Intermission II
"Escaped"
For Ilona, a few days had passed, trapped in her small cage with no means of escape. Sergei had not returned, but other Umbrella researchers did, asking Ilona inane questions like how she felt or inquiring about her powers. This did not change, not until a female researcher showed up.
"Ilona, Ilona..." she said in a low voice, her arms crossed at her chest.
"What should I do with you?"
By the time Ilona would hear this female researcher, the princess found herself agitated. She was already tired of being cramped in the little cell, found herself missing sunlight, and her freedom to move around. Despite her predicament, she still held onto hope that maybe someone would try to find her. Because of this, Ilona had enough motivation to be very vague with her responses to those who had questioned her over the past few days. All she had to do was tolerate them for now. Surely this would be over eventually...
Leaning her face against the glass of her cell, Ilona blew a hot breath of air against it to create a thin layer of fog on it. She would then use her finger to draw shapes in the fogged areas, not bothering to even look at the researcher who had come to speak with her. Ilona even considered giving her the silent treatment, but couldn't bring herself to do it. She enjoyed talking and found that it made her depressed when she didn't take the opportunity to do so.
"There are many things you could do with me. You could allow me to see sunlight. The lack of it depresses me. You could move me to a bigger cell so that I have room to walk and stretch my arms. You could give me a glass of water. I'm thirsty."
Ilona sighed.
"Or perhaps the lot of you could get on with whatever it is you plan to do with me. The suspense I feel while waiting is very discomforting."
"..."
After a moment of silence, Ilona saw the woman smile. She reached up and brushed her bangs back behind her ears, revealing her odd pink-hued irises.
"Don't worry, dear. We'll both see sunlight soon."
The woman reached to the side of Ilona's cage, pressing at a few buttons that caused the gas in the chamber to stop flowing. After a few mmoents, the glass door raised upward, allowing Ilona freedom.
"We don't have much time. Your powers will be unusable due to the lingering effects of the gas, so we'll need to make use of one of the transports Umbrella makes use of."
The woman held out her hand.
"And just call me Miss for now, dear."
Ilona continued to keep her eyes off the woman.
"I fear the only way I could see sunlight again was if I left this place. Although, I cannot see that happening any time--" Cutting herself off, the princess looked up when she realized the door to her cell had started to open.
She cautiously moved to exit, confusion evident in her blue eyes as she took the woman's hand and stood up. Her tone changed, sounding softer and more grateful than annoyed as it had previously.
"I-I... thank you, but Miss, why are you helping me? Do you not work for this organization?" Ilona questioned.
The woman was gentle as she took Ilona's hand, helping her to step out from the confines of her cage. Outside there was a control room with an array of monitors, most showing the inside of Ilona's cage. A few only showed static, looking broken.
"I work for them, but it does not mean I agree with them."
She then began to move quickly, leading Ilona to a door to the side of the room. It looked heavy and secure, but the woman opened it with ease. As far as could be sensed, no one was around.
"There was a situation. Things are up in the air. My actions today have likely terminated my employment here at Umbrella, but it was long past due. They said they would help me find my daughter, but not at the expense of other young girls."
She moved inside, closing the door behind Ilona once she followed. The passage was dark, but the woman held up an electronic lamp to light the way.
"They've been using you already, manipulating your latent energy," she whispered.
"They don't yet know how to utilize your shifting abilities or your destructive potential, but let's keep it that way."
After the woman helped Ilona stand, she followed after her and made sure to keep quiet. She wanted to be cautious, not jeopardizing her escape in any way. The princess twirled a lock of blonde hair around one of her fingers and listened to what the woman had to say, nodding afterwards.
"I'm certain your daughter would be proud of your choice. And if there is anything I can ever do to help you in the future, I'd be more than happy to provide assistance."
When the woman would open the door and move inside, Ilona followed after. She squinted while adjusting her eyes to the darkness.
"What plans do they have for my energy? Every time I ask someone what they intended to do with my power, I would not receive any answers."
Ilona sighed before adding,
"I've also been wondering something else. A woman at the Coalition was murdered before I was kidnapped. Could this have been Umbrella's doing?"
"There's nothing you need to do for me, dear. Just hope we get out of this alive."
She led Ilona down the passageway for some time, with only darkness and silence greeting them. The woman took her time before answering Ilona's inquiries, but eventually she decided to fill the silence.
