Before the return of the Crows:
Things were different. That much was for sure, Diena had left and she hadn't come back. The Crows and The Sea Snakes were left practically leaderless. Sure, they had Vesemir, but he lacked something that Diena had, he lacked the fire.
He could give orders like his life depended on it, but he didn't have the same push that Diena had.
But Kit was still doing his job, working out where everyone was, switching them in and out, helping with the running of the gang and making sure that everyone was fine.
And sitting in Diena's office he was doing just that. With Dara laying on the couch twirling a pen in his hands, "Cap?" Kit just hummed in response, "Do you think she's okay? Diena?"
Kit looked up from his paper and just gave Dara a look, which gave the Zemeni Durast all the answers that he needed, "Of course she's okay...shouldn't you be going to the den? It's almost dinner."
Dara looked at the clock on the wall before shooting off, "Shit! More warning next time, come on man!"
Kit just laughed as Dara grabbed his coat and ran towards the door just as it opened, Meena ducked under Dara's arm as he ran out of the room, "Evening Meena!"
Meena smiled as she shut the door before turning to Kit with a more serious expression on her face, "Cap, I am telling you. I'm being followed. I don't know by who, but someone is tailing me. I can feel it."
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Walking down the street off Ketterdam just past the Crow Club towards the Hide, Rhaenys and Tess were walking arm in arm, "She'll be back, won't she?" Tess asked, she had never had a mother, but Rhaenys and Diena had been there for her when she needed one.
Rhaenys squeezed her arm, "Of course she will, my little Hatchling. She'll be back."
The pair stopped when they saw someone blocking the exit of the alleyway, Rhaenys slightly moved her head and saw two people behind them as well, "If you know what's good for you, I'd move." Rhaenys threatened, "You clearly don't know who we are."
One of the men moved into the light, and Rhaenys's breath hitched, Mogens, a complete psychopath, someone knew what they were doing, she moved in front of Tess, there were people on every direction but if she could stand between Tess and Mogens then she would be happy enough, "On the contrary, my lady. We know who you are."
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Klara was a Barrel Rat who was made into something more. She was made into a Snake, she loved her new family, she was the newest but they didn't treat her any different than Kit who was one of the longest standing Sea Snakes.
To the outside the Sea Snakes were one of the more ruthless gangs, but to the people that truly knew them then they would realise that really wasn't the case. Once you got the tattoo you were one of them, you were part of that family.
One thing Klara found strange about the streets she was walking down, there were no people. As if everyone was told to stay indoors.
Something was beginning. Or something was ending.
Then she heard the scream. She knew that voice. She knew she did.
And when she was pushed up against the wall with three people pointing guns at her, and another one holding her down, she realised what was ending. Diena's first generation Sea Snakes were ending.
But she knew that it wouldn't be the end.
"Good luck." She just said, she knew that she couldn't fight. That wasn't what she was made for, it wasn't what she was good at.
But she knew she and the others would be avenged all the same.
"Snakes don't die easy...if I were you, I'd run."
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Dara walked into Nora's office, "Come on, love. Out of your hole, I have food to cook and it won't cook itself. And you and I both know how Alex gets if he doesn't have his food."
Nora and Dara had always been friends. Ever since the pair had met, they just clicked immediately. Nora mainly stayed out of the dirtier side of the business, she just ran their books. But she also knew the finance of every other gang in the city.
She pushed the last book onto the book shelf before turning to Dara who walked over to the window, overlooking The Hide, "Dreesen was up here the other day, moaning about some Ravkan, I could hear him from the hallway."
Dara's brows knitted when he saw a whole load of people walking into the club, normally that wouldn't be a bad thing but when they were Razorgulls, Dime Lions and Blacktips then that was cause for concern.
When four people split from the crowd and walked towards the business block, Dara knew what was happening, "Nora hide."
"What?"
Dara rushed over to her and opened the door towards the file room, "Now. Go. Hide."
