Chapter Text
Intro
In the distant future, a new government was voted into power — one that particularly favored humans over their counterparts, Supernaturals. Of course, nobody was aware — who could have been?
One could hardly fathom that behind the figurehead lay a twisted authoritarian and totalitarian state, the very essence of order and control.
Families were torn apart, friend groups were wrenched away from one another. Complete and utter separation. Segregation, even. Walls were established throughout the middle of cities. Buildings were demolished. Supernaturals were coerced relentlessly into smaller and smaller areas. Their population dwindled the more and more overcrowded their steadily-decreasing living spaces got.
They kind were always seen as less than by the general populous and government. To humans they are no more than their base instincts like the animals or blood within them. This is the future Vin was born into, where he’d learn to provide for himself and help promote kindness to those who were less off. He was also labeled as a common delinquent. Many in his group called him a leader, he had the power that many of them had long forgotten in this desolate landscape of the future. Supernatural teens and even some adults would spray the walls of their run-down city with the cherry tag indicating either a meeting point or even a supply drop. He filled their lives with hope and their bellies with food. Yet all this wasn’t his true talent. Not by a long shot. He had a lot to offer the populous of this oppressive government.
Chapter 1 Pre-time Travel
Vin moved as fast as the skateboard would take him, down the filthy streets and through the darkening outskirts of town. Only some of the street lights flicker on as he skates past them, the rest have long been out. This particular area feels otherworldly to him; similar to where he grew up but different down on a street level, here haggard forms crowd the streets and Vin tries his best to avoid bumping into anyone. People are messy and desperate here. A sad fact he couldn’t help everyone.
He reaches the edge of town, where nature has overgrown the old structures. This is one of his favorite places, it calls to the animal inside him. Many of his kind had moved out of these segregated cities to open wilderness creating mini communes for them especially the bigger shifters like bears and lions and some wolves.
This life was fine for him though, he was a fox shifter through and through, thin and lean with muscle on his shoulders and thighs and could move around with cat-like grace. He wore an outfit similar to our time's tech gear fitted with straps and many pockets that would hold on to the equipment he would need for the mission, on his torso he wore a small tight fitted black hoodie covering an undershirt that hung loosely off of his small, frame. It was red, clearly dirty, slathered in dirt and grime and dried blood. He had thrown the hoodie on over it to conceal himself as he moved throughout the edges of the town to his intended location. He had large boots on which provided him with traction and balance when escaping from police and for breaking and entering places. These shoes however were dirtied and scuffed - it was almost impossible to tell what color they truly were. His hair under his thick hood framed his face, all matted and unkempt. This looks suited him though. He looked like he had a purpose, especially now as he glided through the streets on his board in the middle of the night. The night was silent around him, people were forbidden to listen to music or read unregulated and had limited social interactions. The fake news pumped in through the censored radios, especially in this part of town. Vin was determined to change that though. Music blasted in his eardrums with heavy bass from his self-constructed earbuds. Vin continued to cruise through the city towards where the randovu was set to be held.
The town itself had once been home to a big population, about 50 years ago. Now it was left unmaintained, controlled by the poor. The city sprawled farther and farther away from this point; eventually, even the poor could not live there. It had become a biome of its own, home to the most nefarious of activities. These buildings are no longer safe; they can collapse on someone while they sleep or eat. When Vin was younger, his grandma told him to never enter here. Yet here he is, for the second time.
“Valak!” Vin called, walking quietly through the abandoned school up the dark stairwell to the third floor and only to stop when he makes it to the first classroom door. The room is still, and empty. Vin pauses, and catches his breath, where did he go? The boy in question was a mystery he wants to solve but they both had more pressing matters to attend to.
The classroom was barren aside from the bedroll, and there was a duffle bag stuffed with clothes against the wall and an old bookshelf Valak was utilizing for storage near the door. Vin walks over to Valak’s small bed, there was a book sitting on top of it about the history of an old forgotten video game called Minecraft. He picks it up carefully, imagining Valak trying to read it. The thoughts where bittersweet as reading was strictly outlawed along with what they were going to be doing tonight with the music.
Valak stepped from the shadows kicking a pebble so as to not startle his close friend. “Are we really hosting tonight, and here of all places? ” Vin turns to see his friend dressed in a similar black hoodie with veins of purple rung through it, but what always draws Vin’s attention was the thick horns on top of his head that seemed to pierce through the hoodie. When they had first met, he had asked if he was some sort of goat shifter and was quickly laughed at. Vin never really got an answer. Valak was like that sometimes though, much quieter and reserved and really into his technology.