"Currently, they are using your energy for some kind of special project. I am unaware of the details, but they have been planning some kind of Coalition takeover. I only recently learned this, unfortunately. Otherwise, I would have told my contacts within the Coalition of this important detail. As for their future plans..."
The woman stopped as the hall finally came to an end. Red emergency light illuminated the door that awaited them.
Placing her ear against the door, the woman listened for a moment. She stayed like this for almost a minute before nodding and cautiously opening the door. What awaited beyond was a small room with a computer tucked into the corner. Shelves of unmarked boxes lined the walls.
"Right now, as far as we're presently aware, the means of scientific dimensional travel is limited," she said, moving toward the computer. She began rapidly tapping at keys, observing screens of information that looked like gibberish to Ilona.
"So, shifting takes an incredible amount of time and energy. However, there are those such as yourself who have means of dimensional travel all on your own. Umbrella is desperate for this kind of power. Your destructive capability, however, is more what the Order is interested in. That boorish cult that used to worship the Arch Demon. This may be hard to hear, dear, but they believe your power is a means for attaining their Paradise. They worship your power, in a way."
The woman smiled as she seemed to make a breakthrough with the computer. Folders of information flashed on screen for her to access.
"As for who was murdered, I'm afraid I know very little about that. Whether it was Umbrella, the Order, or an ally of theirs, I can't be sure. It was done for Umbrella's benefit, in any case."
Ilona remained in thought for quite some time, processing every world the woman had to say. A frown covered the girl's lips, showing she was burdened by what she had learned so far. She didn't speak a single word the entire time, only speaking another world when the woman had finished on the computer.
"I never meant to become an object of desire, an object of worship." Ilona glanced down at one of her gloved hands, opening and closing her palm.
I never meant to become such a problem. If only I had been born ordinary. All I've ever wanted was to have an ordinary life. But from the time I was old enough to even understand what I wanted, I was also competent enough to realize I didn't have what I wanted.
"Anyhow, if the murder at the Coalition was done for the good of Umbrella it makes me think someone within the Coalition may have been working for them, that they could have a traitor among them." Ilona paused, an unrelated question coming to mind after making her assumption.
"You say you remained in contact with the Coalition. Do you work for them as well as Umbrella?" Ilona questioned. She folded her hands and waited patiently to see what the woman would do next.
"Of a sort, yes. They're my best chance of finding my daughter now, and they are who we will be escaping to." The woman spoke as she pulled out a USB drive, inserting it into a slot on the computer.
"Unfortunately, I can't reach them currently, and even if I could, this facility intercepts shifting in and out from outside sources. We're on our own."
The woman waited long enough for a prompt to appear on the screen, where she then took out the USB dive and turned to face Ilona.
"Dear, after this is all over, we'll ensure Umbrella never even thinks of touching you ever again." She smiled, before moving toward a door opposite the one they had entered. She was less cautious with this one, throwing it open and ushering Ilona through quickly.
Outside was a hall, where the woman led Ilona to the left. She kept up a brisk pace, not encountering any personnel of note. It wasn't until they came to a set of large sliding doors that the woman paused.
"Hm..." Eventually, she picked one, opening it to find a man staring back at her.
He held up a hand, holding what appeared to be a trigger device. The woman cried out and dove to cover Ilona as an explosion overtook the entrance to the room.
It worried Ilona when the woman stated they were on their own, but regardless she hoped the two of them would be able to escape on their own. She was tempted to ask what it was that the woman had done on the computer, but didn't want to burden her with
too many questions while they were still trying to escape. So she waited until the woman had entirely finished on the computer before she even spoke again.
"It is not only Umbrella I am worried about."
If they want to use my abilities, certainly other organizations will seek me out as well.
Saying nothing more about her worries, Ilona followed after the woman. It would do her no good to concern herself with other problems when she hadn't even escaped the present situation as of yet. She pressed onward, a sinking feeling plaguing her stomach when a large door opened to reveal a man standing at the entrance.
Before Ilona could move or even react, her rescuer dove to cover her and an explosion went off in the area.
"Oh no! Miss, Miss! Please tell me you're all right," Ilona cried, shaking her shoulder. She also made an attempt to look out and around the woman, fearing that the man who had set off the explosive would be after them.
