Jade, Dave, Bro, and Jack Noir all belong to Andrew Hussie, as does the plot. I just sorta filled in the emotion.
Also, this is a sequal of sorts to 'Blood of a Broken Body,' though you don't have to read that one to get the gist of this. Fair warning, there's a bit of Jade/Dave Fluff in here, which was kind of fun to write, actually. R and R? It would really make my day.
Who would have thought that an afternoon of frog hunting with Harley would be one of the best in my life? I know I didn't. And I've never been more happy to be wrong.
I could tell Jade was really into this frog stuff. And ever since I found Bro, I was trying to be more serious about this game. I was trying to be part of a team, and I'll admit, it was weird for me, working with others. But I could deal. No more messing up. No more screwing with time. No more unnecessary deaths. Because if I could prevent another death from happening, then I would, no matter what. No one was going to die if I had anything to do with it.
Long story short...I failed.
It wasn't easy, catching all the frogs, and it was made even harder by the fact that I wasn't exactly sure of what Harley was looking for. So I figured that for once in my life, I'd put my time traveling skills to some actual good, honest, productive use. Because no way in hell was I going to spend longer than an hour chasing down those frogs. Harley kept laughing at me, since whenever I tried to grab one of the little suckers it would hop away from me. I'll admit, I was getting a little frustrated, but whatever. I kept my cool.
At least I tried. I was shocked to find a small, slight, smirk on my face. I tried to wipe it off, but the harder I tried, the bigger it got, until it wasn't a smirk anymore, but a tight smile. In the back of my mind, I wondered what Bro would say, and suddenly this wave of guilt hit me, and the smile disappeared. This was neither cool, nor ironic. But Bro wouldn't be able to tell me that anymore.
It was just hard to believe that I'd never see him again.
Her laughter brought me back to reality, but the smile didn't come back. I did do a good job of keeping the guilt hidden though. Gog I love these shades. I'm just glad I had an extra pair.
There was a particular frog I was trying to catch, a green one, like jade green, kinda like the color of her eyes. Not that I've been looking. There are just a few things you notice about a person when you meet them for the first time, even if you have known them over the internet for most of your life. For me, eye color is one of them. Because I've always noticed eye color. I'm sure I don't have to explain why.
Anyway, this frog was green. And I guess I got my time loops crossed or was too distracted or wasn't paying attention, or whatever, but I sort of ran into myself. And this caused Jade to laugh even harder. And at the end of all that, the fuckin' frog got away.
We both stood up and looked at each other. Dave, the other Dave, said nothing, and I wasn't feeling talkative either, but I did notice that certain finger raised in my direction. It was rather amusing, and completely ironic, and Jade was still laughing, and maybe I laughed a little too. Ironically, of course. And I'll admit it, I was having a good time. Harley was good company. And me, the Knight of Time, didn't even realize that almost two hours went by. In our defense, we didn't spend the entire time chasing frogs. We talked a bit too, and joked around. And Harley called me "bro," and it was both ironically funny and entirely painful, all at the same time. Because she didn't know, and I didn't tell her. I just shrugged it off and pretended it didn't mean anything.
She tried to make a playful grab for my sunglasses. I imagine she wanted to take them and run, but Striders don't take their glasses off. So I held them securely to my face and took her glasses instead, and I ran, and she chased me. And it was kind of fun. Ironically, of course. I let her catch up to me, and she blindly tackled me, because damn, she really needs those things to see. I lost my balance, and we both went down into the long grass while a frog jumped out of the way. She ended up next to me, searching for her glasses to no avail.
"Where are they?" She said laughing. "Give them to me!"
"Uh...Jade? They sorta broke." I told her.
"What?
"They snapped when we went down. Sorry, Harley."
"Oh no!" She said gravely. "I can't see! What am I going to do?"
I couldn't contain my ironic laughter then, so I said, "I'm kidding! Here." I carefully slipped the glasses over her eyes, whole, and perfect, and flawless, safe in my hands the entire time.
She blinked a few times, then smiled. "Don't joke with these! I have to carry at least 5 computers on my person at all times, like any other sensible person!"
I rolled my eyes, which of course, she couldn't see, so I said. "Geeze Harley," and then I smiled involuntarily. We stayed like that for a moment, looking at each other, lying still. And then someone said, "Ribbit!" and this stupid frog appeared right between us, so that I could barely see her at all, and then suddenly we were both lunging for the thing at the exact same time. And even though there were two of us, it still managed to get away. Harley and I locked eyes for a second, her smiling, and me smirking, before we both sprung up and chased the frog, in sync with each other.
We never did catch the frog. I forget exactly what happened that distracted us. I think it was when Harley tripped and I stopped to help her up. Or maybe it was when she tried to take my aviators again. I can't remember. The point is, I wasn't very good at this frog chasing stuff. And I honestly think that the frogs didn't like me. There had to be a reason why they kept hopping away.
