Note1: This fanfiction occurs entirely in the X-Men movie-verse . 'nuff
said !
NOTE2: Since fanfiction.net has difficulty in displaying italicized words (which are supposed to be characters' unspoken thoughts), I decided to upload chapters 1 – 10 again and enclosed all unspoken thoughts in .
So from now on, /"This is going to be an unspoken thought."/.
I fixed some of the scene dividers too =).
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
HELL JUMPER = Bows down to thee . Yuriko and Stryker's situation in the fanfic actually allows them to interact in ways they haven't been to before. That's why it's great to write about their emotions and feelings. First of all, the tables have turned. Stryker has no idea who he is, an Yuriko wants to discover her past through a man that she hates. And ironically, the only people they know/have known are each other. Thanks for da review !!!
PENDRAGON4 = Yeah. It's unfortunate that Yuriko's character wasn't given that much background and screen time in the movie. Heheh...at least this fanfic's mostly about her !
TOPWITCH = Thanks, topwitch ! Heheh...I guess this part of the story is filled with drama. After all, both of them are currently 'soul searching'. And trust me --- Yuriko's definitely gonna find her 'soul' soon once she meets with the professor.
CARMILLA = Thank you so much for the comments ! Good to know I'm improving somehow. I'll definitely keep an eye out for them darn typos x.x!
TP96 = NOT indeed! LOL! Though ya gotta give the guy credit for staying alive for this long. lol
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
Chapter XI: The girl with the adamantium claws
He looked into her eyes and saw the hatred that emanated from them. She looked at him without a hint of emotion or compassion. She detested him and he knew it. But she was the only one he truly had now. He had no other choice.
He felt his right temple throb as blood slowly started to pour out of the cut he gained earlier. His hand went up to his face and wiped the trail of blood away. He looked at his bloody fingers and scoffed at the sight.
"At least I still bleed. That's proof enough that I'm still alive." He forced a smile upon his lips and made his way into the bedroom.
Yuriko watched Stryker as he slowly walked away. Once he was out of sight, she looked at the living room again. Her eyes wandered at the open door to the other room. The blood from his knuckles still stained the silver adamantium barrier. The password device right next to it was also smudged with blood from when he punched it.
She looked at the broken wooden chair that laid in the corner of the room and saw drops of blood on the carpet where he stood a while ago.
Did she have the right to enjoy his suffering? She knew she did. She had every right to.
After a while, she followed him into the bedroom. She stepped inside the room and saw him sitting on the side of the bed. His head was bowed down and it looked like he had something in his hands. It was his wife's picture frame.
Stryker looked at the picture closer. His eyes examined every part of her face. She looked familiar --- as if he'd seen her before in a dream. He traced the contour of her face with his finger. He couldn't understand the warmth he felt when his finger ran over her smiling lips.
He knew her. He knew....But he couldn't remember. He couldn't remember who she was. Was she his mother? His sister? A close friend? Why was that the only picture he had?
The blood that oozed from his wound trickled down his forehead and fell on the face of the woman in the picture. He saw her face draped in red as his blood splattered on the picture frame's glass.
Stryker suddenly cried out and threw the picture at the far end of the room. Its glass shattered into tiny shards as it hit the wall. His eyes, wide with terror, stared at the broken pieces of the frame that laid on the floor. The picture was still in tact, but he didn't want to look at it again.
/"How could such a face bring so much comfort, and yet so much pain?"/ He asked himself.
He noticed Yuriko in the room, but he didn't make a move. He didn't even look at her. He just stood there, staring at the floor.
In a way, Yuriko knew how much William loved his wife. Her death was the reason why he ended up the way he did. She remembered the times in which he would talk to himself and mention her name. There were even times when he talked to the lobotomized Jason about her.
If she lost someone who was so precious to her --- who meant the entire world to her, would she have also ended up the same way? Would she also see nothing but hatred and anger?
She walked towards the cabinet and picked up the medical supplies she had left there earlier. She made her way to the other side of the room where Stryker was and placed the medical supplies on the bed right next to him. He still stood there staring at the wall.
"William..." She whispered. She didn't want to waste any more time with his pathetic antics. If they were going to New York the next day, she had to get him ready.
He didn't respond to her. He neither said nor did anything. He just continued to stare at the wall.
