TW: Major character death
Everything Chaesol could think about was the way her ears were ringing. Her vision was blurry and her body hurt. When she realized what that loud noise meant, she reacted as quickly as she could. A thick vine grabbed each one of the other members of the group, pulling them closer to her as she built a sort of ball around them using the thicker vines she could manage to create. In the chaos of the moment, she knew she wasn't able to reach everyone and she also knew someone willingly escaped her vine.
She was trying to stand up and to understand what happened when she noticed Eir was desperately crawling to the side while Jiwoo was laying still on her back. Tears falling down her cheeks while her hand was clenched on her heart.
"D-did everyone... make it" Chaesol whispered, moving her head with a lot of effort to try and find the members she hadn't seen yet. She wasn't sure if Einar, Adira and the soul weaver made it.
Jiwoo was totally unable to reply because of the pain in her chest. She was overwhelmed by the huge amount of different emotions she was feeling. Her own pain, Yubin's confusion... She knew exactly what happened because as a leader she could feel it. But it was something too strong to face... she just couldn't. Not again.
"A-Adira" Eir whispered, crawling towards two bodies laid on the ground.
"D-don't... It's not safe" Einar warned her because now and then some metal debris fell down. At the same time half of his shirt had disintegrated and there was a huge burn mark on his side.
"S-Shut up!" Eir growled, having seen what happened. She tried her best not to let her rage take over as she thought about the way Adira dodged Chaesol's vine because Einar was in danger.
"Eir-... Watch out!" The man warned her again, seeing that a huge piece of metal was about to fall down on top of her. So to prevent that he reached for his spear and hurled it with a pained grunt, knocking the metal object off course.
Eir stopped for a second before she started crawling again. She didn't care about what was going to happen to her. She had to reach Adira.
"D-Don't move her" she said, locking eyes with Einar. The black haired woman was laid on top of him but she wasn't moving.
The Moonlight nodded his head, trying to focus on his breathing. That was a pretty hard task with the burn on his side.
"A-Adira?" He whispered, hoping that she would answer.
The black haired woman didn't reply, but she moved her hand just enough to be sure he would notice.
"W-why? I-... I was p-protecting you" the older vampire whispered. "You... n-needed to be safe"
"I d-did... what I f-felt-" Adira tried to say, feeling a lot of pain in her neck. She was experienced enough to understand what the situation was. She couldn't feel anything from her waist down and there was something hurting her neck. That meant she wasn't healing and that the smallest movement would kill her.
"You s-shouldn't have" Einar whispered, also understanding the situation they were in. His ex-wife was on top of him and she had given her life to save him.
"D-Don't l-leave your d-daughter again" Adira managed to say. "Be there... f-for her"
The man nodded, not able to form any words. They had only just reunited and another tragedy was tearing their family apart.
"E-Eir?" The black haired woman called, slowly moving her hand as if she was trying to reach for her.
"Don't move" the priestess told her, having gotten to her in the meantime. "W-we'll get you out of here"
Adira gave her a little smile as she locked eyes with her.
"You k-know you can't" she whispered, stating the obvious. "I n-need you to do... two last things f-for me"
The pink haired woman nodded her head, trying to ignore her own pain so she could be there for Adira.
"F-First one..." the younger woman said "K-Kiss me goodbye" she whispered. She sacrificed herself to save Einar, but that didn't change anything between her and Eir. She was still the one she would have wanted to be with.
The priestess really gently moved closer to Adira, knowing that a single mistake could mean the end. Once she was close enough, she softly pressed their lips together.
Adira closed her eyes, enjoying this moment and this feeling for one last time. When Eir pulled back she locked eyes with her, knowing this one last request would be the harder one for her.
"I n-need you to... be my Valkyrie, Eir" she whispered, knowing she was the only one mentally strong enough to do that. "D-Do your job... and take my life away"
"I-... I will" Eir whispered, knowing that it would only bring the younger vampire more pain if they tried to save her. "D-do you have anything left... to say to anyone?"
