Zero Tolerance: Cain and Cass
Title: Cain and Cass
Characters: Cass, Jeb Cain
Rating: G
Summary: Cass' point of view.
Zero Tolerance, Cain and Zero, Loose Cannon, Sister Acts, Good Knight and Trying My Patience
Cass' neck was killing her. This wasn't remotely surprising. Sleeping in a tree will do that to you. It was an ingenious idea, really. Relative little risk of discovery for one and a nice view for another. Five annuals on the run stopped the rolling off the branch in her sleep so that was a non-issue, but the aches and pains were horrendous. Occasionally, she'd find a normal bed but by the next day longcoats would be all over it like ants on a picnic.
Never among those longcoats was her brother. That was another ache she had to contend with on a daily basis. She knew he thought her dead. Her life's work for the past five annuals was helping the Resistance and finding her brother. Fortunately she had way more success with the former than the latter, but even then she was thinking that maybe her activities would force The Sorceress to send him out her way and she be able to contact him.
The Sorceress was no fool though, she would send her flying monkeys ahead, and always had a vague idea where Cass was. She tried getting into Central City once but was soon captured. She still had the scars from The Sorceress' interrogations but she never saw her brother. Still, she had escaped using her magic before The Sorceress managed to drain her completely. It took her a year to recover.
Stretching helped relieve her physical pains and soon she was walking through a nice clearing. Solitude had its virtues, she didn't like staying with a Resistance cell for long, she was too big a target for that but she'd act as a travelling saleman of sorts bringing her trade with her from door to door or rather from cell to cell.
She stopped. Zero. Her brother was there in front of her eyes. Unfortunately, it was just an image. Even more unfortunately, he was in the process of killing someone. The woman fell dead at his feet and he seemed to stare at her for the longest time before the scene reset and ran again. She looked away and busied herself with finding the Tin Suit which was bound to be nearby.
She found it relatively quickly and began to unhook it. The door opened, revealing its occupant, who was no more than a boy, even with the well-grown beard across his face. He tumbled forward and she caught him. "Easy," she whispered. "Easy." She pulled out her water and brought it to his mouth. "Drink." He spluttered a bit but drank some of it. "Good man." The boy wasn't listening but glaring at the scene of her brother. "Haven't you watched that enough?" starting to help him clean up.
She had barely finished getting him to shave before he bounced up and away from her. "Where are you going?" she demanded, aware that he'd not said a word, let alone thanked her since she pulled him out of there.
"I'm going to kill him," he replied. "Thanks for getting me out."
Cass was quick to catch him. "That's not going to happen," she told him. He pulled at her, but her grip was strong, especially given that he was just out of there. "You think you can even get near him? Alone? Boy, I've been trying for years to do that, I'm much better at this stuff than you'll ever be!"
"He killed my mother!" he yelled at her, his free arm flailing towards the scene. "He killed my father."
"And he'll kill you. Or one of his minions will. Sounds damn futile to me."
"So? My life means nothing anyway. I mean what am I supposed to do?" He tried to blink away his tears.
"I don't know. I can't answer that for myself. I know we can't stay here. There's a Resistance base a few days from here. There will be people to take care of you."
"I'm not a kid," he muttered.
Cass rolled her eyes. "I'm not thinking adoption. Look, keep making my life difficult, Sunshine, back in the box."
"Sorry."
They gathered what supplies they could from the remains of the cabin. "Come on," she asked gently as Jeb began to linger. He nodded before leaving the cabin and heading out towards the nearby woods. They walked on in relative silence. "What's your name?" it suddenly occurred to her to ask.
The boy blinked in surprise. "Oh. Uh, Cain. Jeb Cain."
"Cass," she replied, holding out her hand. He shook it. "Pleasure."
They continued on until the suns began to set. Cass glanced up a tree but decided that Jeb wouldn't be able for that. "Let's make camp here," she told him.
Jeb nodded vaguely. "I'll get some firewood," he volunteered. Cass nodded and began looking around the surroundings herself, to forage for food. She managed to bring some things together before Jeb got back. It wasn't until the fire was burning and they'd eaten before Jeb asked the question she'd been dreading. "So what did he do to you?"
She looked at him in surprise, having been thinking about other things in the quiet of the night. "Pardon?" she managed.
"Zero. You said you'd been trying to get to him. Why?"
She hesitated, wondering if he'd just let it go if she told him she didn't want to talk about it. "He's my brother," she answered quietly.
"What?" His voice was full of suspicion and anger.