The most important thing to Vin was he knew his fierce loyalty to both the cause of equal rights for the supernatural races and the removal of all propaganda and cultivation of music. Vin had heard his family had been torn apart by segregation and his father was killed when he was young. It had been according to Valak himself that it had been 4 years since he had seen his mother who they learned had moved up north out of the segregated and poor cityscape that they tumbled through now. A blessing but a sad fact when on the run.
Vin cleared his throat and tried to calm his raging heartbeat. The wind whipped at their faces as they stood in the large opening that once was the outer wall of the school that had collapsed inward but the floor was nice and smooth as it was in the original gymnasium, the tall side walls and lush greenery around would create the perfect sounding board for the music event tonight. He had spent all week tagging the walls of the inner city. His followers would know what to look for and spread it by word of mouth to others. No physical clue was given as a way to circumnavigate the police. This was to be his biggest event yet. He couldn’t have dreamed of doing this without his best friends' help and now they were here hoping to start a movement so no one went through what they had, when the government took the oath of office.
Valak stood shivering slightly in the cold, his eyes had black circles underneath them and his shoes wear worn and dusty, the dirt glued to his sweatshirt like a second skin. His short black hair cut close to his head was well combed and brushed forward with a slight sweep that would cover his eyes when he turned. The hoodie he wore was about 2 sizes too big for him causing it to bounce while he moved. He liked it that way though, it allowed him to conceal the wires that ran under it for the many gadgets he’d have. Valak was in control of most of the equipment during the evening events. In particular the ability to toggle the sound frequencies as well as control some of the lighting he and Vin had spent an entire day rigging up. Especially the large light on the small flag pole that had once been located on the front lawn of the building. Now it showed a small spotlight on the stage and many animations would project on the walls that Vin himself had made.
A small beep on Valak's watch causes him to stare down letting out a quick curse and staring at the message for a moment. Then with a soft sigh, he sends the message to Vin who also pulls it up crossing his arm over his chest, slightly annoyed at the recognition. It was issued by the cybernetic police a rap sheet on himself stating Person wanted is responsible for numerous unauthorized in-person raves that have turned into full-scale riots. Personal destruction of five android police units. Also responsible for a variety of rude messages to the authority. This person is to be neutralized along with any known accomplices.
Vin closes the message and sends a quick message to his friends warning them to stay away tonight as he and Valak will handle this on their own. He didn’t wanna risk the lives of his close followers. With the clock striking midnight the game had begun
. He turned one last time to his friend giving him a dap before he’d jump off the ledge quickly grabbing his skateboard off his back and activating the switch for the gravity field making it stick to the wall as he skated down the steep angle. He lands perfectly behind the stage of the giant D.J booth. They are long metal columns in the four corners of the open-aired room. The space is the size of a soccer field. Vin was proud of their accomplishments. He booted up the screen and looked down at the turn table set laid before him as he was about to live mix and master music for who knows how many. These people hadn’t heard music in 20 years or at least true music. He saw Valak up on the scaffolding attached to the second-floor staircase that overlooked the venue he was operating the lights for the set.
As time passes the eerie quiet is slowly replaced by sounds of hustle and bustle. It seems that Vin’s dedicated fans have been waiting just outside the school house already, and, in the usual fashion, Vin is slightly late after having forgotten to charge his wrist phone. Valak uses the lights to guide the crowds through the crumbling buildings surrounding the edge of the town they found themselves in. Small bright neon lights dot the pathway leading to the abandoned school. The locks on the gymnasium doors click open and even though the side walls had long been crumbled away they all filed in through the double doors. As the crowds of people approach, Vin, spots bits of… interesting memorabilia: shirts proudly bearing the words ‘Pappi’, an entire banner hoisted by dozens of people with a variety of emotes and noises scrawled across it, even a cardboard cutout of the notorious DJ himself, of course, he had his hood up and a mask covering his facial features so he remained anonymous. He loved their dedication because he knew if his fans had been caught with any of his memorabilia they could face jail time up to 2 years or a fine.