I almost wish it could have stayed that way. But hell just had to break loose.
We had taken a break on the frog thing. Just her intewalking around and talking for awhile, joking a bit. She called me "bro," once more, and I started shutting down. I didn't respond, pretended I hadn't noticed, because I knew her intentions were good. I just didn't want to think about it right now. So I was silent for awhile, until she noticed and started talking about something else. I don't remember what. Harley just rattled on about whatever, and I nodded along and pretend to listen, too cool to pay attention, staring straight ahead with an unreadable expression, just like Bro taught me. But I guess some part of me was listening, because I definitely noticed when she dropped off mid-sentence. I looked at her, wondering what was wrong. But she wasn't looking at me. She was looking beyond me. Her eyes were wide and full of fright, and in them I saw the reflection of a beast.
I whirled around, following her gaze, almost disbelieving my own sight. But he was there, hovering over the volcano, like some sort of weird hallucination from a half remembered dream. And I could almost catch the scent of my brother's blood hanging in the air.
And suddenly, there was a rage building inside of me, a rage burning hotter then the red of my eyes.
My brother's killer stood before me.
My chance of revenge had presented itself.
There was only a slight tremor of my hands as I equipped my blade, anticipating - no - eager for the bloodshed.
"You're going to pay, Noir." I whispered.
Behind me, I heard Jade click the safety off of her gun. Me, I bent my knees and held my sword up. It was a dare. My stance was a dare to him, telling him to come after me, to own up to what he did. To my surprise, he complied with one beat of his powerful wings, the wings that were so similar to Davesprite's. Except he was missing one. Because of Noir.
Let him come, I thought. I was ready.
He landed only feet from us, and I charged. I'll admit, I wasn't thinking straight. The anger was getting to me, along with the grief. And damn it, he was not going to get away with his cold blooded murder. I wasn't thinking straight, and my blocks were sloppy, and my jabs were off, and the thing almost killed me, like, seven times. And he was so much stronger than I was used to. Stronger than Bro, which was a thought my mind just couldn't process then. And suddenly he was going faster and faster, and I couldn't keep up, and then his blade was only inches away from my face, getting closer all the time, and the only thing slowing it down was the sword that I wielded. But it wasn't enough, he was stronger than me.
I backed up, hoping to gain some ground, regroup, refocus. But I tripped, and I fell, and fuck this, I wanted to start this thing over, 'cause right now I looked so stupid it wasn't even ironic. Noir towered over me, raised his blade to the peaceful blue sky - such a contrast I couldn't even believe - and I raised mine, prepared for the blow I probably wouldn't be able to block, and I stupidly closed my eyes, then opened them again, because if I had to die, it would be in the coolest way possible.
My eyes were trained on the steel above me. He started bringing it down, and it was happening so fast, and so slow, and all I could do was watch, like I was watching some dumb-ass medieval movie, seeing the ignorant sidekick get slain because of his stupidity. Because I already knew somebody would die today. I just didn't think it would be me.
And then Harley stepped in front of me and I almost screamed for her to get out of the way, but Jack stopped, and it was like whoever was watching the movie put on the pause button, because Jack just stared at Harley, and Harley, she had more guts then I ever gave her credit for. Because his sword was inches away from slicing her neck, and Harley, she just stared at Jack. And I stared at the both of them, dumbstruck, because he was the enemy. He was the enemy, but he hadn't, he wouldn't kill her.
Whoever had the remote must've put on the play button again, because then I scrambled to my feet, and Jade pointed the ass-kicking end of her gun at Noir. And Noir backed away, like he was afraid of her. Afraid of hurting her.
My thoughts cleared, and I was able to control the anger enough to think straight. I started strategizing, seeing that all of Noir's attention was on Jade. I thought maybe if I was able to sneak off to the side, a surprise attack would catch him off guard. So I moved, slowly, trying to be as quiet as I could, but damn all the frogs, because I accidentally stepped on one, the green one from before, and it let out the loudest croak it possible could as it hopped away from me. And then Jack wasn't eying Jade. His gaze was locked on me, a sinister sneer pasted on his face, and he started to take a step towards me.
Harley moved over so that she was in front of me again, and Noir stopped and stepped back, and I realized that Harley was protecting me, and I don't know if it was possible for me to feel even guiltier, but if it was then I did. Because I hadn't even thought of her up 'till now, because all I thought about was Noir and how angry I was at him, and Jade was protecting me. Protecting me. Like I should have been protecting her.
Like I should have protected Bro.
Gunshots rang out through the air, jolting me out of my thoughts, and I was able to watch as they harmlessly passed through him. "Alright," I said, though no one was really listening. "You got your tricks, I got mine." I closed my eyes and concentrated, manipulating the seconds, the minutes, changing time itself. And by the time I opened them, there were four other Daves wreaking havoc down on Noir, havoc that he deserved. I smirked, ironically of course, and joined them, while Harley stood nearby looking lost. Because if she tried shooting Jack, there was a chance she'd hit one of me, and I knew she didn't want that.
