Dottores Pov:
Pulling out the necklace from beneath my scarf, I studied the view intently. I saw a vague image of a grey corridor that looked like the ones we'd used to enter the arena. She was fine, on her way back. That was a relief. I guess she was just taking her time so she wouldn't need to sit here with me for so long.
"And for our next item... We have-"
BANG! BANG!
Every person in the room visibly jolted at the roaring sound that was unmistakably gun shots.
Y/N.
No one else in here would have been able to sneak in guns. What the heck was happening out there? I thought she was taking her time for other reasons, not because she was in the midst of a brawl with someone. Useless necklace.
The bidders were growing more panicked. Some glanced around warily, others stood up abruptly to leave and a handful unsheathed their weapons out of instinct.
"Uh... Ladies, gentleman we will be taking a short intervention to investigate-"
He didn't get to finish. Security guards around the edges of the arena were on the move and weapons had appeared in their hands. Sirens thundered and red engulfed the already dim room. The people around me were frantic, getting up from the seats and pushing past one another with panicked screams and impatient yells
What was going on? I needed to find Y/N immediately. We hadn't even had a chance to bid for the weapon, of course it ended up this way! If Y/N had been injured at all...
No. That wasn't important. If she was the cause of the gun shots then she was protecting herself. She wouldn't do something so out of the ordinary to attract attention, especially with the delicate situation of being disguised. If Y/N had indeed been protecting herself then the attackers must have been someone she couldn't leave alive. Who...
A light refraction. In the corner of my eye. The sound of a shot. My gaze flashed up to the ceiling suspiciously. Someone was up there, was that a... Sniper?
Within a split second, a muffled shot was fired directly in my direction. Dodging swiftly, I was out of my seat just as fast and slipped within the crowds weaving out of the venue. Amateur. It would take more than that to get me.
But wait... He was aiming for me? That meant that... Shit. We've been spotted. The alarm, the earlier gun shots, of course! It made complete sense. But that meant that the authorities had infiltrated the market. My eyes flicked up worriedly at the sniper who was slipping away out of the ceiling platform. The only thing that caught my eye was the green leaf symbol hovering over their ear.
The Akasha system. These people were from the Academy. Which means that the alarm roaring in my ears so irritably was sounded due to the authorities discovering the market. Y/N must have shot someone from the same squad to alert the security of the venue and have the alarm warn the residents. But more so... To warn me.
But, it didn't make sense. First off, how had they tracked us to here? Secondly, they had never shown any intent to kill me. All the wanted posters asked for me alive. Furthermore, would they really risk their lives to come down here into dangerous territory all to have me arrested?
I turned back to the seat I once sat in as my eyes caught on the sight of the shot that was fired at me. It wasn't a bullet... It was a tranquiliser dart! They still wanted me alive but if they were planning to knock me out here, that meant that there was more of them amidst the crowds. Shit.
I need to get out of here. But what about the Silverwing Staff? Ugh... That was our whole purpose of coming. The whole reason me and Y/N fought and split up was so that we could get that ridiculous stick and leave as fast as possible. Of course nothing went as planned!
When I get my hands on whoever put us into this situation in the first place, I am going to incinerate their eyeballs and feed them their own fingers. Never again am I going out in person for a mission. I would have sent a clone but I didn't trust one enough to really protect Y/N as well as I could.
What do I do? If she sounded the alarm and caught the attention of the security then she succeeded in letting me know that I was in danger. Naturally her next course of action would be to leave the area and try to meet me outside where we were out of direct danger. That's what sensible Y/N would have done but I knew her better than that. One look through the orb on my necklace confirmed my suspicions.
Instantly, I was pushing through the crowds and out of the door. The grey corridors now bathed in red light were hectic with people running back and forth. Strange doors had been opened and dark paths were available for people to leave through. In fact they were being encouraged to leave quickly without a fuss through them. Surely this was a little overboard, no?
It was almost as if, they were evacuating due to a bigger threat...
Y/N's POV earlier:
Two shots were fired. One bullet for each of the soldier's heads coming straight from the guns in my hand. The sound reverberated violently throughout corridors, surely heard by the bidders and every other hearing person within the arena.
It didn't take long for the security to come rushing down to trace the sound back to me and the two bleeding bodies on the floor. What else could I do? They ordered a hit against Dottore and for all I know he could be lying dead by now. I didn't make it in time before they confirmed the order but if these two were the heads of the operation then taking them out might throw the rest of the team off.
"You there! What is the meaning of this? Arrest her!"
