End of the Innocent
The Characters
Dawn: {Played by Dream_dancer14, font color Deepsky Blue.}
Brad: (Played by Darkblade, font color Royal Blue. }
Gabrielle: {Played by Amazonwarrior7, font color Deep Pink. }
Kree: {Played by Celestial_forces, font color Dark Green. }
Riley: {Played by Moonwarrior13, font color Purple. }
Quinn: Played by Prof_snape, font color Olive. }
Lei: Played by Dantethehalfdemon, font color Yellow. }
The soft mechanical hum of the medicinal devices in the Recuperation Area were quickly silenced with a press of a single button. Laboriously moving aside the crinkling covers from the bed which she was resting in, Gabrielle swung her legs over the edge of the soft mattress, letting the long limbs dangle for a few moments before attempting to put weight on them… With one arm supporting her battered torso and the other one reaching for her sweatshirt, Gabrielle arose, purposely avoiding contact with the alien physician.
Eyes of blue shifted slowly to the data pad at the end table at the left side of the room. It’s placement there was most likely an accident, as it had been the topic of many verbal arguments between her and Mathos, the residing doctor. The contents included not only a preliminary look at the next event in the Olympics, but also a list of those species expected to do well.
The sight of where the Mutant Force ranked caused anger to flare within the young woman once again. Apparently, the problem of sabotaging the events had not been completely solved. For despite the incredible performance of the humans, by this list, they didn’t stand a prayer.
Recent memories flashed before Gabrielle’s eyes, giving her a moment of painful lucidity as she remembered the affect that the last loss meant for her friends… Especially Dawn.. No, it could not be allowed it to happen again. She -wouldn’t- allow it. Competing in the trials was nearly out of the question, as her current state of health would definitely prove detrimental to the other mutants… But by god, Gabrielle was going to rid the games of the tainted officials once and for all. No matter what the cost.
Grimacing as she stood, Gabrielle carefully, and silently, started towards the automatic doors just a few yards in front of her, already collecting her small bag of supplies that rested just past the threshold.
The strangely humanoid form of the general practitioner hovered closely nearby, keeping watch on the young woman, and helping her stabilize herself once her feet had met the ground.
His own world had lost the Olympics.. Eons ago.. The ones that were lucky had perished when their planet was attacked, the countryside ravished.. But he, like so many others, had survived and consequently forced into slavery. Mathos’s own natural intelligence helped him become skilled in the medical field, where for countless years, he had been forced to tend to the unwilling victims of the Olympic Trials.
But in all his time and all his experience, never before had such a group of beings showed such aptitude and strength. Time and time again, the Earthlings had shown that it was -they- who were the force to be reckoned with. Their progress had been carefully watched by all involved in the Games. Some of whom saw the mutants as a threat to their very way of executing the events, others looked upon them with a sense of hope..
Hope which had been repressed for so long. Hope which could not be permitted to exist.
And there were those lower in the chain of command who were determined to keep the growing problem out of the knowledge of those in charge; The Great Ones.
This was the reason for Mathos risking his own life to inform the humans of the acts of brutal stratagem that were to occur. Ones that would be far worse than had been witnessed at the games before. And that was merely his plan. -Inform- the wounded girl. Let her tell her comrades, and -them- formulate a way to bring the ploy to the eyes of the Great Ones, who saw such things as what they were: Ways to undermine their authority, and compromise the ‘integrity’ of the Olympics.
And only a short while ago, the old Gabrielle would’ve done precisely that. But times had changed. And so had she.
This Gabrielle would not place the information on the backs of her already weary friends. This Gabrielle would take action - put together a plan, and execute it on her own accord. And at first without his conscious knowledge, she had drained Mathos of anything and everything that would aid in her plan. Where the corrupt individuals met and when, who they were, and what sort of threat they posed. Not only that, but he also proved to know exactly what areas of the Amphipolis down-town area were guarded at what times, and what parts were left completely open…
“Thanks for your help,” Gabrielle remarked, taking a last glance over her shoulder to the figure left in the room now behind her. And before she could say anything more, the doors shut, and the young woman’s eyes shifted forward, the entry point to the city in plain view from where she was located.
