#are those snipers who shoot out gators or gators that are snipers? you decide

[tippifunandprose]

every time I read about this Disney vs DeSantis thing and the bit about how the agreement doesn't end “until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, king of England" all I can think about is some bumbling caper where the Florida government repeatedly tries to assassinate the entire royal family just to spite Disney

[virus-vodka]

Of Bitterness and Failures

A/N: Title is taken from the song Reverse by Robbie Williams, though it doesn’t really fit the tone of the fic lmao

Word Count: 3181

Warnings: Fairly angsty but some good ol’ comfort at the end.

“Alright. Callow, are you in place?”

Callow rolled his eyes, glancing through the scope of the sniper rifle he had propped up on the edge of the roof.

He felt a small little pin prick of irritation that Psi didn’t trust him to get set up on his own, but he begrudgingly pushed the thought away. This was their first infiltration as a team, of course he was worried. Well, half a team; Peony and Equo had volunteered for some relief work in the Fallout District and Gamma had gone with them.

On top of missing a 99er and two teammates, they were in the DC District. Not the most dangerous by far, but still wild. Enough of a problem that the team was being mildly coddled by a virus who liked to not show a hint of emotion.

“Yeah, all set up and ready to pop a cap in some asses.” Psi sighed in his ear, Callow unable to stop the small smirk that tugged at the corner of his lips.

Psi asked a similar question to the rest of the team, but Callow tuned him out, instead getting more comfortable sitting on his hip, stretched out and able to glance through the scope and aim at any given moment.

He was unable to stop his alligator tail from curling in a pleased feline motion, without a doubt learned from Glitch, as he watched the team bust through the front doors of the facility, poking his head up slightly to watch for anyone trying to get in or out.

“Floor one cleared, anyone showing up yet?”

“Nah,” Callow replied back easily, “y’all are still good to keep going.” Psi hummed in his ear, the comm link going silent again as the team continued on.

Callow let out a tiny sigh as he moved to a crouched position, propped up on the balls of his feet with the sniper resting across his lap, arms draped over it as his eyes darted around. He couldn’t help but feel mildly bored, he enjoyed sniping and had specifically sought out to learn how to use the weapon, but sitting out here on a perch acting as lookout wasn’t what he had in mind. He wanted to be up in some snipers nest, yes, but he wanted to shoot something. He was restless, his phone burning a hole in his pocket with a need to look at it.

He knew better though. If Psi found out, he was sure every piece of technology would promptly be shipped back to his mother and he would be living with a lifelong ban. Unlike Horns, he thrived off having access to his devices, so he decided he would fight back the itch that desperately wished to be scratched.

Suddenly, Callow felt a chill run up his spine, making him sit up a little straighter. Some part of his hindbrain alerted him he was being watched, his eyes beginning to scan the ground for the source of his discomfort. Some part of his mind new he should tell Psi, but he was too focused on finding the source himself. Callow, technically, was a predator and had never felt like prey before. It was enough to make a chill run up his spine.

Just as he started to turn his head, to see if what made him feel like this was behind him, something solid was rammed into the back of his head. He saw stars as the world around him spun, dropping down onto his knees as the gun rolled off his lap and onto the roof.

Someone gripped his hair and yanked his head back, still dazed and unable to see straight. All he saw was a white mask with a crudely drawn black smile looking down at him. “Say hello to the 99er’s for me.” Callow let out a small hiss as a sharp prick came to the side of his neck, the masked man holding him in place.

He was sharply pushed forward, barely catching himself on his hands from face planting onto the concrete roof. Though, he would rather have the pain that would have come from his face than the thrumming beat in the back of his head.

Callow turned as fast as his dizzy mind would let him, finding himself alone with only the sniper and a syringe. Fuck.

“Psi?” Callow started with a slight slur, pressing two fingers to his ear. “I’ve been compromised, we need…” he trailed off, eyebrows knitted in confusion as he heard some breathy noises from the other end of the comms. “Psi…?”

“Callow,” Glitch mumbled in his ear, sounding tired. “Callow, why didn’t you warn us? Why’d you let them get Psi?”

“W-what?”

“He’s shattered,” Horns whispered with a whine, Callow feeling his stomach begin to roll. “He’s shattered because of you.”

“N-no, that can’t be right, I only looked away—”

A shriek that sounded too much like Jolly cut him off, the hair on the back of his neck rising on their own volition. “Now they’ve come for us too, and you can’t stop them!” Jolly wailed into the comms, Callow unable to reply as his mouth suddenly went dry, unable to speak even if he wanted to.

A series of gunshots rang out into the night, Callow watching in horror as he saw the muzzle flashes, bright bursts of light from the windows of the building as the comms fell deathly silent.

The gator virus sharply rose to his feet, swaying slightly as he held a hand to his head. Callow began to back up, feeling his soul begin to race when he saw the door his team had entered open, that man in the white mask stopping and slowly looking up at him.

Callow turned and ran.

Roof to roof, for as long as he could, he lept across them, putting as much distance as he could between him and the factory. His head was pounding, a headache growing behind his eyes and at the back of his head. He had let someone sneak up on him, he let his team get compromised, he killed them.

