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Blue smoke clung to the neon signs and screens that donned the walls of the small bar Rayman found himself in. His shoulders hunched to hide his face, hand wrapped around a drink that didn’t taste like anything to him but still numbed his senses. That was all he needed, even for just a minute. The pouring rain couldn’t catch him here, despite its best efforts. The music was… approved by New Eden, to be sure, but that didn’t mean it was bad. Though it did leave a sour taste in his mouth when he considered the grander implications, a taste not even the alcohol could wash out.
After his attack on the Board of Directors, Rayman found himself suddenly on the run from whatever was left to enforce their rule. For days he had felt disoriented, the adrenaline (and cocaine, frankly) wearing off and leaving him cold, tired, and scared. He had to move through his city, the city that counted on him, listened to his voice, believed him, as a stranger. No, as a fugitive.
Though as tough as it was, he couldn’t imagine how impossible it would’ve been if he was alone. Bullfrog, the hybrid prisoner that was almost killed on his show , helped him through the less cared for parts of New Eden, hiding with him in hotels, sewers, abandoned buildings, anywhere they could find. He paid for anything they needed, insisting that using cards or phones provided by the Board was a guaranteed way to be tracked. It was an unspoken decision that only explained itself when Rayman finally asked: Why?
“Because you saved my life.” Bullfrog had answered plainly, “And as long as there is a living Board member, you are still in danger. It would be cruel and careless to not accompany you to ensure your safety.”
Safety. This city wasn’t safe anymore. Hell, at this point, Rayman was hard pressed to name a place that was. His own home, his bed, happily provided by the Board? It was the first place they’d look. The friends he had, the lovers he took, the faces that called themselves allies? They’d turn him in to the police the moment he showed his face. He truly had no one. Well… almost no one.
“Make no mistake of the situation you are in.” Bullfrog added, gesturing to one of the many screens surrounding them, “You must have noticed how they’re only smearing my name. They haven’t said a word about what you did because it would cause a scandal. There won’t be an arrest waiting for you; they sent the Niji 6 after you because they want to take care of you quietly.”
“Not if I get them first.” Rayman bared his teeth around the rim of his glass. He hadn’t forgotten the Niji 6. He promised himself after he took out the Board that they were next. Especially the leader, that fucker Red. He had a few bullets saved for that showboating speciesist prick.
Bullfrog laughed. “I like your fire, but save it for when it will serve us, eh?”
Rayman scoffed, hiding the small smirk that appeared under his hand.
Before they could take any action, however, there was something that needed done. They had to find Bullfrog’s friend; that Dolph Lazerhawk guy he’d read about in the transcripts his higher ups sent him to recite on the air. According to his companion, Lazerhawk was a terrifyingly efficient fighter, a master of execution, and highly adaptable to the unexpected. He was also the only ally Bullfrog had left.
“What about me?” Rayman asked with a wry smile.
“Mm. Pardon.” Now Bullfrog was hiding a smirk, though not the good natured sideways glance he gave his… friend.
“Good evening, New Eden.”
Rayman’s frame stiffened at the sound of his own voice coming through the screens. Usually he was able to tune out his old Late Show when he heard the theme played throughout the city, but tonight’s broadcast was clearly different: “Rayman” sat at his desk, the camera slowly pulled to a comfortable proximity between him and the viewer, wearing a somber expression that the following speech must have called for.
“Before we start tonight’s show, I wanted to address all of you myself, not as the voice of our city, but as Rayman.”
“ Ah, merde …” Bullfrog groaned quietly, finishing his drink. Rayman was still, eyes glued to the imposter on the screen under the brim of his hat. He didn’t like it, but now that they had his attention, he had to see where they were going with this.
“I know times are bleak. With the ongoing attacks, countless casualties, fugitives on the run, and thousands of citizens living in fear, it would be dishonest of me to act like everything was fine.” So now they care about honesty? “It is easy to be scared, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But the New Eden that we’re living in… It’s not the New Eden I know. It’s not what I know it can be. I’ve seen this city in its prime; I came here from my dimension because I saw the promise it had for me.”
Oh no . Rayman felt a rock land in his stomach. Oh, he knew exactly where they were going with this and he didn’t like it. God damn it.
“We all know I came to New Eden with dreams of being in showbusiness. But I… I left a lot behind to be here. Family, friends-” His family, his friends. “-And it wasn’t easy. I still face prejudice to this day because of what I am. But somehow…” The fake Rayman huffed a laugh, filled with a warm humility that shook the real Rayman sitting at the bar.
“Somehow, against all of those odds, New Eden saw promise in me. I’m here, sitting right here, able to address an entire city because New Eden believed in me. So the least I could do in return is believe in them. And us. We are stronger than the forces that threaten the New Eden we know.”
A round of applause from the live studio audience drowned the music in the bar.
“The New Eden Late Show will be donating to the relief fund to aid those affected by the recent terrorist attacks, and if you’re able, we encourage you to do the same . ”
Bullfrog’s skin crawled with disgust. “When we find Dolph, we’ll discuss how to deal with this… imposter of yours. Whoever they are must be—”
But there was no Rayman beside him, only an empty bar stool still spinning from a sudden escape.
Rayman had only made it two steps out into the alleyway before his drinks came back up. Hands digging into the ground, his quaking body folded over itself while he retched, bile washed away by the rain. He coughed and gasped, his throat burned, his stomach clenched tightly, his blood pounded in his head. And yet, the pain wasn’t why those tears were pricking the corners of his eyes.
So swallowed in his grief, he didn’t hear the door creak open behind him. He flinched when a hand touched his back, jerking and turning his head sharply to face a concerned looking Bullfrog. A moment was shared where Rayman glared with something instinctual, something primal, before he relaxed, lowering his head.
A silence hung in the alley, only broken by sniffs and sobs as Rayman let himself cry for the first time in… God, how long has it been? He didn’t know. Life was so good, too good, under the Board’s supervision that he didn’t need to feel much more than blind contentment. But once he had started he couldn’t stop, the pain of having his trust so thoroughly shattered hitting him all at once. He left his family, his friends, and brought his dreams to this world, all to be thrown at rock bottom once he stopped being useful.
“Those motherfuckers…” He sobbed through grinding teeth, “They took everything. My name, my face, my voice… And now my story ?” He leaned back, sitting on his knees as he turned his head up, letting rain run down his face. “When does it fucking end…”
He felt a pair of hands cup his face, gaze turning from the sky above to the frog now in front of him. The look on Bullfrog’s face was tender, full of empathy for New Eden’s Golden Boy, seeing the extent of how Rayman was just another victim of the cold corporate control that still held its grip on the city.
“It ends when we end it, mon ami .”