U ɴ ƒ o ʀ ɢ ɪ v ᴇ ɴ
Chapter Two: Agreements
As life would have it, while Griffin had spent the last nineteen days in agony, David had had the happiest nineteen days of his life. He was together with Millie; he had a sister who, in spite of her initial shyness, gone out for coffee with him; and his mother wasn't even pretending to act as though she was going to track him down. After their initial meeting, he'd become consumed with a desire to see her again, and so even though it was incredibly dangerous, he had gone back. Expecting to be met by electricity and rage, Mary had welcomed him in and told him flatly that she simply couldn't hurt him. She could pretend that she was going to, as she had before, and make him leave … but she was never really a threat. She couldn't bring herself to kill him.
After that, things had gone as perfectly as they could go. He spent his days with Millie, exploring the wonders of the world; he spent his nights with his mother and sister, catching up and discussing everything except the Paladins and the Jumpers. Not out of any desire to keep it secret – (who was there to keep it secret from, anyway? Sophie, his sister, knew everything) – but out of mutual respect for the other. The elephant in the room aside, those nightly meetings were going fantastically well. Sophie was smart, and had a wickedly dry sense of humour, once she got past her initial shyness, and Mary was his mother.
No words could describe how wonderful it felt to have a mother again, after twenty years. He may have lost his father, but he'd never really had him in the first place. No, having his mother was far greater than anything his father had ever done. Having Millie, and utter unrestricted freedom… Was pure bliss.
Even after he'd learnt to Jump and robbed the bank for the first time, David had never been happier.
So, of course, the night after he'd decided that his life would be perfect from here on in, it flipped upside down and turned his whole world around.
\/\/\/
David knocked on the door, and was welcomed by the surprisingly serious face of his mother. Sophie was nowhere to be seen. Before he could even open his mouth to ask a question, Mary began to talk.
"Hello, David," she greeted him, and then paused, adding solemnly, "I think we need to have a talk."
David followed her into the lounge room, looking apprehensive. "About what?"
"Jumpers. Paladins. What's going to happen next." Mary sat down in an armchair, gesturing for him to take a seat as well.
"What do you mean?" He asked, sitting down on the couch.
"In light of recent events, I've been promoted. I now run the Paladin organization."
David flinched backwards. "Then I should kill you."
"And I should have killed you long ago. But here we are."
"What's your point?"
"Quite simply, I want to end the war."
"You're kidding. Aren't you guys supposed to be the ones who'll kill us at any cost? What's changed?"
"I have," Mary answered. "You're my son, David. If I can't kill you, it's completely hypocritical of me to order my subordinates to hunt after other Jumpers. I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I want to propose a truce. If both sides stop fighting, we will give Jumpers asylum, security, and safety. In return, we ask that our families are not targeted in misguided attempts at revenge for any of our previous actions."
"What, and the other Paladins are just going to sit back and let this happen?"
"I've been discussing it with them for the last three days. We've come to an agreement. Those of us who still believe that Jumpers are abominations against both God and nature will be released from our service, and all affiliations with us will be rendered null and void. We hope that there will not be any Jumpers out there who will still insist on fighting us, because the cycle of violence will only continue to grow. I want both sides to start on a clean slate. A peaceful, non-violent, slate, uninhibited by past grudges or campaigns for vengeance."
David raised an eyebrow. "You expect me to believe that?"
"It's the truth, son. Please. I'm sorry for what Roland and his subordinates put you through, but if we worked together, Jumpers and Paladins, we could erase him from this world. Not all of us are as psychopathic as him. We're willing to try this again. In every generation of Jumpers and Paladins, there have always been two kinds of each – the ones who are desperate to stop the fighting, and the ones who are desperate to continue it. In each generation, the ones who wish to prolong the war are the ones who have won out. By sheer luck, we have another chance for our generation. We can change the course of history, right here, right now. We can erase Roland and his legacy, and all of us could work together for another world."
David spread his arms. "So why haven't you started this?"
"Because we can't contact the Jumpers. Every single one of them dismisses any talk of a truce as a trap. If we run into them, the Jumpers will attack us without waiting to see why we haven't attacked them, first. It's as much our fault as theirs, but in any case, the result is the same; we can't start this truce if they keep running away."
"So you want me," David said flatly.
"Yes."
"To do what?"
