it was a new place. new smells, new faces that she could barely see—in part because most of her vision was obscured bandages, much like the rest of her. mostly, she kept her eyes shut. it was only when a familiar voice echoed that she opened one of them.

”niko,” she muttered weakly, shifting and then stilling again. surgery and countless stitches had warranted a heavy dose of psychic remedy and a side of drugs, leaving her woozy, sleepy.

NIKO MANNER

heal pulses had helped her recover beneath her bandages to some good extent, but she remained cold, tired. it didn’t replace the blood she'd lost, still steadily regaining. her voice was still in slow, sleepy breaths.

”someone sent me out to get a delivery. i got ambushed by some guy.”

she shut her good eye.

”he said all rockets deserve to die and attacked me with his beartic.” she recalled @onyx ’s face, feeling a shiver her body was too tired to manifest. ”and then he left. i think he thought i was dead.”

NIKO MANNER

nina grookeystared at him with her good eye.

what even was it that she felt? was it rage? grief? without the physical power to manifest her emotions, she fizzled out in defeat with a barely audible sigh.

”no.”

because that would have required skill, and what skills did she have? certainly not the right ones.

but she was alive. she could learn.

NIKO MANNER

”i tried.” i was too weak.

next time. revenge? she shivered, holding herself in the bed.

”i don’t ever want to see him again.” much less face him in combat. whoever the man was, she would have nightmares about him forever. they would eat at what was left of her.

would she need to move onto the submarine? was that an option? did she want that?

she contemplated, her heartrate rising some with the suggestion visibly on a monitor nearby.

NIKO MANNER

she needed to? he couldn’t have that.

she was quiet, reading only that she now had a new responsibility she couldn’t previously have imagined. not only did she likely need to see this man again, but she was now obligated to address the issue of his crime against rocket.

her fingers pinched the sheet of the bed, idly holding onto something like it was the last vestige of hope. she was not a murderer.

”so... what do you mean? like, i have to find him again?”

NIKO MANNER

her hand lingered under his, weak. whatever intention he’d had of inspiring hope was quickly dashed by his following words. her visible eye narrowed in a wince at the horror of it. what the fuck?

”uh...”

her stomach turned. rocket wouldn’t let her off the hook? she was in the wrong place then, wasn’t she?

”well... what should i do?”

did she still have ekans, even? or nidorina? were they dead? she didn’t want to ask.

NIKO MANNER

nina might reason once she was feeling better that the man surely thought her dead. but for now, niko’s blunt warnings drove her fears, as though he might find her on that very bed if she shut her eyes for more than a second. her boss’s words were only echoes of THEO BECKETT ’s, and KING WAYLAND ’s. GABRIEL BLACK ’s. they solidified the mission. she had to learn how to survive, or she was going to die—probably sooner than later.

she nodded, barely. ”yes, please.”

NIKO MANNER