Before you read, the cookie tax (stones) has returned! You need to pay the tax before you can read :3 Don't forget to read the Author notes to see important information about the chapter!
E/d note: Special thanks to Luke Sullivan holder "Shadowsages", who appears in this series as Shadow! Keep a lookout for his minor part in this arc!
'Inner dialogue/thoughts'
"Normal dialogue"
[System]
[Diary entries]
(Word count: 2,181)
~ With Luke, in his mindscape ~
'Where am I?' Luke had found himself in an unfamiliar place. All around him, Luke could only see a never-ending white space that spread as far as his eyes could see, with nothing else in sight. No buildings, no people, no sky, nothing but pure white.
'What happened? How did I get here, whatever here is?' Luke thought to himself as he wondered around the place.
"You failed. . ." Suddenly, a whisper echoed throughout the place, startling him.
"WHO GOES THERE?!" Luke shouted. He began to feel a rise of panic building within him. 'Unknown place, endless white void, and whisper. Totally not the start of a psychological-horror cliché.'
"You, failed her. . ." The whisper echoed once again. This time, Luke remained silent as he began looking around for the entity that was whispering. By pure chance, he noticed a shadowy figure standing not too far behind him. 'Okay, maybe this is a psychological-horror cliché. But that's my only clue as to whatever this place is.'
Gathering his courage, Luke slowly made his way over to the shadow. The closer he got, the more his eyes widened.
"It's you. . ." Luke whispered, disbelief in his tone.
~ With Natasha, in the LAX Jewellery store ~
Luke had been rampaging through the streets of Los Angeles for over 5 minutes. Water swirled around him, forming a giant sphere of water with Luke located at the heart. He moved with the grace and power of a storm, his every actions forming tendrils and waves that he wielded deadly.
The force of the water smashed through the creatures, vehicles, and walls alike, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. With each step, the ground seemed to quake, a testament to the burning rage within Luke. Friend or foe, it made no difference in his current state. Soldiers and police officers scrambled to get out of his way.
Despite the chaos, the collateral damage and friendly casualties were kept to a minimum thanks to Natasha's quick thinking. "All units, stay off the main streets! I repeat, stay off the main streets! We have a friendly with unknown capabilities going berserk, avoid the area at all costs!" Natasha informed on the comms, the urgency in her voice made it clear that compliance was non-negotiable.
Natasha had quickly pieced together the situation. She had listened in on the Military comms, learning about Crystal, Pietro and Wanda's predicament. Realizing that their danger and a sudden water creature began rampaging across the streets were connected, she immediately issued the warning to all units in the battle zone just a moment after Luke had gone berserk.
After clearing up most of the horde currently present along the streets at the Jewellery store, Natasha then turned to speak to the STRIKE team captain, "Captain, set up defensive positions inside the store. Do not, I repeat, do not engage on the streets. Hold your position and prepare for a possible incursion." To which she got a nod of affirmation.
With the jewellery store secured, Natasha turned her focus to finding Crystal, Pietro and Wanda. Leaving the store, she moved swiftly through the debris-strewn streets, her heart pounding with determination. The sounds of Luke's rampage echoed around her, a constant reminder of the precarious situation that Wanda was in.
~ A few minutes later ~
Natasha had been tirelessly moving through the chaotic battle zone, providing aid to friendlies and taking down the horde of creatures. With every unit she passed, every area she cleared, the more her anxiety and worry increased, not finding any clues that could lead her to where her friends were.
After a few more battles, Natasha had finally reached the crash site where she believed Crystal, Wanda and Pietro might have been and called for one of the nearby STRIKE units to get to her location. As she approached, the sight of the devastation made her heart pound harder in her chest. Debris and rubble were scattered everywhere, the results of the desperate battle that had taken place.
Natasha's eyes caught sight of a lone creature standing by the rubble, seemingly waiting. Without hesitation, she raised her weapon and took it down with a single, well-placed shot. The Messenger crumpled to the ground, but Natasha's focus was already shifting to the debris.
However, the closer she got, the more she noticed something strange about the rubble. It looked unnatural, almost as if something was holding them up. Natasha's heartbeat quickened when she remembered a specific particularity about Wanda and Pietro, they both had powers in Luke's world.
Natasha began removing the broken pieces of concrete and metal. As she cleared away the debris, a faint red glow caught her eye. "What is this?" She muttered, her curiosity piqued.
Suddenly, as if responding to her presence, the rubble shifted and moved out of the way on its own, revealing the figures of Wanda, Pietro, and Crystal. They were alive, protected by a glowing red sphere that encased them. Natasha's eyes widened in amazement and relief.
'Wanda. . . was this your doing?' Natasha thought to herself in a mix of awe and confusion.
Natasha remained hidden, not wanting to reveal her identity to the trio just yet. From her location, she observed that Wanda laid unconscious on the ground, her hands still faintly glowing with the same red energy that formed the barrier. Meanwhile with both their eyes shut in anticipation of the falling debris, Pietro was using his body to shield Crystal, who was visibly shaken but unharmed.
'It seems that she's awakened her powers from this ordeal. Since the powers is still active, she should still be alive, albeit unconscious.' Natasha concluded. Questions were starting to form in her head, however she needed to prioritise their safety first.
