Better off dead

Ric had felt it the minute it had happened. He had no idea why, perhaps his master had intended him too but the moment the man had died Ric had known. It hadn't taken him long to track down his brothers to tell them the news, Ace being the hardest seeing as he'd gone off the radar. Ace had actually come to find him.

So there he stood, waiting at Starks grave for his brothers. It had been a while since he'd been here. The last had been with Sophia, here he'd confronted his feels and gave up on alcohol. It was the place he finally lay his brother to rest and moved on with his life. His mind began to wonder back to that frightful day as he waited for his brothers to appear.

Finding her way to the Catacombs had resulted in being surprisingly easy for Lila. Then again, it would probably be quite easy to find a grave of a beloved. She knew of the circumstances of why Ric wanted to meet them all and easily spotted the older man from a distance.

She wasn’t much surprised when she realized that she was the first one to arrive. Lila usually liked being a little early for most things. It had also been some time since she had last visited Stark’s grave as well. It was close to where she was stationed to so she didn’t mind coming and visited their late brother every other month.

“Ric,” she greeted him with a small smile and a hug. “Great to see you man. You’ve been waiting long?”


outfit.

Ric barely managed to pull his lips into a smile to greet Lila, but in the end he did. Despite the circumstances he had to be greatful for the chance to meet back up with his brothers and sister. He'd missed them more than he cared to admit.

He wrapped Lila in a hug, trying to keep his emotions in check. It was clear he still wasn't over Starks death, despite thinking he had. "Not really, but long enough to get trapped in my own thoughts. Its good to see you alive and well. How you been?" He asked pulling back but keeping his hands on her arms.

Mavrik's feet carried his body automatically towards Stark's grave as soon as he entered the catacombs. Every time he was in this country, without fail, he would visit the grave. The news of the Brotherhood's master's death had saddened him- though it was more because he knew it would sadden both Asric and Ace more so than the rest of them. Ace already had far too much sadness to deal with- Merlin, he wasn't dealing with it, he was going insane.

A sad smile tugged at his lips as he approached the two, uncharacteristic for his usual bright features, and his eyes shone with empathy.

"Hey." he greeted them gruffly, gaze flickering to the grave, then back to them. "Good to see you." he said to Ric, hugging him briefly. "And I've already seen you, Lil." he smiled softly, not really in the mood to joke around, but it was in his nature to do so.

"You'll have to try and not be caught up in there," Lila laughed lightly as she tapped Ric's forehead. "Bad things tend to happen if you stay there too long." Stark's death still hadn't settled with her but she was trying; more than nothing, trying not to remember that he wasn't around anymore. Having the Master's funeral and death was something that hadn't helped Lila with her emotions. But she tried. It was hard but as long as Lila kept herself busy with work, everything would be fine. "I've been good," she said grinned while adding a wink. "Working hard, like always."

She heard Mav's footsteps soon and smiled when the other approached the grave. "Of course," Lila replied with a small smile, hoping to keep the mood light. Even if they were in the catacombs, she was hoping this wouldn't turn into a crying fest to some. "You can't help but be away from your favorite."

Hunter walked through the catacombs, head ducked and mouth scrunched into his familiar pout. Hands jammed into his pockets, he headed towards the group with a sigh.

"Tis always the catacombs! For the love of Merlin, I hate it down here. It's so damp and overall unpleasant." he complained, "How come it's never 'Meet at the coffee shop?' or 'Shoot some in Stark's memory?'"

His eyes flickered to the tombstone. "Yeah, you bloke, we meet here for you,"

Addressing it made him feel better. Almost like his buddy never really left. Crossing his arms, he finally addressed the rest of the group.

"Not that you guys bore me or anything, but I have stuff to do. Newbies to punish, things to kill- you know,"

"You're always whining about something, Hunter." Stark said from his place leaning against the wall behind the group. It had been years since he'd seen the lot of them. He'd known that getting too close to any of them would have been a major risk to their health. He had been on the fence about coming to this meeting, but he figured he was actually safe to be around after all the years of getting himself under control. Besides, he had to pay his respects.

His eyes went to the grave they were crowded around - his grave - and he wrinkled his nose. "Well, there's something you don't see everyday. Hunter being right about something. I'd much rather be shooting something too. Let's agree stop meeting here, okay?" His eyes went to each of them in turn, and he raised an eyebrow.

"You do remember me, right?" His eyes searched the few present, and he frowned. "Hey, wait a moment! Where's Ace?" He turned to Ric, his eyes questioning. "Why didn't he come with you?"

"Hey." He said giving Mav a quick hug. It flt good to have the brotherhood back together. Even if Ace wasn't around at this very minute he knew he was around somewhere in the country. He'd seen him at least.

