-Jun Kozart, District Three-
It was fucking tense.
Jun was by himself, a small nest of a pillow and blanket set up in the designated "pantry," if you would even call it that. He snuck food when nobody was awake. He hadn't had a wink of rest. It only took an hour or less for Lizzie to come back and beg him to come stay in a real bedroom, but he wouldn't do it. He was finally exposed, and in the aftermath of it he felt glad. Glad that he didn't have to keep pretending anymore. Pretending that he was something better than what he was. Trying to pretend he wasn't a monster.
He didn't even realize how much the anxiety was affecting him until he didn't live with it anymore. Now he only had one more job – to accompany Lizzie to Thirteen to reunite with her bandmates, friends, and other refugees. Once that job was done, and he knew that she was safe, he could finally rest – he could go off and figure out what was next – and truly do whatever it took to repay his many debts to many people.
He heard footsteps come into the kitchen and looked up when he saw Lili from Three coming in, calling out some jargon to Inky behind her back as she went before she made eye contact with Jun.
"I know, I'm moving," Jun said, not sure why she was here. "We'll be out of your hair-"
"Pri wants to talk to you before you go."
Jun's blood ran cold for a moment. He figured that he was shunned and that would be it. So… He didn't really know how to react to any of this. "Oh." He felt… Nervous, despite himself. That damn survivalist instinct, adrenaline that one served him well. Something he was still trying to let go of. "Okay," he said, not really sure what to do – and back to feeling that anxiety that turned his stomach and gripped his chest.
"Relax," Lili said, gesturing for him to go first. Jun did, but he just felt confused. Lili knocked lightly on the door, and it was quickly pulled open by Pri. He had dark bags beneath his eyes and looked… Well, yeah, like shit. Even moreso than yesterday, he looked like shit then too, but for a totally different reason.
When they made eye contact, Pri took in a sharp breath, but steeled himself a little bit, forming his hands into tight fists as he gestured him in. "Come in," he said.
"Do you want me to stay?" Lili asked.
"That's okay," Pri said, shaking his head and it was so obvious to Jun that he was trying so hard to be strong. He was biting his lip and he could see the thin pane of glass in his eye. Jun sat slowly and Pri pulled a chair as well.
The sound of a deep breath, followed by the music of stillness. For just a fleeting second. Holy and low.
"Don't do this to yourself," Jun finally said, looking at Pri looking so pathetic like this.
"I want to hate you," Pri said finally, bursting out with it as if he had rehearsed it – and for all Jun knew, he very well may have. "For what you did, I want to hate you. Looking into your face and knowing what you did. Looking at your hands knowing…" He choked up and slapped his cheeks. "Goddammit. Oh, fuck it, I'll never be done crying about it," he said, shaking his head as the tears fell out of his eyes.
"It's okay Pri. Don't do this to yourself. It's really just best that we're leaving."
"But I don't."
Jun looked up for a moment. "You can hate me."
"But I don't hate you!" Pri said, shaking his head a little bit at him as he let out a small sob to himself. "You couldn't have changed what happened to him. If it wasn't you, it was going to be someone else that… Th-at pulled the trigger," he said, and Jun just watched him with eyes wide.
Why was he torturing himself like this? "Stop doing this, I can excuse myself. I'll never bother you again, I don't want to make you do this to yourself."
Pri reached over to grab his wrist. "I… I just can't even blame you for doing it. I-I mean, fucking hell, I wasn't even THERE!" he said loudly, shaking his head with a bitter laugh-sob. "I-I fucking heard about it on the news!" He threw up his hands, knowing that as much as he pretended, he still wasn't over that and probably never would be.
"I'm leaving," Jun said, uncomfortable and just… He knew that Pri was trying to forgive him, because he was… Masochistic? Crazy? Too good? He didn't know.
"Stop," Pri said, getting up and pulling back on his wrist, a rare instance of him being very fiery. "We all did things we will regret forever. I can't say it's going to be easy, but I like you as a person Jun. I just… Fuck, I can't just sit here and let you… Throw away good things because of it." He shook his head and his voice shook a little bit. "Phil and I… We didn't get a chance." He let out a heavy, shaky sigh, and Jun ushered him to sit down because this couldn't be good for his health.
"It's my fault."
"You followed orders," Pri said, shaking his head because Jun could see an anger that lived deep in his soul that he hadn't fully gotten over – he couldn't blame him. "I'm not saying we're ever going to be best friends, or even close. Maybe it will be better for us to never see each other again. Probably. Trust me, I'm glad you are leaving because it's just a lot of pain coming back to me. Now please let me finish so I can lay down."
"By all means," Jun said, relaxing a little bit and Pri just let out another small sob before he continued.
"Phil and I didn't get a chance. You and Lizzie do. Phil is my one that got away, he slipped through my fingers, and I wasn't there for his last moments because I was afraid I would feel a little ill if I stayed for the concert. Fuck, why did I do that?" he asked quietly, his hands squeezing into tight fists and Jun knew there was nothing he could do to help this right now – and he was the root cause of it.
Even if Pri was right… If Jun hadn't pulled the trigger someone else would have. He understood the deep pain in Pri's eyes because he had felt it. Owen was his one that got away, that slipped through his fingers, and he wasn't there at the end. Helpless, watching on the TV. Despite how he moved on and grew up, he still couldn't fully let go of the guilt – or the scars.
"You couldn't have known. Maybe I could have." He didn't. "Somehow." He frowned and shook his head a little bit, wishing he had acted differently, miserable for the pain he'd caused others, wishing he didn't have to witness this anymore. It was torture.
Pri could see that in his eyes. He knew him, before he learned this. "I…" he frowned, guilt feeling a little heavy. "I told Stellan," he confessed. "In the heat of the moment, I just couldn't control my feelings. Now I wish I hadn't."
"If you didn't, I would have. It was the right thing to do. It's time to stop hiding from everyone. I'm a monster. I can't escape it. I'm going to make sure Lizzie gets shelter, and disappear like I should have from the start. That was always what was right."
Pri was crying and shaking his head a little bit. "There comes a point where the bravest thing to do is to heal," he said softly. A lesson he struggled and grappled with, still, a year later. "Not let the past haunt you forever. Accept that you can't change it – and probably couldn't have changed it in the first place anyways. Doing that will set you free. I think we both have a shit ton of PTSD so see ya in therapy to try and figure that out."
"Yeah," Jun said, frowning a little bit and looking over his shoulder briefly toward the door across the hall. Was he right? Was that permission what he needed? He didn't know… He knew it still wasn't too late – Lizzie was just too… Good, she wasn't going to give up, she was going to somehow find a way to forgive. Her heart was soft like that – too soft, he once thought, but… It was brave in its softness.
