Brian can’t fucking believe it. His whole world has crashed down on him.
This whole time. This whole time they knew
No, they didn’t just knew
He was one of them.
Brian is at a loss at words the day they connected the dots, the day they found out. He didn’t want to do this, Daithi didn’t, but they have to, this was their mission, their job,
And they’ve found a rat amongst their team.
The part that made Brian sick was how…Sean didn’t even resist. He didn’t even care. He knew this whole time and yet, he’s doing…nothing. Nothing to stop his own arrest.
His face isn’t showing anything, he looks as if this isn’t a surprise, but he’s not sad, or angry, no. He’s smirking. Smirking at Brian and Daithi. As if he’s happy this whole mess got uncovered. As if he’s proud of what he’d done
Which. He probably is.
They were, admittedly, tired. They didn’t feel like they could face Sean again, hell they don’t think they can even face the other lads.
Oh god the other lads. What do they say?
Sean may be the rat of the group, but surely the others were fine, right?
Suddenly saying that doesn’t feel right. They don’t know. They don’t.
But, the day must go on, and they have to continue working. And that work includes interrogating the “rat” about the others.
Sean's answer was…disturbing to say the least. He didn’t deny anything that he did, but one thing he kept quiet was the other people involved in this crime group. Hell he denied that there was even a crime group. He said it was a coincidence.
If only he didn’t say that while looking unsure.
The interrogation lasts for hours, before Brian couldn’t mentally continue. This was too much, too overwhelming for both of them. He ended it and was going to leave to have someone else escort Sean out,
“Brian.”
He stops. Brian braced himself, before trying to put on a neutral face towards his former friend.
“Hey Brian-“
“What do you want?” He snapped.
Sean softly smiles, and looks at Brian dead in the eyes.
“Do you still believe in the lords above?”
Brian was baffled. He doesn't know what to say.
“If you do, get on your hands and knees and pray. Pray for us.”
Those were his last words before the guards escorted him out. And he never saw him again.
Those words confused him at the time. It was vague. He doesn't know how to feel about it.
If only he had noticed it.
If only he realized before it was too late
If only.
…
The wind was rushing past their ears, running side to side, running along the rooftops, jumping over one building to another, in order to catch up with the target in front of them.
They were so close, this was it. They were chasing the second target of the mission they were assigned to.
Magistrex.
He was a slippy guy, someone who manages to escape any situation he was put into, someone who can change into another in just a second. They were always too late to catch him, to stop him, but this was it, this was their luck.
They manage to catch him just before he can finish his doings, and are currently on a chase against him.
He was quick, agile, seeming like he had done this at least once, and both Daithi and Brian are losing patience, stamina.
So they did what they always do best: warning shots.
Daithi Loaded his gun and aimed to shoot just beside Magistrex’s Feet, but he slightly missed and graced him on the foot instead.
“Stop!” Daithi yelled. But he didn’t stop.
He only stumbled forward, but kept on running, pushing his limits.
Daithi grumbled and took another shot, this time managing to shoot the floor beside him, causing said man to startle and slightly stop. Magistrex looked back, not enough for both Daithi and Brian to see his face, before continuing to run, this time having slight fear mixing with adrenaline.
Brian was beyond patient at this point, and aimed right at his left shoulder, wanting to slightly graze the man and stop him. Magistrex is moving quickly, he’s preparing to jump to the next roof. His hand is on the trigger, and then-
Bang!
His shot missed.
It hits Magistrex’s left side. Deep.
Shit.
Magistrex fell hard to the next roof, the momentum sending him a couple feet away from the edge, rolling. Brian felt his gut twisting. Why is he suddenly unsure about this?
Brian stood there. Daithi touched his shoulder briefly and followed where magistrex was lying. Brian doesn’t know how to feel. He should be happy that he managed to injure one of the last two lads of the crime group.
But
Why does his mind suddenly remembers that he saw Magistrex’s face briefly. He looked. Familiar. He doesn’t like this.
Brian finally moves, before stopping again when he saw that,
Daithi is not moving either. He’s crouching over the body. Shaking. Oh no.
