AN: Guess who's in school writing fanfiction? Yep, that would be me. Which is a pain, seeings as I only have access to google docs here, which doesn't allow you to upload it to the website, so when I move it into word I'll have to italicize and bold and italicized or bolded words all over again. Which means surrounding said words with **stars** to make sure I don't forget. Anyway, enough of my rambling about the finer details of formatting, it's time to write. :3 As always this chapter is dedicated to Tienka, may the worms be with you.
Disclaimer: I, Mistystarshine, do not own Gone or the characters.
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Slowly she blinked her eyes open. Everything seemed blurry and out of focus, as if she was looking through a heavy sheet of fog. Despite her drowsiness annoyance flared through her at this and she blinked a few times before rubbing her eyes, clearing the sleep from them. Once she was able to actually see her surroundings she felt a mixture of surprise and confusion. She was in a living room? Oh, she remembered that she was in Astrid's house, that little fact hadn't left her for a second. In fact she was pretty sure it had haunted her nightmares. But she had actually passed out on a chair? A small groan left Diana at this. That was just sad. Come into your enemies house and only make it to the living room before falling asleep, that was bound to create a good imagine. But then again, she thought, having to be rescued by people you helped try to kill probably isn't either.
For a moment she felt a flash of guilt. She might not be an insane sadist like Drake, she might not have been the one to decide to destroy the power plant, she might not have been the one that came up with all of Caine's plans, but her certainly helped. Which meant that she held part of the responsibility for everything he had done. Maybe she could have tried to stop him earlier, like she had at the cliff. But that hadn't turned out very well, had it? Besides, maybe she hadn't even wanted to try and stop it earlier.
With a sigh she pushed the thoughts out of her head and got to her feet. There was no use in dwelling on those things, she had much more serious issues to worry about for the time being. As her mind began to wander to those more serious things she glanced around the room, eventually spotting when she had been looking for. Caine was passed out in another chair, although this one looked like some sort of recliner. Not that it looked like he had noticed that himself, apparently he had been tired enough to fall asleep right then and there. As a matter of fact he was still asleep, despite how it was probably past noon. "I swear to god, we're going to be nocturnal by the time this is over," she muttered to herself.
At first she considered waking him up. After all, if she just let him sleep until it was evening again he certainly wouldn't be happy. But then again she doubted that he would be happy no matter what happened at this point. And it just so happened that sleep was important, especially when the past three days have been a never-ending circle of chaos. However, she couldn't help but feel like chaos was a little light of a term for what they had been going through.
Her footsteps were quiet as she walked out of the living room and into the kitchen. She felt her eyes constantly darting from side to side, trying to see if anyone was there. If she wasn't alone at the moment, which she highly doubted she was, she didn't want to be caught unaware. But it seemed like some people would be able to sneak up on you no matter how alert you were, or at least speed up to you fast enough to catch you by surprise. A rush of air was the only warning she got before Brianna was standing in front of her, looking rather smug and nervous at the same time. The nervousness was a rather odd thing for the girl, but for the time being she ignored it. Instead she felt a angry look cross her face as she snapped, "what the hell are you doing here? And do you feel the need to run everywhere you go?"
She raised an eyebrow at this, a twinge of amusement at Diana's apparent anger beginning to show on her face. Of course, this did absolutely nothing to help Diana's temper, triggered by a rather cocky and obnoxious girl zooming in front of her. Not that said cocky girl seemed all that bothered by it. With a snort Brianna responded, "touchy today, aren't we." Diana felt herself bristle at this, but Brianna ignored it as she continued, "first off, yeah, I kinda do. I am The Breeze after all, and don't pretend you wouldn't if you could. Second, I was sent to watch you. You know, make sure your boyfriend doesn't decide to bring about the end of the world while Sam and Astrid are away, things like that."
In that moment Diana was convinced that Brianna's soul purpose in teeth was to get under her skin. She grit her teeth, restraining herself from verbally biting the girl's head off. If she was taking to Caine she couldn't help but think that the girl would have been slammed into a wall by now, but something told her that causing trouble with the person that had been sent to 'watch them' wouldn't end very well.
She was quiet for longer than she would have liked just because she wasn't sure what she could say that wouldn't start something. And when she did it probably wasn't the best thing she could have said. Instead of doing something sensible, like asking exactly what Sam and Astrid were doing and why it was her watching them, she retorted, "well if you're referring to the power plant fiasco I'm proud to inform it that we never could have done it without the help of your little computer nerd."
