Generation 4, Chapter 13: Unleashing anger

After the small family reunion of a week ago, we still found ourselves in Starlight Shores, at the request of my mom. In a joking manner, she had become my psychologist, and believed that it would do me well to be away from Bridgeport and all of its craziness. Apparently, I was a silent soul, and the city was a place I did not fit in.

What was even crazier was that my mother ordered Vala to take me out to have some fun. I knew just what her supposed "fun" was like. In other words, I'd pass out drunk and puke my guts out for the next couple of days.

At 8 PM, we miraculously found ourselves in one of the highly recommended drinking establishments in Starlight Shores, which also turned out to be Karaoke club. No wonder it happened to be an extremely busy night for the club. With so many things to do, other than drinking, it was suitable for a variety of people with different interests.

"Please tell me you're not gonna abandon me like you did the other night...," the fact that was bothering me the entire night ended up being too much to bear, and I quickly voiced my concern to Vala.

She sat back in her seat, a look of utter shock all over her face. The stern stare that I gave her was enough to make her abandon her innocent facade that she always groped at in situations like this one. She knew exactly why I was acting this way towards her, and she knew that I definitely did not appreciate the experience. 

Vala was the one that took me out into the night and into the unsafe part of Bridgeport, where most of the clubs were located. There, she abandoned me at the bar, not knowing that I had never been exposed to alcohol all that much, and the invigorating feeling that it left me with was intoxicating, enough so that I became drunk. Worst of all, I was all alone, with no one to even drive me back home. What if I was robbed, or worse, killed? The past reckless behavior of Vala, who had disappeared to speak with one of her ex-partners in crime, was enough to make me feel uneasy being in another club with her.

But she had grown out of her old character. Sure, she was still as crazy and flirty and always, but perhaps a bit more responsible...I hoped.

"I'm offended that you would even think that, my dear Daniel. So maybe I kidnapped you two years ago, and maybe I left you all alone in a club....but that's old news - I'm innocent of all of this judgment you're giving off!"

I simply rolled my eyes at her antics. Even though she could be extremely irritating most of the time, especially when her English accent makes her sound smarter than me, I found myself surprisingly intrigued by her personality. We were like night and day squished together in one room. Sometimes you have chaos reigning, but sometimes...there were moments of tranquility, where we found ourselves in harmony. Those were truly magical moments.

"I find it unbelievable how you, of all people, how you can use 'kidnapped' and 'innocent' together in the same sentence," the sound of the chuckle that escaped my lips shocked me. How could I act this way with her, someone that had treated me like garbage not too long ago?

The image of Sarah flickered before my eyes for a moment, and the guilt that settled itself on my chest was suffocating me. This was wrong. I couldn't be acting like this, all jolly as if nothing had happened.

She playfully wiggled her eyebrows at me, her lips curling into a small smile. "It's easy. When you have the gift of confidence and flirtation on your side, you got to use it."

There was no way for me to respond, not after the revelation that swirled around in my head, but there was no need to. Vala had grown silent, her gaze fixed upon a man behind us, casually reading a newspaper. That was a rather odd sight: No one came to a bar just to catch up on the news. You had TV for that, or the library where they gave our newspapers for a small fee.

"It can't be....," she kept repeating to herself, shaking her head as she spoke.

"What?"

"Do you smell that?" she purposefully sniffed at the air, as if she couldn't believe what her mind was registering.

"What? Did you recognize the smell of a rich guy, and that you must have him and all of his riches?" The attitude that I displayed was too insensitive, but I couldn't help myself. She had that effect on people.

She drew a breath. "No... Not at all. It's just... I know that smell. My father always used it."

I couldn't stop myself from frowning. "I thought your father was dead?"

"My stepfather, yes, but...not my real one. He walked out on us. But still, my mother had a bottle of his aftershave in the house, and I loved spraying it all over the bathroom. It's a really old brand, and I'd be shocked that it still exists."

I peeked over my shoulder, wondering if he had heard anything that we had just said. Yet, he did not turn away from the reading material in front of him. "Seriously?"

"I think so...," her eyes were wide as she spoke with a muffled tone, her lips hidden behind her folded hands. "Could you do me a favor? Could you go sit next to him and order a drink, and observe the way he looks?" When I showed signs of protest, she bit her lip. "Please?"

Grudgingly, I scooted the chair backwards, glaring at her. "Fine. But just this once."

The whole espionage and being sneaky was not up my alley, and I would never enter a career that demanded such skills. How Vala survived for this long was beyond my understanding.

But still, I found myself casually taking a seat upon the barstool, respectfully nodding at the barmaid. "What will it be tonight, sugar?" she winked at me while polishing a wine glass with a rather stained and worn-out cloth.

"Just some water, please," I didn't need to act when I spoke, my voice having disappeared all together because of the nerves that had set in. "My voice-"

"Ah, I get it. Got some nerves, don't you? The girl doing that to you, huh?"

"Kind of," I coughed, hitting on my chest like some kind of primal ape to get rid of the huskiness that clung onto me.