As the muliti-colored lights flash behind him. He plugs into the computer taking out the earpieces he had made himself putting one in so he could still hear the crowd in front of him. Exchanging a look at Valak one last time before he hits the play button. He beings with his message:
”I’m sure everybody has had a rough time this week! This week, the authority is putting up campaign ads everywhere for their upcoming ‘democratic election’... as if anyone gives a fuck about that rigged shit! We all know they choose their own two people to be the candidates!” Vin's energetic tone reverberates through the room,” But forget about that. Tonight! We celebrate!” “We celebrate the release of my new earbud technology and my own music. "You won’t believe what we have in store for you guys! Fireworks! Pyrotechnics! Lasers! It will be… sick!
Putting the microphone, down he slips on his D.J gloves and fires up the computers as the lights dim on Valak clicks and the animations show on screen as the beat starts low and slow almost sad but soon everyone is jumping and vibing to the music. Vin feels his heart fill with so much joy he knew no other feeling like this. He loved the community he had created and the community loved him. Nothing could ruin this night or so he thought. He was young and naïve, his fierce loyalty would in the end cost him.
The robotic police S.W.A.T had infiltrated the school grounds moving silently as a team as their lead was a human hacker who was very skilled. Stupid shifters always think they know everything. Taz begins his attack by first disabling the F2A system Vin had in place on his connection. Then as people danced and muddled around. Taz took over the pyrotechnics on stage fire blasted into the moshpit instead of up into the air.
As one would imagine, everyone started to freak out. In a rush to get away from the fire, a stampede would start luckily for them there were a bunch of exits so nobody would get trampled, but Vin tried desperately to calm the crowd down as a threat to crush each other to death was still possible.
Next Taz took out his sound equipment and his team surrounded the building that they were in. Vin pulled out his wristwatch as the ringing in his ears and the smoke grew thick from the fire. He held his chest as he was coughing and stumbled off the stage. Lowering his ears to the wristwatch as he kept one eye closed to help alleviate the sting of smoke. “Valak….Valak…..where are you?” Thick static is all that answers him before gunshots ring out and then a faint voice is pumped out from the speaker on his watch. “Get away.” Vin tried to make his way towards the exit slowly keeping an eye out for his friend so he wouldn’t leave him behind.
Finally, Taz targeted the firework machines making them go haywire. The cache of fireworks explodes. The damage from the blast causes the overhead lighting fixtures to break, and they fall onto the moshpit.
Vin passing by looks up and sees a fan about to get crushed by a girl with long blue hair with stars in her hair for clips, time seems to stop as his heartbeat increases as he runs towards her panting hard from the thick smoke that had bellowed around them, he reaches her pushes her out of the way. The thing comes down on him as he feels the excessive weight on him. On his chest is crushed under the weight of the metal frame. His earbud is knocked out and Taz chuckles evilly as he singles his men to start rounding up survivors to give them prison sentences. The flames erupt around him but as he slowly closes his eyes he sees the same girl he had just saved walk towards him encased in a large blue light. She felt hot as the fire around them, was his sacrifice in vain? “Run…you need to run!”
She continued to come closer until she knelt next to him placing a soft hand on his shoulder picking up the earbud and Vin heard the other boy's voice on it.” There’s a massive self-destruct button that will blow up this entire school and everyone in it, and it’s hidden behind the stage! It’s connected directly to the explosives, so it’s still dangerous! In twenty seconds, I’m going to blow it.
“Wha-- self-destruct button?!” Vin’s eyes dart towards the stage “Valak, why the fuck do you have a self-destruct button for this place?!”
“Valak gulps, then answers honestly, “I thought it would be cool to blow this place up during an encore on the train ride back!” He heard the boy coughing as if he was struggling to breathe just as much as he was. “Valak forget it just run away forget about my tech.” He heard a brief sigh but the last thing he heard before the girl in front of him flung him through a cylinder-shaped portal that appeared underneath them was the simple “I’ll see you again.”
The prettiest girl stared at him with the deep black eyes that Vin thought he could see into her soul. She smiled at him and reached out to grab his hand giving it a tight squeeze and all he could say was a star. He moved in for a hug but.......
Smack....
sound vibrated against the desk from a hand. He screams loudly lifting his head as he looked around kicking the chair in front of him. A soft voice enters his eardrums as he looked down at his red turtleneck sweater eyesight blind without his glasses that in his panic had fallen off the desk.
