"This is easier said than done, Tala." Kai spoke up. "First of all, where
are you going to start? So far, this guy knows us, but neither of you two
know who he is."
Tala's face was set as he started dividing his old Cypher things and Oliver's Shadow uniform. "We'll think of a way, Kai..."
Oliver sighed, resigning to the fact. "Yeah... Shadow and Cypher always knew what to do in a crisis."
"Listen to you guys!" Enrique burst out saying, getting to his feet. "You say this like you have to do it! You don't. You're not Shadow and Cypher, international spies; you guys are Oliver and Tala, just a couple of normal guys trying to get on with life!"
Tala scowled. "But how can we do that if we have to dodge bullets all our life? I'm not going to let anyone stand between me and the only happiness I've known in MY life."
Oliver nodded in agreement, checking over his bugnuks. "Whoever this guy is knew our codenames, who we were and where to find us. He's obviously working for BIOVOLT. The only way either of us can truly bury Shadow and Cypher is to bury BIOVOLT with them."
And when that time comes, Oliver thought fiercely. When that time comes, they will wish they left us alone.
******
Well well well.... who'd have thought I'd be wearing this old thing again... Funny how putting on this uniform can return all those long lost memories I managed to bury. It's as if Shadow's true spirit was in this uniform, and he flowed into me the second I pulled on the poloneck... Old kills, break-ins; and wounds obtained and healed over seemed to ache like the old days.
I glanced over to 'Cypher'. He seemed to be more stern, focused... More like Cypher than Tala. His crossbow was slung across a shoulder, his belt lined with darts, exactly the same as the one that fell by my feet and scared the life out of me. I looked down to my hands. The old bugnuks felt dangerous. I hated it. I hated the feeling of this power; the potential to kill and the knowledge of knowing how. For some reason, I always feel like lashing out when I'm wearing these. On edge all the time; hunting, waiting for an excuse. Like... a morbid fascination... So this is what being Shadow felt like. Funny how your perception changes when you try to erase a particularly painful memory.
I shook my head and glanced to Cypher. "Whereabouts should we start looking?"
Cypher thought for a while. "I say we go to the side of the manor Max told us he saw the guy. I doubt we'd find much since the police investigation on the fire, but you never know..."
Yeah... knowing our luck, we'd find something that WILL get us some answers. That's what being a spy is all about. Knowing what to look for, where and how when in consciousness, you have absolutely no clue. Being a spy is like a cosmic pass code to secrets or something. Cypher and I quietly dashed across the front lawn, me following him as he remembered where he and Max had their little walk not so long ago. Our deduction from then brought us near the side entrance to the kitchens. We agreed to split up, to try and cover more ground; Cypher in the kitchen and halfway up the little drive, myself up from that point to the service entrance for the deliveries straight to the kitchens.
Cursing the dimness and wishing I had time to bring a torch with me (then realising that as Shadow, I don't really need to, thanks to his training), I began carefully scrutinising the lawn. Every blade of grass seemed to understand and looked like they were standing to attention. Occasionally, moonlight would break through the clouds and offer to shed some light on the situation. After around fifteen minutes of checking, my search didn't even bring up a sweet wrapper. You never realise how clean your own land is unless you inspect each square centimetre. Standing up straight for a moment, I quickly scanned around me. Cypher was still probably searching in the kitchen; I don't see him behind me. Everywhere else is really quiet, but then again, it was too hard to know what was out there due to the unreliable moonlight.
The moonlight... I glanced up to the sky, catching a glimpse of the waning moon. Its silvery pale light offered little consolation, seeming lost and alone itself. I remembered when it was full. Kai would always take me up the Eiffel Tower or into the bell tower of Notre Dame Cathedral when the moon was full and we'd just stare out at Paris. I always felt he did that exactly for me; getting the whole of Paris to shine its brightest when we spend our own quality time together... Alone together, no one to interrupt. No one threatening to spoil our peace. To spoil what we had...
The hairs at the back of my neck prickled. I snapped my head around, the old reflexes kicking in automatically like an old habit refusing to be weaned away. I crouched down, ready to pounce at whatever I felt was watching. No one... Nothing... Too dark and too quiet. Cypher was still missing... I frowned, wondering if I should go back to check on him. My senses still refused their flaring alarm, warning me of nearby danger. Someone was close by.
"...Show yourself!"
A rustling caught my attention. Whirling around, I noticed something darting behind a tree. Immediately, my legs sprang into action, leaping me to the tree. Releasing the catch to my bugnuks, I pointed the claws at the shadow. A cat screeched at me and swiped its own claws at my hands. Damn cat! I let it run off hissing at me, fur bristling. I sighed, willing my heart to stop beating so painfully. I unclenched my fists, retracting the claws and resetting the catch.