All during the dramatized acting, the man beside me was still unperturbed by what had taken place, and it gave me the perfect opportunity to idly look at some of his features. he had sharp features, accentuated by a sharp-styled nose. His eyes could once have been considered as kind, but years of troubles had caused lines to appear all around them, and it hardened the pale blue eyes.

The barmaid took her merry time to give me a simple glass of water, most likely to give me time to collect my thoughts to face the girl that "took my breath away", or so she thought. With a curt "thank you", I took my leave from her, and approached Vala with unforgiving eyes. "Did I mention I hate you?"

"Enough of your nonsense," she hit a fist on the table. "What do you think? What does he look like?"

I paused to think long and hard about just how to deliver the news. "To be honest, I don't think there's any relation between you two. The only thing that looked remotely like something you have is-"

"-the nose?" she completed the sentence, sighing. "I got everything from my mother, my charm, my wit, my good looks, so people never thought I was my father's daughter."

"What did you get from your father then?"

"Some minor food allergies."

"Oh..."

She sighed. "Look, Daniel. You at least had a good family to take care of you, but..." She broke off, scooting out of her seat and hurrying towards the staircase, to the supposedly closed off section of the club. All we knew was that it had been hired for some kind of party, but no one had shown up yet, so we were safe.

Not in the mood to be abandoned for a second time, I followed close behind her.

There was a good reason she wanted to stay out of the public's eye. Vala was a strong character, but sometimes that strong part of her was a little bit too strong, and she nearly blew up in someone's face. She had sneaked away to spare everyone from seeing such a horrible display of anger and anguish.

"Hey...," I laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, feeling the way her whole body was shaking with the anger that convulsed through her. "You don't need your father anymore. You're a grown woman, now, and you grew up all right without him. Sure, your life is definitely not perfect, but you've learned from your mistakes. Don't make another by attacking him. Just...let him go."

"I wish I could, Daniel. But the fact that he could have been here in Starlight Shores, living a luxurious life while my mother and I suffered in England... It's unsettling."

"Tell you what. How about we just get away from here? We'll go back to the hotel and get you some tea. I hear it can be great for those who experience a lot of stress."

She chuckled a little. "They say exactly the same thing about wine, but tea...would be great, thank you. As long as you're the one that's making it."

Before the night was over, I had been successful in calming Vala down, returning her to her usual pleasant (or unpleasant, depending on the person) self, managing to crack a few jokes as we sat in her room, drinking tea and watching the clock tick on. It was nearing 11 o' clock, a time I was usually already in bed. However, tonight, I didn't mind staying up later than usual. For once, I wasn't tired at all.

It must have been the adrenaline rush I had while pretending to be a spy in the club.

"Your dad was horrible for doing what he did, but, in the end, I think he was trying to find excitement while he still could. It was incredibly selfish, but in a way, I can understand where he was coming from. All in all, forget about him and his faults. Life is just too short to worry about such matters for too long."

She nodded from where she sat on the bed. "I agree."

And then, something changed within her. Something that I should have expected, but didn't.

"What are you doing?" I questioned her as I saw her pulling her top over her shoulders.

"Something we should have done a long time ago," she smiled, moving closer to me, her hands hovering over the zip of my pants.

"Don't do that," catching her hands just before they could do anything, I held them up in front of my chest, looking her straight in the eyes, searching for some kind of sign that she had gone mad.

"Why not?" she questioned, blinking rapidly. The right answer didn't come to me. I couldn't explain to her what had gone through my head. So instead, I pushed her away.

"We've been here for a week, Daniel, and in that short time I got to know you better than anyone... You do like girls, don't you?"

"YES!"

"Well, I don't see many other options around here, do you?" she paused, taking a step backwards. "Unless...you really...don't find me attractive."

"You want an honest answer for that question?"

"No..." She grabbed at the top she had abandoned on the bed, pulling it back over her shoulders and straightening out the creases before taking a seat on the bed.

"No, seriously, do you want an honest answer to that question?"

"No, forget about it!"

Some sort of anger was bursting inside me, and poor Vala seemed to have to carry the burden of it. "Do you believe I can have any kind of serious feelings for you?"

Her head snapped in my direction. "I wasn't suggesting you had any kind of serious feelings, Daniel..."

"Oh, oh, what, we slept together once, then what? We work together, Vala. I'm the closest thing you have to a friend. And you know what, even saying that part out loud sounds unbelievable. Come on! I can't even imagine what a relationship with you would be like! Yes, you've proved yourself to be trustworthy on a professional level, and for that I'm very proud of you... But on a personal level? Vala, come on, give me a break! I mean, at best you're an emotional, unstable wreck. I'm not saying I'm much better, no. There was a time I thought I'd never get over Sarah. The idea of ever getting hurt that way again... But I've finally, for the first time in a really long time, gotten to a place where I could get close to someone again. But not in a million years, a million years would I ever consider that person being you. I mean we are so...opposite and wrong for each other it's not even funny, and the worst part of it is, you know that!"

All through my speech, I felt like I was stomping on the ground, and I wouldn't have been surprised if someone came knocking at our door to keep it down. At that moment, I didn't really care.

