[Reg] Goddamn it! [Tony & Raite] FIN

[Lithiasaur]

Anthony Darrow had a fairly typical day at work. Some strange encounters with people, but that was par for the course as far as the library went. Sometimes he had days were most of the faces were familiar. Other times he felt like he had just moved to a new town.

He supposed that was why he liked working their so much.

And he had found that he hadn't been thinking about all his troubles while actually working. Yes, thoughts and worries drifted back to him during down time, but mostly his mind was occupied and he found himself enjoying how normal things felt. How normal he felt.

It was good for him, returning to work.

He was just walking home from closing up the place, limping on his cane, not yet ready to give up the walk even if Virgo had decided to take a break from her patrol. Normally she walked with him, but he was actually glad she was not there. It meant she was, he hoped, somewhere safe, recovering from her losses.

He walked slowly, thinking about things, his mind full of conflict. He was happy to be back at work, but the heaviness of everything that had happened following waking up was with him. He had no idea he was walking into more trouble.  

[Xaki]

"Don't overstrain yourself." Shinra had warned the young male earlier, his words ringing through Seth's head as he walked down the street. He was worried for him, Seth knew that. But despite anyone's wishes, Seth wasn't the type that could merely stay in bed and wait to recover. He had pushed himself beyond his body's limits to move, even now, taking a walk to find something to satisfy him.

The male was far too distracted for his frame of mind, having recently awoke. He still moved restlessly in light of recent events. He was bothered by the coma-state that he had fallen into, the time that had passed, as well as his invitation into the negaverse. But that wasn't really an invitation, was it? Instead of dwelling upon it, Seth looked away to clear his mind. "I'm irritated." A bothered expression crossed his face, repressing his agitation.

He knew the obligations of the negaverse. He had no desire to steal starseeds. But he had no opposition to killing others either. He wasn't a fool, realizing soon after his recruitment; the main reason why people no longer 'woke' up in the events predating long before the Destiny City Plague. And unlike the other negaverse, neither did he care about their magical upgrades or jumping abilities. To put it simply, the negaverse was not one of his sole concerns in life. This was not surprising for a male already soiled long before.

He only collected starseeds because they were what was required of him. Tonight, for instance. Taking a shortcut through an alleyway, he easily shifted into his negaverse form. His previous empty hands now held the makeshift weapons, the wooden tonfas in their grasp. It was merely a coincidence, one person out of many, that his target was Tony tonight.

Without a warning, or even the introduction that the Negaverse liked to proclaim, Raite immediately covered the distance between him and the librarian. If he wasn't paying attention, he would receive a rude wake up call from the tonfa edge to his face.  

[Lithiasaur]

Tony, of course, wasn't paying attention. He never was when he needed to be, which, of course, was always a bad thing. He would have to change that in the future. Assuming he had a future, of course. Another bad habit he had was getting attacked by people and things.

When something smacked him in the face he toppled over, easy to throw off balance due to his bad leg. He hit the ground hard, dazed, unsure if he had just run into something, or if he had been hit in the face by a ball or what.

"E-excuse me," he said on instinct, as if he had accidentally run into the other man's weapons, and that had been an inconvenience for his attacker. Until he realized that he was, in fact, being attacked.

He looked up, though, to see someone standing over him.

"s**t!"

He remembered the last time he was in a situation like this: it was the reason he was on a cane now. He didn't know what it was about him that people seemed to like beating him up, but he had to get out of this as quickly as possible. In the back of his mind, though, he heard his conscience telling him that if he ran away, this guy would just attack someone else.

Did he really want to be responsible for that?

Growling, the dazed man pushed himself to his feet, using his cane for help, then, perhaps stupidly, swung the metal stick, which was only painted to look like wood, at the attacker. Maybe he could get a lucky hit in, and escape. Or make the guy run off.

But he was doubtful.  

[Xaki]

"E-excuse me..." This man's kind nature would be his downfall. Especially in a world where one survived, and the other died. He looked down at the adult, assessing him after the hit. His belated reaction, "s**t!" was far too delayed. But at least by this point, Raite had to give him credit - he wasn't a complete idiot then. The man had realized his dangers quickly. Few people did before it was too late and by then, their star seed was taken.

He looked at Tony with a bit more interest then before .. 'He's not unconscious yet.' His gray eyes examined the librarian, although the expression on his face hadn't changed from it's irritated look.

Instead of moving to avoid the attack, Raite stayed. Raite deflected the attack with his wooden tonfa, although the wooden tonfa vibrated with the force of the metal. Seth's arm shook, not fully recovered from its lack of use. Seth glanced at it, his gray eyes shifting from the man to the quivering limb. However, he merely jumped backwards, out of reach and swung his arm out to rid it of the tension. It was becoming bothersome to be hindered by his own weakness.

"I assume you know then?" He didn't have to elaborate on what he was talking about. The black jacket, the odd uniform, and the farce of a weapon would be enough to distinguish him if Tony had met a negaverser.  

[Lithiasaur]

"You're one of those Negaverse kids," Tony said, on instinct. It seemed he did know about them. He had a couple of run ins with them. One where he hadn't been able to talk, but learned that they could be violent and vicious, which was why his leg was messed up now. The other he had simply spoken to one, with Virgo for company. He had learned a lot that way.

