had given a prompt and solid answer of "no, now fuck off". Then he'd gotten to his feet and ran off into the gloom, the bread still in his hand, before the redhead had a chance to say anything.
But Hanna would not leave him alone.
Veser seemed to run into him everywhere. At the market when he was trying to swipe some food for dinner, the annoying little redhead would pop up and ask him to join 'Love and Peace and Doughnuts' or whatever name he was calling the rebel group that day. And Veser would decline with a polite, "Piss off you little bastard." and take off again.
It seemed like Hanna would track him down wherever he went and no matter what he did, he couldn't seem to lose the guy. It was getting on his nerves. Why did this idiot keep bothering him? Didn't he get the meaning of the word no? The next time he saw him, Veser decided, he was going to punch the moron in the mouth.
But the next time Veser saw Hanna was not the best time to deal out said punishment. The half-selkie had been asleep when an Ahimsa raid had gone through the slums. Someone had grabbed him roughly by the collar of his shirt and shaken him awake and he's found himself face to face with an Ahimsa agent. Panicked, Veser did the first thing he could think of-- he kicked the man between the legs.
The Ahimsa agent dropped him with a cry of pain and Veser bolted. But now there was a whole slew of agents on his tail. The half-selkie jumped mid-stride and in the same motion, swung his hoverboard from over his shoulder and under his feet, kicking off with a sound like a vacuum. Neon green light streamed out behind him as he weaved through the slums, jumping pot holes and ducking low-hanging piping. A shot rang out and nicked the edge of his board, sending it spinning.
Heart racing, Veser threw his arms out and leaned his weight to the side, trying to straighten himself. He collided hard with something and he and whatever he'd hit rolled through the dirt and grime, grunting and struggling. When he'd managed to orient himself, Veser locked gazes with a pair of familiar, brilliant blue eyes.
Hanna had found him again, and the first thing out of his mouth was that same irritating question.
Veser had cursed him as he'd gotten to his feet, dusting himself off and snatching up his hoverboard. How could this idiot be so nonchalant when there was a fucking raid going on!? And he'd asked that, shouted it, really, at the top of his voice. He was frustrated beyond all reason with this stupid redhead.
The stupid redhead had opened his mouth to answer but a couple of Ahimsa agents had rounded the corner then and shouted at them to put their hands up. Neither of them did so. Veser kicked his hoverboard back to life and shot off down the street. But a second before he took off, a pair of hands grabbed the back of his coat and he found himself towing along a laughing Hanna Cross.
More curses. Veser desperately tried to get his hoverboard to speed up but with the extra weight, it just wasn't making it. Angry and scared, Veser had looked over his shoulder simply for the pleasure of baring all of his sharp teeth at the idiot in a threatening manner. Hanna only pointed past him with an incoherent shout of concern.
Veser looked around in time to see one of the slums biggest (and oldest) skyscrapers towering ahead of them. No time to avoid it and there was no doubt Ahimsa agents waiting in the backstreets, ready to pluck him up. He crouched down, grabbed the front lip of his hoverboard and pulled it up a split second before they hit the wall, riding up it vertically, heading for the sky.
He'd almost forgotten about the little shit still clinging to him until Hanna had started whining and slipping, rambling something about not having enough time to "charge" and begging to be helped.
Veser almost wanted to let the idiot fall and good riddance, to hell with him. But for some reason he had looked back anyway. Wide blue eyes were staring at him, begging for help, red hair tossed by the wind. Veser locked gazes with the rebel and saw the pleading look and for a moment he'd remembered the time he'd had that look on his face. He reached for Hanna's hand.
The front of the hoverboard hit something--a loose stone, a piece of metal, the lip of a window?--and front flipped, tossing its passengers into the air. The scream had been ripped from Veser's throat before he could stop it, arms flailing, trying to find something to latch onto. It was strange, almost; first he had been falling up and now he was falling down and he could see the ground and they had to be almost nine--maybe ten--stories off the ground and he was so scared every part of him was numb and he thought for sure he was going to die.
Someone grabbed his arm and he jerked to a halt, his breath coming quick as he stared down at the ground, watching his hoverboard spin downwards, trailing neon lights. He lifted his gaze and saw Hanna Cross, one hand clamped tightly around a metal support beam and the other holding onto Veser. And he was still smiling.
"What the hell are you smiling about you stupid fuck?" Veser had screamed, voice shaking with fear, "We're hanging off the side of a skyscraper some ten stories off the ground!" Voices filtered up from below and suddenly bullets were whizzing past them, "And now the fucking Ahimsa are shooting at us! How the fuck can you be smiling?"
"Join the resistance and I'll save you." Hanna had said simply, completely ignoring the bullets flying around them.
Veser gaped at him and then screeched, "My God, you fucking blackmailing piece of shit! I cannot believe you!" A shot barely missed his arm and he could stop the whimper of terror that escaped him, "Fine! I'll join your stupid rebel group! Just get us out of here!"
"Okay." Hanna had replied, "Hold on tight."
And he'd let go of the piece of metal.
Veser didn't know if he had screamed or not, the wind roaring by them seemed to be tearing the very breath from his throat. Everything was blurred and there was this sickeningly hollow sensation in his stomach, almost like his insides had disappeared.
But he could hear the laughter. It was ringing in his ear and when he looked he could see the redhead laughing. His glasses were almost flying off of his face, his hair was torn back by the wind, but his mouth was open and he was laughing.
Some part of Veser that wasn't freaking out hoped Hanna would swallow a bug and choke on it.
Other than that, all his thoughts had been focused on one thing; I'm going to die. The ground was rushing closer and they were going to hit it and they were going to die. Hanna was insane. Crazy. There was no way they would live.
Blue light suddenly erupted around him, dazzling, blazing, almost blinding in its intensity and there was a roaring that didn't come from the wind, a vibration that coursed through every bone in his body. He tried to turn, to see what was happening, but Hanna now had an arm wrapped tightly around him and he couldn't move and--wait. Were they slowing down? The wind seemed to be dying down, the blurs of grays and browns rushing past them solidifying into recognizable shapes. They lurched, sped up again, and then slowed down once more. Then they slammed into the hard, cracked pavement.
Veser lay there on his stomach, stunned, mind spinning. His head hurt where it had hit the ground and his lip was stinging with a cut but he seemed to be all right. Sure there would be bruises but bruises were easy to deal with. Lights flashed at the edge of his vision, shouting rang in his numb ears. With a grunt, the half-selkie levered himself upright, swaying on his feet a bit. The ground had never felt more solid than it did now.
And there was Hanna, wrestling with the only remaining Ahimsa agent. The other three were all unconscious on the ground. Veser watched in amazement as Hanna drew back an arm and then thrust a hand forward, sending out a crackling ball of blue energy that slammed into the agent and knocked him down. He did not get back up.
Veser was stunned. This wasn't possible, no human could do things like that. But when he'd asked, all the redhead had responded with was that, no, there was nothing special about him. He was Hanna. Just Hanna. And then he'd urged the half-selkie to follow him.
Vesre really didn't know what else to do. Didn't know where else to go. So he'd grabbed his hoverboard and ran after the redhead, followed him down twisted back alleys and deeper into the slums then the half-selkie had ever dared to go. And Hanna had dragged him into an old carpet factory, long since emptied, and had proudly stated it the headquarters for the "Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness Club". And then he'd asked Veser his name, extending a hand in an offer of a handshake.
Veser hadn't responded for a moment, his large eyes lingering on the offered hand as he'd slowly unzipped his jacket. Then his eyes had narrowed and he'd smacked Hanna's hand aside, snarling that they weren't friends and that Hanna was nothing more than a sneaky little son-of-a-bitch and that Veser was only there because he was blackmailed. But as he'd turned to stomp off, he paused for a moment and said over his shoulder,
"And it's Veser. My name's Veser Amaker Hatch."
Life in the rebel group had turned out to be a lot better than living out on the streets. Maybe not safer but definitely better. Veser still flitted off into the streets every so often to pick pockets or raid stalls and he'd come back with his pockets full and that horrible Doc Worth would rant at him and Hanna would laugh and that Lamont guy would make calm little snide comments at them all.
And for the longest time he'd hated Hanna. He'd held true to his promise and punched the moron in the face the next time he had the chance. And gave him a nice bloody nose, too. But Hanna had sat there, sprawled on the floor, staring up at him in wonder, and then smiled. He was always smiling and at first, Veser had hated that too.
How could he always smile? How could he always laugh? Didn't he realized what they were? Didn't he realize that if they were caught it would all be over? Did it even register in Hanna Cross' mind that they were some of the most wanted people in the entire city?
Veser didn't think so. And that's why Hanna pissed him off. For a while, anyway. After a couple of missions with the redhead, Veser began to realize that, no, Hanna wasn't stupid. He knew exactly what was going on in the city (sometimes it seemed like he knew more than Veser did) and he was doing everything he could to stop it.
And around the time he realized this, Veser also saw something else. Nobody else, not a single person, was doing anything. Whether it was because they just didn't see what kind of dead life they were living or because they were cowards Veser wasn't sure. But whatever the reason was, no one else was fighting, no one else was risking their lives to free a captive city, no one else was doing anything to stop the death, destruction, and oppression of the Undesirables.
And it was wrong.
So Veser did what he thought was best. He used all his skills, directed all his anger and hatred, and did anything within his power to upset the ruling power of the Council of Varuna.
And he enjoyed every second of it.
It wasn't a perfect life--far from it--but it was sure as hell good enough for him.
Annnd now the chapter. Whee. Lots of fun this chapter. Oodles of bromance, some Worth yelling, what more could you want? Also the closest thing you will probably ever get to shiptease from this fic. It wasn't intended but that's kind of what the scene with Toni and Conrad became. If you dislike that pairing, no worries, they're not actually hooking up, it's meant to be more friendship than anything. And really, if you want to see pairings in this fic, I'm sure if you squint you can see hints, intended or not... so yeah. The piano scene here is a deliberate homage to kitchengirl's fic, because I love it so.
If anyone's curious as to what's being played on the piano, one can find a list on the the DA page. Sooo yay. That's all I've got, enjoy~!
