Tales From The Temp Folder

[WOH] (DD) Rescuing The Captain

(04/11/23)
This is the WIP I had in store. The whole situation was explained in "[WOH] (DD) Administrative Action" if you want to go see about that.

This is a scene after Grace and the squad have infiltrated the Lost City Of Night. This part of the story has been heavily influenced by Wings Of Charcoal's ideas on how to improve WOF DOD.

In short, Grace and her team have rondevued with Winter after a massive storm Qibli caused to try and disrupt the enemy gathering. They end up getting ambushed by shapeshifter Chamelion, and Qibli's brothers, only to be saved then betrayed by Cobra, to be locked in the same cell as Turtle. Of course, nobody checks the Scavenger's pockets since they're harmless, and so they manage to get Turtle his earring. The team escape, but McManis, while using the enchanted compass, realizes that Marvin is nearby. And so they plot a quick rescue mission. However, Marvin is definitely not okay, after being Goldman's prisoner.
Any "X" that is present represents a placeholder. This scene is still very much a WIP, and will be worked in the near future.

Filing our way down the coridors, Turtle in tow. I squeezed my wings in as tightly as I could, but they kept contacting the walls with piercing screeching. McManis and Travers were practically lowering themselves down the oversized steps, designed for dragons. It didn't help that everything was slippery from the recent rains.
"Damn you Qibli!" Travers cursed, when he slipped and accidentally landed face first into the stone.
"You alright?" McManis helped him up.
"Yeah, but I'm with Winter this time."
I just sighed, thankful that the stairs leveled off into a corridor again. It definitely looked like this place was new, and the 100 yard long hallway made me shiver. There was something off about it.
"What's the holdup?" Winter asked, with the rest of our team blocked behind me.
I carefully sidestepped, squeezing myself against the wall to allow Winter, Qibli, and Turtle through.
"This is a trapped coridor if I've ever seen one." Qibli remarked.
"Hmm." McManis nodded. "I'd assume Goldman would have his best guarding Marvin." He pointed at some paint on the wall.
M P
My heart flickered and I couldn't help myself from taking a shaky breath, tears of excitement started to well in my eyes. Marvin, my dad, my friend, was so close! He was right there!
"We just need to get to him." Qibli stepped forward, looking carefully at the floor tiles and walls.
"Alright Travers." McManis slinged his Bren Gun. "You up to be a Guinea Pig?"
Travers sighed exasperatedly. "Give me the trench coat."
Turtle gingerly fished out Marvin's jacket. "Here." Passing it to Travers.
Traver wrapped it around him, walking up to the middle of the room. "Alright." He hyped himself up.
"You got this Travers." McManis knelt down, prepared to go in after him it seemed like.
"Alright. AIRBORNE!"
Travers yelled as he charged through the coridor.
It lit up like a fucking Christmas Tree, as shots and explosives threw up lighting and dust. Only Travers' silhouette made it back to us. The explosions and fire propagated down the long corridor,
Suddenly, a loud, solo click was heard.
"I got it! It's safe now!"
All of us charged after Travers. I was the first to find him trying to lever against a heavy door.
"Here. Let me."
I grasped the handles, yanking them off by their supports.
"Oops."
"Thanks Grace." Qibli ran up, sticking his claws into the now exposed locking device. The heavy click of the lock signaled its opening. Both Travers and McManis smirked, I just rolled my eyes.
The door swung open, and inside, an emancipated man sat huddled in the corner. Just the sight of him made me shiver intensely.
"Marvin!" "Marvin!"
Travers and McManis fell down beside him, going over him.
"Are you okay?" "Oh, you're really fucked up." "Absolute bastard." "Can you stand?"
Marvin didn't even have the chance to respond before McManis and Travers had their arms under eight his shoulders, dragging him out of the cell.
All the breath left me when he managed the strength to look up at me, and whisper: "Grace." Then his head slumped.
"Shit!" "Oh fuck! Stay with me Cap!"
They hoisted him onto my back, holding him secure by hand.
"Get us up! Get us into the light!"
"The enchanted rock! Do you still have it?" Winter shouted.
Hobbling on three feet, I passed it back to Travers, everyone frantically working to try and heal Marvin.
The nervousness are at me, my breathing constricted and shaky. I couldn't hear his mind, and he was colder than when he was stranded in the Ice Kingdom. I could sense he was hanging on by a thread as it is. But Turtles rock was reinforcing that string with rope every adding second.
We emerged into the landing, still inside the castle. We could see much better than the scarce torches in the coridors. Travers and McManis were intensely focused on Marvin's health, as was I, but Qibli took charge.
"Okay. I'll go find Moon. You two should go wake up Anemone."
I nodded, looking back at the frail and badly beaten hero who lay on my back. Only now did I notice the tears fogging my vision. I blinked and wiped them away.
Marvin was pale, ghastly so, even with his tan skin as it is. But color and warmth gathered everywhere the rock passed over, and his hopeful but agonized groans took the place of deathly silence. McManis administered Morphine and Epinephrine.
"Come on! Wake up Marvin!" He forcefully shook his face.
We all held our breaths when we slowly opened his eyes. His pupils were dilated and conveyed a terrible pain. I was beginning to feel the dull, stinging pain in my chest and heart. Marvin was broken.
"Where's his items? Marvin's enchanted items?"
McManis dropped down. I knelt as he fished out his cross. Gently, he raised Marvin's head and slipped the cross around his neck.
It was like a wave of pain struck me. An intense migraine would have taken me to the ground if I hadn't been laying down already. Tears flooded my eyes as I groaned in the same agony Marvin did.
"Oh shit." McManis swore.
But his mind was even worse. It was covered in that all too familiar, sticky darkness, as well as fogged over from pain. His heart was utterly shattered and scattered to a degree I couldn't even fathom. It was like he had lost all hope, as he stared with dead eyes.
"I... failed you."
McManis growled. "Alright shut up with that failure shit." He angerly said as he finished bandaging Marvin's wounds. "Failing and doing your best in the situation are not mutually exclusive."
"I abandoned you." Marvin gasped.
X
"I got you hurt."
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"I failed you."
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