"And this whole flirty, sexual thing is just your way of having a laugh at my expense, like I've told you so many times before. So I'm so sorry I'm not more appreciative of that, I'm sorry that you're bored. But don't you pretend it's anything else!"

The brunt of my attack had had a huge effect on Vala, and she slowly kept turning her back on me the whole time I was shouting. When I looked at her again through calmer eyes, I could see her shoulders were slumped.

"Don't act like you're hurt," I told her, fed up with her acting. All I could hear from her was a humored intake of breath, but something sounded off. As she sniffed and rubbed her eyes, I knew what had happened. She was crying.

Never would I have figured that Vala could be as sincere as that, that she did have true feelings hidden behind that pretty face. As I took a seat next to her, she turned away, and I tugged gently at her sleeve. "Look at me."

"Just give me a minute...," she sniffed, burying her head in her hands.

"Look at me," I asked her again, brushing away the hair that had been covering her eyes. She did as I asked, and in the two seconds that she looked at me with her saddened blue eyes, she told an entire story.

It was as my mother had suspected. Both of us had been oblivious to it, but deep down, we were attracted to each other, and even though we were wrong for each other, in some way, we were also right for each other. I had made Vala see the better part of life, where you didn't have to steal to survive in life, where she had taught me how life wasn't as serious as I made it to be, and that I was entitled to have fun. The guilt of Sarah's passing had always kept me back, but now, I was ready to let that go.

With a caring maneuver, I continually brushed away the hair that was sneaking its way out of her bun, and my right hand came to rest on her neck, the other hand bringing her face closer to mine, my lips greeting hers.

As I pulled back, we both couldn't suppress a smile. "You better not be messing with me," I smirked, kissing her yet again.

It was both a memorable and important night in my mind. My viewpoint of Vala would never be the same again, and I wouldn't be as quick to judge people as I usually did.

In general, my life would never be the same again.

I had gained a crazy friend, yet also a genuine, caring lover.

Generation 4, Chapter 12: Reunion

After all the events of the past week, it was surprising to see things return to a more normal pace. Nobody dared to utter a word on how we had acted while being held captive. It was embarrassing that we, who were all friends, had turned on each other like that. To rectify this, we decided to get to the bottom of this mystery organization, and if we found it, put an end to it.

Some would find it idiotic that we did not run to the police and report it, but in truth, that would have made a bigger mess of things. Doing things their way could hurt a lot more people than if we did it secretly.

It would be dangerous, yes, but we had two trained Air Force officers with us, and a knowledgeable thief who had once been a part of the criminal organization. We stood a chance...maybe. It required us to be like spies, secretive and sneaky.

But that wasn't something that would interrupt our daily lifestyle.

In fact, our lives were so normal, I had the courage to meet up with my family again. A small sort of reunion, as my mother had said. Unfortunately, she had the audacity to recommend that I bring my "special lady friend" with. Darcy had definitely  spread some rumors to her.

I had no special lady to accompany me, but with Vala's constant nagging in my ear about how she had no life, I had no choice but to bring her along with me.

"Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" she asked, her voice that of a hyperactive five year old. She was literally jumping up and down in her seat.

The jerky movements had a great impact on how smooth the car was strolling over the road, and I had to put my foot down on the break. "Jeepers, Vala, calm down. You're gonna get us into a accident if you keep jiggling about like that!"

"Oh, please. This is a fantastic automobile. You just can't drive properly. If you would just let me take control of the steering wheel..."

Her hands were reaching over, and I reacted on instinct, slapping them away. "I'm driving, and that's final. If I let you take over, we'll probably end up in Vegas."

She pouted innocently. "There's no harm in having a little bit of fun in Vegas. And as they say, what happens in Vegas..."

"Nothing happens at all," I interjected.

"Well, does this town at least have some sort of leisure activity to keep me busy? No offense, Danny boy, but you're not the most fun person on the block."

I sighed. "I know that. But to answer your question, I have no idea. I've never been in Starlight Shores before. To be honest, I don't even know why my mother requested us to meet here. Apparently its the home of my grandmother, and they like to have meetings here... Whatever the case, we're staying in a hotel."

"Ooh, one bedroom?"

"Two," I replied tersely. "And if there were only one, I'd sleep outside."

She rolled her eyes at me, smirking. "Am I that repulsive?"

I pretended to think about it. "Yes."

My grandmother had no room for my mother and us, which forced us to pay a hefty fee to bunk in a hotel room. Fortunately, Starlight Shores was filled with  people that had huge pockets, and they made their hotels look incredibly fancy, as well as comfortable.

"This is almost worth all the money I had to cough up...," I gazed around the room in wonderment, observing the finer details added to the wallpaper and furniture. The living room even had a grand piano! All that was missing was a hot tub, and this could be seen as the master suite.

"So sad that we won't be able to use the piano...," my hand reached out to caress the sleek, black surface. It must have cost thousands of dollars, and yet, no one really appreciates the music that it could make. Only the value and the stature that it implies.

"Speak for yourself," Vala elbowed me out of the way, gallantly taking a seat behind the piano. After cracking her knuckles, she set out to let her fingers play over the ivory keys.