Title: Lightwaves
Authors: Myself and HosekiDragon
Rating: PG-13 at present
Characters: Hanna, un!Zombie, Toni, Veser, Conrad, Worth, Lamont
Chapters: 10/26
Description: Sprawling thousands of miles and surrounded by walls, the City of Varuna is a sight to behold. People are under constant watch and surveillance under the name of protection. The only issue now is Undesirables. Paranormal creatures, vampires and werewolves, remnants of an ancient and dying world. These creatures are expected to register with the government and are seen as second class citizens, living in oppression so as to avoid tainting the other citizens and ruining their quality of life.
"Eli" is a member of the Ahimsa, the police agency charged with dealing with Undesirables. He's beginning to feel rather disillusioned with the world he's living in. Fortunately for him, a certain redhead is about to come crashing into his life...
"Hanna, are you sure you should be up there?"
The former agent's tone had edge of concern to it, his mahogany eyes narrowed against the glare of the morning sun as he squinted up at the smokestack that crowned their home. The redhead could be seen slowly scaling the tower in question, and while his partner was well aware Hanna could fly, every shrill squeak from the aged ladder made him wince.
"Don't worry about it, Nox!" Hanna called back, bracers glinting in the sunlight. "Veser and I do this all the time! It's perfectly safe!" There was a horrifying screech of tearing metal and the bottom half of the ladder was suddenly dangling by a single piece of rusted steel. "Er...well...that's never happened before..."
To the ex-agent's credit, he only visibly cringed when the ladder fell. He did nearly go running toward the tower, but again, Hanna could fly, so a part of him knew it was ridiculous to do so. "Hanna, are you sure? I'm certain I remember you saying Worth didn't want you two up here, and he only just calmed down about the Ark mission…"
"What Worth doesn't know can't hurt him," Veser laughed, hoisting himself up a little higher on the remains of the ladder.
"We'll be fiiinnneee!" Hanna promised as his foot slipped out from underneath him, leaving him dangling in the air, clutching the ladder with his thin hands for a moment or two before he managed to reorient himself and cling to the smokestack again.
His partner below took a step toward the smokestack, then gave a sigh. It wasn't like he could actually do anything. "Just be careful," he muttered as he cast a wary glance toward the door that lead onto the roof.
"You're such a worry-wort." Hanna said with a smile as he and Veser scrambled onto the top of the smokestack and balanced themselves on the edge, Ready Veser?"
"Hell yeah!" The half-selkie grinned, unhooking his hoverboard from his back and kicking it to life, "Just don't crash this time! We can't let Worth find out!"
"I never crash!" Hanna exclaimed, crouching down so that he could charge his bracers. Cerulean light spilled out from underneath his heels, "On my mark! Three...two...one...LIFTOFF!"
He and Veser both gave whooping cries of pure, thrilling, joy as they leapt off the top of the tower and into empty space.
Neon blue and green lights tangled in the air as they shot through the sky, energy from Hanna's bracers bursting like fireworks against the smooth, ethereal trail of Veser's shark-themed hoverboard. The two of them rocketed back and forth through the air, laughing and shouting, leaving streaks of color against a now bland looking morning sky.
The former agent watched with an expression of wonder as the two flew, brilliant shooting stars against the yellow green that tinted the largely cloudless expanse above them. Hanna and Veser flipped and flew through the air, surprisingly graceful compared to their movements on the ground. Truly, it was something to behold.
Hanna's partner shook his head as he leaned against one of the old exhaust fans. "Well," he murmured. "I suppose at least there's nothing for him to run into up there."
Naturally, the moment didn't last. Hanna and Veser's shouts of joy were drowned out by a familiar snarl from down below.
"HEY! THE FUCK ARE YOU TWO DOING UP THERE!?"
"Oh shit!" Veser pulled up so sharply on his hoverboard that he almost flipped head-over-heels.
"It was Veser's idea!" Hanna shouted immediately, hovering on the spot and pointing at the half-selkie.
"Hey! Was not!" Veser snapped back, "It was totally Hanna's idea!"
"I DON'T CARE WHOSE IDEA IT WAS, YOU'RE BOTH FUCKING DEAD!"
The former agent winced, peering over the rooftop to see Worth down on the ground. The doctor's face was fixed into a scowl, his arms crossed before him. Apparently he was in too much of a rage to help Lamont, whom seemed to be struggling to load boxes into the back of the Worthmobile by himself.
"Hanna fucking-Goddamn Cross, what the fuck did I tell you!?" The doctor snapped from the ground.
"Nothing! You didn't tell me anything!" Hanna cried, skidding backwards in the air so that he was partially hidden behind the smokestack.
"No, I'm pretty sure it was something' else! You too, fish for brains!" Worth snarled. "You get the fuck down here right now or so help me I will end both your fucking tiny asses!"
"Way to be a party killer..." Hanna grumbled, "Okay, okay, we're coming." He eased down lower to the rooftop and then, a foot above the cement, cut the power to his bracers and slammed into ground, "Ooooowwww..."
"Aahahahahahahahaaaa!" Veser doubled over, howling with laughter as his hoverboard dropped back towards the rooftop, sparking green lights, "You suck, Hanna! Haha!"
The former agent shook his head as he made his way over to the two and offered Hanna a hand. "I warned you," he reminded with a quirk of a brow.
"Well he shoulda fucking listened!" Worth snapped from below. "How many times do I have to say 'stay off the Goddamn roof'? You're both gonna fucking snap your necks and when you do I'mnot patching you up! "
"Hanna," Lamont called as he leaned out of the back of the hideous van, "Listen to your mother!"
Worth, typically, reacted by attempting to punch Lamont. Said attempt failed, meaning the doctor hit the side of Worth-mobile instead. What followed was a stream of curses that probably could be heard all the way in the inner circle, culminating with a snarled "HANNA, YOU GET THE FUCK DOWN HERE! I TOLD YOU WE WERE GOING TO THE FUCKING BLACK MARKET TODAY, WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU UP THERE!?"
"But Toni's not here and neither is Connie!" Hanna pointed out, levering himself to his feet with the aid of the ex-Ahimsa and dusting himself off.
"Yeah," Veser slung his hoverboard over his shoulder again, scowling down at the doctor, "Why the hell aren't you yelling at them?"
The doctor opened his mouth to yell again, then closed it. "…That is a damn good question."
"Didn't you send Conrad to get Toni?" The former agent called own from the roof.
"Yeah," Worth frowned as he glanced to the windows of the third floor. "That was a bit ago though… where the fuck are they? We're leaving in ten minutes, for fuck's sake…"
---
Conrad was very tentative about venturing up onto the third floor, having heard more than one story from Hanna and Veser about what happened if someone trespassed in Toni's domain. But really, what was worse; facing the unknown of invading Toni's territory or disobeying Doc Worth and risk the horrifying man screaming his ears off.
So the vampire eased up the steps, peered around the corner, and said in a low voice, "Um...Toni? You up here? Worth says we have to go to the market..."
"Huh?" Toni's head peeked from around a slightly dingy changing screen, her dark hair hanging in blue and black ringlets past her face. She then grinned. "Ah, sorry, I'm a bit slow this morning. Come in!" She called before vanishing behind the screen again.
"Ah...um...but you're...all right..." Conrad stepped carefully into the room, casting a gaze around in curiosity.
The room in question was pretty nice, all things considered, and easily far bigger than the closet they'd given Conrad. It was decorated with a number of things, from old theater posters to a set of slightly torn Chinese lanterns hanging from the ceiling. A highly battered vanity desk and mirror had been placed against one wall, as well as a dresser and a bed. These things were most likely courtesy of Lamont.
The real centerpiece of the room, however, was a piano. It was placed in front of one of the large, impossibly dirty windows, the yellow-green sunlight filtering in past the dirt and lighting the dust motes floating in the air around the instrument.
Conrad couldn't help but feel impressed...and slightly jealous.
"So why don't you let anyone up here?" He asked, walking up to the piano and inspecting, hands in the pockets of his dark crimson vest.
"Well," Toni said. "If you had Veser and Worth as housemates, would you want them anywhere near your room?"
"Point taken." Conrad muttered, "But hold on a second, what about Hanna? You don't let him up here, do you?"
"Well, yeah. But he's like my little brother and usually he doesn't cause any trouble. Besides, I have to get him away from Veser and Worth sometimes, you know what bad influences they are," Toni laughed as she hopped out from behind the screen, tugging one of her boots on.
Conrad snorted, "I think Worth is training Veser to be his successor in the Number One Jackass category..." He paused and glanced at the werewolf, "So then why did you let me up here?"
Toni glanced up from where she was grabbing her other boot. "Well, why not? You seem trustworthy enough…. besides, it seems like you get enough flack from Worth. I figured you could use a bit of kindness for a change."
An actual smile flitted across Conrad's face, "I...appreciate that." An awkward silence lingered for a moment or two and then, looking back at the piano, he asked, "Sssoooo...do you play?"
The werewolf nodded as she wandered over to snatch up her hairbrush. "Yeah. I've been playing all my life. I thought for sure that was done when I came to the slums, but Lamont found me one. He's really pretty decent about that kind of thing." She then looked to Conrad, raising a brow. "Do you?"
The vampire blinked at her and then looked back at the piano, looking a little flustered, "Well I...sort of...not really...a little..." He sighed, "My parents they...when I was younger I took some piano lessons. I haven't touched a piano in years, though, I doubt I can play anything decent."
Toni grinned as she tugged the brush through her hair. "Why don't you try? You seem like you want to."
"Wh-what? Oh no, I couldn't." Conrad bit his lip and then winced when his fang dug in, "R-really, I'm probably terrible at it."
He received an eyeroll in response as Toni approached the piano, pulling her hair into a ponytail as she did so. "You won't know until you try. Come on!" She insisted as she put a hand on Conrad's arm and pushed him toward the piano.
"B-but I...!" The vampire started to protest and then found himself planted on the bench in front of the keyboard, looking at the familiar ebony and ivory. He stared at it for a moment and then looked over his shoulder at Toni, "Don't laugh, all right. I'm probably going to be awful at this..." And he reached up to the keys.
