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 Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 9:56 pm
Hayden Lynch wasn’t a stranger to fights, even before she became Lt. Fukalite. As a graduated St. Magdalena student, it was hardly surprising that she had found herself in at least a handful of scuffles before. They weren’t intense, but the fights had left the young woman with a number of bruises marring her face and limbs, along with aching muscles for a few days. Even the few battles she got into with other senshi or knights weren’t too damaging.
Perhaps it was why she stood still for a good five seconds once she heard the news that Chase had landed himself in the hospital. The person had vaguely informed Hayden that it was due to some sort of fight before she found herself hastily slamming the house phone down and rushing for her shoes. Her long legs allowed her to reach the hospital within ten minutes of frantic sprinting. She pushed the glass doors open, her shoes squeaking against the polished floor tiles. “Excuse me,” she breathlessly asked a nearby nurse. “Where is Chase? Chase Black?” Fortunately, by the time she strolled up to his room and quietly opened the door she was no longer heavily panting, though her cheeks were still flushed a light pink. “Chase? How are you?”
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Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 7:09 pm
Chase and Hayden had known each other for years, she was a person he could rely on and that was why when he cut all ties with his old life...he kept in contact with her. Well, that and other reasons so it was no surprise when someone called her to let her know where he had disappeared to. If he knew that they had contacted anyone, or that anyone responded, he probably would have been angry but as it were...he was merely exhausted.
There were dark, heavy bags beneath his eyes mixed in with bruising around his face from the multiple hits he had taken in his latest fight. He had been no stranger to beatings and fighting, it was something he had engaged in regularly but he had neglected to care properly for his body. Being in the hospital was his own fault and he hated every minute he was stuck strapped to the hospital bed.
It was a prison but he would only be moved to a different sort of prison soon. He shuddered just thinking about it. Everything he had worked for, every bit of progress he had made had been ruined by the phone call to his parents. Tyranny was threatening to overtake his world again. It was enough to make him relapse into habits he hid from most of the world.
He was ripped from his thoughts when Hayden all but burst into his hospital room. Shock spread across his face when he first saw her, he hadn't been expecting any visitors. Sometimes Chase forgot he actually had real friends.
"Hey," he mumbled weakly offering her a half smile as he shifted, pushing himself up against the wall. An iv was hooked to his arm and he had bruises everywhere. He was quite the sight to see, bandages wrapped around his head and chest. "What are you doing here?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 4:27 pm
When was the last time Hayden had seen Chase? She couldn’t recall. Surely she must have seen him in the past month at least, but she wouldn’t have been surprised if it had been only in fleeting glances or brief conversations. There were periods where she could not bear to go without a day of talking to a particular person, and then there were times when she would not see that same person for weeks at a time. Hayden was a fickle girl, but somehow Chase had always managed to stay in her heart as a close friend. The usual playful twinkle that danced in her eyes was gone, replaced only with restrained worry as she took in the man’s battered form. At least he didn’t appear to have any broken bones, thank God for that, but the dark rings under his eyes and bandages did not go unnoticed by Hayden. Somehow, the shock that flashed across her face managed to evoke a grin out of her. “Hey,” she echoed.
She walked over to his bedside, pulling over a chair across the floor for her to sit in. Hayden pressed her lips into a thin line, hands between her legs as she struggled to find words. Would it be appropriate for her to act normal? She plastered on a natural grin. “Someone called me. A friend, acquaintance, or something.” She waved it off with the flick of her wrist. “You had me rushing over, did you know that.” Hayden laughed, fanning her face with one hand. Her expression suddenly turned serious. “What happened?”
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2012 8:38 pm
He didn't miss the changes in her expression, it was hard to but he said nothing because he was grateful she was there. Still, he hated that she could see him in this disheveled state. He hated that she could see that he had let himself fall so far, that he had allowed himself to be weak. That he had been beaten. It was humiliating.
He managed weak laughter at her comment. "I didn't know you cared so much," he teased. Amber eyes watched the girl carefully waiting for the inevitable question to come. When it did, he could only sigh. "It's a long story. A bunch of things contributed," he explained weakly reaching a hand up to run through his hair. Instead it skimmed over the top of his bandages. His hand dropped in defeat. Before he continued, he made it a point to glance around to insure that no one was listening in on them.
