Ruin // Danger Days (Book 3)

23.

"They found us, Storm."

Storm jumped out of his seat. "What do you mean, BLI found us?"

Val raised his voice. "I mean they found us, dumbass!"

"What the shit is going on?" the blue-haired boy sitting next to Storm replied.

It took Sunset a moment to realize who he was, but then it hit her: this was Riptide, the boy who'd spread rumors about Storm being a Riot spy and almost ruined his whole career if it hadn't been for Sonic Revolution.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sunset spat. "You almost ruined my brother's life, asswipe!"

"Sunset, stop," Storm said, surprisingly calm. "He just publicly apologized. That's why we're in here. I forgave him."

"Hold on," Val chuckled. "Storm actually forgave someone?"

"Shut the hell up, Velocity," Storm snapped, then took a breath. "Yes, I did. Now would you please focus on the matter at hand? BLI found us how?"

"There was a cat at the front door," Sunset told him. "It seemed friendly, so I let it in. But then as soon as someone mentioned that this was the Nest, its eyes flashed in an electric way, and it ran off. Then Val shot it and it sparked."

"Cats are extinct, right?" Riptide asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It doesn't matter," Val snapped, "we have to get ready! This'll be the fight of our lives!"

Storm nodded once and stood up. "We need to tell everyone. Split up, tell everyone to head to the arsenal in the basement. I'm gonna go get Engine and help move all of his new weapons to the arsenal so people can pick them up. Sunset, go get Cola and tell him everything. Val, find any medic you can and tell them to gather any other medics they know and pool their supplies in the lobby. Decan, stay here and send a transmission to Dr. Death Defying. He needs to know. His personal frequency is on there. And tell anyone else you see to go to the arsenal in the basement and grab anything they can and get ready for a fight that makes the Analog War seem like kids fighting with Nerf guns."

☀️

For the next two hours, they helped everyone get the tools they needed. The medics set up a makeshift infirmary in the lobby, transmissions were sent all over the Zones, and everyone was on edge, awaiting the arrival of the enemy.

Val, however, was on top of the world. He had never gotten the chance to really fight BLI before, so he was ready to get back at them for taking his life away from him.

He had always hated BLI. Even though they were supposed to be loyal to them, he, Volt, and Volume had always dreaded BLI's control over them and desired to get away, even though they had no idea what was outside of the labs.

And he was so glad he did. He wouldn't have met Sunset otherwise, or Vaya and Vamos, or Vinyl, or been able to express himself like he'd wanted to his whole life.

He wanted to fight, and now he was able to.
He ran to the infirmary, followed by Volt, who he'd ran into on the way.

When they reached it, they opened the door and Volt shouted, "Hey! BLI is coming and we need you to pool your supplies in the lobby! Come on!"

They ran back out, shortly followed by a mad horde of Killjoy medics, their arms piled with bandages, burn salve, and various other medical supplies that were necessary for a battle.

And Val grinned. He'd been waiting for this his whole life. And now, his dream was finally coming true.

☀️

Sunset ran to Cola's office/bedroom and was about to bang on the door when the door flew open. Sunset almost fell directly into Cola, who was standing there.

"Whoa there," he said. "You okay?"

"BLI is coming," she panted. "They sent a spy camera that looked like a cat, and I let it in... Oh Destroya, it's my fault. It's my fault," she said, realizing that if she hadn't let the cat in, this would never have happened.

He put his hands on her shoulders, seeing tears begin to fall from her eyes. This was a bona fide anxiety attack if he'd ever seen one, which he had. She had probably been overwhelmed anyway, and the thought she'd just had pushed her over the edge. "Shh, Sunset, it's alright," he said softly. "It's not your fault. Even if you hadn't let it in, it would have seen another 'Joy eventually, and they would have come. It was inevitable."

She began to sob, falling into him. "I- I'm sorry, Cola," she choked out. "I'm gonna die anyw- way, and I brought you all d- down with me."

"No you haven't," Cola told her. "We'll all be fine, okay? Sure, we might get hurt, but it's nothing we can't handle. And it's not your fault, I promise."

Sunset sniffed and looked up at him. "Are you sure?"

He smiled softly. "Yeah. One hundred percent." he hugged her again. "Now, I want you to find Val. he'll be able to help you. Okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, okay." she gave him the slightest smile, and headed out of the room.

Cola sighed. She'd be able to do great things... why does the Witch have to take her?

☀️

Val returned to the lobby, almost running straight into Sunset. He took that opportunity to hug her.

He didn't see that she was crying until her tears stained his shirt.

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with the now-familiar sadness that had made a home there over the past few days. "Val, I... I need you."

"What's wrong, sunshine?" he asked her, getting really worried. "Tell me."

"It-it's my fault," she stuttered. "But Cola s-said it wasn't, and now I don't kn-know what to th-think."

"It's not, I promise," Val told her, meaning every word. "Someone else would have probably let in the cat later. And it was probably already leading BLI towards us. It definitely wasn't your fault."

She swallowed, and looked at him again. "You promise?"

He took her hand and pressed it against his chest, where his heart was. "I swear on my life."

She sniffed, then managed a smile. "Thank you. Now let's go kick some Drac ass!"