Angels with Newfound Hope
Act 2 Prologue: Memory
Falling. Alexander Thompson was falling yet again. The white void spanned infinitely in front of him, with the whispers returning bit by bit.
"Let them die. Failed him. Murderer." Those torturous voices smothered the brunette, invading every crevice of his mind. He wanted silence. He wanted it all to stop! And yet, nothing came. Nothing was there in this blinding whiteness to save him.
Until he turned around. A very familiar gray face came into view. Even when 'asleep', Maverick carried that same ever present snarl. It didn't last long as a shadow fell in front of him. Those horns, the muzzle, and that stocky structure.
"Bryce!" Alex grasped and swiped at the dark void where he should've been. Tears flowed freely once again as both of them began to leave his presence. Luckily, it wasn't long before the grieving human followed...
Midtown Apartment - 10:19PM
A hefty 'THUD' echoed through the halls of an apartment building. The source came from unit 2278. A large dragon lay in a heap on the maple floorboards of his living room, clutching his head after having jolted right off his sofa. His trembling gray scales glimmered like stars under the gentle moonlight.
"Ugh... What the heck just hit me?" He muttered after finally recovering. "Wait, Alex." No time was wasted by him setting off for the portal in a hurry. That human had to pay for what he did.
Portal Hill - 10:20PM
All stood calm amongst the timid wilderness around the portal. Crickets were singing their songs, a few animals roamed about in search of food. It was almost a picturesque scene before a blinding flash sent someone tumbling from within.
Alex scrambled to his feet, drawing his pistol in a panic. Maverick was still around here somewhere waiting for him to slip up. Like hell if he'd ever let that happen again. It didn't take long before a certain figure appeared from behind the pristine white pillars.
"Mongoose? God, am I glad to see you. What the hell happened just now? One moment Maverick tackles me into that fucking thing, and the next: I'm back here uninjured." The brunette pressed his partner in crime as she stepped closer. The visor flashed on with a sinister red.
Mongoose pulled a pistol similar in looks to his from her holster, no compassion showing behind that helmet. It surprised the grieving male as his instincts kicked in. He ducked right under the noiseless projectile and grabbed her wrist. She tried to counter to no avail, resulting in a swift flip onto the ground and said limb completely limp.
"Shit..." A dangerously familiar voice resounded from behind the defeated one's headgear.
"You. What the hell did you do with my friend?!" Alex barked. His injured captive glanced between him and a mysterious object in the distance.
"Let me go!" His hunter struggled, making her twisted wrist far worse.
"And why would I do that?" The spite-filled man raised his own pistol with a bloodlust stronger than he'd ever felt.
"Maverick!" She cried, jabbing somewhere behind him. The male glanced back to find she was right. The very dragon who tried to kill him only a few minutes ago was sailing towards them. His rapid flapping and tensed claws carried a deep bloodlust, one not for his own species.
The brunette didn't realize the impostor Viper had escaped until it was too late. The distorted atmosphere around her form tore from his grasp and made a beeline for the forest once again. He didn't even have time to say that one famous line before getting barreled into. The titanic silver reptile pinned him down and tore into his neck. He'd have hit an artery if it weren't for the distant thundering footsteps of a certain white male.
"Oh no!" Remy came to the rescue as Maverick's blood eyes sank into a nearby bush. His bloodied lips hid well in the dense foliage as his prey got an express trip to the hospital. Not like he'd survive...
"...The ambassador?" Alex, in his barely conscious state, picked up fragments of a conversation. The first to speak was that officer from the last couple weeks.
"Yes... injured... lucky... recovery." Remy was next in line. What was that about him being lucky? Maverick didn't mortally wound him. At least, that's what he hoped.
"Why... wounds... that." The female gestured to him. He guessed she was talking about his augment working its magic.
"They were... so quickly... stitching... nearly pointless." Yep, they were definitely talking about his super healing. Things got clearer as the human's mind returned more and more.
"What about the person who did this?" Sebastian's voice rang out amidst the growing crowd. Wait, that guy was supposed to be dead. Alex saw the wounds. Bryce even declared him as such! How was he standing on his right, completely unharmed?
"I didn't see anyone nearby, and my first priority was to get the ambassador first aid. Whomever did this must've done so as soon as he came through." The larger dragon pointed out. It wouldn't be the first time for the man: just another day in the office.
"Well, it's good you did that so quickly. This guy would be dead otherwise. It looks like his jugular was punctured." The female pointed out from his medical clipboard.
"Didn't you read that already, Naomi?" Sebastian cocked a brow in a deadpan manner. Now the human remembered. She almost got him arrested when he took his nightshades back from that bitch.
"Uh..." Naomi scratched the back of her neck sheepishly. Alex decided it best to let them know he was awake.
"You know, it's rude to talk about someone in front of their face like that." He added a dry cough to emphasize his 'injury'.
"Ah, ambassador! We're so sorry to have woken you. We were just talking about your injuries. It's a miracle you survived something so fatal." Remy snapped to attention. It would've been endearing, had the topic not been so serious.
"You guys don't have to be so formal. Just call me Alex." The brunette addressed coolly. He was thankful he had just as much acting experience just from acting normal back in school.