A handful of security guards dressed in black, pooled into the corridor as they examined the body and approached me with handcuffs.
"Hear me out! These two are soldiers directly from the Academy. I heard them talking that they have a whole squad down here and they're planning to take out multiple bidders in the arena," I lied.
Twisting the truth a little wouldn't hurt. If they were told Dottore was down here, they'd likely hand him in themselves for the cash reward. I needed them to believe multiple people were in danger and that the market was compromised.
By now the security guards approaching me had slowed and turned to the large man from the entrance earlier.
"It's true sir, they are making use of the Akasha system and have the Academy's symbol on their sleeves. There are likely more of them," coaxed the man analysing the bodies.
The head man studied me before his eyes flitted down to the guns in my hand. His jaw worked with tension before he made his decision.
"Move the bodies. You three alert the guards around the venue and arrest anyone suspicious or dressed in the same way these two are," he said, nodding to the corpses beneath him.
I exhaled in relief that they believed me but it was short lived.
"You. We explicitly said no weapons. You're under arrest for violating the rules. Hold her in the passageway beside the storage room," he ordered. "I'll deal with you later."
Shit. This wasn't part of the plan. I'd basically just done half their job for them and now they were taking me away? Where did he say? The passageway near the storage room... If this storage room was where they held all the auction items, I might have just put myself in the perfect situation to grab the staff and escape. But why a passageway and not a cell? Perhaps they used these paths to smuggle in their products.
The sound of the gun shots must have already alerted most people in here and the security was probably leading people out. I had full faith in Dottore that he couldn't be taken down by simple snipers. He was a Harbinger. His experience was beyond anything of a normal person, surely he'd be ok. I just needed to achieve our main objective and meet him on the outside.
"Hamza? Sound the alarm," said the head guard grimly.
The remaining men around us, including the two holding my arms roughly and clasping metal handcuffs around my wrists, stiffened.
"But sir-"
"No. You know the rules. If the authorities learn of this place and intercept, we sound the alarm and evacuate."
They glanced at one another warily before the Hamza fellow sprinted off to sound this alarm. Why did they look so afraid? Evacuating the market couldn't be that anxiety inducing.
"Move lady," said the man on my right, sternly.
They shoved me forward just as the alarm bells blared and the white lights around us warped into red. The lights flashed and flickered harshly and soon the atmosphere was hectic.
As they dragged me through the long corridors, all sorts of people rushed past including spectators, bidders and security. Orders were shouted every so often and people were escorted out. As we descended further underground, I witnessed guards typing codes into number pads that opened up secret exits leading to dark pathways. Was that one of the passage ways?
The path was fairly straightforward as the drab, grey corridors were rigid in their paths. It was obvious when we neared the storage room. We passed by a big set of double doors that opened up to the arena's ring where the auctioneer stood. People were still filing out frantically however Dottore wasn't among them. Good. He must have gotten out. It was a relief to know that for once he hadn't been stubborn and stayed behind for me. This was how it was supposed to be.
The familiar icky feeling in my gut was back and my heart felt as if it were being crushed in someones palm. Please let everything work out. This bad feeling in my stomach wasn't going away and I often trusted my gut. Right now it was telling me something bad was going to happen.
"Hey! Keep moving, we need to hurry," shoved the guard against me.
I kept my eyes peeled for the storage room as we turned the corner and a black passage way was visible in front of us. Scanning my surroundings, I caught a small flash of light reflecting off a surface from a crack in a nearby door. Something shiny was behind that door... Could it be the storage room?
Only one way to find out I suppose. Summoning the guns back into my hand, I angled my cuffed hands till they pointed at the sides of each of the guards. Shooting them both simultaneously, the men contorted away from me with a groan whilst clutching the sides of their stomach.
"How did you... We took the guns away-" His voice failed him as he collapsed to the ground, the colour from his face slowly draining just like the blood from his wound.
I felt a little bad, they were only doing their job but there was no other option. I was so close to retrieving what we came for; after this was all over I'd be taking a nice long vacation. Who knew working as a Fatui Researcher would involve going out on missions in disguise and sneaking about?
I bit my lip anxiously as I pointed my gun to the chains holding my hands tight. Please don't miss...!
BANG!
The shock of the bullet and the recoil sent my cuffed hands apart and broke the chain. My wrists were red and bruising but it was unimportant. Stepping over the unconscious bodies beneath me, I pushed through the door I presumed was the storage room.
