Outcasts and Outlaws
Volume 4, Chapter 2
Evil Lurking
So, I love this chapter. Maybe it'll turn out to not be as funny as I think, but I had a blast writing it and I think that's what matters. Enjoy it, and get ready for some action next time!
It was late in the evening, the moon shining above the city of Vale. In a car park behind an industrial HQ, a businessman fell to the ground, his case breaking open as it hit the concrete. He sat there and looked up at the person who had pushed him as the floodlights pointed down onto the car park. The person wore a black pinstriped suit with a red shirt underneath and was pointing his finger at the man, shaping his hand like a gun. The glint of a sniper flashed on the nearby rooftop, unseen by the man on the ground. On the roof, a red haired woman wearing black leather clothing was kneeling down and holding a large sniper rifle in her hands, one finger on the trigger while a thin wire attached to the palm of her other hand. A part of the rifle extended up to her face, a robotic scope being held up in front of her eye as she looked down the barrel of the main scope.
The man in the pinstriped suit pointed his gun shaped hand at the three floodlights, each of the bulbs breaking as if shot as he did so. He then pointed his finger back at the man on the ground and whispered, "Bang." In the next second the man was shot through the chest where the finger had been pointing, killing him in an instant.
Elsewhere in the city, a man stood in the shadows of an alleyway next to an electronics shop, watching the news on the tv through the window. He saw the headline, 'Rufus Montgomery, arrested by Team Kalos of the Hunters Division late last night." The man's sword stabbed the ground as he scowled angrily, then he took off into the night.
On a street full of factory buildings, three more men, their figures hidden in silhouette. The first of them smashed his fist into an electrical circuit, the alarm system shutting down as crackling lightning ran through the wires. The second of them held his hand out towards the slightly ajar window of the factory, a flicker of flame jumping through it at his command and quickly spreading, setting the building ablaze. The third simply stood back and watched with his hands in the pockets of his trench coat, enjoying the show his subordinates were putting on.
Opening Music: http/youtu.be/uBEVpAygTFs [FMA Brotherhood OP 1]
(Shows the city of Vale from above)
Kono omoi wo
(Connor appears in front) keshiteshimau niwa!
(He holds out his hands)
Mada jinsei nagai desho?
(Ruby appears and smiles)
(Shows Jim in the dimly lit hallway of his house with the twin kids looking up at him)
Yarinokosshiteru koto!
(Mars looks up and puts sunglasses on)
Yarinaoshite mitai kara!
(Shows the four members of Team Kalos standing on the city streets at night)
OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS (Shows Connor standing on the street at night as lights flash past) Yume no tsuzuki oikaketeita
(He puts his hands together as they glow gold)
hazu
(He holds his hands out and the golden light shines out)
nanoni!
(Shows Mars in front of the Hunter Department of the Police Station) Magarikunetta hosoi michi hito
(He walks down the street)
no tsumazuku!
(Shows Yang laying on her bed, asleep with the twins)
Ano koro mitainitte
(Shows Stephene and Irileth walking down the street with their weapons)
modoritai wake ji nai no!
(Shows Kane on the roof of a skyscraper)
Nakushitekita
(He holds his hand out in front of him)
sora wo sagashiteru!
(Shows Mars running along the road)
Wakatte kuremasu youni!
(Shows Striker looking serious) Gisei ni
(Shows Blaze from behind then he turns around with flames)
natta youna kanashii kao wa (Shows Ruby lying on her bed) yameteyo!
(Shows Connor clutch his eye and hand in pain as they disintegrate away)
Tsumi no saigo wa namida ja nai yo! (Shows Jim clutching his arm as it is torn away)
Zutto kurushiku seottekunda! (Shows Ruby clutching her stomach in pain)
Deguchi mienai kanjoumeiro ni! (Shows Rufus, Floyd and Tim in the city. Rufus reveals his octopus arm under his long sleeve, Floyd takes out his moon sword, and Tim makes a gun shape with his hand, a sniper rifle glistening in the background.)
Dare wo matteruno?