Now that worked like a charm. Brianna tensed, her cheeks beginning to turn red as she glared at Diana. A part of her regretted it almost immediately after she said it, not because it was a low blow but because it would surely bring the subject back to Caine. However, there was another, stronger part of her that enjoyed seeming the smug Brianna knocked down a few pegs, a part that caused her to smirk at her words. However, that part wasn't feeling nearly as strong and proud when the self-proclaimed hero shot back, "yeah, and who was it that got him to do it!?" Her eyes narrowed at this, which only caused Brianna's ego to widen as she continued, "Jack told me everything, you know. How you made him go, how he was threatened into doing it, how Drake wanted to cut me up with barbed wire."
Now she was flat out pissed. But she didn't raise her voice and start to scream, instead she kept it cool and level as she commented, "still did it, didn't he? And it didn't stop Drake, now did it? Tell me, what kind of hero is that? That is the type you go for, isn't it? What with your big superhero act and all." For a moment Brianna didn't say anything and Diana allowed herself a moment to feel victorious. Jack might read about heros in his comic books, he might be incredibly strong, but in the end a hero he was not. Neither was Caine, but then again she had never tried to tell herself that he was.
Then Brianna went and completely changed the subject. A smirk made its way onto her face as she pointed out, "you didn't deny that he's your boyfriend. So it's true then?" For a moment Diana felt shocked, annoyed, and finally defensive.
In a low voice she growled, "you know, I don't think your relationship status is any of your business. I was hoping that you have a little more dignity than Taylor." But the girl did not falter, sensing that she had picked up on some sort of sore spot.
There was a bit of a sing-song note to her voice as she said, "you're still not denying it."
That was the moment she decided that she was done with this bullshit. Standing here and arguing with Brianna would get her nowhere; it was just a massive waste of time. There was too much on her mind to bother arguing with some kid right now. Too many people had to be talked to; too much drama was bound to pop up. Focusing on this instead of her seemingly limitless reserve of annoyance for the girl before her she asked, "where's Sam? And genus girl too, I guess?"
Brianna hesitated at this, like she didn't know what to say, or really if she was meant to say anything. It occurred to her that maybe, just maybe, it hadn't been thoughtless arguing that had been coming from the girl's mouth. Maybe she had been trying to make sure they stayed away from certain subjects. There was a little bit of nervousness in her voice when she responded, "they're… out." She said it as if she thought it could mean anything, like just saying those two words wouldn't give absolutely everything away. Unfortunately for her that was far from the case.
Diana's voice was a deadpan as she responded, "let me guess, they're out calming the panicking masses?" Although she tried to look calm she couldn't help but feel annoyed and maybe just a little anxious. They were stuck here now at the mercy of a group of people that they had done more than enough wrong to. Well, maybe not completely at the mercy of, maybe not completely stuck. They could always try to run if things went too wrong, right? Caine still had his powers after all; if they tried to escape maybe they wouldn't be able to stop them.
Yeah, another part of her retorted, escape and go where, exactly? She had to resist the urge to groan as that thought crossed her mind. It was time to face the music and there was no way out of it this time. But then again, hadn't she wanted them to give up and join Sam's team not too long ago, back when they were starving at Coates Academy? Odd how old worries could come rushing back when you were actually face to face with something.
She was yanked out of her thoughts by Brianna's voice once again. It wasn't smug and confident like moments ago as she said, "well, that and addressing some rumors." There was a pause before she added, "are they true?"
The moment she heard those words she felt herself tense. Here it was, the inevitable questioning. 'Is it true?' 'What, exactly, happened on the cliff?' 'He kinda deserved what he got, don't you think?' 'What's wrong with you that you haven't left yet?' No matter how hard she tried Diana couldn't convince herself that she was ready to face this. As a matter of fact she had a feeling that she would never really be ready to face it. But it wasn't up to her, was it? People wouldn't wait for her to have everything sorted out to explain. They wouldn't wait until the web of drama she had been thrust into had been pulled apart slightly to badger her. No, she was not ready to face this, but she knew that she was more ready than Caine.
"Depends on what rumors you're talking about." Her voice was cool and calm as she spoke, but she knew that she was really just delaying. She had very little doubt as to which 'rumor' the girl was referring to. After all, what was the cliff fiasco or any prior gossip compared to karma finally reaching the evil Coates duo? And, judging by the way Brianna was looking at her, she knew that as well.
