Back again!
Sorry this took so long. I made the mistake of getting started on four other fics at the same time as this one. So I'll just finish this one up.
I've actually gotten quite fond of the plot bunny. I think I'll name him `Fang'.
Fang: ^_^ *gnaws on Kitten's ankle*
Me: _ Ow... If he keeps this up, he'll chew off my left foot...
silversilk: ^_^; Well, there's not much to say. It's a jail. Brown walls, boring decor, strong bars in the place of windows, doors built strong to keep all manner of monsters in or out - okay, so there IS something I can do with the setting...
Omegan Empress: Sorry I took so stupidly long to continue! I promise, I'll make it up as soon as I can...
pyrala0: Thank you. ^_^ Yes, she is.
Raventhedarkgoddess: Glad to see I'm not the only one.
Yolando Sung: Blackfire's just about my favorite, besides Terra. ^_^ Kawaii...
Now, on to the fic!
Disclaimer: I own exactly nothing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Revelation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"... And then they brought me here," Blackfire finished. "You know the rest."
"That's quite a story," Darien replied. He had somehow managed to both get himself up on the tiny ledge of the windowsill and actually make himself comfortable. His hands were beneath his chin in a characteristic listening expression. "So what do you want to do when you get out?"
"Go after my sister, of course," Blackfire spat, the very memory making her angry. She swung her arms about in emphasis. "She betrayed me! She stuck me in here to grow old and die without ever seeing space again!"
"Sounds to me more like you betrayed her," Darien said, dropping his hands and swinging one leg against the wall.
"Yeah, well..."
Blackfire sighed and flopped down on the lower bunk. "You wouldn't understand."
"We're going to spend the next few years together," he pointed out. "And I WANT to understand. You might as well tell me now."
Blackfire looked out past him to the stars. There was a long moment of silence before she spoke.
"Do you know what I value more than anything else in the world?" She hesitated for a second, as if waiting for him to answer, then continued. "Freedom. When I was young -" She grimaced, her face twisting in a bitter smile. "- well, let's just say that I didn't get out much. I slipped away when I could, and when I did, I always went to the spaceport. That's the truest form of freedom I know. To be out there-" She sighed, in longing. "It's impossible to describe. When I was old enough, I ran away, stole a ship, and started my journey."
Blackfire looked at Darien, her eyes shining with a passion that could not be named. "The feelings you get out there... do you know what it's like? To be in control of your own destiny? To do anything you want to do, when, where, and how you want to do it. And oh, the sense you get in deep space... flying..." She smiled. "That's what it's like. I should know. But it's different. With flying, there's a sense of accomplishment... you're so high up, high above the earth below, all under your own power. But in a spaceship? With all that power under your control, being able to go anywhere you want to go? Even places no mortal should be? THAT is freedom. THAT is what I live for."
Her mood suddenly took a turn for the worse, and she snarled, her eyes now filled with a different emotion. Hate.
"Then my bitch of a sister had to come along and ruin everything."
"It still seems to me like you betrayed her," Darien offered. "If she hadn't turned you over to the police, it would be her sitting here right now."
"But that's the whole point!" Blackfire exclaimed, then sighed. "I should calm down. You see..." She leaned over the edge of the bunk to speak to him better. "If Starfire had been the one taken, they would have found out soon enough that they made a mistake. The Titans themselves could vouch for the fact that she was on Earth the whole time, and nobody would be able to connect her to any of my crimes. She'd have been released within weeks, and in the time that they spent figuring that out, I could have been halfway across the galaxy with another ship. But no. She had to turn me in, like a good citizen."
Blackfire snorted and sat back, her arms crossed over her chest. "So much for family loyalty. Now I'm stuck here. With a life sentence."
She paused, and turned her head away - but not before Darien caught the glint of what might have been tears on an ordinary person.
"Now I'll never be free again."
There was silence for a moment, as Blackfire regained her composure. "So... now it's your turn."
"Hmm?" Darien jerked his head up, apparently having been deeply in thought.
"You need to tell me what you did," she pressed.
Darien looked away. "No."
"No?!" Blackfire shook her head in amazement. She hadn't expected such an outright denial. "Come on. I told you what I did, and why I did it, even when I didn't want to. You can at least repay the favor!"
"A favor?" He laughed softly, with a trace of bitterness. "It would be no favor to tell you why I am here."
Blackfire was about to goad him again when he spoke.
"I killed a man, Blackfire."
She snorted. "So? I've killed plenty of people!"