That's when my head connected with the rough bark.
******
Stars sprang into Shadow's vision. Relying on his instincts, he re- released the catch again and brought his fist up, not waiting for his vision to clear. Shadow swore out loud. His assailant had brought their hand down in a karate chop, connecting with his sore wrist. Next, a fist connected with his face, reacquainting Shadow's head with the tree. Pain exploded in that region of his head. The former BIOVOLT operative had made a definite decision at that point. He was going to chop every tree in the manor down!
Finally, Shadow brought his knee up and successfully connected with a stomach. The guy grunted and swore in English. With his other fist, Shadow managed to punch him in the face, repaying him for the last one he gave him. Shadow stopped to shake his head, finally getting rid of the lights in his eyes way. He now managed to make out someone around his height, doubled over slightly. Taking the opportunity to send a round house kick to the guy, Shadow knocked him to the ground. His foot connected with his head, giving a satisfying crack. The other guy was quick though. He swept his legs as soon as he was on his back, making Shadow's feet vanish under him. Next thing he knew, the attacker had Shadow pinned. Shadow struggled, but the other guy was already sat on top of him. Just as Shadow was looking up to get a look at the attacker, the moon decided it was going to hide. Shadow cursed its bad timing.
"Agent Shadow... Nice to finally meet you in person." a smooth, British accent whispered easily.
"Charmed, I'm sure." Shadow snapped back. "Would you care to introduce yourself, or should I really get nasty?"
The guy tutted. "Now now. Where are your manners? ...Never mind. It's not like it'll matter in a few minutes. I'm Agent Hunter. Our superiors are very disappointed in you, Shadow."
So he was working for BIOVOLT... Shadow thought. "Yeah, well I've always been like that. After all, my mother said I was useless at code-cracking or half-decent assassinations."
"Ah yes... and so in retaliation, you put her in jail. How delicious it must have been for you..." the voice answered. Shadow wasn't sure, but he thought he heard disapproval and possibly hatred.
Shadow took the chance it try and flip the guy off his chest. Hunter was caught off guard; Shadow managing to get into a sitting up position and raise his clawed fist to the guy's chest. But Shadow wasn't quick enough. He found himself back on his back, a strong hand holding him down by his forehead.
"That was very rude of you. And here I was thinking that you were a refined, handsome young man."
Shadow tried to get up, punch, kick, whatever he could. Hunter however had him straddled. Shadow felt a lot of Hunter's weight was based around his chest. He felt his anger boil.
"Well!? Aren't you going to kill me?! Those were your orders, weren't they?"
"Hhhmmmm..... quite right... but they're only the tail end. Tell me, how close exactly are you to that Kai? And Tala to Max whilst we're at it."
Shadow froze, wondering why he'd want to know. Then he snarled. "Leave him alone; you hear me!? Kai, and Max, too!"
"That close, huh? Pity. It's such a waste, you being with that brute. But then again, it's a waste to have to kill you later."
Shadow decided he hated the guy. Suddenly, they both heard at the same time someone calling.
"Shadow?! Where are you?"
Tala!! Shadow thought. Hunter must have known as well. "Oh dear... Looks like we're going to have to postpone this conversation, Shadow. Here're some little tokens to remember me by."
Pressure was suddenly exerted on Shadow's lips, his visors finally becoming askew. His eyes widened. He's kissing me! Shadow thought suddenly. His body froze in shock. As soon as it started, it ended. Then in contrast to the kiss on the lips, the green-haired French boy received a punch across the face.
The weight was taken off his chest immediately, allowing him to take in the extra air that he was unknowingly denied. Coughing at the sudden rush of oxygen, Shadow rolled onto his front, getting on his hands and knees gasping through the air.
"Oliver!? What happened?"
Cypher was next to Shadow now, his hand in the middle of Shadow's back allowing him to breathe first. It didn't take that long. Shadow looked up at Cypher, his face showing his worry.
"Tala. His name's Hunter."
___________________________________________________________
Anime: Here we go! Chapter six in the sequel to Shadow! And we have a new assassin in the mix.
Wufei: *sarcastic* You are really talented in springing surprises on people, aren't you?
Anime: p Okay, so I lack talent in that area. Bet you couldn't do any better.
Wufei: Bet I can.
Anime: *hands computer over* Then here you go, you do it!
Wufei: No. I'm not doing your work for you.
Anime: See, you don't have the guts or talent to do so *smug smug* Side- stepping the job was always your thing.
Wufei: I'm Flames Distributor!
Anime: And a side stepper.
Wufei: Not.
Anime: Too!
