Laughter lines—Bastille.As you held me down, you said:
"I'll see you in the future when we're older
And we are full of stories to be told.
Cross my heart and hope to die,
I'll see you with your laughter lines."Featuring
Zenith, Decarus, and briefly Jae and Saphe.
This is Zenith’s summer song.
1
It was lonely, yes, but that was the life of a bounty hunter. Zenith worked alone, that was her largest and most concrete rule of thumb. The viscet was appalled when she read the letter proclaiming her temporary loss of freedom until a mysterious intergalactic code red prisoner was recaptured. She scowled at the parchment like it was poisoned and let out a huff. Because of this escapee, the viscet would have to work together with...other people, a feat that Zenith was certainly not prepared for or excited about. It wasn’t that she was a bad person, but in shortest form, the last company the young viscet had acquired in weeks had been two criminals, one marked a code yellow who had cried his way to jail, and the other a code grey who had fought until the end and made her trip quite miserable.
Perhaps this journey wouldn’t be so obnoxious to her had it not been during her single annual break, but now, since she was forced against her will, this would be one interesting and quite unpleasant summer. With a final annoyed grumble, she soared over to the governmental galactic headquarters.
2
The man had a sad but charming smile. He gazed deep into her eyes, the warmth burning straight through the evening chill of the over air-conditioned space craft and deeper still, through the frosty walls she had raised to distance herself from the others. It was unlike her to blush, but the blood rushed into her cheeks anyways, and Ze found herself pasting a shy smile upon her face in return.
The young viscet found herself questioning everything she once knew, and suddenly the terrible reality of being forced to work together on this mission seemed tolerable. If other people seemed this friendly, there wouldn’t be a problem.
This man was either a soldier, a bounty hunter like herself, or a police officer. That was why he had been called by the galactic government to run this mission. Looking closer, she glimpsed his badge: a police officer after all.
The two’s eye contact was short lived however, for soon after, the intercom beeped, and a galactic officer stepped into to the room to give command. Zenith listened intently as the names were called to assign the groups, a team of four people that would be working together until the intergalactic code red prisoner was captured. The sound lulled on, and the GG rambled on about the reasons and precautions taken in assigning each group. After what felt like an eternity, Zenith was assigned to team green.
Upon walking into the assigned quarters, she took a step back in shock upon seeing the man. Her mouth opened then closed, and she felt quite flustered. A strange desire to punch him in the jaw occurred as she knew no other reaction to this occurrence. In the end though, self control found itself dominant and she introduced herself to the rest of her new team. Saphe, a cop, Felix, a soldier, and Decarus, the man with the sad smile.
They stood around awkwardly for a while, but soon decided to rest, for the next day would be their first official day as a team, working to capture one of the most dangerous villains in the galaxy.
3
He picked the band, he actually did. Zenith was never quite the fangirl or the band geek but she did appreciate good music when she heard it. A bittersweet song filled her ears as team green flew in a single, expensive, ad luxuriously high-tech government-assigned ship. It had been silent until Decarus, the pilot had put on an album, and now there were soft, bored hums and feet tapping the metal floor.
Zenith smiles softly to herself and looked up to see Decarus with a grin on his face as well. He winked and then focused his gaze back on the flight.
Zenith wondered how long she would be here. The crew wasn’t half bad. Though it wouldn’t be changing her mind about working solo in the future, she definitely knew that this was tolerable. Maybe, if they were lucky, she would miss them.
For now though she sat and soked in the lyrics of this tune.
Cross my heart and hope to die,
I'll see you with your laughter lines.
4
—one month later—
The battle was suddenly upon them. Their ship screamed, it’s metal pieceed and falling from the sky, and with it came the shrieks of the world. She saw her crew’s open mouths, and knew she too was crying out with fear.
The world spun and shook, but the only thing in her brain was those stupid song lyrics.
I'll see you in the future when we're older
I want to live,
I'll see you in the future when we're older
Please...
I'll see you in the future when we're older
She soon woke up, shaking in the rubble of the ship. Her friends were gone. In and out of reality she fluttered for what must have been a while. She opened her eyes to sunlight, blinked, and was suddenly greeted with shadows. This cycle repeated itself.
Soon, she felt well enough, or perhaps desperate enough, to stand up and scout out her position. Suddenly a ship soared overhead followed by more rumbling and what sounded like gunfire. Zenith hit the floor as an explosive rattled a few yards away. She began to shake. What was going on?
She noticed a gun on the ground after the own in her belt had proven to be missing, and dove for it, realizing a second too late that it was clasped in the grip of another viscet. Zenith started back, but she was mid leap and the most her pull could do was land alert, ready to attack. There was no need though, for a sickening sight crossed her eyes instead of a frightening one. There, a single arm lay stretched upon the ground.
Disgusted but desperate, the viscet plucked it up, and marched on her way. Drones soared overhead, and she gasped in awe at the raging battle. Hundreds of ships were flocked in the sky attacking each other, and it was nearly blinding how many lasers lit up the dawn morning. Zenith would never have guessed that a criminal, even a code red one, would have such an impressive army to his name. It was honestly quite frightening.
In the shadows she glimpsed a figure, posed in the cool air defensively, and like a spotlight illuminating the grand performer on a stage, his face echoed inside her brain. It was the prisoner. Her heart rose to her throat. But then she also saw a viscet behind this figure, holding a weapon of some kind. Did the code-red know of the attacker's position? Did he see through the ploy?
Before Zenith could see the situation play out, she was thrown off of her feet by another nearby explosion, and by the time her head cleared, and her eyes were able to focus, the flag of her allies had been lifted into the sky.
Cross my heart and hope to die,
5
And like that, so fast, so certain, it was over. The death tolls were in the hundreds, so she had heard, and there was a heavy silence which hung over the GG headquarters. Unlike their last meeting, the tone was solemn.
None of her crewmates—none of the green team—had shown themselves in the office yet, and all of the surrounding gazes were focused on the single entrance for friends return. Zenith found herself listening to Decarus’ song over and over on loop, tears in her eyes.
But then, oh then, was the moment in which she lost it. He walked into the room, his fur burned in sickening patches, and an unholy amount of scars dripping from his forehead. Without even consciously acting, Zenith found herself across the room and in a massive hug with her friend.
Eyes wet, and breath shaky, her fingers softly traced his jawline, and she soaked in each twist and curve of his face with her delicate gaze. The shadow of longing hit her heart but she knew this was not a universe in which good things happened to good people. Perhaps if this were another world where the echoes of their conflicting jobs did not snap their path in two, or a world in which the beginning flecks of greys on his muzzle did not reflect the youthful shine on her own face, it would be so. Yet the touch of her fingers against his face was enough for the two to confirm the finale of their union.
Her joy for his life and her tears were enough for her to convey all emotions, and when her voice had faltered, the softly put her headphones over his nicked ears, and played the song one last time, just for him.
Somewhere deep down Ze knew this would not be the last she would see of his, but now, in this moment, they would turn their backs on each other, and fade away into the long grasp of darkness. It was lonely, yes, but that was the life of a bounty hunter.