All six of them were scattered about for the most part, appart from Solar and Crescent, who were holding hands. Raiden was taking measurements so that she could make each of the protection suits, and Ash was scanning them all to locate their chips. The theory was correct so far. Dusk and Solar had one under their birthmark. Honestly, Ash was more intrigued by the birthmarks than the chips.
"Hm.. They're definatly birthmarks... they look more like tattoos." He muttered, inspecting the saturn shaped mark on Dusk's ankle. Crescent had a moon at the back of her neck, Riven had Jupiter on his wrist, Solar had a sun on her chest, just below her collar bone, though she had no chip to worry about.
"Come to think of it, they kept referring to us as 'The marked ones' when we were-" Riven began, before an abrupt interruption from Crescent.
"Don't speak about that place." She spat, her voice clipped. There was a shake in her body language. Riven looked around, not moving his head but searching with his eyes. Solar and Dusk had a similar look to them. Uncomfortable. The kids looked confused.
"What place?" Ash asked, Raiden watching curiously. The other four just looked at them uncomfortably before looking at one another as if having a silent conversation. After a breath, Dusk spoke.
"It's where we were trained to use our powers." He said, not explaining any further.
"You guys were there, too? What… Uh… What number were you? All I know is that there were 10 of us." Solar asked. The rest looked shocked to find out she was there too. In the Training facility, they were all segregated. They could hear that there were other kids there, but they never met them. All they heard were their screams.
Honestly, if they didn't have that one company ice breaker bs, none of them would know that they were all trained in the same facility.
"They called me Number Nine," Crescent responded, looking to the rest.
"Number 4" Dusk followed, looking to Riven.
"Number 8. What about you?" He said after a bit, looking to Solar.
"I was number 3." She said. Ash and Raiden looked to each other, trying to decipher which questions are safe to ask. From the information they have, it's not hard to tell that it's a sensitive topic to them. Breaking the silence, Raiden spoke.
"If it's tied to the marks and there are supposedly 10 of you, wouldn't that mean the other kids there would also have space-themed marks? Is there anyone that comes to mind?" She asks, opting to avoid questioning their experience there. The curiosity was there, and it kinda killed her, but it wasn't the time. She cold see they weren't ready to discuss it yet.
"The blind one had mercury between her eyes. Before Victor sent you guys, he sent these triplets." Solar mentioned, earning shocked looks from the other three.
"He sent the Tomsons after you?" Dusk chimed, Solar shrugged.
"I never really got their names. There were two boys and one girl... And the girl had a white ribbon over her eyes. She was closest to getting me, I only saw the mark because I pulled the ribbon off while fighting her," She continued.
"Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, The Moon and The Sun… that means, if our theory is right, the rest of the people who trained in that facility might also have a celestial mark," Raiden spoke, avoiding asking more about the training itself, even if curiosity kills her.
"Let's move on… After scanning you all, I can safely say the chips should be pretty easy to extract. If anything, the hardest part about it will be the pain." Ash spoke up, ending any discussion of that place for the time being. The four looked grim. Surgery in a place that doesn't have anaesthesia yet isn't fun, but it's a must for the sake of the mission.
Ashton started off with those with lower risk placements and worked his way up. So Dusk went first, then Riven, then Solar, and finally Crescent. While the extraction happened, the other three were led into a separate room. Ash would give them a cloth to bite down on while it happened.
Dusk's one was easy; it was on his ankle. It felt quiet from the other room. A sharp breath here, a whimper there, but nothing too bad. When he came back, he had a slight limp and looked slightly uncomfortable at most.
Riven was up next, his wrist. It was a fair step up, but still not too bad. The tracker was between two veins, so Ashton had to be a lot more careful when creating the cut for the extraction. It didn't hep that Riven was squeemish. All in all, 100% of the extractions had gone well so far.
Finally, it was Crescent. It was uncomfortably hot since Solar couldn't be in the room with her during the extraction. The mark was behind her neck, an area Ash avoided working on given all the wrisks. It felt like they were in there for hours while the other three waited. at some point, Solar flinched, her blanket falling from her shoulders. She wasn't cold anymore. well.. she still felt a little cold, but nowhere near as cold as usual. 2 minutes later, Ashton came out… alone. Shaking. His fists clenched as he kept his head down, his tears pattering against the concreat floor.
The sight made them all pause but Dusk was the first to react outwardly.
"Where is she? What the hell did you-" He couldn't finish his sentence as Ashon dropped to his knees, sobbing. Looking his age for the fist time in a while.