He reaches to grab them before they fall only to see a soft small hand enter his vision and he follows the arm to see his teacher standing there. She sighed shaking her head, “sleeping in my class again?” She looked around making sure the classroom empty classroom. “Should I take you out of the band?”
Vin thoughts come slamming back into his head returning him to the present to the timeline he fallen into. After he had fallen into this timeline he had enrolled in school. The government secretly knew of shifters but didn’t release it many still tried to live together in a community. He had been lucky enough to find a sulk he could rent from. “No…no…Miss Kyo.” he managed to stammer out. She simply smiled flipping her long red hair over her shoulder. In this English class, she was known as Miss Kyo but when they were on tour or in the band room she simply teach. She’d join them while they'd practicing discarding the simple cardigan, keeping her simple leather top and simple black cargo pants. She’d be munching on an apple or sitting writing on her laptop while the band practiced.
Kyo rolled her eyes at him her nostrils flaring as her eyes shifted quickly from their fake black to those of her actual eyes a soft pale wolf yellow. She could smell what seemed like fear and she sighed and handed him a bag of loose candy. “Take this with you to band practice and now get out of my classroom”.
Vin nodded and made his way to the band room; this college was relatively small than most and from what his nose told him there was about 46 percent shifter half of which were fox shifters so imagine his surprise when had first met his amazing drummer. Andy was beyond talented he always played the most amazing blast beats. He likes his teacher was a wolf shifter although a different subspecies from what he recalled his teacher saying. He enters the room to find Andy already setting up his drum set and walking over to him to quickly give him a dap and Andy responds with a big laugh titling his head back as he does so with his wide it exposed those sharp wolf canines that even in his human form were exposed.
Andy the wolf shifter was not overly popular in their school but held the respect of the band for being such a quick learner and dedicated member. He had short but shaggy black hair with thick streaks of red going through it. When Andy came over to his apartment one day to pick up the demo cd he had convinced him to shift and show him his wolf ears and tale which not even Vin could resist giving a pat and a scratch.
“So how long are we going to practice today for?” Andy asked bringing Vin out of his own reminiscing thoughts he simply shrugged and laughed. “You seem out of it today so maybe we'll call it short,” Andy responded again.
Vin was touched by his friend's kindness. Vin began setting up the guitar and microphone before he looked at the doorway seeing a bunch of girls standing there. Vin simply sighed and rolled his eyes getting back to setting up. Vin could hear the second band member he had met a human this time, giving different lines of different characters from the show's voice lines. Their bassist, Kooji, was extremely popular originally, he did voice acting and poetry among other things, so his inclusion really increased the band's popularity. When Vin first heard that he was worried, but he turned out to be a pretty chill kind of guy. Kooji their base player wore a simple purple tank-top buttoned up the front in a style similar to that of Zhongshan suit, of China. He normally would have his arms covered by a thin vest that would always be open in the front. Kooji blushed slightly as he closed the door to the band room waiting with his back against it before he was able to open it again the females that had been chasing him since lunch was gone.
Vin had finished assembling and stood to give a dap to Kooji before he moved to set up his amp plugging into the floor. Removing his guitar from his case. Vin was untangling the wires after him sighing as Kooji always wanted a certain spot in the outlet no matter the cost to their equipment.
Andy struck his high hat to bring Vin out of his thoughts again, as the door opened as Teach snuck in throwing her bag on the ground and hopping up onto the desk sitting cross-legged with her red hair covering parts of her face as she pulled out her laptop. “I took the liberty of signing you guys up for the festival in a month so make sure you prepare.” she gave them a cheesy smile before she read through her emails. “Go….goshdarnit.” she made sure to censor herself “tostify will not join us today he has to make up an exam.” she sighed and rolled her eyes slamming her computer closed and leaving her stuff on the big teachers desk she had been siting onto. “Don’t break anything I'm going to lunch.”
Thankful after 15 minutes of set up they were able to get a small amount of practice in but most of them just sat and tuned their instruments to mesh together again. Vin was exhausted having trouble sleeping and it has become a bit harder to focus nowadays. After an hour Vin watches them scatter before turning to open his phone. September 15th. Exactly two months before the battle of the bands concert held in the big city. The boys had only done a couple gigs for the school and for their friends who worked at venues, so this was a big step. If they could get past this, they wouldn’t only win a huge cash prize— but recognition. Vin would have to get his shit together before that happens.