She slowly reached out for his shoulder and motioned him to face her. She was quite surprised with what she saw. He looked nothing like the man who once controlled her. He was not even a fraction of the William Stryker she once knew.
Half of his face was covered with blood. He looked like he was just an empty shell. His eyes looked into hers, but she saw nothing there. It was as if he was looking right through her.
He slowly blinked then sat down on the side of the bed. His eyes continued to stare at nothingness. He didn't even look at her.
She moved the supplies aside and sat down right next to him. She unpacked one of the moist towels and moved Stryker's face so that he was facing her. She brought the towel to his right temple and started to wipe the blood that tainted his skin.
She still couldn't believe she was doing what she was doing. When she was under his control, she wanted nothing but his death. Everyday she wished that he would die in the most horrible, painful way. Most of all, she wished to be the one who would kill him.
Whenever Stryker asked her to unleash her claws, she wanted to drive them into his torso. She wanted to stab him again and again until he vomited his own blood.
But now she found herself wiping that blood away. Countless times that day she had the opportunity to kill him. She could have drowned him, stabbed him, cut his body to pieces, but she decided to save the bastard. Why? Because she couldn't let go of the past.
Stryker didn't even flinch when Yuriko's towel brushed harshly against the swollen cut on his temple. He didn't even care anymore. He felt alone and confused and tired. The more he uncovered who he was, the more he wanted to forget. Or did he?
The silence that enveloped the room was suddenly broken by the sound of Yuriko's voice. "My name is Yuriko Oyama."
He looked at her but said nothing.
Yuriko continued to wipe the blood off his face. The cut was deep, wide, swollen, and still bleeding. The only way to completely stop the bleeding was to have it stitched. But the only thing she had were strips of bandages, a roll of medical tape, and small bottles of medicine. She knew that would do for now.
She rummaged through the different medicine bottles and found one that was labeled 'povidone-iodine antiseptic microbicide'. Oddly enough, she knew what it meant.
It was probably due to the times Stryker took her down to the base's infirmary. There she was able to observe doctors in action. She saw them treat everything from bullet wounds, to minor burns, to damaged organs. It was a good thing she still recalled most of what they did.
She opened the bottle and poured a small amount of the liquid onto a piece of bandage. She looked at the wound and slowly moved the application towards it.
Without saying a word, Stryker suddenly grabbed Yuriko by the wrist. His jaw clenched as he looked into her eyes. He could feel her struggling as he held her wrist tightly.
"I may have lost all of my memories, YURIKO OYAMA." He emphasized her name as he talked through gritted teeth. "But that doesn't mean I am crippled and decrepit." Yuriko winced as she felt the tightness of his grip. She was quite surprised that Stryker had the guts to confront her like that. After all, she was the one with the adamantium claws and the super human abilities. He was just an old man without a past.
But the feeling of Stryker's hand against her skin still sent shivers up her spine. It reminded her too much of the control he once had on her body back when she was Lady Deathstrike.
"I do not need your help or your pity. I can do this by myself." He said sternly.
He snatched the bandage from her hand then released her from his grip. He stood up and walked towards the mirror that hung beside his desk. A sigh escaped from his lips as he once again came face to face with the man in the mirror.
He still couldn't believe that he had lost all of his memories. An entire lifetime --- gone.
He moved his face closer and had a clearer view of the swollen cut that ran across his forehead and temple. What ever hit him, hit him hard. Stryker exhaled and then pressed the bandage against his searing wound.
The medicine caused a stinging, burning sensation that made him wince in pain. His teeth clenched as he continued to wipe the application against it.
"You're rubbing it the wrong way." Yuriko said monotonously. She looked at him as he carelessly cleaned his injury. "Continue doing that, and you'll just irritate it."
She really didn't care for him, but she needed him alive for her meeting with Professor Xavier. If the professor discovered that her memories had been erased in the transformation process, Stryker's mind was going to be her failsafe.
"Who are you to tell me what I should and should not do? I don't even know you." He continued to rub the bandage against his wound. He didn't even look at her.
"Funny. That was the same question I asked everyday, back when I was your slave." She stood up and walked beside him.
Stryker saw her reflection standing right next to him in the mirror.
Her eyes met his as she looked at his mirror image.
"You brought me into this world to be your object, your possession. Everyday you ordered me around like you were my god but I did not even know who you were."
