Nightmares

[Zuka]

SPOILER: Click to show

This takes place right after Bait after they all escape. Whoever and however you guys want to do this. One person reply, both Kenji and Zula, Neva...all, it doesnt matter lol. Its open for any of them.

June 17th

There were screams all around her. Screams of pain and terror and she recognized the voices. A man and a woman cried out in pain to Zukas right and she turned her head to look only to see Teo and Neva laying dead on the floor. Zuka tried to go help them but she couldn’t move, she was stuck where was. Still tied to that damn chair.

Another scream, this time to her left and the voice was so much like her own the thought of who was on the other end made her stomach drop. Zuka looked away from Teo and Neva’s bodies and turned her head to look at the source of the third scream. Her vision was blinded by a flash of a bright orange light that caused her to shut her eyes but once the light cleared and Zuka opened her eyes she saw Zula’s lifeless body on the ground. She was wearing her Cinder uniform and her mask was laying next to her so there was nothing to hide her sisters dull, blank eyes.

Zuka cried and screamed for her sister, struggling to try to reach her but she still could not move. No matter how hard she tried or pulled she remained where she was. Zuka hung her head and grieved but soon she could hear more signs of struggle coming from her front. It sounded like a fight. The clang of metal against metal echoed throughout the room and Zuka listened intently, knowing who it was but not wanting to look, too afraid of what she was going to see. Soon, the battle was over as another scream echoed through her ears, this time deeper than the others and Zuka shut her eyes tighter as fresh tears started down her face.

For what seemed like ages there was silence. The only sound was of Zuka’s tears but that quickly changed when a woman started to speak.

”I told you I would take everything from you”

Slowly Zuka lifted her head to look at the source and as she did everything changed. Suddenly she was standing, free from the ropes that had kept her still all this time. Zuka’s face showed slight confusion but that quickly dropped once she realized what was in front of her.

Kenji.

Only this wasn’t a Kenji she was used to seeing. Her Kenji was strong, determined, clever and always had a plan B in case things went wrong and he never let his emotions show on his face. This wasn’t him, the Kenji before her looked broken. Having dropped to his knees as if he had given up. He was badly beaten, his Ghost armor was missing pieces and his mask lay at the side nearly cracked in half.

Zuka tried to call out to him but he didn’t..or couldn’t hear her.

”You weren’t good enough” the womans voice continued as a black fog began to swirl around them. ”and look at what it cost you” the fog started to move and gather behind Kenji and as it clustered together a pale, white mask appeared in the center. Zuka felt her stomach drop. Slowly the fog began to take shape and a woman dressed in black with the pale white masked stepped out.

”Jaya” Zuka said through gritted teeth but again, it was as if no one heard her.

The Shadow stepped up behind the kneeling Kenji and grabbed the back of his neck and forced his head up, holding it in place.

”All of them are dead because of you” her voice sounded as if it was mocking him but Kenji didn’t seem to care. Zuka could see the pain on his face, he knew exactly what had happened and she could see the guilt weigh heavy on him. ”she’s dead because of you”

More confusion crossed Zuka as she started shaking her head. ”I’m right here” she tried to tell him ”Kenji, I’m right here” Zuka tried once more, practically pleading at him for him to notice her but still nothing.

”Look at her, look at what you’ve done”

Zuka didn’t understand she was standing right here but Kenji couldn’t see her. It was frustrating, it was almost like he was looking right past her. What was he looking at? Zuka followed his gaze, turning slightly to the right and looking down and it didn’t take long to figure out what Jaya was talking about.

There on the ground was Zuka’s beaten and mangled body. In the center of her chest was a large, wet red hole where she had been stabbed. The body’s head was lulled to the side and its open eyes were looking directly at Kenji and Zuka realized why he had been staring like he had been. The sight of her own body sent a shiver down her spine and Zuka felt her anxiety slowly begin to rise deep in her stomach.

A wicked laughter filled her ears as Jaya boasted about her victory but Kenji still did not move. Jaya kept her grip on the back of his neck with her right hand and brought her left hand up as a metal blade started to form from the metal on her wrist. In one swift movement Jaya pulled Kenjis head back to expose his neck, brought her left wrist in front of Kenji and then back again. ”No!” Zuka screamed as she watched, once again helpless and unable to move. The bright red was in stark contrast to the darkness of his armor and his tattered jacket instantly became stained and soaked. Jaya released Kenjis neck and his body slumped to the side, the pool of red growing by the second. Zuka watched in horror, the pit in her stomach growing and intensifying each passing moment.

Something brought her attention away from Kenjis body and as she tore her eyes away and looked forward once more Zuka was face to face with the pale, white mask. They were so close Zuka could see the intense brown eyes underneath. Zuka was practically buzzing with panic now, she wanted to run, everything in her was telling her to run but she couldn’t.

”I told you” The mask began to speak ”always make sure they’re dead” a hand reached up and grabbed the back of Zuka’s shoulder and pulled her forward as Jaya plunged her metal blade into her chest.


Zuka’s eyes shot open and she sat up, looking around wildly as panic set in. Her chest was pounding as she tried to figure out where she was but nothing was registering. Everything was still fresh in her mind but a sudden rush of pain helped bring her back to reality. The quick shift in movement caused Zuka’s left shoulder to throb in sharp pain and she focused on that for a brief moment before a more intense pain in the back of her head took over all irrational thought. Zuka groaned and hissed as she gently brought her right hand up to the back of her head and gingerly touched the area where her head had split.

