[A/N: After an unusually long hiatus due to losing literally everything I could use to write with (not to mention one of my friends decided she was going to be a bitch and cause a bunch of drama for no goddamn reason, and bullies, and overwhelming schoolwork that comes from switching schools, and from previously taking two honours classes AND Chinese, but none of you are here for my drama are you? Sorry), I'm finally back on this story because why the f**k not? Anyhow, let me know what you think? TRIGGER WARNINGS (these will be going up in ALL of my stories I publish starting on September 23rd, 2018) are for strong, possibly uncensored language; gore; blood; violence; ACTUAL TORTURE; and generally the Fernals.]
I know something's up when the door opens and a Fernal I haven't seen before comes inside. Usually, they use the same Fernal over and over again, a sense of consistence. Also, so I never know whether or not I'm getting food(which is every eleven days), water (every thirty-six hours), or getting beat up (which is every twelve hours or so because the Fernals need their beauty sleep and they're also trying to drive me insane. Too bad for them; I'm already insane). "Whaddup, bitch?" I ask, grinning at her. You can tell the difference between male and female Fernals by...well, you just can. Usually the females are bigger.
She doesn't seem impressed by me. "I think I'm the one whose in the position to ask questions." She replies, and I smirk at her.
"Fat chance. You kidnapped me and have tortured me for the past...what, two and a half years now?" I glance up at the barred skylight high above my head. What I guess is supposed to be the moon shines through it. I meet her gaze. "And I'm supposed to be all complacent and give you all the answers you want me to give you?"
She steps forwards, arching an eyebrow. "Are you going to, though?" She prompts, eyes widening a little bit. She's almost face-to-face with me. I bite my lip, as if thinking for a second, then spit a bunch of blood in her face. She jerks back as it lands on her muzzle.
"Never. So you better back off from my friends, or else I'm going to beat the shit out of you, you f**cking moron." I hiss, glaring at her venomously. "And I will destroy every single f**cking Fernal in the world if I have to."
Her eyes widen. "You wouldn't dare." She whispers, obviously scared. What the hell is up with that? I wonder, thinking about how I can use this to my advantage.
"Are you so sure about that?" I reply, pulling myself up a little. Sure, I'm dangling by wrists from two chains on each that stretch into the darkness on either side of my cell, but that doesn't mean I can't hold myself up. My injuries scream in pain, but I ignore it. Blood starts dripping down my back, my wrists, my arms, anywhere there's whip marks or anything like that. She steps away from me a little more, and the fact hits me.
She's scared of me.
I've never seen a Fernal react in this way with anyone else.
Something in my heart snaps. I'm not sure what, exactly, but something that's been swelling up ever since this started. I glance at the chains. Suddenly, they seem flimsy and weak. Not even close to something that can hold me, emaciated and dehydrated as I am. I glance back at her, grinning. Something else wells up in me, and she must see it. She steps back even more, fear rising in her eyes and the way she's standing.
"No.." She mouths, or maybe she says it. I don't know.
I don't care.
I take a deep breath, which rattles in my torn-up chest and lungs, and feel something begin to course through my veins.
Power. Unlike anything I've ever felt.
"You know, you never thought about what you were doing to the world, did you? You never thought how it might affect the people already there." I reply, wrapping my left hand around the chains there and yanking them from the wall.
She lets out a scream. "What the---what are you doing?" She screams, pressing herself up against the wall. "How are you doing that?!"
I pull the other chains from the wall and glare down at them. They fall away, useless to hold me back, and I can see something glowing beneath my skin. Holding my hand out, I see something forming. It looks like...a sword?
Aw, f**ck yeah. I grin at her and lunge, slashing the sword in a wide arc. She shrieks and falls back, and something spreads out from my back. Almost like...I glance over my shoulder. Wings in red and gold and orange feathers spread out from my back, and I grin at her. Rolling my shoulders, I flex the new limbs. Perfect. I muse, grinning wickedly at her.
