Alternate Universes: Revival

[Mayah Playah]

Don't be afraid.

Ellery Advimi...................Liam Grant...................Peter Shell

"I heard that, bogan," said Ellery to the Australian, stopping to let Peter catch up and grabbing Liam's bag. "Don't lose yourself in your attraction and start telling him little stories about us, Peter. Remember what I told you about other groups."
Peter nodded, letting Ellery take the pack and reciting what he'd been told. "Don't trust them," he sighed, biting the inside of his cheek as Ellery walked off again. Lowering his voice, he turned back to Hayden. "Liam was already with Ellery by the time I came along, so I met them both that way. Before then, Liam had known Ellery for forever and joined up that way. My parents were already gone when they found me, so I just followed whoever had the big guns, and that was them. No real pomp and circumstance, but you should've seen Ellery when I joined up with him and the Doc. He was amazing, guns always blazing and never afraid to shoot a panicking woman between the eyes if she was going to give our position away. He's the role model I never really had, even though he's so much smaller than me. Hard to believe he's almost 8 years my senior." A thought occurred to him, and he tilted his head at Hayden. "Hey, how old are you?"
"You mean... you're one too?" he breathed, clasping his hands to his chest and grinning hopefully up at Cameron. Unfortunately, he was interrupted by he tall man from before, pursing his lips in irritation at him. His irritation was replaced by confusion, however, at the man's words that were directed at him. "What, really? With you? You've got to be joking." His hand dug into his pocket and pulled out his weapon, furrowed brow looking upwards at Cameron. "Wow, that guy obviously thinks he's cooler than he is. What's his deal?"

Death only hurts for a minute.

 

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Fredrich Waltz...................Cameron West...................Hayden Belmont

Danger never looked so good.

Hayden winced at Ellery's harsh words, but it was nothing he wasn't used to. Especially when he's hung with Fredrich for so long. Listening to Peter's story and soon his question, he turned back to him and replied, with a smile, "32. I'd say I'm the oldest, but that officer over there - Cameron - is actually the oldest of us. If trigger-happy killers are what ya like, then Cameron's your spunk." he chuckled. He did glance over his shoulder once to look at the officer. He reeeally hoped that wasn't Peter's type. For safety. Jealousy, but also safety. Speaking of which, "So, uh, wh-what kinda Sheila you into, mate?" he asked, hoping Peter - if he understood him - would tell him that he was interested in men instead.
"Yeah. My dad's a doctor. One of those mad scientists, so I got to be one of his experiments." Cameron laughed nonchalantly before hearing Fredrich. He watched the detective storm away before looking at Liam. "Ah, he likes to think he's all cool because he's some kind of famous assassin. Ever heard of the Nightingale?"

 

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Don't be afraid.

Ellery Advimi...................Liam Grant...................Peter Shell

"32?!" gasped Peter. "But you look so young!"
A rock came flying at his head, making the younger male pout. "You're 18, Peter," came Ellery's bark, the shorter male far ahead of them.
"Shut up!" he yelled back, throwing a few rocks at his reluctant leader and missing. With a sigh, he turned back to Hayden and blinked at the question, having to wait a while to take it in. "Huh? Oh, girls! Yeah, I don't really like girls. They're squeaky and annoying, and they complain about everything. I tried to date a couple when I was a freshman, but now I kind of just ignore them." He moved closer, bumping Hayden's elbow gently with his. "What about you? What kind of girls do you like?"
Liam was quiet a moment, then gasped and pointed his finger at the retreating detective. "That's him? He's the greatest assassin of our century?!"

Death only hurts for a minute.

 

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Fredrich Waltz...................Cameron West...................Hayden Belmont

Danger never looked so good.

"Ahaha, yeah." Hayden chuckled while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "Good thing, too. I was homeschooled, but not that well. Thanks to this young look of mine I managed to get into high school just fine." He winced when the rock hit Peter. He would have checked for blood, but one sniff already gave him an answer.
It took Hayden a second to register Peter's question. "Huh? Oh! No, I ain't interested in them Sheilas. I'm gay." he said nonchalantly while folding his arms behind his head. "'S not like I had much choice, really, what with my blood and all. I'm not sure if you saw, but I'm not exactly human."
Cameron burst out in laughter over Liam's reaction. "Yup! He's the legendary Nightingale. He may not look it, but you shouldn't underestimate him. He knows how to get a gun and how to use it. 'Course, he's a really moody guy." A minute after he finished speaking, he and the rest of the group made it to the rendezvous point. "So! What's the meet-up for? Introductions?"