Brian walked slowly, before the horrors presented itself in front of him.
There it was, Magistrex, laying limply.
No, not magistrex.
Daniel. RT. His friend. Their friend. Their support.
Daithi looked at his other friend, silent tears in his eyes. He knew he didn’t mean to do this, hell he also did it. But
He doesn’t have any words to say.
Magistrex was Dan. Dan was Magistrex. And they killed him.
Seeing Dan’s pale face, blood splattered from the wound, staining his pants, his hands. He doesn’t know if he should be glad they managed to find the target, or angry at Brian for shooting him, or…anything else.
That day, they lost another one to the truth.
…
Honestly, they feel like shit.
Dull
Nothing felt right anymore. Everything they knew, they find comfort in, was just lies
Or was it? Was it real? They don’t know.
They don’t
Brian remembered what Sean had said.
“Do you still believe in the lords above?”
“If you do, get on your hands and knees and pray. Pray for us.”
He doesn’t know if he fully knows what he meant, yet he understands.
He understands a bit.
And he’s afraid. For himself. For his friends. For everything.
But they have to finish their job
And they are not prepared for what's gonna happen if what they think is right.
…
And what they think was right.
And it immediately turned to hell. Both literally and figuratively.
They were just chasing Arson, or Kevin.
Kevin. They saw it coming, but they’re still not prepared.
It hurts, truly.
They were just chasing him, into an abandoned building. He managed to escape both Brian and Daithi, which makes sense since at this point they weren’t even trying. They’re tired. Oh so tired.
But, they need proof. They can just let Kevin free, as long as there’s proof-
No. That won't work at all. The Unknowns have intel everywhere. They would know. Kevin would die a horrible death. They can’t do that to him, they’re not gonna repeat what happened to Sean and Dan.
They split up, searching everywhere, at the very least they need to try and catch Kevin.
And. They did. When the building starts to spark in flames.
They saw it when smoke was starting to get thicker, heat reaching their skins, feeling warmer and hotter as they got closer to the target.
Bingo.
There he was, Kevin, leaving his disguise away and
Standing in the middle of a fire that he created on his own, with a gasoline can next to him.
They don’t know what to do
Everything turned hot, red
Brian’s robot side starts to malfunction from the heat, hurting his head, on the brink of passing out.
Kevin said something, Daithi did something, he doesn’t know,
Before a whole fire explodes in front of his face.
…
The pub was a lively place at night, filled with laughter, music, everything.
But not this time.
Not for him.
He gripped the glass in his hands
This is unfair
Oh so unfair
He tips the drink for a cheer, to no one
He lowers his head, and prays to the lords above
Those words means something now
And he drinks
It was cold. Really cold. And no one was there with him.
Just as he was about to retort back, he noticed something unusual about Brian, beside the electrified hair.
The veins on his neck were slightly more pronounced than usual, and the color seems a bit darker, but he can just blame that to the dim lights in the inn. Yet even if he tried to brush that off, he can’t seem to get the uneasy feeling out.
When he was about to point it out, Brian stood up and turned around, locking eyes with him.
.......
A fantasy lads fic woo. Here you go. It's not the best but yeah
AO3 version here
[WARNING: Slightly graphic descriptions of electrocutions, fighting and possession.]
[3650 words]
“Thank you for doing the commission! You can come back at any time, pleasure doing business with you!”
The bell on the door jingled as they went out of the tavern. Both of them let out a sigh that they had been holding.
“Feckin’ hell, we’re finally done with that commission,” Brian sighed as he pushed his messy hair back from his face. Daithi nodded as he put the bag of money from the commission work into his traveling bag. “That’s true, at least the pay is decent.” He patted the bag to prove his point as the coins inside made a slight jingle, muffled from the thick leather.
Brian stretched and let out a groan as he heard his back pop from the pressure. He shrugged as he walked along the roads of the town they’re visiting. “Eh, fair enough. I mean, that commission was fucking stupid as hell. Like, ‘oh go to the mountains and retrieve a sword’,” He ranted, with Daithi listening and following behind.
