Disclaimer: I do not own any of the X-Men movie characters.
Title: Unforgivable Sinners
By: Cmdr. Gabe E.
Note: This fanfiction occurs entirely in the X-Men movie-verse . Characters' unspoken thoughts are enclosed in .
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CHAPTER VI: In darkness there is comfort
She retracted her claws and went back to looking at the direction they were heading. Yuriko could see nothing but trees and snow as they entered the forest. She knew it would probably take half a day to reach the road on the other side of the woods.
Her eyes traveled down to her hands. She looked at them as she walked through their tree-laden path. Those hands gave her nothing but harsh, painful memories. From the first time she opened her eyes in Stryker's laboratory, her hands did nothing but do what Stryker asked her to do. Her hands did nothing but Stryker's work and Stryker's orders. They never felt like hers from the beginning.
Yuriko gently moved her fingers. Her silver, adamantium nails glistened under the rays of sunlight that shone through the openings between the trees. It was the first time she ever felt alive. For once she could control herself. She could finally move her body the way she wanted to. She could smile if she wanted to.
Her face tilted up towards the sky. Above her towered the evergreen trees that filled the forest. The clear, light blue sky peeked through the trees and the sun's rays touched her soft, delicate face. It was as if she was walking in a dream. She was finally free. After years and years of suffering she was finally free.
And yet she still felt tied to the past. It was his presence that didn't allow her to be fully free. She looked at him again from the corner of her eye. She could see his broad yet weak figure trying to catch up with her. Unlike her, Stryker didn't have any healing powers. He was still carrying the bruises and cuts that he obtained from his previous struggle with Logan and Magneto.
"I'm not feeling well." Stryker said, panting. He wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, with blood mixed in from the cut he obtained during his escape from the rapid waters. He touched the cut on his temple and winced in pain.
"And I've never felt well on the years that I've been with you, William. If I endured it for that long, then I believe you can endure a day of --- not feeling well too." Deep inside her she smiled. Was she supposed to feel better now that she had the upper hand? Or was she slowly starting to turn into him? Into the person she hated the most?
Stryker clutched his right arm. He could feel some bleeding coming from his puncture wounds there too. He couldn't even remember how he got his injuries. Was she the reason he lost his memory? Was she the one who left him to drown, bound in chains to a solid structure?
He had to reach out to her somehow. He felt as if he was going to fall on his face any time soon. "Look, I'm bleeding and I'm hungry. I feel like I've broken a bone, or torn a muscle. I don't know. I just need to rest. I need to sit or lean against something for a while."
Yuriko stopped on her tracks and pursed her lips. She turned around to face him. Her eyes looked at his familiar, yet strange face. Was she looking at the same man who had controlled her for so long? Was the man in front of her the ruthless tyrant who wanted to commit mass genocide on all the mutants on earth?
She wasn't even sure anymore. Before her stood an aging man who looked like a helpless wounded animal. His eyes looked tired. Half of his face was covered with blood. He clutched his arm as if it was going to fall off soon. He looked like he was about to collapse and die.
"You know what's funny about this situation? The fact that I asked the same thing from you --- over and over and over again, but you never gave me a second of it. There was never a moment's rest, nor a second's relief from my prison. I never had peace. You gave me no peace." Yuriko clenched her fists as she looked at him.
Stryker's eyes met hers. "You keep on saying these things about me. About --- who I was, and what I did to you. But --- but I can't even remember it!!! I don't remember anything!!! How many times do I have to tell you that?!! What do you want me to tell you?! That I do know?! That I really did those things to you?! Do you want me to tell you that I'm the monster you claim me to be?!!"
"You don't need to tell me, William. My existence is already proof of what you are." She said with an icy stare. "Now come. If we stay here long enough, you might lose more blood. And despite the fact that I want you dead more than anything else, I won't allow you to die yet. You still have some unfinished business with me."
She turned around and started walking towards their original direction.
Stryker hopelessly sighed, realizing that he had no choice but to follow her. He had no idea what 'unfinished business' she was talking about, but to stay with her was the only way to find out.
After a couple of hours, the sky above them started to grow dim. The sun slowly descended behind the mountains to the west, and the moon was starting to make its appearance.
Stryker clenched his teeth as he felt the unbearable pain pounding at his body. Every now and then he would feel himself drifting away, nauseated and weak.
"It's almost night time. Are we going to reach the road soon? I don't know if I can go on any longer."
Yuriko didn't answer back. She just kept on walking in a steady pace. She knew they would reach the road soon, so she found no need to attend to her companion's consistent complaints and whining.
After an hour more of walking, her eyes caught sight of the road through the trees.
"Finally" Stryker sighed. He was hoping for rest and medication as soon as they exited the forest, but when they reached the mountainside road, it extended towards the horizon, as if there weren't any houses or markets nearby. There was just the road, more mountains and more trees.
"What now?" He asked tiredly.
"We'll wait." Yuriko said as she looked at him.
A look of disappointment and confusion could clearly be seen on the man's face. He was looking forward to something comforting after everything that happened, and now he was supposed to wait. But for how long? He wasn't even sure if he could walk another step.