It was only somewhat easier to battle Noir with four other Striders, but I'd take what I can get. It was unnerving, though, seeing how quickly he bested the others. My own blood spattered onto me as I jumped out of the way. I landed by Jade, who started unloading bullets as soon as all the Daves were cleared out. I rose with my blade in hand and said, "This is just unfair." I was trying to keep my cool, but there's only so much cool you can keep when your sweating from exertion. And maybe even from a tiny bit of fear. I mean, what the hell was this thing?
"Bad Bec!" Jade said. The bullets did nothing to him, but she fired all the same. "Bad, bad dog!" She took a step forward and Noir crept back, and I took up a defensive position, looking for a good move, a way in so we could kill this bastard. And I kept thinking of my brother's body, murdered, maimed, useless. And that's when I felt the first one.
I probably should have expected it, but I didn't. I should have known this would happen as soon as I figured out he wouldn't hurt Jade, as soon as I saw the bullets pass through him. Maybe on some level I did, but there was nothing I could do, even if I had predicted this, so why bother worrying about it? And I saw Noir change from black to green, heard the flap of his wings from behind me. And maybe I knew this was coming, but I didn't want to accept it. Because I knew somebody would die today. I just didn't think it would be me.
The first bullet ripped through my skin, taking me by surprise. I looked down, saw the blood running down my shirt, and I was confused. Confused of all things! Because the pain hadn't registered yet. The second bullet came, and then I began to piece things together. And then I felt the burn, the sting, the blood as I raised my hand to the wound. And two bullets would have been just fine with me, but then a third one had to come, and a fourth, and a fifth, and then I lost count, because it felt like my chest was about to cave in, and it was all I could do to scream her name in a weakened plea, begging for it to stop.
"Jade!" Did that voice really belong to me? Did I honestly sound that fragile?
She stopped, and she turned, and she looked in horror at the bloody mess that was me. Her eyes met my shades, and I knew that she understood. She did this. I felt my knees give out, felt myself go down, saw her rush forward to catch me, felt her cradle me in her arms, heard her say she was sorry, she was so, so, so sorry, that she didn't mean for this to happen.
"It's not your fault, Harley." I said. It came out as a whisper, but I know she heard me. "Couldn't...couldn't have done anything. It's...my fault. Wasn't thinking…" Jegus, why was it so hard to breath?
For some reason, I found myself playing with the grass, twirling it with my fingers. My hand brushed something cool and hard, and I picked it up. It was a bullet, dented from my bones and stained with my blood. How something so small could cause so much damage, so much pain, was beyond me. I clenched my hand, enclosing the bullet in my fist, even though it hurt.
"...so, so sorry. Dave, please be okay. Please!" Jade had been talking the entire time, and I noticed the first tear fell when she saw the bullet. She was crying for me, something that was as foreign to me as the concept of death itself.
Her fingers wrapped around the arm of my shades, and she started to slide them off. I tried to protest, but...I just didn't have it in me anymore. The shades, the mask. They both came off. She gasped and I saw her eyes, full of shock.
"I know." I whispered, as I turned slowly away and shut my eyes. "They're hideous."
"No." she said, and she gently placed her fingers near my temple, turning my head so that I would look at her again. "No. They're beautiful." And I knew she meant it. Because I could see the honesty in her eyes.
And it was my turn to be shocked. Because I had always been ashamed of the color of my eyes. No one had ever called them beautiful. No one ever even came close to.
I fingered the grass again, feeling the coolness of it, the green. It was never this green by the apartment. Why had I never seen grass so green before? And the sky was a brilliant blue. Why had I never noticed it before? And the sun. I don't think I have ever, in my life, seen the sun without my shades. It was beautiful here, truly stunning, and I couldn't help but thinking, maybe it was okay. Maybe I didn't mind dying here, in a place so beautiful. Because if it had to happen like this, I can't think of a better place to end my life. I only wish that I had noticed everything sooner. Why do the things that never seem to matter become so important in the face of death?
My only regret was leaving Harley, because I knew what it felt like to be left alone with the guilt, and she didn't deserve that. Because I didn't blame her. She didn't kill me. If anything, I killed myself, so consumed by the anger and the guilt over my brother's death. And I didn't want the same thing to happen to Harley. I didn't want to leave her alone. But there were dark spots in my vision, and they were only growing darker, and dammit, why was it so hard to breath?
I reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and she held my hand to her face. "Please don't die, Dave. Please." she begged. "I don't want to be alone. I'm so sorry, Dave. Please don't die." her voice was soft and soothing, like a lullaby. Like the last thing a child hears before he drifts off into his dreams, into a better place then the nightmare of reality.
I stroked her cheek with my thumb. "Don't worry Harley," I said, taking in another painful breath. "We'll be okay. The both of us." The last thing I saw was her small, sad smile, and the brilliant green of her teary eyes.