"Do you remember that senshi I told you about? The rainbow one?" He paused to let her answer. "Well a couple month ago, I don't really remember the exact day," he told her, it was a lie. He knew the exact day it happened, it was October 20th, he'd never forget the sound of her scream. "I had recently been promoted," he continued, closing his eyes as he told his tale. "I beat her, nearly killed her actually. Threw her to her death by exposing one of her greatest fears..." he sighed. "Another senshi came to her rescue, a child. She survived but suffered a broken limb. Months later I made the mistake of returning to the building that we battled by, then on," he shivered. He could see the scene of his defeat clearly in his mind.
His eyes fluttered open and he sat up a bit, groaning as his body creaked in protest. "We dueled again, she outranked me but my pride got the better of me." It was one of his greatest flaws. "Turns out the senshi's a princess. She kept thanking me, saying she owed it to me. Her transformation or whatever." He shook his head in disgust. "Halfway through the fight, my body started to shut down on me. Didn't help that she was beating the crap outta me."
He paused again, giving her time to soak in everything he was telling her. He hesitated in continuing. Did he really want to tell her that the loss had primarily been his fault? Not only because she completely outranked him, her power rivaled that of their general-king and general-queen yet he as a lowly captain had the nerve to oppose her. Of course he had failed. There truly had been little doubt that he would have lost.
But hadn't that been what he had been seeking?
A shot at redemption for an ill-gained win?
He no longer knew.
"The doctors say I wasn't taking care of myself, taking care of my body," he heaved another sigh. "I'm a fool aren't I?" He asked leaning his head back into his pillow.
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 11:22 pm
Confusion pooled in her eyes before she blinked them away, replaced by another smile. “Of course I care.” She leaned over to gently poke him in the shoulder. Hopefully he didn’t magically have a bruise at the spot she touched. “Why wouldn’t I?” There were a number of moments and reasons, actually. Her lack of recent communication with Chase being one thing, but she was here now, wasn’t she? Surely that had to count for something.
Her fake smile turned sincere as his hand grazed the top of his bandages, but forced herself to turn serious when he began to elaborate. It took Hayden a moment to recall their conversation from that one night, but eventually she dug it back up. “Yes, I do.” She nodded for him to continue. The corner of her mouth twitched at the mention of Chase’s promotion. Yes, she recalled that moment, that moment at the Christmas party where she had briefly congratulated him on becoming a captain. It was so long ago, now. She should have been worried over the prospect of nearly killing a person, another human, but by now it had at least become clear to Hayden that senshi weren’t exactly human. They were foreigners to planet Earth that just didn’t belong. “A child.” She could only remain dead silent for so long. Hayden really couldn’t stop herself from uttering the two words, skepticism dripping in them as she quirked a brow at Chase. She had heard about the fabled “chibi senshi,” but Hayden hadn’t realized they actually existed. What were the senshi thinking?
Again, Hayden leaned forward when Chase sat up and groaned, but reluctantly leaned back in her seat when she saw he didn’t need her help. “Princess.” There was something mixed in with her disbelief. Outrage that Chase had dared to fight her anyways? Concern for his well-being (clearly his health wasn’t well)? She folded her hands together, pursing her lips to prevent herself from speaking further until she was confident Chase had finished his bit. Hayden twiddled her thumbs, considering what to answer with.
Her response was surprisingly negative when she spoke up, “Yes, you are.” She set her lips into a thin, straight line as she stared him in the eye. “You should have been taking care of yourself more. You should have left when you could because you knew. You should have been more careful.” Her voice remained calm, steely. “You should have done a lot of things, Chase, and you’re a fool for not doing them.” She sighed, reaching over to grab his hand with one of her own. “Chase, you are a goddamn fool, but you are my fool whether you like it or not.” Hayden cracked a sad smile. “I should have helped you.” Her voice turned quiet. “I’m just a lieutenant, but I’m not a weakling. I should have been there for you. I’m sorry.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 2:37 pm
It hadn't been just that Hayden hadn't really talked to him that had caused the minor rift in their relationship. No, it was more so that Chase had seemingly isolated himself from everyone he had really been in contact with. Even when he was surrounded by fellow Negaverse agents he had the tendency to be alone, because the sound of silence had become fairly comforting to him. He'd also been busy; training, working, and doing research. He didn't have much time for friends, so it was comforting to know that Hayden would be there when he needed someone.
He'd be lying if he said he didn't need someone to support him right now. He hadn't even gotten to the worst of his news for her.
