Whoops. Hoping to get this up by Christmas. One chapter + epilogue left.
Chapter Eleven: The Dream Police and the Cavalry
They rode the ladder on the fire escape down until it came to a clattering halt against the path below. Ryder hopped down to the concrete. As they dusted down, Ryder heard the thumps of bass coming from the auditorium. He smiled as he realized their second song had started; it was the loud song for the night and would drown out any noise of the fight. (AN: Dream Police by Cheap Trick)
Ryder kept pace with Katie until they were at the outskirts of the tree line surrounding the car park. From here, Ryder peeled off to hide behind a nearby car and Katie continued walking directly into the fray.
They spy on me, I try to hide, they won't let me alone. They persecute me, they're the judge and jury all in one.
The two agents, identical from afar, had differences that were visible closer up. One was lean and muscular. His movements held the same strength and grace as Katie's. The other man was stockier and completed his motions with the abrupt precision of a dedicated machine. But they were both tall and were commanding presences as they grappled in crisp black suits. They seemed to communicate wordlessly as they ducked and weaved to form a single devoted attack against the four Shells.
From the relative calm of his hiding spot, Ryder watched as Katie approached the group. Her face was set with determination as she reached up to grab the shoulders of the closest figure. In a long sweeping motion she dragged the Shell to face her, separating the two of them from the rest of the brawl.
Their features were almost indistinct in the deepening dusk, in fact, the boy's darker skin was almost blending into the surrounding darkness. As the boy turned, Ryder saw that he was wearing a McKinley letter jacket. It was Tony, a guy on the basketball team with Jake and him.
Katie was short and should have had the disadvantage but she kept low and close to keep the Shell from using his long reach against her. As the Shell retreated, Katie advanced. And as Tony took yet another step backwards, he stumbled. Katie crouched and swept her leg into the crook of his knee. Tony fell and landed with his back thudding against the tarmac.
The dream police, they're coming to arrest me, oh no…
Katie stood tall over Tony as he shuffled away from her. As he started to rise she dealt a low kick to his chest and he slid back even further. By now, they were almost hidden from the rest of the group by a line of cars. She was herding Tony towards him.
Eventually, Katie allowed the Shell to rise and charge at her. She took a step back and drew her hand back in a wide sweeping gesture. Ryder winced in the bushes directly behind her; he knew what was coming next for the poor Shell. The blast of energy hit Tony on the left hip. The combination of the forward momentum of his body and the opposing impact of the blast pushed his legs out from underneath him and sent him in a full barrel roll of flailing limbs before gravity brought him back to ground. His face met the pavement with a sickening crunch less than three feet from where Ryder sat in the bushes. Katie leapt and placed a knee on his back. She wrapped an arm around his neck.
Tony struggled but couldn't shift her weight. Within a few seconds his movements had slowed and his head slumped. Katie lowered him slowly to the ground and released his neck. She raised her head and looked into the bushes, directly at the spot where Ryder was crouched.
"Ryder?" She phrased it as a question but Ryder could hear the urgency of the request. He rose out of the bushes and stepped towards her uncertainly.
"Is he….?" He trailed off before finishing his sentence. He could take his eyes off the body of his team-mate lying on the ground.
"If you apply pressure to the right artery unconsciousness can occur in a matter of seconds. He'll be awake in a few minutes."
At her tone, Ryder looked up quickly to catch her eyes before nodding. He felt ashamed for even considering the second option. He reached forward with the device in his hand.
"So, I just do it now?" he asked.
Katie nodded briskly before turning to return to the fray. Ryder turned his focus to Tony. He held the device close to the boy's head and pressed the button to activate it. He shook his head smiling as he looked down.
"I don't envy the headache you're going to have when you wake up, buddy."
It could have been three seconds; it could have been three minutes. Ryder had no concept of time as he stared at the device, letting the light fill his vision, waiting for it to change colour. He thought back to the pain in Kitty's eyes. No matter what happened, he wasn't going to break the connection this time. As a precaution, he pulled the boy closer and used one arm to anchor himself to Tony. In the distance, he could hear thumps of impact and the cracks as nearby trees and cars took the brunt of the violence.
He hoped it was only trees.
Even further in the distance he heard the orchestra start their set. The soft strains of the violins, though distant, strengthened Ryder as he waited. (A/N Walt Ribeiro – Street Fighter's 5th)
Ryder kept that hold, with the device pressed tight against the side of Tony's head, as he heard the sound of metal buckling and cars wobbling as someone started to approach him quickly via the most direct route ...over the parked cars. He braced for impact against Tony's prone figure as the sounds come to a halt directly next his head.
The person jumped to land lightly on the ground. As he expected, this second Shell went directly for the device. A feminine hand curled around Ryder's wrist and yanked forcefully but he kept his hold firm. Both he and Tony were dragged across the ground with the force. But the device didn't break connection for a second. The Shell tried to separate them again, this time succeeding in slamming the two of them against a nearby car.
