&. 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝟐 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

ah. hm. julius simply stood there, night breeze causing the end tails of his coat to sway in that light wind. his gaze dipped down to sonic, who was sitting there, studying him. before julius looked back toward the pond as sonic wondered if they'd be fighting today or not. tonight, julius wanted to correct, since it was after sundown, but,

"no. if it's all the same to you, i want to just talk."

[julius]

"of course i do. you're implying i'd forget?"

a clear laugh rising out of sonic; but it isn't mocking, or mean-spirited. good natured, like an old friend just told him something that made him unable to stop. sonic smiles laxly, "nope. was just wonderin'." he was sat in front of a small pond, glancing over at julius. "so. we gonna fight today, or?" never knew which one it'd be.

When you are writing a story and refer to a character by a physical trait, occupation, age, or any other attribute, rather than that character’s name, you are bringing the reader’s attention to that particular attribute. That can be used quite effectively to help your reader to focus on key details with just a few words. However, if the fact that the character is “the blond,” “the magician,” “the older woman,” etc. is not relevant to that moment in the story, this will only distract the reader from the purpose of the scene. 

If your only reason for referring to a character this way is to avoid using his or her name or a pronoun too much, don’t do it. You’re fixing a problem that actually isn’t one. Just go ahead and use the name or pronoun again. It’ll be good.

"you're the one taking offense and acting all defensive over a simple topic."

("why are you so damned sensitive.")

he stilled, hand twitching and stopping in his hair. his arm slacked, falling away from his own skull.

"⸻you just marinate, it's no wonder you feel how you do."

an explosion rattled and echoed in his own mind; sight of bodies, pieces of limbs, once organs, bits of hair and skull, lay strewn before him. he remembered shaking ⸻ unable to process what his eyes were seeing, his squadron, dead⸻

blood rained down on his face, scientists strewn along once white now red stained marble flooring⸻ his mother's distant, muffled screams, blood coating his own hands, arms. such a small child to be covered in so much blood⸻

years, days, months as a child and a teenager of begging, pleading, ASKING what he had done wrong to his parents and never being told why⸻ being treated like he were this horrible monster, this terrible blight of existence despite NOT REMEMBERING⸻

AND IT WAS HIS OWN FAULT? MARINATING?

"julius," stone's voice, his stone, cupping his face, "look at me. it's going to be okay."

any anger julius might've been feeling dissipated. he couldn't. not to him. never. and yet part of him could, would. julius smiled, but the expression looked bitter, a mix between genuinely hurt and confused, a touch lost,

".....clearly, you've waste your time."

the glare does nothing to him, and if anything it just makes the former agent shrug in response as he crosses his arms over his chest. "I merely asked. you are the one taking offense and acting all defensive over a simple topic."

really could the man not realize that? surely he had to know how odd that reaction was.

"because, from what it seems, you don't do hardly anything aside from challenging sonic when you get the chance. you just marinate, for lack of a better word. it is no wonder you feel how you do." the more he spoke with the man the more he regretted showing up, as whatever hope he had of aligning himself with another supposed like-minded individual kept slipping further and further away with every passing minute.

though that was mainly on stone for assuming, of course.

fyi i do not “crush” i experience violent, all-consuming devotion and yearning that leaves me physically ill

"i, for one, have never been prouder of colin."

I am the Vampire Lestat. I'm immortal more or less. The light of the sun, the sustained heat of an intense fire-these things might destroy me. But then again, they might not.

julius had just discovered about his own experimentations; those memories ⸻ of being injected, killing the scientists after he'd lost control ⸻ he had shackled away and compartmentalized. locked and buried deep within, yet always a nagging. a ghost of dreams, thinking them only bad nightmares, horrible intrusive thoughts that couldn't possibly⸻ but they were real. they were memories, and julius was not a human. hadn't been in decades, not since he'd been a young boy.

the rage he'd felt was indescribable. he couldn't stay with G.U.N any longer, knowing now what he did. & so julius sought to leave the base, but not before exacting some revenge. this organization had done nothing but take, take, take from julius. time he returned that favour.

before this though, he sought out agent stone. stone, julius had decided, was not part of the plan. stone was one julius couldn't bring harm to, no matter how annoyed and irritated he may be feeling. so, julius had told stone that they'd be parting ways, and stone was to leave the base. julius made up some small lie about stone being relocated to a different G.U.N base without him. convincing enough, julius decided. that done, he left, headed back to his own quarters.