He sat down next to a tree and leaned against its trunk. He cradled his wounded arm with his hand.
"What are we waiting for?" He asked, looking up at Yuriko who was standing by the road.
Yuriko looked at the southern direction of the road and saw a car coming their way. The car looked like a pick-up truck. She tried to identify the driver, but the tint on the car's windshield prohibited her from doing so. As the car drove closer, she was able to identify that the driver was indeed alone.
She quickly removed her jacket, revealing her white tank top underneath. She didn't want to risk wearing a jacket with unusual battle marks on it. If the driver noticed, it might steer up some unneeded suspicion from him --- or her. She tied its sleeves around her waist and fixed herself up to look as normal as she could.
"What are you doing?" William asked.
As the car got closer, Yuriko waved her hand in the air like a hitchhiker.
"Getting us a lift." She said without looking at him. Yuriko sighed with relief as the car stopped in front of her. Its windows were rolled down, which allowed her to see the driver.
The driver was a young man, somewhere in his mid-twenties. He had a medium physical built, blonde hair, and brown eyes. His face reminded her of someone she had known, but couldn't remember.
He smiled at her and leaned towards her side of the window.
"Need any help, miss?" He asked with a grin.
She could clearly see him surveying her with his eyes.
"Um, yes! I believe you've heard of the Alkali Lake incident? About the dam breaking? Me and my friend were shooting some nature documentaries in the area and he got wounded when it happened. I was wondering if you can give us a lift to the Alkali Hotel?"
Yuriko felt weird talking like that. She had never talked as herself before. When she was under Stryker's command, the only things she could say were the words that he wanted her to. It was as if she didn't have a mind of her own.
But now she finally had the freedom to talk when she wanted to talk, to say what she wanted to say, to do what she wanted to do. She was her own master now. And she would never allow anyone to take that away from her again.
She noticed the young man's smile fade a bit.
It was quite obvious that he wanted to have the beautiful hitchhiker all to himself.
"Er, sure...Where's your friend?" He asked. His eyes wandered around the area looking for the young woman's 'friend'.
Yuriko smiled at him. "Hold on a sec, okay? I'll go get him real quick.". She still felt a bit weird talking as herself.
She turned around and headed towards the place where Stryker decided to rest for a while. She saw him sitting next to a tree, looking at her as she approached.
"You're good." He said with a smirk.
Yuriko walked up to him and quickly pulled him up by his right arm. "Get up! Our ride's here."
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TO BE CONTINUED...
Title: Unforgivable Sinners
By: Cmdr. Gabe E.
Note: This fanfiction occurs entirely in the X-Men movie-verse . Characters' unspoken thoughts are enclosed in .
= = = = = = = = = = = = = =
CHAPTER VI: In darkness there is comfort
She retracted her claws and went back to looking at the direction they were heading. Yuriko could see nothing but trees and snow as they entered the forest. She knew it would probably take half a day to reach the road on the other side of the woods.
Her eyes traveled down to her hands. She looked at them as she walked through their tree-laden path. Those hands gave her nothing but harsh, painful memories. From the first time she opened her eyes in Stryker's laboratory, her hands did nothing but do what Stryker asked her to do. Her hands did nothing but Stryker's work and Stryker's orders. They never felt like hers from the beginning.
Yuriko gently moved her fingers. Her silver, adamantium nails glistened under the rays of sunlight that shone through the openings between the trees. It was the first time she ever felt alive. For once she could control herself. She could finally move her body the way she wanted to. She could smile if she wanted to.
Her face tilted up towards the sky. Above her towered the evergreen trees that filled the forest. The clear, light blue sky peeked through the trees and the sun's rays touched her soft, delicate face. It was as if she was walking in a dream. She was finally free. After years and years of suffering she was finally free.
And yet she still felt tied to the past. It was his presence that didn't allow her to be fully free. She looked at him again from the corner of her eye. She could see his broad yet weak figure trying to catch up with her. Unlike her, Stryker didn't have any healing powers. He was still carrying the bruises and cuts that he obtained from his previous struggle with Logan and Magneto.
"I'm not feeling well." Stryker said, panting. He wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, with blood mixed in from the cut he obtained during his escape from the rapid waters. He touched the cut on his temple and winced in pain.
"And I've never felt well on the years that I've been with you, William. If I endured it for that long, then I believe you can endure a day of --- not feeling well too." Deep inside her she smiled. Was she supposed to feel better now that she had the upper hand? Or was she slowly starting to turn into him? Into the person she hated the most?
Stryker clutched his right arm. He could feel some bleeding coming from his puncture wounds there too. He couldn't even remember how he got his injuries. Was she the reason he lost his memory? Was she the one who left him to drown, bound in chains to a solid structure?
He had to reach out to her somehow. He felt as if he was going to fall on his face any time soon. "Look, I'm bleeding and I'm hungry. I feel like I've broken a bone, or torn a muscle. I don't know. I just need to rest. I need to sit or lean against something for a while."
