Chapter Text
"Who are you?"
"I'm asking the same goddamn question."
"You first."
"I doubt that."
Two people supposedly on the same side stood across from one another. They each had a gun pointed at the other, along with the same hard and determined expression. Both wore a surprising amount of gear, given they were armed with enough weapons to kill an army just on their own.
Standing to the left was a woman. Her face was tainted with a large scar starting from the edge of her temple, across her large nose, then back down to the edge of the opposite cheek. Her lip curled in a slight snarl while her eyes narrowed into sharp slits to show her distaste for the situation.
Frankly, she looked ready to shoot him and be done. However, with a quick once-over, she figured he had a faster finger that she could've ever garnered.
The enemy across from her had a similar scar--only it took up half his face. His eye, damaged from some sort of injury, looked at herself with a sense of irritancy. As if he had any reason to be, she thought to herself, but bit her tongue before it slipped from her grasp.
He looked much older than herself, but could clearly fend for himself. He wasn't exactly thin and helpless; he packed a heavy package.
The two stood in silence, each in a stance that meant they would fire as soon as the other made a move.
They stood in a back alley of Omega. The female mercenary had chosen the spot since it was discreet; the only way one would know about their secret tunnel was as if they had been shown.
And she made sure no one knew.
"How'd you get in here?" spoke the mercenary, her brow quirking upward in question.
"Answer my question first," he retorted. She made a note of his voice, but didn't linger on the thought.
The mercenary weighed her option. There was no way she would get out of this without losing her head, or losing a bit of information. She was willing to give up one if it meant she kept the other.
"Lower your gun," she commanded. "I'll do it with you--since we're playing fair here."
She noticed a look in his one good eye, piquing her own curiosity. It was almosy as if he'd heard that phrase before. He couldn't have, obviously. The only other person who used that wording happened to be her sister, which he'd never met considering she had no idea who he was.
The soldier watched as he thought, before finally lowering his arm to his side. She did the same and holstered her gun with a click. The weapon swayed against her hip before finally ceasing its movement.
"Anna," she spoke. "What are you doing here?"
The opposing mercenary crossed his arms across his chest and tilted his head down just slightly. His eyes never left her own; he seemed to be searching for a weakness.
Too bad he wouldn't find it.
"I followed a girl- Esmea, she said her name was," he said. His tone was abrasive, as if he didn't have time for her or her conversation. "She was odd, kept talking while we were fighting--said something about me liking her sister-"
"Wait a second-" interjected Anna and moved a hand to wave it in front of her torso. Her armor clinked with every movement, while her expression changed from hard and aggravated to confused and curious.
The man opposite herself watched as her jaw opened to speak, then snapped shut. His brows furrowed together to form a crease between them, before his head tilted to the side slightly.
Anna stalked forward slowly, her hands bawled at her sides. "Come out, you rat!" she yelled as her eyes darted from one place to another. "I know you're in here! You were supposed to meet me, but you brought this- This liability around!"
"She's as crazy as the other one," he muttered under his breath while squinting his eyes, his mouth forming in a thin line. However, at her sudden insult, his head jerked backward in offense.
"I am not a liability!" he countered and moved forward after her. "And how do you know Esmea?"
Anna turned her head to the side. Ignoring his question, she replied, "Really? Because you're acting like one. You followed an unknown person and I nearly shot your head off your shoulders."
He reached her side in no time at all and grabbed at her bicep. The muscle beneath her armor was harder than he'd first thought, but he gave no mind to the fact.
Anna's eyes shot down to the hand on her arm, then back up to his face. Considerably, he was fairly taller than herself; she had to crane her neck backward just to look up to meet his eyes. Her anger fell flat against the hard look of his face. Up close, she could see every mark against his skin; the hard line across his forehead, the dent in his cheek where he ground his teeth together-
Before her brain ran wild with it, she put a pin in the thought.
Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the sound of slow clapping rang throughout the alleyway. It echoed, until falling silent against the sound of a dripping pipe onto the metal flooring.
Anna's head snapped to the left. Her face turned hard once more and her anger flared from where it had left. She snatched her arm away from the man who held it and stormed forward, her hand reaching out into the darkness before her.
"Not much of a show we had, no?" another voice teased, before giving an airy laugh.
"I could kill you, you know that?" she snapped and waved her hand around. The more she couldn't find what she was looking for, the more irritated she seemed to grow.
"Over here!"
Anna pulled her hand back toward her torso and spun on her heel, turning to face the thing she'd been looking for.
"Esmea," she growled.
"Anna," the other replied, tilting her head to one side and swaying her crossed legs back and forth. Her voice was sickly sweet--enough to kill a person if they listened long enough. A normal individual would be drawn in; succumbed by a feeling of need, they would follow her anywhere--even to their death.
But Anna knew her game. She had to hand it to her, though, she played it very well.
"You're not an idiot. You knew he was following you. Why?"
