No Respect

[€l SonikkÜ]

"GO! GO GRANDPA GO!" Hakkan's maddening cackles of victory were abruptly cut short as he realized how useless a paddle-boat was of a get-away vehicle. His legs were working almost invisibly on the small peddles that restricted movement to only a few inches, an annoying squeek spliting the air at each thrust of his foot. But despite his efforts, the paddle-boat was hardly making a ripple of speed.

Hali however, flew down the steps that lead to the farrie-docks like a red-neck on wheels, screaming and swearing as loudly as possible until either her voice broke or she had to take a breath, "MY DIAMONDS!"

"MY GRANOLA!!" Sam wasn't far behind her, his eyes wide in pure terror at the thought of loosing what very well might be his most prized possession. NOBODY touched Sam's granola bars...

Jewels and snacks weren't the only thing in Hakkan's stollen bag of "treasures". Scythe's fire-works, Kraden's car keys (and gun), and a few other things of meaning to his fellow gang members. After all the teasing and lack of respect, Hakkan had finally gone mad. Of coarse, he'd be totally fine tomarrow as if the whole thing had never happened. If he MADE it to tomarrow. But that was the way Hakkan was. He'd loose his mind and cause some of the biggest scuffles, but as soon as the dust settles, all hard feelings and bad thoughts vanished. But one of these days somebody was going to aim a little lower than his head. But of coarse, Hakkan never for-saw such an act.

Today's adventure had lead the Nightslayer's on a goose chase about 7 miles through the city and had now made it to the docks. Surprisingly, only 7 civilians had gotten hurt, and only two explosions.

[Pyre]

Kraden ran up and stopped at the docks, one hand still tightly gripping his gun. But he just frowned and watched with narrowed eyes.

"Kraden, what're you doing?!" Scythe panted as he ran past.

Kraden shrugged. "I'll let you three do the dirty work, then murder you all when you're in a heap."

Scythe came to a dead stop, mouth wide open. Kraden looked up. "I'm kidding!" Or was he? "Now get moving, snake!"

Scythe turned and fixed murderous lemon-yellow eyes on Hakkan's form. "I swear...This mutt's gonna die tonight!" With an indian-like war-cry, Scythe ran forward and off the dock, water flying up in his wake. Then he made a desperate swim for the paddle boat. "If you don't get them wet I'll at least make sure they can identify the body, fugly!"

[€l SonikkÜ]

Hali slid, coming to a stop RIGHT ON THE EDGE of the dock. She guessed it was because she'd been so mad she'd forgotten how fast she was going and how close the edge was. But Hali couldn't swim, so it was a serious close call for her and she heaved a sigh of releaf, but a moment too soon.

"Whoa!" Sam hadn't been lucky enough to slow up in time, and slammed into the much smaller Raccoon and sent them both over the edge of the last plank with a large splash. And as fate would have it, Sam couldn't swim either.

The parrot struggled underwater, Hali "unintentionally" using him as a float and shoving him below the surface. Sam's wet wings could be heard flapping against the water, slinging droplets in all directions along with gargling noices as he struggled to bring his beak out of the water and breath through Hali's tightly clinched fingers, "Get--gag--OFFA ME! KRADEN HEPF-F"

"AH!" Hakkan yelped in alarm and jumped, holding up his arms as he looked around desperatly for something to throw at Scythe's head. He rummaged through the bag and finally pulled out Kraden's gun, fumbling with it and nearly dropping it twice in his haist to get it loaded and fired akwardly behind him at the lizard, still paddling, "GET BACK YOU PIT-SNIFFING EGG LAYER! YOU CAN'T CATCH ME ALIVE!" He quickly dropped the gun (luckily in the boat) and grabbed one of Scythe's larger fire-works to use as a paddle and heaved it through the water, trying to splash the lizard at the same time with a wild look in his lavender eyes.

[Pyre]

Scythe was unhindered and more than a little mad, hand closing on the edge of the boat and legs kicking to find some reach, something to climb on to. "Oh, ALIVE was never in the MISSION STATEMENT, PUP!"

Kraden sighed and walked over to Hali and Sam, merely watching them for a moment. ((Heh, for previous pirates, you'd think they could swim...)) He reached down and carefully held out a hand for Hali, his other hand on a pier so he couldn't be pulled in. "Why do I bother?"