Brianna's voice was low as she replied, "I think you already know."
And there it was, the stating of the obvious. She wanted to respond right away, to be as dignified as ever. But in reality she felt far from dignified. It felt like she was going to crumble into dust at any moment. Or maybe pinch herself, maybe it was all a dream. One long, bad dream. Only it couldn't be. While nightmares were horrible even they had some limits, and those limits had long ago been passed in the FAYZ. Something this bad could only be reality. No matter how hard she fought she couldn't hide the slight tremor in her voice as she said, "yes."
The change came in a flash. For a moment the stress of what had been happening showed on her, everything she had gone through at Coates, Penny, the island, Caine, the FAYZ. Her fears, her worries, her intense desire to appear to be strong even when she felt like she was going to break. But within seconds, before Brianna could even truly register when she had seen, Diana straightened up and was back to looking like she had moments ago. "Anyway," she continued, "I think I'll go find them, it'll probably be easier if someone that actually went through it is there as well."
With that she began to move toward the door, holding onto the unlikely hope that Brianna would just let her pass without an issue. And unlikely things did appear to happen quite often in the FAYZ, but that wouldn't be one of them. The self-proclaimed superhero sped in front of her, standing in front of the door as she exclaimed, "I was sent here to watch you guys, I can't just let you leave!"
A spike of frustration surged through her at this. Oh, of course she couldn't just make things easy for her. She wasn't focusing on the little tidbit she had just discovered, which was good, but it certainly wasn't as good as agreeing to leave her alone. But she wasn't about to turn around and give in just because Brianna said she wasn't allowed to do something. Instead she looked the other girl in the eyes as she said, "you said yourself that you were sent here to ensure that Caine 'doesn't decide to bring about the end of the world.' Well that would mean that he's the one that really needs to be watched and poses a real threat." Her eyes narrowed slightly as she added, "unless, of course, you think that my magnificent powers of sarcasm pose a huge danger to us all. Besides, no matter how fast you are you still can't be in two places at once. So, are you going to waste your time arguing with me and possibly risk starting something or make sure you're still here when the very powerful and quite possibly very angry telekinetic wakes up?"
Brianna was silent for a few moments, which caused Diana to smirk before murmuring, "that's what I thought." With that she stepped around the girl, ignoring any and all protests that might be sent her way. No matter how much she might argue they both knew that she wouldn't be running after her.
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There weren't many people wandering out in the streets. Those that were glanced at her but didn't say much of anything, although she would hear someone murmuring to someone else every now and then. It seemed that almost everyone had something more important to do, and she hoped that that something was working and not gathering somewhere talking about them. But the fact that there was a gathering about them somewhere was undeniable, she just had to figure out exactly where it was.
Which, thankfully, didn't take too long. From what she understood almost every meeting, official or unofficial, seemed to happen around the plaza. While there was something to be said for creativity she had to admit, a little bit of predictability did make things easier in this situation.
The first thing she noticed upon entering the plaza was how bad it looked compared to the place she had seen back when the FAYZ still started. Fire damage, it looked like almost everything had been moved from its original position, and the church was little more than rubble. But apparently it was still able to function on a minimal level for she saw a few people milling around the front, as if unsure if they really wanted to be there or not. It was the awkward look of someone that didn't really want to be at a meeting but felt like they had to be there anyway and, if you asked her, a one of the best indicators that something was going on inside the building.
Pushing aside everything weighing down on her mind Diana forced herself to look confident as she approached the entrance. Don't mind her, she's just someone that helped tear apart your nice little town and is about to get in on your meeting. Just pretend that nothing ever happened and everything will be fine. Except the world didn't work that way. Several of the people that had been lurking around the entrance scattered while two others stepped forward, guards, she realized. It really should have stuck her as strange, the sight of two unsure kids guarding some sort of unofficial get-together. But strange had become a little more normal long ago and by now this looked almost reasonable to her. Sure, there was a sense of wrongness to it, but it wasn't strange.
There was a moment of silence as Diana began to glare at one of the kids, who looked like he was about to wet himself. She couldn't help but find this a little ridiculous; even with the kinds of people she had hung out with she herself had never been much of a threat. But then again, her reputation had always preceded her. Crossing her arms Diana let out a sigh before commenting, "so, for some reason I highly doubt that you're in a position of power here. So I suggest you either find someone that is or let me in." The kid continued to stand there in silence, staring at her as if she were some unnatural being from another planet. Just as she was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with him and consider shoving past him he turned to his companion, a young girl. They whispered to each other for a moment before she nodded and darted off.
