Fic: Do I Dare Disturb the Universe: Chapter 15 Time to Murder & Create III: Pinned & Wriggling pt 1
Disclaimer: You know the drill. I only own the ideas for the plot. Snow owns my soul. Yadda Yadda
34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
- Matthew 10:34 (KJV)
Chapter 15
Time to Murder and Create
Part III: Pinned and Wriggling
Original Time: T minus 6 hours 27 minutes
New Time: T minus 12 minutes
Hope stands beside The Oerban Lady, staring at Lightning's Edged Carbine. There's no denying how Hope feels about this weapon: it intimidates and terrifies him.
Hope knows exactly how lethal the Edged Carbine is in Lightning's hands. He's watched her dispatch numerous enemies as an Army of One, switching between the gun and blade with graceful fluidity. On the field, Lightning lives up to her name in both speed and lethality, yet Hope can barely steady the weapon with two hands.
It's embarrassing.
Hope tries to accept what Sazh told him about not trying to use the gunblade the way Lightning uses it, but to use it however he's comfortable. He does just that, lifting the gunblade with two hands, aiming at a distant target, and firing.
The gunblade has almost no kickback; he'll give it that for free. Hope is pleased to find that his shot managed to hit the outer edge of the target. He did better than he'd have expected, considering it was the first time he'd ever fired the weapon. One thing is certain: Lightning's Edged Carbine is perfectly balanced and aligned. All the moving parts are cleaned and oiled, allowing for smooth transition between the weapon's two modes.
Curious, Hope flicks the switch and yelps when the blade snaps out and almost tears the grip from his hand. How the hell did Lightning hold onto this thing with one hand? Hope repositions his hand to get a better grip on the weapon, but it's just too awkward and heavy for him to hold onto with one hand.
Hope has heard Lightning insist that her gunblade's balance is perfect in both modes, and he has no doubt that she's correct. After all, it's her weapon: she'd know. Still, he finds the 'Edged' part of the Edged Carbine to be unwieldy and uncomfortable. Sazh recommended he stick to the 'Carbine' half of the Edged Carbine, and it appears that once again, his friend was correct.
A flick of the switch retracts the blade, and the weapon is once again manageable for Hope. He still wishes Sazh would give him an extra fifteen minutes to retrieve his Airwing, but Hope understands that Sazh's need to leave is based not on any timetable, but on whatever he heard while he was bearing witness to Snow's torment. Hope is too afraid to ask him what it was. Sazh had already told him that he didn't think Snow would survive, and when he finally smashed his machine to bits, he'd said that he was going to get Lightning out, or die trying. He didn't mention Snow at all.
Snow's not dead. Hope refuses to believe he is, and he won't believe it until he sees Snow's cold, dead body for himself. Even then, Hope might not believe it. Not entirely.
Snow is too tough, and has survived too much to die at the hands of humans. Snow managed to defeat both Shiva sisters by himself. Everyone else in their group had at least one of their companions help them to gain control over their Eidolons. And the rest of them only had to face one Esper. Snow had to face two Espers, do it by himself, and he still managed to get them under control.
And he got a frigging motorcycle out of it too.
Smirking jerkoff.
Snow isn't dead. Hope refuses to allow him to be dead, and Lightning will absolutely kick Snow's ass if he even thinks about dying, so he better get that bullshit idea out of his head right now and be there today when Hope and Sazh show up.
Please.
"Get on board, Hope. SysCheck is done. Flight check is done. All systems are green. We're out of here."
"All right."
Hope walks up the gangway, hits the switch to retract it, closes the hatch and flips the lever down to seal it. He climbs the ladder to the cockpit and sits in the copilot seat.
"Can I fly today?"
"I don't know. Have you tried flapping your arms? I can throw you out of the airlock once we're in flight, and you can let me know if you can fly."
This is their routine. Hope pleads with Sazh to let him fly the airship every time he's aboard, and every time, Sazh comes up with a new, sarcastic way of refusing him. To be fair, Hope doesn't want to fly tonight. The weather is turning, and they have a serious and dangerous mission ahead of them. He's there as an extra set of eyes, and to man the guns if necessary.
Sazh has already promised Hope that he'll teach him to fly The Oerban Lady when he turns 16. That was the deal Sazh made with Hope's dad, and Sazh will not renege on either side of that deal. So, Hope is stuck waiting until he reaches 16 - an arbitrary age chosen by his dad - but his dad will be stuck honoring that arbitrary age once Hope's birthday comes.
