Archive of Our Own ^beta

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— Hey Pedro, it's me, Quentin. 

A man called another one on a payphone. He looks at the time on his watch. It's almost 2 a.m., he's not supposed to be up.

— I got the drum machine you asked for… the… TR 909? Okay, just making sure. I'll drop it back at the studio and go home, you know that I hate being out so late and with all these crimes that have been going on.

Quentin hops back in his car. He drives until he stops in front of a small establishment. He turns off the engine, and takes out some keys. He then gets out of the car, comes closer to a rolling garage door, and opens it. He opens the door with his keys, entering the building. He begins to talk to himself.

— God damnit, Pedro is utterly insane for making me get out of my comfortable bed for a goddamn drum machine in the middle of the night. — Quentin grumbled. He lights up a cigarette as he leaves the device in a studio booth — And with the crime rate so high too. He's fucking delusional. 

— There. Hope you're happy now, piece of shit. — he inhales the smoke, letting it out through his nostrils as he leaves the booth, the door slamming behind him.

While walking back towards his car, he hears something fall off a shelf. When he comes closer to the sound, he realizes a vinyl and a very peculiar looking yellow puppet fell off the shelf. Although the puppet has something attached to it.

— Hey, Flat Eric, what's this you got me?

Taking out the object, Quentin realizes that it's a small keychain. From it, hang two charms depicting some animals, a fox, and a leopard.

— What the hell is this…?! — Quentin just sighs, putting back the puppet and the vinyl. The vinyl happened to be a copy of the latest album by Justice, Hyperdrama.

— I'll tell Pedro about it. If these belong to no one I'm keeping them.

Quentin closes the establishment and hops back to his car. He realizes that the keys are gone.

— Oi, where the fuck are my keys?! 

He quickly starts to look everywhere for his keys. He finally finds them on the floor. He inserts the key in the ignition, and the car roars to life. Before he could start driving, a man appeared in the back of his car. Quentin hadn't noticed yet. When he switches the car to drive, the figure puts a metal bat on his neck. 

Quentin begins to fight back, but the figure makes itself clearer. It's a masculine looking figure, wearing a red varsity jacket with “Iolite” sewn on as the owner's name. Japanese phrases are written on its sleeve. And to top the look off, a fox mask, just leaving the owner's wavy dark hair discovered. Quentin's eyes widened.

— Who… — Quentin struggles to talk with the bat to his neck — Who… are you…?!

The fox masked individual unlocks the doors with the automatic lock. Another figure comes closer to the car, entering the passenger seat. They slam the door when they enter.

Another masculine figure, with yet another varsity jacket, but the name sewn on the jacket appears to be “Jasper”. This figure wears a leopard mask, and they carry a meteor hammer.

— Take whatever you want just– Quentin is interrupted by Jasper, who ties up Quentin with the meteor hammer, and soon enough, invades his personal space. Jasper takes some deep breaths before turning to face Quentin, speaking with a deep voice.

— Drive.

Quentin looks terrified. He tries to resist again, but the bat on his neck tightens.

— I said, drive… Now. — Jasper speaks with such authority, it's hard to not obey.

Quentin swallows hard, before listening. He starts to drive with no apparent route. His life is on the line, threatened by a cunning fox and a methodical leopard.

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The car ride is quiet, only interrupted by Jasper's instructions to turn in certain directions. Quentin is hyperventilating, sweating like an Olympic athlete would. Jasper takes Quentin's cigarette packet, taking out one.

— Hey, you! Don't– FUCK! 

Iolite makes him shut up again. In fact, he takes a cigarette of his own. The fox and the leopard light up their cigarettes. The tips of the cigarettes were touching as Iolite held up a lighter, as if it were a kiss between the most passionate of lovers. 

Quentin realizes that… probably he knows these people. Jasper raises his mask to take a drag out of his cigarette, making Quentin see the bottom half of the face of one of his captors, apparently revealed to be a bearded man.

Jasper offers him a cigarette. Quentin reluctantly takes it. Jasper's hand is covered by a fingerless glove.

— Turn left. — he suddenly declares.

Quentin nods. He eventually ends up smoking almost his entire packet due to the fear he was feeling.

He's led to an abandoned building. The building's windows are smashed and its walls filled with graffiti. Jasper unties Quentin, gets out of the car, and yanks him out. Iolite follows behind with his bat, confiscating Quentin's car keys in the process.

— Oh for fuck's sake– AAAAAHHHH! — Quentin is hastily interrupted by a swing of Iolite’s bat in his groin.

— Shut up and walk. Or I'll break both of your legs. — Iolite comes closer to Quentin's face, breaking his personal space for what seems like the millionth time, allowing him to get a good look at his fox mask — You don't want me to score a home run, don't you? 

Quentin shakes his head frenetically.

— Glad you agree. Now move it, shithead, we don't have much time.

Quentin's eyes are blindfolded, and he's led inside the building. He can't see anything, but by the looks of it, he's being sat down on a wonky chair, and tied up. 

After five or ten minutes, the blindfold is removed by another varsity jacket wearing individual, this time a feminine looking one with a tiger mask.