"Now...why don't we have a little fun?" I ask. She stares up at me, the enormous gash in her chest bleeding out onto the floor.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I launch out of the compound, the bloodied blade in my hands. The wings spread out from my back to their full twenty-one foot wingspan, and I bank through the clouds to low over the city. Moonlight shines down on my back, and I barely recognize Los Angeles below me until I see something familiar. It's a symbol painted on the side of one of the only standing buildings. My heart swells with hope and I grin, my grip on the bloodied sword fading. I glance down to see it dissolve into light around me. I guess I'm not really human anymore, am I? I ask, a mixture of elation and concern flowing through me. It's been a year since I last saw anyone that I knew. What if they're...no. They can't be gone. They're too smart for that.
An explosion catches my attention behind me, and I turn to see enormous clouds of red and black smoke billowing into the air. Slamming on the brakes, I wheel around and soar towards...whatever's in that direction.
Soaring above the flames licking at the sky, I recognize some of the people below me. I take a deep breath and launch down. Amber and Dawn are at the front lines, and they look different but the same all at once. For one thing, Dawn's hair is dyed an ashy blonde colour which really works for her. Amber's hair is shaved on one side and cut into a chocolate brown bob on the other side, fashionable and functionable at once. "HEY!" I shout, catching everyone's attention. The Fernals stare up at me as I land on the battlefield, and Amber and Dawn and the other humans jump away from me with wide eyes. I spin to face the Fernals, drawing two energy swords. "You want a fight, you goddamn motherf**ckers?" I shout, grinning in a way I know looks insane. I probably look like a serial killer, spattered with my own human blood and the white Fernal blood. "You got one!" I scream, launching at the front two unhesitantly. I hear the humans run into battle next to me, and the Fernals are so shocked by my sudden appearance they take quite a few hits before one of the leaders roars at them to get back into fighting like competent individuals. I stab one in the side and he shrieks dreadfully. Spinning around, I slam the butt of the blade into his head before driving the blade straight into the spot between his jaw and neck. The vital artery there is severed immediately and I jump at the other one, leaving behind his dying corpse.
"Whoa!" Amber gasps as I literally fly around the battlefield, slashing at them crazily. I swoop over, dissolving one blade, and grab her arm. I drop her on top of one of the Fernals and hand her the other blade.
"Aim for the spot where their skulls meet their necks!" I advise, and she stabs the Fernal there savagely. It crumples beneath her, and I turn to face the last remaining Fernal. "Get the hell out of here, you bastard." I hiss, flaring my wings savagely. Blood's dripping off my wings and...well, my everywhere. I'm not sure if it's all mine or some other human's or even the Fernals'.
He turns and runs. "You aren't going to let him go, are you?" Dawn asks, walking up. I turn and smile at her.
"Well...someone's going to have to carry the news I'm back, aren't they?" I reply, grinning.
"Man, that was awesome!" Amber cheers, running up and wrapping her arms around my neck. I freeze up immediately, something telling me to run or attack, but I just manage to force it down like I always do. "You're back!" She pulls away from me, and I grin at her. "Are you..taller?" She glances me over, but not in a creepy way. More of shocked.
I glance down, and realise I really did. "Maybe it was hanging by my wrists from the ceiling for the past two and a half years." I muse, surprised. They stare at me, eyes widening like miniature moons, and I shrug. "No big deal, I guess?" I glance around, noticing how many new faces there are. "Are you still using the old weapons? I got some ideas for some new ones." I muse, glancing over their armour.
"Okay, sure...but what the heck happened while you were there?" Dawn asks, pacing around me to get a better look at my wings.
"I'm not sure...they sort of just...really pissed me off, I guess?" I laugh uncertainty, and they smile at me nervously. "I'm not sure...I feel like it has to do something with...something with what they've done to the world lately."
"'What they've done to the world lately'? What the frick does that mean?" Dawn prompts, arching an eyebrow and exchanging a nervous glance with Amber.
"They've been running experiments or something like that. It could even be the fact they're here, because whatever they are...none of that stuff was here four years ago." I reply, stretching my wings out again just a little. "I just...I just could feel it." I reply, and they glance at each other.
"I wonder if that could be the explanation behind what's happening to the rest of us..." Amber muses, and I glance at her.
