I guess I am not going to stop updating (even though waiting will reach for months), because I really love writing one-shots about Navrina.
Story is about a headcannon for the next installment Revenge of Seven. From the last one-shots I have written, it is not connected to this one-shot.
Enjoy!
Long and dark hallways to my right. The deeper we go, the darker it will be. When it's dark, that is where all the uncertainty is put against us. They could ambush or worst... No, that is the worse. I will show them worst. I grip the Mog cannon I obtained moments ago from the fallen Mogadorian. It feels oddly comfortable as I ready my finger on its trigger, ready for the kill.
Someone bumps my shoulder. The slight roughness of the impact, I can tell its Nine. Finally, we are complete. With Adam and him, if we can go through the labs unseen, we might retrieve him-piece of cake, as they would say. Although this won't be as easy as some dessert, those bastards can't keep him.
"It's quiet," Adam states in worry.
He is a Mogadorian who saved the Goodes. After haunted by One in an all-too-good experiment, he doubted the craving of power that his people were after. Because of that, he helped us Lorics. Even though with this absurd idea of him helping his race's enemy, Adam really is an asset to the team. He has the Seismic manipulation Legacy that the ghost One mysteriously gave him. Right now, whoever wants to destroy the Mogadorians are welcome.
Nine grunts and silently says, "with Six on distraction up above on the main floor, they should call back up."
I press my back harder on the wall and take a peep on the hallway. Just a few meters from his body. "I see no one. Let's go."
The hallway dims as we run through it. John gave us a 30-minute-mission and after that, rendezvous is mandatory. There is no time to waste on this; we need all the offensive power we have to fight against Setrakus Ra.
That is no problem for me; darkness is my companion.
"To the left," Adam whispers harshly.
Then before a scientist Mogadorian could even react, he was silenced with my ice taking over his body. The sound of our steps dominates the floor until I hear a Mog cannon being fired. I can tell Nine's shot. Only he and I have a Mog cannon. Adam has prefers his pistol and his incredibly destructive Legacy.
"There!" Adam points, running faster. It took him seconds to reach a heavily set door with a number pad on the side. It was not the end of the hallway, but there are pathways to the left and right.
As I reach his location, I cover the left while Nine covers his back.
I can hear beeps as the numbers on the pad lightens to his press. Adam curses when an infamous sound comes out from the number pad. The door's outline glowed red in my peripheral view.
"Shit." Nine must have noticed. "Damn, tight security. Try again."
"That's the problem!" Adam says alarmingly.
I turn to him, my chest tightens at the bad news. "You ca-can't," I concluded.
Nine casually drops his Mog cannon. "Stand back.
We did. With brute strength that has increased exponentially since Everglades, Nine breaks the door messily. Although it does not fly out of his punch, he made an opening for us to go through.
Adam shakes his head. "You just gave us away."
Nine steps inside, not caring to face the danger on the other side. "Whatever."
I sigh and give Adam a look. It was not a glare or sympathetic, just a look. After all the crazy things I have been through, it is really easy for me to stay nonchalant. I just have no reason to be soft, even when I wanted to. The Marina who is positive and warm-hearted is just gone as he was gone. I know how stupid of me that I just let myself go all detached when he is dead. He would pout and tell me to smile and be happy. He would tell me that he is not my sole happiness. But how could that thought sink into me when I am selfishly claiming he is.
I wanted to convey something, but as it turns out my face goes stony, Adam just blinks and gestures the broken door.
The room is spacious and dark, except for the fact that there are glowing rounded rectangular lines. As I move closer, the glowing lines were actually the sides of a giant transparent chiller or something. It was remotely cool. Then something clicks inside of my head, I move to the first tube thing.
My world stops as I remember her from the cave panels. She is beautiful. Not like the actress kind of beautiful Sarah or the bad-ass beautiful Six. This girl who looks like peacefully sleeping, but actually dead, is rebelliously pretty. Her blond hair covers a part of her face, as if roughly placed on the spot, but still looking good.
"Marina, what is it?" Nine says, moving beside me.
"Light," I command, moving quickly on the next tubes. Next to the blonde, a redhead girl of not more than twelve. She has freckles that would seem really adorable if she would have blush. Her hands are clasped together as if relaxing on a grass meadow.
As I move to the next tube, Nine and Adam are searching for any light source. They keep on cursing and telling me that I am lucky for having night vision. As if I am not envious of their respective anti-gravity and seismic manipulation.
The next one was a boy. He does not even qualify to reach the age of fifteen, but his body is well-built, very well taken care of. This is not someone I know, but he looks familiar. A decade ago familiar.
I bite down my gasp; a trembling horror inside my stomach. There is something totally not right. I remember clearly that my first scar was years ago. A dead body would have been not in a wonderful state like what the corpse are here. This is absurd. What kind of technology that has been preserving these bodies in this amazing state. They look so alive. Anyone could have been tricked. They could have passed out if they question the paleness.
I didn't expect that...
Before taking a glimpse of the last tube, everything turned bright. I quickly spot Adam on the spot I originally was.
"It's One," Adam whispers as he stares at the first tube. His face is paler and far sadder. He kneels that his face is close to the tube, examining closely the blonde.
"What do you mean, 'one'?" Nine jogs to him and paused, uncertain of what to think. He ignores Adam and goes to me. I am still entranced of Adam's recognition of One. The Number One.
"It's Eight," Nine points and tries to pry the tube open. However, his hands keep on slipping. "Shit. The glass is slippery."
"No switch?"
"I tried all freaking buttons!" Adam shouted, still with One's tube.