 

[Mayah Playah]

Don't be afraid.

Ellery Advimi...................Liam Grant...................Peter Shell

Peter nodded, having not noticed it but having heard Ellery point it out. He tried not to let the excitement of the man's sexuality be shown, but there was a shine to his eyes now. "What are, if you don't mind me asking?" he asked in a low tone, wanting the conversation to be between them.
He shrugged, hiding his doubt about this so-called "Nightingale" before him. "Like I know. Ellery makes decisions without me all the time."
"Alright, listen up!" Ellery started, closing the doors behind the six of them and tossing the bags onto the ground. "Walkers rarely pass through here because of the lack of food. Because of that, we'll be using this bunker as a shelter until we can completely restock on supplies. Now, there are only three rooms to be slept in. That means you'll all have to partner u-"
"Can I sleep with Hayden?" asked Peter, immediately blushing from his choice of words. "I-I mean bunk. I-if you don't mind, of course." He gazed up at the Australian, eyes large.

Death only hurts for a minute.

 

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Fredrich Waltz...................Cameron West...................Hayden Belmont

Danger never looked so good.

Before Hayden could answer, Ellery told everyone the situation, and he hesitated at Peter's offer to stay with him. He glanced down at him and blushed when he saw that he was staring at him expectantly. Nervously rubbing the back of his neck, he looked over to see Fredrich watching him with a look of bemusement. "Umm, actually I'll stay with Fredrich for the night." he said and looked at Peter apologetically. "I'll, er, explain it to you some other time." he mumbled.
"That doesn't surprise me." Cameron snorted then looked at Liam. "You wanna room with me? I could sleep on the floor, if you want?" he offered. Compared to the lovestruck kid and the uptight guy, Cameron would much prefer staying with an immortal doctor. Heck, maybe he'll be able to understand him from having listened to his dad's countless scientific terms.

 

[Mayah Playah]

Don't be afraid.

Ellery Advimi...................Liam Grant...................Peter Shell

Ellery picked up a decent-sized rock, tossing it up and down to measure its weight before rearing his arm back and throwing it at Peter's disappointed head. "Stop making decisions!" he boomed, almost ready to growl at the teen. "The Australian is sleeping in my room. Fredrich, you will room with Liam, and the strange cop will sleep with Peter. We will watch each other, make sure that the other can be trusted."
"Ellery, you can't just-"
"Liam, you and the Australian have first watch." Ellery sat down and started to pull supplies out of the bag, tossing Liam's bag to him.
The doctor caught it with ease, looking up at Cameron with his own look of disappointment. "Sorry, man. But it looks like the Emperor wants me to keep an eye on the big guy. Maybe tomorrow night?" He suddenly grinned, pulling out his scalpel. "Hopefully then, I'll be able to show you what this baby can do to a living throat in less than two seconds."
On the other side of the room, Peter was still trying to reason with Ellery."Ellery, you can't just decide these things. What gives you the right?"
The man didn't even look up from his work, digging through Peter's bag in search of a flare gun, his voice low as to keep the conversation between them. "The fact that I'm the leader of our group does. Peter, we can't trust them, especially not the detective and the Australian. I'm trusting you to watch Waltz and make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid. Don't disappoint me." He stood up straight, handing Peter the flare gun and looking at Fredrich. "You'll need to be awake early, Waltz, unless you want to plot our next move tonight. If that's the case, you and I will take first watch instead of Liam and your Aussie. Hurry and make up your mind, it'll be pitch dark soon." Ellery was all business without a smile, eyes more serious than their last encounter. In fact, they were without that ounce of fun they had before, and filled with expectation.
It was then that Peter realized, Ellery doesn't trust them at all. Not even the tall one. He's not expecting them all to be unable to work as a team, he's expecting them to betray him, Liam, and Ellery!

Death only hurts for a minute.

 

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Fredrich Waltz...................Cameron West...................Hayden Belmont

Danger never looked so good.