He tripped, falling, falling, falling.

Callow felt the air forced out of his lungs on impact, landing hard on his side with his right arm aching under him. Without a doubt there was a crack or two, but he couldn’t stop running.

He needed to get out of here, out of the DC District, out of Dashland, out, out, out.

“Why did you let us get shattered?” Callow’s head jolted up, staring at Horns with owlish eyes. His face completely cracked, his eyes black voids as his soul leaked through the cracks and down his skin.

Callow shook his head, rolling to sit up and shuffled backwards as shattered-Horns slowly walked towards him. “N-no, I didn’t!”

“You’re lying to us, mostly yourself.” He looked over his shoulder, holding in a wail at a similar sight, Glitch with shattered skin, soul leaking through the cracks, and void eyes.

“I—”

“I thought we were friends,” shattered-Jolly whined, crouching down at his side as shattered-Glitch gripped his shoulders tightly and shattered-Horns came to crouch down by his other side. “Friends don’t let each other get shattered.”

Callow tried to pull away, feeling tears begin to form in the corners of his eyes. “Just stop! I’m sorry, I’m…!”

He made some unsoundly noise as shattered-Psi suddenly appeared in front of him, crouching down and sharply grabbing his chin, forcing Callow to look into those eyes made of the void. “I always knew you were useless to the team; what lessons could you possibly teach some spoiled rich brat? Money will never solve the emptiness your soul feels, you pathetic, greedy child.”

“No!” Callow cried out, shaking his head. “It’s not true!” He suddenly reached into his stardust bag, grabbing more than needed, and threw it up above him. He twisted his left hand in the air as several small meteors formed above him. He didn’t want to, he didn’t, but he was scared, they weren’t his friends anymore, they hated him, hated, hated, hated.

Psi sneered at him, dropping his chin as he leaned back ever so slightly. “Murderer.” He hissed out, Callow snapping his eyes shut as he forced his hand down sharply, feeling the meteors collide around him.

He stumbled to his feet, not daring to look at the scene around him as he took off running again, holding his right arm close to his chest as he looked for some place to curl up and die.

          .:.

Psi came to a stop, crouching down as he ran his hand in the broken asphalt, glancing to the side to see unnatural looking stones scattered around the alley.

He was getting closer then, and thank fuck for that.

Psi pressed two fingers to the comm link in his ear, glancing up and down the alley. “I picked up the trail again, you three head back to the safehouse and wait for Sammy.”

“Are you sure?” Horns asked in a nervous tone, Psi able to perfectly picture him ringing his hands together, sharing a worried look with Glitch and Jolly.

He let out a hum. “I will get him back in one piece, do not worry.”

The line went silent, Psi rising to his feet as he took off again. He had a suspicion of what had happened, Callow’s suddenly delirious chatter before going silent. Glitch had found his rifle and ear piece still up on the roof, along with a syringe that was promptly disposed of properly, but the gator virus had since been long gone.

He gently thumbed Chi’s antidote in his pocket, taking a deep breath to steel himself. He needed to keep his wits about him, he was sure Callow wouldn’t be calm enough to just sit there and let him assemble the mask and vial. Psi didn’t know what went on inside the gator virus’ head, but this reaction spoke for itself.

Psi continued on in silence, glad that now he had a trail. Callow had clearly used his star dust, if the meteors were anything to go off of, and it seemed that either the bag hadn’t been closed or Callow had continued to use the dust long after he needed to. Perhaps he had a handful, ready to throw? Psi would need to be careful if that was the case. He didn’t need to bear witness to the virus’ cosmic powers firsthand, especially if Callow remained in these tight and narrow alleys.

 About five kilometres away from the impact zone, Psi found himself on the docks. Instantly, a previous throwaway conversation clicked; Callow found comfort in the water. This would be the ideal place for Callow to hide; close to the water and away from people this late at night.

He quietly came to a stop, fastening the vial into the mask, before bringing his hand up to his comm again. “I am drawing closer, I will be going dark until Callow is sorted.” He wouldn’t truly be going dark, he could still use the mind link if needed, but his team needed to know of his radio silence, lest they panic and start their own search for him.

“Okay,” Glitch started, “just be careful, you’ve never woken him up from a nightmare before.” He found it hard to believe anyone had woken up the insomniac, but he said nothing as he removed the earpiece and slipped it into his pocket.

Continuing on in silence, he made his way down the docks to be closer to the water, looking for any nooks and crannies a terrified gator virus’ could wedge himself in.

Just as Psi was about to call in someone better suited to try and see if Callow had decided to swim away all together, when he stumbled upon a sewer pipe, about a quarter of it submerged in the water.

The irony of looking for a gator virus’ in the DC District inside of a sewer wasn’t lost on him, but he shook the thought away as he climbed down.

The pipe was just tall enough to allow Psi to stand at his full height as he began to wade through the water, able to faintly hear whimpers and whines. He gripped the mask slightly tighter, slowing his movements as to not disturb the water and crept along at nearly a snail’s pace.

