shifted_logs | The Seventh Match

Entry tags:

The Seventh Match

Characters: Gene, Diva, Spectators
Location: The Coliseum.
Time: Two days after the last fights.
Summary: The seventh of the death matches.
Warnings: Character death warning.

Today, Weber had let in a visitor early. With his coffee cup balanced on the seat between them, he was all smooth smiles, a performance designed for one.

The Doctor wasn't happy with Weber, but his conversation with Ten reminded him that he still owed the man a cup of coffee. So he brought him one, and got right down to business. "Tried to find the Emperor, but he never showed up. Any tips? Or are you gonna point a revolver at my head for interfering?"

Weber startled. He almost dropped his cup. Then he drew his revolver, not to point it at the Doctor, but to aim for the head of the man in sable robes who had appeared behind the Doctor, the one known to Naminé merely as the king. Weber got to his feet. “My liege.”

The king returned the smile. “My liar.”

Weber’s gun hand was severed from his wrist in the flash of the king’s sword. Silver blood fell from the wound, but Weber didn’t hesitate. He was forward in a moment, his other hand swinging up for the king's face, but the king caught that and twisted, forcing Weber to the ground.

“Oh, your most glorious majesty.” There was no stopping Weber’s smile, even as he cradled his injured arm to his chest. “How the sight of you brings me to my knees.”

“Were it that you would learn your place there.” With Weber now held down, the king offered the Doctor a brief flicker of his attention. “Another victim, my liar?”

The Doctor rose from his seat—no, the Oncoming Storm rose from his seat. "Let him go. I'm nobody's victim, and neither is he." He stepped forward, placing a hand on Weber's shoulder. "This ends now, your Majesty. I gave you a chance, and you've lost it."

“Doctor, don’t—”

Weber’s shout was pointless. In a gesture too easy and too familiar, the king shoved his sword through the Doctor’s chest and twisted.

The Doctor gasped, both in surprise and pain. His jumper was stained with blood as he collapsed to the ground, and he knew he was dying again. "Time to be a real boy, Pinocchio," he whispered, only for Weber to hear.

The two immortals watched the Doctor die. Then the king drew a card from his robes. As the Doctor's body dissolved into nothing, so too did a gold bracelet on the king's wrist. He drew out another card. One of his gold rings thinned, almost imperceptible to anyone at a distance. The king released Weber and offered him his hand.

And Weber, with his now-regrown hand, took it, sweeping his fallen hat up from the floor and putting it back on his head. “The fight, my liege?”

“Of course.” The king took the Emperor's throne with the arrogance of born royalty. Obedient, the man in the silver-stained cravat sat at his king's side. They were decadence and dissonance, gold jewellery and black fabrics, one's clothing from the West, the other from the East. They had held thrones like these so many times before, and each fell easily into the familiar parts.

The king waved a callous hand. “Gene Hunt.”

Weber gave a sad smile. “Diva.”

The king said, “Get on with it.”

The sand in the hourglass fell, unable to reach the black and silver blood lingering beneath its frame.

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Her answer wasn't exactly expected and Gene drew up short, the faintest hint of a frown creasing his brow. Ignoring the fact that he really couldn't kill Diva (though he'd put in a good show of it the last time he tried), hearing her so nonchalantly discuss their predicament was off-putting. Gene didn't really want to think about it. Too many had all ready died on his watch, had been killed when he vowed no one would die. Now it was down to this?

"Why should I care if you forgive me?" Easier to keep up the banter and the argument than consider the outcome of the day. Besides, if it would save one person from this hell-hole, Gene figured suicide might not be a bad idea. Hell, he'd even get under the vampire's skin by doing so. He couldn't think of a better win-win scenario that didn't involve punching Weber repeatedly in the face.

"You obviously don't know me very well," he continued, reaching for the tin. "Bring anything to crack it open, or are we just going to admire how pretty it is?"

"I did! I almost didn't, but when I was leaving the shop, the man told me that I would need something to open it. So we should thank him or else we couldn't have any." Diva was smiling a little again, feeling like she had won the argument enough to at least just get him interested in the beer instead of what was going on.

Even though death wasn't the same for Diva as it was Gene, she was worried, too. When time ran out, what would happen? Would they just suddenly drop dead? Or would it be slow and painful? She could only hope that when time ran out, it would be peaceful for both of them.

