(*sigh* Guess it doesn't pay to put up short stories... doesn't seem like anyone appreciates them.)
"Your voice holds the key to your society
Expose the ones that want to **** it up for you and me
No more of settling for what they feed
The time has come to put the pressure up against the greed"
- Senser, "Resistance Now"
((Plenty read, but few comment, from my experience here, anyway. It's appreciated, just silently. 
))
((OOC)): I like the story... ^_^
(Just a story idea that hit me like a lightning bolt after hearing a song. "Hide Your Heart" by KISS. Has no in-game relation other than the two factions mentioned.)
Deanna begged and pleaded for them to stop. The two people she cared most in the world about, her boyfriend and her brother, refused to listen to her as they stepped towards the center line in the road, face to face, their eyes burning with absolute hatred for each other. No more words needed to be said between them, none would serve to defuse their animosity now. Her begging fell on deaf ears.
Her brother, Simon, was a former Hellion that served time in the Ziggurat for armed robbery. Having earned a college education while behind bars, he had attempted to clean his image, working as a counselor for kids that were being swayed by gangs. He used his personal experience and prison tattoos to try to convince them. More often than not, he was successful, though he bore no ill will towards those that joined gangs, since he knew their lure was very powerful indeed.
Her boyfriend, Jeremy, was a Skull that reveled in the drug trade in his section of Kings Row. He carved out his own little territory, though he made sure to give part of his take to the Bone Daddy that he worked for. His ruthlessness was known throughout the Refinery area, though some had remarked how it had toned down a bit since Deanna came into his life. He was less prone to drawing a pistol, and even had done a few things in his neighborhood to benefit people.
The conflict arose when Simon made contact with Jeremy's brother, William. William had been leaning towards joining the Skulls alongside his big brother, when Simon arrived to talk him out of it. His intentions were altruistic, but Jeremy was incensed. Simon tampered with his family, and he had to pay. The fact that Simon was a former Hellion only added fuel to the fire. At first, it only came to sharp words, which Simon tried his best to ignore. However, when they started getting laced with vulgar descriptions about what he and Deanna did, that's when Simon finally started to retaliate. Soon, their heated arguments became an almost daily occurrence, occasionally coming to blows.
The final straw came when William rejected the Skulls, and instead went on to star for his freshman football team in Steel Canyon. During a game against Skyway South, several of Simon's former Hellion friends came to watch the game, unaware that an even greater number of Skulls were also in attendance. A discussion turned into a fight between the sides, and several guns were drawn and fired. In the confusion, a single shot strayed onto the playing field, striking William and killing him instantly.
Jeremy was livid, claiming that the Hellions killed him in retaliation for being his brother. Simon was equally incensed, stating that the Skulls wanted to send a message to him. Whatever the reason, the line had been drawn, and a Blood Oath had been declared. There was only one way to settle their dispute now, and Deanna was trapped in the middle of it. For seven days, she begged and pleaded with both of them, to try and get them to listen to reason. Her tears had no effect, so focused were they on ending their feud. Even pleading with the parents of both sides had no effect.
So it was down to their showdown. Backs to each other, they called out ten paces, then turned. The gulf between the two foes could have been infinite, yet their blazing gazes would have found each other. An Outcast by the name of Miguel that agreed to be a neutral party called out.
One. Deanna called out again for them to stop this. She got down on her knees, crying harder than she ever had in her life. Her face was streaked with countless tears, and her mouth was dry, yet they kept falling freely.
Two. She tilted her head skyward, begging for some divine presence to stop it. Her tear-filled eyes looked up to the clouds that teased Paragon City, but never dropped rain. The water she had cried could have made up for it, as she screamed to the heavens for it to stop.
Three.
Two guns were drawn.
One final scream was heard.
Two shots were fired.
In the silence afterwards, only one person could be heard crying.
(Feedback welcome.)
"Your voice holds the key to your society
Expose the ones that want to **** it up for you and me
No more of settling for what they feed
The time has come to put the pressure up against the greed"
- Senser, "Resistance Now"