The Freaks of the Ring

Fourteen : Percikan

Levi's eyes widen in pure terror after a second of silence. I don't think I've ever seen anyone as scared as they do in this moment. It's almost terrifying just to see the absolute fear in their normally black gaze. It only takes a moment for them to get up and start running to the exit. Tony and I already know that this isn't going to end well for anyone, let alone Levi. It's all he can do to snatch Levi's arm before they can get to the transporter.

"Let me go!" Levi snarls, yanking their arm away from Tony. "Rem's in danger, I gotta go help them..." I've never even heard Levi sound as desperate as they do right now. I don't even notice the fluffy grey wings sprout from their spine until they almost hit me in full in the face. 

"Leven, just hear us out." Levi flashes a venomous look at me for using their full code name. I still don't see what's so bad about it, but whatever floats their boat. It's not like the rest of us are able to choose our names either, so what? "Rem can't die, you know that better than anyone. They'll be fine, they'll get back here eventually and everything will be perfectly fine."

Levi just shakes their head, and I swear there's a tear or two welling up in their eyes. "You don't get it. This is the first time that they've been out there without me. Rem has this huge fear of being alone, it's why they always stick around me. And now they're all alone out there, and it's all my fault." It did sound like Rem was panicking a bit over the speaker. There's a twinge of regret for stopping Levi in my mind, but it disappears almost as quickly as it appears.

Tony backs away from them ever-so-slowly and puts his hands up, showing that he won't try to hold them back any longer. "Fine. Then go find your sibling. Just be efficient about it." I don't like that Tony suddenly thinks that he can take over my job, but whatever. I'll let him know that much later. This isn't the most appropriate place to lash out at this point.

Levi doesn't hesitate to nod and get ready to run right out after hearing that. "Hey, Percikan. Mind lighting me up before I go?" I can't help but grin a little as I brush a hand against the downy feathers of their wings and they burst into flames. I don't know why they always want me to do that before they go, but holy shit does it look absolutely epic. Maybe that's the only reason, who knows? I don't get the chance to ask before they're going through the transporter and to the surface. They're not in a mission suit, but I honestly couldn't care less. Those things are freaking ugly, if I do say so myself. It's just Tony's paranoia that forces everyone to wear one.

We head back to the tech room the second they're gone and start pulling up the camera footage. Levi's already making good progress, skirting the edge of our camera feed already. Those flaming wings really do look cool on footage, if I do say so myself. But that's not the point, and I don't have more than a second to appreciate my handiwork before I see a glimpse of Rem in the camera. I can hear the portal opening back up, and Ventus' voice filters in. At least I know that two of the lost Freaks have returned, even if it's small comfort.

Tony zooms in on the picture of Rem and Levi. Rem's on the ground, sobbing into their sleeve. I can tell that Levi's just glad to find their twin, even if Rem is having a bit of a panic attack at the moment. Levi kneels down next to them and loops an arm around their waist, pulling Rem up with a  little struggle. I can see Levi say something to Rem, but I've never been one for lipreading. It's just a relief to see Levi push the little button that activates the speaker and to hear them say, "Okay, we're on our way back."

I give a sigh of relief that's a little too loud for comfort and plop back down into a chair. Even though Rem didn't look too great, I figure that Levi can just fix them right up and everything will be back to normal. Or at least as normal as it gets around here, but that's another thing completely.

Tony glances back at me with a groan. "Please tell me that I'm not the only one that's had a really, really long day."

I sigh again and shake my head. "Nope, not in the least. It's been an aggravating one, to say the least." Now the only thing we can do is wait for the twins and hope they get back safely. I never thought that I'd say this, but I was almost scared for Rem's safety for a while there. Now, to just get them back here and everything will be okay. I hope.