Bullet(Proof) (O2A)

[Adrian Taylor]

Doctor: "I'm sorry, Mr. Taylor. I'm afraid it would be in your best interest to take a few weeks off before you get back into that ring."

"Are you serious?"

~Adrian stood there within the Sin City Wrestling doctor's office with an eyebrow arched up. This motherfucker... He's just supposed to sit back and relax tonight? He was shot. Once. He wasn't dead. He wasn't wearing a cast. He wasn't crippled. He just had a hole in his body. A hole that will heal. He just wanted to get his hands on Scott Manor for once tonight and this doctor is making it increasingly difficult to do that. He didn't know what it was. Whether it was the fact that Lessien had questioned his true nature in this world or if it was the fact that he felt the need to destroy the enemy once and for all. Perhaps, it was a little of both. However, the doctor shook his head and stood his ground.~

Doctor: "In all good conscience, I really can't. You've just been shot earlier this week. You're not a hundred percent yet. Getting back in that ring might cause your wound to reopen and I'm sure we both don't want that now."

"I've got bandages. It ain't like I'm going out there without a plan."

Doctor: "It's dangerous, Mr. Taylor. I'm sorry. I simply can't sign off for you to compete tonight. You'll thank me later."

"Thank you later? How about this? Go fuck yourself."

~Adrian gave the doctor a middle finger before walking out of the doctor's office with a look of irritation in his eyes. Almost slamming the door behind him on his way out. He began to walk one way through the hallway before turning around to head the other way. He stopped again and turned around once more. Pacing back and forth. Gah. He was just plain frustrated about this. Being told that he couldn't perform tonight? Because of a little wound? It wasn't anything serious. Just a bullet wound. Sure. It still hurt like a bitch. He could fight through the pain. He could handle it. It wasn't like his arm was completely useless. It's been a few days now. He could still use it. Maybe not lift it above his head without that sharp pain shooting through his body, but he could manage it. Goddamn doctor.~

"What to do...? What the fuck to do now...? What the fuck am I going to do...?"

~Adrian asked to no one in particular. Just rhetorical questions that probably didn't have an answer. He wasn't cleared to wrestle. What was he supposed to do? He damn sure didn't want to leave. No. Leaving wasn't an option. He just had to think. He stopped for a moment in the hallway and just took a deep breath. He had to calm down. He had to be cool. Adrian exhaled a heavy sigh, trying to relieve the stress festering inside of him. Adrian shook his head and said to himself...~

"Damn her..."

[~Gates of Hell~]

The click-clack of his boots echoed throughout the hallway. One would question why he was there. The answer would be simple - to see an old friend. After his departure from New York, he had been trying to reacquaint with old friends. Mr. Unstable was next on his list.

He had heard about the shooting, and if he was right, Adrian would still be trying to get out there. Since you need a doctor's note to compete after an injury, he was sure that's where he would be. He wore his old mask as to not scare Adrian - he knew the man was unstable. When Adrian saw him walking down the hallway, the look that crossed his face was un-readable. Smiling, the man looked at the bandage on Adrian's shoulder.

-----------

Long time, no see, old friend.

[Lilith]

It's funny. Lilith had gone through hell, absolute, legitimate Hell. Yet the main thoughts in her mind were returning to SCW Towers. Well... no. The MAIN thoughts were things best left untouched currently. But having a nice long conversation with her dance partner and Lover-Girl Lessien, was rapidly growing to the top of her list. She was still dressed in the things she'd worn last night. Mainly out of fear, and the fact she hadn't actually -slept- yet. But in that folder of Lessien, there was notes about Seven. She didn't know why, and part of her didn't care. However, hearing he'd been injured. Hearing he'd been shot, brought up some flashbacks from VWE. Some bad ones. When she was with Sylas and had to face the helplessness of him being gunned down, it nearly killed her.

Thankfully, she isn't with Seven. And about half of her hates him. But she was still oddly.... annoyed, by the fact that someone ASIDE FROM HERSELF could get the idea of harming him in a very large impactive way. Sure, she asked Scott too. But that's different. That's in the ring. Someone fuckin' SHOT Seven. That's in Lilith's jurisdiction. Yet, as soon as she was close, someone -else- seemed to enter the fray. Lilith was not exactly in the mood for pleasantries, so she quickly and deftly, slips behind a nearby corner wall. Leaning against it softly. She runs her fingers down her vest before softly blowing dirt off one of her sharpened finger nails. A visitor. Aside from herself? To Lilith knowledge of Seven, last she checked anyway...