"Go talk to her," Pri said, half because he knew Phil would have wanted him to heal, and half because he didn't really want to see Jun anymore right now. Even that was harder than he thought he could manage and it was a miracle he faced him for this long without getting angry again. It flared and died, flared and died, but it was starting to fill his body once more and he just… Wanted this man to be gone now that he did his piece, and not have to face him again. It truly was going to be what was healthiest for all involved right now.
"Thank you Sir," Jun said, quickly, just to get out of there because he could see on Pri's expression that he was barely holding it together. So he went across the hallway to Lizzie's room, knocking quietly on the door as he was still thinking about everything Pri said.
The door flew open, and when she saw it was him, she quickly lit up. Oh, that stupid hope on her face, in her eyes. "Jun!" she said, sounding surprised, but excited, as she pulled him in quickly.
"Lizzie…" he said, frowning a little bit at her and her big smile, that was slowly shrinking by the minute. "Sorry for the radio silence."
"It's okay," Lizzie said with a small sigh, realizing that it was going to be straight to the nitty-gritty with him. "I can't imagine being in your position." She frowned. "But I can't blame you. I was a pawn too. We all were. We thought we were doing something good," she said, her eyes quickly filling with tears, unabashedly vulnerable, just like Pri.
Jun hated so much to see her upset – it was a different kind of torture than watching Pri. He… Wasn't sure how, but it was different somehow. "You did do something good," he said to her softly. "You did many good things. And you will keep on doing them once you are safe. I'm going to make sure of it before I go on my next adventure."
"Next adventure?" Lizzie asked, sniffing a little bit as she rubbed her eyes a little bit. "I don't want you to go…"
Jun frowned because he hated breaking her heart like this. "It's best for everyone."
"It's not best for me," she said, in her quiet and broken little voice. "I want you."
"I know," Jun said, feeling even worse seeing her like this. "But you are blindly forgiving me right now," he told her honestly. "We don't really know each other. I saved you, and kept you safe. I'm drawn constantly to your love of life and your brave vulnerability. But we're surrounded by trauma. It just wouldn't be right on my conscience for it to happen this way. There might be someone better for you."
"There's not."
"We don't know that."
"I do," she said, a fiery sentence, tears filling up her green eyes. "I will stand here and wait for you!"
Jun could tell that she wasn't lying. "I just want you to find what really makes you happy. Not just what gives your brain serotonin in a war." He frowned at her face and sighed, gently touching her teary cheek. "I feel something too," he told her, not wanting her to be mistaken about that. "But I just want to make sure it's right even when those better days come, like you said. Even when we're not broken anymore."
"It is right," Lizzie said stubbornly, now all of a sudden trying to hide her tears from him. "I don't want you to go put yourself in more danger!"
"I-" Jun started, but he was cut off by…
Music.
An unexpected singing voice.
"Short steps.
Deep breath.
Everything is…
Alright."
Lizzie looked up, trying to figure out where it was coming from, while Jun was frozen in shock. What was this? He'd never heard this song before, not from UV or anyone.
Lizzie was touching his cheek. Wiping away… A tear.
Phil sang.
"Chin up.
I can't…
Step into the…
Spotlight."
Lizzie looked at Jun for a moment, but he couldn't see her. His vision was blurred with tears that kept on coming. Phil kept singing, and playing the piano, through the door. She put her arms around Jun's neck.
They had hugged before. But this was different.
There was a pause before the chorus.
"When this world is no more… The moon is all we'll see. I'll ask you to fly away with me."
He got the sense to hug her back, though he fell deeper into her embrace, practically collapsing in her arms. And yet, there she was. Hugging him. Swaying a little bit to the music – to Phil's voice.
"Til the stars all fall down…"
A moment that was never supposed to be shared.
"They empty from the sky."
A special memory between him and the one that he loved.
"But I don't mind."
Why?
"If you're with me…"
Why?!
"…Then everything's alright."
He was crying, he was crying so much. He didn't have a single idea in his mind how Pri could have possibly chosen to share this with… Him, after what he did. It was beautiful. It was a moment he would never in his life forget, from the one that slipped away from Pri. A story that ended in tragedy. And he was the one that got the second chance. His second chance at life, from Phil. His second chance at love, from Lizzie. Two people surrounding him now that he didn't even know how much he needed.
"This isn't a trauma-induced mistake." Lizzie's words brought him out of it for just a moment. Her brave heart beat in his ear. The courage of her to seek him out after everything. It was unfathomable. "I don't care if it is. I need you now. Not later."
Jun looked at her for a long moment as his tears slowed a little bit. He didn't realize it like an idiot until now. "I need you now," he said quietly in return, realizing that all of this struggle came down to just how lost he would feel without her. It was his second chance to make sure that she was safe. Loved. Happy. Something he couldn't do before, but he could do now.
Lizzie's lips spread into a grin. A smile, so large, going all the way up to her teary green eyes. "Then I'm not going to leave your side," she said right away, hugging him again, and this time Jun put everything into hugging her back so tightly.
"It's time for safety," Jun said. Her safety… But he was ready for a little safety too, deep inside. He would grapple with it later, but for just a moment, thanks to Pri sharing Phil's gift…
It almost felt like he had paid off his debt.
"Thank you," she said, squeezing him tightly for another second before backing away just a little bit, pulling up her sleeve to wipe off her face, and he could tell that she was focused on her snotty nose for a reason. "Kiss me please!"
Jun chuckled a little bit through his tears, reaching up to wipe his eyes and yes, his nose too. He let one get away, and now was not the time to lose his courage. So for once, Jun Kozart was the one to make the first move and kiss her soft lips.
Memento vivere.
He would never forget. She was here. She was his second chance to pick up the broken pieces.
Remember that you must live.
~.~.
-Lux Hastings, ex-Head Gamemaker-
She was growing up without him.
Every moment that went by Lux felt empty. Partially because of the lack of Capitol delicacies in the refugee bunker, but mostly because of his daughter. He trusted that his mother was keeping her safe – and having a great time being full-time Grandma to her. But still… He worried every day.
She was probably growing so much. Learning so many new things. All of it without him. And for what? For this?! What was even his purpose here?! He put his life on the line with Lester's key card to scan into the Complex and hack into the system – a system he knew like the back of his hand by that point and was able to manipulate quickly and easily while Lester dicked around with the authorities. That fucking idiot. And yet he was also a fucking genius. To come up with something so brilliantly stupid that it actually worked. He was oddly proud of him for that one.
Then Stellan and Maggie blew out the brains of the president and started all of this mess. Lux just wanted to save some extra lives, and yet he knew the price of it as well. Big decisions to make, and since then he had been using what he learned in any of his classes to try and weigh every move the rebels made – and that was the ones that they even knew about. He was there for Maggie when she needed him and that fulfilled some of the parenting gap.
