"Open up, dammit!" Loona hissed, tugging at the metal bars that held the elevator shut.
Millie watched anxiously as Loona continued to pound on the door while she scanned the wall for anything that might be useful. Her ankles were already beginning to go numb, and the sea kept pouring and pouring in, having risen half a foot in the span of only a couple minutes.
Once she realized that nothing of use was going to be on the wall, Millie began looking for other options of escape. If not for her own safety, than for Loona's. Nobody was going to die under her watch, not unless they deserved it.
She felt like an idiot, standing idly by and watching time pass them, each second precious and necessary to their survival. How dumb she had been, using the elevator when she knew the ship was sinking! She had seen enough movies to know that you never took the elevator during an emergency. Ever!
"Shouldn't have ever gotten in this fuckin' thing!" Millie growled, "Now we're gonna fuckin' die because I was a moron!"
Anger burned within her, an ocean of fury churning underneath her skin. If they died because of this it would be all her fault. She was supposed to be good at fighting and escaping, it was what she did for a living!
Yet here they were, only a few minutes away from their demise. And it was apparent that their luck had finally run out, having dodged fate for days, like a prisoner evading their guards, constantly only a few moments away from capture.
Now they stood in the eyes of their guards, about to be taken away to a prison to which they could not escape from.
Loona turned back and shrugged, "What else were we supposed to fucking do? We were being chased, remember? Don't be so hard on yourself"
The sudden words caught her off guard. Out of all the people to try and comfort her in a time of crisis, Loona was the last one she would expect to do it. Through all of their time knowing each other, Loona has always seemed apathetic and cold, covering her tracks with snide remarks and rude sarcasm. This was the closest thing to a soft side that she had seen from her in a long time, and she wished that it had come at a better time than now. At a time when she wasn't about to die.
The flashing of the lights began to disorient her, the sudden changes in the brightness causing black spots to develop in her vision, like dirt spots on a windshield that wouldn't go away. The last few days hadn't been kind to her mental or physical wellbeing, and the growing headache and blindness were only making things worse.
Millie ran up to the gate and shouted down the hallway, hoping to grab the attention of somebody that might help them.
"I can't fucking see-" Millie cursed, "Hey, is anybody out there? Hello?!"
By some pure miracle, a passing steward ran out of a cabin and out into the adjacent hallway, a ring of keys in his hand.
"Hello?!" Loona called out, "Hey! Get over here!"
The man paused, turning around and seeming to hesitate. He had one hand on the railing to a nearby staircase, and the other clinging to the keys and his belt loop. There was a pained look in his eyes, like either choice he made would end up hurting somebody. Which he wasn't wrong about, after all, she'd be scared shitless too, she already was. But her sympathy was running thin, each moment of this man's hesitation potentially costing them their lives.
He turned around to run up the stairs, Millie about ready to cry when he disappeared behind the wall.
"Shit!" Millie said, defeated, "Shit."
However, a few seconds later, the man reappeared, seeming to have had a change of heart and bolting back down the stairs, taking out his keychain and bracing himself up against the cold metal.
Things were happening so fast that Millie thought she was going to get whiplash, and it was becoming harder and harder to keep her head clear.
"Hurry up!" Loona shouted, a deep rumbling coming from within the ship.
Millie had gone from wanting to curse the man out to wanting to hug him in the span of ten seconds, and if her mind didn't slow down she almost feared that she would explode. Having this much stress wearing down on you couldn't be healthy.
"I'm trying!" he shouted back, panicking as the water rose to waist-height.
Her and Millie clung to the bars desperately, as if that would do anything to get them out faster. She could hear Loona beginning to hyperventilate, the hellhound showing her panicked side for the first time. And Millie knew exactly how she felt, already on the verge of passing out herself. The muscles in her throat were tightening up, like a rope was being tied around her neck and being pulled tighter and tighter, nearly cutting off her windpipe.
"Please." she choked, watching as key after key went into the emergency lock on the door.
There had to be a thousand keys on that ring, and apparently the man couldn't tell which one went into which key, each one being tossed in with no success. The brass had already begun to fade with the saltwater hitting hit, the once fine coat of gold falling apart and revealing faded material underneath.
And then something happened that almost made Millie give up completely.
The ship shook violently, and the man dropped his keys into the water, staring down at the water before then shooting the two of them an apologetic grin.
No.
Not like this.
Please.
Anything but this.
"I'm sorry," he said, before turning around and bolting up the stairs.
