Title: Crisis
Author: EliMania
Rating: PG
Summary: Troubled and in hiding, Ved's conscience finally catches up with him. Sequel to "Duty".
Disclaimer: I didn't see Ram or Mega in drag, so I'm guessing I don't own it.
The first thing you see are the buildings, most of which are gray and unused. You keep going, and they go from colossal to ant sized by the time you find the gated borders. After that is the country, and then the forest, and then the mountains, and if you don't see that, you're staring at the ocean. The ocean, the mountains, the forest, the country, the city. This is where they lived and breathed, and yet everything was so generic. Broad. Common.
'Nameless'. He thinks to himself. 'This entire place is nameless'.
Ved is sitting on top of the last building he ever thought he would have to consider home. Considering the state of things, the mall wasn't that bad of a place to be in, but it never ceases to amaze him that the first thing he sees when he wakes up isn't a computer.
It had been a couple of weeks since he brought Cloe back to this place, and although she was better, things were far from peaceful. The Technos were tearing up the city looking for the both of them, and based on what he had seen on the last CityNet broadcast, he knew it wasn't just because he had run away. Ram had always been a little on the sickly side, but it seemed as if things were taking a turn for the worst. And although he was sure that Ram's harpy of a wife could take control of things just fine on her own, without him or his brother, no one would be able to run the main computers that kept the city running.
If they tried, the system would self-destruct, and then they would have a lot of unusable software on their hands.
In comparison, the Mallrats were far easier to deal with. Not to say that some Tree-hugging/Pink haired/Ape-man individuals hadn't argued that he leave before he brought any more trouble (And then had argued even further when it became evident that he would be sharing Cloe's room). It wasn't exactly a picnic, but with half the Technos looking for him, it was better than nothing.
He hears the door to the roof clang open and turns to see Cloe standing there, out of breath, beckoning him inside. Another raid. Great. He gets up and follows her to their designated hiding place. The walls seem paper-thin as they hear the sound of things being pushed aside and scattered, the complaints of the Mallrats ignored. The two of them huddle in the dark and Cloe remembers how years ago it was her and Patsy in this same space, arms around each other, waiting for the Loco invasion that never came. The thought of Patsy makes her ache and she digs her head into her boyfriend's shoulder.
They sit perfectly still against the wall furthest from the trap door. Ved sits with one leg out and the other bent at the knee, propping up his right arm so that he can aim his laser straight at their only exit, the usual humming sound somehow silenced. Cloe sits with both her knees up and close enough that their sides are pressed together. It's not the smartest position to be in if they have to fight and flight, but it keeps them calm, or at least as calm as they can get in this situation.
The banging and clanging sounds get closer and he feels her jolt after one particularly nasty sounding crash. He puts his free arm around her and pulls her closer. He remembers her once saying how she felt like all she had ever done since the virus was hide and smugly replying how his tribe had to ability to change that and keep everyone safe, and she believed him. And now here she was, back in hiding, because he was an idiot for ever trusting that two-face bastard Ram. Images of the labs rush into his head and he wants to shut his eyes and scream. He thinks about how much he hates Ram and how much he wishes he had had the strength to gut him while he had a chance. He feels Cloe stiffen next to him, and he realizes the arm he has wrapped around her is now painfully tight and his fingers are digging into her shoulder. Hard. He loosens his grip and they hear the brigade of men slowly begin to make their way out.
Cloe leans in close. "What's wrong?" She whispers.
He shakes his head. "It's okay."
She pats the hand he has on her shoulder and looks up at him. "What were you thinking about?"
He turns slightly to look at her and he gets a flash of her hanging in the labs. He blinks to get the image out before he shrugs. She's scared enough as it is. He doesn't need to frighten her further with the memories in his head, or with his desire to rip his mentor limb from limb. He can't tell her that. He could never tell her that. Because how can you tell someone you care so much that you'd tear someone else apart for hurting them; to keep that same monster from doing it again? How could he tell her that without looking like a monster himself?
"Nothing." He replies. "It's nothing."
She doesn't press him, and the mall goes silent. It seems like an eternity before they hear anyone and are relieved to hear the familiar knocking code, signaling that it's safe to come out. They climb down from the top of the lift and look around. The mall was trashed. It wasn't as bad as the first time, but still. All the Mallrats present were quiet, save for that little girl, Mouse, who was sobbing into Salene's shoulder over what looked like a broken doll. Cloe cringes at the sight. "Is everyone okay?" She asks anxiously.
Amber nods. "Yeah, everyone's fine. It's not as bad as it looks." She says, putting her hand on Cloe's shoulder. A disgusted grunt comes from the back of Lex's throat as he hits the wall with the side of his fist. The young girl cringes again and Amber turns to him and glares warningly.
Lex scowls back at her. "What?"
She scowls right back. "Don't start."
He spreads his arms in fake confusion. "Start what?" He asks. He pushes himself up from where he was leaning against the wall and begins coming toward them. "I was just going to say we wouldn't be in this mess if we had tossed that little creep out when I said." He says accusingly, his eyes going from the girls to the 'creep' in mention. Ved has heard this same spiel at least a hundred times by now and just rolls his eyes before he walks back towards the roof.