And then there was Piccolo. Someone that he once despised, that now he went through great, great lengths to protect. It had been a struggle for the interviewer as well, all of this isolation, being away from everyone like this… He saw him sitting alone for a moment, and went over, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"They should be coming soon."
"I know." Piccolo sighed quietly and shook his head.
"You worried?" Lux asked, before he shook his head. "Of course," he answered his own question. Despite the years of time between the first day Piccolo stayed in his apartment and now, the relationship between the siblings only got worse.
"It's still just so tense," Piccolo said with a small sigh. "Things got real different… Real fast." He frowned and put his chin in his hands for a moment. "It gave me such whiplash. The Games changed her life for the better. And mine for the… The worse." His eyes filled with tears. "It's all fun until it becomes too real."
"Yeah," Lux said with a frown at that. "I know Sweetie," he said, having had this talk with him a million times at this point, and it never made them any more desensitized to it. "I know. But remember… Viola helped me in the end. She could have shot me dead and ended all of this before it even started, and she didn't."
"Yeah," Piccolo said, trying not to stay down too long, and his eyes opened wider and shimmered just a little bit with… Hope.
"I still believe her," Lux said, rubbing Piccolo's arm a little bit. "When she said all the way back then on that train that the two of you together want to help me succeed. Us. And you did. You did more than you ever could have imagined. There's still room to heal, sure stars shining."
"That's a song," said Piccolo, and Lux smiled and nodded, tapping his head for a second before they both spoke at the same time.
"Ultimate Games Trivia Competition."
That got a small laugh from Piccolo, thinking about playing that game with the rest of the Gamemaking team – ad nauseum.
"It shares the card with Geno Haggerman's childhood nickname-" he said, and Piccolo pointed back at him as they said the answer at the same time. "Pip."
"Yeah, those were better times," Piccolo said with a small sigh. "Back when the Games were nothing but a story to me. Way before they were real."
"Yeah," Lux said with a small sigh and a frown. "But now we're doing our part to end them for good. Make something good out of what happened to Ollie, and the rest of them. It's going to count for something – more than something. It's our greatest success story yet."
Piccolo smiled a little bit and nodded, but his heart was so heavy still. "Right," he said.
"And Viola is going to be part of it," Lux promised, but he really wasn't sure.
"HO HO HO!" came the loud voice coming in, followed by multiple girls screeching like velociraptors.
"Trap!" Camellia said, about to run forward before her arm was yanked by Jace and she fell over. "OW!"
"Let him go first," Kat said, just barely resisting running over. Not that it would have mattered, since Trap had his sights set already.
"Stop in your place, I'm running over!" he said loudly, and Jace obediently froze as he didn't want to run into anything or anybody – he just knew that bitch Camellia was going to try to steal the first hug from him even though she already saw him at the bunker!
"Woah!" Jace said loudly at Trap's very sudden and strong hug, absolutely bone-crushing, but that was exactly how he would have wanted it and soon Jace had his arms around his neck and was squeezing back tightly. "You'd better stay here now," he said as his eyes filled with tears, embarrassed at getting emotional in front of the group, but also why the fuck did he even care, this was his MAN and he was finally back! "I'm serious, I'll tie you up."
"Sounds kinky, Chief," Trap said with a cheeky grin – though his tears glimmered when he put his face up from Jace's shoulder to breathe.
"I'm ace," Jace said right away in a deadpan. "You're ace. We're both ace." But he couldn't hold the deadpan very long and broke into another huge grin of happiness, grabbing tightly onto his shoulders again and just dying to be close to him again. "Fuck you, I missed you so much, Slick."
"I missed you every second, Jace," Trap said softly. Being back in his arms… It was an absolutely beautiful feeling. "I've been waiting for this."
"Me too," Jace said. "And it's because of you that I had to wait in the first place, ever! So fuck you for that!"
"Oh, come on, can't you just be nice to me?!" Trap asked, but he couldn't hold back a great laugh at the characteristic snark from him – they had just been so sappy before all this knowing they would be apart. But now they were back together baby! "I'm here to stay!" Trap announced loudly to the small group that was gathering to greet the small bunch that had traveled from One to be there.
"You'd better be!" said Camellia. "I'm echoing it," she added when Jace tried to turn toward where he heard her voice to give her a look.
"Alright, let me get out of the way before y'all pounce," Jace said, but only after he got his temporary fill of Trap's hug – and a few kisses from him too! He pointed a finger all around the room as he slowly shuffled out of the way, and Wendy pulled the young boy that was with them out of the way before Jace ran into him.
As soon as Jace was out of range, Kat made her move. "Move bitch, me first," she said as she shoved Camellia out of the way a little bit to go over and hug Trap. "S-Tier hugger coming through!" she said loudly as she launched herself at Trap, who hugged her back extremely enthusiastically while Camellia was starting to fully pout, her hands on her hips as she was impatiently waiting her turn. "And I'm going to third what those two said, you're staying here now."
"I know," Trap said, happy to be back – his heart had been bleeding for Jace – but also more than a little nervous about what was to come now that the entire band was back together. "Wait, S-Tier hugger?"
"Champ you missed the Warm Hug Gauntlet!" Camellia said, grabbing her cheeks before she went over to try to push Kat away from hugging him. "Stellan was a big fat cheater!"
"Not Cap being a cheater!" Trap said, putting a hand on his chest in offense as he finally hugged her.
"It wasn't cheating," Stellan said right away.
"F-Tier! F-Tier!" Tessa cheered with a giggle, amused by this more than anything. "It was funny!"
"I was an average C," Jace announced.
"Just a C?!" Trap asked, his mouth falling open in shock. "Who judged this, I want words!"
"We'll tell you all about it later," Kat said, ushering in Malloy for the next hug. "Let him settle in before you bombard him!"
"No, bombard me!" Trap said loudly, and it was impossible not to smile seeing how happy they all were. The two kids with them were wide-eyed and star-struck – Wendy would've been if she hadn't met the band on their District tour, also if she didn't have Kodi in her ear dying to tell her about Chiwi and Rory.
Lux's heart softened when he put his eyes on her. Viola was far from who she once was. She was thin, hair in a simple braid. Dirty. In plain clothes, no heels in sight. A slightly hollow look deep in her eyes. Piccolo was frozen so he went over to her first.
"You saved my life," he told her, trying to offer her a smile as she was barely looking in his eyes. "It was very brave. I'm glad we could protect yours."
Viola frowned. "Thank you Sir," she said quietly.
Lux smiled a little bit at her, recognizing that she was young and lost, just like her sibling. "Mr. Hastings is fine."