He looked at her sharply. "Ever one of your own species?"
She looked away, not meeting his eyes. "Once," she whispered, and offered nothing more than that.
Darien sighed and turned his head back to stare at the wall. "Back on Altair, I was the son of a merchant. My mother had never been very healthy; she died when I was twelve. I grew up learning to take over the business from my father. I didn't want to. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do, and I'm still not. I just knew it wasn't that."
"Unfortunately, my father was involved in some pretty dirty business. Interplanetary drugs can be very potent, and my father was trafficking in them. I didn't know of this - that is, until the locals had had enough and stormed our house."
"They caught my father in the back and killed him. I saw them do it. Horrified, I fled, but someone saw me leaving and chased after me. I was finally cornered in an alley. Desperate, I turned on the man and choked him with my bare hands."
He stared at his hands for a long moment before continuing. "I couldn't believe it. For several minutes after his death, I just stood there, staring at the body. I knew this man. I knew his wife and their two daughters. He was a baker, and used to give me free donuts when I ran errands for him. And I had just killed him." "So, I ran away again." He laughed bitterly. "They caught me the next day for stealing a loaf of bread."
He swung his head around to look her in the eyes. "That's why I'm here. You told me the thing you valued most. Well, the thing I value the most is life. It's one of those things that you take for granted until it's lost. Everyone you kill, they have a past, and a family, and maybe they're not so bad. When I killed-" He took a deep breath. "When I killed, it was as though the both of us were rabid wolves. We would never have attacked each other otherwise. I understand that he was caught up in the mob-spirit, but I had no excuse to kill in order to save my own life."
He looked away. "I never want to kill again."
There was a long silence, one which Blackfire broke by saying, "So are you going to sleep on the windowsill, or would you rather have the top bunk?"
He laughed. "I'll take the top bunk, please. Sleeping here would leave me very sore in the morning."
He swung down from the window ledge and climbed up to the bunk. "Good night, Blackfire."
"Good night, Darien."
Soon, his deepened breathing told her that he was asleep. Blackfire envied him that luxury. With what he had just told her...
She sighed and settled onto the hard, cold mattress. Darien had given her a lot to think about. Sleep would be slow in coming.
If it came at all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Phew! At least that's over.
Look for the next chapter soon!
Sorry this took so long. I made the mistake of getting started on four other fics at the same time as this one. So I'll just finish this one up.
I've actually gotten quite fond of the plot bunny. I think I'll name him `Fang'.
Fang: ^_^ *gnaws on Kitten's ankle*
Me: _ Ow... If he keeps this up, he'll chew off my left foot...
silversilk: ^_^; Well, there's not much to say. It's a jail. Brown walls, boring decor, strong bars in the place of windows, doors built strong to keep all manner of monsters in or out - okay, so there IS something I can do with the setting...
Omegan Empress: Sorry I took so stupidly long to continue! I promise, I'll make it up as soon as I can...
pyrala0: Thank you. ^_^ Yes, she is.
Raventhedarkgoddess: Glad to see I'm not the only one.
Yolando Sung: Blackfire's just about my favorite, besides Terra. ^_^ Kawaii...
Now, on to the fic!
Disclaimer: I own exactly nothing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Revelation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"... And then they brought me here," Blackfire finished. "You know the rest."
"That's quite a story," Darien replied. He had somehow managed to both get himself up on the tiny ledge of the windowsill and actually make himself comfortable. His hands were beneath his chin in a characteristic listening expression. "So what do you want to do when you get out?"
"Go after my sister, of course," Blackfire spat, the very memory making her angry. She swung her arms about in emphasis. "She betrayed me! She stuck me in here to grow old and die without ever seeing space again!"
"Sounds to me more like you betrayed her," Darien said, dropping his hands and swinging one leg against the wall.
"Yeah, well..."
Blackfire sighed and flopped down on the lower bunk. "You wouldn't understand."
"We're going to spend the next few years together," he pointed out. "And I WANT to understand. You might as well tell me now."
Blackfire looked out past him to the stars. There was a long moment of silence before she spoke.
"Do you know what I value more than anything else in the world?" She hesitated for a second, as if waiting for him to answer, then continued. "Freedom. When I was young -" She grimaced, her face twisting in a bitter smile. "- well, let's just say that I didn't get out much. I slipped away when I could, and when I did, I always went to the spaceport. That's the truest form of freedom I know. To be out there-" She sighed, in longing. "It's impossible to describe. When I was old enough, I ran away, stole a ship, and started my journey."