Millie sank down defeatedly, watching helplessly as their only hope disappeared behind a wall. The keys were lost in the swarming sea, the foam of the roaring water covering them up and hiding them from view.
The two of them hung their heads in defeat, listening as the ocean washed
"It's over," she sobbed, "We're fucked."
She slumped down to the floor, watching helplessly as the leaks in the wall grew larger and larger.
It had finally happened. They had pushed their luck, and it was finally catching up to them.
She wasn't going to see Moxxie again. She wasn't going to escape the darkness of the elevator, ever. She wasn't going to get to see the comforts of home again. She was going to die, miserable, cold, and alone, all thanks to her own hubris and panic.
Sorry, Mox, I tried.
So hard.
Loona seemed just as hopeless as she had been, falling to the floor and sighing loudly.
"We tried," Loona said, voice shaking, "We tried…"
"Yeah, we did," Millie responded, "So fuckin' hard."
They watched as the flood accelerated, the two of them airing their final grievances as the end appeared to be nearing. Might as well get everything off of their chests before the end came, as they came closer to crossing the bridge from hell into whatever void awaited those who died a second death.
"Look, I know I already said it," Loona said, "But...I really am sorry for...everything."
Of course they had to be on the brink of death for Loona to finally apologize.
Millie didn't care as much now as she had a few moments ago, far more concerned about the watery grave that awaited them in a few minutes.
"Please, I've seen worse," Millie said, "And I'm sorry we haven't exactly gotten along. I just sorta wished we didn't have to be here to finally, ya know, get along."
God, I sound like an idiot.
Fuck it, we're dying anyway.
More and more leaks broke through the wall, the air pocket becoming smaller and smaller. There was a mix of emotions clashing together within her, and from the looks of it, Loona too. It was a mix of extreme worry and fear of death, clashing with a strong "fuck it" attitude, the prospect of death both terrifying yet inviting at the same time.
And then came the awkward lull in conversation. What the hell did you say to someone when the two of you were about to die anyways? "Nice weather we're having"? "See you on the other side"?
What would even be waiting for her on the other side? There wasn't exactly much to go off of in regards to what waited for sinners or hellborns that died in the land of the dead. Was there a double hell? Would she somehow end up in heaven? Some permanent void of darkness with no feeling or sentience? Reincarnation? Something else that she hadn't thought of?
Just thinking about it was making her head spin, already more than the lack of oxygen and freezing temperatures were.
The memories of her life began to flash before her eyes as the water crept up to chest-height, all the good times and bad times. Evenings on the farm with her parents, moving out to Imp City, her first days working for the company, her parents smiling at her on the wedding day, her honeymoon, visiting the old farm, the sunsets back at the ranch, all of her journeys up to Earth, everything. It was almost too fast for her to process, each memory lasting for less than a fragment of a second, a poignant and nostalgic light show of sorts.
She had always imagined her death being far more serious and valiant, going out in a great fight or a blaze of glory, not drowning in the dark without so much as a fight. If only she had known how hellish and pandemonic this vacation was going to be, she would've fled the ship the moment she had the chance, instead being condemned to a sorry fate.
Tears began to well in her eyes, either tears of acceptance or sadness, she hadn't decided yet.
"It was nice knowing ya," Millie sighed, "Looks like this is it."
Loona rubbed her eyes, muttering one word through her anguis, "Yeah."
An odd calm suddenly came over her as she accepted her fate, the panic she had just been filled with was suddenly gone, an apathetic attitude taking over. This must've been the calmness before death that she had been told about, having always thought it to be some fairy tale that people told themselves to feel better.
Now that she was experiencing for herself, she knew how wrong that notion had been.
Millie laid down, letting the waves carry her closer and closer to the ceiling, when something caught her eye.
Even in the dim light, she was able to make out a seemingly out of place ceiling tile. It laid further behind the rest of the tiles, and had what seemed to be a handle attached to the front. The outline was faded, and it seemed like a stretch, but she moved forward and tried to see what was catching her eye.
"What's that?" Millie pointed, trying to direct Loona's attention to the anomaly.
Loona perked up, eyes landing on the same off spot.
"You don't think…" Loona trailed off, "Do you…?"
Millie tilted her head up and began pushing on the tile, opening up and out into the top of the elevator shaft.
Aw hell yeah.
We ain't dying yet!
"Holy shit," Loona muttered.
The flooding accelerated yet again, and Millie paddled aside to allow Loona to pull herself up through the hatch, the spark of life and vigor in her heart refusing to be extinguished.