Viola laughed a little bit through her sadness and when lux opened his arms, she hugged him back and closed her eyes, crying a little bit. "Do they hate me?" she asked quietly.
"No," Lux said, looking behind his shoulder at Piccolo who was now waiting a little more anxiously. "None of us hate you."
"Okay," Viola said, quick to accept it and she let go of him, turning toward Piccolo, who went over. For once, it was a subdued hug between the twins. "I'm sorry."
"We'll talk later," Piccolo said, letting her go and patting her arm. "But there's someone we thought you would want to see."
Lux took that as his cue to duck out – he was a little tired hearing Kat gloat about being the Queen of Warm Hugs at that point anyway – and took Viola's arm. "Come with me," he said.
It was a longer walk, past the compartments where the refugees were staying, to a quieter part of the catacombs. Not too far out – they weren't monsters after all. The door was currently jammed up from the outside, out of an abundance of caution. Despite multiple interrogations, he still wasn't sure where her heart was. But hopefully now he would get a clue.
"Coming in," Lux announced, but he always gave a few seconds for her to prepare herself before he un-jammed the door. She never tried for an escape. But also she never gave him anything he could use. He pushed the door open and Viola blinked in shock at who she saw.
Her girlfriend.
"Aika!" Viola said in surprise at the look of her. She looked well, still. She got plenty of food and water, as bland as it was. But none of the luxuries she was used to.
"Wh-" Aika Muramatsu looked back at her, the ex-Gamemaker's eyes growing wide. "Oh my God." She looked at Viola, and then at Lux. "I-I barely even recognized you without…" the gold suit and jewelry. With her roots showing.
"All the Capitol stuff," Viola said, and she felt the same. Aika's roots were dark, her eyes were brown. She was much less… Larger than life with all of it stripped away. It was like she was faced with a total stranger. "Yeah. I get the feeling."
"What are you doing here?" Aika asked, looking at Viola, then at Lux.
"She's here for safety," Lux said, trying to read Aika's face – but as always, she was thinking about every move she made. "She was part of the reason this happened."
Viola sunk and Aika looked at her for a long moment.
"What?!"
"I couldn't kill him," Viola said, looking away from her and shaking her head. "I couldn't do it. I knew it wasn't right. I figured that none of this is right."
"You're right about something, none of this is right," Aika said, looking at Lux for a long second. "He chose twenty-three scrappy District children over our lives. Commander Junius's life. Our lives, something could have happened to us and he saved your sibling!"
Viola put a hand on her chest for a moment at that, it struck a nerve. "I am glad he saved Piccolo," she said right away, extremely offended that she would say that. "That's my twin."
"Sorry," Aika said, speaking without thinking and letting out a sigh. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant… He's not going to put us first. We have to put us first."
"I don't know if there's an us anymore," Viola said, because… Well, she didn't feel happy to see Aika, and that was… Weird. They were only ever casually dating anyway, and then all this happen.
Aika looked for a moment, but she wasn't really surprised, nor heartbroken about that. "Yeah," she said. "Guess you're right."
"You could help us make this nation a better place – for real. I know that you were groomed into thinking that being a Gamemaker was the way to do it – who wasn't?" Lux asked, looking at Viola who was nodding a little bit, then to Aika who was shaking her head.
"I don't believe your course of action is the right one," Aika said stubbornly, crossing her arms. "I was trying to save us from war."
"I know," Viola said softly. Despite their many differences, her heart was still just a little soft for her. "But we don't have a choice now. I've been out there while you've been in here. It's happening. People are losing their lives."
"We'd like it to be the bad ones, not the good ones," Lux said.
"Who are you to decide?" Aika asked him, and Lux sighed.
"I'm not," he confessed, willing to give her that much – even if she was surprised to see him give.
"Well you started it. You're here now. This was because of you. So you'd better figure it out."
Lux's stomach sunk a little bit because he knew that she was right, in a sense. "For a better future," he said to himself and Viola. "The whole reason we're here."
"Is she okay? Treated okay?" Viola asked, frowning, looking at Aika, and back at Lux.
"Humanely treated," Lux promised her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Want to stay and talk without me?"
Viola looked at Aika, stubborn on her ways, and wasn't sure what to think. She was hungry, tired, she had seen what was happening with her own eyes.
And yet, that night when she could have stopped Lux from doing what he did… She believed that he was good. That was why she pulled the trigger at that camera. Let him get away with it, despite it all.
"No. I think I just want some water and a place to say."
She believed him.
~.~.
Days later.
Hearts were pounding in sync with each otha.
The small group of them were waiting while the first wave of soldiers collected by the trainsackers in Six from multiple Districts of backwoods trained militia. Turns out the small group of enbies had a lot more connections than Stellan could have possibly fathomed, and were masters at spreading the word, and rallying. This was the biggest job yet. They had weighed the options – spent a little too much time thinking about it. But it was time to start striking the Capitol where it hurt – and taking away leverage they had over them.
It was to the point now where even Kat was convinced – it was time to take the District people that were strong enough, and go straight to the heart of it all – and this was the first mission on that long leg of attacks to finish this already. Or at least try to turn the tides. The people that were making these decisions had to know that they would not be safe, nor spared, for their cruelty.
They seemed pretty sure when they all agreed to take on the mission, but now that they were standing there, bulletproof armor on their persons, guns in hand, they were quite suddenly not sure anymoa.
"More reinforcements are approaching from the west wing. Remain covered."
The little family from Eight saw the hand signal that came from the red-haired Capitolite and remained covered. There was one spot that Crimson or Jun could see that was blind and that was where the group remained until further notice.
Monty looked Crim up and down. He wasn't sure he trusted this guy, but at this point they didn't have a choice. He knew that Stellan, Lux, and Jun were the brains, using Jun's knowledge of the inner workings of this high-security prison. And this guy was Jun's friend or whatever so here they were, following his beck and call.
He looked at Indy, who had a brave look on, but deep behind his eyes lived a look of terror. When Indy made eye contact with him, he gave him a little nod, reaching out to squeeze his hand. Monty squeezed back, knowing that it was his job to be brave.
When Indy looked at Vos, he stood up taller and all fear Monty had once seen in his features was quickly wiped away. Vos took a few deep breaths, the gun in her hands quiverin' a little bit as she was leaning against Chica and Roxy. Monty looked at Janine, who had her arms crossed and the same slight distrust on her expression as he felt deep within.
It wasn't long before the chaos moved closer to them – close enough that they could start to hear the shots, the small explosions, and worse, the yelling. From where they were outside they couldn't tell if it was militia or Peacekeeper – and had to assume it was the latter to stay sane.
"West, press. Central…"
Hearts pounding.
"Action."
