Disclaimer: I just own the plot.
Authoress's NoTE:
Planning to get back into ff-net-ing and this is kinda the start. This will probably be the only thing I'll work on until it's done (and there is a sequel in planning stage.)
I'm trying this new thing out to get me motivated to lyk, finish chaps and update on time. So everytime I update, I'll add a pic to my dev-art account (now that I finally hav my TABLET ~
I'd also really, really appreciate it if you have any characs or concepts that I could re-draw in my own style - full credit to you will be given and shit, but sometimes i need lyk, a purpose to draw and my usual concept machine (aka friend) is kinda not rsvp-ing. I will totally give u credit and provide links to whatever the original was.
So here's the link for Gray! Portrait:
http : // gawjuss-airhead . deviantart . com / art / FLAWLESS-01-G-107615699
Just take out the spaces.
The main thing about this fic is that it's really a PLOT!fic, so if you're looking for romance and getting together fluff, you're not gonna find it. I mean, just as a warning, there will be (C+G)(JxG)(JxM) but apart from (JxM) none of them are really important.
So think of this as a waiting-for-NY-countdown ficlet! And happy pre-NY, and happy NY when it actually happens. Much love~ and thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed, and those who didn't review but liked my fics anyway. you guys so don't know how many warm fuzzies i get from reviews (me = review whore)
WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER:
Mild violence, mild OOC-ness...oh, and swearing. Expect that one throughout the fic. Oh, and creepily long prologue, promises that next chapters will be a heck lot shorter.
F L A W L E S S
00: P R O L O GU E
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Smack.
With a burst of speed, Liena shoves past the soldier, knocking his head back against the wall of the tunnel.
Behind her, she can hear the guy swearing, in some language she doesn't recognize – Gray would recognize it, she figures, it's her brother that's good with all those words and numbers and shit. Even without nobody teaching him anything.
She's more of a fight-first-talk-later type.
He's catching up now, she can hear his heavy-duty boots as they hit sand and his voice is getting louder. Fuck.
I'm faster, she reckons, but he's the one with food in stomach, with place to sleep every night, nice equipment and she's the one scavenging for anything edible, the one who can't even daydream of a good night's sleep.
The footsteps are growing louder and she rounds the corner, trying to keep up the speed she's going at. She can't last for much longer and this is a one-way route.
Sooner or later, he's gonna catch up or they'll reach the end, she'll be cornered and then. Bam. End.
She rounds another corner (shit, almost at the end) and then she stumbles and falls.
Can't die here, can't fucking die he-
Her hands push against the ground, and fuck, pain, fucking hell, her right angle feels like it's on fire and then she looks down. Twisted at the very least, but looking at it, at how it's at a sort of angle that should be impossible, probably broken.
No chance now.
….damnit.
Scuffle. Scchh.
Time's up. Nowhere to run.
Bang.
…still alive? She looks up, platinum blonde hair, pale arms quivering, gun in hands.
Something's rumbling, Liena looks up, at the top of the tunnel and – no, shit, no, it's caving in the tunnel, the rocks, the san-
She turns back, and just as she does, air whooshes past her ear, less than a centimetre away and she watches as the bullet hits the soldier in his right kneecap, watches a second shot hit him the jaw, and the third, square in the forehead before he collapses onto the sand, eyes wide open.
"Gr-"
Liena Grace Vincent turns back, the corner of her eye glimpsing a flash of green before…
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B L A C K O U T
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Gray's already halfway there, gun dropped carelessly on the floor (no more bullets anyway), right shoulder dislocated from the recoil but it's too late.
He watches, almost in slow motion as the tunnel begins to crumble, watches that rock hit her head, her eyes roll back and her body, kneeling on the ground crumples like as easily as paper.
Doesn't give up anyway.
His scrawny arms heave and tug and the too-heavy boulders, his voice, unused shouts hoarsely for his sister (fear of discovery as long flown far, far away) refusing to give up. \
Won't ever give up.
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N E V E R
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Finally, he manages to dislodge enough of the debris to get to her.
Her ankle is completely mangled and there are fresh cuts on her bare arms and legs and there's blood trickling down from the back of her head, seeping through her honey blonde hair.
"L, L – Liena – can you hear me?"
Her face stares back at him, her eyes still wide open.
No. No way. Not happening.
"L, L!" "It's me, c'mon, sis, wake up!"
No response.
"Please, c'mon, please, anything," he shoves his fingers under her jawbone, trying to find anything, anything resembling a heartbeat.
Nothing.
Not one fuc-
Wait. His breath hitches. His fingers press harder against the spot and – there it is! Sigh of relief. Too close. She's still alive, still alive.
He can't help it, this is insane, can't help the tears that trickle down his face or how his mouth keeps talking, keeps whispering 'thank you,' over and over again or how his arms wrap around Liena so tightly as if he's trying to merge the two of them together.
Doesn't even notices as blood trickles from her hair onto his hands.
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H O P E
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Days go by.
The only entrance that Liena knows is sealed, by the rocks and sand that have fallen since the cave-in.
