Rise
Title: Rise
Author: deandratb
Rating: PG-13, possibly.
Author's Note: This is based in an AU world I created, so if things are cryptic please have patience. No fandom was involved in the writing of this piece, and any similarities are a huge compliment.
Was life really supposed to be like this?
The sun would be up soon. Unable to sleep, Mel had slipped off the lumpy gray couch in Emily's living room and ended up on the roof of their temporary headquarters. It was barely light around the edges of the sky, but she could feel it coming. With it came another day of preparing for battle, and the ever-present possibility of death. As far as Mel knew, all the Guardians before her had done nothing but choose a successor and teach them what to do. They hadn't ever actually put that knowledge into practice.
And also, how screwed up was it that she and Kate had to work together to stop another psychopath when they couldn't even be in the same room without fighting? Kate refused to understand her life now, and she refused to be a part of Kate's. She couldn't be friends with someone who was such a hypocrite. Just because Mel's religion was Pagan, that didn't make it any less valid than Kate's newfound fervor for Christianity.
Mel frowned in the direction of the horizon. This was never going to work.
Haven't we saved the world enough already?
Joey joined her on the roof just as the sun began to rise. He sat down next to her without saying anything, and it occured to her that one of the reasons why she liked him was that neither of them felt the need for empty conversation. With Joey, she had space to think about what was coming. She couldn't be sure, but she would have bet money that he was thinking about Kate.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, and she indulged in a sidelong glance as she pondered him. She and Kate didn't have a choice in this fight- it was their mission. But he could've been the messenger, gotten his heart broken by the girl he'd crossed worlds to see again, and gone back home, where he'd be safe. Instead, he was on the roof.
This morning's sunrise was especially brilliant, as if somebody knew it could be their last one. A fiery red hue was spreading outward across the sky, and Mel wasn't sure if it was a good omen or a bad one. But she was smiling at it when Joey spoke.
"It's beautiful," he said quietly.
"Yeah, it's worth staying up for," she replied.
"Nothing was ever this beautiful in my world."
She didn't know what to say in response to that. They'd been to his world, and it had been a slightly more dismal version of this one. Mel turned to look critically at him for the first time since he'd arrived. His hair was a little longer than this world's version of him, and a lot more unkempt. He had a small scar along his jaw, a testament to his questionable past.
He looked lonely.
Mentally she berated Kate for choosing the boring Joey substitute over the real thing. Then she blinked and realized he was looking back at her. "You really care about her, don't you?"
He smiled, unoffended by the blunt nature of the question. "Yeah."
She chose her next words carefully, trying to balance concern with feigned disinterest. "Don't give up on her, no matter what she says. She needs somebody like you."
Joey snorted. "She already HAS somebody like me. And anyway, I thought you weren't her friend anymore."
Mel turned back to the sunrise after glaring at him in response. "I'm not."
"Then why do you care?"
She actually paused to consider the question before deciding there would never be an answer that made sense. "She... deserves you, is all. Just don't tell her I said anything."
Joey shrugged. "Okay. Thanks." Turning back toward the sun as well, he was silent for a few seconds. "All of this, it's kinda scary, isn't it?"
Mel smiled a little. "The psychopath who wants to kill us, or love?"
Joey's eyes never left the brilliant red. "Both."
"Yeah, it is."
He turned back towards her, the corner of his mouth lifted. "Which one?"
She raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Both." When he grinned at her, her expression grew serious. "Do you think we can do it, really?"
His tone was thoughtful when he replied. "I think so. You and Katie, neither of you seems to realize just how powerful you are." Mel's brow furrowed in response to that. "Personally, I think you can pull it off, and I'll do whatever I can to help."
"You know something could happen," she replied.
"I know," he shrugged. "Way I figure it, I owe it to the balance. Also, if this-" he nodded toward the sunrise, "is one of the last things I ever see, it'll be worth it."
She heard Emily looking for them downstairs then, and realized everyone else must be up. She smiled at Joey, what felt like the first real smile she'd summoned in days, and stood up. Mel gave herself one final moment to watch the sky before she re-entered the world.
