To Each Their Own Pt. 1

My eyes opened to a familiar ceiling, though it wasn't at the same time. A ceiling fan gently wafted cold air onto my face. A faint clicking noise could be heard from a small device resting on the desk. This place... isn't home. It's the Calypso squad's hideout.

One by one, everything started coming back to me. My meeting with Astrid, the coffee shop explosion, Alexandria's... betrayal. And now, I'm here, a now-wanted defect hiding with the most dangerous defects in all of New Olmypos. How in the world did I get here?

Suddenly, the door slammed open. Astrid popped in with a face that spelled urgency in the largest font.

"Good morning, buddy. We need your help. Get out here when you can."

Without giving me time to reply, she shut the door. What was that all about? And my help? What help could I possibly offer to them? I guess sitting here isn't gonna answer that question. I should go and see.

After throwing my jacket on, I rushed out of the infirmary. Immediately upon seeing Judan, my heart sank. She was carrying Zephyr, who was barely conscious, around her shoulder. Both of them were heavily injured and could barely stand. Parts of their uniforms were tattered, revealing bleeding wounds.

"Z-Zephyr!" I exclaimed as I rushed over.

"Solas... Take her, please," she said weakly.

I held onto Judan's left arm while Zephyr dropped the other. As I carefully rested Judan on a nearby couch, Zephyr stumbled over.

"Hey!"

I bolted over and caught her right before she was about to fall.

"Thanks... Solas..."

"Don't talk. Sit down first."

I rested her down next to Judan. She threw her back on the cushion, breathing heavily as if she hadn't had a moment to rest for a long time.

"Solas," Astrid called out.

I turned around to see her trudging through the front door with Minerva on her back.

"Loki is in the truck outside," she said. "Can you grab her?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

Without a second thought, I ran outside and saw an armored truck parked right outside. All of the doors were opened except for the left backseat door. That's probably where Loki was sitting.

I opened the door, and like the others, she was beaten just as badly. Her brows twitched, and her glowing lavender eyes opened, she laid them on me.

"Ah... Hey, Solly..." she smiled, but it was followed by a strained cough. "Damn... I didn't want you to see me like this. Pitiful, huh?"

"What? Never mind that. I'm gonna help you now. You ready?"

She slowly nodded her head.

"Alright," I said. "Easy now."

As gently as I could, I helped her out of the truck, to which she fell on my shoulders. I then walked her inside and rested her on a lone sofa, since Minerva was already taking the last seat on the couch.

Now that I had time to look at them up close, I noticed that their injuries differed. While Judan had scorch marks all across her body, the other three were bruised everywhere with blood clotting up beneath their skin.

This is kind of hard to believe. Four Calypsos, considered highly dangerous, were unconscious before me. For people like them to be in this state... What the hell happened?

Suddenly, Judan let out a painful moan, followed by sharp convulsive gasps. She jerked forward, stumbling to the ground. From a single cough came a blot of blood.

"J-Judan?!" I yelled. "Hey, Judan!"

"Shit..." Zephyr grunted, but she was in no condition to move. "Astrid!"

The sound of wheels clattering on the glossy floor faded in. Astrid was pushing one of the trolley beds from the infirmary.

"Quick, help me get the Boss up," she said with urgency.

"Got it."

Together, we lifted Judan and rested her on the bed. I took a step forward to follow them, but then I felt a tug at the bottom of my jacket. It was Minerva, reaching out with desperation in her pained eyes.

"C-Cap'n..." she muttered.

"She's gonna be fine, Minerva," Astrid said. "Just stay there and rest for a bit. I'll get to you after I take care of the Boss. Solas, come with me."

There are so many questions circulating in my head right now, but I know better than to start asking. First, we need to take care of the squad. Whatever questions I have can wait until they're better, or at least getting better.

Astrid rolled the bed against the back wall, where a whole system of medicinal technology was set up.

"Solas. How much do you know about augmented medicine?" she asked.