Well, you've said it now. "He's my half-brother," she repeated, the half more of a clarification rather than a denial. "He, uh, thinks I'm dead so he got his revenge on your father. I've been trying to correct his misapprehension."
She waited as Jeb got angrier and angrier. What is with you and the truth? her brother's voice asked her. What is with you and sadism? she automatically thought back. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Jeb exploded.
"It wasn't my idea to get captured and tortured," she replied, making herself remain as calm as possible.
Obviously, Jeb was in no mental state to deal with logic. Classic transference. He cursed at her. "MY FAMILY'S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!" he screamed before running off in the woods. Quickly, Cass pointed in his direction. A small light flashed on his jacket momentarily before become invisible. She followed him in a walk.
---
Cass sighed a deep heavy breath. She hadn't run after him because she thought that he would need the time to think, not so he'd get captured by Longcoats. There was some part of her which hoped that they would realise who it was and take him to Zero, but she knew that Jeb wouldn't tell him of her out of spite and he'd likely be tortured for what information he had. That was unacceptable.
The irony was that they were probably out here looking her, or at least the cell where she was taking Jeb. Her father's dalliance with a noble woman had served her in one respect, unlike her brother, she had power. Nothing in the league of essence-sucking like The Sorceress but she could play some games with their minds, with illlusions and sounds that amount to nothing more than interesting parlour tricks but used correctly, quite a show.
Jeb was fuming. Brilliant, Jeb, brilliant. This'll get you Zero. Yeah. When he was captured, he announced his name, perversely proud at the idea that this could bring. In fact, the Longcoats responded back knocking him to the ground, bringing back painful memories of how this all began. But she was so beautiful! And like his mother. How could she possibly be related to him?
A loud crack was heard from the other side of the camp. The Longcoats near him noticed and one of them signalled to the other that he was to investigate. He nodded in response and headed out. Jeb had no idea how he missed her but the next thing he knew she had a knife to his guard's neck. He grunted, bringing the attention of others in the campsite. "Ah! Ah!" she pulled out the Longcoat's gun. "Now, boys, we don't want an incident, do we?" She gestured to Jeb, who began to back away.
The Longcoat punched her in the stomach and she sliced across his neck, not deep enough to kill him but he went down. The other Longcoats pulled out their own guns and they barely had time to duck down before a hail of bullets went flying over their heads. Cass took a deep breath and Jeb was surprised to see energy rise out of her chest and fly towards the Longcoats. The Longcoats were surprised too as one of them were knocked off his feet and the others ducked out of the way. Taking advantage of their distraction, Cass grabbed Jeb until they disappeared into the darkness.
Long hours of practice in evading Longcoats meant that they soon lost them. The two of them sat together in the darkness. "The lavender eyes... you're nobility."
"My mother was. She, uh, died when I was born. Her family was going to take me in but my father had other ideas. I was his path to world domination," she snorted. "Zero's mother wasn't pleased with me arriving on the scene." She would have looked at him, but there was no point in the darkness.
"I guess it must have been tough," his voice emerged from the night.
"He looked after me. Settle down, get some rest before morning. It's all right. I'll look after you."
---
Birds were twittering when Jeb woke up. Looking around he saw no one there. He pulled himself up in a moment's panic. "Good morning!" Cass said cheerfully. "Grub's up. Not the actual, you know, grubs, but good sustenance none the less."
Momentarily disgusted by the idea of eating insects, Jeb sampled the food. "Thanks. Again. For saving my life."
"So I'm not the cause of all your worldly woes?"
"Just your brother."
"Yeah."
"You not going to tell me what a good man he really is?"
"I saw that action replay, Jeb. I don't know what kind of man he is, just it's never as simple as Cain good, Zero bad. It's just... tending that way. Eat up, we've got to pick up the pace to dodge the Longcoats."
"If your brother is one of them, why are they chasing you?"
"Zero doesn't know I'm alive. If he did, well, the Longcoats were the ones to make it look that way, not to mention The Sorceress' treatment of me. He might just switch sides."
"That easy."
"He doesn't care about all this! The Longcoats aren't the most loyal bunch." She shrugged.
Jeb immediately grasped the tactical advantage of such a switch but wasn't able to stomach the idea of being on the same side as that... guy. He finished. "Let's go."
There were a few close calls, but they made it to the Resistance camp with all limbs intact. They were eager to accept Jeb once Cass told them who he was. She quickly made to leave. "Come on," Jeb protested, "Not even a horse?"
She shook her head. "Too easy to spot. I had a horse once. Longcoats shot him. Painful death." She shook her head. "Good luck, Kid. You'll need it."