And a new day dawns.
Author: deandratb
Rating: PG-13, possibly.
Author's Note: This is based in an AU world I created, so if things are cryptic please have patience. No fandom was involved in the writing of this piece, and any similarities are a huge compliment.
Was life really supposed to be like this?
The sun would be up soon. Unable to sleep, Mel had slipped off the lumpy gray couch in Emily's living room and ended up on the roof of their temporary headquarters. It was barely light around the edges of the sky, but she could feel it coming. With it came another day of preparing for battle, and the ever-present possibility of death. As far as Mel knew, all the Guardians before her had done nothing but choose a successor and teach them what to do. They hadn't ever actually put that knowledge into practice.
And also, how screwed up was it that she and Kate had to work together to stop another psychopath when they couldn't even be in the same room without fighting? Kate refused to understand her life now, and she refused to be a part of Kate's. She couldn't be friends with someone who was such a hypocrite. Just because Mel's religion was Pagan, that didn't make it any less valid than Kate's newfound fervor for Christianity.
Mel frowned in the direction of the horizon. This was never going to work.
Haven't we saved the world enough already?
Joey joined her on the roof just as the sun began to rise. He sat down next to her without saying anything, and it occured to her that one of the reasons why she liked him was that neither of them felt the need for empty conversation. With Joey, she had space to think about what was coming. She couldn't be sure, but she would have bet money that he was thinking about Kate.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, and she indulged in a sidelong glance as she pondered him. She and Kate didn't have a choice in this fight- it was their mission. But he could've been the messenger, gotten his heart broken by the girl he'd crossed worlds to see again, and gone back home, where he'd be safe. Instead, he was on the roof.
This morning's sunrise was especially brilliant, as if somebody knew it could be their last one. A fiery red hue was spreading outward across the sky, and Mel wasn't sure if it was a good omen or a bad one. But she was smiling at it when Joey spoke.
"It's beautiful," he said quietly.
"Yeah, it's worth staying up for," she replied.
"Nothing was ever this beautiful in my world."
She didn't know what to say in response to that. They'd been to his world, and it had been a slightly more dismal version of this one. Mel turned to look critically at him for the first time since he'd arrived. His hair was a little longer than this world's version of him, and a lot more unkempt. He had a small scar along his jaw, a testament to his questionable past.
He looked lonely.
Mentally she berated Kate for choosing the boring Joey substitute over the real thing. Then she blinked and realized he was looking back at her. "You really care about her, don't you?"
He smiled, unoffended by the blunt nature of the question. "Yeah."
She chose her next words carefully, trying to balance concern with feigned disinterest. "Don't give up on her, no matter what she says. She needs somebody like you."
Joey snorted. "She already HAS somebody like me. And anyway, I thought you weren't her friend anymore."
Mel turned back to the sunrise after glaring at him in response. "I'm not."
"Then why do you care?"
She actually paused to consider the question before deciding there would never be an answer that made sense. "She... deserves you, is all. Just don't tell her I said anything."
Joey shrugged. "Okay. Thanks." Turning back toward the sun as well, he was silent for a few seconds. "All of this, it's kinda scary, isn't it?"
Mel smiled a little. "The psychopath who wants to kill us, or love?"
Joey's eyes never left the brilliant red. "Both."
"Yeah, it is."
He turned back towards her, the corner of his mouth lifted. "Which one?"
She raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Both." When he grinned at her, her expression grew serious. "Do you think we can do it, really?"
His tone was thoughtful when he replied. "I think so. You and Katie, neither of you seems to realize just how powerful you are." Mel's brow furrowed in response to that. "Personally, I think you can pull it off, and I'll do whatever I can to help."
"You know something could happen," she replied.
"I know," he shrugged. "Way I figure it, I owe it to the balance. Also, if this-" he nodded toward the sunrise, "is one of the last things I ever see, it'll be worth it."
She heard Emily looking for them downstairs then, and realized everyone else must be up. She smiled at Joey, what felt like the first real smile she'd summoned in days, and stood up. Mel gave herself one final moment to watch the sky before she re-entered the world.
And a new day dawns.