Gray knows the other way though.
He's never told her, not because he didn't want to but because there would be no point. The only other way out, out to the tunnels, then the surface, and eventually food and water is a small tunnel, starting at his shoulder blades and ending above his head.
It's too small for most people.
Maybe a small child.
But he's skinnier than his sister, and he doesn't have the figure that she has, he still looks like a stick insect and he's also more flexible. That's just the way things are.
Eventually, he figures he's going to have to leave. Find food. Water. Do what she was meant to do three days ago. But not yet, he doesn't want to leave her yet. Feels wrong, unsafe. Maybe later.
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T O M O R R O W
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The sun is so bright outside.
And so hot.
But that's not important, right now. No, what's important is that dumbass bird he sees there. Shuffling around without a care in the world, or a thought in its head, he thinks.
It's local, him and L, they used to chase the fat birds down the streets back then but things have changed, streets don't exist and the bird's scrawny as heck but it's still food.
He crouches down, ignoring the sun beating down on its back and takes closer look from behind a pile of stone and splintered wood.
The bird toddles towards him.
It pauses for a second and that's all Gray needs before he lunges forward and it…disappears?
What the f-
Click.
He falls back an-
BANG.
Everything's alright. Not hurt. But why? What kind of explosion doesn't harm unless it's –
Thump. Thump. "OVER THERE! SECTOR 094!!"
A signal.
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R U N
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He's ahead of them, for now.
But it's not just some look-out, it's a whole group of them, and even though he's a heck lot faster there's only so much he can do.
Reached the tunnel. Crawls in, head hitting the roof with every movement and he wonders if this is how Liena felt before she blacked out.
Bang.
Sounds like gunshots. Just firing randomly. Begs whoever's out there for them not to notice the tunnel. Probably will. Maybe they'll think it's too small for anyone to fit through.
Bang.
Bang.
Out of the tunnel. Next to L now, deep breaths, don't panic, don't panic, two lives, he says to himself, not just looking after myself, in charge of two lives now.
He can hear the voices clearly now, the footsteps have stopped. They're probably in front of the tunnel, debating over whether to look into it or not.
Not here, please, not here.
His ears pick up a few phrases, he knows the basics just from past experience. He hears, something like 'impossible' and 'sandrat' and a combination of swear words that he doesn't quite know the meaning of.
Then he hears it. Blow up.
They can't, L's here and she-can't-bloody-move and – no choice.
Better him than her.
"Here," he shouts out before he chickens out, not even sure if the group of soldiers can make out the words with his thick accent (he's never tried to speak it before), "Out." "I come."
The reaction is instant.
And before he can even move, a gun is shoved through the tunnel, one of those snipers, and a faceless figure snarls a "No need," at him and before they fire.
Ban-Slam.
Out of nowhere, a boulder slams into the figure and another one follows. Again and again and again.
More of them, flying through the air, straight at the soldiers as if they have designated targets like real weapons and shit, Liena.
He turns around and looks at her, but something's different, there's this sort of…feeling, this strange atmosphere around her and her eyes are closed. It shouldn't matter, but somehow this seems very, very important.
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W H A T ?
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Eventually it stops. The miracle of the flying rocks.
But the feeling doesn't.
It grows stronger, and stronger and suffocating him until he feels like he's going to throw up what he digested two week ago. Food's getting harder to find.
Can't do that, he thinks as he looks up at the only other way out, the small tunnel now fully blocked with boulders. Have to keep anything I've eaten down.
There are gaps in the walls around him now, and he's careful not to touch anything, this place isn't exactly solid and having the place cave in around him isn't exactly a good thing. For both of them.
This time, there's no way out.
He figures in a few days, he'll probably be gone, and Liena's still here but not hereand he doesn't know if she'll be okay.
No amount of luck will help them now.
He closes his eyes and squeezes her hand tightly. Nothing to do except for…
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W A I T
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Bang. Bang. Bang. Boom.
Green eyes open and Gray's body jolts, as if hit with electricity; his dislocated shoulder with it's own performance of first-class pain and agony.
The rocks and sand that have fallen with Lienna are gone, replaced by a group of outsiders.
All of them are masked, white masks that look like distorted animals, and even though he can only see two holding weapons, he figures there are probably more.
Not that he can actually see how many of them they are.
His vision is blurry. Something must've gotten into his eye. Or maybe it's just one of those spells he gets.
"I'm not going to hurt you."
"Like hell you're not," he manages to snarl back, before something hits him. One, that right then and there, he sounded just like Liena and two, the outsider just spoke to him in…
….local?
The outsider says something else, and the visibly armed two lower their weapons.
"See?"
Every part of Gray screams that this is a trap, some sort of twisted little game but he plays anyway and doesn't look away, even when the central figure gets closer.
"What do you want?"
A gloved hand removes the mask. Dark hair, light eyes and skin almost as pale as his own.
"I'm Joshua."
The gloved hand reaches out, stopping just short of Gray's own hand, dirty and skeletal in comparison to the sheer white glove in front of him.
"I want to help you."
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R&R everybody. Tell me what you think!