[€l SonikkÜ]

Hali was holding onto Sam as if he had the power over life and death, her arms wrapped chokingly tight around his neck and didn't seem to notice his stuggling. Hali hated the water, she liked the beach, she liked rivers and streams. But deep water was an extreme no-no by her book. And she clinged to the drowning parot like a loyal saint would her church. However, as soon as she saw Kraden's hand that loyalty quickly switched grounds and she didn't think twice to grab it and use it to pull herself up.

She clung to the hedgehog and didn't seem to mind how wet she got him. Cold, shivering, stunned, with her fur and cloths slicked to her figure. But at least Sam was able to grab onto the wooden pole that supported the dock underwater. It was grose and slick with algea, but at least he wasn't drowning, "I hate my life."


"Game over man!" Was all Hakkan could think as Scythe started climbing into the boat with him, and immediantly dropped the fire-work and froze, going pale. What do you do when you find yourself in a situation like this?

"Who am I? What's all this?! Who are you?" Hakkan asked awkwardly, eyes wide with the "oh snap" look on his face. But then he suddenly grinned big, and held out his arms, "Ah! Buddy!" And just like that, Hakkan's time of the day to publically humiliate himself was over, and he pulled the Lizard into a heart-warming hug.

[Pyre]

"Hali, give Sam CPR," Kraden said with a hint of a smirk. "I'm going in." He snatched Hali's gun off her person without an askance and took careful aim. Too bad Scythe was in the way, Kraden soon found himself wondering whether he cared or not.

Scythe let out a loud, fierce growl. "Buddy?! I'll give you--"

A loud bang was all he heard, he didn't even feel a thing--at first. He slowly looked down. Hey...Kraden had good aim. Bullet went right through Scythe and into Hakkan's chest. "H-he... he shot me!" Scythe gasped in disbelief. "Everything's kinda going...kinda going dark now... I'm going to miss you guys..."

"Oh, for crying out loud, it barely nicked you!"

Okay, so it hadn't gone through Scythe. It had hit his side, just below the ribcage, and continued on to Hakkan.

"It still hurt, and now I have a dying kid on my lap! Kraaaden, whyyyy?!"

"Pft! Like you honestly care..."

[€l SonikkÜ]

((Lol!)

"It's about freakin' time..." Sam grumbled, emo from his lack of daily granola as he pulled himself onto the dock.

Hakkan let out a choked sound, his eyes widening farther and his lips parting as if he had something to say. But after a very brief moment, those eyes lost their light, and their lids slowl began to lower as if he were getting sleepy and nothing more. But they didn't close all the way, and the only thing that came from his mouth was an undirected breath. An exhale. His last. Before the 10 year old slumped limply against his gang-mate. Dead.

Hali didn't even even think to shoot Kraden a discusted look for his first comment. Her shock from suddenly falling into freezing water triplified when she watched the young fox's last shudder. She wanted to think he was faking. To be annoyed and angery at him. But she'd heard the gunshot and saw the blood. Kraden had always treatened, always talked about killing Hakkan one day but honistly, Hali had thought it was all just talk. Sure Kraden killed some of their gang members before but...

She pulled away from him and fixed him with a look of shock and even betrayal. Not knowing what to say. She had always hated Hakkan, but was she the ONLY one who felt even a LITTLE bit bad? Not only was he just a little kid, but he was like, a part of her daily life. What as she suppose to take things out on now?

"You...killed him!" She stammored, and her voice suddenly rose and turned to anger, "...with MY gun! You B*st*rd!"

"The world is a better place now." Sam grinned. He'd feel bad later.

[Pyre]

Kraden calmly took out the clip and handed Hali back the gun (just in case she got any ideas, it had happened before...) He calmly looked after Scythe, the lizard clutching the kid while a cringe halfway between disgust and horror was planted on the serpent's face.

"Scythe, bring it over here," Kraden said simply. "Bring everything."

He looked down at Hali again, merely frowning slightly. "I warned him. We'll say he's earned himself the Darwin award--better he die now, doing something he enjoys like ticking people off and then getting shot by them--than passing on his stupidity to the gene pool." Kraden sounded slightly solemn, but the words were also tainted with sarcasm and bitterness, blue eyes hard. "Things happen Hali, I couldn't keep making excuses for him. Relax, we'll hold a fine funeral."