"Can ya move a bit faster?!" Millie said, a familiar panic gripping her as the water was now almost over her head and up to the top of the shaft. She wouldn't allow herself to be this close to survival and give up.
"Give me a second!" she hissed back, hopping up through the hatch and extending a hand to Millie in the nick of time.
Almost as quickly as their situation had become perilous, Millie pulled herself up through the hatch and into the top of the elevator shaft. The last few minutes had been a rollercoaster of emotions, and part of her almost felt like the entire thing was a bad dream, about to be woken up by some obnoxious alarm clock and brought back to reality.
But right now was not the time to be processing emotions. Right now was the time for getting the hell out of that damned elevator.
The two of them stood up on top of the shaft, water pouring up through the open hatched and continuing to rise. There was a landing a few feet above their heads, and Millie leaped up to pull herself over the edge, Loona following shortly after.
The landing led to an elevated hallway, one that was still mostly dry and above the waterline. She turned around and helped pull Loona up over the edge, before standing up and examining the area before them, not quite sure what to expect.
"We made it," Millie said awkwardly, "Yay…"
"Don't fucking talk to me," Loona replied numbly, taking a few staggered steps forward, "I've had way too fucking many emotions for one day."
"Welcome to the damn club," she sighed, "Now let's get going."
"Fire, already!" Blitzo hollered at Stolas as they dashed blindly down the dark corridor.
"I can't see!" Stolas snapped back, "I only have so many bullets!"
The two of them continued an intense chase through the flooding ship, Monte and Stella only a few feet behind them.
After Millie and Loona had left, he had led Stolas away from the elevator and back down the way they had come from, quickly losing their way and focusing on simply surviving as opposed to finding the cabin.
Stolas clutched the blessed rifle in his hands, aiming it behind them and waiting for the right moment to strike, Blitzo unsure if that moment was ever going to come. He had been watching the man clutch his gun for what had felt like forever. And if Stolas wasn't going to do anything, he was considering jumping up and taking the gun himself to finish the job.
"You're going to regret this!" Monte hollered from down the hall, "We'll fucking kill all of you!"
Three gunshots rang out, and Blitzo felt something craze his side.
"Fuck!' Blitzo shouted, already feeling blood pour out of the wound, "Fuck!"
Of course now these fuckers learned how to shoot
Worst. Timing. Ever.
His legs began to buckle, both under the numbing temperature of the water and the sharp pain and discomfort coming from the bullet wound. As much as he hated to admit it, Blitzo knew he wasn't going to keep the pace up for much longer, not like this.
And it was exactly what they wanted.
He began to grow dizzy, and his pace started to slow. No matter how far he pushed himself, he knew that his body was going to give out in a matter of seconds. And there was only a few seconds to react.
Stolas seemed to notice his struggle, picking him up and pulling him up over his shoulder, while firing a single shot back into the darkness. Monte let out a grunt in the darkness, showing that one of the shots had landed, although clearly not anywhere vital judging from his continued movement and screaming.
He led them left and into what appeared to be an abandoned cabin, slamming the door shut and wading through the rushing water. A singular lamp provided flickering light from a wooden nightstand, the power beginning to fail.
Stolas set him down on a bed, the sheets barely above the waterline. Once he was safe and sound, the owl ran off and stood by the door, waiting until he heard the footsteps pass, Monte's voice clear even through the rushing waves.
"Where'd the bastards go?!" Monte shouted, his footsteps uneven, "I'm gonna fucking kill them!"
The two of them passed the cabin door quickly, Blitzo holding his breath until he heard them pass.
Leaning over, Blitzo saw his blood stain the sheets and leak through his clothes, dropping into the water and giving it a blackish-crimson hue.
Blessed rifles were much, much more powerful than normal ones. Their bullets were twice as large, and they used a special gunpowder that would accelerate the bullet's charge. They were only found after exterminations, when angels would leave them behind after the event had ended. It was why they were so heavily sought after, having not only advanced mechanics, but also the blessings and supernatural abilities given to them by angels, something that hellborns and sinners would never have access to.
He had only seen a handful of them in his time One with Striker, one in the aftermath of an extermination, and now here on the ship.
Now, how in the fuck all of them had gotten their hands on such valuable weapons, he had no idea. Nor did he care, at least not yet. Not when there were much, much more urgent things to worry about.