Crim made the hand signal and readied his gun before he put a sticky bomb on the side of the building and the group operated as one, just as they'd practiced, taking shelter as the explosion shattered eardrums and blew debris back. He gestured for them to follow now even as the rubble was still smoking and falling, and they all had to maneuver quickly through the bit of a hole the explosion created into the prison.
It was a madhouse of shots being fired and screams and people falling. The scent of blood was almost nauseating. But there was no time to hesitate. They had a group promise that nobody would hesitate for even a second, and they were going to live it.
Crim's shots didn't miss, taking out any Peacekeeeper that noticed them – and a few that didn't. Peacekeepers from Central that were running toward West were quickly eliminated – and cards collected quickly by Chica and Vos, the notorious sticky fingers of the group. The closer they got to the heart, the quieter things became – until the sirens started.
Vos and Chica distributed cards seamlessly as the group was running. As they arrived at the holding cells for the prisoners, everyone had one. The question was only… Did they all work?
Guns were blazing as those that had cards were going to give them scans.
"Got it," Vos said as her card made a cell door go up on Antonio, gasping a little in horra at the state of him. "Oh my God."
"We gotta keep moving," Indy said. "Let's go you putas, we don't have time!"
"Got it," said Roxy as her card opened the door for Basil who was looking at them with wide eyes. "Let's go."
"Mine isn't working!" Chica said, hurrying to try to scan it again and starting to panic.
"This one," Vos said, going over quickly to open the door for Cruise, then Eve.
"I-I don't know if I want to go-" Basil said.
"We don't have a choice now, stop being a puta," Indy said right away as his hands were shaking a little with adrenaline holding his gun.
"How can we help?" asked Eve, hurrying over to Mako when he could barely even stand up. "Fuck, what did they do to you?"
"You don't want to know," Crim said with a head shake.
"My key fa this don' work!" Vos said, pressing the card on it as it blinked red at them.
"Mine doesn't either," Roxy said, hearing a low explosion rumble and shake the building. "Fuck."
"Then we'll blow it up-" Crim said, but he heard footsteps and fixed his weapon.
"Crimson is that you?!"
Hearing a slightly familiar voice made Crim reach over and put down Monty and Indy's weapons. "Stand down," he said, still keeping his up but… He wasn't so sure.
Andy stared at them with wide eyes as he saw the others getting the prisoners at least a little armor for protection. He thrust out a card. "This one," he said, looking around with his eyes huge and looked at all those human beings who were slumped over.
"Oh amigo, if this don't work you are toast," Indy said, bristling a little bit as he put his gun back up anyway, not about to play games with the lives of his family.
"It worked," Janine said, as the cell door slid open for the emaciated woman who was housed there. "Oh fuck, Monty." She knew that she needed more help than Janine could give.
"On it," said Monty, hurrying over there to her, eyes glazed over, barely awake.
"Help…" she said quietly, her voice worn away as she'd just had a test.
"We gotta get out of here," he said, practically holding her up.
"They were running tests when this started and everyone is currently in hiding," Andy said. "I stole from my benefactor and ran. I-I'm a criminal. Oh fuck, why did I do that?!"
"Running tests?" Monty asked, looking at the prisoners who looked like they'd been drugged – and realizing that they all definitely had… Some weren't even lucid. So this was what they did here… The fucking cruelty.
"No time for crises, we gotta move!" said Crim, and then they all heard it… Footsteps. A lot of them.
"Central. RETREAT. Central, retreat. Forces incoming."
"Shit," Crim said under his breath. They underestimated the force of the enemy. "Everyone grab someone, we have to go. Now."
Everyone recognized the severity in his voice and when they started to hear a crescendo of yelling and gunfire, they realized that it would not be a clean escape.
But they weren't here to do anythin' clean. And they would get it done anyways.
Monty threw Cheri over his shoulder. Cruise and Basil clutched onto each other – the latter the stronger one at the moment and pushing with adrenaline to get them both out of here. Eve put Mako up on her shoulder while Vos was supporting Antonio, who practically weighed nothing now in such a small body and lacking so much. And the charge for an exit began – but all the exits were closed and barred now.
The shots were deafening at that point and flying all over the place. Crim and Monty were turned backwards, on the defense of the group making the escape, which now included Andy helping Cruise and Basil along. Fuck why?!
Indy was thrown forward by a shot to the back – the armor protected him but that was definitely gonna leave a fuckin' mark. It was becoming very clear that they were outnumbered.
A scream that was familiar startled the group as Vos was shot in the arm and dropped Antonio pretty quickly, holding a wound that was quickly bleeding and biting their lip to hold it together.
"I got you," Monty said, but before he could stop to help them both, Janine was pushing Vos forward and stopping to get Antonio on his feet and push him along too. He stumbled forward and Indy grabbed his hand to pull him along with them. Monty stopped to grab Janine and help her to her feet. "Keep moving," he told her, panting as she got to her feet and powered forward – until another shot rang out and made her crumple right back to the ground. A perfect shot fired right to the heel. Not fatal, she could still be helped.
"Idiot, go," Janine said, resisting his help and pushing him along.
"I- I can't-" he said, firing another shot at Peacekeepers coming close and hearing Cheri faintly moaning in his ear… He could do this…
Janine was getting to her feet slowly and Monty heard the click of his nightmares – out of rounds.
"MONTY!" Indy yelled when he was getting too far away from the group, his voice laced in horror. Something about hearing Indy yell sprung him into action, smacking another peacekeeper as hard as he could, but it wasn't enough. He could feel them grabbing for Cheri, and he couldn't let that happen.
"I'll see you out there," Janine said, sliding him her gun which was loaded. They need you more now."
Monty knew that he couldn't get all three of them killed here, so he got to his feet and kept moving. They could see the light of day – the hovercraft waiting to take them all back to safety. He couldn't be the reason it didn't happen. By the time he got to the blown-up wall with Cheri, most of the others were already out, not looking behind them, toward the hovercraft. He put her through the rubble and turned around to go but… Janine wasn't behind him.
She was yelling, in the arms of Peacekeepers, struggling, bleeding, subdued by them, helpless against them. He realized quickly that they were trying to take her alive.
They were going to do to her what they did to the others. And after this, he doubted they would spare time or resources to come back here again.
"Cyrus!" Janine said loudly. One word, one tearful expression, communicated to him thousands. He had only seen that look on Janine Hunt's face one before, back home in District Two where they grew up together.
He could see the trauma in her eyes, quickly coming back up. He could see her being overpowered by men, by people that were going to have their way with her through sick tests that would change her forever, and he had to fulfill the promise that they made to each other before they got here.
She wouldn't want them to have that satisfaction.
So he didn't hesitate, and he fired a bullet of mercy, and he didn't hesitate to turn and contort himself through the rubble, climbing as fast as he could.
