Angel circled the team, keeping her psychic hold on them so they wouldn't move while Arthur unleashed hell. Beecher was unconscious from the lack of oxygen after Arthur strangled him in his blinding rage. Boomer lay against Nox, his bones shattered, his face scrunched in agony. Nox leaned over him, running her fingers through the tufts of his hair. The movement was soft, but inside, her heart burned with rage. She wanted to kill the Superior. She wanted to kill Arthur. She wanted to shake Angel, to scream at her and tell her to wake up, and that this was all wrong. Etrius was on the brink of death, everything broken and bleeding out. Lloyd was untouched, left to watch and endure the mental torment.
Nox felt rough hands grab the nape of her neck, dragging her to her feet. Arthur sniffed her hair. "I've never seen this one before."
With an angered scream, Nox lashed out at him, but the Superior held her in place. "One of your father's experiments."
Arthur's eyes widened. "There are more experiments?!" His eyes darkened. "So, that sorry bastard has more skeletons hiding in his closet. Why didn't you save her, like the rest of us?"
Nox hated the way Arthur spoke. As if she were a victim of The General. But the truth was, she was a victim. A victim of the past. She chose to side with the Elite Rebels, and she would've rebelled against the Superior if he'd found her first.
Arthur's hands snaked around her waist, pulling her close. He whispered in her ear. "You're with me now. You don't have to stay here."
The Superior grabbed her and yanked him against him. "Don't get carried away, Arthur. I already told you she belonged to me."
"You don't need her!"
"No. I want her."
Lloyd couldn't stand by and watch. He unsheathed his sword, aiming the tip at the Superior, his earlier warnings completely forgotten. "Don't you fucking touch her!"
"Oh, fuck this." Nox stamped her foot on the Superior's boot, the unexpected shock causing him to let go. Nox shoved herself away. "I'm not that kind of damsel, fuckers."
Angel glanced down at the ground. Dust particles and dirt clumps were rising into the air. "We really should be getting to that world before this one becomes a ball of ash."
The Superior took note of Angel's words, but he didn't move. Then, he thrust out his hand, knocking both Lloyd and Nox aside with powerful force. "Alright. Let's get moving. Experiment 117, stay here and make sure they don't follow us. When this world is gone, join us."
Etrius's eyes were barely open as he watched the Superior and Arthur vanish in a flash of blue light. Angel was still with them, but he wasn't worried about her. She could teleport herself and follow the Superior with the kind of power she held. But he was worried about what her future held. What she would do when the Superior had taken over everything.
The world was silent as it came apart. Etrius felt weightless, as if he were lingering somewhere outside of his body. But he wasn't sure if it was the pain causing that, or the effects of the world coming undone.
His ears picked up shouting in the distance.
"Over there! This way!" Running footsteps. Silhouettes moving through the forest.
Angel's boot stepped in front of Etrius, power coursing through her.
Etrius didn't know what to think. Whoever was in the forest, he knew it wasn't the Author. It wasn't The General. Everyone died. And soon, so would he and his team.
"Angel, stop!" He didn't recognize the voice. Before his vision shut down, he took notice of a swishing tail.
Blue watched the events play out from within the forest. Misty and Dan were slowly making their way towards Angel and the team. The General remained in the forest, hiding behind another tree with his gun drawn. Not like it would do much good. Blue saw the team strewn out on the rising ground, and her heart lurched at the sight. I thought I told that piece of shit not to get near them...
The General saw his team, then exchanged glances with Blue. He gave a silent shake of his head. Blue wasn't sure if it was in disappointment, or a gesture for her not to blow their cover.
"What... What did you call me?" Angel was at a loss as she stared at her two friends in disbelief. "Wait.. Why didn't you go with him? I thought you were out of this realm already!"
"Angel, let them go." Misty raised a cautious hand as she approached Angel. Behind her back was the crystal. "You don't belong with the Superior. You don't belong with us." She gestured to Nox and Lloyd, who were slowly recovering. "You belong with them. This is where you came from."
"What? I... No. No, that's not possible... I was created in The Superior's lab. I don't remember any life here."