After a few tentative strokes, he began to play. It was a light tune, almost dancing and carefree. Conrad's pale fingers flickered across the keyboard, occasionally hitting a wrong note and sometimes pausing as he tried to remember the rest. He stopped before he finished playing the piece and leaned back from the piano, pulling his hands into his lap and looking embarrassed.
"I feel like I just broke a ton of rules..." He murmured, "And it probably wasn't even that good, was it?"
Toni beamed as she slid onto the bench beside the vampire, her bright green eyes seeming to sparkle as she met Conrad's red ones. "Hardly. I think for someone who hasn't played in years, that was great," she said as she reached out to take the former graphic designer's hands and place them on the keyboard again. Her dark skin tone contrasted heavily with the Conrad's deathly pale, but if she was bothered by the chill of his hands, she didn't say anything. "You keep missing this note, though," she added as she pressed down Conrad's pinky with her own, the resulting note ringing through the air.
If Conrad had the ability to do so, he probably would have blushed. He hit the key a couple of times on his own and then pulled back again, "H-how about you play something now..."
The singer nodded, the grin on her face making it rather clear she'd been waiting for this. She reached up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear, then placed her fingers on the key. There was a moment of silence before her tanned fingers suddenly seemed to explode into motion, keys brushed in a flurry of notes. Her fingers traced across the keyboard with the grace of a dancer, the resulting music a fast-paced, almost sad tune, though there seemed to be quite a bit of energy and hope somewhere within the flow of the melody. In contrast to this, Toni's expression was one of serenity as she played.
Conrad watched first her fingers flash across the keys, enticing a harmony from the strings, and then let his gaze switch to her serene expression. He glanced back at the keys, listening to the music, and suddenly found that he was tapping his foot along with the beat.
He cleared his throat and said in a low voice that almost didn't carry over the music, "You're an amazing player."
"Thank you," Toni said as she continued to play. "I wrote it… for some friends of mine."
"Friends?" Conrad murmured, "Are they... Undesirables?"
The singer's smile became somewhat sad as her fingers brushed across the keyboard. "Some were. They were my band members, the Ahimsa got them when they helped me run to the slums."
"I'm... sorry..." Conrad said awkwardly, "You must've had some...some bad experiences with humans, huh?"
Toni gave a low hum of agreement. "We all have. That's why we fight, to make sure someday we won't have to."
Conrad was silent for a moment, fiddling with the edge of his vest. Then in a quiet voice, he asked, "Do you.... do you hate normal people...?"
"Hm?" The werewolf blinked as she looked to Conrad. After a moment, she let out a sigh, pausing in her playing as she turned her gaze out the window. "…Sometimes," she said after a moment. "It's hard not to. But… normal people persecute us because of the stereotype put forth by the Council of Mitra, and I know we're not all like that. Am I really any better if I hate all normal people for the same reason?"
She let this question hang in the air for a moment, then shook her head. "I know I'm not, and I need to work on it. But it is hard, I'll admit." With those words she looked to Conrad and smiled again. "What about you? Do you still hate Undesirables?"
"I..." Conrad was now staring fixedly at the piano keys, "No, I don't. I think. I...I admit to the fact that I believed the Council just like everyone else. I believed that Undesirables were bad and that normal humans were good and that the Ahimsa were in the right and the resistance in the wrong. After I was...turned I hated Hanna for what he did to me. I thought for sure it would have been better if he'd just let me die." Conrad closed his eyes and kneaded his forehead with his knuckles, "But the more time I spent here--in the slums, with the rebels, with people like you--the more I thought about how life was in the inner circle. And last night, when we were on the roof, I think I realized something..." The vampire looked up, his red eyes hard,
"This whole city is really fucked up."
His words hung in the air for a moment. Then came a light, high note from the piano as Toni tapped one of the keys. "I know," The werewolf murmured as she began to play again, her eyes falling shut. "I know. And I know what it's like… being in your position. I mean, granted, I was always different, but…" She shook her head. "It's hard to come to terms with. But I think you're doing fine, all things considered."
Conrad chuckled lightly, "Thanks. It hasn't been easy but..." He lifted his hands to the piano again and began to play alongside Toni's melody, "At least I'm not alone." And a genuine smile lifted his pale lips, revealing more of his fang than usual.
The werewolf looked to Conrad, then smiled back as she continued to play. "Exactly."
"Aaaawwwwww, you two are so cute together!" Cried a voice and Hanna was suddenly between the two of them, perched happily on the bench, grinning.
"Hanna, what the fuck!?" Conrad shouted, slamming down a discord of several horrible notes in his surprise.
Toni burst out laughing. "Surprisingly, I didn't hear you come in. What's up?" She asked as she looked to Hanna, seemingly not bothered by his sudden entry.
"Worth sent me up here to get you guys." Hanna answered, tapping out a tentative 'Chopsticks' on the piano. He hit a wrong key and yanked his hand back with a giggle, "We're almost ready to head out for the black market and he says if you don't come down we're leaving you behind."
"Fuck him..." Conrad growled, scowling darkly at the bright smile on Hanna's face.
Toni rolled her eyes, though a smile was on her face as she stood and brushed a bit of dust off of her skirts. "Typical. Well, we'd better go then, no sense in depriving doctor jerk of people to yell at. Shall we?"
"I kind of can't..." Conrad grumbled, getting to his feet and stuffing his hands back into the pockets of his vest, "It's kind of daylight out and I can't exactly go outside when there's sunlight."
"Maybe if you wore a hat...?" Hanna wondered aloud, tilting his head to the side.
Conrad rolled his eyes, "Thanks, Hanna, that was so intelligent I'm almost speechless. But I think I'll just stay home and watch you guys tear around and cause as much damage as you possibly can, thanks."
The werewolf flashed Conrad a sympathetic smile. "Well, if you're sure…"
"It's all right." Conrad assured her, returning the smile with a small one of his own, "Don't worry about, I'll entertain myself by keeping an eye on you guys. Go on, have fun."
"I'll pick you up something epic, Connie!" Hanna promised with his usual, brilliant grin, "Come on, Toni, hurry up. or Worth's going to leave without us!"
Toni nodded as she swept toward the door, skirts flown behind her. "All right. See you later, Conrad," she said with a wave before vanishing.
"Bye Connie!" Hanna waved cheerily at the vampire and skipped out of the room after Toni.
"Well," Conrad sighed, heading towards the stairs, "I guess I'd better get down to that shit hole Worth dares call a basement."
"I just hope to God nothing goes wrong this time…"
---
It should have been a given that the trip to the market did not go entirely as planned.
Hanna and Toni had made it to the Worthmobile just fine, and by that point the doctor had been in the driver's seat, pounding on the horn and seeming generally irritable that they hadn't left yet. Thus, it had seemed prudent to shove the last couple of boxes into the back of the car so everyone could pile into the vehicle in record time. Unfortunately, in their haste to get into said vehicle, they nearly left Veser behind. The poor half-selkie ended up chasing after the vehicle on his hoverboard for nearly half a mile before Worth finally pulled over and let Veser in. This had, naturally, only lead to more yelling as the group made their way to the marketplace.
They did indeed arrive though, and aside from Veser's understandable irritation ("Dude, my hood is scorched because of you!") the group was in relatively good spirits. Thus, no one was terribly annoyed when Lamont placed lists in Toni and the former agent's hands. The smile on his face was a stark contrast to Worth's sneer as the doctor made it very clear that they were all to purchase only what was on the lists and be back at the van by two in the afternoon. The two in the afternoon bit was nonnegotiable, but by this point everyone was numb to the usual sneer of "I don't care how you get back. If you get your leg caught in fucking bear trap, cut it off. I don't fucking care, just be here!". Thus, the doctor only received shrugs and mumbled curses in reply before the group splintered and headed off on their various quests.
The black market was tucked into the most ancient section of the slums, the part where buildings hardly looked like buildings anymore, where street had become cracked and sunken in places, and where the people were the sort one would generally avoid at all costs.
And yet even with all this, the place was still very much alive. Undesirables of all sorts mingled with one another, lounging at rickety booths built of old wood and discarded metal or walking past the dealers, talking and gesturing. The stale air of the slums was tinged somewhat with the thick smells of smoke, foodstuffs, and incense and it rang with voice clamoring for attention. The black market was almost vibrating with the life that filled it.
"So what's the first thing on the list?" Hanna asked, walking beside the ex-agent, a bounce in his step and a smile on his face, "Oooohh, hey, check out that stand!" And he scurried away to look at a display of jewelry that were either stolen or very clever fakes, "Hey! These are really pretty! I wonder if Toni would like one? What do you think, Joachim? Do you think Toni would like a necklace?"
The former agent miraculously managed to keep to Hanna's side in the crowd, which meant it wasn't too difficult to put a hand on the redhead's shoulder and steer him away. "Maybe she would. It's not on the list though, so come on." Really, his intentions had less to do with the list and more with the devilish sneer the stand owner seemed to be giving Hanna, but there was no point in actually raising the alarm in such a place.
"All rriiiiiggghhhttt," Hanna muttered with a small smile, following his friend away from the booth, "But I'm still getting Conrad something. And you too. So what's the list say?"
His partner frowned as he looked to the list. "Er… food, mostly. I'm under the impression Worth doesn't trust us with much else."
"Food! Aw man, great!" The redhead laughed, "Okay! What do we need first? I know all the best stands to go to!"
"Um, chicken, apparently…"
"Awright! I love chicken!" Hanna grabbed a fistful of the ex-agent's coat and started tugging him through the market, "Come on, this is gonna be fun!"
Fun was hardly a word the former Ahimsa would have used to describe the experience. Hanna was everywhere; laughing and making comments and dragging his companion around with him the whole time. Simply getting the chicken became an adventure in of itself. Between the snide comments from the stall owner and Hanna's ignorant babble, they almost couldn't get the purchase but the ever patient ex-agent was eventually able to sort it out in the end.
What followed was a series of mishaps and laughable instances. Most of them instigated by Hanna; the redhead did not seem to be as explosive as he usually was--no doubt still recovering from the Ark incident--but he was still quite adapt at getting himself into trouble. The man selling beans had been especially displeased when he caught Hanna attempting to take "samples" of his wares in order to make sure they were "satisfactory". It was all the former agent could do to keep everything from falling into chaos.