What I heard coming out of that instrument shocked me to the core.

Vala was like a professional concert pianist. She had the poise, and most importantly, the skill. The music sounded just like that I would hear in operas. For all her weird antics and seductive character, she was actually more than just a pretty face.

"This...What...How?" flabbergasted, I could hardly form a coherent sentence. She literally took my breath away.

"When you're an actress, it helps to learn things like this to sweep men of their feet," she winked at me, bringing the tune to an end. "I was in Paris when I was twenty, and had to seduce this really cute artist... 'Course, he liked people with character, apparently. The people I worked for gave me lots of money, but no instruction on just how to get some of this 'character'. I saw an advertisement in a magazine once, and that led to me attending piano classes. I'm a fast learner, so naturally, I can play as well as anyone in an orchestra."

"That's...," I cleared my throat. "Interesting. Unsure of what to say, I turned away from her and scurried down the corridor to check out the rest of the place. "I'm just gonna go unpack my things in the bedroom," I called over my shoulder.

"The bedroom? Oh goodie!" from the quick footsteps that strolled over the tiled floor, I knew she was following me. When I turned around, she stood before me, grinning from ear to ear.

"My room," I pointed a thumb over my shoulder to the room that hid behind me. "No one else allowed, okay?"

"You're such a spoilsport... I get lonely at night, you know!"

I smirked, turning to go to the kitchen. "Not my problem."

Though my mother was bringing all the food, being apprised of my awful cooking, I wanted to make something, at least. The only thing I was good at was making Autumn Salad, and that was what they were going to get.

Vala, apparently bored out of her mind, took a seat in the corner of the kitchen, observing every move I made with the knife in my hand. "Daniel, please, stop twirling that thing around, trying to look like a chef...it's making me antsy."

"Then stop looking at me," I simply rebuked.

"There's nothing else to do that's interesting!"

"I thought I was uninteresting, or as you put it, lame?"

"For the moment, you're the most interesting thing in this whole hotel room."

Just as I was finishing up with the salad, the sound of a buzzer emanated through the hotel room. "I'll get it," drying my sticky hands quickly on the pipe of my pants, I set out to let them in. The couple I called my parents entered the room with huge smiles on their faces. My mom felt so comfortable, she even kicked out her shoes.

"Hi!" my mom waved before my dad's arms encircled her waist. "It's been so long since we've seen you! How are you?"

"Good," I mumbled, extending a hand to my father. No matter what occasion, we were always taught to me formal and respectful towards our parents. He graciously accepted my hand, greeting me with a curt "hello". My mom, though smarter than all of us, always tried to be nice to everyone.

As my parents were having a hard time keeping their hands off of each other, Vala took the opportunity to grab my attention. "Dude!" she looked at me with her blue eyes, obviously spooked.

"What?"

"You didn't tell me your parents found the bloody Fountain of Youth!"

"Oh...that. I'll explain later."

~*~

Daniel's parents weren't the only one that came to the small reunion. Kaylin, his grandmother, accompanied them. Her husband, Aaron, excused himself from being there, citing that he had to make sure the neighbors weren't too suspicious of them not getting any older.

Being an excellent cook, having had years of practice to perfect the art, she took over the kitchen and prepared the food that they had brought along. Always taking over the role as gentleman, Daniel jumped at the occasion to help her in the kitchen.

That left Vala in quite a tight spot, namely...alone in a room with Daniel's parents.

"So, Vala...," Amelia smiled. "Did Daniel perhaps mention to you why Darcy isn't here today?"

"Oh, apparently her boyfriend, Mitchell, returned from France the other day, and now they're spending the whole day with each other. Goodness knows what they're doing. You can only spend so much time talking."

Richard's hand on the table tightened, but loosened once his wife placed a comforting hand on his. "That man...," was all he managed to mutter.

"It's nice to know Darcy found someone that shares her interests," he chuckled to herself. "And Daniel? Are you together?"

Her eyes grew wide once again. "You mean, as a couple?"

"Yes."

The look of shock vanished, replaced by speculation. "Well... I think we share quite a strong, spiritual bond."

"Really?" Richard couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, definitely. I mean, at first it was all tumbling around in bed together, day in, day out, but now... We really enjoy each other's company, I believe."

The silent atmosphere that took over the room was uncomfortable, but no one dared to break it. Shocked glances were exchanged between Daniel's parents, both perturbed by the news.

Thankfully, it was at that time that Kaylin and Daniel finally returned with food, giving them an excuse to start speaking again.

~*~

It was cleared that my mom and dad were disturbed by something, but when I questioned them, they remained quiet. Only later, when I was halfway done with my food, did I dare ask them anything again. "What were you three gossiping about when I was in the kitchen?"

My mom scratched her neck, looking uncertain. "Well, she told us all about what you two have been up to."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, all about your adventures...," she swallowed. "In bed."

The immediate response I wanted to give was yell, but that was prohibited by the small piece of meat that lodged itself in my trachea. It resulted in a few seconds of embarrassing choking.