While she had never really prided herself in her patience Diana had always liked to think that she was fairly decent when it came to waiting. And while she did not get too anxious because of the wait, not compared to the little cliff adventure anyway, she did find herself growing more and more annoyed. It might have only been a few moments that she was waiting but every second felt like it was driving her further and further up the wall. However, before she could find herself deciding to throw caution out the window and push her way past the kids and into the church a familiar Honduran approached her.
No, she didn't exactly know Edilio personally, but she did know that he seemed rather sane compared to many other people she had encountered during her time in the FAYZ. It was because of this that she couldn't help but feel a tad relieved that it would be him talking to her and not some idiot who contained absolutely no traces of rationality. The boy before her gave a small nod before asking, "Diana… what are you doing here? Astrid said you were at her house." At first she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. But in the end the temptation was too great and she indulged herself, no matter how rude it may appear.
"Oh yeah," she drawled, "the speedy babysitter that they left behind. Really, it's a miracle that I ever got past such a dedicated guard." Edilio cast her a look at this, one that said just how little good sarcasm would do at the moment. So she fell silent for a moment before continuing, "okay, look. Unless Drake just crawled out of that basement and began begging to repent and for Astrid to teach him the ways of the Lord, which I highly doubt, something tells me that whatever's going on in there is about… recent events. And as the only currently awake individual that was there through it all and is in any condition to be tal- facing this I feel like I should at least be allowed to see what's going on."
Again they were quiet, but Diana didn't dare interrupt this time. She could tell he was thinking about it and, to be perfectly honest, she didn't think that telling him to hurry up would help. After a little while he stepped aside before murmuring, "come in." Simple and to the point, something she could appreciate when she knew that she was probably about to face some sort of political apocalypse.
A few people had been looking at the entrance of the church, wondering what had caused Edilio to be called over there, but most were looking ahead at the talking going on near the front. But those few people that were looking her way and saw her entrance couldn't just stay silent. Oh no, someone had to gasp, which made more heads turn, which caused a wave that ended in a low murmuring washing over the crowd and what seemed like all eyes on her. "Jeeze," she muttered, "you'd think I'm the freaking queen of England with this direction."
The sound of many hushed voices was cut through by someone exclaiming, "what is she doing here?" Immediately Diana whipped her head around to try and spot the speaker, only to find herself looking at none other than Howard. She had heard enough from Caine from before their trip to the island of doom to know that he tended to dabble in things that were less than legal… and moral."
She forced a smile onto her face before retorting in a falsely sweet voice, "I could ask the same of you. Shouldn't you, I don't know, burst into flames upon entering a church?" Although she couldn't see the boy all too clearly from his position across the church she was pretty sure that he was bristling. A part of her wanted to smirk, not because she had possibly made someone feel bad but because she had pulled someone that tried to attack her down a peg or two.
"She does have a right to be here, Howard." Those words caused her to look back up to the front of the church where, standing just in front of the steps, (level with the people, she noted) was Sam Temple. It appeared that while she had caused a bit of a distraction he and Astrid had been discussing something, for the so-called genius appeared to have just finished whispering in his ear. While astrid looked annoyed and maybe a little stressed by her arrival Sam actually appeared to be a tad relieved. Diana raised an eyebrow at the leader of the Townies(Or was he still the leader? What he had said on the boat didn't make that very clear.) while he asked in a strained voice, "Diana, would you please come up here? Maybe help answer some questions?"
Her voice was slightly tart as she replied, "gladly." With every step she took toward the front she felt eyes boring into her. She refused to let herself be affected by them though. Despite the nervousness continuing to grow inside her she made sure to keep her head up and look proud. Diana Ladris, the witch of Coates Academy, bad girl, unbeatable. That was who she was, or at the very least it was what she made people think she was, and she wasn't about to let go of that any time soon.
Upon coming to stand beside Sam and Astrid, and fail to look directly at them, she found herself wondering just why Sam had said she had a right to be there when he had sent Brianna to keep herself and Caine where they were. The first thing that occurred to her was that maybe the mass interrogation was wearing him down. Then came the creeping thought that maybe Brianna hadn't been sent to keep them captive but to ensure there was a chance that not everything would fall apart if they woke up feeling less than great. For while she herself was not dangerous Caine was a four bar, which meant that not only was he himself dangerous but she could be considered a threat by association.