It was only a matter of seconds before the alien could reason what the young woman was planning. But he would make no move to interfere. Mathos knew the intricate details of the girl’s power, and the fact that her internal injuries had not been completely healed from her last battle. But what was more, was aware what Gabrielle would go up against… What she was risking… But these young competitors stood a chance at not only winning the games, but changing them for everyone who were, or had been, involved in them. Dare he think that the Mutant Force could be what so many had hoped for? A chance to shut down the barbaric events once and for all?
For the sake of countless lives, Mathos was willing to sacrifice one.
Veiled in a sort of alien-fog, the down town area was eerily quiet, the hustle and bustle of the streets absent, the multitudes of creatures gone. The dim lights used to pierce through the thick ground clouds added a hint of enigma to the corner building that was nestled between a park on one side, and a general store to it’s left. All non-essential personnel had long since left, all routine chores and tasks carried out hours before hand. The down stairs was completely enveloped in darkness, forcing anyone who entered to venture upwards, to the first and only room on the topmost floor. To the untrained eye, the control panel used for access into this meeting room was fully operational. But in reality, it had been ripped from it’s deeply-anchored enclosure, and tampered with to allow all who wished entry into the room. However, for them, there would be no exit.
The room itself was not terribly large, and held the appearance of a quaint business room. Chairs had been placed on the perimeter of the large, circular table, one of which was immensely larger than the rest, suggesting that whoever sat there, controlled the other minions… The seat would prove to be a two-fold blessing. Helping Gabrielle conserve what stamina she had left, and also hid her much smaller frame from view of those seated behind her.
And soon enough, the chamber begin to fill with the sound of voices from those she had been told about, key names catching the woman’s ear, letting her know that she was indeed at the right place, at the right time. And as soon as a hushed, impressed silence fell upon those gathered, she could tell that the person in charge had entered. And that was her cue.
Spinning the oversized chair around to now face the beings, a sly look spread across her face, as she portrayed nothing but contempt and malice. “Welcome, all.” Gabrielle remarked, eyebrow arching as she read the surprised expressions on the faces of those around her. Idly, a hand ran down the blade of the dagger held in her grasp. “We have something to… Discuss..”
After awhile, everything again returned to silence within and outside the building. There was complete stillness.
Later, the door from Amphipolis and into the ship opened, revealing a badly beaten, but victorious Gabrielle. The door shut softly behind her, and feeling her weak grasp on consciousness begin to fail, the young woman leaned against the metallic wall, using precious seconds to gather what strength she still had left inside. Trembling as she pushed off, Gabrielle once again began to walk unsteadily down the corridor.
Enduring the anguish that each movement caused, she continued on through the vacant, hallway slowly, bloody shoeprints marking her trail into the brilliant lobby outside the mutant quarters. Her pace slowed, as she gradually succumbed to her injuries. Slumping to the floor, Gabrielle did her best to break the fall, extending an arm out in attempt to catch hold of the table in the middle of the room.. But it was in vain. The decorative center piece was sent crashing loudly onto the floor below as the table itself overturned with a frightening thud.
To its side, the young woman lay, surrounded by broken pieces of clay and glass.. And yet, she had moved beyond the pain.. Though the journey there had been grueling, it was something had to be done. Gabrielle had to follow the primal instinct to return home… Just long enough to say goodbye...
If one traveled into the giant building in the center of Amphipolis, the main building that Gabrielle had ventured in to that very night, and took a downstairs path instead of up, you would find the room that hosting a few wild cards of the Olympics. Namely, Dawn.. The wild cards were those that had surprised the Great Ones, and had to be dealt with immediately. After the public appearance of the Phoenix, Dawn’s days were marked.. When she was reporting to the medical rehabilitation center, Dawn was drugged and bound to one of the walls in that very building. A heavy steel cuff was around her waist, and a few cuffs around her feet and one around her right arm. Though Dawn was knocked out, the mechanical gadgets that whirred constantly on her arms slowly ate away at the steel… Finally, a small tool broke through the cuff, piercing her side. The pain caused by the spinning needle brought Dawn out of her drugged state; her eyes wandered around the dimly lit room, seeing that there were a number of others pinned against the wall as she was. After a moment, Dawn broke through the restrictions, and managed to unhinge the others. But something wasn’t right.. The building was empty… Or seemed that way, for there wasn’t any sense of life anywhere else.