Quentin tries to resist, but his arms are tied with a very strong knot. He's done for. The other two individuals join the tiger, and they're later joined by a deer masked individual. As his mask reflects it, every single one of his movements seems to be filled with an incredible amount of grace and mystery.

— Oh my God… please! PLEASE! I don't want to die!

Iolite seems to giggle, hiding his laughter as he lays his head on Jasper's right shoulder. They soon spread apart to make way to two new individuals: one with a wolf mask, and another with a sheep mask.

The wolf hands a switchblade knife to the sheep. Quentin starts to panic.

— OH GOD NO! PLEASE NO!

The wolf begins to talk.

— My dear friends. We have gathered here to welcome a new member. Sheep are normally regarded as meek, naive animals. But the one in front of us… he's proven to us that stereotypes can be quite harmful.

Quentin tries again to untie himself, but Iolite is looming over him, and he can feel his stare through his mask. Iolite wraps his hands around his neck, just letting them rest there. Quentin could now see that he has a wedding ring placed over his gloves.

— Now, my dear friend, would you do the honors?

The sheep looks at Quentin for a while, before he replies to the wolf with a cold tone.

— I shall.

Quentin continues pleading as the sheep comes closer to him. He's even started to tear off, absolutely panicked.

The sheep grabs him by his hair, forcing Quentin to look up at them. They tilt their head, driving the knife closer to his ribs.

— Where should I slash you? Should I gut you like a pig? Or should I just stab you until you bleed out and rot? Either way, it's going to be hard with all these... layers.

In the tension of the moment, as the sheep raises the knife, Quentin looks at the eyes behind the mask.

— Seb…? Is that… is that you? 

The sheep drops the knife. A clinking sound echoed across the room as it clashed against the floor.

— Shit… shit… SHIT! Kavinsky, for fuck's sake, you told me no one would recognize me! — “Seb” drives his hands to his hair, looking as if he's about to pull it all out at once. He runs away from the scene, the tiger girl following after him soon enough.

— Oh great, look what you did. The new recruit got scared shitless. — the wolf taps the deer's shoulder — Go on with Burgundy. She's gonna need some help with the new recruit.

The deer nods, following Burgundy. After the deer follows the woman in her attempt to console Seb, the wolf comes closer to Quentin as he pulls out his cellphone.

— Untie him, the initiation is over. Newbie got an anxiety attack from what Burgundy tells me. — he puts his phone away.

Iolite and Jasper untie Quentin. Quentin looks panicked. The wolf removes his mask, revealing Vincent Belorgey behind it. He sighs.

— So. You caught us. Way to go, Oizo, you're gonna tell the police or somethin’? — Vincent sounds clearly irritated with Quentin, clapping his hands slowly. He's obviously not happy.

— What the fuck is all this?! Is this a prank?! — Quentin demands an explanation. Iolite chuckles, clearing his throat after he realizes Quentin is looking at him.

— This isn't a prank. — Jasper interjects, he puts his hands close to the mask’s cheeks, as if he's going to unmask himself — This is reality.

Jasper slides his mask off. Behind the mask is Gaspard Augé.

— Gaspard… so it was you! — Quentin looks at Iolite — Then you must be…

Iolite chuckles. He slides his mask off, showing the familiar figure of Xavier De Rosnay.

— The very same. You're smart prey. — Xavier pokes his cheek in a playful manner, much to Quentin's dislike. He chuckles yet again with amusement.

— This is why I tried to tell Sebastien to not choose someone like Oizo for his initiation trial. Look how quick the operation fell apart! — Gaspard puts two fingers in the bridge of his nose, looking irritated.

— And I think that I told you that I had no say in the matter. — Vincent puts his hands on his hips — It's in the code that no one can object against his choice.

— Vincent! Stop ignoring me and explain what the hell is going on! — Quentin interrupts as Gaspard opens his mouth to speak.

Vincent sighs as he takes a wooden box as a seat.

— Fine. I'll tell you everything. Just calm down or I'll get Xavier to tie you up again.

Quentin shuffles around in his chair.

— So… I started this whole operation back in… — Vincent starts to do the math, snapping his fingers as he does so — 2019? Yeah, 2019. All of us were tired of work, stressed out so much, even these two had a fist fight. But then, it occurred to me… I had a revelation in my dreams.

Vincent gets up, looking through one of the smashed windows. 

— I thought… we should form a gang. Just have fun, scare a few edgy teens and just go home at sunrise. That's pretty much it. All innocent fun, y'know?

— Then why was that knife you handed Seb red, huh? — Quentin gets instantly aggressive.

— Don't shout at me, Quentin. — Vincent looks angry — I've been nothing but patient with you. Now, you either keep your mouth shut and join the gang… or else.

— I'm not joining your weird cult. Destress my ass! — Quentin seems to get even more irate by the second. Vincent sighs.

— Kavinsky, what should we do? — Gaspard glances at the former.

Vincent was about to speak, when Quentin suddenly gets up and starts running, knocking Xavier over. Everyone in the room stays quiet for a while.

— What are you two doing?! Don't just stand there, get him! — Vincent orders.

The pair nod, sliding down their masks, grabbing their weapons and running after Quentin.

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Quentin runs through the building, until he finally reaches his car. He tries to open the car door, and it works. He enters his car, but then he remembers… Xavier took his keys.