Yuriko stopped on her tracks and pursed her lips. She turned around to face him. Her eyes looked at his familiar, yet strange face. Was she looking at the same man who had controlled her for so long? Was the man in front of her the ruthless tyrant who wanted to commit mass genocide on all the mutants on earth?
She wasn't even sure anymore. Before her stood an aging man who looked like a helpless wounded animal. His eyes looked tired. Half of his face was covered with blood. He clutched his arm as if it was going to fall off soon. He looked like he was about to collapse and die.
"You know what's funny about this situation? The fact that I asked the same thing from you --- over and over and over again, but you never gave me a second of it. There was never a moment's rest, nor a second's relief from my prison. I never had peace. You gave me no peace." Yuriko clenched her fists as she looked at him.
Stryker's eyes met hers. "You keep on saying these things about me. About --- who I was, and what I did to you. But --- but I can't even remember it!!! I don't remember anything!!! How many times do I have to tell you that?!! What do you want me to tell you?! That I do know?! That I really did those things to you?! Do you want me to tell you that I'm the monster you claim me to be?!!"
"You don't need to tell me, William. My existence is already proof of what you are." She said with an icy stare. "Now come. If we stay here long enough, you might lose more blood. And despite the fact that I want you dead more than anything else, I won't allow you to die yet. You still have some unfinished business with me."
She turned around and started walking towards their original direction.
Stryker hopelessly sighed, realizing that he had no choice but to follow her. He had no idea what 'unfinished business' she was talking about, but to stay with her was the only way to find out.
After a couple of hours, the sky above them started to grow dim. The sun slowly descended behind the mountains to the west, and the moon was starting to make its appearance.
Stryker clenched his teeth as he felt the unbearable pain pounding at his body. Every now and then he would feel himself drifting away, nauseated and weak.
"It's almost night time. Are we going to reach the road soon? I don't know if I can go on any longer."
Yuriko didn't answer back. She just kept on walking in a steady pace. She knew they would reach the road soon, so she found no need to attend to her companion's consistent complaints and whining.
After an hour more of walking, her eyes caught sight of the road through the trees.
"Finally" Stryker sighed. He was hoping for rest and medication as soon as they exited the forest, but when they reached the mountainside road, it extended towards the horizon, as if there weren't any houses or markets nearby. There was just the road, more mountains and more trees.
"What now?" He asked tiredly.
"We'll wait." Yuriko said as she looked at him.
A look of disappointment and confusion could clearly be seen on the man's face. He was looking forward to something comforting after everything that happened, and now he was supposed to wait. But for how long? He wasn't even sure if he could walk another step.
He sat down next to a tree and leaned against its trunk. He cradled his wounded arm with his hand.
"What are we waiting for?" He asked, looking up at Yuriko who was standing by the road.
Yuriko looked at the southern direction of the road and saw a car coming their way. The car looked like a pick-up truck. She tried to identify the driver, but the tint on the car's windshield prohibited her from doing so. As the car drove closer, she was able to identify that the driver was indeed alone.
She quickly removed her jacket, revealing her white tank top underneath. She didn't want to risk wearing a jacket with unusual battle marks on it. If the driver noticed, it might steer up some unneeded suspicion from him --- or her. She tied its sleeves around her waist and fixed herself up to look as normal as she could.
"What are you doing?" William asked.
As the car got closer, Yuriko waved her hand in the air like a hitchhiker.
"Getting us a lift." She said without looking at him. Yuriko sighed with relief as the car stopped in front of her. Its windows were rolled down, which allowed her to see the driver.
The driver was a young man, somewhere in his mid-twenties. He had a medium physical built, blonde hair, and brown eyes. His face reminded her of someone she had known, but couldn't remember.
He smiled at her and leaned towards her side of the window.
"Need any help, miss?" He asked with a grin.
She could clearly see him surveying her with his eyes.
"Um, yes! I believe you've heard of the Alkali Lake incident? About the dam breaking? Me and my friend were shooting some nature documentaries in the area and he got wounded when it happened. I was wondering if you can give us a lift to the Alkali Hotel?"
Yuriko felt weird talking like that. She had never talked as herself before. When she was under Stryker's command, the only things she could say were the words that he wanted her to. It was as if she didn't have a mind of her own.
But now she finally had the freedom to talk when she wanted to talk, to say what she wanted to say, to do what she wanted to do. She was her own master now. And she would never allow anyone to take that away from her again.
She noticed the young man's smile fade a bit.
It was quite obvious that he wanted to have the beautiful hitchhiker all to himself.
"Er, sure...Where's your friend?" He asked. His eyes wandered around the area looking for the young woman's 'friend'.
Yuriko smiled at him. "Hold on a sec, okay? I'll go get him real quick.". She still felt a bit weird talking as herself.
She turned around and headed towards the place where Stryker decided to rest for a while. She saw him sitting next to a tree, looking at her as she approached.
"You're good." He said with a smirk.
Yuriko walked up to him and quickly pulled him up by his right arm. "Get up! Our ride's here."
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TO BE CONTINUED...