Chapter 1: On the Run
Chapter Text
Just give up the damn ring already! Gavin thought to himself as he held the young girls at gunpoint. Gavin flared the flame in his palm trying to intimidate the girl with the ring, sending the flame rising as a way to startle her to drop the
ring.
Gavin was surprised by the young blonde's defiance, faced with imminent death even beside what may be her friend, the blonde didn't seem to be intimidated to give up this ring. The blonde was either selfish, or stupid, or both, but Gavin figured if this ring was worth her facing down death itself then it must be extremely valuable. Another thought popped into Gavin's head;
Was she really planning to risk her friend's life for this ring? Gavin thought this blondie would do well in Ox’s gang.
He needed that ring, it looked far more valuable than just some “plastic” trinket like the blondie had said. This blondie clearly took him for a fool but Gavin had seen his fair share of gems and jewels in his time in Ox’s gang and he knew, no, he could feel it was some sort of rare metal. He had to get that ring even if…no..it wouldn’t come to that he reassured himself.
Patience running thin, Gavin cocked his gun “I said, give me the ring!” he roared at the Blonde, her friend gave her a shocked look “Ellen…What are you doing…” The other girl said as Gavin held firm on his weapon pointing it at the girl who he now knew was named Ellen.
Gavin watched as this girl Ellen stayed firm, almost ready to fight as her eyes locked defiantly on him. Gavin, out of patience and time yelled “You have ten freaking seconds! Ten…” His fathers voice pierced into the forefront of his mind, an image flashed before Gavin, his room, with horses and even dragons swaying in the light machine that projected their images on his ceiling.
“Six…Five..” Gavin counted down, his heart beat racing, Ellen still steadfast, prepared for whatever happens as he heard his father marching up the stairs in his memory, Gavin looking to the light cutouts of the dragons floating on the ceiling of his room, he held out his hand to the dragons, the “monster” he was supposed to call father being much scarier than these creatures could ever be. His fathers consistent rhythmic stomps on the stairwell are Gavins only indication of time in his adrenaline filled state as he pointed his gun at the girls. Was he going to kill these girls…he needed the ring…he was on poor terms with Ox, the leader of his gang. Ox might kill him if he failed..it was him or them he thought. Gavins memory flashed back to the dragon shapes in his ceiling as he reached out his hand to them “Help me…please..fly me away” his younger self pleaded quietly in desperation while his hand started to lightly shake with the gun pointed at Ellen.
“Three…two…” Gavin's father burst into the room, smashing his light fixture, the dragons disappearing from his grasp, Gavin shrieked as he turned to his father, the shriek in his memory mirroring the piercing scream the other girl made.
“One-” He heard himself say in an almost mindless, stoic daze like a clock reaching and bellowing at midnight, mimicking the moment his father finished counting down as his father rushed toward him, his father slamming into him, his hand tightening around the trigger as Gavin gripped his gun, in a flash and a bang he felt something hard hit him.
Upon realizing he fired a shot, Gavin pleaded to himself as time slowed that it wouldn't hit its target as his gun was knocked out of his hand by a blast of air and what felt like the earth itself sending him high into the air. Was he flying? Was he dead and his soul had been ripped from his body?
With a loud thud he slammed into the fire escape stairwell that was above him, in a daze he heard one of the girls, he wasn't sure who, tell the other to run. Gavin was too dazed to get up, the rush of air knocking the wind out of him as his ribs felt bruised from slamming down on the hard metal stairs. He staggered, his whole body feeling almost ten times heavier from the utter shock of being sent flying from whatever spell that was.
Gavin was thankful to be alive..until in front of him Gavin heard a mechanical whirring noise, like a robotic arm slowly moving its metallic appendage, Gavin looked up as his eyes widened and in that moment, he knew his whole life would be forever changed by what stared him right in his face in full clarity. In a state of utter horror he saw a lens with a blinking red light. He felt faint and went pale…he was seen on camera, his face not even ten feet away, he had to get out of there as soon as he could as he heard sirens in the distance.