He then hears something fall on top of the car. He opens the roof window. Xavier jumps into the car by the window, masked and with his bat. Quentin screams as Xavier raises his head to look at him. Looks like he has limited visibility with that thing on.

— Hey Quentin! … Looking for these? — Xavier dangles Quentin's keys in his hand, mocking him in a somewhat childish fashion — You need these to go home, right? It would be a shame if–

Quentin tries to snatch the keys, but he can't. Xavier takes them out of his reach, somewhat annoyed that he interrupted him.

— No no no… that's not how it's supposed to go. — Xavier uses a tone that's similar to what one would use for scolding a child — Look. I want to make a deal with you.

Quentin stared at him.

— … What do you want? 

— Ah, glad you're willing to negotiate! — Xavier keeps swinging Quentin's keys in his hand, looking at them like a marveled child — You see, I'm a merciful fox. I don't like playing with my food. So… Here's the deal: I give you your keys, and you meet us next week in La Seine to discuss your membership. Or by default, I'll tell everyone you're here and get the beating of your life. You decide: red pill, you join us. Blue pill, we get rid of you.

Quentin seems to consider what Xavier told him.

— Y'know what? Fine. I'll join you.

Xavier stays quiet, limiting himself to tilting his head in a seeming confusion. Looks like he expected it to go another way. He just climbed out the car the same way he entered. Quentin looks through the window. Xavier is completely gone, only leaving his keys behind.

— He's… gone? — Quentin picks up his keys. 

He slowly turns back to face the driving wheel, and starts the car's ignition.

Xavier sighs as he makes his way towards the building. He's pretty much bothered by the fact that he didn't get what he wanted, but his mask hides his irritation. As he walks, he thinks about what would serve as an excuse to why he didn't capture Quentin.

— Iolite, where's Quentin? — Vincent asks as soon as his figure comes into view, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation. Apparently he and Gaspard were the only ones in the building.

— He ran away. Gave me a good fight though. — Xavier gives his bat a good spin, before resting it against his shoulder.

Gaspard looks skeptical, but he doesn't say anything at the moment. Vincent groans.

— Hey, where is everybody? — Xavier lights up a cigarette.

— Burgundy took Sebastien home since he's not in condition to drive. Darter went home alone. — Vincent responds bluntly, irritated.

— Hey Berlin, just because initiation was a failure doesn't mean you get to treat me like shit. Me and Jasper did our job. We got him hostage and got him here. 

— That's not–! Ugh… — Vincent dives his face in his hands — … Just go home, leave me alone.

Xavier scoffs, chuckling after.

— Wow, okay. — Xavier fully removes his mask, and signals Gaspard to come with him. — Come on.

They both leave. Vincent is left alone in the building. After a while, he's transported to another room, wearing his wolf mask now. Three individuals in animal masks are sitting in front of him. A man dressed almost exactly like Vincent in a rooster mask, a man with a white suit in a crocodile mask, and a woman with a fancy looking blue dress in a rabbit mask.

— Yes I've failed. — Vincent starts, sighing — You don't need to look at me like that.

— That is not the point, Vincent. — The rooster starts — Circumstances weren't in your favor. I told you very well to not implement that rule.

— I wanted to give my rookies some control! I don't want to dictate what they do, I'm not a cult leader, I'm a damn criminal! 

— At least you had people who were willing to take care of your new member. — the rabbit states in a caring tone — Sebastien is going to be okay. He just needs some time. I suggest you don't make a gathering tomorrow night.

— I won't. I promise, Inaba. — Vincent gets up, fixing his outfit — I gotta go home. Or else everyone is going to start getting suspicious of me.

— Take care, Vincent. — Inaba bids him farewell.

— Remember Vincent. Great change will come. One way or another. — the rooster states, before everything fades to black.

Vincent is back in the previous room. He sighs, walking away. He gets inside his car, a Ferrari Testarossa. He lights up a cigarette and adjusts the rearview mirror. He sighs.

— All this because of some dream I had… I gotta adjust the rule book.

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Xavier texts Quentin to meet him tomorrow at 11 on Source-Seine bridge. He puts away his phone, taking a long drag out of his cigarette, letting out the smoke through his nostrils. Gaspard focuses his gaze on the road, his leopard mask resting on top of his head. 

— Oh, Quentin… Quentin, Quentin, Quentin. — Xavier repeats the name to himself a couple of times — You must be thinking I'm foolish. He must have something up his sleeve.

— You're the one with something up his sleeve, Xavier De Rosnay. — Gaspard suddenly chimes in, much to Xavier's surprise — You didn't fight him. You let him go, did you?

Xavier stays quiet. He chuckles afterwards. 

— Oh, well. You caught me, officer Gaspard Augé. — Xavier raises his hands in a mocking fashion — I did let him go. Under a condition, of course.

— What kind of joke are you planning this time, Xav? — Gaspard sighs as he stops at a traffic light. 

— You'll come with me, as always. — Xavier giggles. He lowers his mask, resting his head on his friend's shoulder. He sighs — I have a business proposal for him. I hope he isn't stupid enough to not take it.

— Xav, you need to understand that not everyone is going to join in our shenanigans. What we do is too outlandish. Remembered when we thought that it was just some joke until it was time for our initiation? — Gaspard responds without looking at Xavier, keeping his gaze fixated on the road.