"The rest of you? Hold on, how many of there are you in our group now?" I prompt, and they both take a deep breath. I notice the group around us glancing at each other when they see me there.
"Well...you're just going to want to come with us." Dawn replies, nodding over her shoulder.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Our base has changed by a lot. Mostly because it's overcrowded...literally everywhere. Timothy steps out to greet us, his hair shaved down to a crew cut. His eyes widen when he sees me. "Del..." He runs up and wraps his arms around me. "Oh my god! I thought I'd never see you again!" He says, and I hug him back after a moment. "You won't believe who we found a while ago!"
"Not the time, Timothy. Where's the planning area?" I demand, dropping back into my Delta persona. I have to hold this up now. I have to let her take over now.
These people need Leader-Delta right now, not Person-Delta.
He nods, understanding what I'm trying to do, and guides me over to a table. I glance around for something to sketch with, somehow just...knowing I have the power to do something. At least for now. "Here's a pencil." He hands me a mechanical pencil, and I immediately start to sketch. He and Amber peer over my shoulder and watch, transfixed, for hours as I keep at it. I move on to another paper, sketching out a map of what's left of Los Angeles, and mark every single Fernal compound I know of.
"Whoa..." Amber whispers, her breath right next to my ear. I stand up, slide the map to the side, and focus on the other paper. Narrowing my eyes, I well up all the power I have in me and touch the paper. My hands start to glow golden, and I walk over to the middle of the warehouse. It sounds crazy, but...I just know I can do this. Touching my hand to the floor, I feel it shifting underneath me, opening up to make way for...something underneath us. The ground rattles a little bit.
"Earthquake?" Dawn asks, running up. Leilani is next to her, obviously worried. Something is different about her too, but I can't tell what yet. I close my eyes to focus and know when Dawn sees what I'm doing. "Holy f**k."
"Language." Amber reminds her almost teasingly, but breathless.
I feel the floor actually open up around me, cracking as the concrete is reused below me to form the underground part of the warehouse. People start screaming and I can feel them where they are. "Everyone stay still! Let her focus!" Timothy orders, and everyone freezes. I move everyone, including myself, onto the high risers I formed.
"How is this happening?" Someone asks. I recognize Marc's voice.
"Her." Someone breathes. Their voice is familiar...but I can't place it.
I let out a scream, feeling the power overwhelming me because this is taking too long and I need to get it out now. The ground rocks threateningly below us, as if it's going to give way, and someone else screams. The little kids start to cry, but I keep my eyes shut and press myself against the floor even more. Come on, come on, come on!! I shout mentally, and suddenly it's done. And there's a bunch of metal and resources we need to do the next part of my plan on the bottom floor, and risers and firepoles between floors and so many different ways to get between them. And the Fernals can't get in, or they shouldn't be able to. I sit up and back on my heels, letting out a breath.
"What the--"
"Wow."
"How did she do that?"
People start murmuring around me and I open my eyes to see Timothy and everyone else grinning at me and at each other. I grin back and haul myself to my feet, looking down. Climbing over the riser, I spread my wings and drop down to the last floor. I hear Amber and Dawn whoop as they slide down the fire pole thing next to me. "That was insane, Delta!" Amber breathes, spinning around and staring at everything. Dawn is speechless, and she actually squeals as she takes everything in.
"Plenty of room now. And look," I take a breath and point at the lab off to our left, where are the mechanical supplies are. "Everything we need for Phase Two."
"Phase Two?" Dawn and Amber both look at me, and I nod.
"From the sound of it, I'm not the only person who's had something happen to them." I flex the wings. Leilani and Timothy both slide down to meet us, and I get a better look at Leilani. She is different--her hair is bright cobalt blue. But so are her eyebrows. "And I'm betting that includes you four?" I ask, tilting my head. Leilani nods and tucks some of her hair behind her ears, revealing they're now pointed. "Let me guess...the blue is natural now?"
She nods. "And I can control water."
I pause, thinking hard. The realisation hits me like a truck. "No way..." I whisper, closing my eyes and trying to remember something that had happened in the past.