On instinct he forced himself up, struggling to breathe from his bruised chest and ribs as he ran down the alleyway, he removed the bandana and tried to cover his face with his shirt, not knowing if the camera logged his bandana, not knowing even what technology it contained.
As Gavin reached the street corner, people were bustling around as he tried to blend in with the crowd, moving at their pace, their steps, their motions, a chameleon in an urban jungle. He threw off his coat, trying to change any descriptors the girls may be very well giving to the police. He couldn't believe there was surveillance in that district. It was one of the most underfunded districts in the entire domed city, it's one of the reasons the gang he was with could practice there. “It may take a while to meet your quota but hey, you steal in one of the rich districts and your ass will be all over every television set in the safe zone!” he could hear Oxs voice echoing in his head.
Why was there a camera there, of all the districts to have something that high tech? Gavin thought as his blood ran cold as he remembered that the camera had a glistening blue crystal stuck in the side of the blinking red light. “Oh Pandora…” Gavin knew what that crystal was, he had heard about state of the art cameras being built in the wealthy districts that could track a person's magical signature. This deterred much thievery and crime in these other districts, the issue was since funding was limited in the poorer districts his gang never thought they had to worry about surveillance…until now. He had to warn Ox. His whole gang was in danger, he was in danger.
Gavin sped down the street as police cars drove by slowly scanning the streets and the crowds. He felt he was walking on a minefield, one more step and sirens could blare like an explosion that signaled the end of his life. His heart was pounding faster and faster like it might burst out of his chest, but it wasn't just nerves, he needed a blast of Orc.“Not now..please not now.” He said to himself in a desperate plea to his body.
Quickly, the steps of all of the pedestrians around him dulled, a pulsating surge of desire came through his body with every heartbeat as he pulled out a crystal from his shirt, broke it into a powder and snorted it, a wave of pleasure rushing over Gavin as all his fears turned into a blur, his mind going into a sort of autopilot that made his instincts rely on where to go, time seemed to slow as he could make out every subtle movement and facial expression. His magical energy seemed to surge, he felt like he could take on an army but he steered himself, his legs walking him to where he needed to go to Ox’s hideout.
As Gavin rounded a corner he approached an abandoned warehouse district, abandoned warehouses that had barely been touched in decades in the safe zone. As Gavin walked or ran or stumbled as the effects of the drug made movement feel like a smooth delayed blur he had to go into one of the squatter outposts that this warehouse had.
As he entered one of the dilapidated entranceways, wood molding and crumbling around the areas, he glanced at a few disheveled looking people clearly on an Orc trip who were shaking violently. “Don’t take me..don’t!” one of them said as their veins seemed to pulsate with a dark black hue. Gavin turned and stood still for a moment as the familiar smell of decomposition hit his nose like an immovable wall.
Mold, mildew and the smell of literal death made Gavin shudder and collapse as his veins throbbed visibly, the room turning, his vision blurring slightly as the rancid smell disappeared, Gavin lost consciousness as his upper body slowly moved to the floor like an object losing balance with a bit of resistance, then all went black.
Gavin, was back in his childhood room, looking at his smaller hands, playing with a red toy train, eerie silence filled the room as Gavin heard the door to his room behind him open with a slow crackling creak. That was the only noise he heard, he held his train above the tracks of his toy train set, his hold on the toy shaking slightly as he heard a slight wooosh of cold air hit his back, it made a sound like breathing, maybe it was breathing, maybe it wasn't.
Then it spoke behind him, a collection of three distinct monotone voices that had a metallic raspiness to it. “JOIN….Join….join….US…Us..us….DOWNSTAIRS….Downstairs…downstairs……GaaaViN.” The voices didn't echo, one distinct low gravelly voice spoke, then another voice repeated the same single word, all three of the voices speaking one word at a time separately before moving on to the next. The voice that spoke a second time sounded like a kind adult woman, a teacher maybe, followed by the third voice, which sounded like a young child. When it spoke his name however, all three voices said his name at the exact same time and when they did, Gavin awoke back in the squatter house.