"I-... I'm sorry. I'm sorry- I accidently hit a nerve while pulling the chip out a-and she just-... she dropped uncontious and her pulse is really light and I'm sorry!" He cried, trying hard to speak in a way that is eligable while choking on his own tears.
They all fell silent. The room felt suffocating as the watched their 16 year old "doctor" sob onto the floor with the realizition that he bit off more than he can chew and endangered a person he actually gave a damn about. Riven took a step forward. Then another, then more, eating the distance between him and Ash until he was towering over the boy. He lifted him off the ground by the elbo and paused, then–
Smack
The sound was loud. It echoed through the building along with the thud of Ashon hitting the ground. Riven punched him in the face, a large red mark that's sure to bruise blooming on Ashton's cheek.
Solars eyes widen as she rushes to them, placing herself between then with her hands up, ready to defend against Riven if needed.
"Hey! Calm down, hitting him won't do anything.. Dusk, do you know cpr?" She turns to Dusk, who was still frozen with the revelation of Crescent being unconscious. When Solar yells his name again he flinches and wipes his eyes.
"H-huh- um… yeah.. Yeah I know cpr…" He said, loud enough for everyone to hear but no wear near his usual volume.
"Okay.. great. He said her heartbeat is faint but it's still there, go give her cpr!" He nodded. She then turned back to riven." Find a dimention where you can enter a mirror directly to a hospital and see if you can get an IV drip, a medical book and som fluids." Riven paused, before making his way to the mirrow, scowl still plastered on his face.
Riven doesn't scroll for long before getting the mirror he needed. He knew where to go for things like that. The busy, understaffed public hospitals that wouldn't notice. The mirror on the other side wasn't the cleanest but Riven entered without an ounce of hesitation. He tried to be inconspicuous. As inconspicuous as he can be at 6'5. He told anyone that asked that he was a new doctor and it was his first day, weaving through the crowded hall. He finds a storage room with blood bags, fluids, IV's. No Medical book but the essentials are there. He slipped the stuff away, Heading back to the mirror he entered from in record time.
While that happened, Solar stayed with Ash. She crouched down to his level and looked at him seriously.
"You need to pull it together." She said, her tone not unkind but blunt.
"You made a mistake. It happened. It won't un-happen, but you'll have what you'll need to fix it soon so get up, pull yourself together and work with us. Okay kid?" She continues, helping he up. The tears don't stop immediately, but they settle just enough.
"Do you know how to insert an IV?" Solar asked, keeping her voice as steady as she could. Everyone else here have known Crescent for much longer than she has.Crescent feels like a long-lost sister, sure, but they've known each other for like 2 days. Everyone, from what she has gathered, has know her for at least a year. Mentally, this is so much harder on them, and she knows she's the only one who can think logically right now.
Ashton hesitated for a moment but nodded.
"Kind of… I've done a lot of injections.. But I've only read about IV's I've never had to insert one." He continues, his voice still shakey but getting more and more clear the more he calms down.
Solar nods, accepting his knowledge as good enough. Dusk was still doing chest compressions when the mirror started to glow a faint red. Riven was back.
"I couldn't get the book." He says quickly, wheeling the things he brought to Ashton's table where Crescent laid still and unbreathing. Ashton wiped his eyes, sniffling as he made his way over to the table. He changed his gloves and sanitized the area again before getting to work again.
Ash made Dusk and Riven leave and had Solar stay to help bring his things and be logical when he began acting emotionally again.
Dusk and Riven waited ouside in silence, sitting like 6 feet away from each other as they stared at the door like it would disappear if they blinked. The deafening silence was broken by riven, still staring at the door.
"Thanks… for keeping her heart beating while I got the stuff." He said. It was awkward. Thanking the guy who's sleeping with his ex. The ex he wants back painfully bad. Dusk paused, neither of them looking at each other.
"Thanks for bringing the stuff quick… didn't even give me time to get tired." He responded, Followed by another beat of silence, not as long this time.
"You think she'll wake up?" He asks, his voice cracking a bit. He's been holding back tears since the moment Ashton walked out of that damn door. Riven was quiet for a while.
"She's a strong woman." He said, "She wouldn't leave without kicking my ass one last time." He tried to joke, tried to make it seem like they aren't watching a door where the girl they care about might not wake up.
"She always has been… never thought I'd fear a girl who's 5'4." Dusk responded, trying to aid in lightening this dark heavy mood shrouding them.