Only three months to go.
"So, what's the plan, Sazh?"
"That is the question," Sazh says, like he's reciting Hamlet instead of outlining their plan for the night.
Hope huffs a sigh. "Is Operation BoomsDay still a go?"
"Oh, Operation BoomsDay is definitely happening. I'm blowing that place right to hell. Then I'm going to send more bombs to hell so I can obliterate it for good. Hell is too good for these fucking monsters."
That's the second F-bomb Sazh has dropped in the past 30 minutes, and Hope is torn between giggling like a six year old, and crying…like a six year old.
Sazh's swearing can only be a sign that he is thinking terrible thoughts.
"Snow's not dead, Sazh. I know he isn't!"
"Kid-"
"No! I don't want to hear it. You don't know him like I know him, and I know-" his voice cracks on the word, and for once, Hope is thankful for the cruelties of puberty as he can use it now to camouflage his anguish. "I know that he's alive."
Sazh slumps in his seat, eyes full of unshed tears. "Hope-"
"I don't want to hear it! There's no way that Light would let Snow just…die. She's there, so he's alive. He's there, so she's alive. I know it. They wouldn't leave me!"
Hope turns away and dashes the tears from his face. He hadn't meant to reveal so much of himself just then, but Sazh giving up and accepting Snow's death so easily is too much for Hope. Hope would never speak about his feelings for Snow - hell, he barely acknowledges that he feels anything more than irritation for him - but the truth is, over the last year, Hope has come think of Snow as the older brother he never had but always wanted. And the idea of losing him-
No.
He just can't. Hope can't lose him. He won't. He absolutely refuses to lose him, and the fact that Sazh has written Snow off without a fight-
Just. No.
Hope is going to get Snow and Lightning back. Then he's going to yell at both of them for scaring him, and making him think he lost them, and after losing Fang and Vanille, too.
After losing his mom.
He can't lose a brother after losing his mother. There's no way that Snow wouldn't come after Hope if he thought he was in trouble. If their situations were reversed, Snow would already be smashing into that camp looking for Hope. He wouldn't be listening to Sazh tell him about how Hope had no chance of surviving what those monsters did to him, so it's time to write him off; too bad, so sad!
Just no!
But of course, Sazh doesn't need Hope to explain these things to him, because he knows all about it. He understands that Light and Snow are Hope's family, because they're his family too! Just like Sazh and Hope are family.
Just like Fang and Vanille are their family, and they're all still grieving and missing them every minute of every day.
"Okay, kid. You're right. They wouldn't leave you, and we're not going to leave them."
And that is that.
"Right! So what's our plan? How are we getting them out?"
"Well, the Soldier's is going to make for Mah'Habara, which is south."
"So, we'll head for the cavern, and move north along the cliffs to rendezvous?"
"I suppose," Sazh says, laying in a course. "I just wish we had backup that could give her cover by coming in from the north."
"What about the drones?"
"You mean, the one I just smashed? Or the ones that are going to carpet bomb the camp once we pick up the soldier." Hope glares at Sazh until he adds, "And the Hero."
"So, what do we do?"
"Ain't nothing to do, Kid. I can wish for backup all I want, but if wishes were horses then we'd all be eating steak."
"What?"
"Nothin'. Just something an old space pirate said once. It stuck with me, is all. Just buckle up, we are a-go for-." The flight computer beeps at Sazh. "What the-? Did you leave the hatch open?" The question sounds like more like an accusation, and Hope responds with anger, denial and maybe a little embarrassment.
"No way!" The denial is automatic, but the truth is, Hope is not anywhere near as sure as he sounds. Did he leave the hatch unlocked? Maybe. He's rushing and distracted, a caustic pool of fear swirling and churning in his gut, eating away at him from the inside out.
Sazh gives him the hairy eyeball from the pilot seat. All parents seem to have some variation of this look. It says, 'Don't lie to me,' and 'I'm disappointed in you,' and 'what was I thinking? I could've had that motorcycle instead of a migraine,' all at once.
"Whatever happened, would you please just go seal it up so we can get out of here?" Sazh says.
Hope isn't any happier with Sazh's easy acceptance. It feels like he's still being accused of screwing up, and even though he may have, he still doesn't like it.
He spits out a, "whatever," and is out of the cockpit before Sazh can respond.