“The sword wasn’t even this important thing. It’s a fucking old as fuck slightly rusty sword! Who would still want that?” Daithi chuckled at this as they went to the borders of the town and into the forest path.
“Well, if I’m quite honest, the people here are weird as balls,” Daithi shrugged. Brian barked a laugh at that.
As they went deeper into the forest, Daithi suddenly remembered a quite important thing. “Oh by the way, the other lads were planning to meet up in that one floral village next week,” He reminded Brian, who turned around and looked at him. “We still have a couple of days to kill. We can either go take more commissions in the next village or town, or just relax and camp out here,” He mentioned back, looking around the peaceful and calm forest.
Brian hums as he raises his arms behind his head. “That’s true…” He trails off, looking up.
The forest was warm, it was still in an afternoon breeze. All of the trees shield them for direct sunlight, but enough to give some light to the surrounding forest. This scene reminded Brian about their first adventures together.
They had been traveling together for years, both meeting up in the forest near their hometown. The community in the village was warm and welcoming, and they had been helping everyone and one another there. They left the village not because of the community itself, nor was it anyone’s fault, but simply innocent curiosity about what the world around them looks like. They promised to their family and friends that they would protect each other and help one another, even if they would have arguments and constantly bicker.
Brian snapped out of that thought, very much not wanting to reminisce for a long time. They can just go home at any time, but for now, he’s quite happy and content with the adventures he had with Daithi and the other lads they met during it.
“Yeah, let’s go to the next town and get more money, so we can brag to the other lads about it,” Brian finally replied, giving Daithi a mischievous smirk. Daithi snorted at that and slightly hit him over the head.
“Ow! Bitch!” “Watch it now, the lads will ask you to pay for their stuff if you do brag. Especially Kevin.” “Fine, fine, let’s just go before it’s night.”
.......
The sun was high up in the clouds, the rays shining through the curtains of their room, when Daithi finally woke up, or attempted to wake up. He had quite remembered what had happened last night, and he had one too many drinks that has now left him extremely hungover. He only remembers going to an inn with Brian and immediately passing out as he hit the pillows.
He groaned as he tried to blink the sleepiness from his eyes, and attempted to sit up on the bed.
He looked over to the other side of the room, where Brian was supposed to be, but his bed had been tidied up and there were no signs of him anywhere. All of Brian’s equipment were also gone, which Daithi didn’t panic over since it might mean he’s already out there doing god knows what.
Brian had always been a bit more of a morning type of guy compared to Daithi, and he’s not complaining. So every time Brian disappeared in the morning, he wasn’t as worried as he was back then.
Daithi stretched, feeling his bones pop, and left the bed to at least clean himself up a bit before Brian came back.
Hours went by, until it was lunch time, and Brian was still not back. Daithi is getting a bit worried now, as he prepared some of his equipment, ready to go out and find his friend, before that thought was interrupted by the door slamming open.
There he was, Brian, with all of his glory, or what’s left of it anyway. His hair was a mess, some static electricity still lingering on his head, usually due to too much use of his power. He was out of breath, but very much grinning ear to ear when he saw that Daithi was awake.
“Holy gods- dude! Learn to knock!” Daithi yelled, trying to soothe himself. Brian only chuckled maniacally, before throwing a heavy bag of coins to Daithi’s bed. It slams into it with a heavy thud, the coins inside can be heard clanking against one another.
Daithi’s eyes widened as he took the bag and opened it. And as he thought, it was filled to the brim with coins. His mouth was agape as he looked at Brian again, who at this point was just grinning so much it started to feel slightly uncomfortable.
“I managed to find a very easy and very much worth it commission while you were out cold,” he explained as he closed the door and sat down on the bed across the room from Daithi’s bed.
Daithi was still shocked at the amount of money he managed to get, and started smiling deliriously.
“Holy shit- You’re Not fucking with me Right?” “Nope, this is 100% fucking real.”
Brian giggled as he lay down on top of the bed and sighed. “What commission did you take?” Daithi asked him, which made him sit again to look his friend in the eyes.