The human girl had been their savior that night. How many times had the mutant force gone out of their way to see that those they were competing with were treated fairly? How many times had they fought to see that things where just in the Games? And yet, it seemed as if they hadn’t a chance…
Still a little lightheaded from the tranquilizing drugs, Dawn stumbled up the stairs, squinting her eyes slightly as she emerged into the main lobby. Blood? There was blood on the floor… The trail continued out the door, heading straight for the private mutant ship.. “Oh my-”
And there she went.. Running as fast as she could, Dawn dashed to the ship, forcing herself to look away from the trails of blood. She could only imagine what had happened; it was horrendous… Slamming her hand up against the bloodied control panel, Dawn shoved through the doors before they were fully open.. It didn’t take her long before seeing her dear friend on the floor. And then she knew how Gabrielle had felt so many times before… Hopeless… Falling to her knees beside Gabrielle, Dawn reached out a hand, shaking her, “Gabby?! Gabby! Get up! Please…”
Riley lay on the bed in her room in a deep sleep. She had been asleep since she had managed to get back to her room. That had been a task though since after her event she had gone straight to healing herself. That had only added to her fatigue and the moment she had stepped through the door to her room she had literally made falling leap for her bed. Since then she had not moved.
Bang. Riley woke with a start at the sound of something crashing to the floor. “What the…?” She started and trailed off. She was still to tired to think. She had lifted herself up and now she let her self fall back down on the bed, face first into her mattress. Her pillow was somewhere on the floor. She stared into the darkness and tried to will herself to go back to sleep, but the crash kept echoing in her head and she had to find out what exactly had happened.
Slowly she rolled out of bed and landed with a thud on the cool metallic floor. Wincing, she took a moment before getting up. Sighing loudly, she scratched the top of her head and then moved to where her clothes were. Changing as quickly as one could when extremely tired, she opened the door to her room and exited.
Walking slowly down the hallway she muttered some curses under her breath. “I swear….” She started out and her voice lowered as her curses grew worse. She was a lot different when she woke up in the morning. Especially when she had been woken up before she wanted to be awake.
She lowered her head and glanced downward to find a trail of bloody footprints going down the hallway. “Uh oh.” She said as she felt her brain finally wake up.
Quickening her face, she followed the trail into the main room of the mutant ship and found a table overturned. “That explains the noise.” She said quietly and then noticed what was beside the overturn table. She rushed around and found Gabby’s bloody and nearly motionless form lying on the ground. Her gaze then registered that Gabby was not alone. And that Dawn was kneeling down beside her apparently in a state of shock and worried about her friend.
Riley backed up a bit as if trying to give them a bit of room, but the real reason was is that she had no clue what she should do and she hoped that maybe because Dawn was busy shaking Gabby she would go by unnoticed.. –This can’t be happening.- That was one of the few coherent thoughts that was running through her mind.
Hearing the cries of Dawn and smelling the soft scent of blood in the air, he looked to where they were coming from. Suprisingly his smell had been heightened when he was off earth and began jogging to the scene. He opened the door and looked inside, seeing a sight that almost made him feint. No..no, this couldn't be happening. No, I must be dreaming...must be a nightmare, it's not real, not possible, not actually happening. He began to pinch himself, feeling slight pain. It's a nightmare! A nightmare! It's not real at all, it couldn't be, it's impossible! It's not real! He sighed, giving up on the bliss that was denial, and sank to the ground.
"Not..real.." he muttered under his breath. "Not..real..impossible..impossible..impossible.." He then sat next to Gab, looking up at Dawn. He stood up, glancing around, trying to get his mind at ease. He began biting his nails, looking at the table and other things.
Why Gabby...Why not him...So young. It just wasn't fair. Not fair one bit. He clenched his fists and his jaw tightened. But they were covering up his real feelings. His eyes squinted, resisting the barrage of tears that would soon follow.
Teardrops dotted the carpeting beneath him as he drooped his head, as if in shame. He finally wiped his eyes and looked back to Dawn. "Should..we..er..get somebody?"
Everything seemed so distant.. And so quiet.. Though she was now numb from the pain, Gabrielle could slowly feel herself slipping even further into the darkness… But the sound Dawn’s saddened plea had reached her, and something within told the young woman to hold on.. Just a few seconds longer..
