GRISHAVERSE X READERS

NOT A FAILURE [CROWS, MAL, ALINA]

"No, we wait," the man with a cane countered.

Mal scoffed. "For what? The bold move is to attack now."

"And the smart one is to wait."

Mal shrugged. "Well, I don't feel like being smart right now."

Then he turned, going for the stairs and you took a look at your three allies before going after him. You were soon followed by the Suli girl, who climbed to the top deck so fast and so silently that you barely caught a sight of her. Mal began to shoot at Kirigan the moment you got through the people obscuring the view, but was on the ground a moment after, leaving you alone and you hid behind the wall. The Zemeni man and the other guy emerged from the hatchet then, and Darkling tried to cut them in half as soon as the Zemeni started to shoot him, and then the Zemeni was knocked out and everything became dark.

You held your gun close to your chest again, trying to coax yourself, sneak out and try to fight. You knew Alina was in trouble and without anyone to help her, all would be lost. You sat there, hearing occasional shuffles and volcras screaming above you, trying to win your fear. You shuddered.

You are a failure, Yakov's voice laughed in your head. Good for nothing else than cowering in fear when others fight.

That man was built like a bull, with a long beard and shaved head, and he had belittled you from the start, used his power as a spare commander, made others laugh at you - everyone wondering why you were in an army when you didn't even have guts to shoot anyone. And it was true, it wasn't your place. You were good in deflecting hits and dodging, but fighting, with you being the aggressor - it had never been your thing. But if you hadn't signed up, you would have been separated from Alina and Mal, your best and only friends. For them, you would have done anything. At least you thought so.

You are not a failure, something inside you said, and you stood up. Show them.

Then, you walked out from the darkness and shot one of the heartrenders, the bullet going in from between his eyes, splattering blood on the Darkling. You smirked, and sprinted up the stairs, your heart pounding, your adrenaline running. You joined the Suli girl fighting a volcra, and you felt like something within you had awakened.

Then, suddenly, a burst of light emerged, all the volcras near you turning to dust, and you immediately looked down to see Alina standing there. Then suddenly Mal had tackled The Darkling off the ship and you hurried down, but were stopped halfway down by the Suli girl as one of the Heartrenders started to slow down Alina's heart. You aimed your gun at the heartrender again, and pressed the trigger.

Click. Click.

The bullets were out.

"Damn it!" you cursed, watching helplessly as Alina struggled, trying to look for a way to stop it. And then the saving grace blessed the ship, the Zemeni man had woken up and fought with the Heartrender, ultimately pushing him off the ship.

You ran to an unconscious Alina, trying to shake her awake as volcras flew closer and closer to you, and Mal soon joined you. Alina mumbled your names after a moment and you let out a breath, tipping backwards on your butt. "Saints."

Then, it was light again, and on next moment you were out of the Fold.

"The Darkling?" you asked Mal, and he looked back to the Fold.

"Gone. Volcras got him," he replied, stroking Alina's hair while you gripped her hand.

"The world's better without him," Alina mumbled weakly, sitting up with your and Mal's help.

You turned your eyes at the two men and the Suli girl, nodding in gratitude. "We couldn't have done it without you," you told them. "We don't even know each other, and you were willing to help. I just can't figure out why."

Alina blinked, looking at them and chuckled a little. "They tried to kidnap me some days ago."

Mal frowned, looking between Alina and the three strangers. "What?"

"No, we are not kidnapping you, not anymore," the Suli girl reassured, looking at her friends.

"Well, it would be rude to save you and then kidnap you, and... you being a Saint and all..." the Zemeni man agreed, and the other man with a cane clenched his jaw. "Oh, we haven't introduced ourselves, this grumpy man here is Kaz, yours truly is Jesper, and this lovely lady is Inej."

You just stared at them, not really knowing what to make of that bunch. But you agreed to walk with them so you would be able to put on a campfire, just to warm up. And there, Alina made a deal with Kaz, he got a jewel necklace and in return, he wouldn't tell where do you three go from there.

But you had a feeling that someway, somehow, you'd meet them again soon...