He didn't exactly have many new -'friends'- outside of herself at the moment. Interesting, interesting. She slowly pulls her cell phone out from her jacket pocket, putting it in silent mode, she begins to browse some files she'd had transferred over from Bloodworks. And simply waits. She couldn't quite make out who it was, and she wasn't quuuite close enough to hear everything that could transpire. But something told her..

She should be here for this.

[Adrian Taylor]

"Well, I'll be damned..."

~A familiar voice hit his ear drums and he almost thought his mind was just playing tricks on his. However, it seems his ears didn't deceive him when he looked to see where the voice had come from. Then again, his mind was a little warped so this could all be some delusional hallucination right now. Probably not. His dark shadow would be a little more creative and a little more annoying in their choice of bringing old faces from the past to haunt him. His list of people he'd consider his friends, or vice versa, was dwindling it seems. He did happen to make a new on in Lessien, despite her feeling the need to pierce his shoulder. However, her admission to actually caring about Adrian in some capacity was a plus in his books. He might need to check in on her tonight sometime when he's not too busy...

Adrian cracked a smirk when looking to his 'old friend' and continued..~

"Weren't you supposed to be dead or something? I mean, last I checked, you were about 3/4ths of the way in the grave. Hahaha."

[~Gates of Hell~]

A smile once again crept on the man's face. It was an old joke that the two shared, though the joke hadn't been mentioned for almost two years. It had been a while since that last conversation in Philly. He had been on edge. He was a different person back then. But now, he had some business to attend to.

-------

Heh, yea well, let's just say I've been resurrected on some 28 Days Later type shit. Stronger. Faster. Better. And more importantly, less shot up.

-------

Another laugh, then he pulled his mask down and pointed at Adrian's shoulder.

-------

Still into that life I see. Shoulda use that AK I gave you, then maybe you'd have one less bullet hole, haha.[/center]

[Adrian Taylor]

"Call me crazy, but I actually quite enjoy this little hole in my shoulder. It proves someone in this world still gives a damn about little ol' me."

~...said Adrian, not wanting to give away the real reason why he had been shot. There might be people listening out there. And he certainly didn't want to ruin the story that someone tried to 'John Lennon' him. No. The last thing he needed right now was people spreading rumors about what really happened that night. And he wasn't looking to give these lazy ass police out here in Las Vegas any tips on who the shooter was. Seriously. They couldn't find Tupac's killers. How were they going to find his shooter? This fucking city was only in the middle of a Goddamn desert.~

"Sure. It hurts like a bitch and it keeps me from being able to jump in that ring... But hey, when you're popular, you're popular. And someone decided to send a little love-note in the form of a bullet. What brings you all the way down to this God forsaken city? You miss me or something?"

[Lilith]

Oh hell no.

Take no more can she. Lilith steps out from the shadowy corner, cracking her fingers individually she points out in Seven's direction, ignoring the shady figure near him.

You have NO idea how to obsess do you? Hello, am I chop liver? Do you NOT see this ass?

Lilith points to her hips and thighs. She was legitimately mad now, this dude had no loyalty at all!

I don't give a shit if you're not actually my boy-toy, you're SUPPOSED to be my stalker. Yet you're chattin' it up with this totally non-suspicious gentleman who stands in darkness and wears a mask. Yes, he's very muchly on the level.

Back to my point.

Remember me? The woman you pine over endlessly? You DO know how to do this right? Weren't you pining over that Weed from The Block chick way back for years on end? Did you not LEARN SOMETHING from that?

You're supposed to try and win my attention, lavish me with gifts and expensive taste. Not be man-whoring it for bullets like some masochistic hooker on the corner of -Free & Wylde-.

Lilith sighs, shaking her head slowly. Her hands on her hips she turns her glance upward for a moment before a undercurrent of bitterness and anger flows from her lips.

.. So who did it.

[~Gates of Hell~]

Gates was just standing there, listening to the woman go off on Adrian, and it was amusing. After she was done her little "On-Her-Period-Rampage", Gates stepped closer to Adrian. He leaned closer to Adrian and spoke in a voice that was loud enough for Adrian and Lilith to hear. Yea, Gates knew her, and if his hunch was right, she wasn't gonna appreciate his take on the situation.

--------

Damn dude, another stalker? God knows you got loads of em. This was is talkier than usual though, you should put a dick in her mouth and shut her the hell up.

--------

Gates crossed his arms behind his back and smiled, waiting for the aftermath. It was now the calm before the storm...

