Title: Under Wicked Sky
Author: rachelAbendstern (aka abendstern1601, amaranth)
Characters: Ben, Alec
Summary: Ben's been praying for the same thing for the last ten years. This night, the Lady will answer his prayers.
Disclaimer: All things Dark Angel belong to James Cameron and Co., I'm just using their playground for my own recreation =)
Spoilers: Pollo Loco, kind of.
Author's note: I know, I should be writing on something else. And before the questions come up:
In this little AU world, the S1 ep 'Pollo Loco' didn't happen, so Max doesn't know her brother is reenacting their first Manticore manhunt. Thus, when Alec gets arrested during S2 'Hello, Goodbye' for his twin's crimes, Max leaves him with the police for Ames White to find. Whether she really believes he is responsible for the murders or doesn't want to acknowledge Ben's culpability, you can decide on your own. It doesn't really come up in this story.
Manticore still knew about Ben's psychosis and, even though they never caught up with him, made sure Alec didn't share his brother's instability.
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~ Under Wicked Sky ~
Lay beside me, under wicked sky
The black of day, dark of night, we share this paralyse.
The door cracks open, but there's no sun shining through.
Black heart scarring darker still, but there's no sun shining through.
(The Unforgiven II, Metallica)
Chapter One
Seattle is unpleasant this time of year. Ben doesn't know what drew him here.
Freezing, but not cold enough that the snow stays on the ground. And in the partly frozen over but mostly muddy sludge that is left in its wake, it's hard to camouflage footsteps or tire tracks, especially in the wilderness.
Still, he stays away from the settlements that night, keeps his human contact to a factor of zero. Hides out in the woods while the world is too bright with little blinking lights and an ocean of false smiles. He has made an offering already a few days ago, praying for what he always prays after giving Her strength. Let me be strong enough, he whispers to Her. Let the loneliness end.
She hasn't answered him yet. Not this time and not any other time before. But She has kept him safe during the last eleven years, all this time; safe from Manticore, safe from his childhood nightmares, and he can't afford to stop believing in Her. The world around him doesn't make any sense, there's no set rules that he can follow, no rhyme or reason to the insanity that is human life. If he stops believing in Her, he will go insane. The Lady, though, is a hard taskmaster and sometimes makes it difficult to have faith in Her.
Tonight, the world celebrates the arrival of Her son. Ben isn't interested in a messiah. He doesn't need anyone to wash away his sins. He needs someone to keep the nomlies away.
There's no reason why he should be outdoors this time of night, in this ghastly weather. Restlessness urges him to move, however, so he abandons the haven he has set up for himself when coming here the day before and treks through the silent, dark, deep woods without aim.
The sound of tires up ahead, pulling to a stop has him flying for cover underneath heavy brushwork.
A car door creaks open and slams shut. Footsteps, light and sure, predatory. Sounds of a key sliding home into another door, opening the trunk this time.
A shadow hidden in the underbrush, he creeps closer, careful to stay out of sight, out of hearing range, moving into the wind.
Something heavy and yielding hits the ground, and now there's soft whimpering, almost too low to hear. And a voice, dark in a way that has nothing to do with cadence, dangerous and sneering.
"Time to say good-bye, 494," it says, "and this time for good!"
And then there is the familiar click of a safety coming off.
Beneath the bushes Ben hesitates for only the fraction of a second. A glimpse of green eyes, dark blond hair and a connection that is suddenly just there, and he leaps out of his hiding place, steers the gun away from its intended target at the last moment before it goes off with a resounding bang.
It's harder taking possession of the gun than it ought to be, but when the man catches sight of his unexpected attacker he looks askance, steeling a startled glance at the huddled mess on the ground and that's it; the only opening he needs and he takes it, takes the gun and – using the momentum to his advantage – takes the shot because he knows better than to play with this strong an opponent if he wants to come out on top. Ben has been trained as a soldier and he is a good one.
The stranger's eyes show nothing but surprise as he crumples to the forest floor, the hole between his eyes innocuously small. The hole in the back of his head is another matter.
He takes the time to position the body, takes his arm and (crack) arranges that as well. There's a small branding on the soft flesh of the man's inner arm, two snakes winding and intertwining around some sort of staff. Taking his teeth takes a little longer, but he has practice by now. She brought him here, sent him this gift tonight of all nights even though he doesn't understand what to do with it yet. It is only appropriate to present Her an offering to show his gratitude.
He won't be able to do the tattoo on his prey's neck. That, however, is more for him than for Her anyway. Ben likes to think of it as signing his artwork (there's another reason, buried in the deepest recesses of his mind, but he never thinks about it too much, doesn't acknowledge it). And he doesn't know whether the stranger believed in Her, but he was strong and that makes him a worthier choice than many.
