Chapter Text
"Fen! Stop stepping on Ada, you're hurting her!"
The raven haired man lifted his foot and tiptoed over the monstera leaves crawling across the threshold. "Sorry, Ada. Ari, you need to get your creepers in check, they're going to take over the door soon." He ducked under two hanging plants, one catching his hood and bringing it off his head. He looked around at the mess of dirt and pots in the small room. "Where are you?"
A hand sprung out behind a tall, spiky plant and waved once before disappearing again. "Busy!"
Fen snorted. "Busy isn't a place, sprout. Can your plant potting wait until after our mission?"
"I have a mission?" A girl's head popped out this time, her white hair falling free from behind her ears and down to her waist. Her sky blue eyes sparkled with excitement, undeterred by his lazy dull black.
"*We* have an extraction mission. One of the Dreamers is lost in the slums."
She scrunched her nose. "Do we have to?"
Fen shrugged. "Orders are orders. I don't like the researchers either, but they're technically our colleagues."
Ari stood up and stretched. "Fiiine… is it just us?"
"Yeah. Vino will be on comms."
"Aw, Oli's not coming…"
"Oli still has training evaluations to work on."
Ari huffed and dusted herself off. "Gotcha. Let me grab my bag. When are we going?"
"Now."
The canopy kept the slums dark, even during the day. Dim lanterns hung from the roofs and balconies in alleys. As she hopped down from the truck, Ari looked up at the endless stretch of metal and sighed. "You can't see the sky from here. It feels like a cage."
"Remember what Teach said? The canopy protects the slums from the elements, but also generates power for the city. Losing natural light is a necessary sacrifice." Fen motioned to Ari to follow and they started down the dirt road.
"I need my vitamin D, unlike a certain pale shade I know." She poked Fen, who flinched and shot her a glare.
"This particular shade is happy in the dark, thank you very much." He tapped his earpiece with his left hand and it beeped. A soft voice said, "Connection established."
"Vino, we've arrived."
"Calibrating position. Found you. Follow the road to the plaza. It has sunlight, you won't miss it."
"Just what I need! Race you there!" Ari took off in a sprint.
Fen sighed. "I don't have the energy for this. Vino, can you brief us on the person we're looking for?" He said, setting off into a slow jog.
"The target is in plain clothes, but has bright red hair. Ask around for Steve."
"*Steve*? Seriously?" Fen flinched at the feedback from the earpiece.
"Ari, please. The earpiece is really sensitive."
"Didn't we have to fish him out of the laundry a week or two ago?"
"We also found him in the mess room garbage bin last month."
"How… what… Actually, I'm not even going to ask. I'm here by the way! You have to take the trash out this week, Fen."
"What? I didn't hear about this. It's your turn this week."
"Races gotta have stakes or they're not fun!"
"Tell me before the race next time…"
"Um, Steve was last seen near the plaza talking to a woman with a scarf. It may help to locate the woman first."
"I can do that while Fen takes his time."
"Listen."
"Yes, old man?" Fen's eye twitched. "Silence means approval. See you later then!" There was a beep and Ari left the call.
Fen sighed. "I'm only two years older than you…"
The dirt road eventually changed to cobblestone as it opened up to a clearing. Street vendors lined the outside, each with their own lantern, while children ran around the warm spot of sunlight at the center. Small patches of bright green dotted the spot, and the grass stretched towards the sky, hungry for the light. Maybe if he lived here, he would covet it like the grass, Fen thought. But to him, the light burned.
A child bumped into him and threw a "Sorry!" behind them as they ran past. Fen grabbed the collar of their shirt and held them up, their small feet dangling in the air. They kicked and punched before giving up and folding their arms with a huff.
"Give it back." Fen put out his right hand.
"Give what back?" Fen looked at the child avoiding his gaze.
"My bracelet."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Fen took a deep breath and willed the black cloud to retreat back under his skin. Stay calm. The mission would take longer if he lost what little trust he had in the slums.
So he waited. The child squirmed. There was the smell of smoke. The child's eyes widened, their arms unfolded and they tossed something out from under their shirt.
Fen dropped the child and slid his left hand through the smoking bracelet. Red lights ran across the display, then turned green. The bottommost light blinked along with his pulse, then turned off.
He looked down at the child, who was clutching their chest. "Have you seen a girl with white hair? She'll make it hurt less." The child nodded and ran down one of the alleys, and Fen followed.
The child ran up to Ari, who was talking to a woman with a scarf. The child tugged at Ari's shirt, and she waved goodbye to the woman before kneeling to talk to them. She looked up as Fen walked towards them and pouted at him, to which he threw up his hands and answered, "It wasn't me. The kid took my bracelet.”
"He's a meanie, isn't he? But this cream will make the burn stop stinging. Could you lift your shirt so I can put it on for you? Thank you." She fished out a small container with white cream in it and helped the child with it. "There, all better. Thanks for bringing the meanie to me. Bye now!" She straightened up while the child ran away.
"I'm innocent."
"Guilty as charged. But you're off light this time, because the kid is still alive and I found out where Steve is." Ari tapped her earpiece.
"Do tell."
"Did you find anything?"
"Steve is at the solar panel warehouse at the edge of the slums. Can you guide us there, Vino?"
"Yes. Sending the directions to the car now."