[Lilith]

Her eyes, almost begin to glaze over. Her attention very quickly shifts to the annoyance now between her glorious rant, and her poor target.

... Now, I would normally say, sorry, I have no time to waste on someone who hides behind smoke and mirrors...

And I do not exactly CARE, mind you. But I do find it fucking DARLING you think you get to weigh in on this little Family reunion. So unless under the mask you happen to be a -King-, or someone who can be considered a walking -STD-...

I would say your time here is best closing your lips, and removing yourself from my face..

Before I break, yours.

Lilith stares straight ahead. Her gaze not breaking from the newfound annoyance. Normally she would have the patience and desire to play a mind game or two. But it took all of her reserve energy just to spout out that little trepidation for Seven. She was all out of it for this one. She slowly licks her lips before tilting her head to the side, still staring at him while she speaks to Seven.

Do you know who did it, or is this just more Male egotism brought on by wanting to see who could whip it out faster in a public hallway.

[Adrian Taylor]

"If only it were that easy..."

~Was Adrian commenting on whether or not he should do as his old friend said and shut Lilith up with what he's been blessed with? Or was that comment toward Lilith and her wondering why he wasn't obsessing over her every moment of this miserable life of his? Maybe a little from column A and a little from column B. Who knows. Whatever the verdict might be, Adrian was actually surprised to see Lilith alive and kicking. Speak of the devil, ya know? Wasn't he just thinking about this on the rooftop with the other stalker in his life? Gah. When it rains, it fucking pours. He turns to look at Lilith, managing to crack a smile at her despite how awkward this night has turned out.~

"Well... Hello to you too, Lil'. Nice of you to join us on this wonderful night. I was maybe expecting a phone call or a letter before you waltzed back into my life. You know... When you disappeared without a trace after making it ever so clear that you wanted nothing to do with me or my kind or the weakness I bring out in people... "

~Perhaps not the best way to respond to the woman that he still felt a little something for, but he was a little miffed that she was acting like his world should revolve around her. She did say she didn't want anything to do with him. She even attacked him physically. Spit in his face. Literally. It's hard to not feel a little bit angry about that when he'd spilled his guts to her and laid it all on the line to her. It ain't easy for him to be honest with people. It was even more difficult when that honesty comes with his seeking human connection with someone he legitimately cared about. And for her to spit in his face, disappear, and come back wondering why he wasn't sitting alone in a room, cutting himself, wondering why she'd ever leave? Seriously?~

"Maybe I'm just getting or I'm just beginning to lose it in my old age... But... Wasn't that the message I was supposed to receive? Fuck me and everything about me? You care now about what's going on in my life after it's come so close to being ended? Just a few inches more and Adrian Taylor would be pushing up daisies. Was that what you wanted? Who shot me? I don't know. Probably some starstruck fan whose head-over-hills in love with me trying to make sure my image wasn't tainted by weakness. Ya know? Especially considering how low on the fuckin' totem pole I am with the 'Gods' walking around here."

~Bitter much? Could be. Could you blame him though? Really? Could you blame Adrian for being the slightest bit angry about this? The only positive note was that, like Lessien, Lilith has shown that she actually still gives a damn about Adrian to some extent too.~

[Lilith]

Oh shut up Seven. I mean really. Mellow-drama looks better on me not you. You don`t fill out two pieces as nicely.

Swing and a miss. Oh Lilith was sure there some legitimate hurt, some sorrow. Pain and deafening agony. But compared to the last night she just went through. Seven and his pre-teen guilt trips felt like spritzed water on a stormy night.

You`re complaining, now. When I actually show the slightest sign of some sort of human remorse about you almost dying. You pick NOW to start bitchin..

Are you serious.

Look, I won`t hang laundry to dry in front of Mr. Dark Brooding and oh so Edgy over there. But the long and short is really simple;

This is my time. This is my game. These are my rules. You love me, that`s fine. I can`t change that horrible notion. But I`m not like those pretty little Blond bitches you see on T.V. Seven.

I have standards, I have protocol. There are channels and ways you have to flow in order to gain my attention. You wanted it, you have it...

Somewhat.

I`m simply explaining how you may wish to be concerned about losing it. I still have options, I still have quote en quote suitors. Most importantly I still have Lover Girl.

And oh yes, I`m going to be visiting her real soon.

And of COURSE I CARE ABOUT YOU YOU JACKASS!

You really think I`d be out here, talking all of this idiotic Opera like bullshit in front of God knows who if some part of me DIDN`T!