"We need another Jumper. Someone who has connections to other Jumpers; someone who they trust completely. Someone who they'll believe if they bring back word of a truce. What I want you to do is find a Jumper like that, and bring them back to meet me."
"No Jumper would ever do that willingly," David muttered, running his hands through his short hair. He gave her an apologetic, almost embarrassed look. "I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. I've only met one other that I know of, and while I'm fairly sure he would know dozens of others, he might not even be alive right now. Even if he was…" David trailed off, and laughed harshly. "Even if he was, I'd have to tie him up for you two to meet. I'm sorry, Mum, but that's not going to happen. I'm not even sure I believe this talk of a truce, anyway."
Mary looked indescribably hurt for a moment. Her hands flew to her face to cover it, and she shuddered. She recovered her poise almost instantly, but he had seen how pained her expression was, how genuinely upset she had been by his comment of distrust. After two more seconds of silence, she murmured "Well, that's it then."
"What do you mean?"
"If you don't believe me – your own mother, David – if you don't believe me, who else will? If I can't convince my son, who can I convince?" She stood up, clearly agitated, and walked over to the large glass window, gazing out it. "I just want the war to end. I don't want to continue fighting people who don't deserve to have their lives ruined by us. Yes, they break the law, but in time, maybe we could even stop that, if we worked together. We just need cooperation. David, son, is it so much to ask? If you brought me someone who would listen, with an open mind, who could stop the war… You might be saving the lives of hundreds of people. Thousands."
David looked at the ground, face burning with shame. He didn't want to believe his mother, but at the same time, he couldn't see any reason she'd lie. She sounded completely honest… and she hadn't ever even tried to raise a hand against him. She continued, soft and gentle.
"I can understand your hesitance. You feel like you'd be betraying a Jumper if you had to hurt them to get them here. But, Davey –" he winced at the nickname, memories rushing back as she said it, "– If it saved the lives of hundreds of Jumpers, wouldn't it be worth it?"
"You can't ask me to do this!" David snapped.
"What?" Mary demanded, turning around. "Do you want this war to continue? Do you want to be responsible for a million more deaths? Yes, David, people are dying even as we speak, Jumpers and Paladins alike! If a few more get hurt, but hundreds more live, then why can't I ask you to? You're the only person I can rely on! The only person I can trust! You're being incredibly selfish, and I can't believe that you would honestly want these mutual massacres to go on if you have the chance to stop them! I'm giving everyone another chance! Every Jumper, every Paladin! I'm offering asylum and safety, rehabilitation and security! No more pointless deaths! Paladins and Jumpers can live their lives separate, unharmed, not involved in any kind of war at all! No more fighting! No more death! I want to make sure that you and Sophie are going to be safe in the years to come from each other! Do you think I want to see my children fighting each other? Killing each other? I can't let that happen, Davey!" She started crying, and came back to sit on the couch, shoulders racking with sobs. "I can't let that happen."
David moved to sit next to her, awkwardly petting her shoulder and half-hugging her. She sighed shakily, murmuring "I can't let that happen… No more deaths… No more dying… No more bodies turning up months after they disappeared… No more electrical torture… Just peace. Peace, Davey. Is that really… so terrible… to ask for one person who might be able to help bring this truce together… even though they might suffer at your hands in the process? If it would stop the war… stop any threat of you and Sophie attacking each other… stop the tragedies that happen when a new Jumper is discovered… stop the pain and the hurt and the rage… Is it really so bad?"
David's resolve was wavering, and he put his face into his hands. "You can't ask me to do this," he repeated, voice muffled through his fingers, but sounding unconvinced in any case.
"Hundreds of lives, Davey. Please, son, I need you to do this. I love you too much… I can't let you die as the result of a war that I could have stopped."
"Mum," he protested weakly, before straightening up and turning so that he was looking her straight in the eyes. "Hundreds of lives," he repeated, uncertainly.
"If not thousands in the future."
"And all you need is one person to stop it?"
"Yes."
David shuddered violently, before swallowing hard and nodding. "Alright. Alright."
"You'll do it?"
"Yes."
"Thank you." Mary said simply, touching him lightly on the shoulder. "Thank you."
Author's Note:
According to Wikipedia, David's half-sister's name is Sophie. I didn't make it up. Just lettin' you all know. Thank you for the review, Marie Poe, and to everyone else, please leave one. Please?
In any case, take care, all. Should have the next chapter up in a little while... Hopefully.
