A.N. Well, might as well get this over with. (Warning- it's dark)
Letting go, and letting Opal drop to the floor, Kuvira sat back onto her heels just above Opal's thighs. Her hands draped in her lap over the woman who lay motionless beneath her, and her shoulders slumped. As her heaving breaths slowed, she tilted her head back, and looked up at the ceiling. Numb, there was nothing left to feel, as everything she cared for had been taken from her. She looked down to Opal's face. Even her she cared about, but in the end, it wasn't enough to save her.
Hearing the gun's hammer crank, Kuvira's head whipped around to see Suyin propped up on her elbow, struggling to keep the gun raised in front of her. In silence their eyes connected. Blood stained her neck and ran down her left arm, starting to drench the side of Kuvira's shirt in red. Sweat matted the hair over her forehead, and tears burned in her eyes, as her body fought through the pain.
Suyin's mouth quivered. Her tear ridden eyes weren't just the saddened eyes of a lover, but the raging eyes of a mother stripped of her child, as she was forced to watch Opal's body flop to the ground with a lifeless weight.
"Su…" With her eyes wide, Kuvira stood from Opal's body and watched Suyin slowly shake her head as she tried to approach. Kuvira stopped above her and cautiously stood, staying quiet until she could speak. "…I…I thought she killed you." Kuvira's chest heaved, her breaths picking up once more.
Suyin tried to speak but couldn't, being overwhelmed by pain and emotion.
"…What…What was I supposed to do?"
"You went…too far." Suyin said with tears falling from her eyes, wanting to pull the trigger, and feeling horrible for not being able to. Then she looked down the wall behind Kuvira, to Opal's body, and her will was instilled again.
With one shot...
She killed Kuvira, watching her stumble back and hit the night stand; her emerald eyes going wide as her mind refused to accept that she'd been shot by the woman she loved.
"She's my daughter!" Suyin ripped through her clenched her teeth, the gun in her hand shaking as Kuvira dropped to her knees with a furrowed brow.
Landing face down, breathing labored breaths, Kuvira coughed blood, but picked herself back up with a struggle. Her face lifted to Suyin, revenge in her eyes. After everything she'd done for Suyin, everything she'd promised, and everything she'd lost, Kuvira wouldn't let herself die by Suyin's hands without a fight. Having lost control of her legs, she crawled over to the other woman on the edges of her forearms. She watched Suyin's eyes widen as she moved closer, her bloody hand reaching out to grab Suyin's ankle.
But that's as far as she got.
Kuvira managed to pull herself over Suyin's knee just before her body quit. Her last breaths were gasps for air as her lungs filled with blood, suffocating her in the process.
Watching blood leak from Kuvira's mouth and onto her jeans, Suyin fell back to the ground and cried. This was all her fault. The loss of her daughter, and the loss of Kuvira were her fault. 'You should've told her no.' Her mind taunted her as she rolled over and out from underneath Kuvira. With all her energy, she brought herself to her forearms, keeping her head down as tears fell to the floor. 'But you didn't.' Suyin dropped her head to the floor; her cries worsening as her heart felt as though it would burst from all the stress. 'You have to get back up.' She pulled her knees in, hyperventilating until she found enough control to calm her unstable breaths. 'You have to tell Bataar-'
'Yeah tell him you fucked up again.'
She heard Kuvira's voice interrupt her own, but kept her back turned to the bodies. She couldn't look at them. And especially not Opal.
Shakily, Suyin swayed but got to her feet; a cold sweat coming over her as she looked toward the open door. In a lightheaded haze, she dragged her feet to the door, seeing the top of the staircase just beyond. "Cellphone's down stairs." She whispered to herself, stumbling her way to the staircase, as her blood dripped a trail on the floor. Making it to the staircase railing, Suyin grabbed it with everything she had, trying to line her foot up over the step in her tunneling blurry vision.
1…
2…
3…
She counted her steps to keep her mind off the pain, and the metallic taste threatening to pour into her mouth. "Keep counting."
4…
5…
6…
7…
As her knee gave out, she stumbled, but quickly picked herself up. 'Just two more…I think.'
8…
9…
She finally reached the bottom, but that's where her journey came to an end as her body started to shut down. Making it to the hallway wall, her hearing turned into indiscernible gargles, and her legs became too heavy to lift. With her right shoulder, she leaned against the wall and slid down. But she couldn't bare her body's weight any longer, and fell onto her back. Lying towards the middle of the hallway, Suyin turned her head just in time to see a sliver of silver light shine on floor and widen, until it bathed her in its chilling embrace.
