Today, Tomorrow and Yesterday

Chapter 13: Who We Are

Shock was becoming no stranger to sneaking around in the dark. But she hesitates with a hand on the door of her closet. Then she draws back and walks over to the mirror. Her hair seems almost to glow in the dim light. She looks into her own eyes and tilts in different directions to test the reflection. Other than her guise of all-black meant to allow her a chance to become someone else, this is the first time in years she's actually stood without her Shulkerbahn uniform. Ellie never removes hers except to exchange it for others identical. But her younger partner has always preferred to sleep in something else, always rising and putting it on immediately come morning. The mirror has never caught her without it.

But for the first time, she dreaded putting on the uniform. Her mission did not require it. Ellie preferred to intimidate and show force, but Shock wanted to try something else. So with a deep breath, the Shulkerbahn turns away from the mirror and to the door. It slides open silently, and she glances out both sides to check for guards. Then again, there aren't many on this floor to begin with. If the country's most elite fighters need guards, what's the point?

There's something strange about walking down the hallway in a white-washed jean jacket, pants, and a yellow t-shirt. And someone should tell the military that these... well Shock doesn't know what the shoes are called but they're way more comfortable than her boots. She creeps slowly on her toes as she passes Ellie's room, grasping her arms to ward off the chill that seeps under the door. For just a moment she stares at the door, imagining how difficult it must be to sleep if your sheets either become stiff with ice or light aflame. With a quiet sigh, the girl turns away. It's not the first time she's felt a kind of kindred compassion for her leader, and it certainly won't be the last.

As her footsteps fall silently underneath her, and she makes her way carefully through the darkened halls, Shock wonders for just a moment if Ellie was always so... mercilessly passionate. What was she like before...? Well, that's really the question isn't it? Before what? How exactly did Element get to her position? An elevator flies the Shulkerbahn down several floors at a sickening speed. But that's not the only reason her stomach is in knots. Before...

Taking in a deep breath, she strides out the doors and down another corridor. She can't focus on the void now. Instead, she needs to ready herself for what will likely be an act of treason. Or at least deliberate insubordination. With her uniform, with a purpose, she could have done this as Shock. But tonight was a night for something a bit more human. A bit less super-soldier and a bit more... caringly curious.

Without a second's hesitation when she reaches the corner, she turns around it and raises her arms. Electricity sparks from them, gaining speed and distance from the metal plating on the walls and doors of the prison. The guards that fall with jolts to the floor never knew what hit them. The blonde races to one of the door's controls, fighting her instinct to use her access code and instead splitting the panel open with her energy and carefully frying just enough wires to clank open the door. With the panel replaced and the camera down, it should look like a power surge if she gets out of here in time. It wouldn't fool Ellie, but it might just trick the guards into being embarrassed enough not to report it. The plan is her best shot.

A band of lights bathe the walls in a dim and yellow glow. The woman who was lying on a cot in the corner stirs at Shock's entrance. She must not have been sleeping. Shock walks over, aware of the way the woman is taking in her appearance and the hour. Meanwhile, Shock takes in her stringy dark-blonde hair, the circles under her eyes, and the cuff wrapped around her wrist that connects down to one of the cot's legs.

"I guess Element got tired of dealing with me herself?" The woman asks. The Shulkerbahn takes a moment to remember the woman's name. Lauren Vescio.