Chapter 2: No More Running
Summary:
Here we have Gavin trying to get back to his gangs hideout after trying to mug Ellen and Lana.
Chapter Text
Cries, moans of pain, the creeks of the ageing wood and the crumbling falls of the decaying structure, like sand falling from a child's hand assaulted Gavins hearing in his dazed sensitive state. Gavin looked down at his arms to see the same black tendril-like bulges in his veins, the same black tendrils that outlined the veins in the people who died from time to time in this place. The outlines of two sorry souls who lay motionless around him.
Gavin remembered when his sense of cognition finally returned that this place was called “The Outpost”. It was a place that anybody who was having orc sickness or any kind of withdrawal would flee to. While many people fled here seeking safety, seeking a haven that they think they owned, the structure was technically owned by a shipping company that Gavin totally forgot the name of. While The Outpost was in fact owned by a shipping company, no one at least to Gavins knowledge was ever kicked out or arrested or bothered in any way shape or form. Even law enforcement avoided the outpost as if it was a dragon's nest.
Everyone..was safe here, murderers, rapists, and of course even the worst orc dealers were safe at this place. Well, safe from law enforcement anyway, being safe from everyone else? That was a big game of blastball…was one that used fire instead of wind.
Gavin gave a long sigh as he struggled to get up, his legs shaking as his body ached with fatigue. Gavin was looking at the disheveled orc addict that succumbed to the drug, his eyes wide and lifeless, skin almost grey as the black tendrils still bulged from his veins, swollen as if his entire being was being squeezed out of his body. Gavin looked away to attempt to distance himself from what could be and what very well could have been…his fate.
Gavin stumbled outside the morning sunlight blinding him as he could barely see the dome of the safe zone, the doorless exit giving him reprieve from the very open prison of the house of suffering he was lucky enough to leave. Then realization dawned on him, so much time had passed. Was Ox and the rest of the gang okay? Gavin took out his burner phone, his 5th one but thankfully it was cheap, though the metal housing around this new model seemed to take a few brushes of fire magic a bit better than the old model which was all plastic.
Gavin texted Ox, the leader of his gang. Gavin waited a few seconds which felt like hours as he watched the screen for the typing indicator or any kind of read receipt. Nothing, odd, it was not like Ox to not respond, he usually responded instantly to messages, it was concerning for Gavin as Ox’s ability to multitask was as wide as his hulking frame.
Gavin locked the phone screen taking a deep breath as he began to walk onto the dilapidated pavement and driveway that was in such bad shape it just looked like a bunch of shattered black stones all over the place. It was daytime, the sun beaming through the safe zones shell as Gavin looked towards the group of people shuffling and going about their busy “law abiding lives”. It was odd, what did it mean to live a “law abiding life”? Gavin realized he was always on the wrong side of the law, the wrong side of society. But how is it the wrong side when it's simply the side that Gavin always knew?
Gavin looked upon these people with a dumbfounded expression. All his life he knew the safe zone operated on a sort of martial law, punishments were swift and severe for those in custody and he shuddered to think what his sentence could be for the crimes he had committed. He couldn't be caught, he had to head back to Ox’s hideout, as Gavin walked into the crowd, pulling up his hood he felt his phone vibrate. Finally, a message from Ox but it wasn’t the message Gavin was even remotely prepared for, he stared at Ox’s message that simply read “Do not come.”
“What the freaking hell?!” Gavin said, feeling his heartbeat quicken with anger and concern. He went to respond only to remember that Ox usually responded with exclamation points, but this time it was a period, this was unlike his writing style, something was wrong and he had to find out what.
Gavin decided he would go to the hideout but not make himself known, he thought the police could be on his tail but Gavin was confident that he could get to the hideout undetected. He had been in the district of Oxs hideout just a few days before and there were none of the cameras that had captured him on video when he tried to rob those two teenagers.
