Descent of Nightmare (Chapter Thirty-Two)
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saladloveOnce again, mind the tags.
Chapter list: https://tanadin.dreamwidth.org/650.html
Map of Kaldriel: https://i.gyazo.com/332b0c0172dcc60acb46
Rough map of Hatu: https://i.gyazo.com/ea4f9f51b9dc7b9d8b86
Chapter Thirty-Two
Synchronous
Akrar, Kaldriel. November 13, 2277. Time instance 842N.
Sylondra crossed her arms as they walked, surveying the three people with her carefully.
The first was Lucy, dressed in a black trenchcoat with brilliant red hair and a scythe on her back. She was definitely one of the other labkids- she had the same kill-or-be-killed look about her, a jumpy shell around her that made her look at every sound or flash of movement to determine how dangerous it was. She looked just as uncomfortable in the cold weather as Sylondra felt, shivering occasionally.
The second was Shawn, wearing a similar brown trenchcoat and looking completely unbothered by the weather, as if the temperature didn’t affect him at all. He kept looking at Sylondra curiously, as if trying to figure her out, and she didn’t like that one bit. It felt too prying, too curious, almost like Eldran every time she said something out of the normal for the A-team or when she actually bothered to stand up for him. He’d get this look on his face, like he was trying to understand her, when he never could. He’d never listened, so he’d never know.
The third person was Tac, who was the shortest of the four of them and looked like she didn’t even know why she was here. She had a jacket on to stave off the cold and possessed metal hands, not unlike something that Avery would be able to make. Sylondra looked closer and noted that she, somehow, looked eerily similar to Avery- just like Kallen did- and she wondered if they were related.
Tac gently nudged Shawn with her elbow and asked a question in the strange language that they all seemed to know- had the B-team learned it or had they known it to start with? What kind of robot guardian did they have?- and he glanced at her before answering, “Sylondra.”
Tac frowned. “Cilantro?”
“Sylondra,” Lucy corrected.
“What?” Sylondra snapped. “What about me?”
“She was asking what your name was,” Lucy told her, raising an eyebrow. “Why are you so defensive?”
“When people talk about me, usually it’s nothing good,” Sylondra mumbled. “Nothing good came out of being talked about.”
Lucy stopped walking, crossing her arms and looking at Sylondra with new worry in her eyes. “What happened to you guys?”
“Our robot guardian was shit,” Sylondra said flatly, “and we all fell apart.” She crossed her arms as well, as if trying to cover the flicker of pain in her chest as she thought about the beginning. Before the scars. Before the fights. Before the unofficial hierarchy and the subgroups.
How had it all gone so wrong?
She shivered. “Then someone shot Eldran, and no one really knew who. So everyone either died or fled in the carnage.”
A shiver ran down Lucy’s spine. “We only lost one. Maybe two, if Zast died after he vanished. But we’re… we’ve never… it wasn’t… we lost Meria to a sandwyrm. How could your own group…”
“We couldn’t stand each other. We never got along.” Sylondra growled, the old anger surfacing once again. “And nobody fucking listened to me when I tried to warn them, and look where we are now!”
Lucy reached out a hand to put on her arm but Sylondra pulled away, baring her teeth and snarling. “Don’t touch me. Don’t get near me.”
She waited, breathing through clenched teeth, as Lucy translated their exchange for Shawn and Tac’s benefit. Anger boiled in Sylondra’s chest at the looks of pity she got from them, looks that made her bristle and her eyes glow with the building flames within.
“And don’t pity me. I fought tooth and nail to get out of there alive. I’m fine and I don’t want to hear anything to have to saw about it.” Her fingers twitched and she resisted the urge to sheathe them in icy claws, figuring that such an open act of aggression could trigger Lucy’s combat instincts and provoke a fight. She wasn’t sure who would win between them with Shawn and Tac potentially backing Lucy up. One on one, she was more confident, knowing she had hardship and experience on her side.
Shawn asked something, and Lucy translated, “What kind of hell have you seen?”
The fire gently died in Sylondra’s eyes. “The worst humanity has to offer.”
They didn’t really know what to say to that.
~~~
Cataclysm walked alone with Shatter, matching black wings folded against the cold as they eyed each other with uncertain looks. Cataclysm had asked Emma and Annihilation to stay behind, seeing how uncomfortable Shatter looked when engaged in conversation with multiple people, and so they had set out without the others.
Shatter wasn’t entirely sure how they were supposed to communicate without Annihilation until Cataclysm spoke to him in easy Demonic, the rough language coming as naturally to him as it did to Shatter.
“Why did you come to Kaldriel?”
“We didn’t really know that we were.” Shatter snorted. “But we didn’t have much of a choice. For all we knew, Tera was hot on our ass and ready to wreck us. There was no way that we could really fight her- not without losing Syl, at least. So we just… went, once we found the teleporter.”
Cataclysm raised an eyebrow. “Did you consider that she might be able to follow you?”
“I…” Shatter trailed off, a look of fear flickering across his face. “That didn’t occur to me.”
Cataclysm shook his head slowly. These kids haven’t been exposed to much. They don’t think of these things. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she came with you, if she was following like you said. How bad is she?”
“A lot of darkness and ice magic wrapped up in a batshit crazy blanket.”
“Wow. That sounds like some hideous fusion of Kimera and Edme.”
“Who?”
Cataclysm waved it aside. “Don’t worry about it. This Tera sounds like bad news.”
“The fucking worst.”
“Amazing. I’m so damn excited to meet her.”
Shatter snorted and crossed his arms. “I can take her. I just need to not be around Syl or she’ll get herself killed.”
“Overconfidence is going to get you killed.”
“I’m not overconfident.” Shatter raised an eyebrow.