"Don't turn your back on me, you brat! It's all your fault!" He yells as he begins to follow. "We should have handed you over the first time that lot came around."
Cloe comes up and shoves him. "Shut up! Can't you just shut up!" She asks angrily.
Lex looks back at her, cool as ice. "I'm just saying what everybody else wants to. You're just too stupid to see it for yourself." Cloe fumes and then proceeds to kick Lex in the shins as hard as she can. Satisfied with the groan he lets out, she leaves to chase after her boyfriend. Amber looks him up and down as he rubs the newly made bruise.
"I hope that hurts." She says sternly. "So next time I warn you about opening that big mouth of yours, you listen." She turns to the rest of the Mallrats. "C'mon, let's get this place cleaned up."
Back up on the roof, Ved sits near the railings that lay out of sight. He puts his legs through and lets them hang down as he rests his arms on the lower part of the railing and puts his head down. Maybe his brother had done the right thing by leaving, running off with Ebony in the middle of the night to escape all this mess. The others said he was going to return with help, but Ved didn't see why Jay would do something so illogical. With everything as screwed up as it was, what could a few forest hippies with sticks do versus what the Technos had? And all though he'd love to see Ram defeated by a whole bunch of virts, he knew better than to count on it.
Cloe quietly makes her way towards him and then sits down, tucking her legs under her. She leans down on the railing to look him eye to eye. "Hey."
"Hey."
"Thanks for not getting into a fight again. Lex is a jerk."
"Yeah, I know." He replies, because he knows all too well what a jackass Lex is, always running his mouth off and picking fights with him. And as much as he liked getting to punch the over grown ape man, he knew it upset Cloe and the rest of her tribe, so he was trying his best to ignore Lex's efforts. Besides, Lex always won their fights anyway, and Ved wasn't fond of getting his face shoved into the ground. 'He's pretty tough… For a brainless stump.' He thinks to himself and half smiles.
Cloe smiles as well. It was nice to see him smile. He was so quiet and unhappy these days, she almost missed his smugness and sarcasm. Almost. He'd been this way ever since she had gotten back, impassive except for the occasional flash of anger. She had been so happy when she woke up, so happy to find that when she looked around she was no longer in the middle of some color war, but safe in her own home with him beside her. Even with the trouble they were in now, just knowing he was there made her feel content. She just wanted him to feel the same way.
She stares at him, and he looks around so he won't have to look her in the eye. He gets distracted by the green extension bits in her hair and watches as the wind blows them about. Her hair gets blown down into her face and he watches as she tries to tuck it back. He glances at her eyes while she's distracted. They're pretty. He's always thought they were pretty, and he feels bad that the only time he ever told her so was done with a bad line. She looks over at him and he looks down before turning his head forward.
As he turns, Cloe gets a good look at his neck and the scars he has there. Most of them were fully healed, but a few still have some discoloration. She shoves her hair chopstick back into place. She still can't believe she had caused all that, along with the scars on his shoulders and chest. He had all ready been bandaged by the time she woke up, Salene having gone in to check on them and then having a fit upon seeing the blood on his clothes and the covers, but Cloe had had no idea it was her who had caused it. He had kept trying to assure her he was fine, but some of the wounds just looked so deep and ugly. 'Well, at least he's better now.' She thinks to herself. Cloe swings one of her legs over the side so that she's facing him and moves closer. Then she leans in and places a kiss on one of the scars on his neck.
Ved stiffens as he feels her lips on his neck, unsure of what he wants to do. Half of him screams to pull away. It isn't right. The other, more selfish half wants to go with the flow, reminding him what a long, long time it's been since they've kissed or made out or have…. Yeah. He got her out. She's fine now. They use to do this all the time. She's still his girl. This half tells him to get on with it.
Then that awful feeling comes back, and he starts to remember the day he found her all over again. He grits his teeth as he tries to get the sight out of his head, but he can't stop it. And it comes in so clear: Walking in pass the guards, making his way through all the experiments. They seemed so different from when he last worked in one of these areas. All around him were subjects that looked half starved in white suits as they whimpered and groaned. The further he went, the harder he had to convince himself that his mind was playing tricks on him. No, he didn't see her in the monitor. She was nowhere near here. She was at the mall, or another station, or somewhere else. Anywhere else. She wasn't here. She couldn't be here, no, not in a place like this, not his girl. And half way to believing himself, he turned another corner and there she was: Cloe, live and in person, more real and human than any Christ on a crucifix, dressed in white and sprawled out, just like every other virt in the room.
And the sick feeling in his stomach that had been growing rapidly since he'd discovered she was missing overpowered him, and he wanted to throw up. He wanted to break down and cry. He wanted to hurt something. He wanted to hurt Ram. He wanted to hurt himself. He wanted to not feel like this. He wanted this all to be over. But most of all, he wanted this all to be one big nightmare he could wake up from; so that none of it was real. It was all just a bad dream and when he woke he'd be in bed rubbing where he only dreamed he had been run through and Cloe would be safe and asleep at the mall, curled up in her leopard print blanket.