"Alucard, come 'ere! Check this out!" Hanna had darted away and was waving his friend over to a nearby stand, "Come here, look!"
The former agent let out a sigh as he weaved through the crowd, hefting a bag over his shoulder. Keeping track of Hanna in the mass of people while carrying multiple bags seemed to be growing harder and harder, and the bag the redhead held was doing little to slow him down. Really though, aside from his inability to mimic Hanna's ability to weave through crowds (which probably came with the territory of being impossibly small), Hanna's partner found he really didn't mind. He'd come to expect these adventures, after all.
Though if Hanna could stand to slow down just a tad so his friend could keep better track of him, it'd be nice.
"What is it, Hanna?" The ex-agent asked as he finally pushed through the crowd.
"I've found the perfect thing for you; it would totally add to the whole intimidating image thing." The redhead spun around and thrust a leopard print fedora with a neon pink band into the agent's face, "Isn't it great?"
Mahogany eyes blinked in confusion as spots and neon pink filled his vision. "Er… I… ah, I don't really think it's my color," the former agent said politely as he gently pushed the hat out of his face. "Besides, didn't Worth say we were only supposed to buy what was on the list?"
"Tch, don't worry about it." Hanna waved a hand dismissively, turning back to the stall and setting the fedora down, "You deserve something of your own." Hanna started sorting through the other fedoras on display, "Remind me we have to pick something up for Connie, 'k? Ooooh, how 'bout this one?" The redhead turned around again, holding up a bright orange fedora with a blue band.
The former agent shook his head. "Well, I suppose Lamont did give us a bit extra," he sighed as he glanced over the money in his wallet. "Though in that case, you should get yourself something. I really don't need anything."
"Nah, I've got enough stuff for myself." Hanna replied, putting the orange fedora down, "But you and Conrad have been here for a while and you haven't gotten anything for yourselves. This is it! This is the one." Hanna turned around slowly and held out a plain, black fedora with a giant grin, "At least try this one on, Damien."
His partner stared at the black fedora. He then shrugged, taking the hat and placing it on his head. "Hm," he murmured as he glanced into a cracked mirror that had been attached to the stand. "Not bad."
"Now say something awesome!" Hanna encouraged, still grinning with excitement.
The former agent blinked at him in confusion for a moment. "…What?"
"Dish out one of your wicked one-liners!"
He merely received a blank stare in response.
"You know," Hanna struck a dramatic pose, putting on a serious face and holding his arm up in the imitation of pointing a gun. Then he said in a low voice, "'I always was the better shot.'" The grin returned and he dropped his arm, "Like that! Say something like that!"
Again came a beat of silence. "You were holding your fake gun wrong," the former agent finally observed, his lips giving a light upward twitch.
"Was I?" Hanna pretended to hold a gun and looked at his hand curiously. Then he looked up at his companion with a smile, "Hey, see! That could totally be a one-liner! Now say it like you would say to a bad guy; all dark and angry! Come on, come on...!"
"Do I really seem angry?" The former agent mused as he took off the hat and moved to pay the vender with the money Worth had given him. It did look good on him, and Hanna seemed so thrilled by the prospect of the fedora that he didn't think he could have gotten away with not purchasing it.
Besides, he and Hanna had ended up cleaning the bathroom again and even he felt he deserved an award for that.
"Well, no, that's not what I meant..." Hanna said awkwardly, "I meant that you were...like...um..." The redhead shuffled his feet on the spot, looking a bit embarrassed, "It's just...when you protected me from that Ahimsa guy in the Ark...you seemed really...it was really..." He paused again, searching for the right word, "It was really cool."
His partner did fully smile at this. He didn't understand why people kept going on about this sort of thing, but he supposed he didn't mind. "I'm just doing my job," he said as he took the hat from the vendor and put it on again. "But thank you."
"Uh, guys, hate to ruin the moment," Conrad's voice came over the communicators, sounding slightly anxious, "But I think there's something--."
The rest of his sentence was lost in the echoing crack of a gunshot ringing through the crowded street.
The former agent's response was immediate. He dove behind the nearest stand, dragging Hanna with him. Around them the world seemed to explode into chaos, the already energetic crowd becoming a screaming mob as Undesirables scrambled to get away. People slammed into each other, shoved one another into walls, kicked and screamed in their desperate struggle to leave. In the distance more shouts and gunshots could be heard, and the former agent swore he spotted a familiar uniform amongst it all. The strange mesh of culture that had made up the black market had become a race for survival, shoppers transformed into desperate prey.
Mahogany eyes met bright blue as the ex-agent said the words on both their minds.
"The Ahimsa are here."
---
Next: Here.
I'm sure you're thrilled.
Right, well, first we have an interlude written by Hoseki. Because Veser is awesome and we love ruining his life writing about how awesome he is.
First: Here
Previous: Here
Title: Lightwaves Interlude -- Veser
Authors: HosekiDragon
Rating: PG-13 at present
Characters: Veser, Hanna
Chapters: 3/6
Description: Sprawling thousands of miles and surrounded by walls, the City of Varuna is a sight to behold. People are under constant watch and surveillance under the name of protection. The only issue now is Undesirables. Paranormal creatures, vampires and werewolves, remnants of an ancient and dying world. These creatures are expected to register with the government and are seen as second class citizens, living in oppression so as to avoid tainting the other citizens and ruining their quality of life.
"Eli" is a member of the Ahimsa, the police agency charged with dealing with Undesirables. He's beginning to feel rather disillusioned with the world he's living in. Fortunately for him, a certain redhead is about to come crashing into his life...
It had started out good.
But things always seemed to start out good.
So Veser Hatch had thought that his story was just like that. It had started out good so therefore it had to end good.
He'd lived in a middle class home with a middle class life with his middle class parents. And they had been happy, for the most part. Veser didn't know the whole story but from what he understood, his father had found his mother--a selkie--fleeing from the Ahimsa in the slums. He'd promised to protect her if she gave him her pelt, the key to her transformation from human to seal. Desperate and not knowing what else to do, she'd agreed. From that day forward, Veser's father had kept their existence a secret from the government.
And Veser had been happy.
He hadn't understood the whispers from the adults about the burning buildings and writing on the walls that had flashed across the holoscreens. All he had understood was that, no, Veser, those teeth are not for biting, you are not supposed to bite your classmates. What else was there to life than a place to sleep, food on table, a place to play, and a family that loved him?
Until a week after his sixteenth birthday.
He'd gotten home from school and was sitting at the kitchen table, doing his homework, listening to his mother sing as she'd worked on supper. It had seemed like an average day; school had been the same, the ride home the same, the homework was the same, everything was the same. He was restless with the normalcy of it, the monotone day-after-day routine, but he could live with it. After all, his life was pretty much perfect.
So he had sat there, doing his homework, listening to his mother sing, content. He'd glanced up when the singing had stopped to see his father giving his mother a lovely kiss. And he'd turned away, smirking to himself, only to look back up again when he heard his mother say that she needed to return to the sea. His father had refused. They had begun arguing.
Veser could only sit there, staring. He'd never seen his parents fight before. It was almost scary. And he did get a little scared when his father hit his mother and she fell back with a cry. And the his father had turned his gaze to Veser and demanded to know if he was going to run off as well. Veser couldn't find his voice, he couldn't speak, couldn't answer. And apparently that was enough for his father because his fist came down and he was suddenly hitting Veser and yelling at him that it was his fault and Veser couldn't understand why.
What was going on? Why was this happening? Why was his father hitting them? Was this what humans were really like underneath?
Veser couldn't wrap his mind around it and the blows from his father were aching and his ears rang with his mother's pleas and the shouting. He was so confused, so hurt, that he finally just wanted it to stop. So he bit his father.
Normally this wouldn't have been a problem but Veser wasn't a normal child. He had selkie blood running through his veins, giving him large, neon green eyes and a nasty set of dangerously sharp teeth. So when he bit his father, he drew blood.
Silence reigned for a moment or two and then Mr. Hatch was grabbing for the phone with his good hand, screaming into it that a couple of Undesirables had attacked him in his home. Veser's mother grabbed him and tried to drag him from the room and Veser could only stumble after her, dazed. He knew what his father was doing, he was calling the Ahimsa. And he knew what Ahimsa did, they hunted Undesirables. And his father--the man who had raised and protected him and his mother for years--had just turned them over to the Ahimsa.
It had been a nightmare. His mother was screaming and trying to escape before the law could arrive. But the Ahimsa had come through the front door and Veser had been shouting, and his father had been shouting, and his mother had been screaming, and the Ahimsa were all shouting too.
Then the guns had gone off. The air had cracked and lights had flashed and his mother's grip had loosened and she'd fallen to the floor.
Veser had stared at her, sprawled there, so limp in death, dark crimson blood pooling beneath her. His mind couldn't seem to focus. His large eyes traveled from his lifeless mother to the Ahimsa, their weapons still aimed at him. And that's when it had finally settled in.
His father had betrayed them.
His mother was dead.
And these Ahimsa would kill him too unless he ran.
They were aiming the guns at him now and telling him to get down on the floor. Veser glared at them, hot anger and fear bubbling up inside him. With an incoherent cry, he charged them, knocking them aside as he tore down the hall and towards the stairs. He heard shouting and the sound of a gun being fired but he didn't look back. He just kept going. Terror and hurt and pain blazed in his mind as his feet carried him down the sidewalk; his home was gone, his mother was gone, his father might as well be gone. There was only one place left he could think of to go.
He slammed into the familiar apartment door and pounded a fist on it, calling out for Lee Fauln to answer. The man--a friend of Veser's father--had answered the door, looking a little confused, and had asked Veser what the problem was.
Veser felt something inside him turn inside out and his eyes had swam with tears, hot and burning. He fell against the man he almost considered an uncle, fingers clutching tight onto Lee's shirt, tears streaming down his face. Lee had hauled him inside and sat him down and Veser had told the man the whole story. At first, Lee had been furious and wanted to storm back to the house and give Veser's father a piece of his mind. But one look at the distraught expression on the young Veser's face changed his mind. There was a half-selkie that needed to be taken care of.
A day went by without incident. Veser stayed inside; did not return to school, did not even venture towards the windows.