Adira locked eyes with Eir and stayed silent for a few seconds, trying to find the strength to talk. She knew Siyeon wasn't here but she could feel Jiwoo's pain and she knew she was close.
"J-Jiwoo" she whispered, wanting to see her face one last time.
"S-she's here" the pink haired woman whispered, knowing that Jiwoo was probably in too much pain to really reply.
"D-Don't forget... your promise" the black haired woman whispered, trying her best to look to the side to see where Jiwoo was. "Be strong f-for your sister"
The red and black haired woman couldn't bring herself to actually utter any words so she simply nodded her head a little bit. Her ears were ringing, everything hurt but her heart was aching the most.
Adira locked eyes with her, giving her a sweet but tired smile.
"I'm happy I c-choose you... as my daughter at t-the selections" she whispered, needing Jiwoo to know that. She knew that her death would probably be harder on her than on Siyeon. Jiwoo had no family but her and they were there for each other when Siyeon was too young to know the struggles they were going through.
"T-thanks..." Jiwoo tried again, tears still rolling down her cheeks. Coming into this battle they knew that it was possible not everyone would make it... but a slow death was the most painful one to work through.
As the two were talking, Eir crawled back towards Chaesol as silently as she could.
"Kid... come here" she whispered, noticing how weak the younger priestess was. She probably used a lot of energy to save all of them.
"Y-you should... help Adira first" Chaesol shook her head, not wanting to interrupt the family moment. She felt like it was her fault that she couldn't save everyone.
"I can't help her... I can't t-take her soul away to save her" Eir admitted, fighting back the tears.
"But-... why not?" The black haired woman asked, a little confused.
"Soul weavers can't take away the soul of the one they're in love with" Eir whispered, clenching her fist. It was the most cruel thing. She could save people, but she couldn't save the only one she really wanted to save.
"T-then ask the priestess we saved... Adira can't-..."
"She's not here... she's gone" the older priestess whispered, not able to feel the woman they saved anymore. "Now I need you to listen to me, Chaesol"
"W-what? Where is she?" the latter panicked, refusing to believe they couldn't do anything.
"Chae... you have to pay attention to me" Eir said, tearing up. She took her necklace shaped totem off of her neck and she quickly put it on Chaesol's neck instead.
The younger priestess was really confused. Eir always told her how strong totems were. Why was she giving hers away then?
"I never met Xena, but I know how strong a priestess with two totems can be" Eir said, taking Chaesol's hand and guiding it to the necklace. "It will try to resist you but you can control it, okay? You'll fight it and make it yours"
"But I don't understand..." Chaesol shook her head. She didn't know what having a second totem meant and she didn't know why Eir was giving this to her.
"Adira has been left behind her whole life... by her mate, by her daughter, by her pupil. She always stayed behind to save others and she always ended up being alone because of that" Eir said as tears fell down her cheeks. "She won't be alone now. Wherever she's going, we'll go together"
Chaesol's eyes widened, now understanding a little bit what this was about.
"W-what are you saying?"
"Just... focus on the totem, Chaesol" Eir shook her head. "When I'm gone, it will try to resist you, but you can make it yours. It's a powerful one... and I know you will be able to master it"
Chaesol wanted to ask so many more questions but the older woman made her back over to Adira. The black haired woman had suffered enough. She had fought her whole life and it was time for her to find peace.
"Einar, can you... get away from there without moving her?" the priestess asked, sitting down beside Adira and gently lifting her body while being careful not to move her neck or head.
The Moonlight nodded his head and used his arm strength to pull himself from under his ex wife. He knew that he didn't really have the right to interrupt the two.
As he crawled away, Eir gently pulled Adira's body on her lap, keeping her head in place.