Oxs hideout wasn't too far away, only about a fifteen minute walk or so away from The Outpost. The hideout he had called home for almost fifteen years now, only for his leader to say “Do not come”? Something was wrong and he had to find out what. Gavin entered the crowd of people keeping his head down as the footsteps and the people talking seemed at a normal volume now. No more pounding or grating against his eardrums that he felt when he was in the crowd on his Orc high. Further and further he went, turning corners, watching for cameras, watching for police as Gavin knew this district like the back of his hand.
Gavin became conscious of the fact that his sense of direction to the hideout was completely unconscious which helped him be much more aware of his surroundings, he turned another corner to his hideouts street, a long street of older shops in disrepair, gross trash, bags full of Agito knows what and every kind of fast food container scattered about in a colorful garden of filth. The smell of vehicle exhaust burned Gavins nostrils as many disheveled characters mulled about. Gavin was home, he quickly moved through the people pulling back his sleeve on his right hand to make the tattoo of a Rafflesia flower very visible. For everyone who saw the tattoo they immediately got out of Gavins way, a man tossing a knife quickly putt it back upon seeing Gavin and the man quickly averted eye contact with a stern display of fear.
Gavin approached the man as the man looked at Gavin with a fear he had never seen, not a fear of him but a fear of something else.
“Benson, where the hell is Ox?!” Gavin said in a forceful huff.
“Gav, ya need to leave…now!” Benson said not in a demanding tone but in a pleading tone as if Bensons life depended on it.
“Benson what is going on!?” Gavin demanded
“They…are looking for you!” Benson started shaking nervously
“Yeah no shit! The cops are looking for all of us dimwit!” Gavin said with a scoff
“Not..just the cops…everyone.” Benson said, giving a quick glance to the people around him as Benson got right up to Gavin's face and directed Gavins gaze to a window in one of the buildings that had a camera setup near the window. Gavin slowly turned to see the same camera he landed in front of after his encounter with the two girls.
“Freaking how?!” Gavin blurted out in utter shock and disbelief. He didn't understand how law enforcement and the guild could build these sophisticated cameras here in this short of time, the camera flashed as Gavin ran, he heard shuffling in the alleys as people on the streets moved away as if they were commanded to.
“DRAGON!!!” a person screamed…in Gavins direction as more footsteps followed behind him as his adrenaline pumped through his veins. There was no dragon anywhere, what in Agito's name was this person yelling about. Gavin took one quick glance behind him to see a bunch of cops and..guild members?! Why was the guild following him? Gavin just ran and ran without thinking, without direction, he looked on the opposite side of the street to see more officers coming in from the other direction to try and corner him.
He ran into an alleyway with a fence, Gavin leaped onto the fence only to feel a gust of wind blast him off of the fence as he saw a long haired man with silver hair on the other side of the fence with his palms out. The back of Gavins head hit the ground as he felt a stinging and a wetness when he felt back there. Gavin looked up, vision blurred as the silver haired man had a young look to him as he used wind magic to vault himself over the fence as police barricaded the opposite end of the alleyway.
The back of Gavin's head was bleeding as his vision began to blur, he tried to get up as the police kept their distance but drew their guns.
“Stay back! If the reports are true you could all be killed in seconds” The silver haired man sneered at the police that looked more like a SWAT team. Though Gavins vision was blurred he thought the man looked like one of those vampires from a romance movie, maybe he was a vampire, he certainly looked the part.
Suddenly the man lunged forward his palm striking Gavin right in the chest, Gavin screamed in pain as every inch of his body felt a surge with a burning energy that seared his insides, it was as if it was pulling at him on a cellular level, a molecular level but as quick as the pain came on it immediately dissipated, his body feeling…fine?