"Su!" Bataar ran to her and knelt down, lifting her into his arms. "Su." He spoke softly and stroked her cheek. He watched her eyes try to open, giving him some hope. "Su."
Her eyes opened. A ragged breath slipped from her lips, and she looked into his frightened but strong eyes. For a long while she couldn't speak.
"…I'm s-" Suyin cut herself off to breathe. "I'm sorry…"
He pressed a hand to her bleeding shoulder. "Don't worry about that now. Where's Opal?" Bataar passed over the apology. They'd have time to fix everything between them later. "Huh?" Bataar gently shook her. "Suyin where is she?" He watched in confusion as Suyin shook her head, tears falling again from her eyes.
Reaching into his back pocket, Bataar pulled out his cellphone and dialed 911.
"911 what's your emergency?"
"I need someone down here now. My wife's been shot, and my daughter's missing."
"Ok sir, tell me where you are."
"2940 grove street."
"Ok, sir please stay on the li-"
Bataar hung up. He wasn't about to sit on the phone while his daughter needed him…wherever she was. Gently lowering Suyin to the floor, Bataar kissed her forehead. "I'm gonna go find her." He looked at the blood staining her shirt. "It's not your fault. Kuvira will pay for what she's done." He lifted himself up. "Don't die while I'm gone. Please."
Suyin looked away and nodded as best as she could, saddened for what she knew he'd find at the top of the steps.
Bataar stood, hastily moving down the hallway behind the kitchen, going through each room calling for Opal. Using the second kitchen entrance he moved into the living room; his eyes searching everywhere, the floor, the couch, and the dark corners of the room. Moving back out to the hallway, he looked down to see Suyin's eyes closed. Fearing the worst, he moved to her and knelt down. "Suyin?"
Her eyes opened, and relief came over him.
"Let's sit you up." He did as he said, pulling Suyin up, and turning her against the wall with his assistance. He glanced into her eyes, glazed over and staring past him. Something wasn't right. He looked down. "Ok, I'll be back." He took off ready to leave, but was stopped by the pool of blood left in the middle of the floor from where Suyin had just moved. Seeing a trail of smaller drops leading up the steps, he followed it. With his head down focusing on the blood spots, he found his way up the steps, to the top, and finally into the dark bedroom. His bedroom.
He spotted Kuvira's body first. Face-down in another pool of blood.
'No.' His face twisted into sadness as his eyes found the shoe clad feet of Opal's body lying face up a few steps away from Kuvira. 'No.'
His world shattered.
'No.' Going to Opal's side, he knelt down, shaking his head. "No No No."
Bataar's hand hesitated to touch her face. Her eyes were still open, just staring out at the woman next to her. His tears fell, as he slowly took Opal into his arms, hugging her close to his chest; his eyes passing over the finger-like bruises left on her neck. "I told you not to go back." He slammed his eyes shut, his tears falling from the corners.
With her still in his arms, he gathered his courage, and opened his eyes.
His bedroom had been turned into a crime scene. The gun presumably used to shoot his wife, was still lying on the floor in her blood, and a lifeless Kuvira wasn't far away. But when he found Suyin's shirt on the floor, then looked up to the tousled bed sheets, he got what he needed to push him over the edge. He stood slowly, taking Opal with him as his eyes stared in disbelief at the impressions left in the sheets. His jaw clenched, and suddenly, in his mind's eye he saw exactly what happened.
He saw Opal walk in on something she shouldn't have. Then he saw it go to hell from there.
Moving with a sullen pace to the door, his eyes scanned the darkened floor, and did a double take when they landed on a pair of underwear that looked like it had been purposely kicked into a corner.
He stared at it, knowing it was Suyin's by the lavender color. Looking out to the stairwell, his brow furrowed. "That ungrateful woman…."
He was angry, but his anger wasn't the vindictive rage Kuvira had brought with her into their house.
His anger wasn't hateful, even though it felt like it was. No, his anger was love's worst enemy. His anger was indifferent. The woman downstairs was no longer his wife, but the person who killed his only daughter. The eruption of her lies had culminated into the death of his little girl. And that was all he could take.
Thinking and mulling over his daughter's death, Bataar never realized he had been walking down the steps with Opal the whole time.
"What have you done?" He stopped at the bottom, and didn't bother to look at the woman sitting against the wall.
Suyin looked over, seeing Opal's body draped in Bataar's arms, as he held her like a father would a baby.
"You…brought this into our house. You killed my only daughter."