"It's time to go, my beautiful warrior" she whispered as she pulled a necklace pendant out of her shirt. She bit the little stone looking pendant and she let it melt in her mouth.
"E-Eir?" Adira whispered with her last might, locking eyes with her. It showed worry, sadness and fear.
"Did you really think your Valkyrie would leave you behind?" Eir whispered, caressing Adira's cheek while looking deep in her eyes. "I'm coming with you... so neither of us will be alone anymore"
Adira wanted to ask why she didn't stay to help others but the strength was leaving her body at a fast pace now. The end was near and she needed to embrace it.
When Eir felt her own strength leave her, she lifted Adira's body and pulled her closer, taking her life by doing that. Thankfully enough she had not enough time to think about that as her eyes focused on the black haired woman's face one last time, before everything went black.
Soon enough the two women's lifeless bodies were on the floor as Eir was probably busy bringing their souls to Valhalla.
"M-may you find... your deserved peace" Einar whispered, slowly putting one of Adira's swords on her body.
As he did that, he felt a strong grip on his shoulder. He turned around realizing Jiwoo had stumbled to him and right when he was sure she was going to hit him, she gave another squeeze to his shoulder.
"She died for you... that can't be in vain" she whispered, making sure Adira's hand was wrapped around the weapon as she proceeded to do the same thing with Eir.
"Despite what you might believe... I always loved her" the older vampire whispered, tears rolling down his cheeks.
Jiwoo couldn't bring herself to reply because she knew that if she did, she would break down. The pain was too strong and she could barely keep herself in control. The woman she considered her mother died and she also lost one of her pack. All she wanted now was to find Yubin and to keep her safe... because she was everything she had left in her pack.
The room was dead silent for a minute. This was really not what they expected for their first mission. The soul weaver they came to rescue was probably dead and Adira and Eir died for it.
The minute long silence was ultimately broken when another piece of rubble tumbled down, reminding them they were still in a dangerous part of the base.
"T-Take Eir" Jiwoo whispered, reaching for Adira's body and slowly lifting her up. "We're not leaving them here"
Einar nodded his head and carefully picked up the pink haired woman. He had seen that Eir truly loved Adira, otherwise she wouldn't have killed herself to be with her.
"Chaesol" Jiwoo called, noticing the younger woman had her eyes closed and she was holding a necklace in her hand. "Chae we need to leave"
The tall girl was still staring at the necklace. How was she supposed to inherit a totem from Eir? She was way stronger than her and had an entirely different power. And when she thought about powers her mind immediately went to the soul weaver they rescued.
"Where is that woman? Did she die?" She asked, completely ignoring what Jiwoo told her.
"I don't know, Chaesol... and I honestly don't care" Jiwoo said, locking eyes with her. "I won't stay here a minute longer to look for her"
Hearing that Chaesol clenched her fist on Eir's totem. The priestess had been an idol for her.
"Have you forgotten why we came here? That old woman could be Xena's back up plan. Do you want them to have died in vain?"
"I can't hear a beating heart in here so if she's here, she's dead. If she's dead, she won't be a problem for us anymore" the red and black haired woman said, pulling Adira's body closer. "If she's not dead, I'll make sure she will be as soon as I find her. We don't have time to waste and we don't have one more single life to risk for her"
"Shush" Einar suddenly interrupted them. "There are people at the entrance"
"Chaesol, try to get in contact with Overwatch" Jiwoo instructed, needing to know if they were still able to talk to them.
As Chaesol tried to make contact four pairs of footsteps were heard heading towards their location. And the squad definitely wasn't in a state to battle right now.
Jiwoo and Einar readied themselves to fight as some familiar faces turned the corner. Nara and Solise walked in first, wanting to check the situation before the youngers followed them.
"What the hell happened here?" Solise asked, still limping a little with her hurt leg. "They blew the whole thing up"
"They did... many of theirs died as well" Einar replied, locking eyes with Solise before looking down at Eir's body in his arms.
