Don’t Leave Me
"Listen Z, I might have intel on Fisk, on what he's doing. I can finally expose the bastard and-"
"You think?! What do you mean you think? Sage this isn't some sort of video game where you think you know where the boss is. If you lose a life- that's it. Done. Are you sure about this?" Zaray's voice was tense, her tone sharp as she yelled at her sister over the phone.
Sage knew her sister was right, hell, going after Fisk was a death wish in and of itself.
But she had to do it. She had to do this.
"Z, you know I have to do this. I have to stop this bastard from making Hell's Kitchen worse. He's almost bought the whole city and I just know he pays half these idiots hush money. And I need-"
She was cut off by her sister groaning into the phone, no doubt pinching the bridge of her nose in irritation. "Sage Hockley, I swear to the gods. You don't have to,"
"But I'm going to. And no matter what you say or-"
"What about Matt?"
Sage froze, not realizing she was starting to pace her living room. Her blood ran cold as her mind began to swim with thoughts of Matt; how he would be if this mission went south and she ended up in the hospital- or worse.
Just the thought of him crying over her casket, screaming that this was all a dream and that this wasn't really happening. She imagined how he would refuse to leave her gravesite, just standing there while everyone accepted it and went home. Knowing him, he would only go home due to not having had eaten in days, and he would go to her apartment instead of his.
He would walk in and inhale the way her apartment smelled, reaching for anything to try and keep her close to him; well...memories of her close. He would sleep in her bed for weeks, trying not to cry into her pillow so as to preserve the smell of her shampoo. He would be devastated, and he would become a shell of a human.
Her thoughts began to change as she thought more about him. Everything about him made her smile, from his crooked smile to the way he called her Flower. He was always so...loving towards her, from his soft touches to his kind words.
Like on their last dinner outing, how her hand had somehow ended up idly sitting in his open palm. He never once closed his hand, instead he spun his hand around her, occasionally intertwining their fingers and playing with the rings on her hand. Her heart was racing before he finally locked their hands together and kissed the back of her hand.
Taking a deep breath, Sage pushed it out from between her quivering lips. Now having had sat down on her couch, her free hand gripped the edge of the cushion as a tear slid down her cheek.
"I have to protect Hell's Kitchen, sis. If I don't call you in three days..." Sage trailed off as she tried to not let the tears consume her as they were already choking her. She didn't dare to think of how her own sister would react to her possible death.
"Two days and you take your batons," Zaray tried to bargain, her words almost inaudible, tears no doubt falling down her cheeks as well. Looking up towards her unpainted ceiling, the wooden supports full of dust as a stray rat ran across one of the beams.
"Three days but on the second day you can call Matt. And I'll still take my batons"
"Fine. But Sage," Zaray paused and took a deep and shaky breath. "I love you."
"I love you too sis."
~~~~
Pulling her suit out of her closet, Sage sucked in a breath as she saw how dark the black was as it was stained with her blood from the night she got shot. She smiled weakly at the memory; the way that Devil took care of her and continued to praise her as he dug the bullet out of her shoulder.
God, he would probably be the one to find her after this too.
Pushing that breath out, she laid the suit across her bed before she leaned down and grabbed her mask. The golden lace was the only thing that stood out from her all black suit, as much as she wanted to hide in the shadows, she also wanted to honor the goddess she was named after.
Laying the mask next to the suit, she began to reach around to unhook her bra to put on her sports bra, when a knock sounded at her door. Sage froze at the sound, confused as to who would be at her door at this hour. Quickly glancing towards her bedside clock, her confusion only grew as the red letters read 9:32.
"Flower?" Matt's muffled voice carried through her apartment as she stuck her head out of her bedroom, she had a clear shot of the front door from her bedroom, and her blood ran cold as another knock rang through her apartment.
"Flower I need to talk to you," he said, his tone urgent and he sounded as if he had been crying. Sighing, she knew she could never turn him down; pulling her shirt back over her head, she made way to her front door and opened it to let him in.
In an instant, he pulled her to his chest and hugged her tight. His cologne filling her nose, tears welling in her eyes once again as she wrapped her arms around his torso.
"I haven't hugged you in awhile Flower and I uh..." He smiled as his cheeks flushed pink. Rubbing the back of his neck, he smiled towards her before taking his hand in hers.
"I uh...Goodnight my precious Flower," he whispered, kissed her hand before turning on his heels and making way to his door. Confused, Sage smiled and walked back into her apartment before walking quickly back to her bedroom.
She had to stop Fisk, she felt it was up to her to protect Hell's Kitchen. Devil had been doing it for longer than she had, and she felt it was her job to stop the horrible businessman.
Making sure her mask was fully secured around her face, she quickly tied the hair tie around the end of her braid. Looking back, she quickly pulled her mask down and blew a kiss towards Matt's apartment. Swallowing the lump that had formed once again in her throat, she pulled her mask back up and jumped down the fire escape.
Her way over to the abandoned warehouse, her vision was blurred with unshed tears. In her heart, she felt like that was the last time she would see Matt, and she didn't have the gut to tell him how she really felt.
