So I came up with this idea last summer. I finished Return to Zero and the ending left me numb and salty. Numb because, spoilers, I didn't think I'd get attached to Ran and Five (mostly Five) but damn. Salty because, spoilers again, Marina should've been in the series more. All she got in the new series was a mention and a useless cameo at the end.

But I hope to do her justice in this one-shot. I apologize if she's OOC or if some events don't line up with the series. I finished the books last summer, wrote this last Christmas, and this is my first fic for this series. For some context, this takes place during the ending events of Return to Zero before she shows up.

Disclaimer - I don't own these characters.

I hope you enjoy :)

United We Scar:

The only thing she regrets is not leaving sooner.

Marina felt useless in John Smith's New Haven for the Loric. She was unhappy and felt like her potential was meant for more. They were training and on the run for their whole lives and now she was a sitting duck. She was trapped within their borders when Five got a whole island.

Five. That bastard.

All she wanted was to kill Five. He killed Eight and she wasn't allowed to kill him. She wasn't allowed to avenge Eight, but Five was excused for killing him and betraying them? That wasn't fair in her book because some memories never fade. Eight got impaled and died in her arms. She couldn't heal him. Their curse couldn't save him. That mental image often haunts her. She will never recover from that.

Maybe she's broken but if normal people even glimpsed at what she's seen, they'd be torn to pieces. All her Loric allies, wherever they are, are damaged in some way. Normal people might call it experience. That's her purpose. It will be her path no matter where she goes. She's been chained to this Loric destiny for so long and it felt like a new one was blooming with every step she takes.

Marina didn't want that. She wanted Five dead. She isn't cold-hearted because she's tired of getting fucked over. When Marina first joined the group on the run, she made friends and fell in love. Now, that's all gone.

Because of Five.

Everything is because of Five.

Tears stream down her face with every step she takes. She's lost things she can't replace. She's lost people that have gone to waste. What could be worse?

Wounds bleed but they scar over. Scars leave marks but they're unnoticeable. Broken hearts hurt and swell but will never heal.

Marina won't regret the wrong thing she plans to do, at least wrong to some. She'll only regret the good she did for the wrong people. Like letting Five live… People won't have to know it's her, but when they feel that scar burning and see his mark on their ankles, they'll know she did it. It's a burning sensation she can't wait to feel.

She's spent enough time in this world and no longer has to ask what more she has to lose.

Marina balls her hands into fists as she feels her body burn. She's going after Five. There's nothing John could do once Five was dead. Hell, maybe she'll even stay on his island…

She isn't worried about Five fighting back. She could easily take on that cowardly traitor. By merely speaking, she could cause him damage and pain. Her tears will fall and drive people away. She'll either feel better or worse. Marina would hope for the best but that feeling is dangerous for a woman like her. Five can break her but she has built her strength on her pain.

It would be foolish for Five to go to war with someone who has nothing to lose. Five doesn't have anything either but she's pissed.

Exhaling, Marina stops in her tracks when she feels something prick her ankle. She expects it to be some grass she's been walking through or a bug bite but when she looks down, she sees a spark underneath the folds of her jeans, right beside the four other scars of her fallen Loric allies.

Marina doesn't think much about the spark at first. It's probably her mind. Things aren't scary because the imagination is what transforms them.

But the spark remains like a dazzler and begins etching the surface on her skin.

Marina chokes on a scream as the searing pain hits her. She falls on her knees, holding herself together as another scar begins to form.

Who? How? Where? Why?

With no answers, Marina finally lets go.

She screams from her gut as the scar engraves itself. A part of her wants to look see the mark, but she can't stomach it. She doesn't want to know who it is. Tears form in her eyes and fall as the air fills with the scent of her burning flesh.

John was next, according to the charm. But what could get John? Or what if the others regrouped and broke the order? It happened with Eight and there was no doubt that the rest were bunched up somewhere. That left her out because she's alone and feeling the burn. It could be any of them. It could even be Five but why would he leave the island? Or why would someone go to his island? Nobody had a vendetta on him like her.

It's the worst moment of her life. It always is. It's never easy although it's her fifth time experiencing this.

Marina can only with that the burning tears in her eyes fall to her heart and glisten her new scars. They're the marks that show whom she and the others lost during their pursuit of saving the world from an alien invasion. The connection through the scars is the curse that tears them apart but also the blessing that brings them together.

Marina doesn't notice the scarring stopped until moments later. Her body loosens and she rolls onto her back. She doesn't even remember lying down. Squinting her eyes from the sun, she takes some time to catch her breath. Then, she wipes the mixture of sweat and tears with her damp shirt collar.

Her leg feels numb. She can't look at who it is. Her brain whirs on adrenaline. Her flight or flight response is picking an answer, a path. She thinks of all their faces, listing and calculating who could've bitten the dust but she doesn't want to confirm her theories.

Forget the path she was on. She has to get back to the others.

Five can wait for her if he's still around…

So this ended up being a little character study. I enjoyed writing it.

Thank you to everyone who read this story! Please let me know what you thought. If you have a story idea that you want me to write or want me to beta a story for you, don't be afraid to ask!

~ MysteryGal5