Stolas walked over and knelt down at his side, examining the wound carefully. Blitzo didn't exactly trust Stolas's medical intuition, but it was better than having nothing at all.
"Blessed bullets," he muttered, "It got you pretty good, didn't it?"
"Yeah," Blitzo grunted, "Really fucking bad!"
His heart rate began to spike, the pain close to becoming unbearable. Black dots began to surround the sides of his vision, colors filling the room that weren't there. It felt like a dagger was being driven into his side, and then being ripped out, and then being put back in, over and over again. It was the worst feeling he had ever experienced.
The boat suddenly lurched, Blitzo being tossed forward and screaming as the muscles around his wound contracted, beginning to feel lightheaded from all of the blood loss.
If he died like this, he was going to be so fucking pissed.
Stolas went right to work, taking a cloth out of his robe and bandaging the robe carefully. He had always wondered what Stolas carried in all of those pockets of his, and now he finally knew. The man could fit an entire damned hospital in there if he needed to, with how big his clothes were.
Blitzo winced as he applied a sanitizer to the wound, Stolas keeping his voice calm.
"Look, I'm trying!" Stolas said, his voice both calm but stern at the same time, "You're lucky that thing didn't hit you somewhere important. A little imp like you can't keep taking beatings like this."
"Yeah, yeah," Blitzo responded, "Hurts like a bitch though!"
Having Stolas trying to fix him up felt strange. For as long as they had known each other, his time with Stolas had been a strictly business affair. But now having him here and helping him heal triggered a feeling of affection he hadn't felt towards anybody in years.
Perhaps his little affair with Stolas could go further than he had once though it would.
At the same time, the last thing he wanted was to get attached to somebody. He had already seen how terribly it had gone in the past, and he wasn't about to get his heart broken again. He wasn't going to sit back and watch yet another figure in his life walk right out the door and slam it in his face.
But then again, what if things ended up working out? What if Stolas would be different from the others? What if the two of them could actually work out as a couple? What if?
No.
You're not letting somebody else in.
Blitzo knew far too well what happened each time he became attached to somebody. Every one of his past lovers had ditched him and left him in the dust with nobody. And hadn't been a one time thing, this happened constantly, and without fail. As horrible as it sounded, he had grown accustomed to the pain and heartache of losing a lover, not wanting to make the mistake of wanting somebody ever again. He had his employees, and he had Loona. That had to count for something, right?
Having somebody standing over him now, that seemed to give at least a bit of a damn about his own safety, was already confusing him. It was such a foreign feeling to him, to feel cared for and protected, and if the situation hadn't been so dire he would've had more time to process it.
Stolas finished patching up the wound quickly, Blitzo's side still in tremendous pain.
The water began to rise faster, and Stolas picked him up again and slumped him over his shoulder, moving towards the door quickly.
"I can walk," Blitzo said, "You don't have to carry me."
"No, you can't," Stolas said, "Now let me carry you out before we both die down here."
They pushed through the door, where the icy water was halfway between the floor and the ceiling, with more on the way. Blitzo noticed a tilt to the floor, the sinking progressing further than he had thought it was. Which only filled him with more panic. Millie and Loona were away, there were two crazed nutjobs still hunting him and Stolas, and Moxxie and Octavia were locked away in some godforsaken place, probably about to go down with the ship.
At least with Millie and Loona, he knew they were still alive somewhere. But he didn't have that luxury with Moxxie. If he ever got to see Moxxie again, it would be the best day of his life in a long time. As much as he hated to admit it, he did love the little guy, and made a vow to be a bit more bearable to him if they ever crossed paths again, the window of time closing rapidly.
Staring out at the flooded hallway, he wasn't filled with hope, and the idea that the worst had happened was already beginning to creep into his head. It wasn't that he wanted to believe it, but it was becoming less and less likely that Moxxie was somehow alive out there. The cabins were especially low in the ship, and if he was still in cabin 256, chances were it was either flooding or underwater.
"We're finding that cabin," Stolas said, moving forward with haste away from the flooding, hooking a left and journeying further into the belly of the ship, "If it's the last thing we do."
"Moxxie, if you're dead…" Blitzo muttered, "I'll never forgive myself."
"Via, if you're not alive, I'll never forgive myself either."
He couldn't imagine the pain that Stolas had to be going through. Not only having to keep your daughter alive, but also knowing that it was her mother that had taken her and had staged a plot to kill all of them right under his nose. If Stolas somehow didn't have permanent trust issues after this, it would be nothing short of an act of God.