“It was some stupid fucking commission if I'm honest, just had to get an item that was lost in the forest,” Brian shrugged it off. Daithi can’t help but feel slightly uneasy at the lack of detail but he brushed it off.
“But why is your hair a mess?” He questioned again, this time tying the bag closed and sitting next to Brian. Brian groans at that. “Oh it wasn’t hard to find it, but there was already a creature there guarding it, and holy fuck was that hard as balls,” he said, combing his hair with his hand.
“But who cares! We can buy as much shit as we want now! We’re fucking set for the next few days!” Brian said, patting his friend on the back. Daithi tried to be cheerful, but he couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable.
Just as he was about to retort back, he noticed something unusual about Brian, beside the electrified hair.
The veins on his neck were slightly more pronounced than usual, and the color seems a bit darker, but he can just blame that to the dim lights in the inn. Yet even if he tried to brush that off, he can’t seem to get the uneasy feeling out.
When he was about to point it out, Brian stood up and turned around, locking eyes with him.
“We should go camping now, while also going to that village that the other lads decided. We’ll have time to also go to caves and such.” Brian immediately goes on a rant about it to convince Daithi to come along.
He only sighed at his friends' antics and stood up, swinging an arm around his shoulders. “Alright, we’ll go. No need to act like an excited puppy, jeez,” He mocked lightheartedly. Brian jokingly acts offended at that and hits his friend on the arm.
“How dare you, you will not regret it I swear,” Brian retorts back, trying to sound offended but the smile on his face said otherwise. Daithi laughed at this again and let go of him.
“Alright, alright, let’s go Mr. Making-money-while-I’m-asleep,” he playfully insulted. Brian rolled his eyes and walked out the door with Daithi following close behind.
They paid for the room they stayed in and left the inn quickly, trying to find some food and supplies for their camping trip to the floral village.
They finished doing business in the town around the evening, when the sun was slowly but surely going down. They exited the borders and went back into the forest, continuing on based on the map they got from one of the shops there.
It was a fun trip, there was bickering during it, some fighting when a dangerous creature decided to try and maul them, and distracting that Daithi almost forgot about Brian’s weirdly dark veins.
.......
As a couple days went by and the time they were supposed to meet the lads was closer, they hadn't arrived in the village yet. They aren’t far from that, but Daithi can’t help but notice the changes his friend has gotten during their trip there.
Brian was a bit more aggressive than usual, his powers almost striking him once or twice, at one point it was only a couple of inches off him that he wasn’t sure if that was purely a mistake or not. He had also been more distant to him, always isolating himself at night inside the tent they set up way before it was time to rest.
And the veins have gotten much, much worse. It was now a sickly dark color, almost to the point of black, and it had spread into the veins on the right side of his face. When asked about this Brian would always avoid the question at all cost. Dodging it and never bringing it up.
Daithi was worried for his friend, yet he doesn’t know what to do in this situation. But it hasn’t gotten much worse than that.
Or so he thought.
“Fuck, I think we’re lost.”
When the day they were supposed to meet the lads came, they were still not there yet since they had gotten lost in one of the more foreign forests that they have never ever gone to. Daithi wasn’t even sure why Brian suggested this path, when he knows that Brian has also never gone there.
“Brian, are you even fucking sure you know the way to the village?” Daithi tried to ask, looking at Brian who has his back turned on him.
Brian didn’t answer his question, which made him slightly annoyed. “Hey, hey Brian, are you fucking listening? We’re lost right now and I hope you know where we are,” Daithi asked again, slightly raising his voice. Yet Brian still won’t budge or notice him or give him any sort of confirmation that he heard him.
Daithi was beyond annoyed at this point, but also slightly unnerved. Brian had known that Daithi didn’t like it when he got ignored without reason, so seeing his friend do this is slightly hurting him, but he won’t show it.
He pinched the bridge of his nose while grumbling a few curses, before trying to grab Brian by the shoulder.
But as he tried to close the gap, Brian hand suddenly grabbed his wrist, and held it, hard.
“Wh-What!? Brian! Hey!”