The princess squeezed her eyes shut, focusing on the palm of her hand to try and summon a bit of her power.
Lightning Miracles... Lightning Miracles... Ah, it's no good! I can't summon lightning and I can't teleport. I will be defenseless if we are caught...
The woman groaned, stirring slightly from Ilona's cries. It seemed she had taken more damage from her fall than the explosion itself, thankfully. She rolled off the girl and tried to gather herself while the man who set off the explosion slowly started walking toward them.
"There's... There's a..." The woman cleared her throat and took a knee.
"There's an armory nearby. Just down the hall. Here--" She tried to hand Ilona a keycard.
"I'll distract him, dear. You arm yourself. You're going to be okay, I promise."
Ilona tensed her body, gripping onto one of the woman's hands.
"B-But what about you? You've been so kind to me; I can't just leave you," the princess replied, squeezing her hand tighter.
"You have to make it out of here. Your daughter is waiting for you to find her," Ilona added, hesitating when she noticed the key card she had been offered.
Glancing between the woman and the enemy slowly approaching, Ilona felt as if her head were spinning. She didn't have much time to decide what to do and she could feel the pressure of her situation. Half-heartedly, she took the key loosely in one hand, but she wasn't motivated to move just yet. Like her parents, she didn't really have the heart to leave anyone behind.
The woman stared, looking displeased, but it was only just for a second. She squeezed Ilona's hand back and gave her a nervous smile.
"You're right, dear. Forgive me. A mother should not be so reckless."
The woman turned her head to the man, watching as he reached behind his back to reveal that he was carrying a shotgun.
"We'll go together," the woman said, pulling Ilona down the hall as the man took aim. A shot went off, ringing in their ears, but it ultimately went wide.
It wasn't a long run to the armory, where the woman grabbed the keycard back and shakily ran it through the reader beside a heavy metal door. As the door opened, another shot went off, prompting the woman to push Ilona into a crouch as they ducked into the room.
"Grab something," she said, letting go of Ilona's hand to look over the shelves of weaponry.
"Anything. We don't need to kill him, just something that will get us past him." It didn't take long for the woman to find something that pleased her. She took it into her hands and turned around to see how Ilona was doing.
"I'm ready."
Ilona trembled, each footstep their enemy took echoing in her ears as she tried to make up her mind what she wanted to do. But she refrained from movement, as if her mind had already been made up for her. It just wasn't in the girl's blood to leave someone behind. She waited with the woman who had been helping her, relief washing over the princess when she decided not to stay behind.
"Th-Thank you."
Lives have already been lost at my expense. I want to keep as many people safe as I possibly can right now.
Dashing down the hall as quickly as she could with her rescuer, Ilona only slowed for a moment when her body would flinch upon hearing the first gunshot. By the time the second shot went off, thankfully they were sheltered inside the armory. Taking a deep breath, Ilona kept crouched and heeded the woman's suggestion to look for some things they could use.
Frantic, Ilona's hands shook as she scanned a couple weapon racks for something decent. At some point she picked up three hand grenades--hoping they were
stun grenades--and a mid-ranged blaster weapon of some kind. In her hysterical search, the princess wasn't sure if she had grabbed anything of worth, but she didn't really have time to be choosy.
"Okay, I'm ready," she replied, her heart throbbing anxiously in her chest, waiting to follow her companion's lead.
The woman nodded to Ilona. It wasn't much, but what else could they do? She reached out to take one of the grenades Ilona had grabbed, ready to lob it outside the armory door. She didn't know herself whether it was a stun grenade or not, but she didn't much care for what happened to this man. She was silent as she threw it, ducking down with Ilona right afterward.
Even from the next room, the sound of the blast was deafening, causing a harsh ring in both women's ears. Ilona's protector got up first, finding herself wobbly on her feet. She moved with some degree of physical discomfort toward the door, peeking outside to see what damage she had caused. After a few tense seconds, she looked to Ilona.
"It's time to run again," she said in a low voice, before jumping out of the armory doorway and making a break for it. She assumed Ilona was following as she rushed down the hall to charge through the cloud of smoke the grenade had conjured. It wasn't until she reached the other side of the smoke that she realized her mistake, coming face-to-face with their attacker as he swung at her with the butt of his gun. The woman fell like a fly, skidding across the floor and dropping the assault rifle she'd picked up.