"I'm worried about her," Stolas whined nervously, "Who knows what unspeakable things they're doing to them in there?!"
"And I'm worried about Moxxie," Blitzo said for the first time out loud, "Neither of them deserved this."
"You're telling me."
With that, they pushed through the water, keeping an eye out for any unwelcome visitors. Especially in the darkness, Monte and Stella would have an easy time finding them if things went haywire. And if they were dying down here, it was going to be because of the flooding, not at the hands of those gremlins.
Millie had been propped up onto Loona's shoulders, the water becoming too high for her to stand in alone.
They passed a sign reading "230-260," meaning that 256 had to be close by, red emergency lights faintly illuminating the hallway. Moxxie was close, she knew it. He had to be.
Even Loona seemed to be on edge, eyes darting back and forth as they trudged through the sea, knowing all too well that they were in a dire time crunch that was going to make or break the entire operation.
A nearby door read "243," meaning that 256 was right at the end of the hallway, where hopefully she would finally be reunited with her husband once and for all. Each second was precious, and they moved with as much speed as the high sea would allow, trudging through debris and other bits of waste scattered about the area.
"Cold as shit in here," Loona whispered, "They'd better be here."
However, a feeling of dread overcame her as she came closer to the edge of the hallway, right in front of room 245.
There was no more hallway. Only a wall of water that was unnavigable.
A voice shouting out from behind her startled the two of them, expecting it to be Monte and Stella having come after them to deliver the final blow.
But to her thankful surprise, Stolas and Blitzo emerged from behind, both looking as tired and battered as she was. Blitzo appeared especially tired, slung over Stolas's shoulder and apparently bleeding heavily out of his side. The wound was an ugly black color, blood oozing out of it and dropping to the ground.
"What happened to him?!" Loona asked, seemingly worried.
"I got fuckin' shot, that's what," Blitzo murmured, "I'll be fine though."
Millie wasn't as sure about his claims, "You sure about that? You look terrible and you're bleedin' pretty good."
"I said I'll be fine. And don't we have someone more important to save right now? I don't know if you forgot, but it's sorta the entire reason we came here."
He wasn't wrong, and Millie, although suspicious, let it go. From the looks of it, Blitzo could hold on for awhile, at least until they got to Moxxie. She felt so close to him now, closer than she had felt in days. And she was ready to get back to him, having been apart for far too long under such unspeakable circumstances.
"How do we wanna do this?" Loona asked, staring down at the flooded hallway, "I don't know about you guys, but I don't think they're down there. And even if they are, I don't think we'd make it through the hallway."
"We can damn well try!" Millie hissed, "If they're still in there, they're in danger."
"No shit," Blitzo said, "I want them out too, but can we even get through to them?"
"Wait a minute," Loona interrupted, kneeling down to something further down the hall and out of her reach, a dark spot on the water, "What's that?"
Millie's eyes landed on the figure, and squinted her eyes in the dim light, not sure what she was looking at.
But when her eyes registered it, she almost threw up.
"I-Is that...a body?" she whispered, hands clasped around her mouth, "N-No…"
The corpse was too far away for her to make out clearly, but it almost guaranteed the worst outcome.
Moxxie was either dead, or there was a suspicious corpse at the end of the hall.
Her heart sank and her stomach lurched, like she had just been punched in the gut ten times over. Tears began to well in her eyes, on top of already being shaken from the events of the last few days. All of that trouble and suffering, all of that perseverance, only to have her hopes thrown back into her face and shattered.
Visions of the corpse in her nightmares flashed back to her, and she turned her head away, gritting her teeth to keep from breaking down completely
No.
How could you die like this?
We were so, so damn close.
So close.
The ship lurched forward again, however, and a beam collapsed in front of them, blocking off the corpse and nearly crushing her. Pipes above her head burst, along with windows shattering and filling the hallway faster.
"Via!" Stolas shouted, "No!"
The pain in his voice cut the air like a knife, even as Loona dragged them away, towards a staircase and up towards the deck, both her and Stolas inconsolable at the thought of those they loved most being lost to a watery grave.
"No!" Millie shouted as the hallway vanished from sight, "Moxxie!"
They bolted up the stairs, just as she heard the defeating hiss of a wave coursing through the ship, Loona forcing them to higher ground despite the protests by Millie and Stolas.
She wailed with defeat, while lights began to illuminate the halls they entered, away from the deep and suffocating waters of the ship.
If only she could say the same about Moxxie and Octavia.