NOT CANON

Venn stood at the edge of the roof. His toes hung out over the empty air. His heart beat at its usual slow pace.

In his mind he imagined jumping. He imagined the rush of wind, the force of falling, the crack against the ground that would end it all. He could do it. He could.

His mind drifted to Reed and he shook his head. He couldn't do it. He couldn't leave Reed to run Krypt more or less on his own. He turned to walk away from the edge and was stopped in his tracks by an iron rapier against his neck.

A shortish, brown haired young man stood with a devilish smirk. The tip of his rapier just barely touched Venn's neck. He wore casual clothes, a stark contrast to Venn's black slacks, white shirt, and black blazer with a red rose pinned to his breast. The young man didn't move closer, he didn't need to, he had Venn cornerned. Raylan.

Venn glared daggers at Raylan. He'd never forget the three years of continuous torture as a type three at the hands of Raylan. Three helpless years of pain and death. "You," he snarled.
 
Raylan smirked. "Yes, Demon, me. I bet you missed me huh? Well it's your lucky day."

Venn wanted to punch Raylan in his perfect teeth. He hated the smug look he was getting. He clenched his fists and said nothing.

Raylan clicked his tongue. "You haven't changed a bit. Pity that. I was hoping you'd become a murderer. Ah well, I can't have everything." He sighed dramatically and pushed the point of the rapier a bit harder into Venn's neck. "Hand over your Source, Drake."

Venn shook his head, making Raylan push the blade in farther. A bit of blood dripped down Venn's neck. Silence hung over them like a cloud for almost a minute as Venn weighed his options.

"You think it's that easy huh?" Venn asked calmly, though fear ran through him at what he was about to do. "You think you can just walk up to a defenseless type four and expect them to hand over their Source to the person who made them die hundreds of times?" He shifted his weight.

Raylan narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "And why shouldn't it be that easy? I have you pinned down. Admit defeat."

"You have one problem... I'm not afraid to take the leap to stop you. If you catch my meaning."

Before Raylan could make any move to stop him, Venn stepped back off of the roof. He tumbled through the air, feeling the rush of wind pulling at him. Raylan shouted above, someone screamed below, but Venn was silent.

To Venn's dismay, and a bit of his relief, he didn't die when he hit the concrete. He felt several of his bones snap before his head slammed against the ground. The world vanished into darkness.

Reed answered the phone, mildly irritated. He had JUST gotten off the phone with a client. He sighed loudly and answered the phone, "You've reached Krypt. Reed Krayan speaking."

"Ah good you are at home. I was worried you wouldn't be. I understand you were close with one Venn Drake?" A man said on the other end of the line.

"Yes I- wait... 'were'?" A spike of worry shot through Reed and he forced himself to relax. "Who is this?"

"My apologies, I am Inspector Perseus. I had hoped I wouldn't need to make this call but... it appears Mr. Drake attempted suicide. He's currently in critical condition at the hospital."

Reed was silent for several seconds before he nodded. He shoved aside his fear and concern for now. He needed to focus. "A- alright. Thank you for telling me. I'll be there as soon as I can." He didn't wait for a response before he hung up.

Reed rushed out into the hallway, yanked on his shoes, pulled on his long jacket, and bolted out the door. He started running toward the hospital before he spotted a cab and flagged it down.

Less than ten minutes later, Reed was tapping his foot impatiently in the elevator. He was muttering under his breath. "Venn you idiot. Why would you do this? I swear i'm going to kill you." He kept muttering to himself all the way to the proper floor. It somehow kept him calm.

Reed pushed open the door to Venn's room. There was only one nurse, which surprised Reed until she put a hand on his shoulder. "He doesn't have long," she whispered as she passed Reed. "Whatever you want to say, make it fast."

Reed nodded and the nurse left. He approached the bed slowly. "Venn...?"

Venn turned his head weakly with a quiet sound of pain. He was in extremely bad shape. His right arm was twisted and broken, as was his left foot. Blood covered his right side. Somehow the red rose was still pinned to the blazer. Half of his chest was collapsed and bits of bone stuck out. Really it was amazing he was alive. "Reed..." his voice was barely a whisper.

Reed's heart felt like it was getting ripped apart. He sat carefully next to his best friend, a helpless expression on his face. "Why?" He asked. He touched Venn's arm gently, trying hard to keep his emotions in check.

Venn grit his teeth and reached for his blazer pocket with his less injured arm. "No...time. Didn't...want-" he cut off with a halfhearted cry of pain.

Reed stopped Venn's reach for the pocket. "It'll be alright," his voice was shaking. Of all the bloody things that could happen. "Just rest. You'll be up and about in no time." He pulled Venn's ornate silver pocketwatch from the pocket, doing his best to ignore the burning pain caused by touching the silver. It was colder than ice.

Venn grabbed Reed's hand desperately. His grasp was weak as butterfly's wings. "Reed please," his voice, though filled with pain, took on a pleading tone. "I didn't... didn't want...t-this." His body flickered, growing insubstantial for a second before reforming. He was clinging to life.

Reed held Venn's hand tighter than he had intended. He wasn't about to let go any time soon. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. After flickering madly for a few seconds, Venn's body went completely slack. His hand went limp in Reed's and he started to fade.

"Venn, wait!" Reed tried uselessly to keep a hold on his friend. "Venn! Come back!"

Venn vanished completely. The equipment that had been attached to him died. Screens flickered and went dark, needles from IV bags fell to the bed. Reed was alone in the darkness on a hospital bed covered in his friend's blood.

Reed sat at the kitchen table. He spun Venn's pocketwatch on the table with a distant expression. His eyes were red and he was tired.

Outside the sun had set in a spectacular show of reds, yellows, and purples. It had gone unnoticed by Reed. He had eyes only for the watch.

Come on Venn...

A hesitant cough made Reed leap to his feet and whip around. Venn stood a couple steps away. He looked just as ragged and bloody as he had at the hospital. The bright red rose still pinned to his jacket. He gave Reed a weak smile. "Hey..." his voice was hollow and pained.

Reed stood there in shocked silence. One gloved hand still clutched the watch, the other hung at his side.

In two steps, Venn closed the space between them and enveloped Reed in a tight hug. There was a desperation in the way he clung to Reed, as if he might be ripped away. It made Reed's heart tear into even more pieces as he returned the hug.

Neither spoke for several minutes. Finally, Venn took a shuddering breath, his shoulders shook a bit. "Reed... I'm so... so sorry..."

Reed shook his head. "Stop that." He didn't pull away. Venn needed the contact right then, that much was obvious.

Venn felt like a child as he leaned into Reed. "I thought about jumping... but I couldn't... then Raylan showed up with his rapier and wanted my Source so... I didn't see any other way out."

Reed closed his eyes tightly to keep from crying. "Shut up, idiot. You're here now. You're back and I'm here too. I'm never letting you out of my sight."

Venn laughed quietly, though it made the pain flash through him again. He finally pulled back from Reed. "Thank you."
 
Reed nodded silently, not trusting himself to speak.