Next: A Glimmer-phobe
Characters: Cass, Jeb Cain
Rating: G
Summary: Cass' point of view.
Zero Tolerance, Cain and Zero, Loose Cannon, Sister Acts, Good Knight and Trying My Patience
Cass' neck was killing her. This wasn't remotely surprising. Sleeping in a tree will do that to you. It was an ingenious idea, really. Relative little risk of discovery for one and a nice view for another. Five annuals on the run stopped the rolling off the branch in her sleep so that was a non-issue, but the aches and pains were horrendous. Occasionally, she'd find a normal bed but by the next day longcoats would be all over it like ants on a picnic.
Never among those longcoats was her brother. That was another ache she had to contend with on a daily basis. She knew he thought her dead. Her life's work for the past five annuals was helping the Resistance and finding her brother. Fortunately she had way more success with the former than the latter, but even then she was thinking that maybe her activities would force The Sorceress to send him out her way and she be able to contact him.
The Sorceress was no fool though, she would send her flying monkeys ahead, and always had a vague idea where Cass was. She tried getting into Central City once but was soon captured. She still had the scars from The Sorceress' interrogations but she never saw her brother. Still, she had escaped using her magic before The Sorceress managed to drain her completely. It took her a year to recover.
Stretching helped relieve her physical pains and soon she was walking through a nice clearing. Solitude had its virtues, she didn't like staying with a Resistance cell for long, she was too big a target for that but she'd act as a travelling saleman of sorts bringing her trade with her from door to door or rather from cell to cell.
She stopped. Zero. Her brother was there in front of her eyes. Unfortunately, it was just an image. Even more unfortunately, he was in the process of killing someone. The woman fell dead at his feet and he seemed to stare at her for the longest time before the scene reset and ran again. She looked away and busied herself with finding the Tin Suit which was bound to be nearby.
She found it relatively quickly and began to unhook it. The door opened, revealing its occupant, who was no more than a boy, even with the well-grown beard across his face. He tumbled forward and she caught him. "Easy," she whispered. "Easy." She pulled out her water and brought it to his mouth. "Drink." He spluttered a bit but drank some of it. "Good man." The boy wasn't listening but glaring at the scene of her brother. "Haven't you watched that enough?" starting to help him clean up.
She had barely finished getting him to shave before he bounced up and away from her. "Where are you going?" she demanded, aware that he'd not said a word, let alone thanked her since she pulled him out of there.
"I'm going to kill him," he replied. "Thanks for getting me out."
Cass was quick to catch him. "That's not going to happen," she told him. He pulled at her, but her grip was strong, especially given that he was just out of there. "You think you can even get near him? Alone? Boy, I've been trying for years to do that, I'm much better at this stuff than you'll ever be!"
"He killed my mother!" he yelled at her, his free arm flailing towards the scene. "He killed my father."
"And he'll kill you. Or one of his minions will. Sounds damn futile to me."
"So? My life means nothing anyway. I mean what am I supposed to do?" He tried to blink away his tears.
"I don't know. I can't answer that for myself. I know we can't stay here. There's a Resistance base a few days from here. There will be people to take care of you."
"I'm not a kid," he muttered.
Cass rolled her eyes. "I'm not thinking adoption. Look, keep making my life difficult, Sunshine, back in the box."
"Sorry."
They gathered what supplies they could from the remains of the cabin. "Come on," she asked gently as Jeb began to linger. He nodded before leaving the cabin and heading out towards the nearby woods. They walked on in relative silence. "What's your name?" it suddenly occurred to her to ask.
The boy blinked in surprise. "Oh. Uh, Cain. Jeb Cain."
"Cass," she replied, holding out her hand. He shook it. "Pleasure."
They continued on until the suns began to set. Cass glanced up a tree but decided that Jeb wouldn't be able for that. "Let's make camp here," she told him.
Jeb nodded vaguely. "I'll get some firewood," he volunteered. Cass nodded and began looking around the surroundings herself, to forage for food. She managed to bring some things together before Jeb got back. It wasn't until the fire was burning and they'd eaten before Jeb asked the question she'd been dreading. "So what did he do to you?"
She looked at him in surprise, having been thinking about other things in the quiet of the night. "Pardon?" she managed.
"Zero. You said you'd been trying to get to him. Why?"
She hesitated, wondering if he'd just let it go if she told him she didn't want to talk about it. "He's my brother," she answered quietly.
"What?" His voice was full of suspicion and anger.
Well, you've said it now. "He's my half-brother," she repeated, the half more of a clarification rather than a denial. "He, uh, thinks I'm dead so he got his revenge on your father. I've been trying to correct his misapprehension."