Struggling to hold onto her delicate grasp of consciousness, Gabrielle willed her heavy eyelids to open. And suddenly, everything felt alright. Seeing those gathered around her, she knew that they had been worth it. Worth it all... There was no more fear, no more worry, just her friends. “My friends..” She whispered softly, a weak smile spreading across her near colorless face, as she glanced at those she had battled alongside with so many times before… Though nothing had been said out loud, everyone seemed to understand what was happening, understood that Gabrielle was about to loose her hardest fought battle yet.. “I’ll miss you all…”
Tears filled the young woman’s eyes, but were not allowed to fall as she looked towards her friend’s face, and read the emotion expressed upon it, recognizing it well. Far too many times, the roles had been reversed. Truth was, for Gabrielle, it was easier -this- way.. It was far less painful to face her own mortality, than to cope with the possibility of loosing her best friend. “Dawn…“ There was so much she wanted to say, so much to tell Dawn.. Even what had been mutually understood, but were never really spoken.. But there was no more time.. “Goodbye..”
As the last bit of life faded away from Gabrielle, she closed her eyes for the last time. And the tears she had been holding back finally fell.
”Heheheh… Hahahahahaaaa!”
Laughter? …Yeah, it was. Gabby was dead. Gabby! Gabbers! Was she actually dead yet, though? Or somewhere in between… It didn’t matter. But what the hell was going on?
Suddenly; Lei. Yeah, Lei. In his usual jeans, boots, t-shirt… And even the hat. He was… Distant.
Far off. He could barely be seen.
And…
He had his back to her…
”HahahaHAHAHEHEHEheeeeehhhaaaHAA!”
There it was again. The laughter. Creepy… Ethereal… More forceful this time.
But… But why?
”Just like you. Too nice for your own good, huh?”
Suddenly he was closer.
”You’d be alright if you’d got help, you know.”
”Heheh…”
His head turned.
”You know… I always believed in you. You were… An inspiration, y’know?”
He’d turned back.
He was… Spinning?
”…But now?”
The spinning stopped.
He was upside-down.
”You.”
He spun around.
”You let them down.”
”All…”
He was close!
”…Of…”
There were tons of him!
”…Them.”
Just one again.
”That’s what I probably would’ve said before.”
Behind her now?
”But I’m different now.”
She couldn’t see, but… He was sitting beside her.
”And so are you.”
The nothingness… It was gone now. The… The gym?
He was…
He was hitting a punching bag…
”So you’re just gonna die now, huh? How selfish.”
He wasn’t even looking at her.
”The Gabrielle… No, the Gabby… The Gabby I know wouldn’t just DIE…”
He was on the other side of the bag, now…
”Don’t you still got somethin’ ta do? And besides…”
Suddenly, he hit the bag, which went flying off the hook, and into the nearest wall. Upon contact both practically disintegrated.
”…I’m in the lead, now.”
And he smiled.
There was a gathering of mutants, around… Another mutant. Now wasn’t really the best time… But there wasn’t much that could be done about it. They needed to act. But… He didn’t know the full situation. For now… They needed to recover. But… Whoah. Things had… Changed…
”…’Hell happened ta you?”
The voice… Was familiar. But different. Who..?
It came from an odd, tall figure. Well… They certainly didn’t LOOK familiar. It was clad in a buttoned up yellow trench coat with black trim. The coat cascaded down all of him, down to black boots. A large collar with a matching hat covered a great deal of his head. What that didn’t get, sunglasses and a black bandana did. What little skin one could make out was very, very pale. Long sunny sleeves ended at thick, black gloves.
The whole look made quite an intimidating presence, really.
The black glove was clutching a piece of paper, when it suddenly tossed the note. It managed to flutter and land right next to Gabrielle’s now still face…
On the outside, Gabrielle had fallen completely still. No movement suggested that even a flicker of life remained in the young woman. There was no pulse, no steady rise and fall of the chest that indicated that she was drawing breath…
Though her battered physical form was ready to surrender into a dark, unknown void, her mind was still very much intact. For the moment.. But with each passing second, the thought of yielding tantalized her, for it would be so much easier than holding on..
At first, the sound of laughter had been ignored, thought only to be a hallucination.. But then there was Lei. And he was speaking. At first, the words were almost muddled. Gradually, however, her friend’s speech became coherent. And in midst of the dark images that swirled before her closed eyes, was the figure of Lei.. His appearance was the same as it always was, and to Gabrielle, there were few sights that would prove more welcoming.
Her mind screamed at her respond by some means.. Let Lei know that she could see him.. But all she really wanted to do was rest..