"Thank you! We'll let you know when we're there." Ari ended the call and looked at Fen. "Up for another race?"
"Loser takes out the trash."
"Deal!"
Ari pushed open the door to the warehouse and peeked in. "Steve? You there?" The lights in the warehouse were on, but there was no one to be seen. Stacks of crates lined the floor, marked with Morpheus's logo. Ari walked past an aisle, her fingers passing over a small snowflake mark on the corner of a crate. "Steve?" Her voice echoed through the warehouse.
Suddenly a loud crash came from her right, and she turned to see a redheaded man on top of a stack of crates, waving around a small stick in his hand.
"Stay back, or I'll blow us all to high heaven!"
"Whoa! Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you! You're a Dreamer, aren't you?"
Steve squeaked. "Who told you, no I'm not affiliated with Morpheus, I'm just a guy trying to right the wrongs in this world and I'm the only one who can do it!"
Ari blinked and slowly raised her hands to show no harm. "I… we've been looking for you, you know! We were worried you got lost somewhere again. Remember me? Agnes?"
“You, you’re that weird girl who wouldn’t leave me alone in the laundry last week! What’s a man gotta do for people to leave him alone, I’ve never bothered you so why did you bother me?”
Ari laughed dryly and said, “You were kind of calling for help that time, that’s how we found you…” The man wasn’t listening and continued to ramble.
"Everyone asks where is Steve, but nobody asks how is Steve. That just isn't fair, don't you think? Why wouldn't they ask about me first before wanting to know where I am, that's just rude. I guess I'm just a tool to them now am I, I as a person am not significant at all. That's why this button is going to be the best thing that happened to me, oh you'll see, it'll be amazing!"
"Before that, could I ask you something?"
"Yes what is it?"
"How are you, Steve?"
"Fine thank you." Ari stared at the redhead with the wild eyes, then mumbled, "Doesn't seem fine to me." She cleared her throat and tried again. "What exactly do you plan to do with the, the button?"
"Why, blow up Morpheus with it of course. Then I'll finally wipe that condescending smirk off that rotting cabbage prick's face and show him who's the real genius-" Steve's eyes rolled upwards and he fell to the floor snoring, still clutching the remote. Behind him stood Fen with a pen in his hand.
"Thanks for distracting him."
"You should have seen his face. He had conspiracy theories for days."
"Getting lost in the laundry does that to you, I suppose. There are things best left unknown. Let's head back then." Fen picked up the unconscious man like a sack of potatoes and strolled out towards the truck. Ari followed him out, but not before casting a meaningful glance over the snowflake marks on the crates.
Ari sighed, her back slumped as she shuffled through the entrance of the dormitory. "I can't believe my first mission was to find Steve, of all people… I still have to take out the trash, and I didn't even get to use my power…"
"Unfortunate, but still a blessing. That means no one was hurt badly."
"True, but still." A ping rang from her earpiece, and she opened the call.
"Um, welcome back Ari! Sorry but, could you come over to training room 3? Oli… might have had an accident."
"I'll be right there! Fen I gotta go Oli is hurt and oh I should have watched him take the exam ahhh this was so not worth it…" Fen watched her sprint down the hallway, her voice trailing after her. Once she was out of sight, he turned around and left the way he had come.
Fen entered the elevator waiting for him and pressed a blank square button. As the elevator descended, he put his hood on, casting a shadow over his face. A quiet ding, and the elevator stopped. The doors opened to a dark room, save for a single spotlight framing a chair.
Steve’s eyes flew open. He sat in a chair, but he couldn't move his arms or legs. He looked around him, but there was nothing but darkness.
"Hello there, sleeping beauty. Have you decided to join us now?"
Steve snapped his head up to see a video display of a man with green hair smiling from ear to ear. A teardrop tattoo sat on his left cheek and his golden eyes glinted with glee. His hands joined together under his chin, and he stared down at the redhead. Steve swallowed thickly.
"H-hi there Mr. Darian. Fancy seeing you here, in this, this, wherever this is." Steve felt like a mouse with its tail caught by a cat. That's what this prick was. The sneering cat he read about once in a fairy tale.
"I'd love to join you in person, but unfortunately as you said yourself, this *rotting cabbage* has other places to be." The sneer seemed to widen, almost stretching past the man’s face.
"Oh no no of course not, pssh who would say that? You look to be in perfect health, Mr. Darian, your complexion is so rosy, and, and full of blood I mean yes you have such good blood circulation! I can't believe you would take some time out of your busy day to-"
"I could sit here and listen to you all day, sleeping beauty, but now that you're awake I have some work for you. You see, my pup has discovered that you might be related to a certain… icicle in my side, if you will. Perhaps you could tell me more?"
"I-I-I-I really don't know anything, I was drinking buddies with this guy who said one day he had something that could make Morpheus explode I mean really hurt Morpheus and I was all for it since if I could get rid of whatever he had and protect the company that'd be-"
"Oh, you spoil me with your ramblings. Would you be so kind and tell my friend here who this fellow is? Don't worry, he'll take *very good care* of you."
The display shut off, and Steve let loose a terrified squeak as a form melted out of the shadows. A hood. Dull, half-lidded eyes the color of the abyss. A black mask that absorbed all light. Something, wafting out from within the turtleneck and the shoulders.
"Demon." Steve whispered.
"Speak.”