Another day passed. Lee remained with Veser, a comforting hand on his shoulder, someone to lean on.
Half way through the third day, the Ahimsa found them.
The door burst open and Lee had dove for Veser, grabbing the half-selkie's shirt and dragging him out of the way. The Ahimsa had ordered them to stop and to get down on the floor. Lee had not stopped, even when Veser's legs had given out from underneath him, the man kept dragging him onward.
There had been heading towards the window; being on second floor, the worst that could happen was a couple of bruises. Lee had turned to comfort Veser when his eyes had widened in panic. Veser looked around to Ahimsa leveling a gun at him. He'd opened his mouth to scream and suddenly Lee was there in front of him and there was a bang. Lee fell to the floor and did not get up again. Veser had screamed at the man to run but Lee had not moved. Would never move again. And unless he wanted to end up the same way, Veser needed to run. Again.
It had been a short chase. Lee had been right about the window; especially with the aid of a hoverboard, it was the perfect escape route. Veser had charged down the streets, ignoring the automated warnings telling him that hoverboarding was prohibited in undesignated areas. People cursed him, called him names, screamed at him. He ignored them too and headed right for the gate to the slums. Where else could he go? No where. He was alone.
He hid in an abandoned shack for four hours straight, crying until he ran out of tears, his insides aching with hunger and loss. He thought about his mother, dead on the floor. He thought about his father's betrayal. He thought about Lee, dead to save his life. And the half-selkie realized something:
You could not trust humans.
They were selfish, full of anger and hatred and jealousy. And they were stupid. They were stupid and they did stupid things. Like sacrifice themselves for people who didn't deserve it.
And that was how The Gang had found him. Holed up in that "shit hole" as they'd called it, depressed, alone, and angry. At first he'd been wary of them; they were a group of rowdy Undesirables, not a human in the bunch. But they were offering him food, shelter, and the company of fellow outcasts. Veser left with them, not knowing where else to go.
Those had been dangerous times. They had robbed, cheated, beaten, and destroyed anyone who had gotten in their way, ruling the slums with terror and money. Veser quickly became an expert in pickpocketing and explosives. This was power, this was what life was supposed to be like; taking what he wanted whenever he wanted it and blowing the hell out of everything around him.
And then the Ahimsa had ruined it all over again.
There was a part of Veser that seemed to say, "I told you it was too good to be true." as he and the rest of The Gang tore through the streets, running from the raiding Ahimsa. Someone had finally gotten fed up and called in the law on them and now they were running for their lives. Veser wasn't scared, though; he trusted these guys to get him out alive.
That was the final blow.
They were being cornered, slowly losing any hope of escape. The others were getting angry and restless, fearing capture. Veser suggested they just stand and fight instead of running like cowards; they were only Ahimsa, a few lousy humans! The rest of The Gang had agreed and they'd created a plan. Veser would stand at the end of an alley way, back against the wall, looking as though he was trapped. When the Ahimsa came around to attack, the rest of The Gang would jump them and it would be "bye-bye Ahimsa bitches"!
Veser eagerly agreed and took his position at a dead-end alley, waiting for the Ahimsa. They didn't take long to show up and as soon as they'd moved close enough, Veser shouted for his comrades to attack.
But no one had come.
He'd screamed and shouted and cursed but no one had come.
The Ahimsa tackled him to the ground, cuffed him, and started dragging him away. Veser had struggled with all his might, snarling and begging. And as he'd thrashed around, his gaze had found The Gang, safely hidden on the roof of a building, watching the whole thing go down. He'd been their scapegoat. There had been no plan to jump the Ahimsa, those cowards were too scared to do something like that. So they'd left Veser to be swallowed alive by the government.
That was it.
The last straw.
Whatever sort of faith, compassion, or decency Veser had had towards any living thing was squashed in a single instant. He could not trust anyone. If they weren't going to die, then they would just betray him. So why bother? Why bother liking anyone? Why bother making friends? They would just stab you in the back, they would just waste away with time and die. It was pointless. Better to live on your own, never having to lean on anyone. Because sooner or later they would just leave you anyway.
He'd spent a year in the Ahimsa's "correctional facilities" before finally managing to break out and sneak back into the slums. And he never looked back. He'd zipped up his coat, shouldered his hoverboard and did what he could to survive. On his own. He'd lived on the streets, sleeping in doorways or under overhangs, picking pockets and stealing food from stalls at the market, and running from the law if they raided the slums.
That was how he had met Hanna Falk Cross.
It was a cold and wet day and Veser had been huddled in a lonely back alley with the hood of his coat up, tucked underneath a bundle of rotted blankets and rusty metal beams he called a shelter. His knees were drawn up to his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs, shivering from hunger and cold.
A loaf of bread had suddenly appeared in his vision. He followed the length of the bread to a hand, then an arm, a shoulder, and then his gaze had settled on a smile unlike anything he'd seen in almost two years. Bright red hair was a sharp contrast to the dark gloom of the storm clouds overhead, sparkling blue eyes stared at him from behind thick glasses, and that brilliant smile was a wonder all in itself.
The redhead had gestured with the bread, offering it to Veser, saying how the half-selkie probably needed it more anyway and he could find something elsewhere and, hey, it's not poison or anything. So Veser had snatched the bread and had started gnawing on it with his sharp teeth and the redhead had commented on how awesome Veser's teeth were and would probably have said more if Veser hadn't demanded to know what the redhead wanted.
Then came that laugh. It was so... happy. The redhead had laughed and introduced himself as Hanna Cross and asked if Veser wanted to join 'The Justice League"; to become a member of the resistance fighting against the government.
Veser stared at him. Stared at that wide, innocent smile, stared at those incredibly blue eyes, stared at this person--this obvious outcast of society, this human--and had given a prompt and solid answer of "no, now fuck off". Then he'd gotten to his feet and ran off into the gloom, the bread still in his hand, before the redhead had a chance to say anything.
But Hanna would not leave him alone.
Veser seemed to run into him everywhere. At the market when he was trying to swipe some food for dinner, the annoying little redhead would pop up and ask him to join 'Love and Peace and Doughnuts' or whatever name he was calling the rebel group that day. And Veser would decline with a polite, "Piss off you little bastard." and take off again.
It seemed like Hanna would track him down wherever he went and no matter what he did, he couldn't seem to lose the guy. It was getting on his nerves. Why did this idiot keep bothering him? Didn't he get the meaning of the word no? The next time he saw him, Veser decided, he was going to punch the moron in the mouth.
But the next time Veser saw Hanna was not the best time to deal out said punishment. The half-selkie had been asleep when an Ahimsa raid had gone through the slums. Someone had grabbed him roughly by the collar of his shirt and shaken him awake and he's found himself face to face with an Ahimsa agent. Panicked, Veser did the first thing he could think of-- he kicked the man between the legs.
The Ahimsa agent dropped him with a cry of pain and Veser bolted. But now there was a whole slew of agents on his tail. The half-selkie jumped mid-stride and in the same motion, swung his hoverboard from over his shoulder and under his feet, kicking off with a sound like a vacuum. Neon green light streamed out behind him as he weaved through the slums, jumping pot holes and ducking low-hanging piping. A shot rang out and nicked the edge of his board, sending it spinning.
Heart racing, Veser threw his arms out and leaned his weight to the side, trying to straighten himself. He collided hard with something and he and whatever he'd hit rolled through the dirt and grime, grunting and struggling. When he'd managed to orient himself, Veser locked gazes with a pair of familiar, brilliant blue eyes.
Hanna had found him again, and the first thing out of his mouth was that same irritating question.
Veser had cursed him as he'd gotten to his feet, dusting himself off and snatching up his hoverboard. How could this idiot be so nonchalant when there was a fucking raid going on!? And he'd asked that, shouted it, really, at the top of his voice. He was frustrated beyond all reason with this stupid redhead.
The stupid redhead had opened his mouth to answer but a couple of Ahimsa agents had rounded the corner then and shouted at them to put their hands up. Neither of them did so. Veser kicked his hoverboard back to life and shot off down the street. But a second before he took off, a pair of hands grabbed the back of his coat and he found himself towing along a laughing Hanna Cross.
More curses. Veser desperately tried to get his hoverboard to speed up but with the extra weight, it just wasn't making it. Angry and scared, Veser had looked over his shoulder simply for the pleasure of baring all of his sharp teeth at the idiot in a threatening manner. Hanna only pointed past him with an incoherent shout of concern.
Veser looked around in time to see one of the slums biggest (and oldest) skyscrapers towering ahead of them. No time to avoid it and there was no doubt Ahimsa agents waiting in the backstreets, ready to pluck him up. He crouched down, grabbed the front lip of his hoverboard and pulled it up a split second before they hit the wall, riding up it vertically, heading for the sky.
He'd almost forgotten about the little shit still clinging to him until Hanna had started whining and slipping, rambling something about not having enough time to "charge" and begging to be helped.
Veser almost wanted to let the idiot fall and good riddance, to hell with him. But for some reason he had looked back anyway. Wide blue eyes were staring at him, begging for help, red hair tossed by the wind. Veser locked gazes with the rebel and saw the pleading look and for a moment he'd remembered the time he'd had that look on his face. He reached for Hanna's hand.
The front of the hoverboard hit something--a loose stone, a piece of metal, the lip of a window?--and front flipped, tossing its passengers into the air. The scream had been ripped from Veser's throat before he could stop it, arms flailing, trying to find something to latch onto. It was strange, almost; first he had been falling up and now he was falling down and he could see the ground and they had to be almost nine--maybe ten--stories off the ground and he was so scared every part of him was numb and he thought for sure he was going to die.
Someone grabbed his arm and he jerked to a halt, his breath coming quick as he stared down at the ground, watching his hoverboard spin downwards, trailing neon lights. He lifted his gaze and saw Hanna Cross, one hand clamped tightly around a metal support beam and the other holding onto Veser. And he was still smiling.
"What the hell are you smiling about you stupid fuck?" Veser had screamed, voice shaking with fear, "We're hanging off the side of a skyscraper some ten stories off the ground!" Voices filtered up from below and suddenly bullets were whizzing past them, "And now the fucking Ahimsa are shooting at us! How the fuck can you be smiling?"