But the vision was still there. And replacing the nothingness which lied in her field of view, a familiar surrounding began to fade in.. The gym, the punching bag.. All from memories which Gabrielle could recall perfectly.. Watching, unable to respond, a distinct feeling of shock went through the young woman as Lei smashed the punching back into the nearby wall, and the images around , including his, sifted back into darkness.
Then, Lei’s words finally registered. All of them. And Fully. And he was right.. To die would mean that Gabrielle -had- lost. And failure? Wasn’t even in her lexicon. She didn’t know how to loose.. Let alone let down her friends.. No, Gabrielle wasn’t about to simply surrender.. She would -fight-.
Every sense in Dawn’s body dulled as she watched as her best friend slowly lost the visible touches of life that she had once possessed. She tried to reach out and lift her friend to take her to the medical recuperation center, then she tried to call out to Que or Spike, -someone- that could do –something- but she couldn’t.. Nothing! Knees shaking, Dawn wasn’t even sure if she’d be able to move from that very spot. But she had to… The outfit that she had on over her special fire resistant uniform slowly began to turn black as the rising body heat caused the fabric to ignite. Scrambling back on hands and knees, Dawn distanced herself away from her friends that were there, for fear of what she would do within the next few moments. Her skin had already flushed to a light shade of red, and her hair, erupted into colors of red and orange as little trails of fire sprouted from her skull. Wild eyed, Dawn looked to the door to the ship, which in turn was ripped away from the machine and cast to the side as she hastily stood and left the ship.
Most of the city had been alerted of the vigilante deeds that one of the humans had managed to carry out, and all had left their private ships, trying to hear the latest. Dawn could see them all.. All of them… Each one was scared, and yet, admired what the mutants had done. No one was their of their own free will, and all knew the consequences of losing these barbarous games. The heavy door of the ship landed to the ground a good twenty feet away from the ship, echoing loudly among the streets. All grew silent as Dawn looked out at them.. Her eyes had faded to a deep black while trails of white fire danced where normally the iris of the eye would be. There was no doubting the power now..
“You fools!” Her voice had so much more behind it than a mere mortal’s voice.. It was oddly warped and blended with a voice of wisdom that far surpassed all of time. “Why? Why haven’t you fought back? Tradition? This planet decided to reign supreme by destroying your homelands if you don’t participate in their damned Games?! Why?!”
Slamming her arms out to her sides, fire erupted from the young woman’s body, lighting up the entire area. All were watching, but that’s what the Phoenix wanted.. All these people had been in submission for so long, they lived in fear of the Olympics that were held every decade. But why didn’t they fight? They would now.. The fires around Dawn formed the shape of the Phoenix, and she took flight, flying to the center of the entire planet to the uppermost point of the dome that surrounded the city. Facing downwards, Dawn could see everything.. Even the Great Ones that had assembled themselves around the power source of the city, using the power to form a barrier of protection around their private ship. They’d pay, yes they would.. But Dawn was going to make sure that every planet here took part.. All had lost families, and homes to these people, and all would have their revenge…
The giant wings of pure fire grew even larger as Dawn turned to look out of the dome. Half the plantation that was present in the city was already burning, but no one had made the move to put them out. Instead, they’d step out of the path of the flames, but their eyes never left the top of the city. Looking out, Dawn couldn’t help but smirk - ships from all the participating planets lined the outer rims of the giant city, but past that was the armada of Amphipolian war crafts. They had planned on this? Perfect...
“Get to your ships!” Dawn ordered down, voice echoing throughout the city, “And prepare for war!” With that, she simply placed both palms on the glass-like super substance that surrounded Amphipolis. Cracks ripped from the glass where her hands had been placed and cascaded across the entire plane, making it look as if the very sky had shattered. Pieces began breaking away, flying out into space… Turning back around, Dawn watched as all boarded their ships.. The power-seeking Amphipolians had already left, perhaps through some underground tunnels, and were heading towards their massive ships away from the city. Others that were merely civilians were boarding ships of other planets, perhaps to join in on the freedom fighting efforts.
Once all the doors had sealed closed, Dawn began to hover back down towards the mutant ship, fire seeping back into her skin. Turning back to look at glass, and with a snap of her fingers, the dome shattered to millions of shards, falling like rain around her. Once she ducked into the mutant ship, and the door was mentally reattached, she looked towards Atticus, who was standing just in front of the main control room. “Establish communications with all ships, we’re obviously leading this battle. I need to be able to speak with them all at once...”
"The games are over..."
|X| To be Continued |X|
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