Scythe would rather not stay in that boat with the bloody body, he slid back into the water and started swimming, pushing the boat over. He pulled himself up and sighed. "D*mn mutt," he said simply, reaching in and grabbing his firecrackers, tossing everyone back their stuff. "What's the matter, Hal? It's not like you havn't seen a dead guy before." Scythe was shaken up too, though he wouldnt' let on. Hey, the kid had died on him. Yes, Scythe had seen people die many many times, but he'd never quite...seen the light go from their eyes like that.

[€l SonikkÜ]

"Funeral my *ss. You CAN'T keep doing this Kraden!" Hali wasn't satisfied by their reasurance. It wasn't like Hakkan was a new guy that nobody liked, he'd been there longer than HALI had, "No sh*t I've seen dead bodies before but it's never been somebody I've known for years!" It was almost like loosing a little brother. Of coarse, Hali wouldn't admit that. But the Nightslayers were the only family she'd ever known, the five of them anyway. It never REALLY bothered her when someone else who joined would die. But now Kraden was killing off someone who'd been in the gang for so long?

"Hali, chill. I'm sorta bummed too but everybody's better off. 'Sides, what did we need him for?" Sam asked calmly through a mouthful of granola, ripping the packet off and throwing it into the water.

"You can't just kill somebody because you don't need them anymore! Hakkan's always been a part of the group, and what's gonna happen now that the "captain" doesn't have a moving target? Who's gonna be next, hm Kraden?"

Sam would liked to have said something, but refrained, rethinking the situation. This was gang life. It wasn't a family, it was a gang. It wasn't even really what you'd call a friendship. It was a group, or underground/lawless organization if you will. If Hali couldn't take it then Sam personally thought she should leave before somebody "ELSE" got shot. But they needed her in a way. A thief made things easy and Sam liked easy.

[Pyre]

Kraden sighed, taking back his gun and closing his eyes for a second. "Well...I suppose that's really up to you Hali. You don't have to stay you know. I'm not forcing you. If you're too much of a woman to hack life on the streets then go." Yes, Kraden needed Hali. "Though...I'd rather you didn't. You're our best gun, Hali. But like it or not...we're in a deadly business. If one of us falters the entire gang could go down, and Hakkan had that potential."

[€l SonikkÜ]

Hali stared at him for a long moment, then looked between the three of them as if searching for some kind of understanding, only to find none. Her ears flattened and her eyes finally rested on Hakkan's lifeless body. Hali didn't know what to think anymore, and felt tears of frustration and confusion burning her eyes.

She sighed as she picked up her small bag of diamonds and turned to simply walk away, trying to swallow the lump of anger rising in her throat, "I'm going home..." Home as in the hide-out right? Hali didn't answer Kraden directly about staying or going. She didn't trust him anymore...


Sam scowled, trying to exchange a glance with Scythe but not saying anything. Well, Hakkan was dead, and Hali was offended. Now what?

[Pyre]

Now... "Go home, guys," Kraden said to the two remaining. He stood calmly at the pier, blue eyes glaring darkly out over the river and beyond to the sea. "I'm gonna go...get myself a drink." Though he didn't make to move.

Scythe sighed, shrugging, attempting nonchalantness, and walking away. He didn't glance back once, though a drink was sounding pretty good to him too. He'd always known that Hakkan would die by Kraden, the only thing holding Kraden back before was the lack of members, but then the coon and the cat joined so it was only a matter of time of course.

"Coming, Sam?" he called.

[€l SonikkÜ]

Sam glanced at Kraden, then sighed and started after Scythe, "Yeah, I guess." He said and fell into step beside the lizard. Wow, what a day. Sam had subconciously seen it coming too, and not for one moment was he surprised about what had happened. But what he WAS surprised about, was that HALI didn't see it coming. Or if she did, why did she react that way? Sure, Hakkan had been around for a while, but still, things WERE better this way right? Hali'd be fine...

[Pyre]

Kraden looked over his shoulder and watched them leave. For a long time he didn't move. Then, apparently on impulse, he reached over and took the small form from the boat, setting Hakkan down on the dock. Straightening again, he frowned down at the kid but held his head high.

"You always were an idiot... Sorry Hakkan. Goodbye...runt." He spoke with almost a tenderness...faintly. And then he extended one foot and lightly shoved the raccoon off the docks.

Kraden turned and didn't look back.