Diva let Gene take the tin and knelt on the tablecloth as she dug through the basket. She pulled out the necessary tools, holding them up for Gene to see, but nodded to the tablecloth.

"Well, let's sit, then. And you should care because we're friends, of course. Ne, you might not think so, but I think Gene is my friend."

"Wonderful. We're about to be murdered, and you want to be buddy-buddy." Still, the Guv took a seat on the tablecloth, cracking open the tin with the tools Diva had taken out of the basket. He gave her a look that said 'cups?' before setting the Party Four down again and sighing.

"This what you want, then?"

Diva dug into the basket again and handed Gene one cup while keeping the other for herself. She also took out a small carton of strawberries, but they were for herself. The idea of Gene eating strawberries with her was almost humorous, so she smiled more.

"It is. If you want to be so blunt, then yes, I do. You sat down with me, so you don't mind that much, obviously. Do you think it's really murder, though? I mean, I don't think anyone has just let time run out before, so...No, I guess it is."

Diva shook her head. "Ne, I used to love the Plane so much, but I don't really know how to feel anymore."

Gene snorted, taking the glass and pouring himself a drought before passing the tin back to Diva. The fact they were sitting here, on a picnic blanket, chatting and drinking when a timer was counting down their living moments wasn't missed. The whole bloody thing was ludicrous, but what was he going to do? Kill Diva? Even if he'd been able to, he couldn't do it. Gene Hunt was no murderer, and he'd be damned if some poofter managed to get him to off one of CID. He'd shoot himself, first.

Which was still an option. At least saving Diva would mean Gene had done something rather than sit back and let that Weber bastard have his way with the Plane-goers.

"Hate the place myself," he grunted, glancing toward the stands, none too happy to see some other bloke up there with the sodding prick. "Place is nothing more than a headache."

She poured her own, smiling down at the glass. Diva didn't really care for beer, since she drank for the taste of liquor rather than how buzzed it got her. But she still sipped from it politely, fitting the unfitting idyllic scene of their picnic awaiting death.

"Ne, it's not that bad. I mean, without the Plane, I would be--Well, I guess I would be dead, since it's been so long since Nathan killed me. But what I was going to say was that I would still be Amshel's. I'd still be that person that Gene definitely hated."

It was said with fondness. Despite her past year, she still was more grateful to the Plane than any other because of the new life it had brought her.

"But then again," she added on, teasing, "I don't know if it's true anymore, but you did hate me for a really long time. So I was probably just a part of that headache! It's not my fault that Sam is charming, in his way. Goodness, you really were protective of him. Like when I took him to that fancy party and he didn't tell you? I thought you were going to hit him right in front of me!"

The thought of Diva still taking orders from Amshel was a sour one and Gene made a face, burying what he was about to say in a drink. No, she was certainly better off without the div, even if it meant she was under his skin all the bloody time. But she had changed, and even if he wouldn't admit it, Gene was proud of her.

"What makes you think I still don't?" he challenged, though there was a hint of amusement threading through his voice. "And I'll give him a good clock to the chin when this is all over for doing it, too. Thanks for reminding me."

Diva couldn't help but laugh, a little. Even if Gene was trying to hide it, Diva could see through it easily enough. But she already knew that Gene cared for her. He was the best practitioner of "tough love" that she had ever met, but she didn't mind.

"I just have a feeling, is all." She considered bring up how much nicer he was to her after he shot her terribly, but this conversation had enough talk of death already.

Her lips turned into a frown at the threat, though. "You had better not! You're not allowed to hurt Sam when I'm around, Gene. Especially not for something that was my idea anyways. You can't blame Sam for that."

It also helped that Diva was very stubborn and pushy about it. If she remembered correctly, she really had badgered Sam into going, and he wasn't that comfortable there.

Gene outright snorted, giving Diva his best 'oh please' look. "I'll yell at him for anything I damn well please, luv, and there's nothing you can do about it. The div can take it, anyway. Sure as hell deserves it."

He grinned, finishing off his glass and pouring himself another from the tin. If nothing else, he'd prove she should have gotten them a Party Seven, time be damned.

She was surprised that he was finished already and only took a small sip of her own glass. Actually, no, she wasn't that surprised, considering this was the man that had challenged a vampire to a drinking contest and lost. Terribly. The thought made her smile.

