Idyllia

Season 1, Chapter 3: The Vial

~WARNING: Mature/triggering scenes (specifically, violence) will be found within this chapter!~

Previously

Smoot stopped glaring at General Smith and addressed the whole room. "It seems... one of the Guardians has suddenly become ill. And... It's very serious. He is in Intensive Care as we speak. But, in case he does not pull through, all teams have been ordered to round up the Blank Slates for Seven."

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A collective gasp could be heard among the captive adults. Some held fear in their eyes, while others bore the look of simply accepting their death. The rest just gazed straight ahead, their eyes glassy and vacant.

Without a backward glance, General Smith walked out the open door, leaving the bleeding girl still on the floor, sobbing.

"Minerva, what happened?" Smoot asked, still keeping his eyes on the crying girl.

Minerva sneered, "That arsewipe came in, guns blazing. None of the Blanks answered his question fast enough, so he randomly fired the gun and it hit the girl."

Smoot shook his head with disgust. "What a despicable man..." he mumbled as he walked over to where the girl was curled up on the ground. He pulled a vial of swirling golden-brown liquid out of his jacket.

"Here, drink this." he said softly, opening the vial and holding it out to her, "It will ease the pain."

"No!" a voice called out, fear laced in her voice.

The woman who Smoot accidentally hit with the door rose from her sitting position by the door. She jumped up and shakily started to walk towards where Chiara was lying. Everyone in the room turned at her panicked voice.

"No?" Smoot asked, confused.

The woman met his eyes. "No."

Smoot crossed his arms, but gave her an amused look, "And why not? It's a healing serum."

The woman shot a glare at Smoot that proved she was clearly unimpressed, "Don't insult my intelligence! That's no ordinary serum. I've heard about it before. It can only be obtained from the Underground market. Dragon's blood."

"Mixed with other things, but yes." Smoot raised an eyebrow, but continued, "It's from a copper dragon, so it's the lowest potency. You seem well informed..."

"Yes, she does, doesn't she?" a cold voice said in a calculating tone.

Everyone jumped as General Smith resurfaced.

General Smith started walking threateningly towards Ana. "Tell me, what's your name, woman?"

She looked up with a glint in her eyes that could have pierced through anything. "Anastasia."

General Smith cocked his head to the side inquisitively. "That's quite a pretty name..." he sneered, "Are you the mother of these girls?"

"Yes!" she said, defiantly.

General Smith held up his index finger as if a though occurred to him. "Are you the birth mother?" he questioned, looking between the girls and Anastasia. The answer was obvious.

Anastasia's eyes widened, but she otherwise remained motionless. "N-no."

General Smith grinned evilly and continued to stalk towards her, slowly taking the holstered gun from his back and holding it in his arms. "Are you the girl's sister? Or cousin, perhaps?"

Anastasia straightened her spine. "No, I adopted both girls. I knew Stephany's mother. I met her when Stephany was only a couple of days old. She passed away, leaving her in my care. I married Chiara's father a few years later."

General Smith continued to walk until he was standing face-to-face with Ana, a wicked gleam shone bright in his eyes. "Ah..." he quietly mumbled, satisfied. 

General Smith moved before anyone could blink. He stuck Ana in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of her and forcing her backwards. She stumbled and fell to a heap, gasping for breath.

Smoot shot up to his feet in an instant, but his actions were ignored by everyone. 

General Smith snarled, "If the kid ain't yours, then why are you defending the brat?!" He sneered, referring to Stephany.

Anastasia stayed huddled in a ball, but glared up at him, still trying to get her breath back. "I made... a promise... to her mother... that... I would take care of her..."

General Smith smile was full of malice. "And was this woman a Blank Slate, by chance?"

Anastasia glared back defiantly. "Yes."

The General started to take a step towards Ana, his intent clear before a strong, firm hand grabbed his shoulder, squeezing strongly in warning.

"That is enough." Smoot said, in a low voice as he placed his body between Smith and Anastasia. 

General Smith looked up to retort, but stopped as he met Smoot's eyes. "I-"

Smoot gritted his teeth in anger. "Leave. Now!"

General Smith paused, clearly unhappy with being told what to do, but knowing that didn't want to press his luck. After a moment, he started walking towards the front door, leaving both women on the floor.

Smoot slowly turned back towards Ana and knelt down beside her, "I am so sorry. I would have intervened sooner had I known he was going to do that."

Anastasia smirked, "To live, you gotta be able to take a little pain here and there, right?" she wheezed out, still out of breath but attempting to absorb some of the said pain. 

Smoot smirked back, "I'm sorry, but I took the liberty of applying some of the tonic to your daughter's wound. It's only five percent, so it won't heal it completely, but it should take away the pain for a time as well as prevent infection. I think you should take a sip of it too." He held out the vital for Ana.

Anastasia sighed. She took the potion and started straight ahead, clearly lost in her thoughts. Slowly, she brought the medicine to her lips before she reconsidered her actions and handed it back without touching the liquid. "Thank you for the offer. I'm sorry, but don't worry about me. I'll be fine." she said, eyeing the vial wearily, "But tell me, why are you being so kind to us?"

"That's what I would like to know, as well."

Everyone in the room jumped at the sudden voice. No one noticed General Smith had returned and was standing in the doorway.

Fear permeated the room, worried what General Smith would do or who he would hurt next. No one moved or even dared to breathe.