He was surprised by her negative response and it showed in the way his eyebrows raised up and his eyes widened. His mouth hung open slightly in shock. That hadn't been expected. Then he did something that was likely to be equally surprising, he started to laugh. It hurt his sides but he couldn't stop. It was the first time he'd really laughed in months.
"I know, but I'm stubborn and in so many ways...I wanted her to beat me," he shook his head, a smile still on his lips. "I neglected myself because I wanted so desperately to prove something, though I don't really have anyone to prove it to," he shrugged. When she grabbed his hand, he looked down at them then back up at her and smiled. He squeezed her hand, "Well if I'm anybody's fool at least it's yours."
When she started to go off about how she should have helped him he shook his head. "No, don't be. I didn't ask for help, so don't you dare feel guilty about it. I didn't tell anyone what I was doing and that's my fault. So please, don't be sorry. You're here now and honestly, it's probably where I need you most."
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 8:22 pm
A smirk played on her lips at the startled expression chase gave Hayden. Despite the worrisome circumstances, she couldn’t stop herself from looking pleased with Chase’s amusing reaction. His laughter only caused her to smile wider. It was a relief to know her words hadn’t sent the poor boy into some sort of shock-induced coma. Now that would be really bad. Laughing lightly, Hayden leaned over to rest another hand on his shoulder. “Hey, are you alright? Don’t go laughing up your insides or something, okay?” she joked, though there seemed to be a serious undertone.
“Wanted?” She raised an eyebrow at this. Her expression remained cool. “I’m sorry. I never realized you were masochistic. This completely changes my perception of you.” By the time she finished her sentence she had already broken out into another brief grin, quickly turned pained and seemed ready to be wiped off her face. “You have me. You can prove something to me.” She closed her eyes for a second. “And what a troublesome fool you are. Making me worry like this.” Hayden shook her head, but refused to let go.
“Doesn’t really stop me from feeling guilty.” She sighed, her eyes shifting over to the IV needle. “How long are you going to stay here?”
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Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:43 am
"I never knew it either," he replied, laughing just slightly. This time his laughter wasn't as genuine as before but simply because he was just trying to play along with the joke. "But sometimes," he paused to think over his words before he spoke. "When you do something and you don't like how it you do it, you want a shot at fixing it," he told her leaning back, tilting his head back. "My win felt dirty and I know we're in the middle of a war, that we need to do whatever is necessary to win but I'm not heartless," he sighed closing his eyes for a moment. "Not yet, so my victory felt empty and hollow like it wasn't right," he explained.
His eyes fluttered open and he sat up again, leaning towards her. His words came out in a whisper, "I killed someone so that I'd have the ability to overpower her." That was one thing he hadn't told anyone. "I ripped the starseed from their chest and left them there." He still hadn't come to terms with the dirty deed. "Everything was wrong, everything was so wrong." He shook his head.
He grabbed her other hand and held it tightly, squeezing both hands tightly. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry Hayden," he told her, a mixture of sadness and pain on his face. "What can I prove to you?" He asked, a little confused by her sentence. He shrugged at her question because he didn't know. "Too long but not long enough," he told her, answer more cryptic than intended.
"My parents are forcing me to go home with them again." There, he said it. The one thing he had hesitated with. "He's trapping me again and I can't stop him."
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Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2012 4:09 pm
He laughed, but it wasn’t quite the one she had been expecting—then again, Hayden hadn’t totally expected him to lightheartedly play along either. “Sometimes,” she began as she blinked slowly, attempting to formulate words. Normally, the young woman did not put so much thought into her words so often. On a regular day, she preferred to speak whatever thoughts entered her mind without as much as a second thought. But this wasn’t a normal day. “Sometimes, I feel like that too.” But such instances felt so rare for the girl. She didn’t want to look back on things. The fact that she could only barely grasp his feelings almost worried Hayden. Almost.
Hayden clutched his hand even more tightly. Killed. The Negaverse had used to kill on a regular basis, this she knew. It was a history she found difficult to digest sometimes. If experienced agents wouldn’t even bat an eyelash at doling death, would they bestow that fate on her too? Would she be a killer too? Her eyes turned cloudy as she offered him a soft smile. He was still her friend. He would always be. “It’s okay.” Giving smooth lies between her teeth was a simple game to her.