"Stop...." Stryker suddenly said. There was something in her voice that hit him hard. It was as if every word sliced through his soul.
"Do you know how painful that was for me?! I was forced to follow someone I did not know --- someone I did not believe in!!!"
"Stop it!!!" He shouted again. He clutched his head with his hands. He couldn't understand it, but he saw vague images of her at the back of his mind. He even saw an image of her back when she was a little girl. But those images faded as quickly as they came. They passed by so fast that he couldn't even remember them anymore.
"There were even times when I tried to reach out to you --- hoping that you would hear my plea, but whenever I did, you just dropped more of that DRUG at the back of my neck! You were my living hell, William Stryker!"
"I SAID STOP IT!!!!" He turned towards her and grabbed her by the shoulders.
His eyes opened wide as he looked at her. He saw tears running down her cheeks. Her sad eyes stared at him as he looked at her delicate face. She looked so innocent --- so fragile. Did he really do those things to her? He didn't want to believe it, but he saw it at the back of his mind. He saw her suffering. For a second there, he felt her pain.
Yuriko brought her hand to her face and touched her cheek. She looked at her fingers and saw them wet with her own tears. She could finally cry.
"Why are you even here?" He whispered under his breath. "You could have escaped. You could have left me to die. But you let me live. Why?"
Stryker waited for an answer, but Yuriko gave him none. She just continued to stare at her tear-stained fingers.
/"I can finally cry."/ She thought to herself.
She suddenly noticed Stryker looking at her. His hands were still on her shoulders. She quickly pushed his arms away and took a step back. She didn't like how close he got that time. There was something strange about him and it made her feel uneasy.
"How about you?" She asked him. "From the moment you saw me you knew I hated you. I threatened to kill you for god's sake! And yet you followed me. Now I'm the one asking the question, William. Why did you follow me?" She didn't even expect an answer.
Stryker's eyebrows furrowed. His eyes wandered the room until they met hers. There was a brief moment of silence, until he parted his lips. "You're the only one I know."
His eyes suddenly rolled back into his head and he collapsed on the floor.
== = = = = = = = = = = =
TO BE CONTINUED
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
NOTE2: Since fanfiction.net has difficulty in displaying italicized words (which are supposed to be characters' unspoken thoughts), I decided to upload chapters 1 – 10 again and enclosed all unspoken thoughts in .
So from now on, /"This is going to be an unspoken thought."/.
I fixed some of the scene dividers too =).
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
HELL JUMPER = Bows down to thee . Yuriko and Stryker's situation in the fanfic actually allows them to interact in ways they haven't been to before. That's why it's great to write about their emotions and feelings. First of all, the tables have turned. Stryker has no idea who he is, an Yuriko wants to discover her past through a man that she hates. And ironically, the only people they know/have known are each other. Thanks for da review !!!
PENDRAGON4 = Yeah. It's unfortunate that Yuriko's character wasn't given that much background and screen time in the movie. Heheh...at least this fanfic's mostly about her !
TOPWITCH = Thanks, topwitch ! Heheh...I guess this part of the story is filled with drama. After all, both of them are currently 'soul searching'. And trust me --- Yuriko's definitely gonna find her 'soul' soon once she meets with the professor.
CARMILLA = Thank you so much for the comments ! Good to know I'm improving somehow. I'll definitely keep an eye out for them darn typos x.x!
TP96 = NOT indeed! LOL! Though ya gotta give the guy credit for staying alive for this long. lol
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
Chapter XI: The girl with the adamantium claws
He looked into her eyes and saw the hatred that emanated from them. She looked at him without a hint of emotion or compassion. She detested him and he knew it. But she was the only one he truly had now. He had no other choice.
He felt his right temple throb as blood slowly started to pour out of the cut he gained earlier. His hand went up to his face and wiped the trail of blood away. He looked at his bloody fingers and scoffed at the sight.
"At least I still bleed. That's proof enough that I'm still alive." He forced a smile upon his lips and made his way into the bedroom.
Yuriko watched Stryker as he slowly walked away. Once he was out of sight, she looked at the living room again. Her eyes wandered at the open door to the other room. The blood from his knuckles still stained the silver adamantium barrier. The password device right next to it was also smudged with blood from when he punched it.