"Oh, I know he can take it, but if it was my idea in the first place, there's no reason to take it out on poor Sam. He can't help that I'm so convincing," she said with a cheeky grin, but settled into sipping her beer again.

"I just want him to be happy is all. Well, relatively. I love him, but he's not a very happy person, in a lot of ways. It's depressing, isn't it?"

"If you'd rather," Gene offered, beginning to rifle through the picnic basket for some food. Might as well, really. "I could always shoot you again. See how convincing you are asking a bloke out with holes in your head."

It probably wasn't the best joke he could make, but Gene didn't really care, considering the vampire in silence over his cup, one hand still in the basket. "It's bloody annoying is what it is. Div wouldn't know a good time if it kicked him in the arse."

Diva paused, looking down at her cup. Gene would find sandwiches (since it was the only thing Diva could make herself, really) inside, but Diva was quiet as he rifled through.

"I know," she said after the pause, "and that's why I try to take him out to do things with me. He was always uncomfortable, though, since it was too..." Diva paused again, but this time she was reaching for a word to describe the parties. "...Too...rich, I guess? I don't know, since I'd never really gone to any other kind of party."

She took another sip. "Do you regret it, by the way? I mean, shooting me that much."

Pulling out a sandwich (really, Diva?), Gene took a bite, chewing thoughtfully. "Not the lifestyle for a copper, luv," he offered. "That's for fops and poofs and the scum who try and run my streets. A good copper don't need any of that and Tyler's the best there is."

He frowned at her question, polishing off the sandwich and taking another swig. "Only that I didn't have another clip. What you did deserved more than I gave and you know it." Gene looked her over, imperious and silent a moment. "Did you even feel it?"

A smile came to her lips on Sam's behalf. Diva had a feeling he wouldn't need that much reassurance that he was a good policeman, but it made her feel oddly at ease. But the smile fell quickly.

"I felt every single one. You shouldn't have to ask that," she said quietly. It seemed like she wouldn't continue with the conversation, but after a silence, continued, "I don't know what it feels like for normal people, because I've never been normal, but I've been dying ever since I can remember. And it's the worst thing, because when I die, it's painful until I just---Everything is gone. So for however long it takes for me to come back, it's like time is just stopped, but I never know it until I come back, and that hurts too. But because I spent fifty years stuck in a tower where I was always dying, I can block it out and pretend it doesn't happen. Because, you know, when I would scream, they would just gag me or take out my vocal cords and wait for them to grow back. It always hurts, but it's not the same for me as it is for Saya. Because when Saya would get cut by my Chevalier, she would scream so loudly, and I wondered why, because I only thought it was okay to scream when something really terrible was happening, like when your legs are broken or when you're being hurt so much that your body can't keep up with healing it."

Diva laughed and smiled like it was a fond memory. "I feel everything. But they're not worth talking about, since it doesn't really matter for me, does it? That's what Amshel made me believe. If I had to kill people I liked or let people that Amshel wanted to impress do whatever they wanted with me for a night, it was fine because it'd always be fine because there aren't any marks by the time it's over. I don't need to cry or be upset about things like that, because even if I can feel it, they're not there."

She finished off her beer, looking at Gene coolly. She had lived a hard, terrible life, but she had no problem admitting any of it because of what she had just described. What she felt didn't matter as long as other people were satisfied.

"That's why Sam is so important to me. He didn't want anything from me. He was the first person to really, truly care about what I felt."

For once, Gene remained silent while Diva spoke, taking in her story with a stony expression. There'd been a reason he hated Amshel more than the vampire, no matter how much death Diva wrought. If it weren't for that bastard, maybe the broad would have turned out decently. Or at least more like a normal bird than she had.

Knowing the sort of pain she'd gone through didn't make up for the deaths she'd caused, though, and while Gene now had a better sense of what Diva physically felt, it didn't mean shit if she didn't understand how others did.

"That's not what I meant, luv," he finally offered, pulling out a fag and lighting it with a flick of his wrist, slipping the zippo back into his pocket a moment later. "You hurt when I shot you. You have any idea how much it hurt those blokes you offed? You feel anything at all when you killed 'em, or is it still just a game to you?"

She was flustered that she had misinterpreted what he said so badly. Her hands came to cover her face and she stammered in embarrassment briefly before settling back into the conversation.