I was watch him dumbly. Or I am was too overwhelmed as I see the guy inside the tube. He looks so serene with his eyes closed and his hands just resting on top of his stomach. This silly person, who I call Eight, almost made me believe he was sleeping. That in any moment his eyes will flutter open, and he would give me a hug. Then, he would say that he is happy to see me, that we shall eat a monstrous pizza. And later, we would watch sunsets and have more days of fun.
That promise seems to be a century ago. Incredible how one person could make an impact on me. I never thought it was even possible until I saw him at the Himalayas. After Adelina, Hector Ricardo, and Crayton, I wanted to keep myself from strong attachments. I didn't want to hurt again. Hurting sucks, as they would say. But how can I do that? How can I ignore an adorable jester who brings light in the dark? It would be stupid of me if I distance myself from him, which I didn't. I love spending even the littlest moments that could be provided. Eight's a wonderful person, and he deserves to live. But I know how not promising this universe is. It does not guarantee a happy ending. Eight and I...
My heart aches as I watch Nine try his best to open up the tube. He can not just break it open for it will harm Eight inside. But what is the point of not harming him when he is already away from harm, very far away.
I could feel my lungs collapse. I thought I could hold this depression away. John and the others have warned me when I heard that the Mogadorians took his body. The race responsible for hundreds of innocent deaths have no right to take his body, even dead. My heart pained when they just took him like a price to show off. The proof of evil victory against us. That is the harshest thing they could do. That's why I will do everything I can to take him back to me.
I don't even hope for him to be resurrected.
My instincts go crazy, and I push Nine to the side. I press my fingers at what I believe is the lid. I put all my effort of pushing it upwards, including my telekinesis. It was no time when I successfully open the lid.
Nine grins as I have done it until the sirens started blaring. I really wanted to catch a break! And with that, I lean in to grab Eight.
"No!" I hear Adam shouts.
He didn't attempt on opening One's tube.
"Let's go!" I bring Eight's body in a piggyback style which would a little heavy, but bearable, perhaps not in a long run with an army on our tail and the time left.
"We have to destroy their bodies!" Our mog ally screams, fear is written in every inch of them.
Nine steps closer to Adam. He usually gets mad, and he is really angry right now. This is my personal request that Nine respected. "We came here to retrieve his body, Mog." He sneers will absolute disbelief. "Destroying will make it worse."
Adams looks offended and shoves a three-page paper to him. The Mogadorian defector points at a particular part. "I know now why they took Eight..." Adam massages his temples with two fingers. "...and the others."
After seeing it, Nine crumples part of the paper. "F!" His rage is like a volcano ready to explode, but he puts a lid over his temper and shoves the paper in his pocket. He then starts pacing while taking deep breaths. Whatever made him his furious is making me nervous.
Suddenly, he stops before the second tube, looking at the red-haired girl with sympathy. It must have reminded him of Ella. "We'll have to take them all anyway," Nine says, like his almost outburst just seconds ago was nothing.
"What are you talking about?" my voice croaks. My difficulty of putting Eight on my back is killing me, but I am doing my best. This is what I want. I want him out of this place. Eight deserves a proper burial. But if we bring all of them, which I am not entirely against at, it will bring us down.
Nine just breaks the red-haired girl's and the dark brown-skinned boy's tubes. It was not a piercing break as I assume, but it was breaking hard plastic. "I'll bring these two. I so wish you were not dead, Two and Three"
"What did the paper say!?" I scream as thundering footsteps echo harshly around the floor and into the room. Adam managed to open the tube by prying it off. He was breathing heavily as he lifts One in a bridal style. As Nine puts Two over his and tries to carry Three with one arm, he was already panting. Even with our enhanced strength, this will not go well in a long run.
"They were experimenting them," Adam says sternly. "They...were." He looks away.
Then, I notice it on Eight's pale arm: a dozen small injection marks.
"What they did to the chimeara..."
"They did it to them!" I burst in anger and horror. These monsters! They are already dead and they are playing with their bodies? How disrespectful. How devious. I am going to kill them all!
"I am going to... Oh my... Eight." I was starting to form tears. "I am so sorry I left you out there."
"Enough," Nine says gruffly and eyes the door. Knowing this emotion of mine might jeopardize this mission, I pushed my emotions in and go out of the broken door and assess the situation. Of course, I still have Eight on my back.
My heart skipped a beat when the soldiers are already nearer than expected. It's a good thing that it didn't even reach a hundred soldiers. With a sly smile and strained effort, I released piercing ice at the army that is coming from the left. Then, a low tremble coming from my side goes to demolish the soldiers.
"I can't carry them both." Nine tries to drag Three respectfully.
"Bu-"
"We can't leave them," he says, scowling. "I know."
Debris is falling from the ceiling. The fight on the main floor must have intensified. We now have less than 10 minutes to go until rendezvous point. If we bring more than we can handle...
"Dust!" Adams whoops in joy as his flying chimaera transform into a large wolf. Nine immediately places Three securely on him.
What have I done! I almost did something horrible. I was thinking of...
"Marina," Nine calls me as I snap from my mental scolding. "Up ahead."
My shameful self disappears. I nod at him and the soldiers turn into pitiful dust at the touch of my ice. I clasped my hand tightly so Eight would not fall. I lost him once, I am not going to leave him.
"Adam," I called. "You said that your Legacy can identify allies, right?"
"Yes, but-"
"I'll help," I assured.
"Okay," he replied, stomping his foot on the ground. I joined him by thinking I will get everyone safe. I don't care if this base goes to the ground. I have no care if this goes to the news and widespread. I will get everyone I care about back safe."
The rampage of Adam's seismic activity and the sudden ice terror swirl made an enemy-free path for us to go back to our friends.
Okay, I know there isn't any fluff, but I wanted to guess what could have or will happen to Eight's body. Guess I'll make a sequel or whatever. Depends though ;) Wonder what your idea was. :)
PS. update with minor revisions and grammar edits