But you do represent weakness. I can`t have that. So instead, I`ve decided to settle for kind of stringing you along and making you suffer needlessly.

Lilith`s voice perks up near the end, she leans in softly and pegs Seven`s cheek with a soft kiss before pulling back with a large sadistic smile plastered upon her lips.

I knew you`d understand.

[Adrian Taylor]

~A kiss? Was this woman serious? Adrian simply cocked his head back and lifted the sleeve of his white jacket to his face. Then he proceeded to scrub whatever lipstick or corrosive acid might have been left behind. Just a little hint of how little he was concerned about what Lilith had just said to him. He wasn't just going to sit here and allow her to downplay everything that was going on beneath the surface. No. Removing the kiss from his cheek spoke volumes of how much his opinion on the situation has changed. And his only response to her so-called 'suitors' comment was...~

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about Lover-Girl. I hear she's found someone new. I'll just leave it at that, Lil'."

~He brought his arm down, wincing in pain because using the arm he was shot in seemed wise for some reason. He looked down at the sleeve of his jacket before lowered his arm again. Grimacing as he did so until he was at a comfortable level of annoying pain. Then Adrian looked back at Lilith and said...~

"You think I don't know that what we could have wouldn't be all sunshine and rainbows? You think I don't know that what we could have wasn't going to involve a white picket fence, big house, lots of yard space for the dog to run around, and little Adrians and Liliths running around to terrorize the future of this world? Of course not. You should know me better than that, Lilith. Happy endings are not in the cards for me. I'd just hoped that you could see that there is still a friend out here in this world to make the road ahead a little less miserable in the end. You know?

Unlike others, I wasn't fascinated with your 'assets.'

No. I actually give a damn about what happens to your body, not what it looks like. I actually cared about another human being for once. If that's weak? Then fuck it. I'm weak. However..."

~Adrian paused for a moment. Raising that arm again, wincing in pain again. He raised until he had his hand up and he extended his index finger.~

"Contrary to what you, or others may believe... Just because I care about another human being doesn't make me any less of a threat. If anything... It makes me more of a threat. You see...

When people flex their power and there's no reason to it other than just to do it? What happens? People fear them? People are made into examples? People know their name and what they're capable of? Oh, sure. That's fine and dandy.

Yet...

You give that same person a reason worth fighting for... Building crumble. Cities burn. The population dwindles down to zero. The floors open up and swallow people whole. The wrath of a God is felt. Fire from Hades comes and incinerates everything in it's path until there is nothing left but dust and ash.

You have a monster? Cool. You have a monster with purpose? Better. You have a monster willing to do whatever for someone other than themselves? You got a fucking problem on your hands.

Oh no. I'm not weak, Lilith. I'm a fuckin' force to be reckoned with. I'm the Wrath of God when their heart is broken by the people they loved so dearly. I'm a walking nightmare, as someone once said. And everything in my path, sooner or later, becomes a wasteland.

You don't want me around you because it makes you weak? That sounds like a personal problem. Me? I'm standing on my own two feet, bullet wound and all. Still fighting. Still going strong. Going against whatever comes my way.

You don't want to accept it? Fine. Do I still care about you? Yes. Do I still have a slight sliver of love left in my heart for you? I'd be lying if I said 'No.' But am I weak? Oh. No. Not at all. I'm stronger than I've ever been in my entire 30 years on this planet."

[Lilith]

You know NOTHING about God.

A very large, defensively angry growl emanated from the center of Lilith`s body. After the night she`d had, the things she`d had to experience and witness, somehow the mention of God`s wrath or Divine punishment sparked a massive trigger within her psyche.

There is no, happy ending. Anywhere, Adrian. It`s a lie, it`s a lie people tell themselves to feel better. And you DO represent weakness. Fighting for a cause sounds noble and romantic in the movies, but greater Men and Women than you or I have tried and died for baseless and useless causes in human history. There is no, hero, to this story.

There is no, bad guy, waiting in the shadows wearing a Mask.

There is ONE God in the fable, and you`re LOOKING, at her.

Lilith`s entire demeanor changed. The carefree satire, the sarcasm and delightful undertones of flirtatious means. Gone. Vanished. Removed from the current equation. She glares, into Seven`s eyes. Long and hard, breath slipping into her lungs.

... There is no room for two;

Not for three, not for four. It`s a lesson I`ve finally learned. Having a God -Complex- wasn`t what I needed...
.. I needed the legitimate fucking article.