He's wrong, and he knows he's wrong, but he doesn't actually care. Anger and irritation are much easier to cope with than fear and panic, so he's going to continue being wrong if that means that he doesn't have to think about the sounds Snow was making, or if Lightning was subjected to the same or worse treatment.
Stop it. No good can come from thinking about Lightning being hurt, or Snow being dead. Focus on sealing the ship so they can take off and get their friends back.
When Hope gets to the hatch, he forgets to be angry. He forgets that he was annoyed with Sazh and himself, forgets that he was worried about Lightning and Snow. All he feels is ice cold dread.
The hatch isn't just unsealed. It's wide open, and there's no way that he and Sazh left the hatch open after boarding. Hope turns around to yell to Sazh that someone is on board with them when a hand closes over his mouth, and he's dragged backwards.
"Gotcha."
Original Time: T minus 5 hours, 32 minutes
New Time: T plus 43 minutes
Her chin hits the concrete - a bright spot of hot pain in the cold dark of the garage - and she scrabbles for any sort of purchase against the relentless backward slide. There's nothing to grab onto except the awl, so she clutches onto it, slipping it under her stolen coat, between her cast and her right cuff.
"Gotcha!" Another hand grabs her other ankle, and as she's yanked out from beneath the Skytank, she's flipped onto her back hard enough to knock the wind out of her. The handgun cracks against her tailbone in a painful reminder of its presence. "What do we have here?"
A quick glance around confirms that this man is the only other person in sight. So, he's using the royal 'we' then. What a dick!
"Who are you, then?" A large hand clamps around her throat and lifts her clear off the ground. She clutches at the thick wrist and fingers, digging her jagged nails into the calloused skin hard enough to draw blood. The big man hisses at the sting, tightening his grip on her throat until dark spots appear before her eyes. He drags her face to his and says, "Kitty's got claws. Bad kitty! Looks like you need a trip to the vet."
He smashes her against the rack, locking her left hand in the manacle before she even realizes what's happening. Panicked, she shoves her right hand behind her back, shaking it to get the awl into her hand before it's too late.
She cannot let him get her on this rack. Once both hands are pinned, she's fucked. She needs to get out of here. The bombs are falling, and Snow will be back any minute, and they can't be in this camp while Sazh carpet bombs the place, or they're both going to die. She doesn't want to die strapped to this fucking rack.
The idea of Snow finding her dead on this rack is enough to make her redouble her efforts to get loose.
"Stop squirming," he seethes, trying to snatch her other hand. She feels the awl dislodge from its hiding place and closes her hand in time to feel the metal tip against her fingers. She loosens her grip enough to let it drop through her fingers before closing her fist, and holding on for all she's worth.
"That's it!" He yells, getting a grip on her bandana and hair, and smashing the back of her head against the rack. Her vision explodes like fireworks, then grays out. There's a hand around her upper arm, maneuvering her hand out from behind her body, and for a terrifying moment, she fears she lost her grip on the awl.
Without thinking, she throws a punch at his gut, and the tip of the awl sinks into him. She pulls it out again as he screams and grabs her wrist.
"You. Fucking. BITCH!" He screams, punctuating each word with a brutal fist to her face, her ribs, her gut. She kicks him in the knee, and he goes down, never relinquishing his hold on her right hand. She kicks again, but he wraps his free arm around both her knees, effectively immobilizing all four of her limbs.
He kneels before her like a supplicant, but he still holds all the power in this confrontation. She tries shaking him off her right hand, but his grip is an iron band, and she knows the only reason she's not yowling in pain is due to the cushioning of the cast. He smashes her hand against the rack over and over again, cursing her with each strike. "Drop it, you fucking cunt!"
The awl clatters to the concrete, causing her attacker to relent in his thrashing. He burbles out a wet sound that mutates into laughter. "Oh, it's over now, girlie. You are going to be so sorry."
She feels him moving again, but she can't see what he's doing. There's a sound of metal on metal, then two clicks and he leans back, pulling and her legs spread out. He looks up at her with a chain in his hand. He secures it, mumbling, "So, so sorry."
Then he turns hate filled eyes to her and shouts, "You're going to be the sorriest piece of ass in this place when I'm through with ya." He gropes for the awl, and pulls himself upright again. "You like sharp objects, do ya?" He leans in, awl pressed against her throat before slipping downward, tracing a suggestive path over her clavicle, breasts, bouncing off each rib and coming to rest just above the waistband of her leggings. "I thought I had fun with the big guy, but you, honey? I'm going to show you a real good time."