She rolled her eyes and poked out her tongue. “I don’t know. Prove whatever you want to prove. I’m here for you,” she explained, her free hand childishly poking his cheek.
Her forehead filled with creases. Not long enough? Hayden let out a soft ‘oh’ at the explanation. She smiled, lowering her voice as she leaned closer. “Then don’t go home with them. Come with me. To my place. Or anywhere. Just say the word.”
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2012 11:45 pm
"It isn't a feeling I have often, but when I do...it suffocates me. Constricts my throat and makes it hard to breath," Chase sighed, struggling to keep his breath even. Then it hit him, for the first time in his life Chase Black felt guilty. Or at least guilty about something he had purposefully done. He had gone in knowing exactly what he had been getting himself into and had come out feeling incredibly guilty. It was a foreign concept to him, to actually think and regret his actions. He had gone through his entire life doing whatever he wanted, even when he knew what he was doing was wrong and had never felt conflicted prior to his battle with the eternal turned princess. Being bad and doing mischievous deeds had been his thing, it had been what hard garnered the negaverse's attention.
It had been what had allowed him to get so far, his bad boy side mixed with the strong sense of responsibility he had when he cared enough about something. It sent often but when he cared, he threw everything he had into it. That had been what ultimately ended him up in the hospital, if Iris had not beaten the s**t out of him...well it was likely that he had have ended up in the hospital anyway. After all it was what happened when you stopped taking ca of yourself as he had.
"Somedays I feel very backwards about things," he admitted to his friend sadly. "I'm not proud that I took the life of the innocent, I told myself that sometimes sacrifices need to be made and that's what I told myself that the starseed was, a sacrifice," he shook his head, "it never did make me feel any less dirty." The admission was a hard one but at this point he had stopped hiding things from Hayden.
"Well you're going to have to me some time to figure out how I'm going to prove it to you," he pulled a hand back. "But I'll figure it out, once I'm out of this place," he laughed only to fall somber as he reminded himself that he was simply trading one prison for another. Hayden's response to his news only helped to fuel his dread. "I wish I could," he sighed laying back. "My dad won't back down, he says I've proven that I can't take care of myself and is forcing me back home," he paused and remained quiet for a big. "He's getting court orders forcing me under their care. I don't have a choice," he whispered, sounding meek.
"I don't get a choice," he whispered as if he were broken.
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2012 9:32 pm
“Just don’t think about it.” The response was automatic, a strange, blank look in her mint-green eyes as she focused on Chase’s face. Her tone held a twinge of sympathy, familiarity at the emotions her friend expressed. While Hayden may not have committed murder, she had nearly been choked by her own feelings on more than one occasion. It was always easier to not think about it, to forget and move on with the next big thing. Maybe that was why she often appeared brash, hardly thinking about her next move. Compared to thinking and regretting her decisions, it was the preferable option. “It doesn’t hurt as much when you don’t think about it. Forget it, even.” She felt a pang in her heart as it cried with dismay. No, forgetting was not good—
“Don’t feel that way.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. Her eyebrows were tightly knit together as she struggled to comfort Chase. “This is war, Chase. This is war. People make sacrifices all the time. It’s just one of the things you have to do, one of the things you can’t avoid. There will always be sacrifices.” But Hayden knew the words would never reach his heart. It hadn’t even gotten through to her own. Reasoning weak as this could never hope to convince them both otherwise.
He pulled his hand back and she looked down to stare at her own, now empty and cold. She kept examining the lines on her palm with wonderment, almost as if she had to register that Chase’s hand was no longer there. “No, that can’t be true.” Denial. There was only denial. “He won’t get court orders. They can’t do that to you. You’re legal. You’re not dependent on them anymore. No, don’t say that. Don’t say that.” Had her voice sharply risen in pitch? Maybe.
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Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 8:21 pm
"I try not to."
Chase hated thinking about all the things he was doing that would be considered "wrong" because it always left him feeling vulnerable and conflicted. The two feelings he absolutely abhorred and avoided at all cost. He knew, deep down, that eventually everything he had been running from (and was still running from) would catch up to him and he would have to face the metaphorical music someday but he never imagined it would happen so soon. He wanted to keep running, flee until he reached the end of the world.
