Song of the Chapter: Sentinel - Noisestorm (Breaks)

I love this genre...why don't more people make it

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(Phantom's POV)

"Let me in; I want to talk to him."

I open my eyes just a little. Everything hurts so bad ... Especially my chest and stomach, my whole front. The slashes were deep and I have tons of stiches, maybe more than fifty. The bandages are too tight, I think, and I can barely breathe.

Although everything hurts, fear almost overwhelms it. Braken did this to me. Of all people, this was Braken's doing. I never thought ...

I remember the looks Tristam, Rogue, and Evee gave him that one night - the night Braken claims he doesn't remember. They knew something like this would happen, they just didn't know how or when or who.

"Nick!" Ben says, pushing past the nurse and gently sitting on my bed. "Nick, I was so worried about you. I thought you weren't going to make it. I walked in that room and saw all that blood ... I just thought ..."

"Help me sit up," I mumble, trying to prop myself up on my elbows. He carefully lifts me by my underarms and I sit up against the wall with a hiss of pain. "I can't believe I'm still alive." I pick at the bandage across my chest and shudder, noticing that Ben hasn't moved his hand away from around my waist. His hands are warm on my bare skin. Mine are freezing. I give him a look and he releases me awkwardly with a muttered apology.

He hesitates, and then says, "You still think he's your friend, don't you?"

"What?"

"That thing. The winged kid. You think he's your friend."

I keep my eyes glued to the floor. "I don't know. I guess."

"It's not. It's not your friend. That thing is a killer."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you have this look in your eyes. Please don't do anything ... stupid."

"I can barely move," I say, getting a little angry. "What do you think I'm going to do?" Talking that loud hurts, so I drop my voice back down. "I don't know what you're worried about."

"I'm worried about you hurting yourself and being stupid." His face turns red as he speaks. "I do like you, but I hope you push that away and listen to a friend's advice. That thing is not your friend."

"But he's not like that," I insist, wincing at the pain in my chest.

"Really? He's not like ... " Ben roughly pokes my chest, just above one of the slashes. " ... that?"

I yelp and flinch away from him. I think that deep down, I know he's right. I just wish I didn't. I wish he was wrong. "He has some sort of disorder. Maybe some sort of split personally or something. That's not the real him." I pause for a moment. How do I know what the "real him" is like?

"How do you know? You don't know me! I'M A FREAKIN' POTATO!"

I don't know him. Not like I wish I did.

"Nick, please listen. Please, try to understand," Ben says, softer now. "I don't want him to hurt you. If he does have some disorder ... Although I hate to say it, and no offence to anyone, but maybe that makes him even more dangerous."

He's right and I hate myself for agreeing.

●•●•●•●

(Monstercat's POV)

"We have to get back to the others," Aero says at around seven thirty.

I glance over at Tristam and sigh. Our friend is still slumped over the steering wheel of the dead truck, his shoulders slowly rising and falling as he sleeps. It's not that he wanted to sleep - He wanted to go after Braken, and almost hurt himself doing so, but we finally convinced him to stay here where it's safe. He cried himself to sleep an hour ago. He's exhausted and hasn't slept in nearly five days, so we let him rest. It's just ... It's a different experience to watch your friend, a seemingly strong, cheerful, twenty one year old, cry himself to sleep. It's hard to hold him back when it's so obviously destroying him.

"I don't want to wake him up," I say softly.

"Please don't make me go back," Nitro whimpers. "They'll hurt me again."

"I'll make sure they won't." Aero shifts his position and tries to fix his wings. It's crowded in here.

"That's what Rogue said, and look what happened," Nitro mumbles.

"Where are they?" Ephixa asks suddenly. "Rogue and ... Eveelyn, right?"

Nitro doesn't answer.

"Whatever happens, we need to get Tristam back before he kills himself trying to save his friend," Aero says. "Braken can take care of himself now. Trust me, I've seen that kid kill, and when he kills, it's not pretty. They'll all be terrified of him. They won't hurt him because of what he can do to them in return."

I shiver as he speaks. It's hard for me to imagine Braken able to kill someone. I can only think of him as the quiet, broken boy who barely had the courage to hurt himself, much less anyone else. "I could go - " I start, but Aero cuts me off.