"I'm doing my best, Lil." He promised looking over her shoulder as the familar moaning sounding ahead. "We can hardly bury him in a shooting range Hunter. Though im sure he'd love that." He said attempting to crack a smile for old times sake. "How about we go..." Ric froze in place, his breath pausing in his throat. His worse nightmare had come to haunt him.

But Stark wasn't here to blame him, he was being his old self. He had to be alive, but he'd seen him die. He and Ace both had. "Impossible..." He muttered to himself. He had to be seeing things.

Lila waved at Hunter as he approached, whining about the location that they were asked to meet up. She shook her head a little, chuckling a little as she rolled her eyes; about to request that they go to like Hunter had mentioned, her mind stopped and her mouth was left hanging.

There, the six foot something man that she had seen be buried, stood. Looking alive and well in front of her. She wasn't going to take this lightly and was taking all types of precaution.

"Stark," Lila muttered, feeling as if her eyes deceived her. Her hand reached to her back where she hid a bayonet for all occasions. He must... an impostor, Lil thought as she sized the man up and down. An idea clicked, an inside joke between both of them that had arose well before his death.

"If you are Stark, Why did the chicken," her eyes quickly flashed towards Ric before her gaze returned to Stark, "Cross the road?"

Mav shook his head, grinning, "I'd hardly call Ric my favourite, Lil." He winked.

He shook his head at Hunter, folding his arms loosely over his chest. "A "hello" wouldn't kill you, squirt." he chuckled, enjoying being able to tease him again. It was so funny to wind people up. He grinned childishly at the thought. He had admittedly missed them, no matter how much he enjoyed being by himself. It was more efficient that way and he-

"Stark." he murmured, frowning deeply. His hand had reflexively reached for his back pocket, and gripped the handle of the weapon firmly, unwilling to let go. His gaze moved warily to Asric, unsure of his reaction.

Hunter nodded towards the girl and jammed his hands into his pocket before sneering at Mav's comment. These people- If he didn't love them so much, he'd hate them. It always always "squirt" or "baby." He forced a small smile, trying to hide his annoyance.

"Hey, we've done crazier things than burying someone at a shooting range. We could have definitely pulled it off," the hunter gave a little shrug, "Hey, if I die, bury me under a strip joint, will you? I wanna be under strippers for the rest of-"

Stark had only spoken one word before Hunter had his knife pulled, eyes flashing panic and anger. Ever since that time in Russia the man had been... gun shy. But, even with his apprehensive nature, Hunter wouldn't give mercy to a monster wearing his friend's skin.

"Lil' don't even," he growled, "I don't trust anything that doesn't stay dead,"

"Of course it's possi- oi! Don't point that thing at me!" Stark sidestepped out of Hunter's reach, glad the man didn't draw a gun. "I'm still older than you! ...even if I don't look it." A sheepish sort of grin flashed over the forever 17 year old face before he glanced at the others. "You'd think you'd be happy to see me. I've been 'dead' for ages." He rose his hands to air quote the word 'dead'.

He glanced at Lila, a grin tugging at his lips. He smirked. "Because the pub was on the other side of course." He took another step back, his eyes going from one to the other again. "If you guys are going to attempt to kill me, can you get it over with? Being awkward is not my forte."

Asric was still frozen in place, he just couldn't bring himself to move. He'd dreamt of this day but it had never been like this. Stark had always been there to blame him for his death just as Ric had rightfully expected but today he was here like he had never left. He was his young teenage self... his young teenage self.

It was then that it clicked into place, as he felt the others eye all turn on him in turn. "Why attempt?" He spat as he dived onto Stark, his left hand reaching into his coat to pull out his silver coated knife that their master had given him years back as a gift. Once he had Stark pinned to the floor with the knife pressed against his throat he decided to speak.

"Any last words?" He asked his face a cold emotionless mask.

(OOC someone might wanna stop him before he takes off his head )

"Shut it Hunter," Lila snapped, annoyed and a little over the edge with the situation.

Smiling slightly at Stark's response, her grip loosened slightly on her dagger. For a moment, a slight moment, Lila wanted to believe that it was actually Stark. The feeling in her gut told her it was... but her instincts, her instincts were telling her that he could only be...

"Obviously you're not dead," Lil said as her grip resumed to tighten around the weapon and as she about to ask the obvious question, Ric had pinned Stark down on the floor. The young woman glanced at her fellow brothers and then at Stark. For once in a very long time, she let her gut follow her around, instead of her brain.

"Ric, wait," she said as she had found herself next to him, ready to push him away. She didn't move him though, just in case Stark's response to her following question didn't satisfy her.

Continuing from before, she looked over at Stark and studied his features carefully, "Since you're obviously not dead, what are you and where have you been?"