— I know, I know. You don't need to remind me. — Xavier stares at the raindrops sliding down the window shield, a curious look in his hazel eyes — You were trembling like a leaf on the wind. So funny.

Gaspard stops at a bus stop, dropping Xavier.

— Remember to change! I'm going to the gas station before arriving home.

— Yeah yeah, I know. See you tomorrow. — Xavier signals good

bye to Gaspard with a smile. Gaspard does the same before he rolls up the window and leaves.

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The day came. The night of October 25, Quentin drives towards the source of the River Seine. He stops where he was told to, next to the statue of a nymph. He lights up a cigarette, and looks at the statue.

Something about that statue always set him off. Maybe it was how desolate that statue was. Alone, forgotten by time, her once pristine marble coat was now filled with moss, her tranquil gaze overlooking the Seine.

— Ah, so you actually came. 

Quentin jolts due to the sudden voice. The voice belonged to Xavier, with his fox mask concealing his face, leaning on the fence. Now Quentin could see his appearance for this double life he led.

The back of his jacket had a Japanese style drawing of a fox with text behind it, now noticing the bright orange coloring of the jacket, and a chain hanging from his side. Xavier sighs as he rubs the back of his neck with his gloved hands.

— Don't you think she's beautiful? — the hazel eyed man refers to the statue, doing a dramatic sigh — It must be a sad existence. All that you know is just water, and the only visitors you get are the tourists that come and go. I feel for this poor lady.

— What do you want, Xavier? — Quentin interrupts Xavier.

— First of all, with the mask on, it's Iolite. Second of all, don't interrupt me. It's very rude of you. 

Quentin stares at him for a few minutes, silent. 

— You're going to let me talk now? Cool. See this? — Xavier taps on his fox mask, the animal portrayed staring at Quentin with a permanent tranquil gaze, filled with docility. It's somewhat contradictory at this point.

— Yes I see it. — Quentin rolls his eyes — What's your point with this?

— You get a cool mask and jacket when you join. Plus a neat codename. We're just petty thieves at best, Quentin. We do no harm.

— What about the last time then? Did I fucking hallucinate that? — Quentin raises his voice at Xavier.

— Don't you scream at me. My patience is running thin. — Xavier raises his hands, his fingers positioned as if he'll snap them.

— Or what? You're going to beat me to a pulp? I'm not scared of you. — Quentin comes closer to Xavier, his tall frame obscuring the hazel eyed man’s own, who seems to take some steps back.

Xavier nervously chuckles as he snaps his fingers. Gaspard appears from behind, wrapping his meteor hammer around Quentin's wrists. The hazel eyed man suddenly seems to regain his sense of confidence.

— I guess that you met Jasper already. 

Quentin struggles against the chain as it's being tied to his wrists. Gaspard lays his head on Quentin's shoulder. Xavier chuckles.

— Say hi, Jasper! — the dark haired man lays his bat on his shoulder.

— … Hi. It's been a while, Quentin. — Gaspard seems to strike up a conversation, something uncommon in him — You've changed your beard a bit. It's not going to be as great as mine, for the record.

— Go fuck yourself, Gaspirator –

Gaspard tugs his chain to make Quentin shut up.

— Jasper, Quentin. You think it's smart calling me by my real name in the middle of the night?

Quentin scoffs. Xavier swings his bat.

— Anyways, back to business. — Xavier starts to look in his clothes for an item — God, where did I fucking leave that wretched thing? Ah! Here it is!

Xavier pulls out the item in a theatrical fashion, and presents it to Quentin. It's an owl mask. Quentin raises an eyebrow.

— … The hell is this for? 

— Welcome to the gang… welcome, Atlas, to The Banger Makers.

There's a long silence hanging in the air.

— We know the name sucks. Take the damn mask already, my hand is hurting from hanging around okay?

Quentin stares at the mask. He then looks at Xavier. He has a stern look during all their interaction. Xavier cocks his head to one side, lowering his arm.

— … Quentin? Oizo? Hey, you okay there–

Xavier is interrupted by a punch coming from Quentin, making him fall to the grass, his bat clinking against the metallic bars that divided everyday mortals from the nymph. 

Gaspard instantly tries to defend his friend, but his attempts at doing so fail miserably. 

Quentin pushes him away, making him fall to the source of the river. His mask breaks on impact, exposing his right eye.

— You piece of shit! 

Xavier immediately gets up and tries to hit Quentin with his bat, but he too is quickly disarmed and thrown to the source of the river as well.

Quentin starts to run as Xavier yells at him from the river source.

— THIS ISN'T OVER, YOU BASTARD! I'LL GET MY HANDS ON YOU SOON ENOUGH!

Quentin doesn't see his car anywhere. He looks around frantically, clutching his keys. He sees a feminine figure in the distance wearing a tiger mask.

— Oizo, oh my God! Long time no see, dude! — she waves at him, holding a piece of candy.

— Sorry Uffie. — with a grunt, Quentin pushes Uffie to a nearby muddy spot.

Uffie struggles to get up, coughing. She looks up when she realizes that there's still a member left.