Finally, as he came to the first bend, he found Callow, the younger virus’ back turned to him as Callow clung onto the grate in front of him, stopping him from heading deeper into the pipes. Psi was thankful for that, he wasn’t sure of the expanse of the sewer that ran under the district and he didn’t particularly wish to find out.

With a quick survey of the area, he found Callow’s hat floating nearby, Psi would need to keep that away if he wished to keep any of his limbs. Other than the hat and the whimpers, Callow seemed mostly docile, but Psi knew that could change in an instant. If Callow was truly on fear gas, like he suspected, then the virus would be anything but docile once Psi tried to help him.

Creeping forward, thankful that Callow seemed to be too occupied with trying to get through the grate (and now that he was listening closely, he could guess the gator virus was trying to chew his way in), Psi crouched down slightly with his arms open, mask held tightly in one hand. He had one shot to get the mask over Callow’s mouth and nose, if he missed or if the mask was dropped, he would have to wait for Sammy to bring him a spare mask and vial. That would mean he would need to restrain a very terrified virus who probably thought he needed to fight for his life.

Psi sharply lurched forward and wrapped his free arm around Callow, pinning the gator’s arms to his side as the younger one let out a shriek of fear. His soul ached for Callow, but it was the only way to ensure either of them would come out of this unharmed.

“Callow, you are okay, calm down and just breathe.” Callow shook his head, trying to get away from Psi as he held the mask up to his face and secured it in place, turning the dial to release the antidote. “You are sick right now, this is the only way to help.” Callow tried to wiggle out of his grip and reach for his hat, the gator tail doing Psi no favours as it slammed back and forth. He had tussled with Florida before, he knew how much punch a gator’s tail could deliver. It was nothing like their bite, but Psi didn’t wish to compare Callow’s bite and tail strength today.

Finally, the struggling slowed to a stop, Callow leaning back into his chest ever so slowly, his breathing evening out though his body continued to shake ever so slightly. “Are you back with me?” Psi asked softly, worried of spooking the younger one.

“You were all shattered…” Callow mumbled, turning as he leaned more heavily into Psi’s chest, turning his face inwards. “I killed you all… I’m such a useless rich kid.” He let out a whimper, Psi sure that he would be crying if the gator was alone.

Without a second thought, he pulled Callow in tightly to his chest, gently rubbing a soothing hand down his back. “It was just a bad dream.” He whispered, feeling Callow’s shakes beginning to subside. “I would never let someone harm you or the team, you are safe with me.”

Callow slowly looked up, Psi’s soul aching to see such anguish in the virus’ green eyes. “What if you’re not safe with me?” He whispered, his voice wobbling, threatening to break.

“Do not speak like that, everything will be okay, you will be safe, we will be safe. I promise you, Callow, you will never hurt us.” Psi hid his startled look as best as he could, surprised Callow hid his face away in his chest once again, hands gripping onto his jacket.

They were silent for a long while, Psi just holding Callow close, soothingly rubbing down his back. Eventually, a little blinking light alerted him that all the antidote had been fully administered, so he removed the mask as tossed it to the side, cradling Callow’s head to his chest as the younger one gripped tighter onto his jacket. “You are safe.” He whispered, gently rocking them.

“I don’t want to snipe again.” Callow whimpered out suddenly, keeping his gaze away from Psi.

“No, you will snipe again, I will not allow you to fear what you enjoy because of a mission gone rogue.” Callow was shaking his head, but Psi sharply gripped his chin and forced his eyes to meet Psi’s. “It is fine to be scared, but I will not stand by and watch your fears eat you alive.

“Today was my fault, I should have left another team member to stay with you, especially in this district,” Psi paused, glancing away himself, “and for that, I apologize.”

He missed Callow’s frown as the younger one looked away, relaxing into his grip more. “It’s not like you could’ve known,” he mumbled out. “Yeah, it was dumb, but we all signed up for this shit, we knew what we were getting into when we applied to be on a team.”

Both fell silent again, neither able to really argue their own points further. Psi found it strange that Callow wished to remain silent, but quickly found out the gator virus was dozing off, head slowly drooping only for him to sharply bring his head back up, the process repeating. He must have been exhausted from all the mental and emotional whiplash he’d gone through tonight.

“Sleep,” Psi gently murmured, moving to get as comfy as he could sitting in cool water and the hard metal of the pipe. “Sleep, and when you awake, we will head back.” He also figured it would give Callow enough time to pull himself together, he doubted the younger one wanted the team to see him as less than presentable.

Callow didn’t seem to need anymore convincing, the virus out within minutes of Psi’s approval.

Sammy, he started in the mind link, waiting for some form of acknowledgement before continuing. I found Callow and we are both safe, but he is asleep and I do not wish to move him.

Thank the gods, Sammy replied, these three have been practically freaking out since they got here.

Tell them we are safe and that we will meet back at the dorms.

Sure, I can do that, love you!

Psi felt a small smile cross his face. Love you too.

With that, Psi shuffled slightly to get more comfortable, letting a jumble of vines cocoon them to try and ease the minor discomforts. Quietly, they rested together, Psi eventually falling asleep knowing Callow was safe and would be okay.