Cynical

It was dark when Noise heard Rogue's soft cry of delight. He stayed in his little tent, but moved closer to the door and listened, instantly suspicious. Rogue was never up at night, and he was never happy.

"Echo!" the other Raider whispered, but Noise had no trouble hearing him. Something about his voice was off. "Echo, I'm glad to see you up and around. Tristam said he was keeping you safe. What happened? And why are you all ... wet?"

"Long story," Echo mumbled. He sounded exhausted. "Tristam's being controlled by this thing inside his head. I've ... uh ... heard things. Braken's gone. I don't think he's coming back."

Noise thought he heard a good riddance from Rogue, but he wasn't sure. "You've been ... gone?" Rogue asked, louder. "You don't have to be so secretive. We all know you're a Vortex Shifter. Well, not everybody. Not Noise. Probably for the better. Come on. If that's where you've been. Tristam is going to kill you. Figuratively, of course. I have a place for you to hide."

They were hiding Echo from Tristam and keeping the knowledge that he was a Shifter from Noise. The Raider did not appreciate being lied to. He started to open the tent door, but then, an idea struck him and he kept it closed.

Rogue had been acting strange lately, less invested in tasks and more scatterbrained, yet Tristam still relied on him to do everything. Even though Rogue was second in command, Noise felt a surge of jealousy. Tristam relied on him, too. If Rogue couldn't be an adequate leader when Tristam needed help, why didn't the leader let him help? Noise was perfectly capable of helping - and people listened to him. When he told them to do something, they did it. Usually, the other Raiders could talk their way out of a task Rogue gave them. He was too soft.

Now that Rogue was hiding things from both Tristam and Noise, he could do something about it that would prove his abilities to take charge. Then maybe Tristam would get rid of this useless daydreamer.

Noise listened carefully as Rogue and Echo quietly moved away. It sounded like they were heading inside the building surrounding the camp. There was nothing in there except spiders and dust. There wasn't even room for more than four or five people in the closed off rooms. Immediately curious, Noise slipped out of his blanket tent and silently followed them. He kept them out of sight and let his sensitive hearing do the job for him. He followed them inside the open halls, over the rubble from the bombs, and then watched them stop in front of a door that had been locked for years. Noise watched with the fire of jealousy in his heart as Rogue pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the door, carefully pushing it in.

Noise didn't dare follow them, as he didn't know how big the room was or if they'd need to squish inside. It looked like some sort of closet from the outside, but Noise had learned that appearances were often different from reality. He waited until the door closed again before creeping up to it and pressing his ear against the metal. He could hear them almost perfectly.

"Listen," Rogue said softly. "Tristam's been acting weird. He isn't himself, and I'm afraid he's going to use you to do horrible things if he gets his hands on you again."

"He's got something in his head," Echo said, and Noise felt a burst of hatred at hearing the Shifter's voice.

"I know. That's what I'm afraid of. This door leads to a tunnel. It'll be dark, but once you get to the bottom, you'll find a flashlight Nitro powered. There should be someone else down there, but I forgot if Puppet decided to be here tonight or not. If no one's down there, don't freak out. I'll come get you in the morning."

Noise heard Rogue touch the doorknob, and quickly scrambled back behind another wall, hopefully out of sight. He had a lot to tell Tristam, and he didn't want to get caught before he made it.

On the other hand ... he could get Rogue to do almost whatever he wanted with blackmail.

He debated too long with himself, and by the time he decided to blackmail him, Rogue had already left the room and entered the camp again. Noise let out a quick chirp, too high pitched for a normal human to hear, and could quickly tell that Rogue was too far away to confront him without causing problems. He sighed loudly and rubbed his forehead as the echoes faded, wondering if he should return to his tent or talk to Tristam now. He decided to wait and see if he could find anything the next morning, when Rogue said he would come back for Echo.

He didn't sleep that night. He only thought about Rogue's motives. He didn't understand why he was doing most of this so suddenly. He didn't know why he'd become so protective of this stranger they'd picked up - kidnapped, really - off the street, especially since that kid could easily kill them.

The next morning, he heard Rogue get up much earlier and go back to the same place as before. Again, Noise wondered why no one else knew about this "secret tunnel" as he put on his jacket to follow them. As an afterthought, he grabbed his switchblade and stuffed it in his pocket. He didn't know what made him take it, but it made him feel safer.

He followed Rogue back to the door and waited for him to open it again, watching him duck inside, and this time, Noise managed to slip a stick between the door before it shut all the way. Once Rogue was out of earshot for a normal human, he opened the door again and followed him silently. After a moment, he let out another high pitched chirp, once again grateful for his echolocation.