"No more splitting up. It's too hard to keep track of each other. Now that we're together, I don't want you guys going off on your own again."

"Who put you in charge?" Ephixa mutters.

"I did," he snaps. "If one of us is going to leave, we're all going to leave. And right now, none of us are going to leave, because Tristam is still asleep and he needs the rest. The rest of us might as well follow his example." He presses himself against the window, sliding down a little and wrapping himself up in his white wings.

Ephixa sighs and does the same thing on the other side, and Nitro is half-asleep already, so I curl up and try to get some sleep, too. My tail swishes in the leg space, sometimes bumping into someone. The heavy rain pattering on the roof of the truck calms me, and soon, I drift off to the steady sound of my friends' breathing.

I wake up again to someone gently tapping the window. My ears twitch and I open one eye, just to check. It's Rogue and Evee, and I have to restrain myself from jumping up in joy. I assume they were keeping quiet so that they wouldn't wake the others. I stand up quietly and pop open the passenger door.

"Where've you been?" I ask softly as they climb in, both soaking wet.

"Jensen caught us at Wal-Mart," Rogue mutters, shifting so that Evee can lay down on his lap. They both look exhausted. His eyes flicker to Nitro Fun, who's asleep and draped over Tristam's back, and he lets out a sigh of relief. "At least he's safe. We escaped by spilling rubber balls all over. It was kind of funny, really. I'll explain more in the morning."

I nod and let him get as comfortable as possible. Now I need a new place, but I don't mind. I wiggle into the leg space between Ephixa and Aero, but I can't seem to fall sleep. Maybe it's because the spot really isn't comfortable. Maybe it's because Aero keeps shifting his wings when I lay on them. Maybe it's the fear in my chest.

I can't stop thinking about Braken and Noisestorm and Phantom and all the others imprisoned there. We have to get them out, somehow. Aero's right. We need to get back to the others so we have a bigger fighting force. I hope they're okay. There was another firework riot a couple days ago, but Tristam and I stayed out of it. We didn't want to run into anyone who'd drag us back before we found Noisestorm. I guess we don't have to worry about not being able to find him. We know exactly where he is.

Tristam wakes up a few minutes later, waking up Nitro Fun. I stay where I am.

"What're you doing?" Nitro mumbles.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Tristam answers. He's lying. I can hear it in his voice, and there's no place to get out and go, unless you count the streets. I don't think he'll do that.

"Okay." Nitro curls up again on the seat.

I hear the door open and Tristam climbing out. I wiggle through the tangle of wings and slip out the back door, almost knocking Ephixa over. He just snorts in his sleep and adjusts to get more comfortable.

Tristam sticks his hands in the pockets of his long coat and walks quickly down the dark street, the fog and his hunched over position making him seem a lot creepier and untrustworthy. I wait by the truck for a minute to see if he really is going to the bathroom in a nearby store, but they're all closed except for a gas station behind us. I take a step to follow him, splashing in a puddle, and he pauses for just a second before picking up his pace.

He's going to do something stupid. I just know it. "Tristam?" I call.

He flinches and doesn't stop.

"Tristam! Where are you going?"

"Go back to the truck, Monstercat," he orders.

"You can't break him out, you know," I say, running up to him.

"I wasn't going to."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Bang my head against the wall," he says sarcastically.

"Please, listen to me. You have to come back," I beg. "You're going to be killed."

"I don't care!" he snaps, whirling on me. "Braken could already be dead or dying! I made him a promise, that night, the night he almost died. The night he almost killed himself! You know why he did it? He did it because he had no one! He was completely and utterly alone! I don't know if you know how it feels to watch, helpless, as your friend collapses without knowing if he's going to survive, but knowing that you could never be enough. No matter what they say, you know that it is your fault. You didn't have the courage to stay with him. You're a coward. You kneel there, you hold him tight in your arms, but suddenly it's a very real possibility that he won't wake up at all, and the last thing you said to him was 'I'll come back'. You came back alright, came back in time to watch him knock himself out and hope to die. I'll never let him down like I did that night. I can't lose him again, Monstercat. Those three days, the three days I spent sobbing by his bedside in the hospital - I've never been more scared in my entire life. I don't want to feel that again. Please, don't hold me back. I can't take the pain anymore."