Daithi was alarmed instantly and tried to move away, but that grip had him locked and Brian didn’t even flinch nor move. Daithi was even more scared now. “B-Brian, hey, you can hear me, right!?” He tried asking, yet no response came from the other man.
As his guards were down and he was panicking, suddenly Brian moved. He pulls out the spear he had on his back and-
Turns around and thrust it to Daithi’s chest, electricity crackling at the tip.
“What the-!”
Daithi was quick enough to dodge it and use that momentum to free his hand, moving back to try and distance himself, while also trying to collect his thoughts.
“Brian! What the fuck are you doing!” He tried asking, looking at his friend.
Brian stood in front of him, spear on one hand while electricity and lighting crackled around him. The area around them suddenly turned dark, as dark clouds started to gather on top. His eyes were piercing Daithi through his soul.
But the thing that made him realize this is not Brian is the veins. His veins were pitch black, pulsing off beat, which made him more fearful of him.
Daithi pulls out his scythe, holding it behind him, stance ready to fight.
“Brian, snap out of it! What the hell is happening to you!” He stated, trying to see if Brian is actually there under this, wretched thing. But nothing but a blank piercing stare replied to him. Nothing in that face of someone he had the honor to be friends with.
He didn’t want to attack him nor fight him. Like sure, they had some sparing moments and were close to physically fighting one another during their bickering, but he has never gotten the intention to actually hurt him. But here he was, face to face with something using his friend’s body as a vessel.
He took a deep breath and grumbled. “Well, if you’re not gonna leave him alone, I’ll be forcing you to do it.” Daithi stretched his hand, using his energy to call upon the roots, vines and stems of the plants around him. He moved his arm forward and the plants followed his direction at a rapid speed, coming onto Brian.
Brian quickly jumps out of the way, using the momentum to fly up into the sky. Daithi tried to look up to see what he’s doing. He raises his spear, charging it with the lightning and electricity from the dark cloud on top of him, and shortly descending into Daithi’s direction, spear in front ready to strike.
“Shit!”
Daithi barely moves out of the way as Brian’s spear misses him by a mark, and uses this to hook his scythe onto the spear handle and spin Brian around. He threw him to the nearest tree, which created a loud thud as Brian rapidly made contact with it. Daithi winced at the sound, mentally promising to apologize later on for the injury, but he got more important things to focus on.
Brian quickly stood up, leaning one of his legs backwards and pushing himself forward, running at a rapid speed into Daithi with the spear behind him, charging it with more electricity.
Just as he was about to stab it into Daithi, he panicked and created a flash of light which blinds him, making him lose momentum and trips forward. He almost fell flat onto his face, but instead stabs the spear onto the ground, giving him support and turning him around to meet face to face with Daithi. Daithi was caught off guard with this.
The stabbed spear created a shock wave of electricity, and as it was about to hit Daithi, he quickly summoned roots upwards and used it as a stepping stone. He launches upwards and falls down, moving his scythe into an attacking position, ready to crash onto Brian.
But instead of hitting flesh or the ground, a clunk sound was heard, which surprised him, as the spear Brian was holding held back Daithi’s attack. Daithi instantly fought back, striking him as much as he could, trying to make Brian overwhelmed. But it seems like this Brian has also gotten some new powers, as he matches with the beat of Daithi’s attack.
One stab meets one block. One strike meets one defense. So on and so forth.
This goes on for a while. During this, Daithi tried to calculate his moves and see the weak point of his enemy. He watches Brian with such intensity, making sure he didn’t miss a single beat of the dance of death they got going on.
Before long, he noticed that Brian mostly attacks upwards, leaving his lower body completely undefended. Daithi quickly made a move and tried to attack it, sweeping his scythe below onto his feet.
Unfortunately, he didn’t calculate that Brian would avoid it by jumping over it. As he was caught off guard, a leg made contact with his chest, kicking him forward with such force, it threw him into a tree, his scythe slipping from the intensity. “Ugh!” The wind was knocked out of him as he made hard contact onto the hardwood. He slid down onto the floor of the forest, as he tried to cough up the blood.