"Those kicks hurt like a bitch." Riven chuckles weakly, taking his first glance away from the door to look down at the dusty, concrete floor. Dusk smiles a bit, still staring at the door.
"And those water bubbles she uses to basically drown you into shutting up." They both chuckled, letting loose a bit, allowing a tear or two to shed.
After what felt like years, They heard the door handle twist. The door creaked open painfully slow while both Dusk and Riven's heads shot up. They waited with baited breaths as Ash Left the room. Then Solar. Then— Then no one. They almost broke. That was until looked further. Through the open door they Crescent. Still connected to the IV, sitting upright and staring up the roof with the blanket kicked off. The both shot up, rushing into the room to be at her side.
"Moony toon, You scared the crap out of us." Dusk said, squeezing her hand like he was trying to confirm that she's real. His eyes were a little red but he couldn't care enough to try hide it right now."
"Do you need anything, Arvella? Water? Food–" There's a pause before they both speak together.
"Cake and caramel sticks?" They ask. Crescent looks between them bewildered. They were… agreeing? They hadn't glared at eachother once.
"You-... Am I halucinating?" She blinked "Dusk Kraimon… and Riven Arvello… Being civil with each other?" She asked, earning a scowl from both of them.
"Not the time, are you okay?" They spoke together again. It was… weird. Crescent sighed, an exhasperated look on her face.
"I'm the one in the hospital bed, and I'm feeling fine aside from being hot as balls. It's whatever time I say it is." She says, no real bite in her words. Dusk is about to object but Crescent shushes him.
"The water here is acidic, don't piss me off, remember what dimention this is." She threatens with a smile on her face. Dusk pokes his tongue with his cheek but nontheless stayed quiet.
Crescent took the IV out on her own, the bag of fluids essentially finished. The boys almost object again but Crescent puts a hand up.
"I've been hooked to this crap like 50 times, I know what I'm doing." She rolls her eyes.
Shortly after, Raiden, Ashton and Solar returned. Solar smiled, seeing her new friend awake and well after the scare she gave everyone. She sent to the side of the bed, holding Crescent's hand again.
"You scared dumb and dumber into cooperating with each other." She said, chuckling.
"I saw, it's a horrifying sight." She replied. As soon as Solar stepped out of the way, Raiden came running, her eyes red and puffy as she wailed, lifting crescent into the air as she squeezed, wailing.
"A-ASHTON SAID Y-YOU DIIIEEEDDDDD!" She cried, Crescent sighed, raising a brow as she looked to Ashton, who suddenly found the delapodated window very intriguing, his own eyes still a bit red.
"I thought I killed you… for a bit." He said, trying to play off the what he told Raiden. It was obvious to everyone that he was just messing with her after he calmed down.
Crescent pat Raiden on the back, asking her to put her down. When her feet made contact with the ground again, she took a moment to stretch, cracking her knuckles.
"We have like a day to plan before we start tweaking out. We've been here like 54 hours… I have at least." Crescent said, reminding them of the main mission. They turned to face her, remembering the reason they came here in the first place.
"I think we should all head back to our own dimensions. Set a timer for 24 hours then when times up, we'll meet back up at a mutual dimension." Dusk suggested, the others agreeing.
"We can meet at dimension #3984. We won't take dimensional damage there." Riven said, casually. They all look to him, shocked.
"What?" Solar asks, the sudden information sounding ridiculous. Riven just blinked.
"Yeah it's like a.. Convergence dimension or something… you know…. Our Home dimension numbers all line up there so if we're all there together we don't take damage." Silence. Pure, deafening silence.
" Solar's #3000, Arvella's #0900, I'm 0080, and Dusk is 0004… so our dimensions-"
"Quit– ugh! We can put that together stop– Why didn't you mention this at Solar's apartment!" Dusk cut him off. Riven just shrugged. They didn't have the time to argue right now so they held back but the looks said more than enough.
"I can't deal with you, I'm going home." Dusk muttered, heading to the mirror. He put his dimension in and the glass glowed purple as he walked though it. The two women murmered in agreement, saying their goodbyes to the kids and heading to the mirror, Solar leaving first with a yellow light and Crescent following suit with a blue one. Riven stood there, confused at everyones irritation with him, his hand raising to scratch the back of his neck. He shrugged again, waving goodbye to the kids and putting in his dimension, walking though the mirror as it shon red.
Raiden and Ash just looked at each other, processing the weird ending to that emotional roller coaster.
"That was weird."