Cataclysm mirrored the expression, feeling a twinge of annoyance at how similar they looked. “Just confident, then. Why do you think you can take her?”
“She can’t hurt me.”
“You say that a lot. Why?”
Shatter uncrossed his arms and, before Cataclysm could stop him, ripped three deep gashes on his left forearm with his claws. Blood stained his fingertips and he held out his arm for Cataclysm to watch, blood welling and running down his skin.
A mixture of horror and sickness rose in Cataclysm and it took all of his willpower to not scramble back or block out the sight with his wings. His arms twinged in sympathy and memory and he tightened his fists, anger finally boiling over the other feelings. He was about to snarl at Shatter to ask what the hell he thought he was doing when the faint glowing of the wounds stopped him, drawing his attention.
The edges of Shatter’s wounds glowed faintly red and blue and, as Cataclysm watched in fascination, they sealed. Shatter wiped the blood off to reveal light scars that quickly faded away into nothing, as if he’d never been wounded in the first place.
“I’m half phoenix,” Shatter explained quietly. “Vestrok, our robot guardian, said that I probably can’t bring myself back to life, but I can heal myself in seconds. I’ve had a limb removed before and it was back in just a couple of minutes.”
Cataclysm’s eye flicked up to meet Shatter’s and a shiver ran down his spine, making his wings twitch. “That’s a very powerful ability you have. No wonder you think you’re invincible- no one can kill you unless they hit you with something you can’t heal from.”
Shatter nodded. “That’s why I was never afraid to pick fights with anyone. No matter what happened, I’d just heal from it and leave them marks to remember it by.” A wicked grin spread across his face, a look so unbefitting of a man that looked almost like a Clash clone. “Ferros never touched me again. She wouldn’t even meet my eyes.”
“Ferros?”
“Ferros Lovegood. Nasty piece of work. Sadistic and likes to scar up people’s sides who offended her. I about ripped her head off when she tried it on me.”
So even Sub’s A-team kid wasn’t free from this. Oh, Maker.
“Did you get along with anyone in your group?”
“Eldran. That’s about it.”
“Eldran…?”
“Pyrox. Short, teal eyes, a speaking voice that could move even Tera when he used it right.” Shatter crossed his arms. “He was our leader. And then…” He claws dug into his forearms, drawing forth more blood. “Someone killed him.”
Cataclysm shuddered at the blinding fury that flickered to life in Shatter’s eyes, at the faint glow of flame along the edges of his feathers.
He might not have said it, but it was clear that he had loved Eldran.
It wasn’t any surprise that he was aching, burning up inside with a heart of fire and fury brighter than the sun.
~~~
“So, where do you plan to stay?” Shawn finally asked with Lucy translating.
Sylondra shot him a curious look, thinking it over. “Where do you suggest I stay? Don’t put me in with Shatter or one of us will end up dead, and it’ll probably be me.”
“Well…” Shawn hesitated. “We could put you in on the same floor as the other labkids. But I doubt that would work too well, as some of them don’t trust people they don’t know well.”
Sylondra made a face. “Don’t. I don’t want anything to do with a team that isn’t even mine. The A-team was bad enough.”
“Other than that, I don’t…” He glanced at Tac and asked her something that Lucy didn’t translate. They had a quick exchange before Lucy started translating again. “You could live with us, if you wanted. Communication might be hard, but-”
“I could live with you, too,” Lucy volunteered. “Kallen too, maybe, if I was out. Twelve won’t like it but she can deal with it.” She shot Sylondra a strange look. “I think Twelve is your half-sister? She and Everex have the last name Dramonallvaer, so I’d assume you’re both related to Tanadin? And then you and I are half-sisters, as well, then Shatter’s half-siblings with Annihilation and Solace...”
Tac groaned. “This is getting complicated already.”
Sylondra grinned. “Wait until Kaldra shows up. And Avery, if he’s with her.”
Lucy raised an eyebrow. “What makes you so sure that Kaldra will show up?”
“She has a way of being where she’s needed.” Sylondra’s fingers flexed in anticipation. “And I owe her a punch to the face.”
~~~
Emma was really not pleased to go home and find Dare on her couch.
She crossed her arms when she stepped in the front door and raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing here, Dare?”
“I was hoping you find you here.”
“That much was obvious. How did you know I wouldn’t head back to Kyir’s, though? We usually don’t come here.”
“You’ve been spending more time here since Annihilation came along and Kyir’s been out.” Dare shrugged. “Good guess. But, hey, I saw Cataclysm with your other kid. I told you there was another one.”
Emma growled and glared at her. “He’s not even mine. And that’s a weird coincidence that there was a second group.”
“Mhm, mhm. Now we just have to wait on the third one.”
“Thir- Dare there is no third one!” Emma pulled off her jacket, balled it up, and threw it at Dare, who deflected it with a raised arm and peals of laughter. She jumped to her feet and grinned, adjusting her helmet to keep it from falling off.
“That’s what you think.” She winked and pushed past Emma on her way out, walking down the street without a second glance.
Annihilation looked between them and raised an eyebrow. “What was that about?”
“Nothing,” Emma muttered. “Just a dumb friend that likes to make fun of me.” She stepped inside and let Annihilation in before shutting the door.
Annihilation nodded in understanding. “I have a few of those.” She grinned slightly. “I have a lot of those.”
no subject
Date: 2017-02-22 03:14 am (UTC)“The fucking worst.”
“Amazing. I’m so damn excited to meet her.”
Welp, she's already on the planet so that won't take long....
no subject
Date: 2017-02-22 05:02 am (UTC)-Observing Anon
no subject
Date: 2017-03-01 12:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-03-01 12:35 pm (UTC)