The tunnel wasn't deep. It was just  wide enough for two people to walk side by side, though it would've been tight, and it opened up into a room space that was about as big as a small bedroom in one of those old houses people lived in before the wars. Noise stayed in the darkness of the tunnel as Rogue went in and clicked on a flashlight.

Echo immediately sat upright, squinting in the bright light. Once he recognized the Raider, he relaxed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "What's going on, Rogue?" he asked softly.

"I could ask the same," Noise said, startling not only the two in the room, but also himself. He wasn't sure what made him speak, but he couldn't back down now.

"Noisestorm - " Rogue cursed under his breath.

"You're keeping secrets from us," Noise continued, keeping his voice low. His hand found its way to his knife and he pulled it out. He moved to stand where he blocked the exit, calmly staring into the little room. Rogue shined his flashlight right in his face, but he just closed his eyes and said, "I don't need my eyes to see, Rogue."

"You followed me," Rogue accused.

"You're acting weird and I want you to tell me exactly what's going on."

"I can't," Rogue said. "I can't risk it."

"Risk what? Your status?" Noise laughed humorously. "You're powerless - literally. I can't believe Tristam chose you, of all people."

"Is this about your own jealousy?" Rogue demanded, trying to sound tough. The effect was ruined when he stepped back a little. "Are you jealous of me?"

"Of you?" he laughed again. "I'd sooner be jealous of that freak." He jerked his thumb at Echo, who ducked behind the other Raider. "You're going to tell me what's going on, or I'll kill him."

"Don't touch him," the other growled.

"You're defenseless, Rogue. You don't have your pretty little sword to save you. Tell me what's going on or I'll kill you both." Noise flipped open his knife and casually stepped toward them. They both scrambled back. "No one would find you down here. No one would know it was me. They'd all think you simply disappeared, just like Braken. Just like Danyka."

"We both know she didn't disappear." Rogue was shaking, and that gave Noise a strange sense of satisfaction. "You killed her."

"Tristam killed her," Noise corrected. "I did nothing."

"You watched her die. That's the same as killing her yourself. You watched Monster die, too."

"So did you. Are you a killer, then, like me?" He smiled. "Are you a murderer, like Braken?"

"Braken is not a murderer!" Echo cried.

Neither of them said anything. Nobody moved, until Noise grew tired of the waiting. He resumed stalking toward them, his knife to his side. He knew Tristam would kill him if he heard about this, but he was sure he wouldn't care if he got this kind of information. Just as he reached them, Rogue lashed out and threw a wild punch, his fist connecting with Noise's ear. Noise let out a cry of pain, the roaring in his head hurting him almost as much as the physical pain. That was the downside of having such sensitive hearing.

Rogue slipped past him, with Echo close behind, but Noise channeled the pain into anger and grabbed the Shifter, pinning him against his chest with his knife to his neck. He was still damp. "Tell me what's going on or I'll kill him," Noise said, breathing hard and trying to ignore the pounding in his skull. He could feel Echo's frantic breathing and racing heartbeat.

Rogue spun around and stared at him in disbelief. Noise could almost see the gears working in his head. He already knew what the powerless Raider was going to do.

Echo grabbed at his arm, trying to pry it away, but Noise just tightened his grip around his shoulders, pressing the knife harder against his throat. He could hear the Shifter swallow hard, and knew that his plan was working.

"Tristam is going to use Echo to do something horrible," Rogue said softly. "That's why he's hiding here."

"Why is there a tunnel here I didn't know about?"

"It was from Monster's rebellion a year and a half ago. Tristam knows."

"Why are you helping a kid who can kill us in a heartbeat?"

"Because I know he won't. He's just like the rest of us."

"He is nothing like the rest of us!" Noise shouted, his anger nearly exploding out of him.

"All I want is my sister back," Echo breathed.

"And you'll do anything to get her back, we know." Noise glared right through Rogue's frightened gaze. "Something's wrong here. Why would Puppet need to meet you down here last night?"

"To help with Echo," Rogue lied.

"He doesn't even know Echo's back. Stop lying to me." Noise slowly dragged the knife along Echo's neck, but didn't break the skin, and he heard the Shifter catch his breath in pain.

"Okay! Okay, I'm sorry. Let him go and I'll tell you."