The red haired vampire saw the body in his arms and immediately noticed that she was dead. Meaning that Adira who was being carried by Jiwoo was probably dead as well.
"Two casualties... Even more reason to kill these fuckers" she commented.
"They're not casualties! They're people who lost their lives for your cause" Jiwoo growled, locking eyes with her. "We should... we should retreat"
"This isn't my cause, this is our cause" Solise stated with a little huff. "We all benefit from the Nightshades being ended. Retreating now would mean we give them a chance to rebuild"
"We're the ones that need the chance to rebui-" Jiwoo was saying when Yubin and Gahyeon carefully walked inside. The white haired girl was making sure Yubin was okay because she didn't look stable at all. She had never experienced the death of someone in her pack but she could imagine it was a horrible experience.
"It hurts huh?" Einar asked as Yubin stared at the two bodies. He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. "It's okay to hurt, it's normal"
The blue haired girl nodded her head as she slowly stumbled towards Jiwoo. The leader of the pack gently handed Adira's body to Einar before wrapping her arms around Yubin, pulling her into a tight hug.
"It's... it's scary" Yubin whispered, relaxing only after she felt Jiwoo's touch.
"It is... but it will fade... somehow" the older vampire reassured her. "She died as a hero"
The younger woman nodded again, silently crying in Jiwoo's arms as Gahyeon walked to Einar who had gently put the two bodies back on the ground. She kneeled beside them and just looked at them. She couldn't believe they were gone... not like this, not so soon.
Solise and Nara had backed off a little bit since they realized that this family moment was needed. Chaesol was still lost in her thoughts and the others were all trying to give these events a place.
"D-do... do you need a hug?" Einar dared to ask Gahyeon. The younger vampire was Siyeon's blood sister so in a way they were family.
The white haired girl sniffled and dried her tears with her hand before walking to Einar and diving in his arms.
"You must... b-be hurting as well" she whispered, knowing he loved Adira. Because of their past no one was comforting him, but he probably needed it as well.
"I am... but that's not important right now" the Moonlight shook his head, rubbing Gahyeon's back. He had abandoned them once so he felt like he didn't have the right to deserve comfort now.
"It is... you're suffering" Gahyeon whispered, hugging him tightly. "Siyeon loves you... and I'm sure the others will learn to do that as well"
"There is a mission between now and that happening, kiddo... But thank you for your kind words. You're a good kid"
"What do we do now?" Yubin asked, not pulling away from Jiwoo as she turned towards Nara. "Maybe Jiwoo is right... we can't make it today"
"Did you take out that soul weaver?" Nara asked since that was the goal of their mission.
"We don't know where she is. If she's here, she's dead" Jiwoo said, looking at the ancient vampire. "If she's not, she's somewhere outside. The plan failed so if we find her, we kill her"
"What did Overwatch say? Does the other team know what happened already?"
"We can't contact them" Chaesol replied, shaking her head. "I tried but the comms are not working"
The ancient general hummed, thinking on what the best plan of action was.
"The other team should be getting ready to breach the front gate. I would say a couple of us go check on Overwatch and the others rally up front"
"I w-want to go check on Overwatch" Chaesol said. She needed to check if Handong was okay.
"Jiwoo, I suggest you go with her?" Nara asked, trying to organize this whole thing. That was her nature after all. "Anyone else?"
"Yubin is not leaving my side" the red and black haired woman said, pulling her second in command closer. She lost one of her pack today, she won't lose another one.
"Maybe the injured people should all go there as well?" Einar suggested. "We shouldn't risk anything"
"If you're talking about your warriors, I agree... if you talk about me, no way" Solise said, locking eyes with him. "I'll fight"
"Fighting with that leg will put your life at risk" the Moonlight insisted.
"I'm not leaving my wife's side and I'm not taking orders from a Moonlight" Solise scoffed. "I can fight with this injury"
"Let's move out people" Nara interrupted their little fight. There was no time for anything like this right now.