On the way, he bumped into someone else, and recognized the voice that swore right away.
"Aye yay yay you stupid puta, I was going to go back in after you for takin' so long," Indy said, pulling him the rest of the way through – as much as he could, anyway. "They're already on their way, we gotta move, Monty, don't you ever leave me worryin' again," he said as they were already hustling. Monty swore quietly at the impact of a few shots sending him tripping itwh the impact, but Indy held him tightly. There was something unspoken between them in that moment – we need to get out of this, no matter who else did or didn't.
Gunshots and explosions boomed in their ears as they approached the hovercraft, motors whirring and ramp just beginning to go up when Monty grabbed on, stopping them from putting it up, and Indy pushed himself up to get on, his beau close behind, swearing a little bit as he got a shot to the leg right at the end. The gunshots pinged and dented the hovercraft, an explosion shaking it as everyone grabbed onto each other, before it was flying high in the sky, gliding away from there. It was a while before the shots stopped shaking it around, the group holding each other and sitting with expressions of shock as hearts were still pounding in sync.
"We have liftoff, over," Crimson said, and left the group in silence, only the low rumble of explosions below them and the whirring of motors – one of which was clicking a little bit as it had been jostled in the explosions during takeoff.
Monty could see the girls looking around, taking a mental count, as Crim was pulling a bandage tight around Vos's arm and Andy had jumped in to wrap up Monty's calf where he was shot on the way in that was bleeding everywhere.
Chica met his eyes for a long second, and hers quickly filled with tears. He knew she would figure it out just from a look.
"She didn't make it?" Chica asked quietly.
"No," Monty said softly, and everyone was staring at him. "I tried my best," he told them honestly, and took a deep breath to try and be the strong one. "I'm sorry." He looked at Indy, and then looked away. It was his job to protect her, Indy always asked that of him before he would leave to go on his adventures. He made that promise to Indy, and here they were.
Vos's mouth dropped open a little bit and Roxy looked away from them all as it settled in that Janine was gone.
"It's okay," Indy said, grabbing his hand tightly. He didn't feel okay at all. But he didn't know what he would have done if it was Monty that was gone. "I need you," he whispered quietly, his eyes filling with tears.
"I'm so sorry," he said to him, even if he knew that Indy was right…
And yet, Janine said they… He had a weird feeling that she wasn't just talking about Indy.
"It's not your fault," said Chica softly, looking at the others and seeing Roxy's expression of hurt, and a little anger. "Stop, it's not. Fuck… This isn't what she would want for us at all." She looked at Roxy, knowing her sister would remember all the times Janine held them together after they thought Indy was gone.
Monty stared at the ground. In a way it was his fault. But he would hold that close to himself. The longer things were still, and silent… The weaker he felt.
"Te amo," Indy said, grabbing his arm and holding it tightly. "Whatever happened, te amo."
Monty shook his head a little bit as his eyes pooled with tears that he swallowed to hold back. "Te amo," he said quietly, because he would never not say it to him again. But… He just held this deep regret in his heart. Maybe he wasn't protecting her from a worse fate and they actually could have gotten her somehow.
But also… It wasn't worth the risk. He knew what she was asking him to do. And he didn't hesitate, just like they said, to end things before she could suffer any longer.
"I don't know how we're going to make it," Roxy said. "And who's going to tell Roux?"
"We'll figure it out," Indy snapped a little bit, holding Monty protectively.
"Somehow," Chica said quietly, finally bridging the physical gap between them and giving Monty a big hug as the other two girls watched, and swallowed down some tears to be strong, even for just a moment, for him. "We're going to make it."
"Thanks Chica," Monty said quietly, holding onto her tightly for a few seconds and blown away by her soft, kind heart.
"I know we're not always good about actin' it. But we love you," she told him, giving him a little kiss on the forehead and laughing when Indy made the smallest of stink faces. "Stop it," she said, taking his cheeks to give him a kiss on the forehead too. "There. Happy now?"
Indy was a little surprised she did that, but not really. "I mean, I could use a big titty hug too," he confessed with a shrug. Chica went over to him to oblige the request while Monty looked over at the others.
"We'll talk more about it once everyone is settled," he said, looking at Roxy, who wouldn't look back at him for a moment, and then at Vos, who was looking at him with an expression that grew sadder and sadder.
"I'm sorry I shut you out," she told him after a moment, reaching up to wipe her good eye. "I dunno why." But she did a little bit…
"It's okay," Monty said, frowning at her trying to crawl over with a bad arm. "Stop."
"No," said Vos, going over to put her good arm around him and give a little squeeze. "We need each otha now that Janine's gone," she said quietly, her voice shakin'. "Now mo'a than eva."
"I'll need you just as much," Monty told her, in full honesty, looking over and seeing Indy with that look in his eye. "Careful," he told him, but it was too late as Vos was going quickly ova to her best friend – chosen family – her Primo - and hugged him, arm be damned, even if it made her whimper a little bit.
"I…" Vos said, shaking her head as more tears poured out of her good eye. "I dunno why I was so angry an' shuttin' you out. I missed you so much," she said through tears. "Figurin' out how to live without you was fuckin' hell… I was just mad at you for makin' me go through it…"
Indy frowned and shook his head a little bit. "You did a great job, though. So good that it made me hate how independent you became," he confessed, closing his eyes and putting them in her shoulder. "How you don't need me anymore, you have Chica, you grew up…"
"No, I still need you," Vos said, shaking her head a few times and gripping tightly onto his arm with her good arm. "Fuck," she said as the adrenaline was starting to wear off and her arm was burning.
"Okay, Prima," Indy said, letting go of her to help her sit down again carefully, and… Taking care of her again made him smile because he missed this. Now she was just so much stronger, but… It still felt good that he could help her. "I'll never leave you again."
"You'd betta not," Vos said, shaking her head quickly. "I missed you every day. I still do need you and I love you."
Indy smiled a little bit at her as his eyes filled with more tears and he reached over to gently rub her cheek a few times with his knuckle, wishing he could make her feel betta. "Love you too, Prima. We're all a big happy family," he added quickly, not like there would be any mistaking that, but he just clarified to be sure.
"Yeah," Vos said with a smile and a small sigh. "We gotta have each otha."
"Keep it wrapped tight," Andy said, noticing blood dripping all over the bandage and going back over to Vos.
"You kinda ruined something he'a, Pointy Ears McGee," Indy said unamusedly as he watched him pull at the bandage. "So what brought you to the dark side anyway? Confident that you're not gonna get killed on sight when we get back to the safehouse?"
"What?!" Andy asked, and Indy just let out a laugh at him. "Gaaaah, I don't know why," he said, shaking his head because he just threw everything away. "I just… Was tired of seeing these things happen and had a chance and I just took it on a whim."