“Hmmmph…damn…I was hoping I’d get to slay my first dragon but you're just scum…lowly scum of this world that Agito has forsaken. You’re not even worth a second of my precious time” The man said without even giving Gavin any eye contact as he looked forward at the officers.
“He’s not a dragon, just a pathetic human, he is all your officers” The man said flicking his hair as he stepped away, holding his hand up in a dismissive way to signal to the officers as the man walked away. The swat team immediately tackled and held Gavin to the ground.
“Auuughhh!!!” Gavin screamed as each officer pinned his limbs down as he went to blast one of them with his fire magic, another officer pulling away Gavins gun as a metal neck band was tightly bound around Gavins throat, his fire magic ceasing immediately as another officer above spoke with a loud authoritarian voice.
“Gavin Alverson you are under arrest for attempted murder, you have the right to remain silent, anything you say, do, or cast will be used against you in a court of law” The words began to fade as Gavin was frozen, numb, his whole body aching with pain, despair and utter defeat. His mind was just blank as another voice came in with an almost roar as the officer reading him his rights stopped talking.
“You piece of shit you tried to kill kids!!” A clearly younger officer said with a squeal as Gavin felt a kick right against the side of his face as in an instant..all went black.
Chapter Text
The officers gripped Gavins arms with such force that the magic dampening bracelets around his neck felt like a clothing accessory. This wasn’t the first time Gavin was restrained by cops, their grip always hateful, aggressive. He knew it was because he might try to escape or attack at any time, both possibilities very much true. Then it dawned on him, a rush of dread exasperating the feeling of his life crumbling away with every step he took through the processing center as he was led in front of a camera.
“Face the camera please” the officer said in a voice that showed she had said that line thousands of times. He was surrounded by 4 officers, all of them calm and alert. The casual nature of the officers treating his embarrassment, his imprisonment, him being stripped of his rights like it was just another day at the office made Gavin feel small, insignificant.
Gavin faced the camera, the portal to which all of the safe zone would see him, everyone would know what kind of person he was, what kind of failure he was, what kind of criminal he was. Gavin stared into the camera defiantly, he didnt care what anyone thought. “Everyone thinks what they want, it only matters what I think” Gavin thought to himself as he was quickly moved to a desk where the officers forcibly placed his thumb into a cold bluish powdery gel as he was quickly hauled off into a bright white cell protected by a strong heavy metal door.
Gavin sat in the corner of the cell, his mind numb, his body feeling like it was soulless, a motionless wind up toy, his mind unable to even get his body to move. Everything was still, quiet, the lights so bright and blinding yet they felt so dark. Gavin didn't think of the past or think of the future and he certainly didn't think of the present, if there was a dimension in which time did not move he was trapped in it and he didn't want out.
There was a single odd thought that permeated Gavins mind, he was hungry, he was thirsty but he wasn’t feeling any symptoms of Orc withdrawal. Why? It should be in full force now, debilitating every fiber of his being but there was nothing. No urge, no desire to even take the drug other than an emotional need to escape this hellish situation. Gavin figured it was the stress blocking a need for his drugs, but he knew it didn't work that way. Before Gavin could put any more thought into this odd circumstance someone opened his cell door.
“Get up, your lawyers here to talk to you” A rough shaven officer said to Gavin as he got up slowly, his legs trembling as his mind started to work again like a car warming up in the snow. Who could possibly want to defend him, he didn't ask for a lawyer, heck he didn't care whether or not one was appointed for him or not. So was this lawyer hired for him? By who? His father? Why would his father hire a lawyer to help him? Gavin didn't care about his father and his father didn't care about him. The officer put Gavin in handcuffs as he led him to a large meeting room in the jail, it was surprisingly nice. The jails in the safe zone were in the same buildings as the courthouses. Efficiency was key to implementing justice especially in a place that was supposedly a beacon of hope for humanity. Gavin thought it was funny how one moment he was in a dirty unkempt jail and the next a posh meeting room with padded chairs and a wood table. The officer forcibly sat Gavin in the chair and released his handcuffs as the guard left the room.