Wufei: Not!
Anime: Too!
Other muses: -_-! Here we go again....
Tala's face was set as he started dividing his old Cypher things and Oliver's Shadow uniform. "We'll think of a way, Kai..."
Oliver sighed, resigning to the fact. "Yeah... Shadow and Cypher always knew what to do in a crisis."
"Listen to you guys!" Enrique burst out saying, getting to his feet. "You say this like you have to do it! You don't. You're not Shadow and Cypher, international spies; you guys are Oliver and Tala, just a couple of normal guys trying to get on with life!"
Tala scowled. "But how can we do that if we have to dodge bullets all our life? I'm not going to let anyone stand between me and the only happiness I've known in MY life."
Oliver nodded in agreement, checking over his bugnuks. "Whoever this guy is knew our codenames, who we were and where to find us. He's obviously working for BIOVOLT. The only way either of us can truly bury Shadow and Cypher is to bury BIOVOLT with them."
And when that time comes, Oliver thought fiercely. When that time comes, they will wish they left us alone.
******
Well well well.... who'd have thought I'd be wearing this old thing again... Funny how putting on this uniform can return all those long lost memories I managed to bury. It's as if Shadow's true spirit was in this uniform, and he flowed into me the second I pulled on the poloneck... Old kills, break-ins; and wounds obtained and healed over seemed to ache like the old days.
I glanced over to 'Cypher'. He seemed to be more stern, focused... More like Cypher than Tala. His crossbow was slung across a shoulder, his belt lined with darts, exactly the same as the one that fell by my feet and scared the life out of me. I looked down to my hands. The old bugnuks felt dangerous. I hated it. I hated the feeling of this power; the potential to kill and the knowledge of knowing how. For some reason, I always feel like lashing out when I'm wearing these. On edge all the time; hunting, waiting for an excuse. Like... a morbid fascination... So this is what being Shadow felt like. Funny how your perception changes when you try to erase a particularly painful memory.
I shook my head and glanced to Cypher. "Whereabouts should we start looking?"
Cypher thought for a while. "I say we go to the side of the manor Max told us he saw the guy. I doubt we'd find much since the police investigation on the fire, but you never know..."
Yeah... knowing our luck, we'd find something that WILL get us some answers. That's what being a spy is all about. Knowing what to look for, where and how when in consciousness, you have absolutely no clue. Being a spy is like a cosmic pass code to secrets or something. Cypher and I quietly dashed across the front lawn, me following him as he remembered where he and Max had their little walk not so long ago. Our deduction from then brought us near the side entrance to the kitchens. We agreed to split up, to try and cover more ground; Cypher in the kitchen and halfway up the little drive, myself up from that point to the service entrance for the deliveries straight to the kitchens.
Cursing the dimness and wishing I had time to bring a torch with me (then realising that as Shadow, I don't really need to, thanks to his training), I began carefully scrutinising the lawn. Every blade of grass seemed to understand and looked like they were standing to attention. Occasionally, moonlight would break through the clouds and offer to shed some light on the situation. After around fifteen minutes of checking, my search didn't even bring up a sweet wrapper. You never realise how clean your own land is unless you inspect each square centimetre. Standing up straight for a moment, I quickly scanned around me. Cypher was still probably searching in the kitchen; I don't see him behind me. Everywhere else is really quiet, but then again, it was too hard to know what was out there due to the unreliable moonlight.
The moonlight... I glanced up to the sky, catching a glimpse of the waning moon. Its silvery pale light offered little consolation, seeming lost and alone itself. I remembered when it was full. Kai would always take me up the Eiffel Tower or into the bell tower of Notre Dame Cathedral when the moon was full and we'd just stare out at Paris. I always felt he did that exactly for me; getting the whole of Paris to shine its brightest when we spend our own quality time together... Alone together, no one to interrupt. No one threatening to spoil our peace. To spoil what we had...
The hairs at the back of my neck prickled. I snapped my head around, the old reflexes kicking in automatically like an old habit refusing to be weaned away. I crouched down, ready to pounce at whatever I felt was watching. No one... Nothing... Too dark and too quiet. Cypher was still missing... I frowned, wondering if I should go back to check on him. My senses still refused their flaring alarm, warning me of nearby danger. Someone was close by.
"...Show yourself!"
A rustling caught my attention. Whirling around, I noticed something darting behind a tree. Immediately, my legs sprang into action, leaping me to the tree. Releasing the catch to my bugnuks, I pointed the claws at the shadow. A cat screeched at me and swiped its own claws at my hands. Damn cat! I let it run off hissing at me, fur bristling. I sighed, willing my heart to stop beating so painfully. I unclenched my fists, retracting the claws and resetting the catch.
