unforgiven ➽ a Halilintar-centric fic

28 | code red

The cleanup crew arrived just before things between Gempa and Kaizo got ugly. Then again, it was Gempa and Kaizo, so maybe the situation wouldn't have escalated beyond petty insults and pointed glares.

Vargoba, having returned to his original size, was carted off in a guarded ship and shipped to prison at their first notice. Even without being hit by Cahaya's power, he was already pretty much gone from his own suit malfunctioning. His unconscious state only made it easier for the officers to drag him into the portable cell, though they did somewhat struggle to carry his weight.

Amato's crew hung around their rendezvous point, where Amato publicly embarrassed his son by oversharing his son's childhood to anyone in line of sight. Boboiboy could only pull his shirt up to his face to mask his shame, but his bright red ears were exposed for the world to see, so he wasn't fooling anyone. A cadet stopped listening the second Amato brought up Boboiboy's first words, and interestingly enough the brunet's very first blabbers were about kicking alien butt. (His wife kicked him in the ribs for that.)

Kaizo and Fang did their own thing, brooding in brotherly silence together in a random corner. Only occasionally did they speak up, but that was only to make a snide remark of any fumbling carelessness they caught in action. Their judgmental presence alone had everyone on their best behavior, walking by stiffly in fear of being the topic of ridicule.

Taufan and Halilintar returned to consciousness after Kaizo dropped them from his shield earlier without so much of a warning or soft landing. The impact woke them up from their sleeping states, both groaning from the floor with equal discomfort and surprise.

They'd set up an emergency infirmary in one of the open ships, where Cahaya and Api were being looked after and prodded by their traveling medics. Their head medic was surprisingly a human and unironically an Indian man on the chubbier side. Air didn't know why Gempa did a double take when he saw the medic's face, rubbing his own eyes in confusion.

All of them were given a quick checkup and given the okay once they deemed they were unharmed. Taufan's was the quickest only because they were aware of his hyper-regeneration and sent him off with some painkillers and a vitamin gummy, the doctors hardly giving a second glance to the gaping hole in Taufan's stomach and neck, already more than used to the sight.

Halilintar on the other hand, completely shirked away from any medical scans or checkups, sitting away and alone on some distant debris. Anyone who attempted to coax him into it was sent running by either intimidation, or a promise to shove his spear up "where the sun don't shine." They left him alone after covering him in their standard thermal blanket around his shoulders, gossiping and shuddering at the memory. Though, he still looked like he wanted to burn the damn thing on the spot.

Amongst all the machines, engines and voices, Gempa turned his head to the sound of screeching tires approaching. He was half-tempted to head over to the commotion, but he put everything on hold when Air beckoned him over to Cahaya's bedside.

With the protective way Air was positioned over Cahaya's bedside, Gempa had a sinking feeling that whatever he was about to hear wasn't going to be pleasant.

That vision was too real to have been a hallucination.

The freezing cold. A rotting coffin buried deep underground. A body that should not have lived yet still sees. A dead heart that beats not with blood but with liquid spite and anger.

He stared at his open palm, flexing his fingers.

The body may be dormant, but the hate that coursed through its veins roared like a raging river. Whatever emotion or thought that corpse had, Halilintar felt it all as if it were his own. Its grief, its fury, its burning desire for vengeance...