"I think it always hurts," he mumbled as though he were dreaming and not having a physical conversation with Hayden. "I think you just get really good at ignoring it, or pretending like the wound isn't there until it scabs over...then you feel it's he pain all over again when the scab starts to peel and bleed all over again," he told her. Chase had always enjoyed being the bad kid and often pretended that he was invincible, so when he was wounded...well he never healed right.
"It is though Hayden, it's true and I don't know if there is anything I can doto stop him," he said, words coming out quick and nearly jumbled. It was like they were in a rush to get out. "I can try to fight it, but you know my dad," he sighed staring blankly at the ceiling. "He's got all his connections and he's got proof, I have a roommate who hardly saw me. Day or night, I was taken to the hospital in a heap of a mess and my body is so malnutrioned they don't know how I lasted as long as I did," his tone started to escalade, his pitch going higher in octave as he spoke. His desperation was clear, he wanted nothing more than to keep from going home with his parents. It was likely they'd trap him in his room forever. "I have all this evidence against me, what am i supposed to do? Claim I'm doing just fine When I practically vanished off the radar only to be found when I wound up in the hospital for improper care of myself?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2012 10:11 pm
If he wanted, Hayden would have fled with him. Right now, she would have gladly left with Chase to the other side of the world at the drop of a dime. He only needed to say the magic words. She reached out for his hand, but stopped midway. Awkwardly, her green eyes flickered between her hand and his before she silently reeled her hand back in, weaving her hands together and placing them in her lap. “Keep trying.” Her hands began to fidget, eyelids drooping as Chase continued to talk. It was like an invisible hand had grabbed her heart, sharp nails digging into the organ and slowly squeezing the blood out. She casually brought a hand up to her throat, but in reality she found it difficult to breathe. It wasn’t just Chase himself the boy was talking about.
Still, Hayden cracked a brief smile. “Lovely metaphor you’ve got going there.” The smile disappeared. She found it more comfortable to keep her gaze focused on the items and machines in the room, anywhere but Chase was fine with her.
“Chase,” she began, her voice wavering. It only shook more the more she listened to her friend. “Chase, why did this have to happen?” Oh screw it. Hayden leaned forward to take his hand again, rubbing her thumb across his palm, just like how her mother used to when she was a child. “I’m sorry I don’t have the answers to this, but…” She sighed. It had hurt to say those words. “I’ll always be there. I’ll come everyday and—“ God. Somehow that sounded so stupid. “It doesn’t matter if your parents shut the door in my face. I can climb in through the window. I’ve always been good at that.” She managed a grin.
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 7:05 pm
In many ways Chase was oblivious to the devotion his dear friend had for him. He was unaware that she would willingly follow him if he chose to disappear once again, only this time to a place where his father could not catch up with him. He only knew that their bond of friendship was a strong one and it could easily be the supporting rock he needed to survive the ordeal he was about to undertake. He was incredibly thankful to have her by his side because he had no idea who he could truly rely on now. Having Hayden so insistent on visiting him and being there for him was comforting.
It was a small comfort but he was happy to gobble it up.
"I will," he promised though he knew it was an empty one. His efforts would be in vain. Samuel had hundreds of resources at his disposal where Chase had only a few. Short of fleeing the city-- no fleeing the country (something unthinkable to the dark haired boy) there was little he thought he could do to stop the man terrorizing his life. Aside from Hayden, very few knew what was going on in his civilian life. He had always been a fairly private person.
He laughed, "Isn't it?" The metaphor had been a gruesome one but one that he completely believed. He knew what it was like to bury something so deep until exploded within himself. Hayden and Chase were similar, it was one of the reasons they got along so well. "Sorry, you know I don't have much of a filter."
When she asked him that question he could only sigh and lean his head back as she took his hand. His fingers curled around her hand and held on like she was his only lifeline. She very well could be. "I don't know. I used to think I always had luck on my side, that there was no such thing as bad luck for me. I'm not used to losing," he told her, closing his eyes. "But I guess luck has to run out for everyone at one point right?" It was getting hard to talk about all the bad things that had happened to him in the last six months. "Things were going great and then all of a sudden everything went downhill and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't fix it."
He opened his eyes and used his free hand to push himself up. "I'll need someone by my side, god knows I won't last long if I have to face everything alone. I expect to see you at my window everyday." He smiled, a real smile.
He didn't let her leave until she promised, really promised that she would visit him everyday, or at the very least as often as she could. He would need someone by his side through his house-arrest. It seemed fitting it would be some from life before and during his service with the Negaverse.
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