"Oh, I don't know- He needed a change of scenery!"
"Don't be an idiot with me--you know that doesn't work. Why?"
Esmea pursed her lips and tapped her fingers against the pipe she'd taken as her seat. Her eyes looked elsewhere before they finally landed on her sister.
"Truth be told," she started, "I was fighting him. He's quite interesting. You see, he charges first and deals with the consequences alter. Aha! what a thought!
"I know how much you like an authoritative figure whose also a hothead, so.."
Esmea shrugged her shoulder and checked out her nails which were covered by a black glove. Anna's anger had turned into embarrassment; the evidence presented itself by a wave of pink across her cheeks. Her eyes flittered from the mercenary then back to her sister.
It was true she had.. Fatherless behavior. But it was expected when you grew up in a poor home with no one to rely on but one another. She craved something, but she never spent too long tryin to figure it out.
To many emotions. Too many problems. Too much anger taken out on random people.
"Why would you just openly admit that in front of a stranger?" she whined softly after nearing her sister and placing her hands on her own hips.
Esmea looked down at her sibling and shrugged her shoulders at the pitiful look on her face. "I'll just kill him if he tells anybody; it's not really that big of a deal," she murmured in return.
The opposite mercenary cleared his throat rather loudly and furrowed his brows once more. "I hate to intrude on your moment, but I want explanation," he demanded gruffly, his arms falling back over his chest.
Esmea looked up from her nails at the warrior and made a noise resembling something of a tsk. She hopped off the pipe, her heels landing against the ground with a click, and dusted herself off.
"Aria should really clean this place, it's a mess," she huffed and tossed a piece of hair over her shoulder. Anna recoiled backward and rolled her eyes, her soft expression hardening as she stood as her sister's side.
Esmea cleared her own throat and gestured toward Anna. Her stance was elegant, like that of a regal swan. She held no room for imperfection; even the point of her boot was exactly right.
"Anna," she spoke, "this is Zaeed." Giving him the same treatment, she took the opposite hand and gestured in his own direction. "Zaeed, this is Anna."
Now that she knew his name, Anna felt a little better about giving her own away. She took her time to examine him from head to toe. The man was well-built; judging by the grip he had on his arm, she knew he was strong. He looked tough--obviously, like he'd seen more than his fair share of triumphs. The tattoos on his arm were also very appealing. It left her wondering is he had more elsewhere.
He seemed to be doing the same to her, judging by the way his eyes moved down and up, then back down again.
It was odd to have one's outside vessel looked at. Even covered in thick armor, she still felt he was intruding on something he shouldn't have. Taking a step forward, Anna extended her hand.
"Zaeed," she mumbled with a nod. He looked at her cautiously before grasping her palm in his own and gently shaking her hand. He didn't speak a word, mostly because he felt he didn't have to.
A long silence fell over the alley, besides the occasional drip of water. Neither moved from their spot and simply looked; simply stared. Anna couldn't tell what she was looking for, but it didn't exactly matter. He was meant to be the enemy, so why didn't he feel like one?
"Annnd like each other!" Esmea whispered and made motions with her hands on either side of their faces.
The action only seemed to bring her sibling out of her stage of shock. Retracting her hand quickly, she crossed her arms over chest. Her eyes darted everywhere but Zaeed or her twin, instead choosing to focus on the floor below, or the wall to the side, or the metal they called the sky on Omega.
Zaeed placed his hands at his sides, appearing to follow the same course of action.
Esmea's smile dropped into a frown of displeasure. "I mean I didn't expect much, but this is a little ridiculous," she commented and propped a hand on her hip.
"You read too much," Anna scoffed and shook her head. Pulling her arms from their position, she put her hands up before walking backward.
"Tell me about the job later, I just- I need to go," she spoke and turned on her boot. Her direction seemed to be heading toward an exit; unfortunately, it was filled with nothing but dark corners.
The mercenary had better things to worry about--Zaeed was not one of them. Out of sight, out of mind. If she got away, it would be fine; one less thing to deal with.
"There are other ways to leave that are less..-," Zaeed remarked before quickly biting his tongue. Why did he care? She was just another mercenary for slaughter by some ungodly force; it had nothing to do with him.
"You can't just run from your problems!" Esmea yelled and tilted her head in the direction of the dark exitway.
"Watch me!" Her sibling barked and saluted two of her fingers from the side of her head.
"You always do this," the former huffed. Taking a look around, Esmea quickly jumped upward and grabbed ahold of a pipe. However, she didn't get quite far until Zaeed grabbed at her heel.
"Where are you going?" he demanded. "I can't get out without some sort of help, here."
Esmea grinned and shook off his hand rather violently. She pulled herself upward and crouched against the top of the metal.
"Its the game," she said, almost as if it were the easiest thing to comprehend. She tapped a few buttons on her omnitool before disappearing all together.
However, she let a single phrase hang in the air:
"I like seeing you run."