"Join the resistance and I'll save you." Hanna had said simply, completely ignoring the bullets flying around them.
Veser gaped at him and then screeched, "My God, you fucking blackmailing piece of shit! I cannot believe you!" A shot barely missed his arm and he could stop the whimper of terror that escaped him, "Fine! I'll join your stupid rebel group! Just get us out of here!"
"Okay." Hanna had replied, "Hold on tight."
And he'd let go of the piece of metal.
Veser didn't know if he had screamed or not, the wind roaring by them seemed to be tearing the very breath from his throat. Everything was blurred and there was this sickeningly hollow sensation in his stomach, almost like his insides had disappeared.
But he could hear the laughter. It was ringing in his ear and when he looked he could see the redhead laughing. His glasses were almost flying off of his face, his hair was torn back by the wind, but his mouth was open and he was laughing.
Some part of Veser that wasn't freaking out hoped Hanna would swallow a bug and choke on it.
Other than that, all his thoughts had been focused on one thing; I'm going to die. The ground was rushing closer and they were going to hit it and they were going to die. Hanna was insane. Crazy. There was no way they would live.
Blue light suddenly erupted around him, dazzling, blazing, almost blinding in its intensity and there was a roaring that didn't come from the wind, a vibration that coursed through every bone in his body. He tried to turn, to see what was happening, but Hanna now had an arm wrapped tightly around him and he couldn't move and--wait. Were they slowing down? The wind seemed to be dying down, the blurs of grays and browns rushing past them solidifying into recognizable shapes. They lurched, sped up again, and then slowed down once more. Then they slammed into the hard, cracked pavement.
Veser lay there on his stomach, stunned, mind spinning. His head hurt where it had hit the ground and his lip was stinging with a cut but he seemed to be all right. Sure there would be bruises but bruises were easy to deal with. Lights flashed at the edge of his vision, shouting rang in his numb ears. With a grunt, the half-selkie levered himself upright, swaying on his feet a bit. The ground had never felt more solid than it did now.
And there was Hanna, wrestling with the only remaining Ahimsa agent. The other three were all unconscious on the ground. Veser watched in amazement as Hanna drew back an arm and then thrust a hand forward, sending out a crackling ball of blue energy that slammed into the agent and knocked him down. He did not get back up.
Veser was stunned. This wasn't possible, no human could do things like that. But when he'd asked, all the redhead had responded with was that, no, there was nothing special about him. He was Hanna. Just Hanna. And then he'd urged the half-selkie to follow him.
Vesre really didn't know what else to do. Didn't know where else to go. So he'd grabbed his hoverboard and ran after the redhead, followed him down twisted back alleys and deeper into the slums then the half-selkie had ever dared to go. And Hanna had dragged him into an old carpet factory, long since emptied, and had proudly stated it the headquarters for the "Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness Club". And then he'd asked Veser his name, extending a hand in an offer of a handshake.
Veser hadn't responded for a moment, his large eyes lingering on the offered hand as he'd slowly unzipped his jacket. Then his eyes had narrowed and he'd smacked Hanna's hand aside, snarling that they weren't friends and that Hanna was nothing more than a sneaky little son-of-a-bitch and that Veser was only there because he was blackmailed. But as he'd turned to stomp off, he paused for a moment and said over his shoulder,
"And it's Veser. My name's Veser Amaker Hatch."
Life in the rebel group had turned out to be a lot better than living out on the streets. Maybe not safer but definitely better. Veser still flitted off into the streets every so often to pick pockets or raid stalls and he'd come back with his pockets full and that horrible Doc Worth would rant at him and Hanna would laugh and that Lamont guy would make calm little snide comments at them all.
And for the longest time he'd hated Hanna. He'd held true to his promise and punched the moron in the face the next time he had the chance. And gave him a nice bloody nose, too. But Hanna had sat there, sprawled on the floor, staring up at him in wonder, and then smiled. He was always smiling and at first, Veser had hated that too.
How could he always smile? How could he always laugh? Didn't he realized what they were? Didn't he realize that if they were caught it would all be over? Did it even register in Hanna Cross' mind that they were some of the most wanted people in the entire city?
Veser didn't think so. And that's why Hanna pissed him off. For a while, anyway. After a couple of missions with the redhead, Veser began to realize that, no, Hanna wasn't stupid. He knew exactly what was going on in the city (sometimes it seemed like he knew more than Veser did) and he was doing everything he could to stop it.
And around the time he realized this, Veser also saw something else. Nobody else, not a single person, was doing anything. Whether it was because they just didn't see what kind of dead life they were living or because they were cowards Veser wasn't sure. But whatever the reason was, no one else was fighting, no one else was risking their lives to free a captive city, no one else was doing anything to stop the death, destruction, and oppression of the Undesirables.
And it was wrong.
So Veser did what he thought was best. He used all his skills, directed all his anger and hatred, and did anything within his power to upset the ruling power of the Council of Varuna.
And he enjoyed every second of it.
It wasn't a perfect life--far from it--but it was sure as hell good enough for him.
Annnd now the chapter. Whee. Lots of fun this chapter. Oodles of bromance, some Worth yelling, what more could you want? Also the closest thing you will probably ever get to shiptease from this fic. It wasn't intended but that's kind of what the scene with Toni and Conrad became. If you dislike that pairing, no worries, they're not actually hooking up, it's meant to be more friendship than anything. And really, if you want to see pairings in this fic, I'm sure if you squint you can see hints, intended or not... so yeah. The piano scene here is a deliberate homage to kitchengirl's fic, because I love it so.
If anyone's curious as to what's being played on the piano, one can find a list on the the DA page. Sooo yay. That's all I've got, enjoy~!
Title: Lightwaves
Authors: Myself and HosekiDragon
Rating: PG-13 at present
Characters: Hanna, un!Zombie, Toni, Veser, Conrad, Worth, Lamont
Chapters: 10/26
Description: Sprawling thousands of miles and surrounded by walls, the City of Varuna is a sight to behold. People are under constant watch and surveillance under the name of protection. The only issue now is Undesirables. Paranormal creatures, vampires and werewolves, remnants of an ancient and dying world. These creatures are expected to register with the government and are seen as second class citizens, living in oppression so as to avoid tainting the other citizens and ruining their quality of life.
"Eli" is a member of the Ahimsa, the police agency charged with dealing with Undesirables. He's beginning to feel rather disillusioned with the world he's living in. Fortunately for him, a certain redhead is about to come crashing into his life...
"Hanna, are you sure you should be up there?"
The former agent's tone had edge of concern to it, his mahogany eyes narrowed against the glare of the morning sun as he squinted up at the smokestack that crowned their home. The redhead could be seen slowly scaling the tower in question, and while his partner was well aware Hanna could fly, every shrill squeak from the aged ladder made him wince.
"Don't worry about it, Nox!" Hanna called back, bracers glinting in the sunlight. "Veser and I do this all the time! It's perfectly safe!" There was a horrifying screech of tearing metal and the bottom half of the ladder was suddenly dangling by a single piece of rusted steel. "Er...well...that's never happened before..."
To the ex-agent's credit, he only visibly cringed when the ladder fell. He did nearly go running toward the tower, but again, Hanna could fly, so a part of him knew it was ridiculous to do so. "Hanna, are you sure? I'm certain I remember you saying Worth didn't want you two up here, and he only just calmed down about the Ark mission…"
"What Worth doesn't know can't hurt him," Veser laughed, hoisting himself up a little higher on the remains of the ladder.
"We'll be fiiinnneee!" Hanna promised as his foot slipped out from underneath him, leaving him dangling in the air, clutching the ladder with his thin hands for a moment or two before he managed to reorient himself and cling to the smokestack again.
His partner below took a step toward the smokestack, then gave a sigh. It wasn't like he could actually do anything. "Just be careful," he muttered as he cast a wary glance toward the door that lead onto the roof.
"You're such a worry-wort." Hanna said with a smile as he and Veser scrambled onto the top of the smokestack and balanced themselves on the edge, Ready Veser?"
"Hell yeah!" The half-selkie grinned, unhooking his hoverboard from his back and kicking it to life, "Just don't crash this time! We can't let Worth find out!"
"I never crash!" Hanna exclaimed, crouching down so that he could charge his bracers. Cerulean light spilled out from underneath his heels, "On my mark! Three...two...one...LIFTOFF!"
He and Veser both gave whooping cries of pure, thrilling, joy as they leapt off the top of the tower and into empty space.
Neon blue and green lights tangled in the air as they shot through the sky, energy from Hanna's bracers bursting like fireworks against the smooth, ethereal trail of Veser's shark-themed hoverboard. The two of them rocketed back and forth through the air, laughing and shouting, leaving streaks of color against a now bland looking morning sky.
The former agent watched with an expression of wonder as the two flew, brilliant shooting stars against the yellow green that tinted the largely cloudless expanse above them. Hanna and Veser flipped and flew through the air, surprisingly graceful compared to their movements on the ground. Truly, it was something to behold.
Hanna's partner shook his head as he leaned against one of the old exhaust fans. "Well," he murmured. "I suppose at least there's nothing for him to run into up there."
Naturally, the moment didn't last. Hanna and Veser's shouts of joy were drowned out by a familiar snarl from down below.
"HEY! THE FUCK ARE YOU TWO DOING UP THERE!?"
"Oh shit!" Veser pulled up so sharply on his hoverboard that he almost flipped head-over-heels.
"It was Veser's idea!" Hanna shouted immediately, hovering on the spot and pointing at the half-selkie.
"Hey! Was not!" Veser snapped back, "It was totally Hanna's idea!"
"I DON'T CARE WHOSE IDEA IT WAS, YOU'RE BOTH FUCKING DEAD!"
The former agent winced, peering over the rooftop to see Worth down on the ground. The doctor's face was fixed into a scowl, his arms crossed before him. Apparently he was in too much of a rage to help Lamont, whom seemed to be struggling to load boxes into the back of the Worthmobile by himself.
"Hanna fucking-Goddamn Cross, what the fuck did I tell you!?" The doctor snapped from the ground.
"Nothing! You didn't tell me anything!" Hanna cried, skidding backwards in the air so that he was partially hidden behind the smokestack.