Original Time: T minus 5 hours, 30 minutes
New Time: T plus 45 minutes
The camp is ablaze. Hope can see the light from the fires on the horizon long before they are close enough for his eyes to resolve the camp itself.
Then he sees the source of the fire, and gulps a nervous swallow despite himself.
"What if they're still in there?" Hope asks. "The fires might trap them."
"If they're still in there, and they're still breathing, then there ain't no way a little fire is going to be a problem for them. Besides, look over there." Sazh points out the port window and Hope spots a group of people trudging southward along the cliff face.
"Well, I'll be damned," Sazh mutters, then he lets out a loud whoop. It takes a few seconds for Hope to figure out what's got Sazh so excited. Then he spots the cause of Sazh's newfound good mood.
"It's him," Hope says.
There's no mistaking the big figure herding the group towards to the northern entrance of Mah'Habara. Hope would recognize that big jerk anywhere.
"Goddamn Hero," Sazh laughs. "Too damn dumb to know when he should just quit. And thank god for that."
Sazh's tone belies the cutting words. Hope can hear the relief, fondness and respect that Sazh will likely never voice. Hope understands: he'll never cop to those feelings either. Snow's insufferable enough already.
"I'm putting her down here. Let's get these fools out of the storm and get Operation BoomsDay underway. What do you say, Kid?"
Hope is out of his seat, through the ship, with his hand on the hatch seal by the time the landing gear is engaged. Eager to see his friends and make sure they're really alright, Hope is halfway out the hatch before the landing gear touches ground.
"Hey! Careful! Wait for the ship to settle before you extend the gangway!" Sazh shouts from the cockpit.
"Sorry!" Hope says without meaning it. He's not sorry at all. His friends are out there, and all Hope wants to do is get out there and make sure that they're okay.
Then he wants payback.
Hope steps out onto the gangway just as the group reaches it. He scans the unfamiliar faces for Lightning. She's not here, he thinks. Terror, anger, grief and confusion wash over him like a tidal wave. Hope meets Snow's eyes, seeking an explanation for Lightning's absence.
He doesn't get one. Instead, Snow points at him and yells, "Hope! Get these women on board, now!" before he turns around and takes off at a full sprint back towards the camp.
"Hey! Where the hell are you going?" Hope yells, angry and confused by Snow's odd behavior.
"He's going back to get Light." Hope spins around, seeking the source of the information and comes face to face with a girl who looks to be about his age.
"Light is okay?"
"Yeah. She was fine a few minutes ago. She was setting the distraction so we could get away. She should be right behind us."
The news relieves and worries Hope in equal measure. Shoving his frustration aside, Hope resigns himself to staying put to help Sazh get the hostages safely aboard the Oerban Lady and wait for Snow and Lightning to join them."Okay. Get on board, everyone. There's blankets and coats inside," Hope says, staring back at the blazing inferno on the horizon.
Time - without meaning
Place - Nowhere and Everywhere
Odin is angry. No, that's not right. He's furious.
Odin's rage bleeds out of him, leaks out of the Eidolith against his will and better judgement.
Original Time: T minus 5 hours, 27 minutes
New Time: T plus 48 minutes
He reaches for a knife, brings it to her throat, chuckling the whole time. Then he slips the blade beneath the strap of the rifle, and cuts it, letting the rifle clatter to the ground. He slips the knife down, cutting the buttons off of her stolen coat, letting it fall open around her.
"Yes, indeed. You're going to be the sorriest little whore ever, when I'm done with you," he mumbles against her throat.
So, stabbing this guy with an awl was probably not the best idea she'd ever had, but it's not like she has a lot of options.
The fine hairs on Lightning's arms prickle to attention. She feels the building static charge in the atmosphere and finally understands how wrong her assumptions about her Eidolon have been. There's nothing alien about what Odin feels as she struggles with her attacker.
Rage.
The static charge buzzing against her skin and in her mind fills the entire area, not with the smell of ozone, but the metallic taste of adrenaline. Her mouth goes dry; her stomach churns, but it is not her thirst or hunger that she feels.
Odin thirsts for blood and hungers for vengeance. And he means to have it, whether she summons him or not.
It may sound insane, but that doesn't make it less true. Lightning has always known that she and her Eidolon were connected. He's a part of her, just as she is part of him.
That is the nature of Gestalt, Odin whispers into Lightning's mind.