"Oh, dear...what I would to have captured a picture of that expression on your face...," Vala laughed. "It was priceless, truly. Mister and misses Jackson, I apologize for the lie that I had told you, but it was all in an effort to make this guy here a bit more lighthearted."

My grandmother laughed alongside her. "It was a good joke, sweetie. You should lighten up a little, or your life will pass by in the blink of an eye."

"What does it matter? I'm gonna live forever, anyway."

Disheartened by my lack of enthusiasm to be the life of the party, my grandmother, father and Vala formed a group of their own and took over the dance floor.

"Those were the years...," my mom giggled as she looked at the group together.

"You can still dance like that, mom. You're not old at all."

"I know, I know, but it's...," she sighed. "I do feel old. I feel as if I'm supposed to  be more responsible now and that I should let the new generation have their fun. It's hard to act normal when you have this secret to carry around with you for the rest of your life."

As she took a seat on the couch, I quickly took my place beside her, hopeful that the conversation would continue. "Our roles should be reversed, Danny. I'm the older, more serious one, and you should be exploring the world, cracking jokes with your friends."

My gaze fell on Vala, and the reality of my life hit me hard. "It'll never be like that, mom."

"Why not? What changed, dear?"

When I didn't answer, she followed my gaze, finally understanding what I meant. "Is it the girl?"

"Sort of."

"Care to explain?" she prodded me with a finger, not giving up too easily with my lack of response.

I shook my head, frustrated with the words in my head that I wanted to shout to the world, but could not. "The way that she entered into our lives was...a bit unsettling, to say the least. It's caused some ripples that we have to iron out."

"Right...," she nodded. "Daniel, you do know that I'm an Astrophysicist, and that  means I'm not an idiot. Why won't you tell us?"

"It's complicated."

"Simplify it then."

"I wish I could."

She left it at that, finally catching on that it was too big a secret to tell.

When it hit eight o' clock, they started getting their things together and heading out the door and down the elevator. My mom and grandma hugged me goodbye, whereas I was left with the same old handshake from my father.

As my mother had her hands on my shoulders, she whispered something in my ear. "I like that girl. She could be good for you, so don't push her away too quickly, all right?"

A curt nod was my old response, and as she climbed away, and the car sped off into the darkness, I waved slowly.

"She could also be bad for me," I sighed to myself.

Exhausted both physically and mentally from all the talking and cooking that was done today, I stumbled to my room, noticing that Vala's room was darkened. Huh. I didn't figure her to be someone that would turn in early.

I took my time closing the big, double doors, resting my head against the cool material. 

"Rough day, huh?"

"Yeah...," I breathed. Only a second later did I realize someone else was with me in the room. And of course, it was Vala.

"Please, Vala... I'm really not in the mood for your jokes."

"Come on! Some 'fun' could only be good."

"Definitely not. You're just trying to have a laugh at my expense, and I won't be standing for that. This whole sexual thing is just some kind of defense mechanism of yours when you're bored, I swear. Now please, just...leave."

Begrudgingly, Vala hopped off of the bed, but did not leave without a parting word. She grabbed me by the arm, her eyes burning into mine. "I told you all about my life and my own hardships. I let you in behind my protective barrier. It wouldn't hurt for you to do the same. I'm not just a toy, Daniel, although I majorly act that way. I'm a person with thoughts and feelings, and I can try to sympathize for your issues."

She let go, and hopped out of the room, but spared a second to blow me a kiss. "Good night, and sleep well."

I was so confused about this girl.

Generation 4, Chapter 11: Escaping a place has never been so disturbing

The ominous word "death" hung in the air, stirring feelings inside me that I had never experienced. A terrible anxiety clutched itself around my heart, making it hard to breathe. The only time I had ever really been afraid was when there had been an incident at the school where there was a massive spider, and of course, that was back in grade one. This, however, was much worse than that. Perhaps because I realized just how possible it was for us all to die in that room. After all, I didn't know how merciless our captors could be. Vala was the only one with past experience in the organization, and if she said they were dangerous, I believed her wholeheartedly.

As Vala's eyes shut, I crawled across the room to her, hoping to keep her awake and optimistic. "Vala...," I said in hushed tones. "Are you giving up just like that?  Even when you had a battered face, you were in high spirits. Has that finally been broken? It was one of the best things about you..."

She turned the full scorn of her eyes on me. "Don't underestimate me just because I'm lying on the floor like this. In fact, I'm busy planning an escape, unlike your friends."

She did have a point. All three of them were leaning with their backs against the walls, recuperating from the damage done to them by the drugs. It wasn't everyday that you got to see Jack be as silent as a mouse hiding from a cat. I didn't know whether or not Sam could be as rowdy as Jack, but still, she remained quiet, leaning against the wall with her nose pinched between her forefingers.

What worried me was that even Darcy was curled up against the wall. Her spirit was broken, and her face pale from shock. She wouldn't put up a fight if someone did come to take her life. It was up to me to save all three of them, especially my little sister. What would my mother say if she were to find out I could only save myself from such a situation, abandoning everyone else to their fates?

The thought made me shudder. The image of her wrathful gaze was enough to fill me with the willpower to see this through...all I needed was some help from a rather unhelpful individual.