"No, I'm pretty sure it was something' else! You too, fish for brains!" Worth snarled. "You get the fuck down here right now or so help me I will end both your fucking tiny asses!"
"Way to be a party killer..." Hanna grumbled, "Okay, okay, we're coming." He eased down lower to the rooftop and then, a foot above the cement, cut the power to his bracers and slammed into ground, "Ooooowwww..."
"Aahahahahahahahaaaa!" Veser doubled over, howling with laughter as his hoverboard dropped back towards the rooftop, sparking green lights, "You suck, Hanna! Haha!"
The former agent shook his head as he made his way over to the two and offered Hanna a hand. "I warned you," he reminded with a quirk of a brow.
"Well he shoulda fucking listened!" Worth snapped from below. "How many times do I have to say 'stay off the Goddamn roof'? You're both gonna fucking snap your necks and when you do I'mnot patching you up! "
"Hanna," Lamont called as he leaned out of the back of the hideous van, "Listen to your mother!"
Worth, typically, reacted by attempting to punch Lamont. Said attempt failed, meaning the doctor hit the side of Worth-mobile instead. What followed was a stream of curses that probably could be heard all the way in the inner circle, culminating with a snarled "HANNA, YOU GET THE FUCK DOWN HERE! I TOLD YOU WE WERE GOING TO THE FUCKING BLACK MARKET TODAY, WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU UP THERE!?"
"But Toni's not here and neither is Connie!" Hanna pointed out, levering himself to his feet with the aid of the ex-Ahimsa and dusting himself off.
"Yeah," Veser slung his hoverboard over his shoulder again, scowling down at the doctor, "Why the hell aren't you yelling at them?"
The doctor opened his mouth to yell again, then closed it. "…That is a damn good question."
"Didn't you send Conrad to get Toni?" The former agent called own from the roof.
"Yeah," Worth frowned as he glanced to the windows of the third floor. "That was a bit ago though… where the fuck are they? We're leaving in ten minutes, for fuck's sake…"
---
Conrad was very tentative about venturing up onto the third floor, having heard more than one story from Hanna and Veser about what happened if someone trespassed in Toni's domain. But really, what was worse; facing the unknown of invading Toni's territory or disobeying Doc Worth and risk the horrifying man screaming his ears off.
So the vampire eased up the steps, peered around the corner, and said in a low voice, "Um...Toni? You up here? Worth says we have to go to the market..."
"Huh?" Toni's head peeked from around a slightly dingy changing screen, her dark hair hanging in blue and black ringlets past her face. She then grinned. "Ah, sorry, I'm a bit slow this morning. Come in!" She called before vanishing behind the screen again.
"Ah...um...but you're...all right..." Conrad stepped carefully into the room, casting a gaze around in curiosity.
The room in question was pretty nice, all things considered, and easily far bigger than the closet they'd given Conrad. It was decorated with a number of things, from old theater posters to a set of slightly torn Chinese lanterns hanging from the ceiling. A highly battered vanity desk and mirror had been placed against one wall, as well as a dresser and a bed. These things were most likely courtesy of Lamont.
The real centerpiece of the room, however, was a piano. It was placed in front of one of the large, impossibly dirty windows, the yellow-green sunlight filtering in past the dirt and lighting the dust motes floating in the air around the instrument.
Conrad couldn't help but feel impressed...and slightly jealous.
"So why don't you let anyone up here?" He asked, walking up to the piano and inspecting, hands in the pockets of his dark crimson vest.
"Well," Toni said. "If you had Veser and Worth as housemates, would you want them anywhere near your room?"
"Point taken." Conrad muttered, "But hold on a second, what about Hanna? You don't let him up here, do you?"
"Well, yeah. But he's like my little brother and usually he doesn't cause any trouble. Besides, I have to get him away from Veser and Worth sometimes, you know what bad influences they are," Toni laughed as she hopped out from behind the screen, tugging one of her boots on.
Conrad snorted, "I think Worth is training Veser to be his successor in the Number One Jackass category..." He paused and glanced at the werewolf, "So then why did you let me up here?"
Toni glanced up from where she was grabbing her other boot. "Well, why not? You seem trustworthy enough…. besides, it seems like you get enough flack from Worth. I figured you could use a bit of kindness for a change."
An actual smile flitted across Conrad's face, "I...appreciate that." An awkward silence lingered for a moment or two and then, looking back at the piano, he asked, "Sssoooo...do you play?"
The werewolf nodded as she wandered over to snatch up her hairbrush. "Yeah. I've been playing all my life. I thought for sure that was done when I came to the slums, but Lamont found me one. He's really pretty decent about that kind of thing." She then looked to Conrad, raising a brow. "Do you?"
The vampire blinked at her and then looked back at the piano, looking a little flustered, "Well I...sort of...not really...a little..." He sighed, "My parents they...when I was younger I took some piano lessons. I haven't touched a piano in years, though, I doubt I can play anything decent."
Toni grinned as she tugged the brush through her hair. "Why don't you try? You seem like you want to."
"Wh-what? Oh no, I couldn't." Conrad bit his lip and then winced when his fang dug in, "R-really, I'm probably terrible at it."
He received an eyeroll in response as Toni approached the piano, pulling her hair into a ponytail as she did so. "You won't know until you try. Come on!" She insisted as she put a hand on Conrad's arm and pushed him toward the piano.
"B-but I...!" The vampire started to protest and then found himself planted on the bench in front of the keyboard, looking at the familiar ebony and ivory. He stared at it for a moment and then looked over his shoulder at Toni, "Don't laugh, all right. I'm probably going to be awful at this..." And he reached up to the keys.
After a few tentative strokes, he began to play. It was a light tune, almost dancing and carefree. Conrad's pale fingers flickered across the keyboard, occasionally hitting a wrong note and sometimes pausing as he tried to remember the rest. He stopped before he finished playing the piece and leaned back from the piano, pulling his hands into his lap and looking embarrassed.
"I feel like I just broke a ton of rules..." He murmured, "And it probably wasn't even that good, was it?"
Toni beamed as she slid onto the bench beside the vampire, her bright green eyes seeming to sparkle as she met Conrad's red ones. "Hardly. I think for someone who hasn't played in years, that was great," she said as she reached out to take the former graphic designer's hands and place them on the keyboard again. Her dark skin tone contrasted heavily with the Conrad's deathly pale, but if she was bothered by the chill of his hands, she didn't say anything. "You keep missing this note, though," she added as she pressed down Conrad's pinky with her own, the resulting note ringing through the air.
If Conrad had the ability to do so, he probably would have blushed. He hit the key a couple of times on his own and then pulled back again, "H-how about you play something now..."
The singer nodded, the grin on her face making it rather clear she'd been waiting for this. She reached up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear, then placed her fingers on the key. There was a moment of silence before her tanned fingers suddenly seemed to explode into motion, keys brushed in a flurry of notes. Her fingers traced across the keyboard with the grace of a dancer, the resulting music a fast-paced, almost sad tune, though there seemed to be quite a bit of energy and hope somewhere within the flow of the melody. In contrast to this, Toni's expression was one of serenity as she played.
Conrad watched first her fingers flash across the keys, enticing a harmony from the strings, and then let his gaze switch to her serene expression. He glanced back at the keys, listening to the music, and suddenly found that he was tapping his foot along with the beat.
He cleared his throat and said in a low voice that almost didn't carry over the music, "You're an amazing player."
"Thank you," Toni said as she continued to play. "I wrote it… for some friends of mine."
"Friends?" Conrad murmured, "Are they... Undesirables?"
The singer's smile became somewhat sad as her fingers brushed across the keyboard. "Some were. They were my band members, the Ahimsa got them when they helped me run to the slums."
"I'm... sorry..." Conrad said awkwardly, "You must've had some...some bad experiences with humans, huh?"
Toni gave a low hum of agreement. "We all have. That's why we fight, to make sure someday we won't have to."
Conrad was silent for a moment, fiddling with the edge of his vest. Then in a quiet voice, he asked, "Do you.... do you hate normal people...?"
"Hm?" The werewolf blinked as she looked to Conrad. After a moment, she let out a sigh, pausing in her playing as she turned her gaze out the window. "…Sometimes," she said after a moment. "It's hard not to. But… normal people persecute us because of the stereotype put forth by the Council of Mitra, and I know we're not all like that. Am I really any better if I hate all normal people for the same reason?"
She let this question hang in the air for a moment, then shook her head. "I know I'm not, and I need to work on it. But it is hard, I'll admit." With those words she looked to Conrad and smiled again. "What about you? Do you still hate Undesirables?"
"I..." Conrad was now staring fixedly at the piano keys, "No, I don't. I think. I...I admit to the fact that I believed the Council just like everyone else. I believed that Undesirables were bad and that normal humans were good and that the Ahimsa were in the right and the resistance in the wrong. After I was...turned I hated Hanna for what he did to me. I thought for sure it would have been better if he'd just let me die." Conrad closed his eyes and kneaded his forehead with his knuckles, "But the more time I spent here--in the slums, with the rebels, with people like you--the more I thought about how life was in the inner circle. And last night, when we were on the roof, I think I realized something..." The vampire looked up, his red eyes hard,
"This whole city is really fucked up."
His words hung in the air for a moment. Then came a light, high note from the piano as Toni tapped one of the keys. "I know," The werewolf murmured as she began to play again, her eyes falling shut. "I know. And I know what it's like… being in your position. I mean, granted, I was always different, but…" She shook her head. "It's hard to come to terms with. But I think you're doing fine, all things considered."
Conrad chuckled lightly, "Thanks. It hasn't been easy but..." He lifted his hands to the piano again and began to play alongside Toni's melody, "At least I'm not alone." And a genuine smile lifted his pale lips, revealing more of his fang than usual.
The werewolf looked to Conrad, then smiled back as she continued to play. "Exactly."
"Aaaawwwwww, you two are so cute together!" Cried a voice and Hanna was suddenly between the two of them, perched happily on the bench, grinning.
"Hanna, what the fuck!?" Conrad shouted, slamming down a discord of several horrible notes in his surprise.
Toni burst out laughing. "Surprisingly, I didn't hear you come in. What's up?" She asked as she looked to Hanna, seemingly not bothered by his sudden entry.