He didn't trust them, knowing they took star seeds. And without those, people died. Just like those monsters did to people.

Surprised when the younger man didn't try to run off or even move out of the way of his cane, Tony drew back, knowing he was already in over his head. He watched the other, noting the way his arm needed to be shaken out. Could he use that? Tony wasn't the best fighter these days, his years of street brawls and fighting the cops behind him now.

But he could draw from it, he hoped.

"The other guy had a chain, not some wood," he said, not sure why he hadn't shut up yet. He watched the other, hoping that maybe he would discover that Tony wasn't worth his time, or he wasn't up to fighting and stealing star seeds today. Something?

He gripped his cane, holding it in front of him defensively.  

[Xaki]

"Kid?" Raite was certainly annoyed at that, his gray eyes flickering in response. The term kid applied mischief, with a certain lack of ignorance for what they were doing. But Raite was already on his way of adulthood, and knew exactly what he was doing.

He ignored Tony's remark about his wood, a circumstance of his rank. "Chain?" He repeated after Tony, but there was nothing other that. The indifference in his reaction showed no recognition of the person nor weapon in question. Not that Raite would have cared either way. Unlike the senshi - the negaverse made no effort to know each other. Raite merely went about his own business. But if they had let him go.. Raite merely sighed at their lack of competence. What had he been expecting from this organization?

"That makes it easier." At least, he didn't have to put up with an explanation. He had little patience, preferring to get things done quickly. "You won't survive .. again." Raite had a sardonic smile, indicating that Tony was at the end of his luck. He wasn't nearly as incompetent as the negaversers that Tony had faced earlier. But he was also curious wanting to find out what Tony was made of. Some part of him yearned for a challenge. Without further conversation, Raite ran up towards him, ducking beneath the cane to aim a tonfa edge to his chest. Now that Tony had his guard up, maybe it would be a bit more interesting?

 

[Lithiasaur]

Tony watched the Negaverse agent carefully, seeing the way he held himself rather calmly. It was unnerving, to say the least. Tony, of course, knew he had no chance against someone like him: he had been in a few fights but never without a Senshi nearby. And him being 'in' the fights generally consisted of him running, ducking, or being hit. Not much fighting, on his own account, really.

Except he had hit that one guy in the head with a rock.

When the younger man attack, Tony reeled back as if to dodge. He was not fast, or really very strong, as working out and staying in shape had always been secondary concerns. He would have to get on that whole 'go to the gym' thing. Assuming he survived this encounter to get a second, or perhaps third, chance to do so.

In a split second he felt pressure on his chest, a heavy blow landing that he hadn't even seen, let alone knew how to defend against. He almost sprawling backwards, but instinct told him to at least try to attack. So he swung his cane as he fell, gripping it in both hands and bring it down as hard as he could toward his attacker's head.

He was really glad he had gotten the metal cane, and not the wooden ones. Or he would be, if it did anything to help get him out of this mess.  

[Xaki]

Ironically, Raite and Tony had a great deal of common as deliquents in their past. Or for Raite, not so distant past- they might have been friends. Perhaps, friends was not the correct word then acquaintance was.

Instinct had Raite held up a tonfa edge to block the flailing cane edge, the wooden weapon taking the blunt force from the weapon. Although he didn't block it in time - judging from the trickle of blood streaming from the side of his head. Raite had been in enough fights to judge it was a shallow cut, although in his current condition, it disconcerted him needing to pause for a few seconds to regain his composure.

However his concern for his health was secondary, aiming another blow in quick succession, with multiples swipes of his tonfa - not giving his target any chance of a break. When one arm had aimed, the other hand followed in sequence. They were all aimed for his upper area, the torso, chest, and face. It was much easier to knock them out by doing so.  

[Lithiasaur]

Tony was rather proud of himself when he felt the cane tremble in his hand, and saw the trickle of red that escaped from his opponent's head. He had actually hit him! That was a good sign, right? Maybe he could win this one, if he kept his guard up and used his cane to his advan-

"Ooph," Tony grunted in pain when the first tonfa strike connected with his midsection. He felt multiple other hits happen so fast he couldn't even see them. Of course, that might have been easier if he had his eyes open.

He was a bit too dazed, and he would only be seeing the same stars anyway.

Hitting the ground when the last strike to his face made his senses fly off, Tony wasn't quite sure if he was alive or dead. But since he was thinking about it that was probably a clue.

Down the ally, Nathan was doing his usual 'make sure Dad gets home' rounds since the older man had woken up. Nate had noticed that Tony liked to go to the bar a lot, or was late coming out of the library. Though he told himself he didn't care, he didn't want Tony getting killed before they had a chance to meet, by some random mugger or a bar fight. Now he was hiding behind a wall, spotting the fight and debating running in to help, or calling for help. He still wasn't ready for Tony to know him, or even see him, since they looked so much alike that it would be obvious if they bumped into each other. That fear crippled him, not fear of a fight, so he pulled out his cell phone and called for the police.

He just hoped they got there in time, or he would have to get involved.  

