Chapter Text
I don't know what I was thinking
Leaving my child behind
In your defense, you had thought they'd be safe with him, you had been wrong, but didn't know it at the time.
So, you followed your dream, like an idiot.
Then your assistant had walked into your office and turned on the news.
You were not allowed to watch the news
Now I suffer the curse and now I am blind
You have one goal, and that is to find your brother and rip him limb from limb.
With all this anger, guilt and sadness
Coming to haunt me forever
I can't wait for the cliff at the end of the river
You hadn't been there. You hadn't gone a day without hating yourself for it.
Is this revenge I am seeking?
Or seeking someone to avenge me?
Thing was, Derrik could snap you like a twig.
But you didn't think you cared.
You'd flown back down here with a purpose, and even if you can't kill him.
Even if he kills you.
He's gonna know you where there.
Stuck in my own paradox, I wanna set myself free
Revenge wasn't really your thing, but...
Maybe I should chase and find
Before they'll try to stop me-
No. You have your goal. This is it. Nothing is stopping you.
It won't be long before I'll become a puppet
Maybe he won't kill you.
You shiver to think about it.
No, you won't give him a choice.
Thunder claps in the background.
You haven't seen your brother since you left.
He was always avoiding you.
Now you know why.
You finish your shot and put out your cigarette.
Then you get to your feet, and march out the bar's back door after him.
"It's been so long."
You pounce him from behind, and spin him to slam his back against the brick wall.
You have the element of surprise on your side right now, and he blinks amber eyes at you like he's seen a ghost.
Yeah, flying off radar will do that to a guy.
"D?!" He exclaims, like the aviators and the red tie don't give it away.
"Howdy, Bro. Been a while, ain't it?"
"Woah, hello Texas, good to see you too-" He cuts off
You dig your nails into his shoulders through his shirt.
Rich boy manicures, bitch.
"And you just got your nails did too, D, shit-"
"Since I last have seen my son lost to this monster."
His eyes widen behind his stupid anime shades. "What are you talking about? I would Never."
"To the man behind the slaughter."
He pales, and shrinks under your gaze.
"They don't know who did it, David."
"I know who did it, Derrik."
Since you've been gone
I've been singing this stupid song so I could ponder
The sanity of our mother
"Dude, you're trippin', if you think I would kill my kid? Do you know what you're accusing me of right now?"
Even if it isn't true, this isn't just for them.
It's for you too
I wish I lived in the present
With the gift of my past mistakes
But the future keeps luring in like a pack of snakes
If you had the chance you would have never left. Now you knew better, but you couldn't change anything now.
It gave you this chance though.
To finally find the willpower to overpower him.
Maybe.
Your sweet little eyes, your little smile is all I remember
Those fuzzy memories mess with my temper
Your temper flares when his orange has the audacity to remind you of your sons.
"Tell me, Derrik. Did you kill them?" The evidence points to him, the fact that he ran, the limp, the new scars, Dirk's last phone call.
Justification is killing me
"Yes, okay, fine, I did it! The fuck are you gonna do about it, angel?"
Every muscle in your body goes taught.
But you fight it
You fight it with all you have.
"No reaction, impressi- FUCK-!"
He yelps when his stupid face gets reacquainted with the bling on your right hand.
But killing isn't justified.
You pause, crouched over his waist and twirling a sword in your hands.
Does this make you just as bad as him? If not worse?
"What happened to my son? I'm terrified."
You risk asking him, knowing with the blade at his throat he'll give you an answer, it's absolutely not gonna be the answer you want. "Followed his people to the grave, D. The fuck did you except? Him to go on without them?"
"But that's what you wanted, isn't it?"
It lingers in my mind
And the thought keeps on getting bigger
You lean your head back to look up at the sky, you close your eyes against the rain, you aren't sure what's tears and what's raindrops anymore, and you whisper into the air.
"...I'm sorry, my sweet baby, I wish I'd been there..."
Then you look down at your brother, bloody and bruised under you.
You brush your hair out of your face, and sit back to light a cigarette, the rain is there, but not enough to hinder you.
It's been so long
Since I last have seen my son
You think of your kid, of his people, of your people, if you still have them after this stunt..
You exhale, and Derrik coughs.
Lost to this monster
You remember Linda walking into your office, and grabbing the remote from the 'don't touch this david' box next to your door, and turned on the news.
Those poor kids.
Then later that night, day for him maybe, you weren't sure, your son had called you.
And that was the last you heard from him, that anyone had heard from him.
Because he'd gone off radar, then he showed up later, or well, his body did.
To the man behind the slaughter
You scowl down at him. You shouldn't even be thinking about letting him live
But here you are, making the mistake of letting yourself calm down.
Or... Maybe not.
Maybe you'll make him live with it.
You flick your cig into a nearby puddle.
Since you've been gone
I've been singing this stupid song so I could ponder
The sanity of our mother
You close your eyes and sigh, and remove your sword from his throat.
Then you painstakingly use it to help you get to your feet.
You keep looking down at him, as he watches you cautiously as you only get as far as a knee and he sits up.
"D-" He tries, and you shoot him the most scathing glare you can manage. "Do not speak to me right now, Derrik."
His mouth snaps shut, and he leans away from you.
You are too fuckin' old for this....
You force yourself to stand, even as your left leg protests, very painfully. You decide to your sword to keep you upright. Yes, David, use your sword as a walking stick like a loser. You said you were old but you're not that old.
You run your hand over your face, and aggravate the bruise forming over your eye.
Ugh, your boyfriend is gonna kill you...
You look back down at Derrik, and sigh.
"Just this once, I'm deciding to let you walk. For their sakes. I want nothing more than to drive a sword through your heart and go on with my life. If I ever see you again, Derrik. I swear, I will be fresh out of mercy." You turn to head further down the alleyway you'd followed him into, using the wall to help you on your way.
You'll be fine, he's done worse to you. You can still walk away, so that's something.
"Thanks, Angel, I owe you one~!"
You twitch. Once you could handle, twice? Twice makes your skin prickle. Twice makes your knees feel weak. Twice makes panic twist in your chest. Twice makes your mouth go dry. Twice makes your fingers tighten on the brick wall beside you. Twice almost makes you rethink your decision.
But for once in your life, you ignore your instincts, ignore the need to retaliate, snap at him over that wretched nickname.
Other people, fine. Cute, even. Directed at other people around you, great, 10/10 awe factor. Directed at You? God help anyone that fucks up and does it twice, once is a given, you don't talk about it
But instead of snapping like you crave to.
Instead of starting the fight over and risking him KOing you and making your life hell, or killing you.
You, David Strider, just....
Walk away.