As I entered and confirmed I was in the right place, another door at the opposite side of the room flew open. My guns were up and loaded, ready to take down whoever had just entered. The person in the door was certainly not who I was expecting.
"Dottore?!" I gasped, dropping my guns from their position pointing at his head.
"Wha- Y/N?! What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing! You were supposed to leave-"
I was cut off when a voice sounded over the ridiculously loud alarm. It seemed to be coming from various speakers around the arena.
"Attention residents. Please evacuate the city immediately via the emergency exit passage ways located around major points in the market. The exits have been marked by black dendro symbols, we urge you to evacuate in an orderly fashion. The self destruct sequence has been initiated. 3 minutes from now, the market will be cleared along with any remaining civilians."
The words hardly registered to me. My eyes were wide, my heart pounding against my chest. It dawned on me why the security guards seemed so worried after the alarm was sounded. The place would be wiped out and everything left inside with it. My hands were shaking, our surroundings began to rumble as a countdown was being called over the loud speakers.
"Shit. We need to get the staff and go. That's why you're here right? Come on Y/N, we don't have time to be standing around! Let's look around, hurry," said Dottore who seemed oddly calm.
Of course he was calm, this was likely completely normal in his very eventful and dangerous life as a Harbinger. Me? I was freaking out. I could only nod, completely distracted before I spun around in my spot trying to locate the staff that hardly seemed worth the hassle anymore.
My shoulders were gripped roughly.
"Y/N. Get a grip. We have enough time to find the weapon and leave through the passage ways. Please try and remain calm," he said giving me a little shake.
"Right. Right, yes. I'm ok," I nodded.
I internally slapped myself for once again being a hindrance and slowing us down. We parted and searched the room tirelessly as the clock ticked and the voice overhead announced we have two minutes remaining. There were tons of items, all in various cases and boxes. It was a struggle to search through them at high speeds but this staff was unique in its appearance. It didn't take longer than a minute to locate it.
"Here! I found it!"
Dottore turned and joined my side, examining the staff before nodding the ok. I exhaled shakily as we turned to leave through the door and head to the passage way with the case holding the weapon in hand.
"We have him in our sights. His accomplice too, calling all units to the ground floor, storage room."
I froze. My line of sight was met with an academy soldier standing in the door way blocking our path and speaking into the Akasha communicator. More soldiers followed up behind him and swarmed into the room, encircling us. We were trapped with less than one minute left to spare before the entire place was blown up.
My entire body was tense with fear as my hand subconsciously latched onto Dottore's. He gripped my hand even harder. The sound of my speeding heartbeat echoed throughout my body giving me a headache and nausea. No wonder my gut was telling me something would go wrong. It was almost laughable how wrong this entire mission had gone.
Here we were back to back, surrounded by soldiers coming straight from the authorities who were ordered to infiltrate an illegal underground site used to perform unlawful activities with the objective of capturing Dottore, the biggest wanted criminal in the nation and now his accomplice too, which happened to be me. Not to mention the fact that we were essentially defenseless with no available exit as the countdown above us reminded us every second that we were about to be blown to smithereens along with this underground area.
All for what? A worn magic wand that we weren't even sure would work? I think it's about time I retire, don't you?
"You've got nowhere to go Il Dottore."
"Yes, I can see that dipshit," Dottore rolled his eyes. Even during such a life threatening situation, he still couldn't seem to read the room.
"You have two options. Surrender and we take you and your partner in with no hassle or we do this the hard way and tranq you. Make your decision," shouted the lead soldier over the ruckuss of the alarm and the countdown.
30 seconds to go...
I was sweating all over. We were about to die or be arrested. And even if we were arrested, we'd likely still die. What was this ridiculous situation? How could this possibly get any worse?
"Dottore... What the fuck are we supposed to do?" I whispered it frantically to him with my back still against his.
Dottore's body was stiff with tension but his breathing was steady. I watched him intently as he sighed, his shoulders sagging as he raised his arms above his head. He nudged me to do the same as I gaped at him for choosing the option I certainly hadn't anticipated him to choose.
"Take your blindfolds off slowly, both of you," ordered one soldier who pointed a spear at us threateningly.
We followed through with his demands. It was quite convenient that he'd asked us to do so as it allowed me to understand what the fuck Dottore was thinking right now.
I glanced up at him inconspicuously and saw the hint of a plan in his eyes. he appeared sure and confident in whatever was about to go down as the countdown ticked from 30 seconds. But a hint of anxiety and sadness shadowed his features. It worried me.