Before she could get very far in her train of thought she was yanked out of it be someone exclaiming, "is it true, then!?"
The question came from the middle of the crowd and try as she might she was not able to spot it. A brief flash of annoyance went through her at the person asking such a question remaining anonymous. However, it was all but buried beneath the hurricane of other emotions that seemed to be sweeping through her. This was it then, the million dollar question. The one that the more she thought about it the more she felt like she shouldn't be the one answering. But by how fast the question had been asked she assumed that Sam and Astrid hadn't done a very good job at answering and being straight about it, and god knows that it was better she answer it than them.
"Yes." She did not allow herself to stop and think for a long time, to risk breaking down right then and there. Instead she forced on her strong face as she began her answer, continuing seconds later, "if you are referring to the more recent rumors that I assume have been spreading about the answer is yes." Although she did not want to she found herself pausing at that moment. She wanted to stand up and look brave and dignified, to look into this crowd of kids living in a broken world and look like she knew everything would be alright. For a moment she wanted to be able to talk the way she remembered Caine talking, to charm a crowd with just a few lines, to block out any emotions that might have been stirring inside him. Heck, it seemed like there was nothing she wouldn't give just to be able to talk like she herself normally did.
Her hands were shaking. She didn't know when it had started but suddenly she became aware of how her hands were shaking and how she was unable to control the action. Part of her hoped that no one noticed this, it wouldn't help for her to look like she was about to fall apart. When she took in a breath it felt harsh and ragged, like when you just got back from running four miles or were holding back tears. But she certainly wasn't going to cry, right? This had happened several days ago, she had explained the Penny situation to Sam, she had been through hell! Why should explaining it to the crowd start to have an effect on her?
Just as she began to worry that she wasn't going to be able to do it she felt the light pressure of someone giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She did not look back to see who it was, although there were only two people that close to her at the moment and she highly doubted it was Astrid, but it did give her just enough of a push to continue.
"When we went to the island two other people made it with Caine and I, Bug and Penny. Penny… I'm not sure she was ever sane, not completely. But something happened, something that was not an accident but at the same time probably not well thought out, that sent her over the edge. Her legs were broken and she was crippled. Penny had a unique power, I guess that's why she was considered valuable, god knows it wasn't her glimmering personality. She can make people see and sometimes feel things that aren't really there, monsters." Again she paused, taking a moment to gather her thoughts, gather her words. Thankfully no one interrupted, she wasn't entirely sure she would be able to continue if they did.
After a few seconds she went on, "but what she did wasn't because of her powers alone. While I'm sure they played a part a good deal of what happened was an insane girl pushed over the brink, left alive when she should have died. I don't think any human can endure the suffering she went through, and in the end I don't think she was human any more. In the end I think she became just as bad as all those monsters she made people see." It might have sounded like she had pity for Penny. But in truth that pity had dried up the moment she had done the deed, what she said now was fact. It was the harsh, painful truth.
There was no pause this time, instead she seamlessly continued to say, "one day, with the help of Bug I assume, she attacked Caine. She tried to kill him, and she almost did."
One sentence, it was only one sentence but it seemed to bring her to a complete halt in her speech. She tried to kill him, she almost did. She had almost lost him, even if he really wasn't hers to lose. Even if she wasn't entirely sure she wanted him to be hers. But the fact remained that he had almost been killed because of that witch, that he was forever changed because of a monster that she helped create. Caine might have been the one to drop her but Diana had no doubt that she had played a large part in pushing her too far. And sure, maybe she would have reached the breaking point eventually no matter what, but maybe if she had acted differently things would have turned out differently for him.
It was the feeling of tears beginning to burn in her eyes that pulled her back to reality again. She paused for a moment to try and blink them back before finishing, "I was the one that sent up the flares. He lived because of Lana but there was permanent damage, he lost his voice. Penny is still on the island somewhere, probably with Bug, and I don't know exactly what you've all been talking about but I hope I was able to shed some light on the subject." As she finished up Diana had no doubt that her voice sounded far from strong. She felt like she had run a marathon, almost like she had lived through it all over again just by relaying the events.
Her voice was barely a whisper as she glanced over at Sam and asked, "I hope that was enough?"
His response was a mute nod. Without another word she began to walk out of the church and back to the house. No one talked to or called anything out to her this time.