That's when my head connected with the rough bark.
******
Stars sprang into Shadow's vision. Relying on his instincts, he re- released the catch again and brought his fist up, not waiting for his vision to clear. Shadow swore out loud. His assailant had brought their hand down in a karate chop, connecting with his sore wrist. Next, a fist connected with his face, reacquainting Shadow's head with the tree. Pain exploded in that region of his head. The former BIOVOLT operative had made a definite decision at that point. He was going to chop every tree in the manor down!
Finally, Shadow brought his knee up and successfully connected with a stomach. The guy grunted and swore in English. With his other fist, Shadow managed to punch him in the face, repaying him for the last one he gave him. Shadow stopped to shake his head, finally getting rid of the lights in his eyes way. He now managed to make out someone around his height, doubled over slightly. Taking the opportunity to send a round house kick to the guy, Shadow knocked him to the ground. His foot connected with his head, giving a satisfying crack. The other guy was quick though. He swept his legs as soon as he was on his back, making Shadow's feet vanish under him. Next thing he knew, the attacker had Shadow pinned. Shadow struggled, but the other guy was already sat on top of him. Just as Shadow was looking up to get a look at the attacker, the moon decided it was going to hide. Shadow cursed its bad timing.
"Agent Shadow... Nice to finally meet you in person." a smooth, British accent whispered easily.
"Charmed, I'm sure." Shadow snapped back. "Would you care to introduce yourself, or should I really get nasty?"
The guy tutted. "Now now. Where are your manners? ...Never mind. It's not like it'll matter in a few minutes. I'm Agent Hunter. Our superiors are very disappointed in you, Shadow."
So he was working for BIOVOLT... Shadow thought. "Yeah, well I've always been like that. After all, my mother said I was useless at code-cracking or half-decent assassinations."
"Ah yes... and so in retaliation, you put her in jail. How delicious it must have been for you..." the voice answered. Shadow wasn't sure, but he thought he heard disapproval and possibly hatred.
Shadow took the chance it try and flip the guy off his chest. Hunter was caught off guard; Shadow managing to get into a sitting up position and raise his clawed fist to the guy's chest. But Shadow wasn't quick enough. He found himself back on his back, a strong hand holding him down by his forehead.
"That was very rude of you. And here I was thinking that you were a refined, handsome young man."
Shadow tried to get up, punch, kick, whatever he could. Hunter however had him straddled. Shadow felt a lot of Hunter's weight was based around his chest. He felt his anger boil.
"Well!? Aren't you going to kill me?! Those were your orders, weren't they?"
"Hhhmmmm..... quite right... but they're only the tail end. Tell me, how close exactly are you to that Kai? And Tala to Max whilst we're at it."
Shadow froze, wondering why he'd want to know. Then he snarled. "Leave him alone; you hear me!? Kai, and Max, too!"
"That close, huh? Pity. It's such a waste, you being with that brute. But then again, it's a waste to have to kill you later."
Shadow decided he hated the guy. Suddenly, they both heard at the same time someone calling.
"Shadow?! Where are you?"
Tala!! Shadow thought. Hunter must have known as well. "Oh dear... Looks like we're going to have to postpone this conversation, Shadow. Here're some little tokens to remember me by."
Pressure was suddenly exerted on Shadow's lips, his visors finally becoming askew. His eyes widened. He's kissing me! Shadow thought suddenly. His body froze in shock. As soon as it started, it ended. Then in contrast to the kiss on the lips, the green-haired French boy received a punch across the face.
The weight was taken off his chest immediately, allowing him to take in the extra air that he was unknowingly denied. Coughing at the sudden rush of oxygen, Shadow rolled onto his front, getting on his hands and knees gasping through the air.
"Oliver!? What happened?"
Cypher was next to Shadow now, his hand in the middle of Shadow's back allowing him to breathe first. It didn't take that long. Shadow looked up at Cypher, his face showing his worry.
"Tala. His name's Hunter."
___________________________________________________________
Anime: Here we go! Chapter six in the sequel to Shadow! And we have a new assassin in the mix.
Wufei: *sarcastic* You are really talented in springing surprises on people, aren't you?
Anime: p Okay, so I lack talent in that area. Bet you couldn't do any better.
Wufei: Bet I can.
Anime: *hands computer over* Then here you go, you do it!
Wufei: No. I'm not doing your work for you.
Anime: See, you don't have the guts or talent to do so *smug smug* Side- stepping the job was always your thing.
Wufei: I'm Flames Distributor!
Anime: And a side stepper.
Wufei: Not.
Anime: Too!
Wufei: Not!
Anime: Too!
Other muses: -_-! Here we go again....