"Identities confirmed," said the soldier into the communicator. "Don't take another step. Bilal, get the girl first."
"I am so sorry, love. I didn't want to have to do it this way. I tried to do what you wanted and pretend I didn't care, but you were asking the impossible of me. Don't be too mad please. I love you," whispered Dottore.
I stared at him in confusion. The red lights whirring around us framed his face and reflected over the sharp curves of his features. His eyes were pained and distraught. He looked tired and spent, almost as if he was giving up and the sight of it was like venom acidifying my insides. Suddenly, all I saw was him and every memory we'd made flashed by subconsciously.
The time we danced at the ball and nearly kissed.
The time we went riding to my lab and the sense of freedom and serenity that paired the moment.
All those times he saved my life.
The day he looked after me when I had a fever.
The lunch breaks of chess and cards.
That time he watched me happily blurt out my ideas with a look of comfort and adoration on his face.
Why was this happening? What does this mean? Why am I seeing this all now? Stop looking at me like your never going to see me again Dottore. You're scaring me...
The next few moments happened impossibly fast, his words hadn't even processed. Dottore pulled a portal ring out of his sleeve and threw it behind us. The soldiers advanced with shouts and threatening spears but I couldn't begin to care about them after what Dottore had just said. Why had he said such a thing? Why did it sound like a final goodbye?
It sort of happened in slow motion. 15 seconds to go till the self destruction sequence was completed and I felt a hand shove me through the portal. The case holding the staff had ended up in my palm somehow, and upon coming out on the other side of the portal, the last thing I witnessed was a tranquiliser dart piercing Dottore's neck. His eyes were a flurry of pain and hurt upon looking at me for the last time. His eyelids shut heavily and he fell to the floor.
"NO!" I scrambled to jump back through, to reach out and shake him awake. I needed to hold him and beg him to tell me what was going on and why he'd said that. Why did he tell me he loved me? Why did he look so sad? Why?
The portal shut as my fingers grazed the edges. He disappeared. They all did. He was still down there, unconscious with a squad of over 15 soldiers who had come to arrest him in a building that would explode within the next 10 seconds.
I couldn't comprehend anything. It felt warm around me yet it was still dark. The case was clutched in my left hand but I was sitting on a soft grainy surface. Sand. The view of the upper city I once found so spectacular and enchanting twisted into an ugly, hateful place I could no longer bear. The food in my stomach sloshed around making me want to vomit and my vision blurred sickeningly.
5...4...3...2...1...
I heard it from here. It was too dark to see but the houses above the ground rocked and crumbled. Cracks and crevices crawled up the walls and over the roads. Then it was all engulfed in dust. The ground shook violently as an entire underground city was blown up in the soil. Screams and cries scattered around below me, people ran like little ants. I felt the vibrations in my bones and at the tip of my hairs. Everything seemed slow. I looked around me with a blank expression and an even blanker mind.
What just happened?
Why did he do that?
Why? Why? Why? Why?
What do I do now?
Where do I go?
The quiet that followed the explosion was haunting. I couldn't bring myself to feel an ounce of anything for the series of events that had just slapped me across the face were all too much to bare.
I was all alone.
Not a soul was around on this high sand dune where I was nestled snugly in the orange sand.
I was here, in the safety of the desert yet Dottore was...
What was he? Was he dead? Alive? Kidnapped? Just... Gone?
Loneliness possessed my soul and body. Every cell in my being froze over with an ice so prickly and cold, it could freeze the world over two times. My heart beat with a pulse, lacking a life. The mission was complete. But at what cost?
Suddenly my brain felt as if it had been rewired. It was no longer programmed to feel or care or think. It was over. I felt the processes inside me shut down and restart.
He can't be dead. He's not dead. There's no way. He's the fourth Fatui Harbinger. He's the mad doctor, the crazy genius scientist. He was... Mine. Dottore had just disappeared with my heart in his hand. And now it was gone with him. Come back to me.
Why would he do that to me? Why did you leave me? How could he? How dare he? Did he expect I would just accept this result? Did he think I would just let it go and forget him?
I felt it inside me. A small light inside of me that tickled a wire to my brain telling me "Go find him Y/N" and "He's out there somewhere".
Dottore is alive. And I will burn the world to ash and hell if thats what it takes to find him. Every person that gets in my way will meet a cruel end by my hands and that is a cold promise. Kill them all. From this day on, I will not allow a single person to stand against me. I'm coming to find you Dottore so until then, wait for me patiently.
A/N
:)