With his vision still spinning, Ryder watched as the light finally turned green. It was only then that he realised the power in his hands. This device was the key. It made him as dangerous as either of the agents or Katie. But more importantly, it made him much more important than a deprogrammed Shell.
He let his grip relax slightly as the third attack came.
This time, when the girl yanked at his hand he left Tony behind and went flying through the bush he had recently been hiding in. But he had been expecting it. He was already rolling to stand as he touched the ground. He grabbed onto the closest tree and started scrambling up its trunk. He barely let himself notice as the pain from yesterday flared hot and loud in his shoulder.
It was a gamble, leaving Tony open, but it paid off when the girl came racing after him. He curled up his feet and let out a pained grunt as he hefted his body onto a high branch before turning swiftly and facing the girl behind him. She was already halfway up the tree. Ryder fumbled to pull out the device, praying that it would affect this Shell the way it had with Kitty.
The second the beam of light hit her forehead, the girl's movements started to stutter. She was still moving forward, and Ryder had no doubt that she could still really hurt him, but it was as if there was an internal gale constantly battering her away from her path. Ryder started counting the seconds, praying that the light would go green before her laboured movements reached him.
She pulled herself to stand on to two branches underneath her and grabbed a branch level with Ryder but as her body seized and shook her footing began to look more and more precarious. Ryder knew that he couldn't keep the light trained on her if she fell. He stretched himself along the branch he was sitting on and reached out his uninjured arm to grab her wrist.
To keep his focus, as the weight transferring through his arm seemed to be getting heavier each second, Ryder kept counting.
At five seconds, she slipped off the branch. Ryder was pulled forward but kept his grip; more importantly, he was able to keep the beam trained on her. She jerked her head upwards and locked eyes with Ryder. And he could see it. Arcs of electricity and dark storm clouds danced in her eyes as the two souls battled (1).
At 20 seconds, the twitching and shaking stopped and Ryder was able to draw her closer to him.
At 25 seconds, her eyes quietened and shut. The light turned green.
Thirty seconds. It had only been thirty seconds.
Ryder lowered both of them to the ground and helped her towards Tony. They were both starting to stir. Ryder stepped away for a second and tried to come up with a convincing story to tell the two of them.
He quickly ran his hand through his hair, dislodging the better part of a small bush in the process. In the distance, he could see Katie and the taller agent were rounding on one of the Shells. He took a deep breath to steady himself before turning to face the Tony and the girl.
"Woah, are you guys okay?" Ryder acted as he ran to help the two of them up. "New Directions needs to stop experimenting with pyrotechnics…You guys could have really been hurt."
He smiled winningly but Tony still looked unconvinced.
"You know…because you came out here to get some air after that accidental explosion…at the performance."
Tony nodded and the girl swallowed slowly.
"But enough about that, let's get you guys back to the Auditorium!"
He ushered them towards a small path that headed in the right direction, trying to keep them away from the worst of the fight. As they walked, the two began to talk.
"I don't...remember going to a performance." Tony said slowly.
Ryder shrugged, unconcerned. "Yeah, I'll admit the first half was a little slow. But I hear things will pick up once Superhero Club arrives."
As he spoke, the trees above them rustled violently from stray power blast passing overhead. Ryder ducked instinctively but the two others looked around towards the noise.
"Oh and look, they're busy warming up out here. Let's run to get a good seat!" Ryder cried as he placed a hand on each of their backs to urge them away from the car park.
They may have been further away as they left the car park, but it didn't feel any safer. In his current state, Ryder could only see the many points of attack in the open air quad. All three of them were sprinting by the time they got to the doors that lead to the school building. Once inside, Ryder slowed down and started to walk them towards the auditorium.
Suddenly, a door opened to their right. Out of it came a compact boy dressed in a dark suit with a cape.
"Blaine!" Ryder called out in relief.
"What's happening, Ryder? I heard some thumps? Kitty keeps turning up the orchestras mikes to cover the sounds and won't tell me why…" Blaine's last sentence trailed off as he took in their appearance.
"Ryder. Tony? Rosalie? Oh my god, are you guys okay?" he stepped forward with confusion and concern dancing across his face.
Tony and Rosalie both nodded, slightly thrown by Blaine's appearance also. Ryder jumped at the opportunity to get back outside.
"Yeah, fine. Hey, these two were just heading back in. Do you think you could find them some seats? I've got…a thing."
Blaine leapt into action as Ryder walked away. "Let's gets you guys backstage first and get Tony into something less …charred, sound good?"
Ryder let the scene unfold behind him as he walked, doggedly, back through the doors he had just come through. Four to go.
He had barely stepped onto the path to lead him back to the fight when he felt, rather than saw, a dark figure approaching from his right.
(1) This is what happens when you watch 6 seasons of Supernatural while writing this chapter
GAH, I don't like writing fight scenes. I particularly don't like writing fight scenes with eight people and three sides. The things you learn after you've already committed yourself to a scene.