"What?" Hayden gasped. He quickly shook both his hands and his head at Ellery. "No, no, no, no, no! You don't understand! Fredrich and I-"
"Alright, I've had just about enough of this." Fredrich sighed as he moved toward Ellery. "No one, not even your own group, ever put you in charge of all of us. I don't care if your family got killed by the undead or not, you're not telling us what to do. Look at yourself," he said and waved a gloved hand at Ellery's frail figure. His dark blue eyes narrowed. "You're just an emotional man on the edge, not a leader. And by the looks of it, there are more emotions then anything these zombies could bring."
Hayden, completely surprised by Fredrich's cruel outburst, tried to intervene to stop any bloodshed. "Eh, Fred, maybe we oughta-"
One sharp glare from Fredrich was enough to silence him.
The man in black looked back at Ellery, but not for long. "We've fought these before, we know their tendencies, weakness, and characteristics. Cameron's father created these, after all. Any one of us could better lead this group than you. The very fact that we allowed you to join us was an act of pity and nothing more." he said. Having finally thrown something back at the apparent leader, Fredrich turned around without a second glance and walked to one of the bedrooms. "Hayden sleeps with me. The rest of you can pair up however you like."
A silence settled after one of the doors closed. Cameron was the first to break it with an impressed whistle. "That guy, cruel as ever!" he laughed then looked at Liam. "So what do you think? You really want to room with that guy?" he snickered teasingly.

 

[Mayah Playah]

Don't be afraid.

Ellery Advimi...................Liam Grant...................Peter Shell

Ellery not expecting the man's outburst, took a minute to take in what had happened. With a snarl, he strode over to the door and kicked it, hard. "I brought you here, not the other way around, Waltz! I lead my team, I don't risk them, I take care of them, and I can protect them.We do what we do because we want to protect people. You haven't changed at all from the past, Fredrich. You're still an arrogant, selfish, egotistical and self-righteous MERCENARY!" His own words shouted through the door, Ellery let out an angry breath and stormed to his room, tossing back one last order before slamming the door. "Liam, you and I will take first watch. Let the others burn!"
Peter sank onto a chair, staring after his mentor with wide eyes. "Liam, I've never seen him so angry," he whispered, as if frightened that he would come back out and yell at him.
"It's because he brought up his family," explained the doctor, setting a hand on Peter's shoulder and trying to ignore that last order. It was part of a code he and Ellery had developed when they first started working together. It meant that, were they attacked, to protect Peter at all costs and to use the other teams as a stall to get away, even to the point of burning down the shelter with them still in it. "Go to my room and get some rest. I'll move you to your bunk in Ellery's room after you fall asleep."
Peter nodded, looking back to Ellery's door once before shuffling into the doctor's room, closing the door behind him softly.
Taking a deep breath, Liam looked up at Cameron and smiled apologetically. "Do you mind taking first watch with me? Ellery's not in the right mind to keep a sharp lookout, and your detective doesn't seem too much like the kind of guy I want watching my back." He reached into his bag, pulling out a knife sharpener and placing it into his back pocket. "Let's go to the roof before one of them comes back out."

""
""

Death only hurts for a minute.

 

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Fredrich Waltz...................Cameron West...................Hayden Belmont

Danger never looked so good.

Fredrich got out a flask from behind his coat and was uncapping it when, as expected, Ellery burst in with a rebuttal. The detective slowly turned around as the other spoke, but he didn't dare speak and add fuel to those flames. No, he did something worse. He smiled at the younger male. It wasn't a friendly smile, nor was it apologetic. It was a belittling grin, one adults gave children that were talking about things they couldn't understand at such an early age. He smiled down at Ellery, and his cruel gaze pierced him like an arrow.
When the brunette left, Fredrich moved his flask up and took a swig of the hard whiskey inside it. As he drank, a few drops rolling off the corner of his mouth, he contemplated Ellery's words. "So that's what they are, are they?" he mused when the flask left him. "A group of kids playing hero."

Where Peter and Liam where shaken by Ellery's change, Cameron and Hayden were used to Fredrich's usual cold-hearted stings. Hayden sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Crickey, he didn't have to be that harsh." he murmured. "It's going to take hours to get him in a jolly enough mood for me to eat."

Cameron turned to look at Liam when he offered for them both to keep watch. "Oh sure, I don't mind." he smiled and started heading to the roof. "So, uh, sorry about Freddy. He's not the most social of people, in case it isn't obvious." he said as he ascended the stairs.

 

[Mayah Playah]

Don't be afraid.