She waited as Jeb got angrier and angrier. What is with you and the truth? her brother's voice asked her. What is with you and sadism? she automatically thought back. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Jeb exploded.
"It wasn't my idea to get captured and tortured," she replied, making herself remain as calm as possible.
Obviously, Jeb was in no mental state to deal with logic. Classic transference. He cursed at her. "MY FAMILY'S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!" he screamed before running off in the woods. Quickly, Cass pointed in his direction. A small light flashed on his jacket momentarily before become invisible. She followed him in a walk.
---
Cass sighed a deep heavy breath. She hadn't run after him because she thought that he would need the time to think, not so he'd get captured by Longcoats. There was some part of her which hoped that they would realise who it was and take him to Zero, but she knew that Jeb wouldn't tell him of her out of spite and he'd likely be tortured for what information he had. That was unacceptable.
The irony was that they were probably out here looking her, or at least the cell where she was taking Jeb. Her father's dalliance with a noble woman had served her in one respect, unlike her brother, she had power. Nothing in the league of essence-sucking like The Sorceress but she could play some games with their minds, with illlusions and sounds that amount to nothing more than interesting parlour tricks but used correctly, quite a show.
Jeb was fuming. Brilliant, Jeb, brilliant. This'll get you Zero. Yeah. When he was captured, he announced his name, perversely proud at the idea that this could bring. In fact, the Longcoats responded back knocking him to the ground, bringing back painful memories of how this all began. But she was so beautiful! And like his mother. How could she possibly be related to him?
A loud crack was heard from the other side of the camp. The Longcoats near him noticed and one of them signalled to the other that he was to investigate. He nodded in response and headed out. Jeb had no idea how he missed her but the next thing he knew she had a knife to his guard's neck. He grunted, bringing the attention of others in the campsite. "Ah! Ah!" she pulled out the Longcoat's gun. "Now, boys, we don't want an incident, do we?" She gestured to Jeb, who began to back away.
The Longcoat punched her in the stomach and she sliced across his neck, not deep enough to kill him but he went down. The other Longcoats pulled out their own guns and they barely had time to duck down before a hail of bullets went flying over their heads. Cass took a deep breath and Jeb was surprised to see energy rise out of her chest and fly towards the Longcoats. The Longcoats were surprised too as one of them were knocked off his feet and the others ducked out of the way. Taking advantage of their distraction, Cass grabbed Jeb until they disappeared into the darkness.
Long hours of practice in evading Longcoats meant that they soon lost them. The two of them sat together in the darkness. "The lavender eyes... you're nobility."
"My mother was. She, uh, died when I was born. Her family was going to take me in but my father had other ideas. I was his path to world domination," she snorted. "Zero's mother wasn't pleased with me arriving on the scene." She would have looked at him, but there was no point in the darkness.
"I guess it must have been tough," his voice emerged from the night.
"He looked after me. Settle down, get some rest before morning. It's all right. I'll look after you."
---
Birds were twittering when Jeb woke up. Looking around he saw no one there. He pulled himself up in a moment's panic. "Good morning!" Cass said cheerfully. "Grub's up. Not the actual, you know, grubs, but good sustenance none the less."
Momentarily disgusted by the idea of eating insects, Jeb sampled the food. "Thanks. Again. For saving my life."
"So I'm not the cause of all your worldly woes?"
"Just your brother."
"Yeah."
"You not going to tell me what a good man he really is?"
"I saw that action replay, Jeb. I don't know what kind of man he is, just it's never as simple as Cain good, Zero bad. It's just... tending that way. Eat up, we've got to pick up the pace to dodge the Longcoats."
"If your brother is one of them, why are they chasing you?"
"Zero doesn't know I'm alive. If he did, well, the Longcoats were the ones to make it look that way, not to mention The Sorceress' treatment of me. He might just switch sides."
"That easy."
"He doesn't care about all this! The Longcoats aren't the most loyal bunch." She shrugged.
Jeb immediately grasped the tactical advantage of such a switch but wasn't able to stomach the idea of being on the same side as that... guy. He finished. "Let's go."
There were a few close calls, but they made it to the Resistance camp with all limbs intact. They were eager to accept Jeb once Cass told them who he was. She quickly made to leave. "Come on," Jeb protested, "Not even a horse?"
She shook her head. "Too easy to spot. I had a horse once. Longcoats shot him. Painful death." She shook her head. "Good luck, Kid. You'll need it."
Next: A Glimmer-phobe