The Runaway {Hunter} (WATTYS 2022)

The Return

Cora stood in the hull of the ship. Everyone around her prepared for stepping off the ship, but she stood there, starting at the door ahead of her. She was scared. Once that door opened, her old life would come back, showing the group who she was, where she came from, everything. Her eyes flickered over the metal. It felt like it was consuming her, the fear of what this was.

"Are you ready?" Hunter asked behind him.

Cora blinked, letting out a shaky breath, she nodded. She kept her helmet off, knowing that it was better off if the people of Qwern saw her face, not another masked figure.

The door hissed open and the light from outside shone through as Cora stepped out. It was warm, the soft sounds of the water could be heard as the waves crashed on the rocks nearby. The air was sweet, but stuffy like in the ship. Her eyes scanned the green grass as the wind blew her worries away for just a moment.

"Wow." Omega gasped out as she stood next to Cora.

Qwern was beautiful. It's lush green fields and rocky terrain was breathtaking. The water was clear and just as blue as the sky. The city wasn't too far where they landed as it held a small group of people, who had been here for generations.

Cora saw a figure step forward. He was waiting. He walked closer and approached Cora and the group who stood behind her. "Princess." Cas said waving.

Cora let a smile go on her face as she stepped forward. "Cas." She greeted as she nodded.

"Sergeant." Cas nodded to Hunter who nodded back. His eyes scanned the rest of the group and offered a soft smile to Omega. "I'm glad you came back."

Cora gave a stiff smile. "This is the squad I've been traveling with." Cora stepped to the side and motioned to the group behind her. "That's Tech, Wrecker, Echo, Sergeant Hunter and—"

"Omega." Cas finished, smiling to the girl. Her eyes moved to Cora as she had never met the old man before, but he knew her name. "It's wonderful to meet you, to meet you all. I thank you all for coming."

"Why did you request our presence, Prophet?" Tech asked stepping forward.

"Please," Cas put his hand up, "call me Cas. I called you here because of Cora." Everyone turned to Cora as she folded her arms. "You see, the king is looking for the Cavern of Gods, and he's close to it. We have to get there before he does."

"What does this have to do with Cora?" Echo asked.

Cora turned to Cas, also wondering the same question. Cas sighed, "The dear Princess is a direct bloodline to the throne. The power in the Cavern of Gods is said to only be obtained by royalty. Cora needs to find it before her father."

"What if my father finds it first?" Cora asked.

Cas looked to her, worry in his eyes. "Nothing will stop him. You know that better then anyone. If he gets the power, he can turn Qwern into a slave camp again. He'll kill everyone on the planet and join the Empire."

"The Empire will have unlimited power?" Hunter asked.

Cas nodded. "What am I supposed to do with the power?" Cora asked.

"If you can contain it. We can cast it away for good."

Cora thought for a moment. "Why didn't you tell me about this years ago? Why couldn't I contain it three years ago?"

"Because it wasn't until the other prophets saw the vision of the Runaway again."

"The cyber crystal woke up the power?" Cora asked.

"You woke up the power." Cas nodded.

Cora took a breath and felt overwhelmed. Hunter looked to her as she rubbed her temple. "This doesn't seem safe." He said looking back towards Cas.

"The galaxy won't be safe if we let the king get the power first." Cas turned back to Cora. "Princess, you know what you must do."

The Senator, now known as Princess, looked up through her eyes lashes. She couldn't abandoned her people for a second time. She had to do this, she needed to. Cora nodded and took a breath of the air around her.

"Where did you find the cavern?" Cora saw the expression change on Cas' face.

"Where Cora Tane was first born." Cas stated.

The Bad Batch looked to each other and gave a confused look. Cora felt her chest tighten, her eyes flickered to the group. "The old clone camp." She mumbled.

Cas nodded and motioned the group to follow him as they walked the grassy field. It was the same one Cora used to run. It was like her old life came rushing back to her. This field was close to the camp, the same one she ran down while she first left to join the war.

Cora felt herself leading the group, she stopped for a moment and let Hunter walk next to her. They all had their helmets off, enjoying the warmth from the sun. "Shouldn't you lead your squad?" She joked.

"This is your home." Hunter turned to her, "You should lead us."

Cora smiled and shook her head. "Thank you, for agreeing to come here with me."

"Of course." Hunter nodded. "We're family, we stick together."

The group had walked for a while before they arrived at the rocky shores of where the hidden camp was. Cora helped Omega climb down the sharp rocks so she wouldn't hurt herself.

"This place is beautiful." Wrecker gasped as they stood in the entrance way.

"It really isn't." Cora said. Her voice was low, her face sad. "My father had thousands of clones murdered here." She shook her head and looked around.

The sound of water dripping could be heard as Cas moved further into the cave. They passed holding cells that were worn and old. Once they were deep into the cave, a pile of armour was thrown into a pile. The different colours and symbols the clones placed on their shiny white armour showed who owned them.

"The king killed all the clones once the war ended." Cas said as Cora stood before the pile of memories. "No one was left alive."

Cora swallowed and turned away from the pile. She couldn't look at it anymore. The Bad Batch followed as Hunter held Omega's hand. The girl had never seen anything like this, and it may have been a bad idea to let her come here. But they moved on.

Cas led them down further, the cell blocks disappeared and turned into the maze of caves below. Their lights lit the cave as it was cold, the sounds of the ocean could be heard within. Water dripped from the sides as little creatures ran away from the people walking closer. After walking for what felt like hours, Cas and Cora entered into a hallowed out room.

Fire was lit as torches gave an orange hue. The flicker of the fire gave the view of the drawings on the wall. It was telling a story. Cas moved to the side as Cora stepped closer, her eyes reading the text on the rock walls. It was her native language, Wren. Tech pulled his visor down and tried to translate it.

"It appears this language isn't in any database." He said turning to his leader.

"Qwern has been hidden for thousands of years, it would make sense that you don't know of Wren." Cas told them.

Cora brushed her hand on the wall, reading as her eyes landed on the biggest drawing on the wall. It was faded, hard to make out, but she looked to it with great interest. It was a woman, her hair blonde, eyes white, her dress long and flowing as her hands held a staff.

"Is this the story of how the civil war started?" Cora questioned.

Cas nodded. His eyes lingered on the figure on the wall. His eyes held secrets as they always did, but Cora felt there was more to this then what he was telling.