Just as the confidence was slowly starting to assert itself in my being, it was easily crushed by the footsteps approaching the room. No, they wouldn't get rid of us this quickly. They usually questioned captors before that happened...right? That's how it worked in the movies, and movies have to carry a little bit of truth.

The door flew open, revealing a rather ticked-off girl with purple hair. Of course. The girl at the bar. She was in on everything, maybe even the mastermind, or at least a grunt. Whatever role she played, she seemed quite satisfied with herself, though dissatisfied with us.

"I thought it would be harder to capture you, what with your names on the list of important suspects that needed to be terminated...but no. You fell into my trap just as I planned for it to happen. It was all a little too easy, so excuse me for being suspicious of all of you. I'm waiting for one of you to pull off some kind of stunt."

Vala clambered onto her feet and approached the purple-haired girl. The way she glided so comfortably towards her made it obvious that they knew each other. "Lucy, this is ridiculous. What kind of a stunt could these puny people pull off?" the comment hurt, but it was true. Darcy and I were not known for our physical endurance, and Jack and Sam were still in training. "The reason they were easy to capture? They're civilians, they're innocent of all of this!"

The girl named Lucy raised an eyebrow at Vala, but kept her gaze on me. "That one over there. He's an accomplice of yours."

"Ohhh, puh-lease. He was someone I dragged along for the fun of it. He's nothing, trust me. What are you, Lucy? A coward? Capturing useless people just for the fun of it? You used to go after the big money, the big prize... Hah. I could beat you now."

Goading the captor was definitely the worst technique I had ever come across.

Lucy turned her murderous eyes on Vala, and moved a step closer to her, until her face was inches away from Vala's. "You know I'm telling the truth...," Vala whispered, and chuckled darkly.

Acknowledging defeat, our captor stormed out of the room, but left a last comment when she was behind the safety of the door. "There's a guard outside, so I wouldn't even try to escape if I were you. He's famous for crushing skulls under his boot."

But Vala couldn't leave it at that, and went for one last shot at antagonizing the girl. "Hey, what about turning the green light down a bit? It really doesn't go with your skin...or hair...or eyes! Those weird, alien eyes..."

As soon as we heard her angered footsteps thumping away from the room, life returned to Darcy, Jack and Sam, and heated arguments were started.

"This is all her fault!" Darcy yelled at me, pointing at Vala.

"No, it's n-"

"Why did you have to be the hero, Daniel?" Jack interrupted me, shaking his head in disappointment.

"What do y-"

"Oh, at least he's a better gentleman than you'll ever be!" Sam aimed her comment at Jack.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he bit back.

"That you're a jackass?" Darcy offered.

I buried my face in my hands, hopelessly looking at the three individuals that I called my friends. Instead of fighting against a common enemy, they chose to fight among themselves.

Remaining silent for another half an hour, I waited for the argument to die down. It eventually did, but unfortunately, the atmosphere remained, which didn't help our situation. Nobody had come up with nay good ideas of how to save our asses. The only suggestion that did come up was a sarcastic one made by Darcy, suggesting karate chop our way out of here. Only one big problem with that idea: None of us knew karate.

Sam and Jack departed from our enclosed circle to argue on their own, which left Darcy and I standing next to each other. That fact gave me chills. Darcy was more than capable of launching a full blown argument on her own against me of just how lousy a human being I could be.

Luckily, there was something to distract my mind, and what I saw shocked me.

"Vala...what...the...fuzz?" I raised an eyebrow as she brought her top over her shoulders and subsequently tossed it into the corner. 

"Well," she raised her head, looking at the roof. "I have a plan."

"Oh, great. The criminal has a plan...fantastic," Darcy rolled her eyes at Vala,  her voice dripping with sarcasm. It was one of Darcy's most horrible qualities, though she viewed it as a talent. She drove people nuts just by talking. "What do you have in mind, wooing your way out of here with good looks, seducing the guard then knocking him out and allowing us to escape?"

"That's exactly what I'm going to do."

Darcy hadn't been expecting that response. "T-that's insane. That guy could be smart enough and could k-kill you before you get anywhere."

Twirling the excuse around in my head that I didn't want to see her demise at the hand of the enemy, I turned away at the exact moment Vala turned to face Darcy. This small action interested Vala, who immediately forgot what Darcy had tried to argue.

"What's wrong, Daniel? You don't like what you see?" Vala said in an innocent voice, acting hurt.

"N-no," I spluttered. "My mom raised me to be a gentleman. I don't look at ladies in their undergarments, alright?"

She laughed. "You're so sweet and innocent. It's sad that you had land in this situation."

Though Vala had bought the excuse, Darcy certainly did not. As Vala moved towards the door to get the attention of the guard, Darcy looked me straight in the eyes. "You like her."

"No, no! It's not like that for me, Darcy..."

"Then what? You're definitely feeling something for this chick."

"It's...I...I don't know. She tried to do something good for the first time in her life, and she got burned. I just want to see her succeed for once. Maybe make a few friends."

"Oh...," Darcy's voice faltered. "So you like her as a friend?"