— Hey… Darter… — Uffie coughs — Do… something…

Darter stares at Quentin, him staring back. Uffie finally falls unconscious. 

Darter and Quentin stare at each other for about ten minutes, until the latter decides to speak, panting.

— You're not gonna… beat me up or something…?

Darter just leaves. He sneaks something into Quentin's pockets as he gets closer to the bearded man's ear.

— Your car is about a few meters from here.

He then leaves without another word. Quentin is left dumbfounded. He just walks towards his car and leaves.

Meanwhile, Xavier still struggles to exit the river source, falling to the water again and again. He finally gives up, staring at the water. 

— Iolite…? You okay?

Xavier doesn't answer. Gaspard tries to put a hand on his friend's shoulder, but he pushes him back.

— Don't fucking touch me! — Xavier growls, incredibly angry.

Some sobbing can be heard from the hazel eyed man. Gaspard looks at the floor, sliding down his broken mask. They stay quiet for a while, until the brown haired man hugs him. Xavier reluctantly accepts the hug.

— I'm sorry for screaming at you, Jasper. — Xavier replies between sobs.

— Don't be. C'mon, let me help you out of here so we can leave. — Gaspard pats his friend in the back.

Gaspard swims until he's next to a concrete road. He gets out of the water and holds a hand out to help his friend. Xavier takes his hand and emerges from the water. They both walk away from the river, where they find Darter.

— Hey Darter, where's Oizo? — Gaspard asks as he holds on to Xavier.

Darter stays quiet for a while. He signs something to the pair.

— He ran away. Oh, amazing. This is going to look great on our record. — Xavier removes some wet hair from his face, sounding absolutely wasted — Guess you'll go home, right?

Darter shakes his head. He signs something back to the pair.

— Oh, I see. — Xavier signals goodbye to the deer masked man — See you back at base then.

The pair leave followed by splashing sounds. They're soon joined by a muddy Uffie, who complains about being pushed by Quentin to the pair of friends.

Darter stays behind. Soon enough his phone rings. He picks up rather quickly.

— Hello? … Yes. Follow the instructions. That is all.

Darter hangs up. He looks back at the nymph statue, still with that tranquil gaze even after the chaos that ensured a few moments before. He then leaves as well, joining the group.

— Darter, where have you been? — Uffie asks as she munches on some rock candy — Taking a piss maybe?

Darter looks rather shocked, but nods regardless. Uffie sighs.

— Y'know, I was going to invite y'all to some pizza, but I don't think we'd be admitted anywhere looking like we just came out of Woodstock 99… 

— We'll get that damned pizza tomorrow, Burgundy. — Gaspard looks for his keys, annoyed — Let's just go back to base. 

There's a brief silence between the quartet as Gaspard pulls out a set of keys from his pocket.

— … We're so dead. — Xavier sighs.

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— You're failures! — Vincent yells at the gang, pointing at them — ALL OF YOU ARE FAILURES!

Uffie looks down at the floor, her hair filled with mud as she holds back tears, Gaspard and Xavier are still wet, and Darter, now maskless, was revealed to be Mike Lévy, his once pristine black outfit with some select spots of dirt. Vincent directs his gaze at him.

— You, Darter. — Vincent yells out. Mike raises his head to look at him — Why THE HELL are you clean? And NO cryptic signs from your part! I WANT NO CRYPTIC NONSENSE FROM YOU!

Mike takes a deep breath before he starts explaining himself in a calm fashion.

— I tried to stop Quentin, but I was too late. I fought him, but he won.

— What a load of BULLSHIT! — Vincent yells again.

Xavier suddenly gets up and defends Mike.

— He did his best, Vincent! — the hazel eyed man puts a finger on the white haired man's chest — I suggest you take a chill pill my friend.

— You have no say in this, Iolite! — Vincent lashes out at him — In fact, YOU are the reason your gang mates are in trouble. How does it feel? Couldn't expect less from a fox.

— I had high hopes for Oizo, okay?! I really thought that he would join! — Xavier pinches the bridge of his nose.

— In fact, since it's your fault… you're going to do a mission alone, with your good friend over here. — Vincent smirks.

Gaspard stands up as well.

— That isn't fair, Berlin! And you know it! — Gaspard tries to reason with him — We can't do missions alone!

— You'll take Seb with you. It'll serve as his initiation. Now get going. — Vincent shoves something in Xavier's arms, it being a package with Sebastian’s mask and jacket. He then directs his gaze at Uffie and Mike.

— Burgundy, Darter. You are dismissed. Get going.

Uffie nods before standing up and leaving. Mike does the same a few moments later, sliding down his mask.

Xavier storms out, Gaspard following. He tries to call for his friend.

— Xav, c'mon don't let him get under your skin. 

Gaspard puts a hand on Xavier's shoulder, but he pushes him away.

— Get the fuck away from me.

Without another word, Xavier hops inside the car, slamming the door. Gaspard sighs, before hopping inside himself.

The road to Sebastian’s flat is quiet. It's only broken by Xavier lighting up a cigarette once they arrive at his house. Sebastian hops inside the back of the car, confused. He puts a cigarette in his own mouth.

— Do any of you have a light?

Xavier hands him a lighter without even looking at him. Sebastian takes it, lighting up his cigarette. He lets the smoke out through his nostrils. He looks at both of them, raising an eyebrow.