She looked at the broken wooden chair that laid in the corner of the room and saw drops of blood on the carpet where he stood a while ago.
Did she have the right to enjoy his suffering? She knew she did. She had every right to.
After a while, she followed him into the bedroom. She stepped inside the room and saw him sitting on the side of the bed. His head was bowed down and it looked like he had something in his hands. It was his wife's picture frame.
Stryker looked at the picture closer. His eyes examined every part of her face. She looked familiar --- as if he'd seen her before in a dream. He traced the contour of her face with his finger. He couldn't understand the warmth he felt when his finger ran over her smiling lips.
He knew her. He knew....But he couldn't remember. He couldn't remember who she was. Was she his mother? His sister? A close friend? Why was that the only picture he had?
The blood that oozed from his wound trickled down his forehead and fell on the face of the woman in the picture. He saw her face draped in red as his blood splattered on the picture frame's glass.
Stryker suddenly cried out and threw the picture at the far end of the room. Its glass shattered into tiny shards as it hit the wall. His eyes, wide with terror, stared at the broken pieces of the frame that laid on the floor. The picture was still in tact, but he didn't want to look at it again.
/"How could such a face bring so much comfort, and yet so much pain?"/ He asked himself.
He noticed Yuriko in the room, but he didn't make a move. He didn't even look at her. He just stood there, staring at the floor.
In a way, Yuriko knew how much William loved his wife. Her death was the reason why he ended up the way he did. She remembered the times in which he would talk to himself and mention her name. There were even times when he talked to the lobotomized Jason about her.
If she lost someone who was so precious to her --- who meant the entire world to her, would she have also ended up the same way? Would she also see nothing but hatred and anger?
She walked towards the cabinet and picked up the medical supplies she had left there earlier. She made her way to the other side of the room where Stryker was and placed the medical supplies on the bed right next to him. He still stood there staring at the wall.
"William..." She whispered. She didn't want to waste any more time with his pathetic antics. If they were going to New York the next day, she had to get him ready.
He didn't respond to her. He neither said nor did anything. He just continued to stare at the wall.
She slowly reached out for his shoulder and motioned him to face her. She was quite surprised with what she saw. He looked nothing like the man who once controlled her. He was not even a fraction of the William Stryker she once knew.
Half of his face was covered with blood. He looked like he was just an empty shell. His eyes looked into hers, but she saw nothing there. It was as if he was looking right through her.
He slowly blinked then sat down on the side of the bed. His eyes continued to stare at nothingness. He didn't even look at her.
She moved the supplies aside and sat down right next to him. She unpacked one of the moist towels and moved Stryker's face so that he was facing her. She brought the towel to his right temple and started to wipe the blood that tainted his skin.
She still couldn't believe she was doing what she was doing. When she was under his control, she wanted nothing but his death. Everyday she wished that he would die in the most horrible, painful way. Most of all, she wished to be the one who would kill him.
Whenever Stryker asked her to unleash her claws, she wanted to drive them into his torso. She wanted to stab him again and again until he vomited his own blood.
But now she found herself wiping that blood away. Countless times that day she had the opportunity to kill him. She could have drowned him, stabbed him, cut his body to pieces, but she decided to save the bastard. Why? Because she couldn't let go of the past.
Stryker didn't even flinch when Yuriko's towel brushed harshly against the swollen cut on his temple. He didn't even care anymore. He felt alone and confused and tired. The more he uncovered who he was, the more he wanted to forget. Or did he?
The silence that enveloped the room was suddenly broken by the sound of Yuriko's voice. "My name is Yuriko Oyama."
He looked at her but said nothing.
Yuriko continued to wipe the blood off his face. The cut was deep, wide, swollen, and still bleeding. The only way to completely stop the bleeding was to have it stitched. But the only thing she had were strips of bandages, a roll of medical tape, and small bottles of medicine. She knew that would do for now.
She rummaged through the different medicine bottles and found one that was labeled 'povidone-iodine antiseptic microbicide'. Oddly enough, she knew what it meant.
It was probably due to the times Stryker took her down to the base's infirmary. There she was able to observe doctors in action. She saw them treat everything from bullet wounds, to minor burns, to damaged organs. It was a good thing she still recalled most of what they did.