I don't say anything for a moment. I just watch him carefully. He's angry, afraid, confused, exhausted. His hands are clenched into fists, his shoulders tight, and his expression is mostly showing anger, but his eyes are filled with tears. They haven't fallen yet, and I want to keep it that way. He's normally such a collected and cheerful person, and I don't want to embarrass him by making him cry again.

"Don't make me go back," he whispers.

"Tristam, listen to me," I say gently, but firmly. "I may not know exactly how you feel, but I know what it's like to lose close friends. I also know that if you try to get in there by yourself, you're only going to be captured or killed, and that's not going to help any of us. We'll get him out, we just have to think it through."

His eyes harden. "So we're going back."

"And as soon as we get back, we'll get everyone together - all the labels, all the producers, and then we'll be able to invade."

"They won't do it. Not for one person. Not for a Turtle no one likes anyway."

"Braken isn't the only one in there, you know. There's dozens, maybe a hundred of them - other labels, too. They'll all go, to rescue them, to take down soldiers, to grab weapons, to trash the place. You're not alone in this. Remember that night with Eoin? We all have each other. No one has to fight through it alone."

"Except Braken," Tristam says.

I sigh in defeat. "I'm sorry." I take his arm and lead him back to the truck. At first, he resists, but then, he follows more obediently. "Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, we'll leave," I say.

He doesn't answer.

We get back to the truck, and I notice Rogue's sword underneath the vehicle. Tristam's eyes light up when he sees it. He pulls something out of his pocket and then yanks me to the side, against a lamppost.

"I'm sorry, Monstercat," he says, ripping off a strip of duct tape.

"Where did you get that? What are you doing? TRISTAM?!" I shriek as he wraps it tightly around my wrists, behind the lamp pole. "Leo, let me go!"

"I'm sorry," he repeats, flinching as I use his real name. "I stole it. You know, because duct tape fixes everything."

"LET ME GO!" I demand, kicking at him. He tapes my arms against the pole and then smothers my cries with more tape.

"I'm sorry," he says a third time as he starts to back up, away from me. "I really am. But I know you can take care of yourself. Braken can't. That's why I have to go after him." He picks up Rogue's sword, still backing away. "Don't follow me. Go with Aero and get everyone else."

I try to scream at him, but the sound is muffled. I kick and fight, but he turns and runs, down the street, his long black coat billowing out behind him in the fog.

I watch him until he vanishes from view, and then bring out my razor sharp claws, slicing through the tape easily. I rip it off of my mouth and take a step to follow him, but hesitate. Everyone in the truck needs to know where we're going. I open Aero's door and he falls backward on top of me with a yell and a curse.

"What the - Monstercat? What are you doing?" he demands.

"Tristam ran off down that way - took Rogue's sword - I'm going after him - take everyone back and get the others - " I turn to go after Tristam, but Aero grabs my arms and stops me.

"What? You mean he's trying to recuse Braken? By himself?! We have to follow him."

"No!" I yelp. "Don't wake the others yet. We'll be fine, at least until the morning. If you start a full scale invasion with everyone in every label, we might have a chance. You have to do this. For Tristam."

He hesitates, thinking hard. "I left Braken behind once," he murmurs. "I promised I wouldn't do it again, and I did. I guess what's happened twice is bound to happen again. Alright, I'll do it. Just ... please keep them all alive."

"Okay. I promise. Thanks, Aero." I grin at him and he returns it with a sad smile. I turn and run, sprinting down the street as fast as I can go.  I know the way to Jensen's facility, and I know Tristam will be slowing down by now. He still has a limp, and though it's not as bad now, it'll keep him from outrunning me.

I catch up to him a street before the building. He's resting against the wall of a dark alley, breathing hard and gripping the sword like his life depends on it. "Leo," I hiss at him.

His head snaps up and he stares at me in a mix between disbelief, anger, frustration, and fear. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm coming with you."

"You're not going to drag me back?"

