The debriefing room was cold, too white, too quiet.
Taufan sat at the center of the room, blood still crusted on his sleeves, his eyes were glassy, not with tears, but with something worse.
Emptiness.
Across the table, Admiral Tarung and Commander Kokoci stood stiffly, watching and waiting.
Six caps was place on the metal desk, his brothers, all six, lined up like medals, like proof.
Taufan close his eyes, breathing heavily, he's the only survival in that mission, the only one who made it out alive, they called it a miracle, they called him the lucky one.
But he called it hell.
Infront of him, there stood the higher up, but Taufan didn't look at them, his eyes stared past everything.
"You disobeyed direct orders" Tarung said sharply.
"I survived" Taufan muttered, lowering his head in the process.
"That's not the point" Kokoci growled.
"You were reckless and now-"
"Now I am alone" His voice was quiet, raw, almost amused.
"So what more could you possibly do to me?"
Silence.
"You think I wanted this?" he said, finally raising his head.
"You think I wanted to crawl out of that wreckage with everyone I love in pieces?"
They said nothing, silence fill the room, no one spoke for a moment before Tarung sigh loudly.
"You were the only one alive" Tarung finally said, voice heavy with forced solemnity.
No reply.
"Taufan" Kokoci spoke next.
"We need your report, for the record" Taufan looked up.
His face was hollow, too empty for a seventeen year old, or was he eighteen now? He didn't know, time felt useless.
"You want me to explain how I lived?" he said, voice low, brittle.
"You want to know what happened in the rubble?" They said nothing, only nodded.
Taufan's eyes flickered, for a moment, something trembled behind them, then he chuckled.
Low. Bitter. Hollow.
"You want the play-by-play?" he rasped, his throat still raw from screaming names that would never answer again.
"Fine"
He stood up and sepped closer, dragging his ruined leg behind him, he didn't ask for a chair, he didn't want to sit, he just wanted to burn.
"They died one by one" he began.
"Halilintar first, took a hit meant for me, just smiled like a dumb hero before he collapsed"
He didn't blink.
"Then Ice, he froze the path so we could run, stayed behind, we didn't see him go, we just heard the silence"
Taufan's fists shook.
"Blaze tried to be reckless like always, thought he could distract them, He did but it wasn't enough"
His voice cracked.
"Solar died while shielding Thorn, I got there too late, Thorn wasn't even screaming, he just kept calling for me, for me"
His chest heaved.
"And Gempa-"
Silence.
Taufan closed his eyes.
"I tried to protect him, I did, he was bleeding out, I held the line, I swore I would keep him safe, just once..."
He opened his eyes again, they were cold now, void.
"But I was too weak" Neither of them spoke.
"In the end" Taufan continued.
"He protected me, wrapped me in the ground like a tomb"
His fingers twitched at the memory, rough hands, dirt pressing around him, a brother's heartbeat fading just beyond the stone.
"He told me to shut up" Taufan said with a dry laugh.
"Can you believe that? 'Shut up fan, i need you to stay down just for once in your life'"
His knuckles whitened.
"I pounded on the inside, I screamed, I told him we could fight our way out together, but he didn't answer, of course he didn't"
Silence.
"His power cracked protecting me, I heard it, I heard it all, every strike, every blow, the last thing I heard was him exhale, then nothing"
He looked up, directly at them.
"Tell me, Admiral, Commander, when you write the report, what will you say? That Taufan the Fool survived? That he was the lucky one?" Kokoci shifted.
"You are a witness, that makes you valuable" Taufan's laugh was bitter and sharp.
"Valuable" he echoed.
"You think I feel valuable? You think I want this?"
He slammed his fist against the metal armrest, eyes burning, not with tears, but with rage.
"I begged them to let me fight, I begged Gempa not to leave me behind, I begged him, and you know what? He didn't listen, none of them did"
Tarung tried to interrupt, but Taufan kept going.
"Six graves" he spat.
"Six, and all you care about is your report, your numbers, your results, what now? A medal? A speech? A photo of me smiling with my dead brothers names carved in stone behind me?"
He leaned forward, voice now low and cold.
"I wasn't saved, I was buried alive and when I clawed my way out, all I had left was this" he gestured at his bandaged body,
"But then there's you" he point at them.
"Standing over me like I am supposed to be grateful, like this wasn't your war, like my brothers didn't die because of your strategy"
Neither of them moved.
Taufan stood still, swaying from pain, but still upright, still breathing, unfortunately.
"You want the truth? You didn't just lose six soldiers that day"
He met their eyes.
"You killed the seventh too, he just hasn't stopped breathing yet" And with that, he left the room.
No salute, no tears.
Just silence.
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Hello again!
So... I felt like the last chapter are pretty short, so you guys can have this one too
2 short chapters in a day is fine right~?
Ehem anyways
That is all my little waves~
Stay happy and healthy everyone
Peace out~
Total word : 948
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Elemental brothers oneshot story
Fanfictionhello! ocean here! , this is my first book so please forgive me if there are typos, grammar mistake or plot that doesn't make sense TvT this is a random idea i have about the elemental brothers! So hope you enjoy! ( ╹▽╹ ) the cover and the cha...
