Nevermore

A Synlet Fanfiction

Rating: M

A/N:

Greeting to all. Just as promised, I have returned with the sequel to Nightshade Seduction, Nevermore. And for you new readers who happened to stumble across this fic first, you read right. This is the sequel, and while it is entirely up to you whether or not you read this with our without Nightshade Seduction, I highly suggest you read the first fic, and then come back to this.

I've outlined (sort of) this story to be around twenty chapters, give or take a few. And unlike NS, the plot is more intense and filled with drama, but with an ending like I gave you last time, it was the only path that was reasonable to take.

I'm saying it now so I don't have to say it again: Mature Content. Which means you can expect everything that this rating stands for. Honestly, I hope that those reading this can understand why this is rated M, but for those who depend on warnings… Well, here's yours now. Enjoy.

Ehem. Now that that's over with… On to the story!

Disclaimer: For now, and for all future chapters, I do not own The Incredibles. They belong to Pixar, Disney, and were born from the genius mind of Brad Bird. This fiction is for fun, not profit.

Chapter One: Escape

"I've been changing, but you'll never see me now."

"So Far Away," by Crossfade

Somewhere outside of Metroville…

The sound of sirens blared, breaking the calm façade of the rainy night. Spotlights flashed, their bright beams sweeping across the grounds outside of the facility's tall, dark, cement walls. They were searching, seeking, hunting for a young man who was breaking through trees and bushes, a younger boy being towed behind him.

"Hurry up, Jak Jak!" The young man's blonde hair was brown with dirt, his face splashed with mud. His sinewy muscles stretched underneath the patched and worn gray uniform he wore. It was the same as his brother's, and just as wet.

"Brother!" Jak Jak stumbled, his foot hitting a root. He would have crashed into the ground were it not for the sturdy hand holding him up.

"You have to keep moving, Jak Jak. Now, come on!"

The younger boy sobbed, his auburn hair dripping and falling around his terrified face, but he did as he was told. With their grip on one another tightened, they continued to run, the sounds of guards crashing through the brush following behind them.

Thunder rolled above them, lighting accenting the darkness of the forest around them. It smelled of pine and the unknown that always lingered in the shadows of deep night. Their feet always landed with a splash against the drowning forest floor beneath them, streams of muddy water flooding paths and crevices, shifting the dirt, moving rocks as they tumbled over the steep slope they climbed across. More than once they fell, mud staining their clothes, the cold rain sinking into their bones, making them ache and weaken. Tears of pain were lost in the rain. Unable to decipher whether were feeling anguish or not, they continued onward, the threat of capture nipping at their heels.

A particularly loud crack of thunder shook the air, and Jak Jak screamed, digging his heels into the dirt, trying to cover his ears with his hands. His brother stumbled towards him, dropping to his knees, taking the young boy's face into his hands.

"Jak Jak, don't be afraid," he murmured, his blue eyes creased with muddied lines, "we're almost there. We'll be safe soon. You've just got to be brave, okay?"

"I want mommy," he sobbed, the rain falling heavily down upon him. "I want mommy and daddy, Dash!"

A look of pity entered Dash's expression. It was not only for his younger brother, but for him as well, and for his sister whom was just as lost as their parents-

Perhaps in more ways than one.

His heart ached when the memories of his loved ones flickered in his anguished mind, but no words would form. So he held Jak Jak, hugging him close to his chest, firm and true. They still had each other.

"Alright now." Dash stood up, taking his brother's hand in his once again. "We're very close. No more stopping, okay?"

Jak Jak nodded, sniffling. "Okay."

"Good." He looked behind them, and listened closely, trying to discover how far away their enemies were. He didn't hear anything but the soun of the rain, but they had gotten smarter over the years. Now wasn't the time to take any chances.

"Alright, Jak Jak, I need you to get on my back, okay?" He kneeled down, and Jak Jak got on quickly. "Hold on tight, but not too tight- urg, not around my neck, either." He moved his brother's desperate grip from around his neck. "Hold my shoulders, and whatever you do, don't move."

Dash stood back up, stumbling slightly, his whole body shifting with the added weight. His feet were having a hard time finding traction, the increasingly strengthening storm threatening to take down the entire hill. This was dangerous, but it was a risk he was going to have to make.

"Don't move," he murmured, his words sounding more like an ominous echo. "Don't move…"

He raised his foot, poised, hesitant-

Mud splashed into the air like a rooster's tail from the force of Dash's first rapid fire step. He sped through the forest, stones and twigs and bits of everything flew up into the air. Dirt and water began to rain upwards, hitting the sky above them as he tore up the decaying ground from the force of his speed.

The rain hurt hitting his face, and too many twigs slapped against his skin, but he continued, unwavering, teeth clenched, eyes set in determination. He wasn't going to stop, not now, not when he was moving so fast, and the men behind him were moving just as fast now. His grip on Jak Jak tightened and he surged onward, a whole new burst of speed tearing the pine needles off the trees.

Jak Jak was screaming, but Dash wasn't so sure it was out of fear. But the scream was soon lost, torn away into the wind that was whistling past them, small things like rain and leaves becoming deadly like bullets.

Bullets-!

It was almost too late. Dash shifted his weight. The world went sideways, and Dash knew for certain now his brother was terrified. Mud and rainwater flew up like a wall. His boots ripped across the ground as his mass kept going onwards. He was heading towards a tree, the collision imminent-

His foot slammed onto the bark, he shifted, getting into position, his movements matching all those track tournaments he dreamt of so fondly. Then, with a grunt, he kicked off, speeding down the hill just as the tree's trunk burst into wood splinters, thousands of bullets carving themselves into the wood.

"Down the hill, get them!"

This speed was dangerous- too dangerous. He couldn't stop himself, his legs unable to make any decisions on their own as they tore down the hillside. He couldn't spare to pause; if he did, their bodies would lose balance, and it would be all over. Never before had his speed scared him so, and when it had finally gotten to be so frightening, he couldn't stop.

Jak Jak was still screaming, and Dash was screaming too. Trees and boulders and stumps and all sorts of things sped past them, blurs of things that could have turned them into jelly if they hadn't shifted slightly. Everything whipped past them, the rain and the bullets that continued to chase them, but there was no turning this time. It was a straight beeline down the hill, and what was at the bottom… they could only pray.

The rain cut against him, the pine needles were stabbing themselves into his flesh. The cold was making his body frozen, and he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. All his senses screamed agony, everything that could remotely hurt becoming a single entity that covered his body. He was running blind, and in the darkness, he screamed.

First, it was an out of place sound, like a muffled swish. It made him open his eyes, forcing him to see the tree and move out of the way-

Then, fire.

An explosion tore the ground asunder, the force of the impact sending Dash and Jak Jak flying. Stone and glowing, flaming brush trailed after them as they went through the air. When they saw the ground approaching and they thought it was all going to be over, their chests hit something cold, and they were sliding down an immense ramp that cut through the trees. Metal and faces blurred past them, and then they were in the air again, but only briefly, for soon they were inside something warm and soft, even though their minds were very much still flying though the frightening air.

"I got them!" exclaimed a familiar voice. "Rick, I got them!"

"Good job, Lucius! Get them in the van! They're going to need all the care we can give. Everyone, we're falling back. They have more men here than we anticipated."

"Lucius…?" Dash wearily looked up; a blurred face looking down at him with what he thought was relief.

"Man," Lucius murmured with disbelief, "you sure are full of tricks."

Dash laughed wearily, and he would have contributed to the conversation were it not for the darkness that swallowed him up.