The Fernal lashes his claws up my spine and I scream, feeling fire lace up my back as he does. "Be careful you don't kill this one. We need her alive." The supervisor cautions.
"Why? She's not useful. She's not out there, so she's not exactly meant to get affected by everything else." He groans, obviously annoyed. She shoots him a look.
"She might be able to give us some very useful information, you idiot." She replies, and I feel him drag one of his claws along my jawline. It cuts into the skin there, and I crack open his eyes. He punches me in the stomach, digging in his claws and twisting them around painfully.
"So what? I bet we could grab any of those stupid squishbags and squeeze the information out of them." As if to prove his statement, he wraps his nasty paw around my body and squeezes. Multiple bones shatter, and the breath is forced out of my chest. I feel one of my fractured ribs pressing into my lungs and let out a scream unwillingly.
"LET HER GO, DUMBASS. Do you WANT the higher-ups to KILL us?" She demands, growling at him.
I take a deep breath as he releases me. "What's the point in keeping her alive? She's practically useless except as a bargaining chip. Who says we can't just kill her and lie to you-know-who?"
"She's so much more than that." She growls, whacking him over the ear. "Do you know how powerful she really is? That's why we have to keep her in here. We've had this conversation a thousand times."
"I've heard she's powerful, but I haven't seen anything that proves it. How do you know how powerful she is, anyways?"
"Because she wouldn't be alive right now if she wasn't so powerful. And the higher-ups want her alive. After all, she can create the you-know-what?"
Tell me more. What is this 'you-know-what', and how could I possibly be connected to it? I think, opening my eyes just a little while faking unconsciousness. It was difficult at first, but then it got easier after the first eighteen months in this hellhole.
"Well, we conquered the whole world without needing the you-know-what. So what does it matter?" He asks, and she groans.
"Well, it means we can conquer the entire solar system. Not to mention being able to keep an eye on her is extremely important. If we can't do that, then we're all pretty much screwed." She explains, sounding about as done with his questions as I am. "She will change the world, and she won't do it for us, but we need to keep her from doing that as long as we can. She's not the Harbinger Delta for nothing, is she?"
"Delta?" I snap back to the present to see the others staring at me worriedly.
"I know why this is happening." I confess.
Amber nods. "We know. They caused it by coming here, sure..."
I glance down at my hands. "No..." I meet their gaze. "They captured me because I'm the Harbinger Delta."
"The Harbinger Delta?" Timothy prompts, obviously confused. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Watch your f**king language in front of the f**king elf, Timothy." I joke, and he stares at me with wide eyes before we all burst out laughing. It doesn't last long, but it's sweet all the same.
"So...what's going on?" Amber inquires when we all finally stop laughing and a comfortable silence falls across us. I wipe the grin off my face.
"This is because of me. I'm a Harbinger now. Which means she's an elf." I gesture to Leilani, whose eyes widen.
"What?" She glances at each of us, obviously more than a little frightened.
"Don't worry. If I've got this right--and I'm pretty sure I do--then that means we're going to win this war." I reply, my grin widening. "And the Fernals? They know it all to well."
"What...what do you mean?" Dawn finally asks, worry shining on her face.
"Well...I was supposed to build something for them. Only I escaped before they could make me build it, not that they could make me anyways." My grin widens even more. "And believe me when I say we're going to be able to give them hell soon." I pause and take a deep breath, then turn to Timothy. "I need to debrief the lieutenants. Have everyone report to the planning room immediately--sixth floor, on the left, room with the giant holoscreen." I spread my wings, about to take off.
"Wait, Delta!" He calls, and I stand up. I really have grown--I'm barely an inch shorter than he is. He smiles at me. "It's good to have you back." I smile back at him.
"It's good to be back."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
[A/N: That was amazing! Side note: mashup songs are so much fun to listen to when writing! This was a huge burst, and my hope is to keep writing this story and update relatively daily, but since I feel like it you should be getting two or three chapters by the end of today. On a side note, a lot of people are going to show up under alternate names. Try to figure them out :) Also, I try to use the British spellings for some words but I have the unfortunate tendency to mess up as I do! Anyways, not important... See y'all next chapter!]