Note: Having ‘The Plagues’ on repeat does things to you. Nyway, the next part is a continuation of this. Hopefully by next week? I wish I had more time to write and really build up this AU but I kinda have to settle for scenes.
Pavi was gathered with the other rebel leaders. It’s been 5 years since he’s been back in GeneCo but he’s finally home. The rebels had been trying to convince him for years but he always refused. And then they promised him that he would sit on GeneCo and no one would be hurt. Pavi knew that the rebels were not powerful enough to hurt his siblings but his mother had asked him a quiet ‘please’ and Pavi agreed.
“They’ve locked themselves in the Panic room.“
"It doesn’t matter. I have an idea.” Pavi pointed at the blueprints laid across the table. “See this vent here? It is the only air supply in and out of the room. We can siphon in gas. Something toxic enough to suffocate them but not toxic enough to kill them. They would have no choice but to come out.”
“Pavi, are you-” Isabella cut herself of.
“It’s ok, mama. I’ve confirmed it with the scientists. The concentration won’t be toxic to an adult.”
“I… if you’re sure, Pavi.”
“It ok mama. They will be fine.”
“But…” Isabella cut herself off as the rebel leader sent her a warning glare.
They did as he suggested, siphoning the gas into the room and just waited. He didn’t know how long it would take, but Pavi knew his siblings were stubborn enough to stay in there until the last second.
And so, he could barely hide his surprise at how soon they surrendered. Barely a couple of hours had passed. Pavi expected at least a day or two. Pavi furrowed his brow. He told the men to clear the gas in the room. “Let me go in first. Defuse the situation.”
Pavi headed to the room as soon as the gas cleared. He looked up to the cameras and the doors slid open. Amber sent him a glare and looked away. Luigi had his back towards him. There was a third person in the room. A woman, Luigi’s wife. Pavi had been surprised when he heard the news over 4 years ago.
“It’s over, fratello. We’ve won.”
“Aren’t you proud?” Amber spat.
“Come now sorella. Don’t be a spoilsport. The Pavi managed to get you out.”
“You…you did this?” Amber’s pained expression nearly made him pull away. “Of course. How else would they know which vent to use?”
“You fucking bastard!” There was nothing but hatred on the woman’s face.
“Calm down, Bella. The Pavi has-a negotiated safety for everyone. No one has to get hurt.”
Amber let out a bitter laugh.
“I mean it, sorella. It’s like I’ve told you before, no one will get hurt.”
“Jac has nothing to do with this.” Came his brother’s voice finally. But he refused to turn towards him.
“Of course. Your Bella is-a free to go.”
Jacqueline just stared at her husband. She approached him slowly and placed a hand onto his cheek.
Luigi leant into her hand. “Wait for me.”
“Of course, my love.” She bent down by her husband’s side, facing her back towards him.
Luigi leant his head into her neck. “I’m sorry.”
They stayed that way for a moment before she pulled away. She and Amber shared a look. Amber just nodded to her.
Pavi felt strangely left out. He knows he was the one who chose to leave but…now he felt like an outsider within his own family.
Jacqueline headed towards him. He stepped aside and let her through the door. A guard raised his gun as soon as the door opened.
“Easy. She’s not involved. She can leave.”
The guard nodded. “I’ll bring her to the others first.”
“She can’t help us.”
“Regardless.”
“She’s not to be harmed.”
“Yes, sir.” The doors slid shut.
“You know, if it’s just being in charge that you liked, I would have given you GeneCo.”
Pavi sighed. “It’s not like that, sorella.”
“Then why? Why betray us like this?”
“Sorella.” Pavi sighed.
“Or are you just seeking mommy’s approval? You didn’t get it from Daddy, so you’re getting it from her?”
Maybe. “It’s more complicated than that, sorella.”
“I hope your new friends are worth it.” She spat.
“It didn’t have to go this far. I told you to surrender from the start. I told you once I was in power we could work something out.”
“And we were supposed to just trust we’d be safe?”
“Don’t you trust me sorella?”
“I don’t trust your friends.” She spat. “All this, this torture you’ve put us through. And we’re supposed to just trust you.” “If you had listened to me, none of this needed to happen. If you had just listened to me from the start-”
“Enough.”
Pavi glanced at his brother but his back was still towards him. He still refused to turn; refused to speak to him. “Fratello, I am right and you know it. If you weren’t so stubborn and just listened to me; this didn’t need to happen. You did this. You-”
“Pavi, stop it!” Amber cried out.
Pavi glanced at his sister then back at his brother. Luigi was curled into himself, shaking.
“Fratello…this…this wasn’t anything personal. I just…”
“You chose your side.” Amber spat.
“This was the most peaceful outcome. No one had to get hurt. I take control of GeneCo. The rebels are satisfied. Mama is happy. And we can be a family again.”
Amber looked away from him. “It’s too late for that, brother.”
Something settled in the pit of Pavi’s gut. “You don’t mean that.”
“You made your choice, brother.”
“Sorella, this wasn’t personal.”
Amber refused to look at him.
Pavi turned towards his brother instead. “Fratello, this wasn’t personal. This was the best outcome for everyone.”
His brother refused to turn; refused to say anything.
Pavi rather he yelled or screamed or reacted. Not ignoring him like this. “Fratello, look at me.”
Luigi still refused to move.