She opened the bottle and poured a small amount of the liquid onto a piece of bandage. She looked at the wound and slowly moved the application towards it.
Without saying a word, Stryker suddenly grabbed Yuriko by the wrist. His jaw clenched as he looked into her eyes. He could feel her struggling as he held her wrist tightly.
"I may have lost all of my memories, YURIKO OYAMA." He emphasized her name as he talked through gritted teeth. "But that doesn't mean I am crippled and decrepit." Yuriko winced as she felt the tightness of his grip. She was quite surprised that Stryker had the guts to confront her like that. After all, she was the one with the adamantium claws and the super human abilities. He was just an old man without a past.
But the feeling of Stryker's hand against her skin still sent shivers up her spine. It reminded her too much of the control he once had on her body back when she was Lady Deathstrike.
"I do not need your help or your pity. I can do this by myself." He said sternly.
He snatched the bandage from her hand then released her from his grip. He stood up and walked towards the mirror that hung beside his desk. A sigh escaped from his lips as he once again came face to face with the man in the mirror.
He still couldn't believe that he had lost all of his memories. An entire lifetime --- gone.
He moved his face closer and had a clearer view of the swollen cut that ran across his forehead and temple. What ever hit him, hit him hard. Stryker exhaled and then pressed the bandage against his searing wound.
The medicine caused a stinging, burning sensation that made him wince in pain. His teeth clenched as he continued to wipe the application against it.
"You're rubbing it the wrong way." Yuriko said monotonously. She looked at him as he carelessly cleaned his injury. "Continue doing that, and you'll just irritate it."
She really didn't care for him, but she needed him alive for her meeting with Professor Xavier. If the professor discovered that her memories had been erased in the transformation process, Stryker's mind was going to be her failsafe.
"Who are you to tell me what I should and should not do? I don't even know you." He continued to rub the bandage against his wound. He didn't even look at her.
"Funny. That was the same question I asked everyday, back when I was your slave." She stood up and walked beside him.
Stryker saw her reflection standing right next to him in the mirror.
Her eyes met his as she looked at his mirror image.
"You brought me into this world to be your object, your possession. Everyday you ordered me around like you were my god but I did not even know who you were."
"Stop...." Stryker suddenly said. There was something in her voice that hit him hard. It was as if every word sliced through his soul.
"Do you know how painful that was for me?! I was forced to follow someone I did not know --- someone I did not believe in!!!"
"Stop it!!!" He shouted again. He clutched his head with his hands. He couldn't understand it, but he saw vague images of her at the back of his mind. He even saw an image of her back when she was a little girl. But those images faded as quickly as they came. They passed by so fast that he couldn't even remember them anymore.
"There were even times when I tried to reach out to you --- hoping that you would hear my plea, but whenever I did, you just dropped more of that DRUG at the back of my neck! You were my living hell, William Stryker!"
"I SAID STOP IT!!!!" He turned towards her and grabbed her by the shoulders.
His eyes opened wide as he looked at her. He saw tears running down her cheeks. Her sad eyes stared at him as he looked at her delicate face. She looked so innocent --- so fragile. Did he really do those things to her? He didn't want to believe it, but he saw it at the back of his mind. He saw her suffering. For a second there, he felt her pain.
Yuriko brought her hand to her face and touched her cheek. She looked at her fingers and saw them wet with her own tears. She could finally cry.
"Why are you even here?" He whispered under his breath. "You could have escaped. You could have left me to die. But you let me live. Why?"
Stryker waited for an answer, but Yuriko gave him none. She just continued to stare at her tear-stained fingers.
/"I can finally cry."/ She thought to herself.
She suddenly noticed Stryker looking at her. His hands were still on her shoulders. She quickly pushed his arms away and took a step back. She didn't like how close he got that time. There was something strange about him and it made her feel uneasy.
"How about you?" She asked him. "From the moment you saw me you knew I hated you. I threatened to kill you for god's sake! And yet you followed me. Now I'm the one asking the question, William. Why did you follow me?" She didn't even expect an answer.
Stryker's eyebrows furrowed. His eyes wandered the room until they met hers. There was a brief moment of silence, until he parted his lips. "You're the only one I know."
His eyes suddenly rolled back into his head and he collapsed on the floor.
== = = = = = = = = = = =
TO BE CONTINUED
= = = = = = = = = = = = =