He still doesn't know what She wants him to do with his gift as he steps away from his offering toward the other body on the ground. The other doesn't move, didn't move during the small amount of time it took for Ben to complete his task, although he could feel the eyes staring at him all throughout. Familiar eyes. Identical to his own.
'494' the man has called him. 'Little brother' then, Ben decides, if they did the logical thing and just kept counting when they implanted the designation into their creations' DNA in the form of those bar codes on their necks.
He kneels down, examines the face he sees in the mirror every day, oddly discolored from fresh and fading bruises, flushed by a fever that shouldn't be. They were bred to be untouchable by disease. Fever-bright eyes slowly focus on him, and he sees 494's throat working, trying to form words.
"493," his twin croaks through abused vocal chords.
"Ben," he corrects, brushing blood and sweat matted hair out of a scorching hot forehead with unintentional tenderness.
"Yeah," 494 sighs, eyes sliding out of focus before he forces them back on him. "Ben." Something in his voice tells Ben this isn't the first time his twin has heard his name. He doesn't know how he feels about that.
"Do you have a name, 494?"
He's curious about this twin of his. Manticore never told him he has an actual brother, blood of his blood. But then, he was only nine years old when he got out of that place. The bad place, echoes in his thoughts, unbidden pictures of memories scratching at the surface of his mind.
There's a curious glint in the other man's eyes. Like he wants to laugh over a joke Ben's not privy to. "Alec."
Alec; a good name. A strong name. Alexander was the name of a great king in ancient times.
So what does She want him to do? What are Her plans for Alec? Does he even know he's been brought here, to his brother, by Her?
He can't help but ask, "Do you believe in the Blue Lady, Alec?"
"Blue Lady?" Confused green eyes look up at him and Ben can tell his brother has no idea what he's talking about. "What Blue Lady?"
Is it possible that Alec has never even heard of Her? Ben supposes it is. Manticore never encouraged them to have faith in a higher power, in someone who watches out for them. Had they known that the old black man back then has given them something to hold onto, there's no telling what may have happened. His siblings and he knew that instinctively, that's why they always kept Her a secret. Ben doesn't believe Manticore has changed its methods in the last ten years.
Alec's gaze has wandered off again, unfocused eyes trying to take in his surroundings while his hands keep futilely testing the bonds Ben only now notices around his wrists. Around his ankles too. His twin, he realizes, this gift the Lady has given him, is completely at his mercy. Weak from illness and injuries and ill treatment, with bound hands and feet, Alec has no ability to fight back if Ben wants to kill him. Suddenly he doesn't think that's what the Lady wants at all.
If She wanted Alec for an offering (one of the same magnitude as Abraham's son Isaac, only there would be no angel to stop Ben), she would have sent him to Ben as an opponent, able to fight, maybe even able to beat Ben. Sending him to Alec's help, though, saving his brother from this man who wanted to kill him...
Alec truly is a gift to him and Ben feels his gratitude deepen even more. The loneliness has gnawed on him for over a decade. Can he keep Alec, that loneliness has come to an end after all these years. Hope cuts through Ben like a knife, sharp, painful and exhilarating. She has finally answered his prayers.
He doesn't hesitate anymore. He stoops down to undo his brother's bindings; cuts through the rough rope, black with old blood, with the K-bar he always carries when the knots won't give, while Alec watches him with a frown on his face.
They have to displace, get away from this clearing. There is no telling who is able to trace them here, who is waiting for that man to come home, but that isn't his main concern, although he knows it should be.
Ben has set up base in one of Her houses, an old abandoned house of worship that's far enough from the nearest town that it may as well be in the back end of nowhere. Part of the eastern wall is fallen in, and most window panes are broken. Nevertheless, Alec will need time to heal, even with an X5's genetic make-up, and the house, drafty and rundown as it may be, still has to be better than the freezing and mucky forest ground.
Making up his mind Ben drapes one of Alec's arms across his neck and carefully hoists his twin up into his arms. It is clear that Alec is clinging to consciousness by the tips of his fingernails. While his hold on Ben automatically tightens a fraction, Alec's head is lolling on his shoulder in a way that suggests he isn't quite aware of what's happening to him. He can't suppress a pained groan at the jostling of undoubtedly broken ribs.
Ben frowns when he feels the ridge of his brother's spine press against his flesh. Even as skinny as Alec feels in his arms, he can't guess how long his twin has been in that stranger's clutches. X5's, for all that they are able to survive longer without food than ordinary humans, have a high metabolism which leaves them looking starved after only a few days of malnourishment.
He has to use the car to get Alec back to his safe-house, so he drives, his twin tucked into the back seat and carefully folded up because his limbs are just too long for the small interior. He is cautious to adhere to the speed limit, doesn't want to draw attention, and, once he has settled his brother, he will cover their tracks, abandon the vehicle on a lonely road somewhere as far away from them as he can manage.
Alec was the Lady's gift to Ben, and Ben won't let anyone take his brother away from him.
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to be continued...