Blackfire looked at Darien, her eyes shining with a passion that could not be named. "The feelings you get out there... do you know what it's like? To be in control of your own destiny? To do anything you want to do, when, where, and how you want to do it. And oh, the sense you get in deep space... flying..." She smiled. "That's what it's like. I should know. But it's different. With flying, there's a sense of accomplishment... you're so high up, high above the earth below, all under your own power. But in a spaceship? With all that power under your control, being able to go anywhere you want to go? Even places no mortal should be? THAT is freedom. THAT is what I live for."
Her mood suddenly took a turn for the worse, and she snarled, her eyes now filled with a different emotion. Hate.
"Then my bitch of a sister had to come along and ruin everything."
"It still seems to me like you betrayed her," Darien offered. "If she hadn't turned you over to the police, it would be her sitting here right now."
"But that's the whole point!" Blackfire exclaimed, then sighed. "I should calm down. You see..." She leaned over the edge of the bunk to speak to him better. "If Starfire had been the one taken, they would have found out soon enough that they made a mistake. The Titans themselves could vouch for the fact that she was on Earth the whole time, and nobody would be able to connect her to any of my crimes. She'd have been released within weeks, and in the time that they spent figuring that out, I could have been halfway across the galaxy with another ship. But no. She had to turn me in, like a good citizen."
Blackfire snorted and sat back, her arms crossed over her chest. "So much for family loyalty. Now I'm stuck here. With a life sentence."
She paused, and turned her head away - but not before Darien caught the glint of what might have been tears on an ordinary person.
"Now I'll never be free again."
There was silence for a moment, as Blackfire regained her composure. "So... now it's your turn."
"Hmm?" Darien jerked his head up, apparently having been deeply in thought.
"You need to tell me what you did," she pressed.
Darien looked away. "No."
"No?!" Blackfire shook her head in amazement. She hadn't expected such an outright denial. "Come on. I told you what I did, and why I did it, even when I didn't want to. You can at least repay the favor!"
"A favor?" He laughed softly, with a trace of bitterness. "It would be no favor to tell you why I am here."
Blackfire was about to goad him again when he spoke.
"I killed a man, Blackfire."
She snorted. "So? I've killed plenty of people!"
He looked at her sharply. "Ever one of your own species?"
She looked away, not meeting his eyes. "Once," she whispered, and offered nothing more than that.
Darien sighed and turned his head back to stare at the wall. "Back on Altair, I was the son of a merchant. My mother had never been very healthy; she died when I was twelve. I grew up learning to take over the business from my father. I didn't want to. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do, and I'm still not. I just knew it wasn't that."
"Unfortunately, my father was involved in some pretty dirty business. Interplanetary drugs can be very potent, and my father was trafficking in them. I didn't know of this - that is, until the locals had had enough and stormed our house."
"They caught my father in the back and killed him. I saw them do it. Horrified, I fled, but someone saw me leaving and chased after me. I was finally cornered in an alley. Desperate, I turned on the man and choked him with my bare hands."
He stared at his hands for a long moment before continuing. "I couldn't believe it. For several minutes after his death, I just stood there, staring at the body. I knew this man. I knew his wife and their two daughters. He was a baker, and used to give me free donuts when I ran errands for him. And I had just killed him." "So, I ran away again." He laughed bitterly. "They caught me the next day for stealing a loaf of bread."
He swung his head around to look her in the eyes. "That's why I'm here. You told me the thing you valued most. Well, the thing I value the most is life. It's one of those things that you take for granted until it's lost. Everyone you kill, they have a past, and a family, and maybe they're not so bad. When I killed-" He took a deep breath. "When I killed, it was as though the both of us were rabid wolves. We would never have attacked each other otherwise. I understand that he was caught up in the mob-spirit, but I had no excuse to kill in order to save my own life."
He looked away. "I never want to kill again."
There was a long silence, one which Blackfire broke by saying, "So are you going to sleep on the windowsill, or would you rather have the top bunk?"
He laughed. "I'll take the top bunk, please. Sleeping here would leave me very sore in the morning."
He swung down from the window ledge and climbed up to the bunk. "Good night, Blackfire."
"Good night, Darien."
Soon, his deepened breathing told her that he was asleep. Blackfire envied him that luxury. With what he had just told her...
She sighed and settled onto the hard, cold mattress. Darien had given her a lot to think about. Sleep would be slow in coming.
If it came at all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Phew! At least that's over.
Look for the next chapter soon!