A/N: Okay, so it's time for me to try some AU fiction. This one is rather special to me because it is based on an original screenplay that I wrote a while ago. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to acquire the resources I needed to make it happen. The story got too big. But I have been itching on this one for years so I decided to try something different for once. I threw out my original characters and inserted the people of Victorious as the inhabitants of my world.
This will be epic in every sense of the word. And I hope that these beloved characters will make it easier for you to come with me on this journey. As always, please leave your feedback and I do like to see who favorited or is following. And those of you who want to take the trip, believe me, it gets spectacular!
The alley was freezing.
Jade believed that the cold ground would help numb the pulsating pain behind her neck.
It didn't.
Her vision was blurring; the only thing she could focus on was the growing pool of crimson before her.
When she finally passed out from the intensity of the agony, it felt as though the earth was giving way from beneath.
Jade West didn't want to die but her body had other plans.
Jade West was curled up in her bed, sleeping soundly. She rolls over and slowly opens her eyes. Gripping the alarm clock, her face grows grim fast.
"Oh shit!"
She gets up in a whirlwind, scrambling for clothes and shoes. Half dressed, Jade stumbles into the hallway and bumps into her little sister Mira.
She's rubbing her eyes just getting up herself. "What's going on, Jade?"
"We're late, that's what's going on. Get dressed. Now."
"I didn't shower yet."
"You'll shower tonight."
"What about breakfast?"
"Uh, I'll think of something…" Jade's words fade as she dashes out of sight and soon out of earshot.
Mira and Jade are in their usual spot on the back of the city bus.
"Jade?"
"What?"
"You need to get a new clock."
The eldest West rubs her head which is throbbing from getting up too fast. "Hey guess what?"
"What?"
"Shut up."
Jade's attention is on a tall man looking intently back at her. He barely blinks. She tries to look somewhere else and ignore him when the bus screeches to a halt in front of Warren G. Harding Middle School.
Mira gets up to leave.
"Hey!"
She runs back and Jade discreetly gives her some money.
"For lunch."
"Thanks." Mira's face remains neutral as she runs off the bus.
The tall man rises and walks over to Jade, all while not breaking eye contact. He sits beside her.
He leans close to Jade. "Getting big. What is she, eleven?"
If Jade could stab a man with her eyes, now would be the time to find out. "Why don't you cut the cute talk and tell me what the hell you want, Carl."
"Just checking up on you two." Carl holding up his hands as if being interrogated.
"Look, tell Bernardo that I don't need his protection."
"Now you know he sees you guys as family. And boss takes care of his own"
"I know what he really wants."
"Speaking of which," Carl eyes a portfolio in Jade's grasp. "How's the job hunt coming?"
"I'm actually on my way to an interview, like you didn't know."
Jade stands to pull the stop chain and the conveyance slows down noisily. She looks down on Carl.
"Tell him that I don't like being under surveillance. You're worse than the cops."
Carl smiles. "Just be careful, Jade. It's dangerous out there."
Her eyes narrow and she makes sure to show as much teeth as possible when she spoke. "You would know. Now piss off."
Jade always hated running into one of the gangsters. Particularly, her dad's old partner and best friend. It always caused that memory to flow back like a tidal wave.
A seven-year-old Jade had a bad dream and went downstairs in their spacious brownstone. The stairs led right into the kitchen where she got a glass of lemonade. She liked that she was able to reach the counter and cabinets now, albeit with a stepping stool.
A commotion in the living room just outside the swinging door. Jade pushes it open slowly and is so transfixed by what she sees she doesn't realize that she is no longer just peeking but is standing in the living room.
Gregory West held a bearded man's mouth shut. He was quite strong so with one arm he was able to restrain the stranger. At first, Jade thought that daddy stopped a mean burglar.
That was until what happened next.
Mr. West pulled out a switchblade from his back pocket with his free hand. He uses the shiny blade along the man's chest like a map's compass. He grins when he finds the spot he's looking for and with surgical precision, goes on to perform a fully conscious vivisection. The bearded man howled and shrieked and eventually gurgled like the sound of someone drowning.
DDDAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDEEEE EEEEE!
The scream from his first born snaps West out of it and his face is overcome with both horror and anger.
"Get the hell out of here, Jadelyn! Go!"
"Daddy! Stop! Please, stop it!"
Jade opens her eyes and sees the walls of the neighboring buildings that made up the alley. This time the freezing cold was much more mild. Almost muted.
She fought for her life and won. But it was a victory savored in the blink of an eye. She felt behind her neck and the wound was still there. Pain was gone. So was the blood.
Her body got very tense over that second revelation.