Part 7: Heart Break
(A/n if you have any questions about this work please pm me)
"Rye." Lauren whispered, grabbing his wrist in a feeble attempt to pull the suffering boy away from her confused brother. The boy in question achingly pulled himself off Andy, tears threatening to fall down his pale cheeks once again as he turned and wrapped his arms around Lauren.
He felt a jacket get draped around his shoulders softly, warmth managing to crawl its way into his cold bones. Not even then did he dislodge his hold on the girl, whom seemed just as upset as him, hands tracing a soothing path down his back. Silence reigned over the group, excluding the wretched sobs that Ryden let forth.
"Ryden." His weeping moderately calmed down, and he turned to face Reed when the man softly requested his attention. "What happened here?"
Ryden opened his eyes, dutifully purging himself of all emotion. His eyes locked onto Reed's and he pointed at himself, zipping the jacket up as an excuse to avoid looking at the other mutants, wrapping the warm, oversized article tighter around himself.
"You mean you did this?" He nodded at the simple question asked of him, looking up as if he had not a single trouble. Reed simply shook his head, evidently deciding this was not the time to begin delving into this issue—God knew they had a river of those—and motioned for everyone to follow him. "Come on, guys. More Sentinel Services agents are probably on their way."
Ryden followed blindly, eyes roaming over Andy's scrawny frame as he passed him; he knew he was simply rubbing salt in wounds both old and new, and that he was administrating himself injections of the worst kind of torture—but...he just couldn't help it. A smile that could only be described as bittersweet, like a plea for forgiveness. for resentment and, for salvation; it was all manifested in the small twist of the corners of his lips and a single tear falling down his cheek.
Their steps were rushed as they made their way to Headquarters, the mildly familiar building packed and buzzing with the powerful energy of fear and panic. It could almost be tasted in the air, like death's sweet perfume, or the gentler essence of fate.
"Go upstairs and get dressed then meet us down here." Ryden nodded mechanically at the simple orders, travelling upstairs calmly. His attitude contrasted with that of the other kids upstairs, considering they'd completely sunk into what could only be defined as "panic mode". It'd almost be funny, if the situation wasn't so tragically dire. He looked away and approached his empty cot—he made quick work of looking under it and yanking the backpack he'd left there - what felt like years ago - opening it and finding his favorite hoodie and jeans. He made a poor imitation of laughter for himself as he pulled the clothing on, soft fabric - a soothing presence on his previously cold skin - as his bare toes wiggled up at him.
Each step down the stairs was unsurprisingly agonizing; he knew that once he saw Andy again - the dorky, chaotic, angry and strange boy - would be the only thing he'd be able to think about. It was rather sad, really, but then again, Ryden had always seemed fond of the prospect of divine, self-applied punishment. Except he wasn't.
He paused on the steps, just watching everyone begin to form a line, as if he was taking in a scene before it took him and destroyed him. "Our escape route," Caitlin whispered in a sort of self-explanatory wisdom, striding past him...
Gunshots rang out without warning, eliciting shouts and murmurs to flow through the collapsing dream known as the Underground; the line in front of him began to pass rocks from one person to the other, very clearly attempting to clear the way. As he stared at the line, swallowing loudly, he had to admit, it wasn't a bad idea; however, as his nerves got the best of him, he began to doubt it. He felt guilt permeate his mind, grimacing like he'd been forced to suck on a lemon, but nevertheless, he decided to give into his selfish desires and, turned around, jogging up the stairs to watch Andy in action.
He observed as they fought and surprisingly took a win; it was so good, so sweet and utterly addictive to see the satisfaction, the joy on Andy's face. A dorky smile adorned his features for all of ten seconds, before someone's shout notified him of the simply wonderful news; the Hounds were back. Caitlin ran past him to join the rebellion, and while he had to admit, he did momentarily consider helping, he didn't make a single attempt to join the fray though. A moment later, a wave of energy crashed through the building, sending them all flying through the air; fear filled him as he seemed to see it all in slow-motion, before it all sped back up as he landed on his side painfully, hearing grunts of protest that told him the others' landing hadn't been any more pleasant.
He gritted his teeth and rose to his feet, marching down the stairs with a confidence that might've been rage or might've been simple recklessness; his back straightened as he came to stand in front of the line of salvation, not bothering to linger. Their eyes followed him, looks of shock and desperation, as he approached their only hope of escape; he grabbed the bulky man at the beginning of the line and used all the strength in his lanky body to push the guy behind him. His hand became a fist as he took a deep breath, energy building around his small fist, seemingly to strengthen it; he could feel his bones harden and grow taunt, his skin becoming armor—his feet took him to the very mouth of the opening and his fist shot out.
Energy burst from the point of collision, sending the incredible amount of remaining rocks out and clearing the escape route. With his out-of-the-blue duty now fulfilled, Ryden turned and booked it out of there and to his foolish beloved. Andy grunted as he stumbled back, looking up at Ryden; unbeknownst to the brunette, he had loved this boy, yearned for him, shared with him a moment of intense passion and pleasure—and then it was all ripped away. The sweet irony of love and war was the greatest sight to behold.
A glare entered Andy's eyes as he straightened himself out, performing a useless attempt at blowing his over grown bangs out of his face. "You should probably get out of here."
Tears formed in Ryden 's at the malice that Andy was throwing at him; he supposed he couldn't blame him. After all, while Ryden knew him, the same could no longer be said for Andy. He shook his head and stood firm, much to Andy's confused irritation. Lauren looked at him, a pleading look on her face; his breath hitched in his throat and he continued to shake his head, as if trying to deny the inevitable, but even so, he turned and joined the escaping group.