I needed to eliminate every threat, around me. Every, weakness.... That plagues me. Because a God, doesn`t have those.. now does she, Adrian.

Slowly, she brushes strands of hair from her face. Taking in another deep breath. Her eyes don`t break focus, she does not entertain the presence of the annoyance standing with them in the hall. She had goals, plans, ideals. This time, this time... There would be, no interruptions.

... I have come too, far.... Too much has been lost to get here, so many... things, I have had to forget, and erase. I will not let a solemn schoolboy crush laced in weak ideology and pitiful humanity... Stop me, now.

A single tear, begins to run itself down Lilith`s cheek. She cuts it off at the pass, smearing it with her thumb. The consistency feels off...

.....

Looking down at the mark on her thumb, she notices the color and substance of the liquid.
Blood.

.....

There are different kinds of people in this broken world, Adrian. There are people who walk on, and simply go through the motions. There are people who try to make a difference, in some small meaningless way.
There are people who forcefully take what they want, by any means necessary...

Lilith slowly raises her head, clenching her fists tightly, along with her jaw as she stares into Adrian`s eyes.

... And then there are people like you and me.

...

Someone who realizes the general population of the planet is beyond saving, that they are not worth the time and resources we put into them. But most importantly...

....

.. Someone who knows how to change all of that..

She walks closer to Adrian, their shoulders mere centimeters apart as she stares ahead. Down the corridor. Another long, deep, breath fills her lungs. Her head tilts up, as she whispers out softly, beside Adrian.

.... And then there are people like you... Who try to stop, people like me. You know...

... The -Hero-.

Someone who fights the -Villains-. Someone who fights the -Fate- of the World that shapes around them. Every story, needs one of those Adrian.... it`s just too bad...

....

.. That you can`t fight my -Evolution-.

Lilith briskly, walks past Adrian. No looking back. No more words leave her lips. She knew what she had to do. She knew... how she would, hopefully complete it...

....

And she knew she didn`t have much time left.

[~Gates of Hell~]

Damn.

--------

Gates's head was spinning. He wasn't too sure what had just happened, or what would come of it. He looked at Adrian, and then the woman walking down the hallway. Damn she did have a nice ass th-

No. He couldn't let something as small as a woman's ass cloud his judgement. His head shook as he snapped back to reality.

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What'd you do to her? Or rather, what didn't you do to her? Some crazed chick who wanted to ride your johnson, but got rejected?

[Adrian Taylor]

"Heh. That, my friend, is a complicated situation with no easy solution. Just another day in the soap opera that is my life. It's a damn shame too."

~Adrian took a deep breath and exhaled a heavy sigh. That weight in the middle of his chest returned whenever he was confronted with Lilith. He wondered why he even bothered anymore with this woman. Did he want to save her from her own destruction? Was he just too hardheaded and stubborn to learn to leave things alone? He honestly didn't know anymore. He wondered if dealing with Lessien would be easier than dealing with Lilith. Lessien was difficult to talk to because she considered the same things to be taboo and weak as Lilith did, however, the moment where she got choked up when he mentioned she cared about him just stuck with him.

Not that he expected the same sunshine, rainbows, and white picket fences with Lover Girl. No. But could a person imagine the lethal combination of those two joining forces? A walking fucking apocalypse. That's what they'd call it.

Adrian simply shrugged his shoulders and shook his head before saying...~

"It's a damn shame, man. She's almost become a lost cause with how much she's stuck in her own little world. But that is a story for another time."

~He didn't get what they fuck these women's issues were with him. He was weak? Adrian Taylor? Weak? Gah. How many times does he have to return from the brink of death to prove that there's no weakness in his blood? Perhaps there was a way that he'd show them personally just what kind of person he was. And he could already feel the ice cold touch of his dark shadow creeping beneath his veins. And his dark shadow whispered the most horrible of things into his ear that simply caused a smirk to creep across his face. He looked back at his friend and said..~

"I wish I could stay and chat. However, this damn shoulder of mine is beginning to kill me and I've got some matters to handle before the night is out. If you're going to be in town longer, maybe we can catch up when my life is a little less stressful and people aren't trying to cut me down for once. Later."

~And Adrian decided to take his leave from the scene, his dark shadow following right beside him, now present with Adrian. Walking one foot in front in the other as the battlefield ahead of them is being prepared by the hands of Fate. The one thing he knew for sure... Things were going to get ugly tonight and he was going to show these women that that inner killer instinct of his was still buried beneath all these bottled up emotions.~