BREATH . OF . LIFE . ~ { ReGenisis Chronicles Book I }

Chapter Seventeen [Part 1/2]: When first I woke, I woke to a dream

                      -Natalia Swan-

Tears blurred my eyes, I hadn't felt a headache like this before in my life. Every time I blinked, all I saw was blood and flames surrounding me. Every time my eyes opened, white light that seared into the back of my mind.  My skin ached, lifting my hand it was still red and blotchy. Patches of black and purple here and there from charcoal bricks and bruises being drawn away from the surface.

"I failed," I breathed, lungs burning. "I failed,"

I felt a rough hand on my forehead. "No, you did your bloody best with shitty intel." Gruff voice,

"What's Andersen going to do to me... I'm useless, I failed them."

"He's going to string up and skin alive the bastard who sent you in unprepared." He brushed my hair back carefully, I wouldn't look at him. I felt too ashamed. "If he doesn't, I will. You hear me kid?"

"I couldn't save them." I breathed, I couldn't even save myself. A dose of ReGenisis serum had done that, bringing burnt skin back to living flesh.

"No one could have." Nicodemus reassured firmly,  "Not even Rin,"

Closer to being my father than my own. He was the only person with me when I came round. I was glad of it.

    * *

Opening my eyes to bright overhead lights in lab one. Headache that seemed to be flowing through my whole body instead of staying in my cranium. Vision still blurred. It felt as if only a moment had passed.

"Nicodemus?" I held my hand out to the side, my skin was covered in sweat. I was weak. I hated the feeling.  But I didn't feel as if I'd been in fire anymore. "Nicodemus..." I swallowed back on a dry throat, my words barely a broken whisper. "Nicodemus..." I turned my head to the side to see Angelica Martello standing there with a sad expression.

"Swan... Swan," She repeated my name, slowly, quietly, to make sure I could hear her as my eyes glazed far off, searching the room. "He left, a couple years ago, do you remember?"

Realisation hit liked being stabbed through the stomach again, and my eyes drifted towards the painful lights on the ceiling. Images of my blade meeting Daniels neck flashing through my mind before having the victory taken from me.

When first I woke, I woke to a dream, a memory of a thing almost forgotten.

 "Yes, I remember." Disappointment making me sink. A tear drifted down my cheek and I tried to ignore reality for a little while.

Martello's footsteps echoed towards the doors, opening them for her to be joined by more footsteps. So many smells up my nose, my mind whirred. Dead twice, but it didn't feel much like I was living either.

"You have some visitors," Martello informed me before backing out of the crowd that I wouldn't let myself look at. I didn't want to see any of them.

Faint violet came closer first, rested a gentle hand down on my clammy, cold skin. I felt the electricity warm through me. I let myself look up at her, she was smiling. Glad to see me for some reason. I licked my dry lips with a sawdust tongue. I had no words to say. I couldn't bring any.

"You took longer to recover than you normally would, something about having some internal tears that needed dealing with besides the bullets." She said with a softness that reminded me of someone; someone I couldn't save. "But you'll be back to being your normal old icicle in no time."

Jake came up behind her, the rest of the team behind him. "Kate saved your life, she got those bullets out quickly, before the serum deactivated itself."

I glanced between them. Then closed my eyes. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," a voice that belonged to a petrichor scent hummed from near the door. I brought my head up a little to look. Griffin and Rin were just stood there, in the middle of Trinity, not its captives. Although by them was Immanuel who was holding a sword in hand, just in case.

"Takeichi, King..." I mumbled, eyes narrowing at them.

"We only stayed to see you wake up. We're heading out now." As King finished his sentence, he glanced at Kate, and a head bob to the side indicated she should follow. I wasn't sure if to say goodbye, or leave. Either way, she'd take her smiling face out of my sight for a little while. I could bare that.

I wasn't sure what emotion I was feeling. It hurt, but it healed all at once.

Kate moved over to leave with them, glancing back at me and waving gently.

"How are they able to leave?" I growled quietly.

"Rin made a deal with Andersen, but once they're outside these walls, they're our enemies again." Jake sighed, a solemn note to his voice.

"And Kate?"

"She wasn't part of the deal. For now, she's stuck in your training and my Unit." Jake smiled, but it was tempered with sadness at a win that meant, to an extent, defeat.

"Unit Zero wasn't all locked up?" I let my lips lift into a half smile.

"We're not exactly Andersen's favourite flavour. We're going to be watched closely from now on. But what our involvement with Rin's lot was, cannot be confirmed completely. So we're off the hook. For now." He explained before moving aside for Hudson and Skinner to crowd me. Slipping towards the door himself. He lingered for a moment and heaved a heavy sigh before leaving.

"I'm so sorry, Swan," Skinner's face was bright red, he was flustered and I could smell guilt on him. Tears had bubbled up in his eyes.

"You weren't there... and I'm alive." I reassured him. But he took hold of my hand in both of his and shook his head, wordlessly.

"I'd have been pretty damn sad to see you go, Swan. Wouldn't be the same without you busting our asses to do better." Hudson beamed, his voice loud as always rattling through me.

"I should expose you all, explain all the details I've figured out." I growled, "but as I may need allies, and it benefitted Trinity your being traitors to a lesser degree than Daniels, I won't."

"That is the closest you've ever come to mercy," Hudson chuckled in reply, but Skinner was silent and suddenly pale.

     *

After they'd all left, I looked aside at a human sleeping in the hospital bed next to mine. Lieutenant Ashington, out cold. But lucky to be alive without having a restart. I wasn't sure why they hadn't injected her with serum, but perhaps she wasn't cleared for it yet.

I heard a sly voice as I smelt whiskey on the air. "So you cheated death again, I hear." Cole waltzed in like he owned the place, standing at the end of my bed but not deeming to come any closer.

"No thanks to you." I hissed.

"I'm hurt," He placed his hand to his heart, "I think I deserve a little thanks. Since I made your rescue possible, not to mention, everyone else's. All but Daniels." His voice changed on that last sentence, strained.

"Three puppet masters having a face off, one gets away hurt but victorious, one stands, with little lost, the last, practically out of the game." I murmured, closing my eyes to block him out.

"I wouldn't say Andersen is out of the game. In fact, I believe this is inspiring some dangerous ideas in his head." Cole's voice told me that he was tapping his nose, and the subtle thud in my ear as it was exaggerated by my hearing. "He's been digging up files for hours, looking for something he heard rumour of in Garner's old collection. A missing serum that showed up again in Martello's lab, one shot used from it. Although he's unaware of that. It's name is what interests him." He insinuated.