Ellery Advimi...................Liam Grant...................Peter Shell

Liam was about to reply to Cameron, when his sharp ears caught Hayden's words. Suddenly, the gears in his head clicked and a strange smile spread across his lips. He turned to Hayden, pointing a finger in his direction. "I can't believe I didn't see it before," he said quietly, disbelief in his eyes. "All my years, and I didn't see it. You're a kind of incubus, aren't you? I've read about you. There's only been a handful of your kind to exist, but my, are you fascinating. No wonder Peter took an interest in you. He's a dying breed too." The finger went to his chin, tapping in thought. "Type of Muse, I think. Can't remember the rest, but it's why Ellery makes sure he's close during strategy planning. Yeah, a dying breed..." The doctor laughed at the ridiculousness and started over for the stairs. "It's funny. I'm supposed to be the crazy one, and you three are beating me out for it!" His laughter grew as he walked up the stairs, only subsiding once he was on the roof.
Glancing over to the officer that he was sure was somewhere by him, the surgeon sighed and shook his head. "I don't care about anything that happens between Ellery and your 'Freddy'. I dislike them both, for their shared arrogance and disdain for each other's properties. Don't apologize to me for his words. Just tell me more and make me laugh." He tugged a bottle from his boot, unscrewing the cap and taking a swig before handing it out to Cameron. "Here. Strong enough to kill a mortal man, but good for immortals. Try it."

Meanwhile, Peter lay on Liam's make-shift bed, staring at the wall in thought. That mean man... wouldn't things be better if he were dead? How proud Ellery would be! Yeah... How proud.

Death only hurts for a minute.

 

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Fredrich Waltz...................Cameron West...................Hayden Belmont

Danger never looked so good.

Hayden leaned back when Liam confronted him, blinking several times. "Oh. Yeah, how'd you figure that out?" he asked before being explained what Peter was. A Muse? Now that definitely explained the delicious aroma coming off him. He never really had Muse...
As everyone left to their own devices, Hayden tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling. Peter. There was no doubt he was attracted to the little guy, and years of attracting mates gave him the ability to tell that Peter felt something too. But... The incubus sighed as he looked over to Fredrich's room. He would probably get one hell of a beating for this, but this had to be done.
Hayden was pondering what to tell the angered detective when the scent coming from the nearest room stopped him. Oh, it smelled like Peter. How was he handling that explosive argument, anyway? At the very least, he could use that as an excuse to see him. Stopping at the room, Hayden hesitated then knocked on the door. "Oi, Peter? You okay there, mate?" he called out.

Cameron laughed as he took the bottle into his own hands. "You say they dislike each other, but I think it's the exact opposite." he said. He took a gulp of his drink then wiped his mouth with his sleeve and offered the bottle back to Liam. "They've got sexual tension, y'know? I wonder if they met before. Hoo, what's in this stuff? It's strong." he belched as alcoholic fumes burned at his chest.

 

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Don't be afraid.

Ellery Advimi...................Liam Grant...................Peter Shell

"Huh?" The young artist sat up in the bed, rubbing his eyes and pushing back his hair to see who was at the door. "Hayden? 's that you?" Standing out of the bed, Peter shuffled over to the door, fingers absently tugging at the edge of his boxers and opening it. He blinked up at the Australian, confused as he opened the door wide enough for Hayden to come in as he turned back to the bed, picking up his jeans and undoing the belt. "Is everything okay? We aren't leaving already, are we?" The Dark Muse leaned on the wall as he held his pants, waiting for an explanation.

"Hah! Hell if I know," he laughed, swigging the drink and setting it on his lap. "Ellery jacked it off of some poor half-dead immortal. Speaking of, yeah, they know each other. From back when the old man was a thief, before the walkers started up. What makes you think the tension is sexual, though?"

Death only hurts for a minute.

 

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Fredrich Waltz...................Cameron West...................Hayden Belmont

Danger never looked so good.

"Oh, uh, I's just wonderin' how you were holdin' up about the argument back there." Hayden said. He stepped into the room, but the entire time he was there he looked everywhere but at Peter. How could he?! When an attractive fella like him stood there in pants he was taking off like a strip tease, what could an incubus do?!

"Probably some kind of poison, then." Cameron guessed about the drink before hearing the question, which he answered with a shrug. "I just get this feeling, y'know? Usually when Freddy's really ticked at someone it feels like the room's gotten chilly, but with them it was more... I don't know, electric. Am I even making sense?" he asked with a half-smile.