(Shows Kane fire out black clouds) Shiroi
(Jim fires his submachine guns) nooto ni tsuzutta youni!
(Shows Mars summon up his green sword and shield)
(Shows Carter and Lime standing to attention)
Motto sunao ni hakidashitai yo! (Shows Asher flick his fingers and cause an explosion)
Nani kara nogaretainda!
(Shows Kalos in a street)
Genjitsu tte yatsu!
(Shows Connor running down the street with his katanas out) Kanaeru tame ni
(Connor starts swinging his swords at Blaze and Striker)
ikiterundatte! (Kane, Mars and Jim run down the street to help him) Sakebitaku naru yo
(Asher sends an explosion down the street at them)
kikoeteimasuka!
(Shows Asher standing at the end of the destroyed street)
Bunan ni nante yatterarenaikara! (Asher sends another explosion down the street)
Kaeru basho mo nai no!
(Shows Ruby and Yang looking out onto the street at night and the twins coming running along from behind them)
Yasashisa ni wa itsumo kansha shiteru!
(Connor runs along, coating his swords in a thick golden aura as he goes)
Dakara tsuyoku nantai!
(He slashes his swords at Striker, misses, then faces Blaze)
I'm on my way!
(Shows Ruby praying for his safety) Natsukashiku naru!
(Connor stabs the ground with his swords)
Konna itami mo kangei jam!
END
Connor and Mars were sat next to each other in the cafeteria that was situated on the upper floor of the Hunters Division. The two of them were seated on stools by the main counter behind which the food was made, periodically sipping from a glass of cola each as more officers sat at tables behind them, all chatting in their own groups. Jim and Kane had left ahead of them to prepare for a night at Connor and Ruby's place for dinner and drinks, an event they tried to organise quite regularly. Mars had always had some excuse or reason why he couldn't or didn't want to go, meaning Connor's only time to chat with his old mentor was in the cafeteria. Emphasis on old, Mars had aged quickly since the others had left Beacon. Before he had looked middle aged, but he was getting older in his appearance. He had laugh lines on his face and wrinkles on his forehead, his pale green hair turning even paler and going grey around the edges. His strength hadn't withered at all, but he was growing close to his retirement age, if he chose to do so early. Connor had a feeling he'd stay on the job for as long as he could, probably until they forced him to go rest.
Mars still had his tinted sunglasses in his cloak pocket, he had carried them on him ever since he had gotten them. He hadn't told anyone where he'd found them, but they stuck to him like glue, he always wearing them when outside and keeping them in his pocket when inside. Connor's metal hand had been recently upgraded to a new model, one that looked cleaner and flashier rather than being a mess of gears and wires. The world had made great leaps in technology over the past few years, robotic limbs were no longer seen as strange or disturbing. Jim still kept his metal arm hidden under his cloak, but that was different. People asked him about it so much he had to hide it, the idea of him having lost an arm was interesting to a lot of people who wanted to hear his story. Connor's hand was different, most people didn't notice it unless he waved it in front of their face, and it was much less interesting than an entire arm. As for his eyepatch, people occasionally asked what had happened to him and wanted to take a look at the wound. Whether or not he showed them depended on his mood.
"This cola's gone flat..." Mars complained after taking a sip and grimacing in disgust. "Seriously, where do they keep this things that's cause them to go flat so quickly?"
Ignoring Mars and changing the topic, Connor asked a question that he'd being wondering about the answer to for a while. "Mars, do you ever think about getting into a relationship?"
"I'm an old man, Connor." He responded, sounding somehow upset at the fact.
"You're not that old, you could still meet someone." Connor disagreed.
Mars got a little smile out of that comment, even letting out a chuckle as he grasped his glass. "Love isn't for everyone Connor, not everyone finds it." He said.
Connor was caught off guard by that, not having expected his old mentor to say such a thing. The man had seen love all around him, Connor and Ruby, Yang and Jim, even Irileth and Kane, and yet he thought he wouldn't find it? "Not everyone falls in love Connor, not everyone needs to." Mars added in quite a depressing voice. "I don't think I'll ever find love, but it's ok, because I don't need it to live my life."