Gaspard looks incredibly serious, his gaze fixated on the road outside as he taps the steering wheel. Xavier quickly notices Sebastian looking at him, so he lowers his mask, only leaving his mouth visible to smoke. The short haired man looks confused.

— … What's going on? Why are you guys so serious? — Sebastian inquires.

Xavier hands him the package, more shoving it than anything. He finishes his cigarette, throwing it out the window.

— Inside is your mask and jacket. Your designated codename is Lithium and you'll be given a weapon when we arrive at our destination. Your initiation begins now.

Sebastian still looks confused. Xavier turns to look at him.

— Was I not clear enough? Put on the damn mask already. My patience is running thin.

Sebastian tries to speak, but he only stammers. — Yes, Iolite.

Gaspard begins to drive as Sebastian changes into his uniform. He takes off his leather jacket, and looks at the design imprinted in the back. It's a lamb sitting on a field, drawn in a Japanese art style. Some red text is behind it, and the sleeves also feature text written in a haiku poem style. He puts on the varsity jacket. It's actually quite comfortable, the sleeves are padded, and there's multiple hidden pockets. Where Xavier and Gaspard code names are in their own jackets, the space is left blank. They quickly arrive at a building. A party seems to be hosted, with neon lights being seen from the outside.

Sebastian looks at the lights, dumbfounded as Xavier and Gaspard get out of the car and pick something up from the trunk, pulling out their weapons. Xavier shoves Sebastian out of the car and hands him a hunting knife.

— Now move, we don't have much time. 

Sebastian is left to process everything that just occurred. Xavier must be extremely angry. He just swallows hard and enters the house a few steps away from the pair.

When they enter, their senses are overloaded with music and neon lights. It's not too different from the concerts and presentations they usually give. A group of men in white suits look at them, one of them chuckling, mocking the trio with a Russian accent.

— What the hell is up with these clowns? — the rest of the group just laughs along as the man takes a sip from his Martini.

Xavier doesn't seem to take that lightly, considering his bad mood at the moment. He gives his bat a few spins, and with a quick swing, the wall and the suits of the other men are tinted red with blood. One of the men screams in horror.

Sebastian looks absolutely panicked under his mask, taking some steps back, bumping into Gaspard. The leopard masked man holds him in place firmly, although not enough to actually hurt him. He leans in, his breath on Sebastian's ear, whispering something to him.

— I know you're scared. But, you knew full well what you were getting into. — Gaspard raises the hand where Sebastian held his knife with sweaty palms. — Now, go to a room, and get rid of everyone who dares to even look at you. Just a room, nothing else. Me and Iolite will take care of the rest. Understood?

Sebastian nods frantically. Gaspard then takes him to a random room, away from the carnage that Xavier was causing.

— Please, please, please! I beg of you! Don't do this! — the last man in the hall begged to be spared. Xavier cocks his head to the right, his bloody form looking somewhat curious at the pathetic looking prey in front of him. 

Xavier drops his bat, clinking against the tiled floor, splattering some blood on the floor.

— Thank you… oh God… oh my God thank you so much! How could I ever repay you?!

Xavier stays quiet, the only sounds coming from him were his tired breaths. He kicks the man to the floor, straddling the man. He stretches his fingers before he completely lays on top of the man, and puts his thumbs against the man's eyes, pressing. The man screams in pain, blood flowing from his eyes like a crimson river, until his head simply gives in to the pressure. 

Xavier cocks his head again, this time to the left. He chuckles.

— See why you shouldn't wear all white? It's… So inconvenient. — he passes a hand through his dark locks, sighing as he picks up his bat. 

Xavier cleans the remains of brain matter from his shoulders, and takes out his cigarette packet. He puts one on his mouth and lights it with a match. The match stops providing fire before he could light his cigarette.

— Shit… I left my lighter with the newbie. — the dark haired man rolls his eyes, throwing the match aside nonchalantly, storing his cigarette in one of the pockets of his jacket.

He sighs again before he walks towards more sounds of carnage and suffering. In the living room, Gaspard knocks out a man with his meteor hammer, looking tired already.

— You need some help my dear friend? — Xavier calls out. Gaspard runs a hand through his hair as well, turning to look at his masked partner.

— I got it. Don't worry. 

— To your left, Jasper.

Gaspard takes out the individual who was about to go punch him with some brass knuckles, choking him with the chain of his meteor hammer.

—Ugh! I'm hungry. — Xavier complains, groaning.

— Stop acting like a child, we'll go get some pizza or something with Lithium to celebrate his initiation once we're done. 

— Ha! And what makes you so sure that he'll pass the test? — Xavier kills some guys who tried to ambush Gaspard, beating them out.

— Thanks man. And you know everyone passes. Mostly. — Gaspard charges up a spin with the chain of his meteor hammer — Hey… By the way, any new recruits on your mind?

— Remember the guy Hyperion signed recently? — Xavier takes Gaspard's lighter from his pocket, finally lighting up his cigarette.

— That Myd guy? Hell no, he's too new. It's gonna be too overwhelming for the poor guy. Let him at least release an album or two before.

— You're boring. 

Gaspard sighs and shakes his head. He decides to go check on Sebastian.