"I don't know. She can be a pain in the ass at times, but she's okay. She's unique."

"Right," my sister nodded, unconvinced. "And you're an idiot."

I couldn't help but sigh. "I know."

One couldn't help but be both thankful and terrified for Vala. She was risking her life, being the hero for once, but such an act of bravery could very well be a stupid mistake. Though according to her, guards used by the organization weren't chosen for their intellect, only their smashing capability, and supposedly, she had experience in seducing men into getting her way, or to get out of a situation. It would be easy to trick them into doing something they really shouldn't be doing. In theory.

The door opened a crack, and a deep voice could clearly be heard. "What is it?" he growled.

"I was wondering if you were interested in having someone keep you company..." From my vantage point, I could see that Vala was fluttering her eyelashes at the guy. She was really into character, acting as a innocent girl, when she was the complete opposite.

"Huh?" the guard looked clueless. He really was as dumb as Vala had perceived.

"The people in here are so boring," she pointed a finger at our group who had since then come together, being extremely interested in what was going on. "What if we...sneaked away...just for a little while..."

Her fingers mimicked a scene, showing how the couple would sneak away, and her lips formed into a pout. The guard finally understood was she was suggesting. "Sounds awesome," he grinned, grabbing Vala by the arm and spinning her into a bear hug, where they subsequently entered a kissing session. All of us averted our eyes at the time.

Like two animals going at each other, the guard pulled Vala away from what he thought were curious eyes, and launched her down the hallway to what could be a more private area. The sounds we heard were rather unsettling. The clattering of a drum set on the ground, an exhausted sigh of someone that was definitely big, and a massive thud against the floor left us all freaked out.

"Did they just...go at it...on the floor?" Sam choked on the words, looking everywhere but the door where Vala would reappear at any given moment. All of us did the exact same.

"Evidently," even Jack was shocked by all of it, his eyes as wide as that of a deer that was about to meet an unfortunate end in a car accident.

A minute later, she returned, a cheeky smile sprawled across her face. "I told you I would get it done."

Jack cleared his throat. "Well, the 'it' has disturbed us all."

"What?" she was taken aback. "I kicked the guy through the face and he dropped to the ground. It left a few instruments broken, unfortunately, but if we get out of here quickly enough, no one will know who did it!"

What she explained to be the truth was a little hard to believe, and after a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock, it was decided that Darcy be the one to lead our team of bandits to safety. In other words, check to see if there was a naked guy possibly lying around.

"Wow...," Darcy seemed both impressed and relieved as she stood in the center of what seemed to be the practice room of a band. "So she was telling the truth."

"Of course I was," Vala was confused. "What do you think I was doing?"

"...Nothing," Darcy whistled innocently, and led us to a door that hopefully meant freedom. It did, and we found ourselves in a street somewhere downtown in Bridgeport.

Afterwards, we all scurried back to the safety of the apartment, where all of us changed into a new set of clothing, either lent out by Darcy or that which was brought along in suitcases. Jack quickly called and asked that a security system be installed in our rooms, while Sam and Darcy started cooking dinner. We were all famished, except for Vala, it seemed.

She disappeared silently, but this time I caught her red handed, and followed her from a distance. Expecting to see her make a run for it and leave town, I was pleasantly surprised to see her walk to a somewhat abandoned park at the edge of town.

Vala took a seat on one of the whitewashed benches, gazing out at the ocean that stretched far and wide before her. She seemed peaceful, yet again acting the complete opposite of her real self, or the person I had come to know. maybe there was a reason for her acting the way she does.

As to not alert her to my presence or disturb her, I sneaked around the back of the lot, and quietly took a seat next to her, staring out in front of me just as she was doing.

The girl beside me sighed. "Sir, I'm truly not in the mood for company, so please, get your butt off of the bench before I..." Her voice trailed away as she finally noticed who it was occupying the space beside her. She smirked. "Ah, Daniel, I didn't know you had a occupation as a professional stalker."

I shrugged with a smile. "I don't. I'm just worried about you."

"Don't worry," she winked at me. "I've survived worse things than this. I was fine then, and I'll be fine now."

"Really?" I was interested in this comment. Was she finally ready to confess to me what had happened in her past? "Do you...wanna talk about it, perhaps?"

She absentmindedly scratched her neck, looking as if she were fighting a battle inside her mind. I wouldn't have placed bets on who was winning, but I sure hoped that it would be her.

"You asked for it, I guess..." She took a deep breath, and relaxed against the back of the bench. "The whole truth then. I never knew my real father. Apparently he disappeared around the time of my birth. Problems with smuggling he was involved in. Because of that, my mom remarried to take care of me, and I at least had a father figure. A crappy one, though. When I was a little girl, my step dad left us as well. He was no good to us anyhow. An alcoholic through and through. He...drank so much he sometimes became aggressive, beating my mom and I. My mom even landed in the hospital once, but she never ratted him out to the authorities. She still loved him. It was a stupid love to have, because he didn't return it."

"She hoped that he would change, didn't she?"