The moment he was able to get outside he stopped, eyes staring at the sky; it was a ridiculously beautiful day, which was both amusing and utterly infuriating, but even as a bittersweet grin crossed his features, an overwhelming feeling was entrapping him. He turned back around to face the Headquarters and felt his bitterness morph into melancholy.
Andy gripped Lauren's hand, a foreign feeling of calm and safety erupting within him as their powers began to mesh, minds seeming to become one—Andy could see through her eyes like they were his own, and breathing was easier than ever before. He didn't even know how he'd been able to live this long without this. Their powers were extending towards the Hounds, ready to consume everything like the ever-hungry wolf they would always be, but a force - that just barely managed to even slightly match them in power - hit them, quickly separating them. "Andy!" Lauren screamed as the hounds began to march on them.
The sound of footsteps drew everyone's attention, their eyes beheld the entrance of another mutant. Their first thought—if they could even think amidst all the madness—was, not unreasonably, that he must be an idiot; a lot of people wondered if he was, that day, and had he heard, Ryden wouldn't have been able to blame them.
"Ryden!" A scream was heard from outside, but the Hounds, undeterred, raised their hands in a powerful attempt to swat him away.
He took a step forward and all the hounds were sent flying back, pillars of energy forming and deforming all around them. He looked at Lauren and motioned towards Andy then the door; she nodded and got up. "Andy, get your ass up now; we need to go."
Andy was not amused; he grunted in response but pulled himself up nevertheless, mumbling colorful curses—his annoyance was bone chilling. In a moment the Hounds were crawling to their feet, portraying to be unfazed, but as soon as they did, they were brought back down with a single look. Lauren and Andy shuffled past him approaching the exit, but before they escaped, Lauren paused and looked back at Ryden for the last time, hesitation swimming in her big eyes. "Rye, are you sure?"
He looked back at her with a teary grin, giving a small nod only to look back at the Hounds. They were pitiful beings, twisted and ruined to fit unholy purposes that no one should have to fulfill; he felt sadness bubble up in his breast. Andy, he whispered mentally to Andy, beckoning him forth gently. The tall boy looked back curiously as Ryden strode over to him, eyes widening in surprise and slight apprehension when Ryden's fingers wrapped around Andy's waist; the boy leaned forward and gently connected their lips, a small sound of confusion and what might've been pleasure echoing in the back of Andy's throat. A small tear slid down Ryden's cheek as he reveled in the taste of the boy he so loved, pushing said boy back and towards his older sister. "I love you, Andrew Strucker," he spoke finally, voice slightly scratchy from lack of use; he watched Andy's features contort in further confusion and even an unconscious bit of pain while the boy stumbled away.
He smiled softly at his boundless, reckless actions; the knowledge of the consequences for everything that he'd done was approaching, failed to remove his smile. He waited until he was certain that Andy and Lauren weren't anywhere near before he fell to his knees, a sob raking through his body.
The right to speak was taken from you, and yet you still spoke. The punishment for your infringement is—
His eyes snapped open, hand reaching for the sky like it held the key to his impossible salvation; stars filled the room like fireflies and the sky darkened exponentially. The Hounds looked at him, mere ghosts and shells of whom they'd once been, and their hands rose, ready to fire, but Ryden only smiled simply.
His skin began to glow with energy, like light had filled his veins; his eyes were glowing a goldish-yellow; his hand touched his lips as the corners of his mouth quirked upwards in a final smile. "One day soon, my love."
I hope...
His hand dropped back to his side limply, his legs forcing him to a standing position, a cough raking through him in his rare moment of seriousness—laughter burst from the pit of his stomach at his own expense, a morose but amused sound and he rubbed another tear from his eye. The arms of the Hounds wheeled back and then launched forward, their force crashing into him with the force of a monster truck; the two energies began to mesh and clash, pressuring each other with the sound of a boiling pot, before the choice was made. "Overruled" he hissed, feeling the energy beneath and around him reach its capacity.
One day...
Andy touched his lips and turned back a single moment to stare at the HQ, worry drizzling in his eyes like honey; he'd moved on a reflex, something unknown and strange urging him to stare and act. He took a step towards the building when a giant beam of light erupted from the center of it, swirls of light circling around the bigger beam, until finally, it all collided into one; the windows all lit up, and the walls were filled with veins of luminous power. His hazel eyes widened, breath hitching in his throat as the ginormous beam of light seemed to implode on itself, leaving a small orb of fluttering light still in the air—the HQ was gone, much to their surprise. The ball then exploded in a blinding haze, sending the Strucker siblings flying back painfully. He was in midair, a bird, feather's white as snow and eyes a shining amber, flew across the sky; away from the center of the devastation, leaving Lauren and Andy to crash, uncertainty crawling through their lonely and jumbled minds.
You'll be reunited...
Andy looked at his family and then at Lorna, inexplicable despair and panic taking over his chest as Lauren reached out towards him, tears making her eyes shine; isolation filled his soul, but still, he steeled his resolve and turned away, leaving the Mutant Underground far behind.
With the one you cherish.
The Frost sisters looked at Andy with unveiled uncertainty, peering into his mind and unexpectedly, all they could find, no matter how far they dug, was a black hole. The three of them searched through the black hole, tilting their heads when the only thing they could see was an immaculate, snowy white feather that undoubtedly belonged to a bird...Esme reached out and gently grasped the feather, eyes widening as white light exploded from each beautiful line of what used to make up a wonderful creature's mark. The sisters were forcefully cast out of his mind, leaving them woozy and confused, when Andy's lips parted in an almost scream, hazel eyes filled with the horror that came with memories.
From the bottom of my heart, I...
"Rye."
I hope one day, you'll be reunited with the one you cherish.