Everything that follows happens so quickly. Marlina is seized and pulled from the flower, subdued, and her arms are restrained.
"Wait! Who are all of you?! Let me go right now!" Marlina screams as one of the Colonials strikes her head with the butt of his weapon to silence her. They don't expect the impact to sound metallic and fail to faze her. She turns her head toward the one who struck her, attempting to kick him in the shin and wriggle free from the others' grasp.
"Is this the Construct? But it talks, and where's its core?" one of the others asks as he feels over Marlina's form to find it. Marlina headbutts the one touching her in the nose, causing him to retreat and groan as blood covers his face.
"Dammit! It broke my nose!"
"I said to let me go!" Marlina thrashes and kicks her legs wildly as the other two struggle while more Colonials arrive to apply additional restraints.
One Colonial carries a long staff with jagged engravings running its length, featuring prongs at one end where he inserts a couple of the dark spheres that Elek had shown her. The staff comes to life, glowing with yellow and blue markings along the engravings, holding the prodded end towards her.
When the prod makes contact and emits sparks, the others expect her to be incapacitated, but instead, they are shocked by the current and must let go of her.
"What the hell is with this thing?!"
"I don't know, but lock it up too! We'll find out soon enough!"
Marlina seizes the opportunity, finds her footing, and runs toward the outpost. As she reaches the courtyard, her eyes dart around to locate the others, but all she can see are more strangers and the aftermath of a fight. Cracks and shards of stone litter the ground, dried puddles of mud from melted ice structures, and human body parts turned to glass. More Colonials begin to close in on her after hearing the commotion. Each wields weapons, and soon Marlina is surrounded and bound at her ankles.
Her body strikes the ground with a metallic thud as she is tossed and tumbles down the incline toward the infirmary, with a few of the Colonials trailing behind to drag her through the door. It is subtle, but Marlina sees a fog rising from the base of the door.
Once Marlina is back on her feet and the door swings open, Neterion bursts through with a fierce shout and thrusts a long spike of ice into the neck of the closest Colonial, causing him to choke and struggle to remove the ice before both collapse onto the ground.
In retaliation, the one wielding the prod shoves Marlina aside and drives the end into Neterion's side, causing him to scream and convulse as a jolt of electricity courses through his body.
"Bastard! How did you get out of your room?!" another yells as he jumps on top of Neterion and starts to beat him.
"No! Stop it! Get off him!" Marlina shouts as a blast of cold air targets the person with the electric prod. The person is about to shock Neterion again, and the air slows his movements until he becomes utterly frozen.
The attacker of Neterion, his fist raised high for another strike, is distracted just long enough for Natalia to dive in and counter. She slides on her knees, tightly gripping his arm and clothing, then lifts him off Neterion and onto the ground. He immediately reaches for her hair, but she shifts his arm, rolling onto her back and locking her legs around his arm. Then, she pulls as hard as she can, dislocating his arm and causing him to scream out.
Aurea steps out of the room, touching his face as the ice swiftly envelops his skin. It takes only moments for frostbite to set in, and Natalia releases him once he goes limp.
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Servitude: The Hydrangea Chapters
AdventureThe lifeless animated Construct known only as Marlina, awakened in a world at odds from deep lingering scars of conquest and malice, seeks a home where she can belong. In hopes of finding a place to call home, she also wishes to seek answers for th...