There was an awkward moment of silence between the two of them then as Connor stared at Mars and tried to take on the information he had just heard. He thought it sad that Mars didn't expect to find love, since he himself knew how blissful it could be, but he didn't know what he could say on the matter. He heard the door open behind him, then Mars cheered up and said, "Oh, there's Carter and Lime. You get home I'll distract them."
Before Connor could respond, Mars was up out of his seat and inviting the two young officers over to a table to hear some of his stories. The two excitedly accepted, sitting down elsewhere with Mars while Connor left. He was grateful. After the earlier conversation, he didn't feel like chatting to overenthusiastic fans.
About a quarter of an hour later, Connor came in through the door of his house and shut it behind him. "Welcome home, I'm making dinner for tonight!" He heard Ruby call from the kitchen as he took off his armour padding and hung it up on the wall next to Ruby's coat. He could smell sauce, something spicy.
Once he was all unpadded, he walked into the kitchen, kissing Ruby affectionately on the cheek as he came up beside her and looked at what was sizzling in the pan she was holding. Dinner for the night was chicken with a spicy Mexican sauce, mixed in with peppers and other vegetables. It smelt delicious and Connor knew from previous experiences that it would be. "You're late, what kept you?"
"Sorry, I was talking to Mars." Connor lied. The real reason he had gotten home later than usual is because the words Mars had said to him were still fresh on his mind, he had stopped to think about them a few times on the way. He then got down on his knees and felt Ruby's pregnant belly as he did every day, Ruby smiling down at his fatherly action as she always did. "You want some help with the cooking tonight?" He asked her.
"No, you go and sit down before the others get here. You've had a long day of paperwork, haven't you?" Ruby answered, knowing about the arrest from the previous day and the mountains of forms and reports that came with it. Before Connor could even leave the room however, the doorbell rang and he went to answer it. For a moment he saw no one there and thought it had been a prankster, but was soon corrected.
Music: http/youtu.be/SI76wS6tlKs [Baccano OST- Main Theme]
First a little girl with mid length blonde hair and standing a bit shorter than Connor's waist came around from the left side of the doorframe like a character out of a James Bond movie, holding her hands together in the shape of a pistol. After her, a little boy of the same age and height with shorter brown hair that had small wolf ears poking out of the top and freckles came around from the other side of the door in the same fashion. The two were Marie and Harry, Jim and Yangs twin children. The two of them pointed their finger guns at Connor and made a comical shooting sound, he clutching his chest and calling out as if he had been shot, playing along with the kids game.
As he leaned against the staircase, feigning pain, the twins ran past him, down the hallway and into the dimly lit living room. Connor then proceeded to stomp his way towards them whilst growling playfully and saying, "Watch out! The big bad Grimm's coming to get you!" As he entered the living room and turned the corner out of sight, Harry and Maria could be heard excitedly screaming.
Once they had started messing around in the living room, Jim and Yang appeared in the doorway, peeking curiously in to see what all the noise was. Yang now wore a wooly yellow jumper instead of the clothes she had used in Beacon, but still emanated self pride. "And Connor's worried about whether or not he'll be a good dad." Jim commented cheerfully, smiling at his friends actions.
"Jeez, he's an idiot..." Yang said, sighing as the two them walked in, Kane and Irileth walking in behind them. When Kane shut the door, Yang and Jim turned around to chummily greet the two.
"Hey..." Kane lazily responded, still not caring much for this kind of event. "What's all the racket?" He questioned, already becoming annoyed by it.
"That would be the lovely sound of children, my darling Kane!" Irileth exclaimed, hugging ever tighter to him arm. "Wouldn't be great to hear that sound in our own home some day?"
"I disagree, I hate children." Kane bluntly responded, looking away from Irileth grumpily as she moaned at him.
The four of them then made their way into the kitchen, which was also the dining room, and greeted Ruby. They all enjoyed the smell of the food, but their bliss was swiftly interrupted by a loud bang from the living room. All five of them looked around, hoping nothing had happened to the twins.