Suyin heard the break in his voice, and had no defensive words to say.
He stared blank down the hall, not wanting to look at her. "It's only fate that you haven't died yet." He paused. "And you won't…" His eyes darted to her as she turned away. "…You're gonna stay alive, and know what it feels like to lose everything." Bataar stayed silent as he paced in front of Suyin, Opal's head slumped over his shoulder. "…I didn't even get…to say goodbye." His tears started to fall again, his eyes gazing back down the hall in a state of shock.
"…I didn't…even say goodbye." He whispered.
Stopping where he was to stoop to knees and cry, Bataar held Opal's limp body to his chest. "You're selfish." He clenched his teeth, and took an unsteady breath. "And I shouldn't have let her go…I knew it. I let her walk right into the mess you created."
"Bataar-" Suyin managed to squeeze out.
"What did she do to you?" He snapped at first. "What did she do to you?" He whispered the same words.
From behind, Suyin watched him lightly rock back and forth, as the room was bathed in a red and blue glow. He held Opal's limp hand in his, remembering how her tiny fingers used to grab onto his as the paramedics busted in behind him; their medical jargon being nothing but a muddled gibberish to him. He didn't separate from Opal. He was going to hold her until he was forced to let go.
"Sir, Sir." The hasty paramedic pulled him back. "We need to check her vitals-"
"Wait a minute." A lower man's voice sounded throughout the room, holding a commanding presence. The calm and collected way his words rolled out, even in the midst of chaos, told Bataar he was the head of the team.
With his eyes focused on the ground, Bataar watched his black military-grade leather boots roll into his field of view. Soon enough, the man's hardened blue eyes, stared back into his, right at his level.
He'd seen this too much. He already knew Opal was dead. Bataar could see it in his eyes.
"Can I?" The man reached two fingers out ready to check her pulse.
Bataar looked down. "Don't bother-"
"I still have too." After a short paused, the man watched Bataar pull Opal away from his chest, and proceeded to do his job.
Bataar heard the man's light sigh as he watched his fingers leave Opal's neck.
"Well, this isn't the first of today." He stood, keeping his eyes on Bataar. "I'm sorry for your loss…Are there any others-"
"Sir."
At the curt address, the tall broad shouldered man looked to his youngest paramedic. "What?"
"There's another one upstairs."
"Dead?"
The young man hesitated. "…Yes."
"Christ." He whispered, as he looked over to Suyin then up again to his subordinate. "Get another person and bring the body down. I'll check on her." He gestured over to Suyin then looked down at Bataar. "And sir…I'm gonna need to take her with me."
Bataar didn't speak for a long while, tears clouding his eyes. He took a deep breath. "Can I carry her?"
"…Sure." The man watched Bataar slowly rise to his feet, and turn around to walk out the door with the body in his hands. He didn't know what had happened, and it was commonplace that he never did. He was just the man who arrived to take in the aftershocks, and save who he could from whatever hell had occurred.
He watched Bataar walk into a haze of red and blue, where the ambulances sat waiting, then turned his attention to Suyin. Kneeling to her level, he looked into her eyes, but she didn't look into his. Her eyes stared ahead, almost dead, as he took her vitals. "I need fluids!" He called out, and in less than a minute another emergency responder was next to him with a clear bag and a needle.
"You think she'll make it to the hospital." A female voice sounded above him.
And the head medic looked up to her, then back into Suyin's eyes. He'd seen that look too many times too. "That's entirely up to her. We're not here to play god." He looked down. "Get me a gurney-"
"It's already here sir." The woman spoke again, lowering the gurney before she knelt by his side, giving him the needle to stick into the crook of Suyin's arm.
"Good. Come on let's get her onto it."
The head medic helped the other lower Suyin to the gurney, and strap her in for transfer. Bringing up the gurney, he lifted it into a sitting position, before they wheeled her out the door; her eyes staring into the house on the way to the ambulance, watching the front door get further away.
"Alright, in we go."
Getting Suyin into the ambulance where a third medic waited, the head medic turned to the other ambulance, watching it with cold eyes as it sped off. He breathed out a heavy sigh, as he absently ran a hand over the top of his buzzed hair. "Christ, I don't even wanna know what happened here." He let out a smaller sigh, walking around to the driver's door and hopping in, the female medic getting in beside him. "Go ahead and call in homicide. They got a long night ahead of them."
A.N. Well...I sure do know how to tear it all up, burn it, and destroy it, huh? I'm not really proud of that. But that's it for this alternate. Sorry for the sadness.