Brian strides forward in such menace, electricity and thunder can be heard with every step he takes. He looks down at Daithi, and with one swift move, stabs the spear into his leg.
“AAAAGHH!!!”
Daithi screamed with such agony, his body locked up as long as the spear was still in his skin. He tried to move the spear away, gripping it with his hand, which didn’t do anything. He looked up with blurry eyes, trying to see the face of his friend.
Brian looked down onto him, eyes as soulless as ever, not looking guilty in the slightest as he sent shock waves after shock waves of such power into him.
Daithi's consciousness was slowly slipping, his eyes threatening to close with such sting crawling up his body, yet with some strength left, he raised his right hand forward, into a choking motion.
The vines on the tree he’s leaning on moves towards Brian, going around his neck, and quickly choking him. Instantly, Daithi moved his hand backwards which sent Brian forward, the spear slipping from his hand, stopping the torture and his head immediately making contact into the tree with a hard thud. His body fell lifelessly on top of Daithi, who was at this point exhausted, tired, sore and in pain. He took in some ragged breaths, before passing out.
.......
Brian slowly came back to consciousness, blinking his eyes to fully make him awake, before realizing his head was massively hurting, and groaned at that.
“What…The fuck happened?”
He tried to move, but his hand made contact with a soft fabric. He looks below him to see Daithi, his brows furrowed, cold sweat covering his face, and very much unconscious. This sent Brian into a panic as he tried waking up his friend.
“Hey, hey Daithi. Hey.” He tried shaking him slightly, which didn’t seem to stir him awake. He got even more terrified. He shook his friend more. “Hey Daithi, wake up. Don’t scare me. Hey, Hey!”
This seems to do the trick, as his friend whined in pain, slowly waking up. He blinks his eyes, before looking at Brian.
“B-Brian?” His voice was hoarse, as if he just used it all up.
“Daithi, what the fuck happened?” Brian said in worry, voice going very soft. Daithi stared at him for a while, mouth agape, before a loud sob tore through him. He pulls Brian down into a bear hug, which stunned him for a bit.
Brian was going to say something, before Daithi cut him off. “Shut up. Shut up, you son of a bitch and let me savor this.” He said, burying his head on Brian’s shoulder. He didn’t have the heart to say no and let his friend hug him.
They stayed like that for a while, before Brian finally broke it off. “Okay as much as I enjoy this, what the actual fuck happened?” He asked again. Daithi wipes his tears as he prepares to answer.
“I don’t fucking know, but you were- you were possessed or something. You tried to attack me, and it hurts like fucking hell,” he said in full truth. Brian was horrified to hear that.
“Oh, oh my god. I-I’m sorry, oh my god it must’ve been that commission I did,” he replied in panic as realization dawned on him. Daithi just gave him a grunt.
“Daithi, I swear I would never hurt you, I am so so sorry, I didn’t- I didn’t mean any of that,” he apologized, feeling extremely guilty for his recklessness during that commission that resulted in him getting possessed and hurting his best friend.
“Hey Brian, look at me.”
He whipped his head forward, where Daithi reaches for both of his cheeks and-
Slams their heads together.
Brian immediately staggered back in pain, holding his forehead which was now double sore. “Ow! What the hell!” he groaned in pain.
“That,” Daithi replied. “That was my payback for how fucking stupid and idiotic you are, you moron,” he said, glaring.
“Okay, I might’ve deserved it.” “Might’ve??? You almost killed me!” “Hey it wasn’t me! I was possessed like you said!” “Still you are fucking stupid for not taking care of your own safety!”
Brian glared at him before sighing. “Fair, I guess….” He stood up and took the abandoned spear back, putting it behind him. He lends a hand and helps Daithi stand up, taking his scythe and giving it to him.
“Listen,” Daithi spoke, making Brian turn towards him. “If you ever, ever need anything, don’t be afraid to ask. We’ve been in this rodeo together for years,” he mentioned to Brian. Brian looked at him and nodded. “Noted.” “Good.”
Daithi slung an arm around Brian’s shoulder, leg limping a little from the injuries.
“Now let’s get back on the road because today is when we were supposed to meet the other lads.”