Cautiously, Noise released Echo and lowered the knife, expecting Rogue to comply, like he always did. Instead, he got Echo's bony elbow to his gut and a burst of pain as the Shifter broke free. That kid was stronger than he looked. Rogue immediately shoved him up the tunnel and ran after him, and Noise heard the door slam as he climbed to his feet and took off after them.

He tried to throw open the door, but it didn't budge and he just slammed into it. He tried again, but it was locked. They'd trapped him. "ROGUE!" he screamed, infuriated. "OPEN THIS DOOR!"

He tried to force open the door, but again, it didn't work. He pounded on it until his fists were bleeding, but he didn't care. He was too angry to feel it. A minute later, the door seemed to open by itself.

Noise fell over on top of someone small and light, and his blade flew immediately to the newcomer's neck. "Tell me what's going on!" he demanded.

WRLD yelled in surprise and brought his hands up to protect himself. "I didn't do anything, I swear!"

Noise quickly noticed the key he had on a string around his neck. "What's this? Is this how you unlocked the door?"

"Rogue gave it to me last night. It's not my fault!" WRLD's voice rose up to a squeak and he let out a squeal as Noise tried to yank it off. "What are you doing?"

Noise gave up pulling on it and simply cut it off, much to WRLD's distress. "Tell me what's going on, kid."

"I'm just as confused as you are!"

"Noisestorm? WRLD? What are you two doing?" Tristam's voice demanded, coming toward them.

Both of the Raiders' heads immediately snapped up as their leader came closer. Noise quickly climbed off of WRLD and reloaded his switchblade. "I have some very important things to talk about, and I believe WRLD does, too." He glared at the younger Raider, who shrugged helplessly.

"What kind of things?" Tristam asked suspiciously.

"Things about your second in command. Things about Echo."

"Did you find him?"

"Oh, I found him alright. He's a Vortex Shifter."

"Yes, I know that."

Noise wanted to throw something or scream or punch a wall. "How come everyone knows things I don't?" he shouted.

"Calm down, Noisestorm," Tristam ordered. "Not everybody knows, and we're going to keep it that way." He glared at WRLD, who always managed to spill secrets. He turned back to Noise and stepped a little closer. WRLD stepped back, but Noise held his ground. "What about the Shifter?"

"That's where he went," Noise said. "To another dimension to escape you. When he came back, Rogue tried to hide him from you in that tunnel."

Tristam glanced at the open door. "I didn't know there was a tunnel there. How long have you known about this?"

"About seven hours," Noise answered, growing more confident the longer they spoke. He tried to ignore the fact that Rogue had lied to him again. "Rogue and Echo escaped before I could catch them. They're planning something, I'm sure of it. I think Puppet is in on it, too."

"If Echo came back, where's Braken?" Tristam demanded.

"I haven't seen or heard him. Echo said he wasn't coming back -"

The second he finished his sentence, Tristam let out a yell of pure rage, chucking a purple fire ball at the wall. It exploded with heat more intense than he'd ever felt before, and the force of the explosion knocked both WRLD and Noise over. WRLD quickly regained his footing and ran off, and for the first time, Noise was afraid of his leader.

He hadn't been like this before. He'd been one of the nicest people he'd known. After Noise had escaped his first pack and wound up here, barely alive, Tristam had been the first one to accept him. This was just barely six years ago. He'd been young, lost, dying, afraid, and Tristam has personally cared for him until he recovered. Of course, this was before he'd become the leader of this group of unwanteds. Maybe the pressure had something to do with it. Noise wasn't entirely sure about that. There was something else. He remembered what Echo had said the night before - that there was something inside Tristam's head, supposedly "controlling" him. He wasn't sure if he believed that, but there was definitely something different about him.

Noise struggled to climb back to his feet, but just as he regained his balance, Tristam grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall. The fury in the leader's eyes made Noise's heart beat faster and his breath catch in his throat. There wasn't a lot that scared this Raider, but suddenly Tristam seemed much more terrifying than before.

"Listen, Noisestorm," Tristam said, his voice low and threatening. "If Braken is gone, then so is my power. That's why I'm sending you out there to find him."

"Out there?" Noise gasped out, trying to pry his fingers away from his neck.

"Yes. Don't even think about coming back without him. If you do, I'll throw you right back to where you came from, in the same condition we found you in. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir," Noise managed to say.

Tristam finally released him and he staggered, breathing hard and gasping for breath. The leader walked away without so much as a glance back. "Don't disappoint me, Noisestorm."

The other Raider watched him go, rubbing his neck and listening far after he was out of sight. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and scowled. He may not like it, but this was his chance.

If this was what it would take to prove his loyalty, then so be it.