"We'll try. But what happened last night that you can recall? Remy here found you with mortal wounds." The female piped up. That was nothing new to him from what he heard.
"I'm afraid I still remember very little. All I saw was teeth clamping down on my throat before the blood forced my eyes shut." Alex knew exactly who it was, but thought it better not to say for now. The last thing these dragons needed was a police scandal with what just happened.
"Shit. And your wounds have already fully healed, so we can't gather any DNA evidence." She hissed. And with it went one little problem.
"So I guess I can go anytime?" The man asked jokingly. His pearly acquaintance finally showed some balls and spoke up again.
"When they're done. Sebastian here is your escort, after all." Remy gestured to the tan officer on his right. He was writing every little thing said in a small notepad on hand. Just looking at him sent the human back to last night.
"Speaking of: we'll have to go meet up with Maverick and Reza if you're able to walk." The raptor tilted his pencil in regard to his brown-haired companion.
"I think so." Alex began pulling things out of his skin when three dangerously heavy knocks threatened to take the door off its hinges. In the now open doorway stood an equally familiar figure: a gray dragon in police dog tags donning that ever numb glare.
"Everyone." Maverick addressed the room without faltering. The tone of his gravelly voice spoke only of exhaustion; a surprise for the ambassador.
"Maverick, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Reza?" Naomi was stunned by the sudden appearance, as was everyone else.
"He wanted to check up on his partner. Speaking of..." The larger officer stepped aside to reveal his escortee: completely unharmed. His eyes weren't gone, no scratches plagued his sunkissed skin, not even a drop of blood stained that white button-up.
"Alex? Is that really you? God, you look like shit." The other human joked, brushing aside a stray lock of hair. His only 'friend' let the hatred flow once more. His face numbed into that of the night previous.
"Sebastian, I need to talk to the ambassador... alone." The silver dragon gestured to the room's only exit. The aforementioned raptor took it upon himself to challenge his coworker.
"Why? We just had his statement when you came in." The air between the two grew thick. Enough so that one could cut through it with a knife.
"I heard the part about him not remembering. Maybe I could help with that." Maverick craned his neck forward for emphasis.
"Oh no. You are not pulling-"
"Out. I said I need to speak to him alone, and that's what I plan on doing. Do not piss me off today, Sebastian. I'm not in a good mood." The blood-eyed male snarled, jabbing back toward the doorway.
"If I hear anything beyond normal conversation, Bryce will be hearing about this." The tan officer threatened before taking everyone into the hall with him. The door slammed shut behind them, with Maverick turning back to Alex.
"What do you want?" The aforementioned man glowered. His grip around a freshly pulled IV tightened to where his knuckles turned white.
"Answers. Now. Or do you want me to finish the job the wild animal started?" The massive officer threatened lowly, his razor-like teeth glistening in the morning light.
"Try anything and I will send you to hell. Got it?" The human pointed his needle at his assailant.
"First question. What the heck did you do to the portal? How does no one remember what happened over the last two weeks?" Maverick spat, already through with anything Alex may pull.
"I didn't do a damned thing. There's someone already out there trying to kill me. Maybe they pulled some stunt with it." He fired back quietly. Trying to keep something like his hunter covert could end up being nigh impossible.
"Quit lying to me. There wasn't anyone except you and Reza during that whole time." The dragon's blood eyes cast a spiteful gaze across their subject.
"I'm not. There was a third when me and Bryce confronted that asshole. She got herself shot trying to-"
"I don't care what your imaginary friend was trying to do! Tell me what you did to the portal!" The larger male got up in his company's face, prompting a solid shove.
"She's not imaginary! I almost died to her several times. What'll it take to get you to believe me?" The brunette snapped angrily. The last thing he wanted was to deal with this whilst he was still mourning.
"Hard proof. Get something physical I know you or Reza never came in with." Maverick finally gave his ultimatum.
"Fine. I'll just- What happened to my bag?" The stormy-eyed man looked everywhere for the item in question, but it was gone.
"The one from the barbecue? We took it into the station to check for anything dangerous, but it was stolen sometime during the night." His adversary replied rather bluntly.
"Great. Just great! So all mine and my late fiance's stuff is gone?!" Alex's blood reached a boiling point. That was twice his gear was stolen under his nose. Whomever that bitch was, she was going to pay!
"Fiance? You-"
"You never asked about her! You were too busy trying to associate me with crimes I never committed!" The snarling man let it boil over. His rage began to spill out bit by bit.
"And you think you're any better?! You-"
"Helped your partners with their work, solved a trail of crimes and caught a serial killer, and shot at him when he put a bullet in you! I even offered to extract it! But no. You just had to go and misplace your trust. Now someone I loved is dead! All because you had to have your way! This is all your fault!" With the final word, Alex threw a slap so hard it somehow sent the dragon to the floor in a daze. The door slammed open with Sebastian being shoved aside. The only thing he saw next was Maverick holding his cheek.
"What the heck happened?! Are you hurt?" The runner helped his friend up with some effort.
"No, he just caught me off guard." The larger officer simply stated with a strange look...