"That's usually how that happens," Crim said with a chuckle. "Those Bunsen boys just need to stop thinking and act, it's how they work. Though I guess Bons way overplanned his treason."
"Oh well that's not a shock," Andy said. "He overplanned his future, he overplanned every day at work, hell he even overplanned his first kiss!"
"Now that's no surprise to anyone," Indy said, thinking back to the hugging contest. "He made hugging rubrics."
"What?!" Andy asked. "Why?!"
"Oh, you're about to get an earful," said Chica with a laugh, before her face fell at Roxy not looking at any of them and she went over to her twin sister to try to console her.
"It's a long story," Indy said. "But my Papi won," he added, just to make sure everyone knew.
"Okay, that's enough," Monty said, biting back a look of pain to not make him worry. "I'm sure you'll hear all about it from Bonnie."
"I'm sure I won't," Andy said, shaking his head a few times. "He hates me because I moved away. I guess I got so focused on my future I left them behind."
"Yeah," Monty said quietly, thinking back to hearing Janine say his name. His real name, the name he grew up with in District Two. The name he was able to leave behind, while his brothers stayed back and endured the rest of the abuse. He doubted he would ever hear from Rafa and Felix again, but he could just hope they were safe.
"Then Kin died and… I still couldn't really be there for him because I was cooped up… Doing this to people," he said, looking at where Antonio had curled up and was sleeping, Cheri was blearily blinking at the wall, Cruise and Basil huddled together talking, and Mako was sleeping against Eve's shoulder, who was glaring over at him. "Maybe they should kill me on-sight for playing a part in any of this."
"They won't," Crim said. "Or at least I sure do hope not because I did a lot worse than that," he said with a small chuckle. "But making things right is better than not."
"I guess," Andy said, before he held his face in his hands. "I just gave everything away. Oh God. What's going to happen to me?"
"Eh, you'll figure it out," Indy said, not really in the mood to entertain his crisis right now with his Papi and Prima both in pain like this. "We all did it once before."
"We did," Roxy said, still with a dark expression on her face and tears as she was leaning against Chica. "It ain't easy, but it'll set you on the right course. I guess," she said, looking around at the empty space where Janine should be sitting, and then at Monty.
"We'll help you," Monty said, but Indy shushed him.
"Just focus on keeping your energy," he told him, worried about him because he just had to now. His body was starting to ache from all the shots on the armor, but he was going to be there for him since he couldn't for years beforehand.
"We're on-course to land shortly," said Crim, looking at Andy for a moment and biting back a smile. He knew that there was something deep in there.
"Wh-Where're we going?" Cruise finally asked, his voice a little slurred and weak.
"We're landing in District Thirteen, where you'll get a nice place to stay and some food and water," said Monty, forcing a smile, even though Indy didn't want him to keep distracting himself and talking.
"We can stay together and figure it out," Basil said.
Cruise looked around a little bit and then he spoke quietly. "Maybe we should stay in separate rooms for a little bit."
Basil looked at him for a moment, blinking in shock. "Oh," he said. "Oh…Okay," he said, obviously a little blindsided by that.
"The folks there are really nice and will help you figure it out," Chica said reassuringly as the craft glided in through the entryway where there was a group waiting for them.
"Let's get the prisoners out first, then we'll get some muscle in for the injured," Crim said as the pressure locks hissed out air and the ramp started to open. "Alright?"
"I'm staying here," Indy said stubbornly, holding onto Monty.
"Go help," Monty said, as Roxy was helping Cruise and Basil up and Chica was poking Antonio's cheek to wake him up. "They need a little muscle."
"Oh then I really should stay," Indy said, but he saw Cheri trying to get up on her own and he and Andy both quickly hurried over to help as Eve and Crim were getting Mako to his feet.
For once, nobody was running out of the hovercraft, instead carefully stepping over the tracks on the ramp to not fall. Roxy had the two boys out first, Basil looking a little upset and confused over at Cruise as Kodi quickly hurried over to help her out with the two of them when they all saw how poor the shape of them was.
"I did something bad to Chiwi," Basil said as Kodi hefted up one of his arms to help him along.
"I heard," Kodi said. "Step carefully, we'll get you a place to sit.
"We need more hunks," Stellan said as he saw Crim hefting up Mako as they went.
"I can try," Bonnie said, letting Lester go who quickly grabbed onto Shani who was waiting and taking deep breaths, and he hustled even more when he saw that it was Crim. "Let me help," he said as he took the other side.
"Well well well lil man, you look a lot different," Crim said with a chuckle as they got Eve and Mako down the ramp to Kat who was directing them to food and water.
"I feel a lot different too," Bonnie said, actually smiling a little bit thinking about the many ways he'd changed since they saw each other last.
"So I gotta tell you something," Crim said, once they had Mako on a bed and made sure Eve was sitting inside.
"Eh?" Bonnie looked over for a second, before going over to give him another hug. "Sorry, I'm just happy to see you, and Jun will be too."
"Oh, I dunno if you're gonna want to keep hugging me if you knew," Crim said, before just sighing a bit. "Andy's here."
"WHAT?!" Bonnie asked, letting go and putting his hands on his hips.
"He's also a war criminal now, if it helps."
"I- oh my God, no, I'm not ready to see him," Bonnie said, grabbing his cheeks and dragging his fingers down them. "Why?!"
"I think he's wised up a little bit," Crim said, patting his shoulder a few times. "Just try to be nice."
"Oh gee, thanks, that sure helps," Bonnie said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Oh geez, I can't believe this."
"Just… Come out and help me with the rest of them, okay? Please? We need some muscle."
Bonnie sighed, not sure what was going to happen next, but he trusted Crim and he just nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I can help."
While the boys were getting those two settled, Chica had Antonio at least shuffling his feet a little bit and was helping him over the bars and off the ramp. "Another one," she said cheerfully.
Vyka lit up seeing him, and started to run over – quickly stopping in her tracks when she saw the state of him- she could barely even recognize him. "Oh."
"It's still him," Chica said reassuringly, putting out a hand to gesture her over. "He could use a friend."
"I'm his friend," Vyka said, going over to gently wrap her arms around him. It was not at all familiar… But it was still him. "Hi Antonio, it's me. Vyka."
"Vy…" he said, and got the energy to hug her back.
"You able to help him over to Kat?" Chica asked, patting her head a few times.
"I can get reinforcements," Vyka said, turning around and jumping at how close Camellia was all of a sudden. "Oh."
"Hi," she said, looking at Chica and then Antonio. "Hi Antonio, it's Rose. A while ago I was your escort. I'm going to keep up with my duty to take care of you now. Is that okay?" She crouched down just a little bit to be a little closer to his height and her eyes filled up with tears at how hollow he looked. Starving, tired, and just… Gone.