"Worth sent me up here to get you guys." Hanna answered, tapping out a tentative 'Chopsticks' on the piano. He hit a wrong key and yanked his hand back with a giggle, "We're almost ready to head out for the black market and he says if you don't come down we're leaving you behind."
"Fuck him..." Conrad growled, scowling darkly at the bright smile on Hanna's face.
Toni rolled her eyes, though a smile was on her face as she stood and brushed a bit of dust off of her skirts. "Typical. Well, we'd better go then, no sense in depriving doctor jerk of people to yell at. Shall we?"
"I kind of can't..." Conrad grumbled, getting to his feet and stuffing his hands back into the pockets of his vest, "It's kind of daylight out and I can't exactly go outside when there's sunlight."
"Maybe if you wore a hat...?" Hanna wondered aloud, tilting his head to the side.
Conrad rolled his eyes, "Thanks, Hanna, that was so intelligent I'm almost speechless. But I think I'll just stay home and watch you guys tear around and cause as much damage as you possibly can, thanks."
The werewolf flashed Conrad a sympathetic smile. "Well, if you're sure…"
"It's all right." Conrad assured her, returning the smile with a small one of his own, "Don't worry about, I'll entertain myself by keeping an eye on you guys. Go on, have fun."
"I'll pick you up something epic, Connie!" Hanna promised with his usual, brilliant grin, "Come on, Toni, hurry up. or Worth's going to leave without us!"
Toni nodded as she swept toward the door, skirts flown behind her. "All right. See you later, Conrad," she said with a wave before vanishing.
"Bye Connie!" Hanna waved cheerily at the vampire and skipped out of the room after Toni.
"Well," Conrad sighed, heading towards the stairs, "I guess I'd better get down to that shit hole Worth dares call a basement."
"I just hope to God nothing goes wrong this time…"
---
It should have been a given that the trip to the market did not go entirely as planned.
Hanna and Toni had made it to the Worthmobile just fine, and by that point the doctor had been in the driver's seat, pounding on the horn and seeming generally irritable that they hadn't left yet. Thus, it had seemed prudent to shove the last couple of boxes into the back of the car so everyone could pile into the vehicle in record time. Unfortunately, in their haste to get into said vehicle, they nearly left Veser behind. The poor half-selkie ended up chasing after the vehicle on his hoverboard for nearly half a mile before Worth finally pulled over and let Veser in. This had, naturally, only lead to more yelling as the group made their way to the marketplace.
They did indeed arrive though, and aside from Veser's understandable irritation ("Dude, my hood is scorched because of you!") the group was in relatively good spirits. Thus, no one was terribly annoyed when Lamont placed lists in Toni and the former agent's hands. The smile on his face was a stark contrast to Worth's sneer as the doctor made it very clear that they were all to purchase only what was on the lists and be back at the van by two in the afternoon. The two in the afternoon bit was nonnegotiable, but by this point everyone was numb to the usual sneer of "I don't care how you get back. If you get your leg caught in fucking bear trap, cut it off. I don't fucking care, just be here!". Thus, the doctor only received shrugs and mumbled curses in reply before the group splintered and headed off on their various quests.
The black market was tucked into the most ancient section of the slums, the part where buildings hardly looked like buildings anymore, where street had become cracked and sunken in places, and where the people were the sort one would generally avoid at all costs.
And yet even with all this, the place was still very much alive. Undesirables of all sorts mingled with one another, lounging at rickety booths built of old wood and discarded metal or walking past the dealers, talking and gesturing. The stale air of the slums was tinged somewhat with the thick smells of smoke, foodstuffs, and incense and it rang with voice clamoring for attention. The black market was almost vibrating with the life that filled it.
"So what's the first thing on the list?" Hanna asked, walking beside the ex-agent, a bounce in his step and a smile on his face, "Oooohh, hey, check out that stand!" And he scurried away to look at a display of jewelry that were either stolen or very clever fakes, "Hey! These are really pretty! I wonder if Toni would like one? What do you think, Joachim? Do you think Toni would like a necklace?"
The former agent miraculously managed to keep to Hanna's side in the crowd, which meant it wasn't too difficult to put a hand on the redhead's shoulder and steer him away. "Maybe she would. It's not on the list though, so come on." Really, his intentions had less to do with the list and more with the devilish sneer the stand owner seemed to be giving Hanna, but there was no point in actually raising the alarm in such a place.
"All rriiiiiggghhhttt," Hanna muttered with a small smile, following his friend away from the booth, "But I'm still getting Conrad something. And you too. So what's the list say?"
His partner frowned as he looked to the list. "Er… food, mostly. I'm under the impression Worth doesn't trust us with much else."
"Food! Aw man, great!" The redhead laughed, "Okay! What do we need first? I know all the best stands to go to!"
"Um, chicken, apparently…"
"Awright! I love chicken!" Hanna grabbed a fistful of the ex-agent's coat and started tugging him through the market, "Come on, this is gonna be fun!"
Fun was hardly a word the former Ahimsa would have used to describe the experience. Hanna was everywhere; laughing and making comments and dragging his companion around with him the whole time. Simply getting the chicken became an adventure in of itself. Between the snide comments from the stall owner and Hanna's ignorant babble, they almost couldn't get the purchase but the ever patient ex-agent was eventually able to sort it out in the end.
What followed was a series of mishaps and laughable instances. Most of them instigated by Hanna; the redhead did not seem to be as explosive as he usually was--no doubt still recovering from the Ark incident--but he was still quite adapt at getting himself into trouble. The man selling beans had been especially displeased when he caught Hanna attempting to take "samples" of his wares in order to make sure they were "satisfactory". It was all the former agent could do to keep everything from falling into chaos.
"Alucard, come 'ere! Check this out!" Hanna had darted away and was waving his friend over to a nearby stand, "Come here, look!"
The former agent let out a sigh as he weaved through the crowd, hefting a bag over his shoulder. Keeping track of Hanna in the mass of people while carrying multiple bags seemed to be growing harder and harder, and the bag the redhead held was doing little to slow him down. Really though, aside from his inability to mimic Hanna's ability to weave through crowds (which probably came with the territory of being impossibly small), Hanna's partner found he really didn't mind. He'd come to expect these adventures, after all.
Though if Hanna could stand to slow down just a tad so his friend could keep better track of him, it'd be nice.
"What is it, Hanna?" The ex-agent asked as he finally pushed through the crowd.
"I've found the perfect thing for you; it would totally add to the whole intimidating image thing." The redhead spun around and thrust a leopard print fedora with a neon pink band into the agent's face, "Isn't it great?"
Mahogany eyes blinked in confusion as spots and neon pink filled his vision. "Er… I… ah, I don't really think it's my color," the former agent said politely as he gently pushed the hat out of his face. "Besides, didn't Worth say we were only supposed to buy what was on the list?"
"Tch, don't worry about it." Hanna waved a hand dismissively, turning back to the stall and setting the fedora down, "You deserve something of your own." Hanna started sorting through the other fedoras on display, "Remind me we have to pick something up for Connie, 'k? Ooooh, how 'bout this one?" The redhead turned around again, holding up a bright orange fedora with a blue band.
The former agent shook his head. "Well, I suppose Lamont did give us a bit extra," he sighed as he glanced over the money in his wallet. "Though in that case, you should get yourself something. I really don't need anything."
"Nah, I've got enough stuff for myself." Hanna replied, putting the orange fedora down, "But you and Conrad have been here for a while and you haven't gotten anything for yourselves. This is it! This is the one." Hanna turned around slowly and held out a plain, black fedora with a giant grin, "At least try this one on, Damien."
His partner stared at the black fedora. He then shrugged, taking the hat and placing it on his head. "Hm," he murmured as he glanced into a cracked mirror that had been attached to the stand. "Not bad."
"Now say something awesome!" Hanna encouraged, still grinning with excitement.
The former agent blinked at him in confusion for a moment. "…What?"
"Dish out one of your wicked one-liners!"
He merely received a blank stare in response.
"You know," Hanna struck a dramatic pose, putting on a serious face and holding his arm up in the imitation of pointing a gun. Then he said in a low voice, "'I always was the better shot.'" The grin returned and he dropped his arm, "Like that! Say something like that!"
Again came a beat of silence. "You were holding your fake gun wrong," the former agent finally observed, his lips giving a light upward twitch.
"Was I?" Hanna pretended to hold a gun and looked at his hand curiously. Then he looked up at his companion with a smile, "Hey, see! That could totally be a one-liner! Now say it like you would say to a bad guy; all dark and angry! Come on, come on...!"
"Do I really seem angry?" The former agent mused as he took off the hat and moved to pay the vender with the money Worth had given him. It did look good on him, and Hanna seemed so thrilled by the prospect of the fedora that he didn't think he could have gotten away with not purchasing it.
Besides, he and Hanna had ended up cleaning the bathroom again and even he felt he deserved an award for that.
"Well, no, that's not what I meant..." Hanna said awkwardly, "I meant that you were...like...um..." The redhead shuffled his feet on the spot, looking a bit embarrassed, "It's just...when you protected me from that Ahimsa guy in the Ark...you seemed really...it was really..." He paused again, searching for the right word, "It was really cool."
His partner did fully smile at this. He didn't understand why people kept going on about this sort of thing, but he supposed he didn't mind. "I'm just doing my job," he said as he took the hat from the vendor and put it on again. "But thank you."
"Uh, guys, hate to ruin the moment," Conrad's voice came over the communicators, sounding slightly anxious, "But I think there's something--."
The rest of his sentence was lost in the echoing crack of a gunshot ringing through the crowded street.
The former agent's response was immediate. He dove behind the nearest stand, dragging Hanna with him. Around them the world seemed to explode into chaos, the already energetic crowd becoming a screaming mob as Undesirables scrambled to get away. People slammed into each other, shoved one another into walls, kicked and screamed in their desperate struggle to leave. In the distance more shouts and gunshots could be heard, and the former agent swore he spotted a familiar uniform amongst it all. The strange mesh of culture that had made up the black market had become a race for survival, shoppers transformed into desperate prey.
Mahogany eyes met bright blue as the ex-agent said the words on both their minds.
"The Ahimsa are here."
---
Next: Here.