[Xaki]

Raite stood over the other male, his cold stare looking down upon the nearly unconscious man. This had taken a bit longer then he had expected, but it hadn't been entirely bad. After all, he had taken his frustration out on somebody. He intended on taking Tony's starseed, kneeling over his body. His gloved hand had barely dropped the tonfa into the subspace, when he heard the faint echo of a police siren.

He listened for a few more seconds, and stepped away from Tony. He had no doubts that they were headed this way from the increasing volume. Although he would have liked to know how they had gotten wind of the battle, he had a good idea of how. There would be other people soon.. and Raite wasn't one to drag others unnecessarily into the fight.

He could have taken Tony's starseed and ran, but Raite was much too disinterested to do that. That, and the idea held no appeal. Raite liked a challenge, not an easy game. He let out a yawn, covering his mouth with his gloved hand. It was too much trouble .. maybe he would just go to sleep after this. "Maybe next time." He told the librarian, his mood suddenly changing. With this change in mind, he walked away. Once he was in the safety of the shadows, there was a seamless change from his negaverse attire to normal attire. Now would be a good time to go home, his bed sounding more and more pleasant by the minute.

Nobody would think the 20-year-old out of the ordinary. Except for the blood, which was barely noticeable under the shade of night.  

[Lithiasaur]

Tony felt like he was not actually connected to his body. He had a consciousness, sitting there on the ground, awake, but he wasn't connected to his body in a way that allowed him to use it properly. So he couldn't get up, swaying on his arm when he tried and flopping over like a fish out of water.

He could see the young man looming over him, and knew what was coming next. Or at least he could guess, from what he had been told and what he had seen before. But distantly he heard the sound of sirens. Relief rushed over him when Raite threatened him with a 'next time'.

He had never been so thankful to be threatened before.

So there he was, laying on the floor, waiting for those sirens to draw closer, to find him, and to get him out of this mess. He didn't want to go back to the hospital again, but he imagined it would only be for the evening and it was better than laying in the alley until his senses returned to him. The young man who had called the cops had already split, seeing the guy beating his father up leave, and knowing the emergency crew would be there soon.

That was his good deed done for the week.

Tony, laying on his back, waited patiently for the ambulance to arrive for him, closing his eyes and falling unconscious quickly.  

[Marsh the Sex Panda]

Zanazziite had been following Mr. Darrow again. She couldn't help it, she needed to check on him. Plus she already had two star seeds in her possession having caught the drop on a pair of lovers. The bluenette could spare some time to follow her favourite librarian.

She was creeping along the rooftops staring down longingly at the top of his head, he was perfect, but he looked so lonely. Zanazziite wanted to go down there and comfort him, sure he was over twice her age, but he had saved her, and he was nice to her. Especially in that hellish Camelot, with the dead bodies and bloody corpses. A shudder ran down her spine at the thought of it.

And then a different feeling ran down her spine, another Negaverser. Quick as a wink she powered down, creeping to the edge of rooftop to look down at the street. She didn't want to be found following Mr. Darrow, for all her certainty that she could spare the time she didn't want to test it. Half hiding behind the ledge of the roof of the apartment she was on she watched Mr. Darrow, violet eyes widening as he was attacked.

Her first instinct was to stop the Nega that was going after her Librarian, but she resisted. From this distance up she wasn't able to discern if the attacker was a Lieutenant or someone more high ranking. Also explaining to her superiors why she stopped a star seed retrieval would be an awkward situation to be in. So, instead she just watched as the older man fought for his life. A tear rolled down her cheek, she was sure he'd lose. He was putting up a good fight, but he was still injured and the Negaverse gave a person enhanced strength and speed. There was no way he was going to get out of this alive. And then her fears were confirmed when Mr. Darrow hit the ground. Now the Nega would go in for the starseed, Claudia couldn't watch and so she closed her eyes, tears freely flowing now.

She waited, she wouldn't move till she felt the Nega move out of range then she'd lament over her fallen love. But instead she heard sirens. Opening her eyes she blinked, someone called the police? Looking over the edge again relief flooded through her, Mr. Darrow was still alive! And she felt the Nega move away and then the feeling of power disappeared. Before she thought about what she was doing she shifted back into Zanazziite and jumped down to street level, landing neatly on the sidewalk next to him.

"Don't worry, Mr. Darrow, I've got you." After thinking out the logistics for a moment she stooped and shifted the larger man onto her back, his arms over her shoulders. His legs still drug on the ground, but it was the best she could do. She knew she would have never been able to manage it as Claudia, but the Negaverse gave Zanazziite enhanced strength so while it was still difficult, it was possible.

Once he was situated on her back she started walking, luckily it was late and there weren't many people to see her. Once she got far enough away she'd power down, call one of her drivers to come pick them up, hit up an ATM, and then find some apartment she could rent for a while with cash. She could use a fake name and keep Mr. Darrow there for a while. He needed to be nursed back to health, and she didn't trust the hospital to do it, not after the coma fiasco. She would take care of her dear Mr. Darrow, and then he'd realize that they were meant for each other.

There was a determined smile on the sixteen year old's face as the pair faded into the alley's shadows.