But the feeling in his stomach told him that this wasn't just some dream, it was real, this was happening. And then it ends and he can't pull away quick enough. His other half reminds him that it doesn't matter if he was the one that brought her home. So what? He got her there in the first place. Besides, that was just her. What about the others they had taken? The others that had to sample what he had created. All those virts, the ones that he didn't think mattered…. Now it didn't matter that he'd left the Technos or messed up their system. It didn't matter that he lived in the mall now or that he was dressed in their clothing. And it especially didn't matter that he had gotten Cloe out. Because those other people weren't coming back.
Ever.
Cloe flinches back as well. She's never seen him like this, and she doesn't know what to do. He looks so lividly miserable, and her first instinct is to reach out and touch him, but after what just happened, it might just make things worst. But she can't just sit here and do nothing.
"Ved?" She calls out quietly. "Ved. Ved!"
He looks over stonily.
"Ved, you need to tell me what's wrong." He starts to move away. "No. I'm serious. I want to know. I want to help. What is it? Is it your brother?"
"Cloe."
"Because he really is coming back, even if Ebony doesn't. He promised and Amber believes it, and she's usually right about those sorts of things."
"No, it's not that-"
"Well, is it the Mallrats?"
"I don't thi-"
"I know Lex is a pain in the ass and always will be, but it'll be fine. The others just need some more time."
'Yeah right' he thinks to himself. "No, Cloe, it's nothing. Just drop it."
"No, it's not nothing. Don't tell me it's nothing. I'm tired of hearing it's nothing."
"Then shut up!"
"No!" He turns away from her and she pulls on his shoulder to make him face her, only to get shoved off. She stands up, fists clenched together. "Look at me. Ved!" She yells.
He gets up and turns around angrily, ready to battle it out, only to find that she's not mad or fuming or even annoyed. Just hurt and concerned. Still just trying to help him. God, why did she have to be like this? Was she dumb? Crazy? Why couldn't she be mad at him? He could take her angry; he just couldn't take her looking at him like that, so blindly devoted. He didn't deserve that, especially not from her.
"Just tell me."
He shakes his head. "How can you be like this?"
"What?"
"How can you be like this? After everything that's happened, getting taken and used as an experiment…"
"But I'm fine now. It's over. You got me out. You resc-"
"Cloe, you were only there because of me." He states firmly, crossing his arms.
"What? Ved, no-"
"Yes, because of me. If we'd never gotten involved, you would have never been taken." He explains before his voice gets quieter. "And even if you had, you wouldn't have had to go through all that if I hadn't gotten it to work. You or any of the others." He takes a deep breath. "You were in so much pain, Cloe. I know you were. Aren't you mad at me?"
She stares at him before she begins shaking her head. "No, of course not. You never meant for any of that to happen! We didn't know what was going to happen."
"What about everything else? All the virts that died during testing, or the ones that barely survived, like you and Amber? Everybody I've come across since I joined the Technos? Everyone we've ever hurt. Aren't you mad at me for that?"
"No. No. No. Ram screwed up your head."
"No he didn't. It was me. I hurt people."
"No. It's not the same. Things are different, I don't care!"
"No, damn it!" He shouts exasperated. God, it felt like he couldn't breathe. He walks up and gets in her face. "I don't understand. How can you just stand there and be like this? How can you not be angry? How can you not care about everything I've done?"
"Ved…" She begins, staring at him incredulously. "I love you." She states, simple and quiet, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. And to her it is, and she means it. She knows it. She remembers how it was before and how she thought she was in love then, and she wants to laugh because it was such a joke. Everything felt like it ran so much deeper now, and sometimes it felt like she physically hurt from how much she cared. Yes, he'd hurt people, and yes, it bothered her. But it didn't stop her from caring, and that was that.
They stare at each other silently. It feels like an eternity before he closes his eyes and shakes his head, the sick thing in his stomach tightening.
"Cloe, I don't even know what to say to that."
She presses her lips together and nods. She knew better than to expect him to say it back. After all, he was still Ved. She lightly and pulls him closer to her.
"Clo, don't-"
"You don't need to say anything. I just…. Please?" She asks weakly. He gives in and she pulls him down to her level to kiss him. He wants to resist, but everything seems to get turned down and the sick feeling in his stomach begins to unwind and melt. He kisses her back and then rests his forehead against hers, just letting the warm feeling take over and calm him down.
He takes a deep breath. "This isn't over."
"Yes, it is." She replies. "I don't want to fight anymore today." She moves closer to hug him.
"Okay."
"And everything is going to be fine, right?" She pulls back. "Right?"
"Right." He says, though he really doesn't think it'll be as simple as that. Nothing ever is. But you had to start somewhere, right? He gives her a half smile and she grins.
"C'mon, let's go." She says as she takes his hand and begins to drag him inside.
The End.