"Stay in the smoke!" she commanded of Ilona.
Steeling herself when the woman took her grenades and tossed them outside the door, Ilona took a deep breath as she ducked down. Only seconds later the grenade would go off, disorienting the princess when she heard the sound. She stumbled as she stood up, clinging to her rescuer for support. When the woman gave Ilona the cue to run she did so, covering her mouth with a hand to try and prevent herself from breathing in the smoke.
Running a bit slower than the woman, Ilona would witness when she ran into their attacker. The princess gasped as the woman fell from his attack, unsure whether she should run to the woman's aide or stay where she was. Instinctively, however, Ilona listed when the woman told her to stay put.
What should I do? I-- Wait, I-I have a weapon!
Lifting the blaster gun she had a hold of, Ilona tried to aim through the smoke and find where her enemy was standing. Her hands shook and the thick smoke burned her eyes. She had little confidence the attack would work, but she had to do something.
Holding the gun as carefully as she could, Ilona squeezed the trigger and took a shot at their enemy.
The demolitions man had turned to the woman in her prone state, aiming his gun at her. Pink-hued eyes stared back at him defiantly, hoping that whatever happened, Ilona had time to escape. Except, what she didn't expect, was Ilona making an attack. The man didn't expect it either, freezing as the blaster shot his weapon right out of his hands. Both the woman and their attacker stared at each other for just a moment, before both went scrambling for their fallen weapons. She grabbed hers first, aiming it quickly at the man just as he was grabbing his own. The spray of bullets slammed into his armor, knocking him back and into the wall.
They only had a precious few moments to spare, so the woman beckoned Ilona to follow her the rest of the way back to the room they had originally attempted to enter. Once there, it was apparent that it was some kind of transporter room, with arches that looked like they could be gateways to other worlds. Ilona's protector brushed her hair out of her eyes as she got to work at a nearby computer.
"This will only take a second," she said between deep breaths.
"Watch the door, dear... and shoot if he appears."
Ilona was thankful her attack had done something after all. She chewed on her lip and waited, relieved when her rescuer was able to subdue their enemy for a moment. Realizing time was precious, Ilona rushed after the woman when beckoned forward and entered the room. She took a deep breath and nodded when her rescuer told her to shoot if the man entered, shakily holding up her blaster to point at the door.
"Y-Yes, I will, but we're almost out of here, right?"
I hope he doesn't come here. I don't want to shoot him. But even if I do, maybe his armor will protect him. I can't chicken out, not after we've made it this far...
"Very... very close..."
She couldn't keep the strain out of her voice.
Like some kind of monster, the man appeared in the doorway, holding his gun. He was almost silent as he stepped toward the pair. The woman didn't turn to him, her attention focused on getting the gateways started.
When the man entered the room once more, Ilona let out a gasp of worry and took a step back, her grip on the gun she held shaking intensely.
"He's here, Miss!" she exclaimed, warning her companion. Ilona hesitated for a moment, uncertain she wanted to pull the trigger again.
I can do this. I have to do this. If I don't, we may not get out of here! Please, Sun, guide my hand. Help me be brave!
Although reluctant, Ilona squeezed the trigger again with all her might, pulling it once, twice, and even a third time. She tried to aim for only his limbs, but with how shaky her hand was it seemed likely that she would miss her targets.
The man seemed unfazed as Ilona aimed on him, calmly aiming on her in turn. Two shots went wide, while the third slammed into the man's shoulder, jerking him backward.
"It's done!" cried the woman as he pulled his own trigger, the buckshot slamming into the side of the computer and shorted it out.
Despite the damage to the computer, a shiny silvery gleam began to emit from the center of one of the gateways, a portal opening up to take the two women away. Another shot went off, but Ilona was already being pulled away and into the portal.
"I've set it so it will only take the both of us!"
"O-Okay!" Ilona cried back, feeling relieved that her rescuer had finished with the computer. She was tempted to ask where the woman would be taking them exactly, but didn't want to alert their enemy of where they would be going just in case he could follow them. The Coalition was her best guess seeing as how the woman said she had been in contact with them.
The princess then closed her eyes and waited, hoping that at any moment the two of them would be out of Umbrella and to somewhere safe.
In a flash of light, the two women disappeared, taken away to somewhere else in the multiverse...
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Collab done with
@Klutzy Ninja Kitty <3