— You handle the living room, I'll check on Lithium for a minute.

— Ugh you always leave me with the…! Fine. I'll handle it. — Xavier spins his bat.

Gaspard makes his way through the blood gore and bodies scattered across the floor. He opens the door to the room Sebastian was in.

Inside, Sebastian was in a fetal position in a corner. Some people were next to him, although not dead, but hurt. 

Gaspard walks inside the room, making his way towards the lamb masked individual.

— You good there, Lithium? Why didn't you finish these guys off?

Lithium doesn't look good whatsoever. He looks nervous, hyperventilating. Gaspard sighs, pinching the bridge of the nose of his mask. He drives a hand through his chestnut colored locks.

— Look, I'll finish them off for you, okay? I won't tell anyone.

Sebastian nods, and stands up, leaving the room. Once he leaves, Gaspard finishes off the bodies left by the lamb masked man. Xavier passes next to Sebastian as he exits the room.

— You took out a room all by yourself? Impressive, Lithium.

Xavier turns his head towards a room. He thinks he heard someone screaming. He pats Sebastian's chest.

— Stay here. I'll handle it.

Xavier runs towards the sound. It leads him to a secluded room, the door slightly ajar. He peeks through the door. Inside, there's a dark haired woman laying on a couch as she cries, a corpulent mobster overlooking, the woman yells at the mobster, a British accent seeping through her voice.

— I don't understand what you want from me! Just please let me go! — the woman begs, crying.

Xavier stays quiet, looking at the scene unfolding before him. The mobster slaps the woman, making her dark locks fall on her face. That seems to strike a nerve on the dark haired man.

Xavier kicks the door, bat in hand. He jumps on the mobster destroying his head with the bat. With such a spectacle before her, the woman faints.

Once he's done, Xavier's phone rings. He pulls it out, a notification from his messaging app on the screen. Opening it, he discovers it's from Gaspard. It's a picture of a calico cat alongside a black cat, with the caption “us?”.

— Awwww… “so us” heart emoji heart emoji. Send. — Xavier sends the message. 

He puts away his phone, overlooking the woman. She looked pretty distressed earlier. Xavier decides to take her. He puts his hands under the woman, raising her up, carrying her in bridal style. 

Outside, Gaspard and Sebastian are waiting outside. Gaspard quickly notices the woman, opening the trunk to put her there. Xavier scoffs, looking offended under the mask.

— I'm not degrading her in such a way. Open the back door, c'mon, she's heavy.

Gaspard opens the back door, and Xavier carefully lays the woman in the back, along with Sebastian.

— You make sure she doesn't wake up early. — Xavier slams the door.

Sebastian stares at the woman. She looks peaceful yet upset, her dark locks falling gently on her sides. He sighs.

Chapter Text

❖ ── ✦ ──『𓆦』── ✦ ── ❖

Uffie takes out a pink lip gloss from her jacket. She removes her tiger mask, gently running a hand through her hair as she lays the plastic face covering on her head. When she puts the applicator on her lower lip, someone kicks a door, causing her to gasp and mess up her makeup, leaving a huge stain on the right side of her face. She looks incredibly angry at her messed up face, taking her time to wipe the remaining lip gloss from her cheek.

— Honey, we're home! — Xavier announced as he kicked the door, carrying the fainted woman in his arms — We bought pizza!

— And an unconscious woman. — Gaspard adds nonchalantly, carrying a pizza box.

— Do you not know how to knock, damn you?! — Uffie sounds extremely angry as she turns around to face the pair.

— Girl, my hands are full. — Xavier gently lays the woman on a couch, putting a pillow behind her head. 

Xavier sighs as he looks at her with a certain fatherly look in his eyes. That woman reminded him of someone, so much so he wanted to care for her, the same way he couldn't take care of that person he thought about. He bites his lip, holding back the feeling of melancholy that was starting to flourish along those ephemeral good memories, standing up and returning to his normal, chaotic self.

— … Oh I'm starving! — the dark haired man leaves his bat next to the table, grabbing a slice of pizza and biting on it.

Everyone picks a slice, eating up… except for a certain someone.

Mike looks at the woman on the couch, his expression unreadable behind the mask. He tilts his head as he examines her features, like a scientist studying a strange new species of insect. Her dark locks fall gently on her chest, rising up and down as she breathes gently. Gaspard notices that the pale man didn't come to eat, raising an eyebrow as he munches on a slice.

— Darter, are you not eating? — the curly haired man asked after swallowing, a hint of concern in his voice.

Mike turns to look at Gaspard. He looks at the floor for a second before signing something.

— «I'm not hungry. Although, thanks for the offer.»

Gaspard notices that it's somewhat weird of him, but he's always been like that, weird. He can't help being concerned about him though. He saves up a slice with green peppers and mushrooms, the man's favorite, away from the fox and the tiger. The blonde and the dark haired man start talking about their careers, as Gaspard brings the slice to the deer.

— You haven't eaten anything at all today. — the curly haired man hands the slice of pizza to Mike, concerned — Please, do it at least for me.

Mike stares at the slice for a good minute or two, before removing his mask and eating the slice. He signs a “thank you” and an apology before committing to finishing his slice. Gaspard smiles at the man, before his ears perk up at the sound of a call, picking up his phone. He leaves the area to talk to his partner. Xavier and Uffie giggle at the sight like two young highschool girls.