"I was a field medic in the army," I replied.

"Good enough. Whatever I tell you to do, do it. Alright?"

"Y-yeah."

"Give me a solid answer!" she shouted. "Can you do it or not?"

As off guard as I was, I pushed it all down and steadied myself. "I can."

"Good."

Astrid unzipped Judan's jacket, revealing a strange, circular device attached to the center of her chest. Upon the surface was a glowing diamond, pulsing at the rhythm of a heart. What surprised me even further was a series of symmetrical lines flowing along her skin, growing... as if it were trying to eat her up.

After attaching a couple of wires to the device, Astrid rushed over to the system and tapped around on a holographic screen. A beeping sound was now audible.

She took a deep breath. "Alright... Here we go. Pass me the trace conductor."

I reached for a pen-looking device on the table and handed it to Astrid. She slowly moved the metallic end along the device on Judan's chest. All the while, the beeping sound became much more sharp.

"Okay..." Astrid sighed. "See those switches next to the monitor? Flip the uppermost one as soon as I tell you. Ready?"

I positioned myself at the monitor, hovering my finger over the mentioned switch.

"Ready."

After a few seconds, she gave me the signal, and I flipped it. The sharp beeping subsided.

"Good," Astrid said. "Again."

Once more, she gave me the signal to flip the switch. The device glowed brightly, before the top of it popped out like a lid.

"Cellular reconstruction module. Right there on the table next to your bed."

I ran back and snatched up a tiny chip, then hurried back and gave it to Astrid. Using tongs, she carefully inserted it into the device. The beeping became much more intense.

"Don't panic," Astrid said. "We're gonna close it now. Do exactly what you did before with the switches, but flip the lowermost one. Ready?"

"Ready."

Seconds passed, and she gave me the signal. Just like before, we did it again, and the lid snapped shut. As the beeping faded, the bright glow of the device faded, until it was nothing more than a dim light. The glowing lines around her body dissipated just as quickly.

Astrid threw herself onto a nearby chair, leaned her head back, and let out the biggest sigh of relief.

"Good job, Solas," she smiled. "She's gonna be fine now."

Even though I didn't understand much of what was happening, I still couldn't help but sigh along with her.

"What happened?" I asked. "Why was she like that?"

At first, Astrid seemed hesitant to answer. I was just about to tell her that she didn't have to, but she turned her head away, averting my gaze.

"Remember when you asked me about my eyes?"

"Uh... Y-yeah, I do," I replied.

"It's not something I like to admit, but I guess it's fine if it's you who's asking. You see, Solas..."

She turned around with a smile, but for some reason... it seemed sad.

"I'm completely blind in this eye."

"...What...?"

"Yeah... Near the end of the Insurrection of Calypso, I had no choice but to activate my overdrive sequence to ensure that the girls had the best possible chance to make it out alive. The results? My left eye was shattered, along with the optic nerve that connects to my brain. At that point, augmentations couldn't fix it, so... I have to live with it."

"I... I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's a reasonable question, and now you understand. Overdrive is extremely powerful but also dangerous. As I told you before, the repercussions vary depending on the capability of said code. I was lucky to only have gone blind. The Boss, on the other hand..."

Her eyes trailed over to the unconscious Judan.

"She loses a piece of her reality."

A sudden chill crept up my spine as my body froze.

"What... does that even mean?" I asked.

"You're smart, Solas. You probably already figured it out. Her code 'Event Horizon,' is the manipulation of a black hole, a destructive astronomical object that consumes everything, even time itself. As such, it is slowly devouring the Boss, and it will continue to do so until nothing remains. You asked me why she was like that. Now you have your answer. Unfortunately... The Boss went into overdrive."

I don't even know what to say. Judan... is slowly dying. Does that mean that everyone else is as well? 

"I'm gonna check on the others," Astrid said as she stood up. "If you can, stay here and keep an eye on the Boss. Alert me if anything happens."

"...Yeah," I replied.