The others nodded as they slowly walked outside, bringing Adira and Eir's bodies with them.
"We can't carry them with us for the whole battle" Solise reasoned, looking at Jiwoo. "We'll leave them here, in a safe place... and we'll come back for them later"
"They'll come with us to Overwatch" Jiwoo stated rather harshly. There was no way she would leave Adira's side right now.
"If something happens, you need to be ready to fight, Jiwoo" Solise countered, shaking her head. "Adira wouldn't want you to risk your life to carry her body around"
"You don't know what she would've wanted! Don't you dare talk to me like that!"
"Jiwoo" Yubin whispered, locking eyes with her. "You know she's right... you can't fight while carrying her" she dared to say. "We'll come back for her..."
"Then I simply won't fight. There are enough people to fight" the black and red haired woman insisted. "She is not staying here"
"Jiwoo please" Yubin whispered, grabbing a handful of her shirt and not lowering her gaze. "I can't lose you... so I need you to be ready if something happens"
"Let her carry her out" Einar jumped in, knowing Jiwoo probably didn't want to hear his opinion. "She'll be fine"
The blue haired woman let out a little sigh but she nodded her head. She grabbed her daggers and tightened her grip around them as she, Jiwoo and Chaesol walked out of the base and headed towards where Overwatch was supposed to be.
"We'll join with the other team. Catch up as soon as you can" Nara told them, clenching her fist around her dagger.
When the others walked further into the forest, fear started creeping into them. What if something happened to Overwatch as well? Why weren't they able to reach them through the device even though they were out of the prisons now?
The mission had already started off in the worst way possible so if something had happened to them as well it would be a complete disaster. They had planned everything out, so any loss was hard.
They kept walking for a while, when Jiwoo started feeling the effects of the injuries she had. She slowed down a bit and gently laid Adira's body on the ground while Yubin did the same with Eir's. Since Jiwoo didn't want to leave them behind, the younger vampire had to carry the priestess.
"I just need a moment, we'll start walking again in a few minu-" Jiwoo was saying when she heard something. A heartbeat that she knew way too well. "Lena!" She called as she started walking towards the direction of the sound.
Chaesol looked in the direction that Jiwoo was looking at as a little smile appeared on her face. If Lena was there then that meant Handong was probably with her.
"Lena" Jiwoo called again as she finally saw her. She ran to her and pulled her into a tight hug, even though she knew that she wouldn't be able to hold back her pain in Lena's arms.
"You're okay" Lena whispered, sounding relieved. Ever since the explosion they haven't been able to contact anyone.
Jiwoo wasn't able to reply so she just cried in Lena's arms, pulling her even closer. The black haired girl pulled her closer, never having seen Jiwoo this vulnerable. That meant that something bad must've happened. But right now was not the time to ask questions like that.
"Jiwoo... are the others okay? Is Chae f-" Handong was asking, knowing it probably wasn't the right moment but she had to know. Before she could finish her sentence though, she saw Chaesol walking towards her with a little smile on her face.
"I'm here" the taller girl whispered, hugging Handong as well. "We made it out... most of us"
"M-Most of you? You and Jiwoo are here so..." Handong said, hugging her tightly and thinking about the group members. She looked at how desperate Jiwoo looked and she understood. "Adira?" She asked in a whisper, combing Chaesol's hair.
The latter nodded her head, not wanting to say it out loud. She still couldn't believe that both her and Eir were gone. So to show that Eir had given her life as well, she showed the totem to her girlfriend.
Handong looked at the totem and nodded her head, pulling Chaesol even closer. Lena had heard the conversation so she stroked Jiwoo's back, pecking her forehead.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered, knowing there was nothing she could say to help her feel better right now.
"You don't need to be sorry" Jiwoo shook her head, looking back at Yubin and telling her to join in the hug. "The people who kill-... they are responsible"
The blue haired woman walked to them and let herself be embraced by Lena.