Gavin sat in the meeting room, the smell of the clearly old maroon carpet tickling his nose as he had to resist a sneeze. Gavin looked up as the door opened to a well dressed and rotund individual. The man cleared his throat as he entered walking towards the chair with a limp as he almost hurled his briefcase as if lifting and dropping a heavy sac onto the table. The man was clean shaven, short hair and a look of focus in his eye. With a loud thump of his briefcase Gavin immediately did not know if he should take this man seriously. The man leaned forward holding his hand out towards Gavin.
“Riley Yakimov at your service and defense” the man said, in a thick low accent, leaning over the table to shake Gavin's hand, but Gavin barely moved an inch and let the defense attorney's hand hang. Riley pulled back with a sigh as if this attitude was expected but still clearly making the lawyer apprehensive.
“Maybe you didn't hear the last part, I'm here for your defense.” Riley said to Gavin in a surprisingly firm manner as if the attorney was genuinely trying to insist that he really was here to defend Gavin.
“Defense can become the best offense bub, though..you don’t really seem to be the..offensive type” Gavin chuckled in a sneer at the attorney's weight.
“You know, insulting what is probably the ONLY human being in this Agito forsaken universe that would even consider defending your wasteful existence might not be a sound strategy Mr. Alverson!” Riley said with an indignant sharpness.
“And why the hell do I need any kind of defense?” Gavin said, crossing his arms at the defense attorney and giving him an intimidating glare.
“Well, lets see the charges shall we; two counts of attempted murder of a minor, attempted aggravated robbery and assault, fleeing and evading, resisting arrest with violence” Riley stops himself, tossing the paper to Gavin as he snickers
“Just another day on the job..and for the real freakin’ record I didn't try to kill those girls, that blonde bitch used some crazy wind magic, better shit than some of those sports players I tell you.” Gavin said reclining in his chair
“Well your record doesn't matter, the camera record showed..”
“Oh i'm sorry aren’t you supposed to be defending me bub?!” Gavin says sarcastically “Cause you ain’t doing shit but judging my ass right now..”
“Look, the footage clearly shows…”
“I dont give a freaking fuck what the cameras shows I didnt try to…” Gavin tried to say before Riley interrupts
“THEY ARE SEEKING…THE DEATH PENALTY!!!!” Riley yelled so loudly that Gavin could feel his voice vibrations in the desks wood.
Gavin paused, the room was still as he just laughed, but it wasn't a genuine laugh and Riley knew that this laugh from the career criminal was a defense, a laugh of fear and a form of comforting for one being told he is going to die, Gavin smiles before his smile turns to sudden rage.
“I wasn’t going to kill that blonde girl!!” Gavin slammed his fist down, his breathing becoming furious.
“I believe you damn it!! But thats not what the cameras show, I believe you didn't intend to shoot her but from the footage it clearly shows that you open fired on her after…well whatever that wild wind magic was that she used to incapacitate you” Riley explains matter of factly
“But its…attempted murder..not murder! Why am I facing death?!” Gavin said with a tinge of helplessness and fear
“Attempted murder of a minor..is a capital crime in the safe zone, our justice system here has to run on a sort of martial law to maintain order…but it also didn't help that you are being accused of attempting to murder the daughter of Jess Flint..head of the guild!” Riley said in an annoyed tone as if he was ridiculing a child who attempted to do something ridiculous for the sake of it
Gavins leans back and begins to laugh maniacally, leaning back in his chair as he looks at Riley “Of course…of course the one I try to mug is the daughter of the freaking guildmaster…..”
“Look..you seem like the type of man who would not go down without fighting to the bitter end” Riley said confidently.
“Not just to the bitter end, I fight to the freakin’ bloody end” Gavin said with a smirk.
“Good..because maybe I can give you a fighting chance, a slim chance but a fighting chance nonetheless…but we will have to plead guilty to these charges” Riley said sternly.