When he was satisfied that Nora was hidden, Dara sat down at her desk, putting his legs up on it. If Nora could see him she would have killed him, but now wasn't the time for that.
When the door burst open and the rival gang members spilled in, Dara stayed calm, "Evening gentlemen." He knew what was happening, someone was trying to overthrow them.
Dara was a good Durast though, he knew things. He was Zemeni, he was proud of what he was and so were his people. Under the desk he moved his hands and the people in front of him started to clutch their hands and necks in pain, "You do know there's Iron in the blood right?...no? Well I do."
He was too pre-occupied with the men in front of him that he didn't feel the metal bullet making its way to him from behind him. Pekka Rollins knew one thing, to never underestimate the Snakes, he knew to come at them from every direction because he didn't know what they knew or what they could do.
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There weren't many times of day where Ivan and Eva could be together. They were an unlikely pairing. A Shu Heartrender and a Zemeni Squaller. But they worked.
They weren't very good Grisha. But that didn't matter. Eva had never been a good Heartrender. If she had been better she would have heard the heartbeat coming from behind her.
But she didn't. And it cost her life.
Bounding down the stairs, Ivan was holding papers in his hand, they were planning on leaving Ketterdam, they loved the Snakes, loved Diena and Vesemir but they needed to get away for a while, they would come back, "Got the tickets! We're going to Noyvi Zem, baby! I'm going home..." He stopped when he saw what was happening in the den.
A man was holding a knife to Eva's throat as she was knelt down on the ground, before Ivan could do anything three more Dime Lions walked into the Den. He had no idea how they had found them, but they had all the same. But then he noticed they weren't just Dime Lions, they were Razorgulls as well.
Pekka had clearly struck up a deal to wipe the Sea Snakes out of Ketterdam.
Two Dime Lions came up from behind Ivan and before he could react they grabbed his arms holding them behind his back. They knew. They knew that there was a possibility that he was a Grisha.
Which meant that they had already killed a Grisha Sea Snake. Nico, Anneke, Nora or Dara. Some of his family was already dead.
The man with the knife started to clutch his neck, gasping for air. Ivan was a decent Squaller he taught Diena his tricks, but there was one thing that could get a untrained Grisha to use their powers, anger.
Ivan relaxed when the man dropped to the ground, dead. The Zemeni ran towards Eva, dropping to his knees by his side. He couldn't tell where the blood was coming from, but he knew she was gone.
The tears quickly turned to rage when he felt steel on his throat, "We're everywhere you know."
The Dime Lions thought that they had won when Ivan dropped to the ground, that was until they heard a shout. The lead Dime Lion turned around and saw they had one less person.
"So are we."
Alex ran out from the shadows tackling one of the Razorgulls to the ground, stabbing him in the throat before he ran back around the corner, covering his head to avoid all of the shots.
"Come on bruiser! We weren't expecting you to be here but that's just better for us." One of the Razorgulls shouted out
The gulls and the lions were hunting the snake. It should have been easy. But Snakes don't make their deaths easy on their predators. Alex dropped down from the rafters landing straight on a Razorgull, knocking him to the ground.
Leaning on the ground and kicking up, he kicked another one in the face, knocking him back into another man.
He wouldn't make it easy. But there were more of them than him. He was a bruiser, nothing more. He couldn't fight like Meena.
He knew he was to die in the place he called his home.
And as the Razorgulls and Dime Lions held him back with all their strength, it took three of them to properly hold him back, he uttered one sentence, "Good luck when she comes back."
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At the Hide, Meena and Kit were still in the office, "Are you sure?"
Meena nodded, at that point she had never been more sure of anything in her life, "Someone is moving my hooks, trying to get me to fall. Something is happening, Captain. I'm sure of it."
The pair looked to the door when they heard a crash and shouting from the clubs floor, "Go." Kit ordered, "Find the others."
As Kit walked towards the door, Meena jumped out of the window towards the Den. She needed to find anyone that was left, and fast.
