Noah Ritter 🎮 Tobias Eaton (fortressed) wrote in dunhavenic, @ 2018-08-19 16:16:00 |
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He had to watch over this program. It was the most paramount thing in the world. He was protecting people by keeping the program running, and without it, the innocents would suffer. That was his honest belief. “Tobias,” she said. No one had disturbed him until the moment that she walked through the door. Something about her made his blood run hot. She made him...angry. Furious. She had betrayed everything that they were supposed to stand for. He stood from the chair, his gun drawn. It was heavy in the palm of his hand, the metal warm from his own body heat. He put his finger on the trigger, “Drop your weapon.” “Tobias, you’re…” the words that she said were unclear to his ears, and he wanted to shake his head to clear it, but he didn’t budge. “Drop your weapon or I’ll fire,” he insisted. She moved. “Drop your weapon!” “I did,” she assured him, but he wasn’t sure that he believed her. Maybe she had another weapon hidden somewhere else. He couldn’t think clearly. His eyes were playing tricks on him. She ran at him all at once, her hand grappling at his wrist. He saw his opportunity and pulled the trigger, but she ducked just in time, the bullet missing her head by inches and finding a new home in the wall instead of her skull like it was intended. She moved faster than he anticipated, and she managed to get in a good kick to his ribs as she twisted his wrist painfully. He lost his grip on his gun, pins and needles shooting up his arm even as she took a dive for the gun. This was different than like it was in fear landscape. This was real. The nameless girl that he was fighting now was still a person. Still human. He didn’t want to kill her. He didn’t want to kill anyone. But if she was going to destroy the program, he had no choice. He grabbed at her, pulling her away from the fallen weapon, and yanked her to the side away from it and to her feet. With no weapon, he used his hands, a strong punch landing to her jaw. She stumbled back and put up her hands to deflect another blow, but as she moved to the side and towards the gun, she was able to kick it out of both of their reaches. She had been trained to fight, and she kicked out again, catching him in the stomach. He turned it to his advantage, gripping her foot with his hands and twisting so that she fell onto her shoulder. He never liked an unfair fight, but he brought his foot back to kick her. She rolled out of his way and onto her knees, reaching for the gun again. He reached for her, finding purchase in her hair and yanked her to the side. Even as her hands clawed at his wrist, she couldn’t stop him from smacking her forehead into the wall. “Tobias.” That...that was his name. She said his name. No one knew his name anymore. His grip went a little bit slack in the shock, and she twisted to kick him, her heel catching him in the leg hard enough to bruise. In the shock of it, he let go of her hair, and she made another try for the gun. This time, she gripped it in her hands, turning over onto her back and pointing it directly up at his chest. “Tobias, I know you’re in there somewhere.” She sounded...desperate. Panicked. But she was the enemy. The enemy had told her his name. His weaknesses. He had to protect the program. That was his mission. His purpose. He shook off his doubt and took a few long strides towards her even as she stood up. “Tobias, please,” she begged, and it was then that he noticed she was crying. He kept coming towards her, “Please. See me.” He needed her to stop talking, and the only way was to kill her. He needed this to be finished. She had made her choices, and he had to make his, “Please see me, Tobias, please!” His brows drew together, and he was struck once again with the urge to shake his head, as though it was full of cobwebs and he just needed clarity. Her voice felt so far away. As he reached her, prepared for another round of fighting, she turned the gun towards herself and his hand clasped around the now-cool metal, his finger sliding back over the trigger. He lifted it higher, pressing the barrel to the girl’s forehead. He could do it. He could kill her. He took a breath as her hand reached out and pressed to his heart. She wasn’t crying anymore, as though she had resigned herself to dying at his hands. He engaged the bullet into the chamber, but he couldn’t pull the trigger back. She...had gone for the gun. She had tried to protect herself when he had come for her, and she had gone for the gun, but she’d never made a move towards the program that he was monitoring. His heart held a rapidfire beat in his chest, but he didn’t know anymore. He didn’t know what he was fighting for. He didn’t know what he was protecting. When she spoke, her voice was clearer, and it was one that he recognized, “Tobias. It’s me.” Tobias. It’s me. She stepped forward, his gun slipping from her forehead as she tucked herself against his chest and held onto him tightly. There were no kicks or punches or harsh gripping hands. She just hugged him, and somehow that action brought him back into himself. The fog in his head cleared, his heart racing even faster, and the gun slipped from his palm as though it had burned him. He had been ready to kill her. Her. His hands gripped at her shoulders, forgetting her wound, and he felt a spark of shame and regret as she cried out, but he couldn’t stop to think. “Tris,” he breathed, her name a desperate sound on his lips as she leaned in and kissed her soundly. He wrapped her up in his arms, lifting her off of her feet and against him, careful that his hands supported at her back and not her shoulders. A cold sweat made his skin feel clammy, and he was shaking so hard that he thought he might just fall to pieces. The quiver was still there in his hands when he set her down on her feet, his eyes bright and searching as he brushed his fingers across her face, searching for her familiar features...making sure that he hadn’t hurt her too badly. He didn’t know. He hadn’t known. He never would have hurt her if he had just known. A sob of frustration and remorse escaped his chest, his eyes filling with tears even as he kissed her a second time. He continued to cry even as she pulled herself to his chest and wept against him. She leaned hard into his chest, letting him support her weight, and he was glad to do it. He was glad to know that she still trusted him enough to be so close. After a long few moments, she asked, “How did you do it?” “I don’t know,” he shook his head softly, uncertain still of how it had felt so real instead of wrong, “I just heard your voice.” Waking with a jolt, Noah sat up so fast that his living room swam. He took a deep breath and leaned forward, putting his head in his hands as he leaned towards his knees. He could still feel his bruised knuckles and aching ribs, and the weight of that gun in his hand as it had been pressed to her head. Tobias had almost killed her, and he hadn’t even known it was her. The girl’s features had been so indistinguishable. All he had known was that she was the enemy and he had to hurt her to keep things in order. It was a horrible feeling, even in the aftermath. He didn’t want to think about what would have happened if Tris had reacted any differently. He didn’t want to know what Tobias would wake up to find that he had done. He hadn’t even been out of control. He’d just been out of his mind. His actions had been his and his alone, but filtered through a view of the world that was so skewed it had made Tris seem and feel like the one he should be fighting against instead of fighting with. One little serum, and it had turned him into a willing and conscious fighter for the people he was supposed to be railing against. He didn’t know if Bea or Josie had seen those things yet, but he had to hang onto the hope that Tobias remained in control...that his vision remained clear. Noah looked up to see that it was nearing dinner time. He had fallen asleep while rendering code. He hadn’t been sleeping enough lately, but that wasn’t really anything new. Rubbing his hands roughly over his face, he glanced at his computer as the code scrolled seamlessly along. He needed to move...to shake this off. For now, he would go for a run, and later, he promised himself, he would talk to Bea. |