After a few moments, Connor came around the corner, holding onto the doorframe as Harry and Marie clambered all over his back. His hair was singed at the front as if he'd dipped his face in a fire, his expression showing that something undesirable had happened. "Jim, were you aware that your son had a firecracker in his pocket?" Connor said in a strained voice as the two twins climbed up to his shoulders.
"Not again! What do I keep telling you Harry?! They're dangerous!" Jim scolded angrily, making it seem this wasn't the first time it had happened. "Apologise to Uncle Connor!"
"Good one, Harry! Show your stupid uncle who's boss!" Yang praised instead, looking proud of her child's mischief. "Next time, I'll give you two firecrackers!"
"Yang, don't encourage him! And what's this about you giving him the firecrackers?!" Jim snapped, obviously very mad at his son's deeds. It seemed like it had been a problem for a while and Jim had finally gotten to the root of it.
"Uncle Connor's hair went boom!" Harry said from Connor's left shoulder, holding a hand up excitedly and replicating the sound.
"Boom boom!" Marie repeated, following her brother's example. Connor simply looked exasperated.
[Stop Music]
Once everything settled down, the five adults sat around the table to eat dinner whilst the twins sat on the floor with their cups of water, having eaten before going out but not wanting to be away from their parents. They all enjoyed the meal, but an unpleasant surprise was waiting for Kane afterwards.
Music: http/youtu.be/hEdLvO1XZOE [Durarara OST- Psychedelic Parade]
He had just wiped sauce off his mouth with a napkin when he looked across the table and saw Connor dangling something small and red in front of him. "What's that?" Kane said unemotionally, part of him not wanting to know.
"It's a ghost pepper, I got it from a guy at work." Connor answered, swinging from side to side like a yoyo. "Apparently it's incredibly spicy, try it!"
"No." Kane bluntly replied, knowing what it would be like.
"Do it!" Yang said from the other end of the table, slamming her hands down to make her point. Everybody else at the table soon started chanting for Kane to eat it, the twins even calling out from down on the floor, even though they didn't understand what was going on. Kane eventually gave in, not being able to bear the noise.
"Fine, I'll eat the damn thing." He complied grumpily, taking the ghost pepper from Connor and opening his mouth. All the others leaned in and watched closely as it got closer and closer to his mouth, waiting for the moment it touched his tongue. Instead of simply tasting it, Kane had a rush of bravado and tossed the pepper into his mouth, chewing on it and grinding it up with his teeth. He'd hoped it would help him skip the spiciness, but he was mistaken. In the next second he had leapt up from his chair and started screaming, the heat inside his mouth and throat was unbelievable.
Connor and Jim burst out in fits of laughter at the sight of their usually composed teammate losing his rag, Yang and Irileth following soon after. Even Ruby got a little giggle out of it. Kane soon started screaming for water and ran towards the kitchen sink, turning the taps only for nothing to come out. As he cursed loudly at the taps, everyone forgetting their were children present, Connor remembered, "The taps have been on the blink for a few days now, they keep breaking!" He then fell back into laughter, literally falling backwards off his chair, which only invoked more laughter.
Kane scowled at their behaviour, but couldn't keep that expression for long. The heat on his tongue was too much, so much he had to hang his mouth open and try to get air into it. He screamed for water again and this time he got some, two glassfuls right in the face. He calmed down as some of it got into his mouth, but the rest splashed all over his face and hair. The twins Harry and Marie were standing in front of him holding their empty glasses and grinning. "Water for you!" Marie grinned, whilst Harry said, "You look like you fell in a lake!"
[Stop Music]
The scene was then suddenly interrupted by three separate ringtones sounding in the room. Connor, Kane and Jim all took their phones out of their pockets to check their messages, reading for a moment before they put them away. "It's an emergency call, isn't it?" Ruby said, knowing the look on their faces meant just that.