Just as Kit ran out of Diena's office, Vesemir ran out of his, the two men ran down the stairs and saw chaos, normal gamblers were running out of the club as members of almost every other gang in Ketterdam were tearing the place to pieces.
Vesemir used his knees to snap a pole in half with a shout, "We can't let them get upstairs."
"Where is everyone?!" Kit shouted as he punched a Razorgull around the face before shooting him the chest. He didn't know that almost every single person who called themself a Sea Snake was dead.
Nico ran through the crowd and Kit grabbed her, "Burn it! Burn it all!"
Nico nodded as she ran up the stairs towards the office. They tried, the Captain and the former Snake tried. But there were too many enemies to fight off themselves.
Forced to their knees beside each other, Pekka Rollins walked into the club, "Well well...I'm impressed." He looked around the bodies of his gang and others, "I am."
"You're not going to get away with this. You can't murder a whole group of people!" Kit spat
Vesemir only had one person on his mind at that time, "Where's my wife." but the look Pekka had on his face was all the answer that Vesemir needed
Kit shouted and tried to fight off the people that were holding him back when he saw Nico being dragged down the stairs by a Dime Lion, she just nodded to him, she did what she needed to do, "She burnt half of Fahey's office down...Grisha."
Pekka didn't even hesitate as he shot Vesemir, him tumbling to the ground. Kit grunted as he looked away whilst Nico screamed, "Burn it to hell." Kit said and Nico knew what that meant, if she had the chance she would take it.
"Your boss won't know what hit her when she comes back."
Kit just looked up at him, "You won't know what hit you."
Upon the second bang, the man who was holding Nico screamed out in pain as even touching her was burning him, she stamped on his foot forcing him to let go before running back up the stairs towards the offices.
"Get her!" Pekka shouted
But by the time that the Dime Lions had ran up the stairs, Vesemir's office was up in flames, there was no following the young Inferni.
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In the Den, the final three Snakes were on their knees. The final three, the ones that kept fighting. The Fjerdans. The fight completely drained out of them, injured, beaten and broken. The bodies of Ivan, Alex and Eva on the ground behind them. With a lot of dead Dime Lions and Razorgulls, Ivan, Eva and Alex had put up a fight.
"Are we afraid to die?" Aaron asked as he looked at the Dimes Lions in front of them dead in the eyes, he was Fjerdan, almost a Druskelle, he wasn't afraid.
Meena shook her head, "No."
The three Fjerdans looked up at the Dime Lions Aaron shouted in frustration before he stood up and ran at one of them tackling him to the ground. The other two Fjerdan's took their chances.
Anneke span around with her leg out tripping a man up before snapping his neck, "Meena!" Anneke shouted, she looked back and caught the knife that she threw at her. Aaron was punching a Dime Lion until he wasn't moving anymore.
Meena turned around but she wasn't quick enough when a Dime Lion shot her straight in the gut, Anneke grabbed her and lowered her to the ground before she got stabbed in the back. Falling to the ground right beside her friend.
Aaron shouted when he saw his two sisters on the ground, he ran at one of the men, slamming into him, knocking the man onto the ground before snapping his neck, killing him. When he turned around to take on someone else a bang went off.
The final Fjerdan fell to his knees.
It was at that moment, Pekka Rollins walked into the den, "You took your time." He remarked , "You know I wasn't expecting your boss to have Grisha attackdogs."
Aaron was leaning one hand on the ground, he knew he was going to die, but he wasn't afraid. He was going to die with his friends, his family, his sisters. He wasn't ever afraid, and he wouldn't start now.
"I'm not afraid to die. I am Aaron Helvar, son of Benedik and Ida Helvar." He started to cough up blood, "My brother is Matthias, my sister is Anneke Helvar, and the blood of the Fjerda runs through my veins...I am not afraid to die. She will be back...and she will take you."
Pekka almost smiled, "I'll be waiting."
Thank you for reading
This wasn't needed, but I wanted to write it.
ALSO HELLO AARON AND ANNEKE HELVAR, nice little plot twist there :)
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