& didn't exit from his 'room' for the next few days, planning.

of course, missing his duties meant that eventually the G.U.N base supervisor and some of his men were obligated to check in on robotnik. he could hear them now, knocking on the door and demanding that robotnik open the door, before they broke it down. he stood there, memories of those agonies ghosting along his ear.

he could feel it now, so easily: that power swelling within his chest, swirling and building, arcing down his arms and kissing his fingertips with warmth. he gathered that chaos energy into his palms, noting that bright red energy that gathered like a mist initially before transforming into a brighter plasma, a low bubbled laugh rolling out of julius' mouth at the sight. a grin split along his expression ⸻ HE WAS GOING TO ENJOY THIS ⸻, and he moved, hurling that sphere of chaos energy at the door the moment they breached; which caused an explosion to billow outward, engulfing the supervisor and the men behind him, causing the others to be blown off their feet.

alarms began to blare, explosions in another part of the base caused the lights to cut and for the emergency lights to kick in. washing the floor and the walls in a darker red. julius stepped out, over those bodies, barely paying them any mind. until his gaze landed on an unmoving person laying just a bit away from the main group.

stone.

julius stalled, staring. what⸻ he moved, scrambled, dropped to his knees and scooped that limp corpse body into his arms, eyes scanning and roaming stone's face for any signs of life. no, no- "y-you were supposed to leave," the words are hurried, hushed. julius had killed him⸻ NO, NO JULIUS COULDN'T HAVE⸻ NOT HIM

his shoulders twitched, hunching over stone's body, as though protecting him. useless. stupid. worthless. his breathing was quickened, as though gasping for air he couldn't suck in fast enough. he hadn't meant to- he couldn't- please, come back. "i'm sorry, i'm sorry!," the words were barely there, whispered, voice breaking, a choked catch of the last syllables. if he'd felt that energy building before, it was skyrocketing now. his entire body tensed up, a screamed wail of a noise that heightened into a louder angered sound: shrill and echoing and seemingly never-ending.

that energy burst outward, not in an explosion but a burning of fire, that energy arcing around julius' body. through tear-stained face, he watched as stone's body burned away in his arms. ash, slipping through his fingers, scattering along the floor only to blow away from that output of pressure. he had thought he'd lost everything before⸻ didn't realize until it was too late just how much more he had left yet to lose⸻

he could feel himself starting to clam up again. julius hadn't been finished, he'd just paused to try and figure out how to word the rest of it. if he could. it'd been hard enough to even get out those small bits and portions. & where stone might think his words were comforting, they were the exact opposite.

⸻ all that did was reaffirm to julius that he was supposed to be the one to be in that position. to be the one leading. to be the one that was meant to be sadistic. or to be the one that was meant to ⸻ what had he said? 'enslave humanity'? not unlike that time julius'd been told he was to lead his squadron despite not wanting to at all and feeling as though james had been better for the job.

if he had the energy in him, he might've gotten angered. but that odd numbness that settled into his heart and mind, sort of felt like a fog. like what little bit of hope he had for that ever happening cracked and slipped away. & julius just, let it.

"....." he isn't certain what to say, to stone telling him that he was happy that he trusted him enough. he exhales, and lets go of his hand before standing up, forcing himself to, even though he doesn't truly want to.

a big part of stone wasn't surprised with the reply julius gave, as he figured they had to be something someone wouldn't want to actually voice. the thing stone was surprised about was the man's willingness to humor him and actually give an explanation. stone knew it was likely very difficult if julius' body language were any give away.

however when the topic changes to him, or rather the stone that belonged to julius' timeline, he felt his heart start to race. how odd it was to hear those words come from his mouth, as if julius were some sort of mindreader and was voicing the thoughts stone had a long, long time ago.

it was the same explanation he would have given to ivo if he were able, but that didn't matter. not anymore, not since...

he meets julius' gaze with a soft one if his own, trying to figure out how to reply.

"I know how you feel. those thoughts that you have. they were the same words I wished I had told to ivo, before he..." he quiets, clearing his throat as he wills the tears away, "before he sacrificed himself. I'm not sure what happened to your stone, but I have a feeling we are in the same situation where we are missing our respective companions."

again silence on stone's part, but it is only a moment before he speaks again. "I am happy you trust me enough to share such a personal and vulnerable part of yourself with me."