"I...I know it did. And it hurts so many more people than me. I didn't really want to believe that for a while, but it..."

Her hands fell from her face to her lap, and she settled into the routine of topping off both of their drinks. Diva was the hostess, gracious and lady-like, just as she had been taught. It contrasted greatly against the nature of their conversation.

"I don't know a lot of their names, the people I killed. Ne, but one of them, I'll never forget. Thomas Davis had a wife and a baby girl, and they were both so beautiful. Ne, I know that because after it happened, I saw her. She was yelling and screaming at me, saying things like how she hoped that I suffered and died for what I did, but that wasn't anything I hadn't heard before. It was when she just started crying, right there, like she was hurting so much. I don't think I could forget that if I wanted to. It hurt, to see that. No matter what I did, I'd never really seen anything like that before."

Gene wasn't one for heavy conversation and this one had reached his weight limit with Diva's addendum. It was enough to hear her say it, even if the Guv didn't necessarily believe she fully understand what she'd done. But it was a start, and compared to the broad he'd first met, it was a completely different person sitting here pouring him a pint of Party Four like they were at tea with the Queen.

Pulling out his gun, Gene looked the revolver over, checking the chamber, then casually leaned over and pressed the barrel to Diva's chest. He made sure to look her in the eye, expression grim, before tilting the gun up and tapping her lightly on the chin.

"Just don't let me catch you doing it again," he said, raising his cup with his free hand and taking a drink before tossing the gun off to the side on the blanket. "And I told you we'd need Party Seven."

She couldn't help a slight intake of breath when the gun was pressed to her chest. Diva didn't tense up or try to move, again perfectly willing to let Gene shoot her. But when he tapped her chin, she reached up and touched the spot lightly in surprise. She stared for a moment, but...Diva couldn't help but laugh.

"Ne, Gene, don't scare me like that! I'd definitely be mad if you ruined this dress," she said with a laugh. It was a relief that he hadn't, since she understood the gesture as Gene's trust. Considering she had only guessed that she had some of it, it made her happy, in an odd way.

So she took a sip of her beer, smiling over the edge of the glass. "I'm so sorry, then, Gene. It's not my fault that you drink like a pig."

"Bet it'd make it look nicer," he joked, tipping back his glass for a long swallow. "Never did get the point in fancy clothes. The wife likes 'em, too. Bloody waste of money if you ask me."

Diva bantered back and Gene snorted. "How else does one show appreciation for the finer things in life, luv?"

"Well, what other finer things I going to spend my money on? Food? It's fun to look nice, especially since other people tend to like it a lot. Especially on me, of course."

Diva was not well renowned for her modesty.

A good thing Gene didn't regard her as all that attractive. Well, consciously. "Your taste in boyfriends could use a once-over. Try spending it on that."

She smiled coyly. "Oh, like I need to buy a boyfriend, Gene. I can walk into a club and pick up any boy I like."

Diva tilted her head slightly, laughing behind her fingertips. It was very true, and slightly ironic in that they were the ones that would buy her anything she wanted if she asked. She had that effect on men. Not all of them, of course, but enough.

"Oh, but do you really think my taste is that bad? The only boy that I want is Sam."

Gene gave her a long, hard look. "That's the point," he said. "You could do better than a tosser like him. Div don't know jack about birds."

"Oh, Sam's not that bad," she whined, "Sam is a wonderful gentleman! He knows exactly how to treat a woman."

Though, thinking about it, he was oblivious in certain areas that were of particular interest to Diva. Specifically, the areas that made her jump from "boyfriend" to "boyfriend" on the side. She was emotionally faithful, at the very least?

After a pause, she added, "Well, he's not perfect, but that's fine. He's certainly not a...Oh, what's the word--a playboy, is it?"

He couldn't help himself; Gene snorted. And loudly. "Sure he does."

The idea of Sam Tyler as some sort of dandy was enough to make Gene honestly consider not finishing his alcohol. Or possibly consuming it faster. He wasn't sure which would serve his constitution better at the thought. Probably being drunk. It would have the added benefit of making their last moments alive go by faster, as well.

"If I hadn't found Tyler cuffed to his bed with his trousers on the floor, I'd think he'd never seen the underside of a bird's skirt, but seeing as he got himself trussed up like a Christmas turkey, he's at least got that going for him." Gene took a swig. "But no. He's certainly not randy, the sod."

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