— He really is like a leopard, is he? — Uffie comments.

— He is… — he sighs, closing his eyes — But y'know what? That idiotic leopard is my friend. — Xavier replies almost dreamily.

Ever since that day they met in university, they became inseparable. One could say that they complemented each other. Like the sun to the moon, they were one. The blonde woman gets him out of his bubble, chuckling at his seeming air headedness.

— Oooh, you almost make me think you have a thing for each other! — Uffie cheerily replies.

The dark haired man says nothing, pulling down his mask as he pulls out his phone to scroll through social media. The blonde's excitement fades immediately, scoffing at the man.

— Humph. Always relying on your phone when you don't want to talk. — she stands up with a pout, looking at him over her shoulder — At least Darter actually listens to me! — she finally stomps away.

Xavier's face said it all: he was extremely uncomfortable, scoffing at what he thought was an immature display of emotion from the blonde woman. He texts something to Gaspard, him immediately seeing his friend's message, reading: “Can we leave now?”. The receiving end starts to type.

“We still need to bring Seb home, remember?”

— Oh. Right. That. — Xavier lowers his phone slightly, looking at the aforementioned Sebastian over the screen.

The poor man still looks shaken as he sits on one of the sofas, like a deer in headlights. He hugs himself as he tries to calm down, although he tries to not show that he was actually affected by the things he saw that night to the group that's actually desensitized to it, and maybe probably like at this point. With shaky hands, he lights up a cigarette, taking a long drag out of it. Suddenly, he jolts due to someone being extremely close to his face. It's Xavier, grinning behind the orange colored plastic that covers his face, almost like a real fox would do. The dark haired man laughs lightheartedly, removing his mask.

— Aw, are you scared of little old me? — Xavier feings offense, putting his hand on his chest — Oh, but a little harmless fox like me can't dig its teeth on something so big like a sheep. They could stomp on the tail I care so much for. Oh, woe is me!

Sebastian looks annoyed. All this animal talk is starting to upset him. Xavier just chuckles again at his annoyance.

— Aw, you're no fun. C'mon, you're too easy to mess with, Seb. Get up, we need to get you home.

Sebastian doesn't say anything as he stands up with the dark haired man's help. Suddenly, someone comes running inside the building, shaken. It's Gaspard, everyone staring at him wide-eyed as if he had fallen from the sky.

— … Jasper? Are you good there? — Uffie asks, looking dumbfounded.

— We need to leave, put on your masks, now! Like right now! — Gaspard tries to explain, but he's too shaken.

Mike lowers his mask as everyone keeps staring at him except for Xavier, he looks serious out of a sudden, lowering his mask as well.

— C'mon everyone. Get in the van– — on cue, before Xavier could finish, a rain of bullets started to pierce the building’s walls, one of them brushing the dark haired man's shoulder, making everyone run away almost immediately.

Except, again, for Xavier, who stops in his tracks when he's crossing the door. He forgot something really important. He runs back inside the building, picking up the girl from earlier, who woke up and was now in panic due to the chaos ensuing around her. Xavier carries her in a bridal style, trying to make her calm down by brushing a tuft of her hair to her ear.

— Xavier, what are you doing?! Get in already! — Gaspard yells from the door.

— Just get everyone in the van! Let's go to the studio, quick! 

Xavier sits the girl in the back while Gaspard evacuates everyone towards the van, hopping on the driver's seat as he starts the engine. Everyone else who didn't have their masks slid them down. Two men come from inside the building as they reload their rifles, one with a koala mask and the other with a German shepherd mask that cover their entire heads, these masks looking more expensive than the ones the gang wear.

— You're not getting away! — the koala masked individual yells as he reloads his rifle, shooting some rounds at the van, missing it by a few.

The dark haired man stares at them for a while, his eyes squinting behind his mask as he's pulled inside by the chestnut haired man, desperate to get his friend to safety.

— Can't you be a little more careful next time things like these happen?! — Gaspard yells as he drives, turning towards Xavier, who's notably not paying attention to him.

— Aw, I spent all my pocket money on decorating our hideout… — Uffie laments behind her tiger mask.

The chestnut haired man stares at his friend for a few seconds, noticing how he's paying attention to their attackers, who cannot keep up with the moving van. They just turn around and leave. Gaspard lets him be, knowing that his friend probably knows something he doesn't.

Uffie looks through the window, on the lookout for their attackers.

— We're not being followed or anything… so weird… — the blonde woman comments, puzzled.

— It's not weird to me, it's suspicious. — Gaspard adds, lighting up a cigarette, letting the smoke that entered his lungs escape through his nostrils.

The van keeps driving under the watchful eye of a badger masked man, who comes out of a dark alley. He texts something to Mike, who looks side to side before taking his phone and reading the text message written to him.

“Have you effectively gained their trust?” the person asks.

“Yes. I will give further updates” Mike writes back, putting his phone away. He gasps when he raises his head, meeting mask to mask with a fox mask, its user having a scrutinizing look behind it as he tilts his head.

— May I ask you something, Darter? — Xavier asks, looking over the passenger seat.