But...it didn't matter anyway. She knew she was going to die fighting for the city she loved. The city that held the people she loved. If she could save her city, she could save Foggy, Karen, Sami. And Matt.
Quickly clearing her throat, she dropped down next to the doors and slowly pulled the door open. The warehouse was more up kept than she had thought, no doubt due to Fisk pushing some sort of goods through it, wanting it more presentable to the slums who bought those goods.
Quietly making way to the far side of the room, water dripping from another roomed echoed off the concrete walls, goosebumps littering her arms and the back of her neck as she saw the maps strown about a fold up table.
They were maps of Hell's Kitchen, with two blocks circled; the one her and Matt lived on, and the other was one of that of Mrs. Cardanias, an elderly woman who Karen and Foggy were trying to help.
"I expected the Devil, but looks as if I got the Goddess," a voice called out, venom dripping from his words. Turning around, she saw a man dressed in all red, the front of it wrapping around his body. A mask also covered his face and head, leaving nothing but his eyes exposed to her.
"Oh, I'm sorry to step on your moment. But I have other plans here," she quipt. She would be lying if she said her heart wasn't racing as the man seemed to pull out weapons out of nowhere. They were knives of sorts with hooked edges on them almost like small scythes, both hooked together with a rather long chain.
"I hate to break it to you sweetheart, but your plans aren't what you thought they would be." His foot slid forward so quickly, Athena almost wasn't able to register what had happened until the sound of metal slicing through the air broke her out of her momentary trance. Dodging his attack, she quickly pulled her batons out from where they were attached to her thighs. Standing her ground, she took a deep breath and waiting for his next attack.
Which came quicker than she had thought, the heavy chain wrapping around her body, the sharp edge of the knife already slightly digging into her skin. The man yanked harshly on the chain, causing Athena to fall to the ground. Dragging her towards him, he pulled upwards so as to pull her off the ground. Looking into his eyes, she saw nothing but rage.
"You are going to regret coming here," he whispered. Pulling again, the chain tightened around her body, the blade digging deeper into her side as a scream began to tear its way from her throat.
The chain was quick to unravel itself, allowing her to try and back away to give herself some sense of security and a chance to fight back. The man was taunting her now, stalking her as if she was prey. The sound of his blade dragging on the ground chilled her to her core.
Finally standing, Athena stood tall, her batons in each hand while the man swung his blade around in circles, each time it came into contact with the cement floors, sparks would fly. She could see the way his eye crinkled ever so slightly at the edges that he loved taunting her.
Getting tired of waiting, Athena threw one of her batons, aiming for his head before he swung his blade up and blocked it, the wood flying to the other side of the room with a pathetic sound. In a split second, he threw his blades at her again; trying to miss it, she jumped up and did an aerial, her feet landing back on the ground just as the blade came back around and side swiped her left side.
Groaning, she could feel the warmth of her blood oozing down her side, the coppery stench making her stomach upset as her body knew that something was wrong. But she had to keep fighting.
Taking another few steps towards the ninja, she was determined to get one hit in, watching carefully as his arm drew back to throw his blades again, quickly dodging it and throwing her baton before landing a kick to his stomach.
The ninja showed no signs that she had even landed that kick, which enraged her more as she tipped on her heels and dug the heel of her boot straight into his stomach again, this time sending him sliding across the floor.
He seemed to roll his eyes at her confidence; throwing his blades again, Athena was unable to move in time as the blade sliced across her stomach. A groan rumbled through her throat as she held onto her stomach, her blood staining her hands quicker than she would have liked.
"Fucking A-" she mumbled to herself, her knees giving out on her already as she fell to the ground. Her body screamed at her to run, get to safety and wait for Devil to get there to help her. But she couldn't. This was her fight.
Pulling the blade out of her back, she was quick in throwing it back at him, watching as he dodged the knife and let it lodge into one of the metal barrels that sat in stacks about four feet behind him.
Pulling the chain, the blade dislodged itself from the barrel, the stench of alcohol was quick to fill the room. a light bulb went off within her head as she looked towards the ceiling; the older lights were uncovered and one was hanging right over where the barrel was still pouring out the alcohol.
Glancing around the room, she saw one of her batons sitting near the spill; she had to draw him over here or else she would die in this room.
Running towards her baton, the ninja threw his blade again, the rounded edge slicing into her back once more. She could feel the blade slicing her skin open as if it was paper, nothing stopping it from going further down her back.
Another scream tore through her throat, tears streaming down her face and wetting her mask. She should have listened to her sister, should have stayed home. Or waited for Devil.
A low chuckle rumbled through the ninja's chest; He was enjoying this. He was enjoying watching her suffer as she couldn't land even a single hit to him. Just as she was able to reach her baton, her fingers were barely wrapped around it before the chain wrapped around her body.
She could feel little pebbles and rocks imbed themselves within her wounds as he dragged her across the floor. Her scream tore through her throat, her mother's name leaving her lips in a tired whisper as she stopped moving across the floor.
