Mists of Celeste - an Ateez Fanfic

act six ➻ part six

warning: lots of violence. lots.

...

"What is the meaning of this exactly?" Your tone is sharp, eyes glancing over his that glow blue back at you. The gleam reminds you a bit of Nightingale, artificial and unnatural to an unnerving degree. It already puts you at a significant disadvantage to go up against someone who has a cybernetic enhancement. If it came down to it, could you trust yourself to use your Siren abilities? Air hisses through your teeth as you scoff quietly. The man ahead of you shifts his weight from one foot to the other. None of his movements can be trusted at this point, not with the hefty weight of his threat hanging over your head. You push back against the dirt and conceal Jisung's body behind you as best you can.

"It means we're going to take a walk, Ghost." His chin drops as he speaks, and the glint in his eyes turns dangerous. He's a Spectre surely; that would make the most sense for someone of his caliber, and he already disposed of a Berserker in the form of Atticus at some point with seemingly no trouble at all. Surely that means if there were to be a fight, Jisung would help you but the guarantee isn't quite strong enough for you to put your faith in the man. "I suggest you cooperate."

"I have no reason to go anywhere with you."

"I'm sure Hyunwoo would not wish to see you dead. Or injured for that matter. But if you get in my way, the—"

"He put you up to this then?"

"Jisung will not be leaving this planet. You may leave without issue, but him and what's left here of his rotten crew will remain."

You inhale sharply at that. If Hongjoong manages to convince Minho to leave, then perhaps something else could be arranged. As for Jisung...

You glance back at the man over your shoulder. He hasn't budged since Hyunjin revealed himself, still sitting on the dirt floor without much change to his demeanor. In fact, you can hardly tell if any of this deters him in the slightest. The terms seem clear enough in your eyes.

Hongjoong and his crew leave safely without issue, including you, at the cost of both Jisung and Minho's lives. The reason for such a drastic turn of events eludes you for now — cooperation would surely pull some answers out of Hyunjin but it isn't as simple as strolling out to fetch Hongjoong and coming back with no trouble. Hyunjin's tone alone is enough to imply that you either leave now and choose to not look back, or you remain and cooperate like this.

"Then let's take a walk," you say under your breath so as not to startle either man in your presence into doing something rash.

"Y/n..." Jisung's voice draws your focus, and you tilt your chin in his direction. You can't bring yourself to pull your gaze off of Hyunjin, however, when the underlying threat to your own life remains present.

"Ladies first." The gun aimed at your skull doesn't fall away, even when you take hesitant steps in Hyunjin's direction.

"You don't have to do this," comes your reasoning once you're within arm's reach of the man. He scowls so deeply that it mars his almost statue-like features into something rather ugly. A hand bolts out to snag you by the wrist, and he twists your whole arm behind your back with such haste that you can only blink twice before he has you effectively pinned.

"It's nothing personal, doll. See it as an unhappy circumstance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unfortunately for you, you make for an awfully effective bargaining chip."

"Against who exactly? Because the only other man here could very well let you kill us both" Your head is forced forward again when the cool barrel of Hyunjin's pistol pushes past your hair to rest at the base of your skull.