"Most likely. In any case, he never did. He left us for days at a time, but always returned. One time he stayed away for longer than usual, and we knew... The police told us they found him and his car at the bottom of a cliff. My mother was heartbroken, of course. She died a year later, but not from a broken spirit. She had damage to her skull which was slowly killing her, and one day she just didn't wake up. Of course, she did have a handful of pills that night, so it could have been a number of things. I didn't really stick around to find out. God, I was so afraid that they would put me in foster care. I didn't want to live like that at all. And so, I ran. When I was eight years old, I took to the streets, taking care of myself, making friends and enemies along the way."

Her sudden movement startled me as she pushed herself off of the bench and moved towards the edge of the cliff. I closely followed in her footsteps, A tear rolled down her cheek, but she quickly dabbed at it, pretending that it never appeared.

"Vala... It's alright. You don't have to continue if you don't want to."

She shook her head stubbornly. "No, I have to. It's time someone knew the whole truth."

Though worried that I might cause her to spiral into an emotional breakdown, I nodded once. "Please, continue then."

"Of course...where was I? Oh yes, my life on the streets. Not much to say about that. I was an expert shoplifter and pickpocket. Thieving was second nature to me. I guess I inherited that trait from my real father. There were one or two times that I was nearly caught, but I was young and fit, not to mention gorgeous, so I had no trouble avoiding the police force, either through running away or talking my way out of it. While the police's eyes were blind to my deeds, there were some that definitely weren't. One night, on the even of my sixteenth birthday, a tall yet slender man approached my hiding place that I called home, and offered me the opportunity of a lifetime, to put my skills to better use, and to actually get massive amounts of money for it. I agreed to it, so I could garner enough funds to live the life I was supposed to. Only, that wasn't it turned out. Once I started working for their organization, there was no way out. I was trapped...until I met you."

She turned towards me. "Daniel, you have no idea how much change you brought into my life."

"I doubt I made a significant impact, except for getting you to be a normal person instead of a criminal," I accepted her compliment humbly, but didn't let it go to my head. Instead, I kept my gaze on the oceans, noticing how the waves crushed against the rocks, yet they never moved.

"No, that's not the only thing... I'm going to tell you something that WILL shock you, so you might want to sit down."

"Nah, I'm fine, thanks."

"If you say so. Remember how you told me that you had a fiancée that was killed in France in an art gallery?"

I rubbed my palms together in a effort to get my memories stirring. "vaguely."

"Believe it or not, that was the day I first saw you. My partner and I were assigned to rob the art gallery of all of its possessions. We watched you two from afar, and saw you enter the building. My partner, Drake, planned to ambush you two, as she figured she was in charge. I didn't agree with him at all. I could see the ring on her finger blinking in the sunlight. I knew you two were a couple. Your face...was glowing with adoration and pride when you looked at her. I wasn't going to ruin that for you."

It was getting harder to breathe. The revelations that went through my mind were too much to handle. Vala was there. She could have stopped it from happening. But why would she? It was her job. But wait, she didn't say anyone had to be killed. So why did her partner go ahead and do just that, and not take any of the items? Why did he leave me alive? I held my sore head in one hand, peeking at her through one eye. "You were right. I should have sat down for this."

"I warned you!" she smiled slightly, then removed all trace of joy from her face and continued with the story. "When I saw Drake carry a gun with him that had a silencer... I knew that something was wrong. He had definitely received different orders than I had. And so, I refused to go with him, and prayed that he wouldn't dare hurt you. I knew it was an idiotic wish, but I kept it alive. I was the one to alert the police of the possible robbery. Just as he was running out of the building, a car rushed by and hit him with full force. He wasn't dead, but he was incapacitated, and not able to run anywhere or tell them about me."

"How convenient," I grumbled, rubbing at my eyelids.

"It was, Danny. It was all I could do from where I sat, without implicating myself. In any case, I saw them carry out a body, and my heart sank...but then, I saw you appear. You looked so devastated...it broke my heart. I left the scene quickly after that, but I had hoped that we would meet someday in the future. And obviously, that happened."

The sun moved on and hid its glory behind the mountains, and so darkness descended around us, and the moon took over control of the skies, sharing its beauty with the world. The cool air that blew against my face and at the back of my neck was something I desperately needed. All that she had told me was a little bit too much to handle. I had gone from being sympathetic, to distraught, to disturbed, and then...to satisfied. I was genuinely proud of Vala, letting go of the skeletons in her closet, and also helping me to let go of some of the ties I had with the past, and the hate that I had been carrying around with me on the back.

"Thank you for sharing that with me," I simply stated.

She frowned at me. "Are you mad at me?"

"No! Why would I be?"

"I was sort of involved in the murder of your fiancée, and though I didn't pull the trigger, I-"

"Vala!" I stopped her by grabbing her by her shoulders. "You had no control over the actions of your partner. I'm mad at the bastard for killing Sarah, yeah, but not at you. I'm just really happy that you felt comfortable enough around me to tell me all of that."

I released my grip on her, but she took my hands in hers, smiling cheekily at me. "I would feel comfortable doing many things with and around you, Danny boy."

"Ugh," I exhaled loudly. "Talk about ruining a good bonding moment."