"I found what I really don't like about a pack" she whispered, massaging her chest a bit. "It feels like you're dying as well"
"I know... but we'll get back at them. We'll avenge her" the black and red haired vampire almost growled. "We have to"
"We will, but this time Handong and I will fight as well" Lena said, knowing Jiwoo would disagree, but she didn't care.
"You're not fighting. You're human and you haven't had a hunter's training" the oldest vampire stated. "Don't be ridiculous"
"I've been in a gang long enough to learn how to defend myself and I can shoot" Lena countered.
"You haven't fought a vampire before" Jiwoo hissed, reacting a bit too strongly because her emotions were all over the place. "S-sorry..."
"Jiwoo... you have no idea of how it feels to watch a whole prison go to the ground, knowing that the woman you love is in it... and you can't do anything to save her" the younger woman whispered, cupping her cheek. "I want to fight by your side"-
"You are not, Lena. That's final. You weren't even supposed to come on this mission with me" the vampire explained. "You're staying with Handong while we search for the priestess"
"I agree with Jiwoo on this one, you two can't be on the battle field... you need to go back to the car while we find the pr-" Chaesol started saying when they heard a noise behind them.
"I'm here" the soul weaver they saved spoke, holding herself onto a tree, looking pretty fragile.
"You made it out?" Yubin asked, sounding pretty surprised. They hadn't seen the old woman anywhere.
"The b-black haired vampire... she pushed me towards the door when the place was going down" the woman whispered. "Did she... did she make it?"
Yubin shook her head as she looked towards the ground. She was happy the soul weaver was still alive though. That way they were sure Xena couldn't use her anymore to revive herself .
"I'm sorry about that" the woman whispered, walking closer. She looked at Chaesol and locked eyes with her. "During my torture, Xena talked about you"
"Do you really think we care right now?" Chaesol reacted in a pretty aggressive manner. Failing to protect two people was pretty hard on her.
"You should care" the priestess said, but her voice sounded different. As if it was just in her head. Chaesol looked around for a second, realizing neither of the others heard that. "You're part of Xena's plan"
"We'll listen to that later" Chaesol sighed, wanting to calm down for a bit with something where Xena wasn't brought up.
"I have no time for this and you are ready" the soul weaver said, locking eyes with Chaesol. "Guilt, fear, rage... only one thing is missing" she whispered in Chaesol's mind as her hand rested on Handong's back. "Pain" she added as Handong's eyes widened.
"What are you on about? I'm in enough pain alr-... Handong?" The taller girl asked, noticing the empty look on her girlfriend's face.
The red haired woman's body dropped on the ground as a white stone was left in the soul weaver's hand.
"You thought a strong priestess could help you win... but Xena wanted me to show you that a strong and unstable one will bring you to the downfall before your enemy does" she said, speaking to the whole group this time.
"Handong" Chaesol whispered this time, taking her cold body in her arms. "What... what did you do?! We saved you!"
"I didn't need saving. This was Xena's plan all along" the woman said as a loud sound was heard. Lena was able to shoot a silver bullet on the woman's arm, causing her to drop the stone. "You can keep it. You have no one able to put her soul back in anyway" the woman said, gritting her teeth and jumping on a branch before running away.
"That fucking b-" Jiwoo cursed under her breath. They played right into Xena's hand. This wasn't allowed to happen. Through thinking they were doing the right thing by saving the soul weaver, they had actually allowed an enemy on their side. "I'll get her... stay here"
"You're too weak to go now" Lena protested, tightening her grip around Jiwoo as Yubin walked to Chaesol, remembering the soul weaver's words.
"C-Chae... we have the stone. We'll bring her back" she tried to reassure her, gently making her lift her head with her hand.