She sat like that for a moment to collect herself and focusing on getting her heart rate back to normal. It was just a nightmare, that’s all it was…right? Zuka wasn’t so sure. How could she be? She didn’t remember anything after her face to face encounter with The Shadow and maybe her mind was piecing together what had happened.

Taking a few deep breaths Zuka tried to calm herself and once the initial shock and pain slowly started to wear off she started to register the things around her. She was in a healers den, Neva’s healers den. Zuka had spent enough time here to know the place by heart, even in the dim evening lighting she could tell. Zuka shifted slightly to her left in the small bed and looked at the healing pool in the center of the room as if to double check.  

Ok…so she was at Nevas, but where was everyone? Zuka still couldn’t shake her nightmare or the fear that maybe not everyone had made it out and the fact that no one was here to help ease her mind wasn’t helping her case either. Zuka looked around again, hoping for some kind of clue as to who had been in here with her.  Near the bed was a overstuffed chair with a blanket and pillow thrown in the center like someone had used it to sleep but beyond that there was nothing.

With a large sigh Zuka slowly titled her head back and closed her eyes.

They actually did it, they came and got her. ”Idiots” Zuka said hoarsely.  She knew full well that if the situation had been reversed and one of them had been taken instead that she would do the exact same thing but that still didn’t mean she wanted them to risk their lives for her like that.  Not with the risk involved.  With another sigh Zuka started to bring her hands up so she could rub her eyes but was met with resistance on both sides. Looking down Zuka noticed for the first time that her left arm was in a sling and her shoulder was wrapped in such a way that it made it impossible for her to lift her arm higher than a few inches. Did she break it? Zuka had no idea but something must have happened, probably when Mei had her against the wall.

Zuka groaned before looking to her right where a IV had been placed. Her eyes traveled up the clear tubing to the glass bottle of solution and back again.  Carefully Zuka maneuvered her left hand and pulled the needle from her arm and let the tubing over the side of the bed so it could hang out of the way. Now that she was free it was time to get up and find someone. Zuka had so many questions and while she was afraid of the answers knowing she would never forgive herself if something happened she had to know.

Carefully she pushed herself up more in the bed, something her sore body protested greatly. Even the tiniest movement caused her stiff and sore muscles to cry out and it was a chore to get her feet over the bed and a even bigger chore to get herself to stand. It took a few tries, the first couple of times Zuka barely made it to her feet before she fell back down but finally she was able to stand securely. Zuka took a few careful steps and instead of walking out to the main room she made her way to the small adjoining bathroom to give herself some more time and to get a idea of just how bad things had been. Pulling the light string Zuka winced at the sudden brightness until her eyes were able to adjust. As soon as she could see Zuka reached for the sink and turned on the water and let it ran as she looked at herself in the mirror.

She looked like hell, a lot better than what she had looked like she was sure thanks to Neva... The whole right side of her face was bruised, there was a cut on her forehead and one on her lip and the scrape across her nose made her think it had been broken…again. On her neck you could see where Mei had grabbed her because she had left a nice black and blue handprint.  And while she couldn’t see them but Zuka knew there had to be more bruises on her body because she sure could feel them.

Zuka eyes wanted down her reflection to her neck. It had been so close, Mei could have easily ended it there.  It had been a very long time since Zuka had felt so helpless and it wasn’t a feeling she liked. Everything was real now..not that it wasn’t before but Jaya had taken that and dialed it up to eleven and like it or not they were all as helpless as any of them had been in a long time.

Closing her eyes and gently shaking her head to clear it Zuka decided to focus on one thing at a time. Using her right hand she stuck it under the running water and cupped some water, bringing it to her face and splashing it. The cool water helped ease her mind a little and Zuka repeated the motion a few more times, bringing some of the water to her mouth to take a few careful sips. The coldness of the water stung her dry mouth and Zuka coughed a little as it made its way down. It hurt to swallow, her throat and neck swollen from the attack but she felt so much better to have real water after days of not having it. Once she was satisfied Zuka turned off the faucet and grabbed one of Nevas towels and gently patted her face.

Done with that Zuka looked in the mirror once more and noticed that someone had put her hair into a braid to keep it out of the way, they had also changed her clothes to which she was thankful for.  It was little things but it helped her feel more like a person than someone who had spent three days in a basement tied to a chair.

The longer Zuka stood in the bathroom looking at herself she contemplated trying to heal her bruises more but she knew she was just stalling. As eager as she was to find the others and have someone explain what happened Zuka was afraid too.  The nightmare had felt so real, Zuka would swear that she could feel Jayas blade in her chest and she knew the images she saw were not ones that would leave her any time soon.  But, what if she knew more than she thought?  What if it all actually happened.  

It took a few minutes but she finally worked up the courage to venture out into the main room. As much as she wanted to at least try to heal herself more Zuka knew it would be a horrible idea. She knew she shouldn’t be out of bed and walking let alone healing and the last thing she wanted was to pass out (again) from over exerting herself but she wasn’t going to just let herself sit and do nothing either.

Slowly Zuka made her way to the door of the den. As she neared the door Zuka could hear someone on the other side. Opening the door Zuka carefully stepped out into the rest of the house. The light was much brighter out here and she squinted her eyes and held on to the door for support while she waited for her eyes to adjust. Zuka didn’t get the chance to see who had been out here before the light hit her but whoever it was hopefully they could give her some answers and explain what happened.