Original Time: T minus 5 hours 26 minutes
New Time: T plus 49 minutes
"All aboard and accounted for, Captain."
"You're a good girl. What's your name again?" Sazh asks.
"Viola. Snow asked me to keep count of everyone to make sure we didn't lose anyone in the storm."
"He's not such a dumbass, after all," Sazh declares. Hope shakes his head.
"I think he's wonderful," Viola says, with a dreamy smile on her face.
Hope rolls his eyes. Oh, brother!
His lady needs him. To hell with honor, and rules. He shall not remain idle as she is disgraced and defiled. Let him be named Outcast Oathbreaker if he must, for he shall embrace the title without shame should it be the cost for defending her. She is his Lady, and he is her Knight, and her life and honor are his to defend. Failure to do so would wound him so deeply that neither magic, nor time could ever right that wrong.
His Warrior Lord summed it up so simply: Odin would do anything for his Lady. He is the Herald of Truth, and that is his ultimate truth.
That is the nature of love.
Original Time: T minus 5 hours, 25 minutes
New Time: T plus 50 minutes
Her attacker's mouth disappears from her neck with a roar. There's a flurry of movement, an ungodly racket, and hot liquid splashing across her face. His body goes limp and slides downward only to disappear and fly backwards, crashing into and knocking down a line of Milvus Velocycles.
"Don't you fucking touch her!"
Then Snow's shaking hands cradle her face and throat, cold and comforting and so, so welcome. "God, Girl, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" She gasps for air, but it's difficult to catch her breath, suspended by one arm as she is. She reaches up with her right hand to try and take some of her weight off of her left arm, and therefore her chest, in hopes that she'll be able to suck in a full breath.
"L-Light?" Snow's voice trembles around her name, and it's the only remnant of the tremors that wracked his body only seconds before. He curls one arm around her body and lifts, taking all her weight easily. "I gotcha, baby. It's okay," he breathes. "You're fine. We're okay, now. I got you, and we're going to be just fine, now."
She presses her face into his shoulder, letting his quiet words soothe her while he unshackles her left wrist. Her hand comes loose, and he brings it to his lips to place a kiss on her palm, before closing her fingers around the top bar of the rack. "Hold onto this for a minute. I gotta get your feet. Okay?" She nods.
He drops down to his knees to unchain her legs, and she's moving before her brain engages. The pistol is out, aimed and fired before she can get the words, 'Look out!' past her lips.
Their attacker takes two rounds center mass and collapses in a heap against the far wall.
Snow yells in protest, grabbing his ear and turning wide eyes up to her. "Um…Ow!"
"Sorry."
He glances behind him at the pile of scumbag bleeding on the far side of the garage. "Yeah, well," he dismisses, continuing his task of freeing her. "Just warn a guy next time, will ya?"
"Sure." She sighs in relief as he finally frees her ankles. "Next time someone is sneaking up on you with a machete, I'll just warn you instead of shooting him."
"Okay, okay," he soothes, standing up and pulling her away from the rack and into his warm embrace. He wraps his arms around her, sighs into her hair, and quips, "No need to be grouchy."
Left hand clinging to his lapel, right hand clutching the still smoking pistol, Lightning relaxes against Snow's body. His heart beats a steady, familiar cadence that does more to calm her than any words could ever manage. "You're late," she whispers into his chest, just to have something to say.
"Uh, no! Excuse me, but I was early. You are late!"
"Yeah, I know." In desperate need of respite, Lightning allows herself this little moment of weakness. She closes her eyes, relaxes into the circle of Snow's arms and sighs, "My hero."
"Hells, yeah, Girl." He tightens his hold on her. "Always."
The revving of an engine startles her out of his arms, and both Snow and Lightning turn horrified gazes at the Skytank. Engines cold, the Skytank remains a silent, looming threat. Out of the corner of her eye, Lightning catches sight of the glow of an engine. She turns her head just in time to see an Aquila Velocycle shoot out of the now open door of the garage, and into and through the fiery inferno of the camp.
Lightning wastes no time talking; she grabs the rifle from where it fell earlier, and turns to give chase.
"Hold up! What do you think you're doing?" Snow grabs for her, but she twists, and dodges him, and chases the Velocycle out into the snow. "What the hell, Light! Don't go out there!"
She drops to one knee, lines up a shot and squeezes the trigger as something hits her in the shoulder and then thigh.
Chapter 15 Part 2