Dan closed his eyes, relinquishing a sigh. He had to tell Angel. About what he knew. "You had a life here once. The Superior took your memories and replaced them with false ones. This is your home, Angel."
"My name isn't Angel."
"Yes, it is!" Misty shouted, on the verge of tears. "You name is not Experiment 117. It's Angel. He took your memories, just like he did to me. I don't have a place I can go back to, but you do." Closing the distance between them, Misty pulled Angel into an embrace, making sure the crystal was making contact with her. "You just have to accept it."
Light flashed behind Angel's eyes, leaving purple afterimages. She felt the cool power moving through the corridors of her mind, dissipating the false memories and releasing the old ones. The more the power worked through her, the more Angel realized the memories the Superior had given her... Were just false comforting. An excuse. Her eye color faded from the blood red into the familiar golden brown she'd seen in Lloyd's eyes. Angel collapsed to the floor on her knees, bringing up a tuft of grass. "Oh, god..."
The memories came rushing back to her. The years she'd spent with the team. Running through the hallways with Timber. Accidentally levitating furniture in Beecher's room while she slept. Training with Etrius.
Lloyd and Nox.
Them leaving and going out into the forest with Etrius to train.
The helicopters.
Being yanked away from Etrius.
Stone walls.
Endless days of isolation.
Something foreign forced into her system.
The memories dissipating.
Angel braced her hands on the ground, but there wasn't much left to hold onto. Trees began to uproot themselves, chunks of stone flying into the sky. "Uncle Etrius... I'm sorry... I couldn't stop them."
Blue and The General exchanged glances, each sharing the same thought. They emerged from the trees, and Blue ushered The General to put his damn gun away.
Blue wanted to know how bad the team was, but she just felt so relieved when she saw the familiar light in Angel's eyes. She was kneeling down, sobs wracking her body. Blue knelt beside her, embracing her and holding her close. "It's okay, Angel. It's okay. Everything's going to be alright."
"Blue," Misty held out the crystal by the chain. Blue took the crystal, closing her hand around it's surface. She felt the power rush through her like an ocean wave, filling her every particle with light. She opened her eyes, feeling refreshed, almost reborn. She felt her control on the world again. Her world.
So much damage already... She shut her eyes, digging her fingers into the ground. Glowing blue roots extended out, snaking through the dirt. They covered endless miles, and light began to pulsate from the earth like a heartbeat. Angel watched in awe.
Blue commanded everything to come back together. Dirt and ashes rained down, becoming one with the ground again. Trees sprouted where they'd once been torn out.
When Blue opened her eyes, it was over. She stared at the sky, at the forest, at the trees. Everything was in tact.
Sighing in relief, she stood to her feet. She was already drained, and she had an entire team to heal. She wasn't sure she could do it alone.
It was now when she finally got a good look at Etrius.
He was in the worst shape. Claw marks ran the length of his body, bleeding through his rebel tee. His bones were broken and dislocated, his skin pale from the blood loss. His eyes were shut, his breathing shallow, if present at all. "Oh God, Etrius..." Blue knelt by his body, her hands hovering over his trembling form as he slipped away. She shut her eyes and tried to call upon the newfound power inside of her. But she was drained from bringing her world back together. She let out a pent up breath, looking down at her useless hands. "I'm sorry..."
Footsteps resounded behind her, and Angel emerged into her peripheral vision. She knelt beside Blue, shutting her eyes and holding his hands in hers. Soft blue light radiated from her fingertips, spreading up his arms through his veins. Etrius's wounds began knitting themselves together, but it wasn't enough. Angel let go with a pent up breath. "I'm not strong enough... I haven't healed anything in so long..."
Blue bit the inside of her cheek. That was the Superior's fault.
She heard The General reload his caliber behind her. "I'm not one for sitting and wallowing in self pity. The Superior is going to pay for this."
Blue closed her hands into fists so hard her nails broke skin. "I don't even want to think about how he'll be punished anymore. I just want him erased." Blue stretched her hand out beside her, and wheeled stretchers materialized from the air, molding into something solid. "Come on. Let's get them back inside and get them medical attention. We'll think about the Superior and my world later."