A/N: MINOR SCORPIA RISING SPOILERS, BEWARE!
Okay, now that we've established that, this is a fic dedicated to Julius Grief, also known as 'fake Alex' in Point Blanc. I really love Julius's character. He's twisted, and insane, but somewhere in there he just wants to be loved ^-^ (Okay, maybe that's just my interpretation of him. Hahaha.) And to kill Alex Rider, of course.
Disclaimer: Neither Alex Rider nor Julius Grief belong to me. The teddy bear, however, possibly.
A slim, pale hand crept up to his face, and gently, experimentally, pressed at the bandages. An ugly grimace crossed his face for the slightest moment. But then it was gone. The face was neutral again, as it should be.
The face.
Not his face. Because it wasn't his face anymore.
It was covered in white bandages wrapped firmly around his head, and hurt to even touch. The fair-haired boy could barely breathe through the material—most of the time it obscured his vision and made him want to rip the whole thing off, face and all. But then he had to remind himself. Everything would become his in time.
He just had to wait.
Julius Grief allowed another scowl to cross his face as he left his room. Waiting, waiting, that was all it ever was. He was so sick of it. When would the day come?
He headed down the corridor and turned left, entering the elevator. The private kitchens were only a floor below his room, and they stocked everything he loved. But of course, he was only going to eat what Alex Friend loved. The thought of acting like Friend utterly revolted Julius, but he would have to deal with it. After all, the world was going to be his.
He ordered a sirop de grenadine—a disgusting French drink, in his opinion, but it was a small sacrifice—and began walking back, walking in the same pace and style as Alex Friend. He had to practice, and practice never ended.
His leg came into contact with something, and Julius instinctively looked down, reaching into his pocket for a gun. But he needn't have worried. It was a small, brown, soft object: a toy bear for a child. What was it doing here?
Almost without thinking, Julius Grief picked it up and glared at it, as if the bear had single-handedly ruined his good mood. What was he supposed to do with this? Should he leave it and keep going? Or should he act like Friend and hand it in to lost property?
He examined the toy curiously. As a child, he had received toy rifles and swords. Then, as he got older, he had received real weapons. He had never had the opportunity to even see a ... a ...
Teddy bear. That was what it was called.
Julius seemed to recall the name from a distant memory. Where had he heard the name before? He shook his head. It didn't matter where he had heard it. It was his now, if he chose to keep it.
But did he choose to keep it? The toy wasn't exactly brand new; the fur was matted with dirt, and two buttons were missing off the vest. The stuffing was threatening to burst at the seams. But Julius was curious. What did children do with these?
Did they kick them around? Did they use them as target practice? Did they stuff them with explosives then toss them as far away as they could?
But then he remembered.
There was that one time where he was watching that movie. There had been a child, and there had been a teddy bear. And the child was...
Experimentally, Julius mimicked what he had seen, holding the bear close to his body, tentatively pressing the toy to his chest. Nothing happened. Nothing exploded, or stabbed him, or tried to knock him out. It was really just an innocent plaything.
It felt good, Julius decided, to be hugging the bear. For a moment he could just forget about his responsibilities, and experience a childhood that had been taken away from him.
But then the moment passed, and Julius Grief had kicked the bear down the corridor, and laughed as he watched it fly through the air.