Antonio looked at her for a moment and swallowed a little before he nodded and went over to give her a hug. Camellia smiled and hugged back – more than willing to let bygones be bygones when he looked like this.
"I'll take him."
Vyka stood up a little taller. "Not without me!" she said adamantly. Chica smiled a little bit at watching the two of them take Antonio in for some water and then looked over at Andy and Indy coming out with Cheri between them, who was wiping her eyes and very focused on each step.
"Oh my God, is that how you felt seeing me?" Shani asked, putting a hand on his chest in horror.
"Yes," Angelo said, his mouth dropped open seeing his sister looking like this.
"Oh my God," Ania said softly, frozen as she looked at Cheri, trying to see if her wife was even awake with how slowly she was moving and how much the boys were supporting her.
Mommy! Lester was the one of them that didn't hesitate at all, breaking away to trot right on over to her and give her a hug.
"Oh hi," Cheri slurred a little bit, blinking slowly as she realized who it was when he pulled back to look at her. "Oh, it's Lester," she said, a little bit in a haze still but she was smiling. "Hi."
Lester grinned before he could hear Shani storming over and put a hand over his lips to not giggle.
"Why are you gonna hug my Mom before I do?!" he asked, but he fell back into Lester a little bit when he saw the look in her eyes. Even as a single mom of two, he'd never seen her look this drained. Not even after Kehlani died… He made a high-pitched sound. "Mom," he said when she finally looked at him, and when she smiled at him he didn't wait to go hug her tightly. Oh God, her hugs never felt like this, it was a little like hugging a stranger. But no, it was still his Mom, so he didn't let go for a while because fuck, he missed her.
"Sha…ni." She smiled seeing him there and put a hand in his curly hair.
"Yeah," Shani said. "I'm here," he said. She was always the strong one when he was sick with pneumonia and could barley move, and now he was realizing just how hard that was and how strong she was to do it for him. "And apparently so is Lester," he said, looking at Lester who was still lingering close, but it was worth it to see her smile get bigger and a small chuckle come from her.
Shani finally looked behind him, making eye contact with Ania, her wife, and gesturing her over. "Ania's here," he said as she was coming.
"Where?" Cheri asked, rubbing her eyes again and trying to walk herself over to Ania, making Shani and Lester both make sounds of surprise as they each hurried over to support her.
"Woah," Ania said, moving a little faster to make sure Cheri didn't fall over, and then just giving her a nice soft hug, still a little stunned that her wife was left in this state. She still had so many questions about what Ryder was doing, and why, and what part Cheri had in it, but she was just so relieved to see her alive. They could work through whatever else it was.
"I missed you," Cheri said, taking a handful of her shirt and determined to do it on her own.
"I missed you too, I love you," Ania said, smiling when Cheri looked at her hand, slowly putting down the right fingers even though it was a little bit of a struggle for her to have the dexterity to do it, until her thumb, pointer, and pinky were up. I love you.
Angelo was waiting, but he was also staring at Andy who was with Crimson, nervous that he was going to notice him. "Ahem," he finally said, breaking apart the two wives.
"Of course," said Ania with a good-natured smile as Angelo put down his cane, going over to see his sister and looking her in the face.
"You're safe now Cheri," he told her, rubbing her back a little bit as she gave him a hug.
"Joe?"
"Oh I'm not Joe," Angelo said, before he realized what she was asking. "He's back home," he told her, giving her a last squeeze. "You need to go in and recover, I won't hold you up too long."
"I'm … Fine."
"Stubborn as always," Angelo said to Ania and Shani, both of whom laughed – and Lester with them even though he didn't really fully understand.
"We'll help you Mom – oh, Kodi!" Shani said when he saw that he was free.
"Oh yes!" Kodi said, hustling over to them. "I'm here."
"Mom, this is Kodi," Shani said, presenting him proudly to her. "Think you can help us with her?"
"Of course," said Kodi, going over to support her. "I am very happy to help."
"Cyrus helped me," Cheri was slurring. "I saw Cyrus," she was saying with a small smile. "He was helping," she said softly as Kodi was helping her go in for some water.
Lester just chuckled and shook his head at Kodi's need to show off, before noticing the man standing by himself and hurrying over to greet him with a hug.
"Woah!" Andy said in shock at Lester running at him. "Hey."
Hi. Lester waved, knowing he couldn't really understand him.
"Um…" Andy said, frowning a little bit at him because this was strange. "I'm happy to see you. A…Are you okay?" He could see how thin he was and frowned. "What's going on?"
Lester just sighed a little bit and shrugged, gesturing him on. But that was before he noticed Angelo looking at him.
"Um, hi," he said awkwardly to the man who was looking. "Don't mind me. War criminal here."
"Aha," said Angelo, but of course Andy didn't recognize him. He was much different back in the days that he could babysit them. Before alcohol took over his life… "So you don't recognize me."
"No sir," said Andy, noticing Bonnie coming back out and his heart started beating a little harder.
"I know I look a lot different now than back then. And it's been a while, so I understand. But hopefully I'll get to explain everything…"
Andy gave him a weird look before he heard Bonnie.
"Uncle Angelo," he said, and Andy's eyes got wide as he looked at the man in front of him. No way that could be him… But it was.
"Oh," Andy said, his eyes getting wide. "Fuck."
"It's okay," Bonnie said, looking between the two of them. "Looks like we have a lot to catch up on."
"Guess so," Andy said, blinking in shock when Bonnie actually gave him a hug. "Oh," he said, but he quickly hugged him back. This was his only brother left… He had to do what was good for him, for both of them, for their family. "Guess we're both war criminals now," he said quietly, shaking his head in disbelief at himself. At Bonnie. At their family. "Dad will never be proud of us now."
Bonnie looked at Angelo and then just squeezed Andy's shoulder a little bit. "Dad would be proud of us."
Forgiveness. Can you imagine?
Angelo motioned for the two of them to go help get Vos and Monty out with Stellan. As they walked up the ramp to help the injured, Bonnie was actually slightly excited to be able to start tending to wounds, helping people that were injured, or in the case of Shani and Lester, sick.
"We're gonna make the world a better place."
~.~.
A/N: Seven.
The prison break was supposed to be a standalone and I see why now with the monstrous word count of this chapter. Sorry about that lol.
This chapter went a different direction than the plan in a few places so sorry it's not totally true to the teasers last chap. New deleted scene coming in the near future of Bonnie and Jun after his return.
Next Chap: The first Honest Talk of a freshly-traumatized couple's relationship, a conversation between two whose loves have been left behind, and a severe case of I-don't-care-if-it's-too-similar-to-canon-Mockingjay-itus.