"N-no... she's not gone. She can't be gone. I died in that explosion, this is not real" Chaesol whispered to herself, refusing to believe that she was holding her girlfriend in her arms on the ground when a minute ago they were hugging.
"Chae, look at me" Yubin whispered, cupping the priestess' face so that she would look at her. "She's not gone. She's here... we'll bring her back" she said, gently wrapping Chaesol's fingers around the white stone.
"Shut up" The black haired girl stated, not sounding happy. "Wake me up... or let me realize I died"
"You're alive... but you need to stay calm" the blue haired girl whispered as her hand traveled on Chaesol's arm until she found the totem. She gently wrapped her fingers around it and took it off her arm. If Xena's plan was to make Chaesol go against her, Yubin needed to make sure she wasn't strong enough to hurt them... or the priestess would have never forgiven herself for that.
"Stay with her" Jiwoo told Lena as she clenched her fist around nothing. She had just lost Adira and it hurt so she didn't want Chaesol to go through that same pain. "I don't care if I'm hurt, but I'm getting that priestess... she is my responsibility"
"The only thing you'll gain from that is to get yourself killed, Jiwoo" Lena said, locking eyes with her. "One touch and your soul will be out of your body as well and I'm not letting that happen"
"She can't run free either way or Xena will use her. Just take care of Chaesol" the red and black haired vampire insisted, jumping on a tree. "I'm going"
Lena clenched her fist as she looked up. She hated the fact that she couldn't do anything to stop Jiwoo because she had no way to counter her.
"I'll make sure... she brings you back" the priestess whispered, looking down at Handong's body. "I'll torture her until she does" she hissed, standing up and gently handing Handong's body to Lena.
Yubin looked down at Chaesol, seeing something in her eyes that she hadn't seen before. Of course she had seen her angry but this time it was different. The usually sweet girl's eyes were burning with hate. So after thinking that there mission couldn't start in a worse way, it got even worse.
She grabbed Chaesol's wrist, knowing she couldn't stop her.
"Give me Eir's totem as well" she asked, looking deep in her eyes. She had never tried to charm someone and Jiwoo said she wasn't strong enough yet, but she had to try. Chaesol was probably going to lose control and she couldn't have a totem on her while doing so.
The priestess reached into her pocket to give her Eir's totem but just before she handed it over she stood up, shaking her head.
"I'm going to get Handong back" she almost growled as she started running into the forest.
"Chae!" the blue haired woman called in vain. She turned around, realizing it was just her, Lena and three lifeless bodies. She was good, probably the best, with strategies, but quick thinking wasn't her thing. She decided she couldn't bring Adira and Eir along so she made sure they were covered by some bushes before she walked back to Lena. "I'll carry Handong... so you'll have to hold yourself on my back. Wrap your arms around my neck and your legs around my waist" she instructed.
"I-... I should've seen this coming" the older woman whispered, clearly still in shock by what just happened. "She got here without all of you which was suspicious and-..."
"We don't have time for regrets, Lena" Yubin said, grabbing her hand and pulling her closer. "We have to get to the others... I know Jiwoo doesn't want you in the fight but you'll be safer with us than alone in their forest"
"T-this is my fault..." Lena kept talking herself down. She and Handong were way too trusting of the soul weaver. They didn't even stop to think Xena could've planted her in that prison.
"It's not... neither of us saw this coming" Yubin whispered, locking eyes with Lena. "We'll get Handong back, I'm sure of it. But we need to get to the others, okay? Jiwoo was wounded and she'll need help... so I need to get there"
"I'll... I'll do what I can" Lena whispered, grabbing the gun out of her pocket again. "I need to make this right"
"Climb on my back" Yubin stated as she picked up Handong's body, holding her tightly.
Lena did what the vampire told her to do, climbing onto her back. They had already lost so many people through things they maybe could've avoided. It was safe to say the mission started horribly so they needed to turn it around. Rather sooner than later without any more casualties.
Thank you for reading, comments would be appreciated ♥