She silently prayed that the pain would be over soon and she would be with her mother once again.
Realizing he was standing closer to the barrels, Athea rolled onto her stomach and took a quick breath before pushing herself up off the floor and ran towards her baton. She could hear the ninja behind her, his blade dragging across the floor.
Grabbing her baton, she spun around and ran towards the red ninja; using all of her might to kick him into the barrels of alcohol, the barrels all breaking upon impact. He was now coated in the fowl smelling liquor.
Throwing her baton up to the light, the antique bulb shattered on impact, sending shards of electricity raining down onto the ninja. The alcohol quickly catching on fire as his screams tore through the building.
Within seconds his screams subsided as his body fell still; she had killed someone. Holy shit...she had killed someone. Shaking her head, she shakily made her way back to the maps to try and gather them up to prove that Fisk was a bad man.
"Well...I for sure thought that Nobu would have killed you. Well done Athena," Fisk praised as him and two others walked into the room. Fisk clasped his hands behind his back, his chest puffing out towards her as she swayed from her lack of blood and high adrenaline.
"I'm going...to fucking...kill YOU!" she screamed, rushing towards Fisk and swinging a tired arm towards him. Her fist connect with his cheek, her body unable to fully catch itself as she fell forward, almost completely falling to the ground.
Fisk's strong hands caught her by her biceps. Pulling her upright, he released one of her arms before connecting his fist with her face. Her eyes began to water as she tasted faint copper. She knew her cheek had been split from just that one punch, his rings doing the favor.
She counted at least four more punches before she lost count, her face now almost completely swollen as blood oozed out of the cuts now littering her face. Fisk's screams and yells of rage filled her ears, but none of it mattered.
She wanted it all to stop, all the pain and fighting. She prayed to her god to let her life slip fro her body. She wanted to see her mom again; Zaray and Matt would eventually get over her death, but she was never able to get over her mother's.
"Get her out of here," his gruff voice filled her ears as he climbed off of her, her lungs barely being able to fill with air. Her body went limp as two men carried her outside, the cool air shocking her lungs even more as she gasped for air.
"Where do we dump her?"
"Fuck if I care."
She was thrown into the back of a car, the engine already running before they quickly took off. With each turn, bump in the road, and each sudden stop, she would cough and gasp for air.
"Please, just kill me," she pleaded, but she was unsure if the men heard her or not.
"Here, this alley way." The car screeched to a stop, throwing Athena's body forward. Darkness started to cloud her mind as the trunk opened up and the two men dragged her out of the car. Groaning, the men were quick in throwing her into a pile of garbage bags.
A muffled scream left her throat just as quick as it had come up. Her breathing was becoming more and more labored and her head was becoming more cloudy.
"It's okay sweetie. Come to mom," her mother's angelic voice filled her ears, a weak smile forming on her lips as she slowly reached up and clasped her necklace with bloody fingers.
"It's okay honey. You can rest now."
"Goddess? Goddess holy shit! Stay with me love please," Devil's panicked voice filled her ears. She cared for him more than anyone- but his voice seemed to have pushed her mother's away.
"Please open your eyes, stay with me. I'm going to get you help I promise," he cried, scooping her up in his arms as gently as he could, a strangled cry escaping her lips as he shifted her as best as he could.
"Please don't leave me, goddess. I don't know what I would do without you," he whispered, ducking behind a van to try and them as much as possible.
He knew who to go to, a friend who had helped stitch him up a few times before he had met Athena. And as upset as this friend would be, he knew she wouldn't turn him down.
"Please, let me go. I don't," she coughed violently, copper filling her mouth as she tried to wriggle free of his arms. "I don't want to live."
"I'm sorry my love, but you aren't allowed to leave me. Just stay awake a little while longer. Please," he begged, running down the darkened alleyway as smoothly as he could.
But she couldn't help it, her eyes were heavy and she could see her mother with her beautiful curly black hair waving in wind. Her hand was outstretched and a smile was spread across her maroon painted lips.
She was at the lake, the last place her mother and her had been before the accident. The sounds of waves breaking against the shore mixed with the faint sound of boat engines filled her ears. She was home, her lake home. There were life jackets and fishing rods leaned up against the boat house, water puddles under the jackets- they had just gone swimming.
Reaching out her smaller hand, she could feel how much her mother was waiting for this moment, a moment that had been twenty years in the making.
"Mom," she breathed out, taking her mother's hand in hers. Pulling her close, her mom hugged her tightly, the moment seeming to last for mere seconds before she pulled her away.
"My darling. It is not your time."
"W-what do you mean? Mom I miss you," she argued, confused as to why her mother was at first wanting her to come to her, and now was saying it was no longer her time.
"You have so much ahead of you. That boy, he-"
Her eyes flew open as she coughed violently. Where was she? Sure as hell wasn't home. Pushing her arm below her, she tried to push herself up more into a sitting position, the pain in her stomach causing her to cough more.
"Hey hey easy now, easy. My name is Claire and I'm just here to help take care of you until your friend comes to get you."