Just then, the STRIKE unit arrived at the scene after receiving Natasha's orders earlier. "Captain, take those civilians to the forward camp nearby, and make sure they get there safe. Priority mission, understood? Also, when you get to them, report to me on their status." Natasha ordered before taking her leave to find Luke.
The STRIKE captain acknowledged her orders, "Civilians in the area!" The STRIKE Captain shouted as he approached the trio, who were still unaware that they were alive and fine. Hearing footsteps approaching and a voice calling out, Pietro was the first to react.
~ With Pietro ~
Looking up, Pietro took a glance at his surroundings before sighing with a mix of relief, exhaustion and disbelief in still being alive. Pietro noticed that the soldiers who were protecting them laid dead, underneath a pile of rubble nearby.
'What happened here? How did we survive?' Pietro wondered as he also noticed that none of the debris had fallen onto him, Wanda or Crystal. 'Wait, WANDA?! WHERE IS SHE?'
~ At the same time, with Crystal ~
While Pietro was going through a turmoil of emotions, Crystal laid underneath him as she stared into Pietro's face. She had slowly opened her eyes when she heard the calls of the STRIKE captain. Opening her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the towering figure of Pietro, who sheltered her from the falling debris.
As she looked at Pietro, she saw that he looked around frantically in search of something or someone. Suddenly, Pietro exclaimed and tried to stand from his position, "HEY! GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER!"
However, as he tried to stand up, he was forcefully sat back down beside Crystal by one of the STRIKE members, "Relax kid, we're the good guys. If we wanted to, then you would've already been dead."
"Again, your humour is not appreciated in situations like this, Shadow. Not after the things they've been through. Your sister's alive, just unconscious. All the shock from this situation must've caught up to her." Another STRIKE member voiced out as he walked past the group to check on the corpses of the other soldiers and ensure that the creatures that they could see were truly dead.
The same member, now revealed as Shadow, responded in a serious tone as he winked at Pietro, "Oh it's not humour, I was for real. Also, if you want to remain alive, I suggest you don't shout like that, else you attract more of those things to our location."
Seeing that Pietro remained cautious and guarded around him, Shadow smirked, "Besides, I like this boy. Remember kid, family's an important thing. Good on you to try and protect your sister over there, but if you don't got the strength, then it don't matter. You got that?"
Pietro remained silent, his thoughts kept to himself, although his facial expression betrayed the shame he had in himself for not being strong enough to protect his sister.
"Alright, I was just messing around, kid. No need to go all doom and gloomy. You survived, didn't you? Now let's get you out of this hellhole." Shadow said, having had enough with teasing Pietro. He then walked towards his captain to report on the status of Pietro and Crystal.
As all this was happening, Crystal remained laid down on the floor, 'He. . . protected me.' Crystal thought in a daze. With her emotions finally catching up to her, she began to sob.
Hearing Crystal beginning to cry, Pietro remembered that there was another girl that needed to be checked on, "Hey, what's wrong? Crystal why are you crying?" Pietro started softly, as he moved closer to check on Crystal, "You're not hurt anywhere, are you? HEY, I NEED A MED-"
"I'm sorry. . ." Pietro's shout for help was cut off by Crystal's trembling voice. "I'm sorry, this is all my fault. If I hadn't gone out the café and stayed put like Luke said, then we wouldn't be here. I'm so useless. . ."
Hearing Crystal insulting herself, Pietro couldn't hold back as he sat Crystal up and then pulled her into an embrace, allowing her to cry out her frustration and emotions, "Hey, it's okay. It's okay. We don't blame you, Crystal." Pietro soothed.
As Crystal did not seem like she was calming down any time soon, Pietro then pulled her away a little before looking straight into her eyes, "Listen, Crystal. We don't blame you, okay? We're all alive. Me, you, Wanda." Pietro said.
However, this only made Crystal cry a little harder as she spoke, "But those other people. . . At the street and earlier." At her words, Pietro could only pull Crystal back into a hug as he tried to think of how to lessen Crystal's burden and guilt.
Petting the back of Crystal's back, Pietro began, "Crystal, those soldiers, every decision they've made was to ensure that we made it out alive. Do not blame yourself for their sacrifice. Instead, honour their memory. Live, and don't make the same mistakes again. That's the only thing we can do for them now."
As Crystal sobbed into Pietro, his own emotions were beginning to break. 'Have we made the right decision rushing out like that? Wanda's unconscious, and Crystal's feeling an overwhelming sense of self-guilt. But if we hadn't, then Crystal would've. . .' Refusing to complete his train of thoughts, Pietro chose to be a silent support for Crystal at the moment.
A couple of moments later, Crystal had fallen asleep due to the exhaustion catching up to her. As the unit only had one foldable stretcher, which Wanda was the occupant of, a soldier had wanted to carry Crystal. However, he was stopped by Pietro, who decided that he would carry Crystal himself. As the group started making their way to their next destination, silently hoped to himself.
'We'll make it through this. We always do, don't we, Wanda?' Pietro thought as he looked towards an unconscious Wanda.
- End of Chapter 62 -
No preview this time, instead you will be left with questions. Who did Luke see in his mind? Will Natasha make it in time to Luke? Will Crystal remain our lovable Puppy of the Peach Blossom Cafe, or will this event change her whole life upside down? Find out next time on Dragonba-
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