I stood next to Mariana as Claire and the Beetles got back onto their feet. Once back on his feet, Black Beetle only smirked and looked us straight in the eyes. "Wouldn't it be more fun if you had to fight your... friend?" Though his voice was scary, the distaste he felt for the word friend, didn't go unnoticed.
Not even a second later, Claire charged at Mariana, beginning their hand-to-hand combat.
It didn't take long for Mariana to get the upper hand and outmatch Claire. She hit her in the back of the neck causing Claire to fall on the floor, due to having been rendered unconscious.
As soon as she hit the ground, both Beetles decided to use their sonic cannons on us, throwing us both back.
My back hit the ground harshly and I struggled to turn onto my stomach. I wanted to get up, I needed to get up, but I couldn't...
My attention shifted to Mariana who was, by what I could see, unconscious. Her back was resting on a crate with a dent on it, presumably created from the force of her body slamming into it. Her head was down and her hair was messily out of its ponytail and falling on her face.
The sound of metal drew me out of my moment of skepticism and made me look forward. The Beetles were about to move toward us. 'No... no...'
"Ah, ah, ah! What part of cowardly don't you understand?" They stopped, looked around but didn't answer. "You won't be able to touch them. So there's no point in trying." They ignored her warning. "Well, guess I have no choice." Suddenly a zapping sound was heard followed by angry and pained grunts. "Leave."
Blue was the first one to give in. "Maybe we should listen."
I heard Black Beetle growl. "Alright, let's go." He turned away from me and Mariana, and towards Claire.
"Claire!" I wanted to run to her but my body felt heavy, incapacitating my movements.
"You meat bags truly are a handful." I helplessly watched as Black Beetle walked over to Claire and picked her up.
"No... Claire..."
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I felt my body sway lightly from side to side before resting against something soft and warm. With a bit of struggle, I got my eyes open and took in my surroundings. I was in a car, a big car.
Squinting my eyes I tried to adjust to the surrounding darkness, the only illumination that was given was the street lights that we'd pass from time to time. I looked at the driver's seat. Mariana. 'Never thought she'd drive so softly...'
My eyes began to grow heavy again and my body was begging to go back into slumber. 'Sleep sounds great... but I don't want to remember everything...' But, it seems, that even against my best wishes, my body and my brain want what they want. And, so I fell back into a peaceful slumber... for the meantime.
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Darkness. I was once again surrounded by darkness. Oh, goody. This is all I ever wanted. Please take note of the sarcasm. 'Where am I, this time?'
"Somewhere... and nowhere." A yelp ran past my lips as I swirled around. No one. You've got to be kidding me. The voice of a man rang around me as he laughed lightly. "Sorry, for scaring you." I looked around but continued not seeing anyone.
"Who are you? Where are you?"
"I cannot answer either question. Apologies."
"Why can't I see you?"
"It's not the right time." Subconsciously my eyes narrowed. I knew this voice. I distinctly remembered hearing it before.
"When will it be the right time?"
"Soon." Before I got the change to ask another question something surrounded by flames was seen in the distance, heading in my direction. 'Oh, crap.' Before it got close enough for me to repel it or for it to cause damage, the darkness around me began to grow brighter and brighter. Instinctively I shielded my eyes.
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The moment my eyes opened I was blinded by strong lighting. Again. A grunt escaped my lips as I shut my eyes again before reopening them and trying to adjust to the light. "Hey, kid... how you doing?"
My head turned to follow the voice. Once my eyes had completely adjusted I saw Mariana sitting next to me. "You look terrible."
"You don't look much better yourself, kid." I smiled. "So, how you feeling?"
"I'm feeling... ok." She sighed.
"Want anything?"
"Other than to get up and go pee? Not really." She stifled a laugh.
"Let me help you up." Getting up, to say the least, was somewhat painful. My body wasn't used to being thrown around like a sad pillow or to fighting for that matter. Everything felt heavy and strained.
Walking was easier though, so that's a plus. Didn't take me long to find out that Mariana had taken us to her house, luckily I knew my way around. I did my business and went back to the room she had let me and Sam rest in. No, the others were still not awake. They were too exhausted, and in pure honesty... so was I.
"Did as you needed?" I nodded. I moved towards the bed and sat down. "I'm sorry about what happened." My body stiffened. What happened... as in everything that took place tonight.
"I'm the one who should be sorry. I forced you to come with me... I made you fight your own sister... I... I... I'm sorry... it's all my fault..." it was true, everything was my fault and I felt terrible. I managed to get Tye to fight his best friend, get the others hurt, make Mariana fight Claire, and let Claire be taken by the Reach. I failed in every aspect possible. And to top it all off... my best friend was with the Reach.
"Hey, kid... it's not your fault." She placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's really not..."
"But if I hadn't-"
"Shut it." I stopped and slowly shut my mouth. "You're not the one who turned mi hermana against us, the Reach was. You didn't force me to go, I agreed to go. I took us there. I'm just sorry that... this happened to you..." I looked at her.
"But... but what about you?"
She let out a sore and dry laugh. "I've been through betrayal before, kid. It may have been a few years back, but it happened... and the person who did it, didn't even know they were doing it." I watched as her eyes started to gloss over and fill with tears. "Claire didn't do that on purpose, you know that."
I nodded. "Yeah..."
"Look, when I knocked her out... there was something in the back of her neck. It's called a control chip." I nodded. "And like the name in-tales, it controls people... if connected to them." She rubbed her hands on her eyes to wipe away the tears before they could spill.
"Mariana..."
She took my hands to silence me. "We're getting my sister back. Got it?" I nodded. "We'll get her back... we just have to try."
Letting go of my hands she moved to stand up. "Where are-"
"I'm going to make a phone call... I did it a few hours ago, but the idiot didn't answer." She walked to the door. "Get some rest, kid. God knows you need it." Opening the door she stepped out and started to close it but stopped. "And again, none of this is your fault." And with that, it was lights out and door closed.
I stared at the door for a few extra minutes before deciding to follow her advice and get some rest. I laid my head on the pillow and pulled the covers over me. I shut my eyes and fell asleep with only one thought in my head. 'I'm sorry...' The guilt wouldn't leave any time soon.
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"Wally? Why are you the one-" The female stopped and listened before answering. "Fine, then tell Mister Commando that he's got a mole on his team. How do I know? I'll explain better later, right now just tell him what I told you and for him to call me. Yeah... yeah... I miss you guys too... yeah... bye."
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The moment Blue Beetle stepped in front of the camera was the moment that I almost choked on my water.
"Is... is that who I think it is?"
Tye was the one to answer. "Looks like it." His voice was strained and pissed. He probably forced himself to answer.
"Uh... guys don't look now but..."