"Even if I did, I couldn't keep you there." I press myself against the wall next to him. We flinch as my belt flashes red.

"So what's the plan, then?" he asks.

"The plan?" I almost laugh, more out of crazy fear than amusement. "My plan was to follow your plan!"

"My plan is to get in without getting caught, grab Braken, and get out, all while not dying."

"Sounds good to me."

"You're crazy."

"How do you plan on getting in?"

"I'll find a way." He watches the street with a terrifying intensity until he spots an opening. "There!" He points and takes off before I can respond.

I have no choice but to follow him, so I sprint after him, catching up quickly.
Tristam throws open the door and that sound - that screeching, high pitched, painful sound - fills my ears again. I drop to the floor with a shriek, but it's over quickly as two soldiers grab my arms and pull me off of my feet. Tristam doesn't even have time to react before someone calls his name.

"Leo?" a man chuckles. I recognize his voice. I've heard it before - in my head. It's Jensen.

Tristam whips around, swinging the sword, but Jensen just steps back and avoids it easily. "Where is he?" my friend demands. "What did you do to him?"

"You can ask him later." Jensen takes a step toward him and Tristam backs up, holding the sword up protectively.

"Don't come any closer or I'll kill you," he threatens. His voice is shaking and so is the sword.

"You couldn't do it." Jensen steps forward again, and Tristam backs up into two other soldiers. They grab his arms and force him to drop the weapon. I kick out, but I'm suspended in the air and can't move. "He, on the other hand, would have done it without a second thought."

Tristam's face goes pale. He's more afraid for Braken than he is for himself. Or maybe he's more afraid of Braken. The soldiers twist his arms back and force him onto his knees, and the duct tape falls out of his pocket, rolling to a stop by Jensen's feet.

The man bends over and picks it up, smiling. "Perfect. We didn't even need any handcuffs. Tape him up, soldiers."

He tosses the roll and one of them catches it, the other yanking off my friend's coat and forcing his forearms together, behind his back. They press a piece over his mouth, wrap strips of tape around his wrists and by his elbows, and then do the same thing to me. My arms start to ache after only a few minutes.

"Come on," Jensen says, turning and signaling the four soldiers to follow him.

We go down a hallway, into a lobby area, and I notice an old trail of dried blood on the floor, making me shiver. We enter the white prison area, and then turn down a hallway to the right. Tristam tenses up, his eyes flickering to a door a few paces down the hall, but we don't go into the room. It has a sign on it that reads "DO NOT ENTER. TESTING IN PROGRESS."

Jensen unlocks a door farther away and holds it open for us in mock politeness. "Here we are," he says cheerfully. "Welcome home, my new pets." He chuckles softly at Tristam's muffled protest, and pats him gently on the head, picking the triangle glasses out of his hair. "What are these? Fun shapes you've got here. I think I'll keep them safe for you. We wouldn't want you to break them, now would we?" He laughs again and gives him a shove toward the desk on the far side of the room. "Soldiers, I have some things I need to pick up before they get settled, so I'll be back in a few minutes. Finish taping them up so they can't escape and then you are dismissed. It's late and I have a feeling that tomorrow will be a big day." He struts out of the room like he's the king of the world and the soldiers sigh.

They knock Tristam over onto his back and pin him down by his shoulders. He tries to yell something, but no one can understand him. They use a long strip and put the middle against the back of his neck, then wrap it under his arms and cross it around his chest. They move to his legs and bend one of them, taping his ankle under the opposite knee so he can't even stand up. Then they tie a blindfold over his eyes and turn to me.

I shrink away from them, but they tape across my chest and then trap my ankles together. The two holding me snap a thick, metal collar around my neck, one with four loops - one on the front, back, left, and right. The others do the same to Tristam and then they lock a thin piece of wire to the collars, connecting us and preventing us from moving more than three feet away from each other. They drop me on the floor next to him and blindfold me, too, and a minute later, I can hear them pull the tape off of Tristam's mouth and then leave us alone, trapped in the dark office.

"Leo?" I say after a second.

"Yeah?" he answers. He's breathing hard.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!"

He lets out a nervous laugh. "Well, I got us in, didn't I?"