"Yeah, some guy's making a racket in front of the station, he's armed." Connor confirmed, nodding to Jim and Kane just before they all began to leave the room and head for the door. "Sorry about this." He said to girls before he went. "I didn't want this evening to be interrupted."
"It's fine, it's your job." Ruby told him, smiling as if hoping he'd be okay. "They need you, go."
Music: http/youtu.be/2ISfifczkgM [Naruto OST- To The Front Lines]
Connor fitted himself with his armour padding, strapping it to his elbows, knees and chest. He grabbed his katanas, fixing two of them to his back and another two on his waist. "I'm going." He said to Ruby, a serious look on his face. A serious look he had come to love, he could be so strong when he got serious.
"Good luck, don't get hurt." She replied, giving him her usual innocent smile.
Kane took his cloak from the coat rack, tying it around and his neck so it trailed brilliantly behind his back. He slipped on his black gloves, fitting his fingers through the holes and adjusting the studs on his sleeves. He almost said noting to Irileth, but then muttered, "See you."
"Give 'em hell." She replied, knowing he meant to say something more but didn't know how to put it. He was like that when he wanted to say something emotional, lacking the words to express himself.
Jim took his cloak from the wall, glamorously putting it on and clenching his fist as he got his arm in the sleeve. He strapped his ammo belt around his chest and put his revolvers in their harnesses, the wolf ears atop his head twitching in anticipation. "Keep an eye on the kids." He told Yang.
"Makes me wanna go out there myself, punch 'em hard for me!" She ordered him, really having an itch to fight but agreeing to stay with the kids as she had done since they were born.
The three stepped out of the door onto the street as the twins watched from under Yangs legs, looking at them with awe. "Go get the bad guys Papa!" They said simultaneously.
The three of them stood side by side, Connor in the middle. Their cloaks flapped in the evening wind, as they dramatically took the first step towards their next mission. "Team Kalos, let's go!" Connor commanded valiantly, Jim and Kane chanting in agreement as they set off.
Meanwhile, at the station, a man stood in front of the entrance with a sword in his hand, stabbing it into the ground. The sword was of considerable size, probably being a two handed model, and it ended it the thin shape of a crescent moon. He wore a track jacket over an ordinary T-shirt, his trousers army camouflage and baggy. He could see out of the corner of his eye the officers and workers in the station all staring at him, pausing their work to watch the coming fight. "Jeez..." He muttered annoyedly to themselves. "Where are those idiots?"
Ending Music: http/youtu.be/dsecL4bcH8M [Clannad Afterstory OP]
(Shows the sky above the city) (Shows the city streets)
(Shows Connor and Ruby's house) (Shows Ruby from volume 3 smiling)
OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS Kimi daka ga sugisatta sake no tochuu ha!
(Shows Ruby walking down the city streets)
Atataka ni hidamari ga ikutsu mo dekiteta!
(Shows a flashback of Beacon) Boku hotori ga koko de yasashii! (Shows flashes of Ruby)
Atatakasa wo omoi kaesshiteru!
(Shows Connor looking out the window from work)
(Shows Ruby and flashbacks of her)
Kimi dake wo kimi dake wo!
(Shows Yang and flashbacks of her)
Suki de itayo!
(Shows Irileth and flashbacks of her)
Kaze de me ga nijinde!
(Shows Connor holding Ruby's hands by the door of their house at night)
Toku naru yo!
(Shows Irilety clinging to Kane at Beacon)
Itsumademo
(Shows Yang waving and smiling) obeoteru
(Shows Connor and Ruby walking through the beacon grounds together)
nanimo kawo
(Shows Connor making his leaving beacon speech)
kawattemo!
(Shows Jim)
Hitotsu dake
(Shows Mars)
hitotsu dake
(Shows Yang hugging the twins) arifureta
(Shows Irileth laughing and Kane letting out a small smile)
mono dakedo!
(Shows Ruby out at night with her red coat on)
Misete yaru kagayaki
(It zooms to her face)
ni michita sono hitotsu dake! (Zooms back out as it fades away) Itsumademo itsumademo mamotte iku!
END