“Fratello, look at me!” Pavi marched up and stood in front of his brother. That was when he saw it. Cradled in his brother’s arms was a small sleeping child. No. Not sleeping. The boy was too still; too pale. The gas concentration was not toxic to adults but… Something clenched in Pavi’s chest. “I didn’t know.” A child. Their family was all over the news. He would have heard of a child. Just like Luigi’s wedding. He would have heard of it. “Fratello, I didn’t know.” He didn’t expect a child. The boy was so small. The concentration would have been too high. He stumbled back. “No one was supposed to get hurt. It wasn’t supposed to be lethal. I didn’t know.”
Luigi just stared forward, refusing to say anything.
“Fratello, I-”
A loud explosion shook the room. What was-
Luigi shut his eyes and clutched his son tighter to him.
The doors opened. The guard ran in.
“What happened?”
“The woman was wearing a bomb. When they brought her to the others, she set it off.”
“Is mama alright?”
“She wasn’t there.”
“How many?”
“A hundred at least. Most of the ones in charge were there.”
Pavi nodded. “I’ll be there soon.”
The guard left.
Pavi turned back towards his siblings. “Why would you do this? I negotiated safety. They will demand retribution.” Pavi’s voice cracked. He had everything planned out. How did everything get so fucked up. “They will not forgive this.”
“Good.”
“Fratello…”
“Go find your new friends, Pavi. You don’t have to bother with us.” Amber stood and headed towards Luigi. She laid a hesitant hand on his shoulder. When he didn’t pull away, she held him towards her.
“No one was supposed to get hurt.”
Rebels marched into the room and roughly dragged his siblings to their feet. Luigi refused to release his son.
“Leave him alone.” Amber screamed.
A guard slammed the butt of his gun into Luigi’s face.
“They’re not to be harmed.” Pavi could only watch numbly as they ripped the boy from Luigi’s arms and lead them out of the room. Pavi’s legs felt weak. He had everything planned. Why did this happen? A child. “I didn’t know.” Pavi crumpled to the ground. “No one was supposed to get hurt.” The child was so small. He didn’t deserve this. Pavi planned everything so well. How did they keep the child a secret? “I didn’t know.” His nephew. He murdered his nephew in cold blood. He… “I didn’t know.”
Synopsis- Since childhood, Liam has held a terrible secret that even he doesn’t know about. As the years go by, he suspects more and more that there is something wrong with him. Can he put his life together and find happiness?
A/N- The first 4 chapters will have the feel of a one-shot, as each one is a glimpse into Liam’s past. But as the story goes on, they will all tie together.
A/N 2- This story is a bit different than what I usually write.. Ok a LOT different. Some terrible things have happened during Liam’s life.. But the story isn’t without humor or joy. I swear it’s not all bad! The characters are still canon in the sense of their whole overall personalities, but of course there are several changes to fit the story.
Series Warnings- oh so many: language, drinking, violence, sexual assault, abuse, murder, homophobia, bullying, mentions of suicide.. Also there will be some lemons in later chapters.
Once the police finished taking statements and extensively questioning everyone, Liam relaxed slightly.. But only slightly. The man had broken into Bertrand’s study through the window, attempting to steal a large amount of cash and obviously whatever else he could find. The man was armed and honestly could have killed all of them if he wanted to. Liam had apparently beaten the intruder so badly, several bones in his face were fractured. But the man was alive.. Thanks to Maxwell.
…but not everyone deserves that sweet heart of his. Liam, however, has definitely earned that affection despite his past. I love watching their relationship blossom, and I am totally shipping them!
Poor Liam though… it’s one thing to go through these different experiences: fending off a bull, a rapist, a burglar… but to do all of that and not remember? That’s a whole new level of horror. I would instantly think, “Okay, what else am I doing?” That much power? That has got to be overwhelming.
But, I’m glad he’s finally letting his friends shoulder some of the pain. It’s what he needs. And Maxwell is right: they LOVE him. Period. Now because of anything he has or hasn’t done. But, because he is Liam.
CW: BBU, institutionalized slavery, dehumanization, surgical/medical whump implied, and subsequent “side effects” and trauma. Explicit language. Some of this narrative involves an ongoing suicide attempt. General suicidal ideation, hopelessness, trauma. Implied noncon, restraints, beating/electrocution mentions, murder mention,dissociative/delusional state,drugging mention, victim self-blaming. Asks and messages are always welcome, please stay safe.
He had expected to feel lighter. Beat by beat untethered, unburdened. Nothing left for anyone. Not even him. He had thought it would all simply fade away.
Instead, it was heavy.
With everything he let out, more crowded in. Everything he’d lived through, had ever survived, the weight of his whole life. Each ounce replaced in triplicate. Holding him down from the inside out. All of it there, everyone there. Pressing in on him. Until it was unbearable.
Harrison, laughing at him for thinking he had any choice in the matter.
Archer, furious and screaming at him for fucking up so thoroughly.
And Leo.
Leo wouldn’t go away. He’d known him the shortest time of all but he took up the most space. He grappled and twisted around and around, stuck in the repetitive current of the thoughts. Their weight gathered an undeniable momentum, his control itself was too heavy to wield. He was swept off his feet, drowning, wondering over and over how Leo would react to this finality. Trying to force Leo’s expression into one that he could accept.
He is such an absolute mess and I just want to dive into all the tangled threads of his story and straighten them out until everything makes sense. I wanna know how he got to WRU in the first place, how he went from being a pet in training to just a medical experiment. I wanna know about all these people he’s mentioning. I wanna know why he’s 359 here but 810 later.
I wanna know WHAT HE MEANS BY COMING BACK WITH TWO KILLS UNDER HIS BELT
