Episode Natalie: Chapter 3: Family

Chapter 3 of Natalie's story.

            “The Underground?” Natalie said with surprise as she continued to survey what was in front of her.  “What the heck is this?”

            “This place was a bunker for civilians to hide in during the Great War” Caer said as she started heading down the stairs of the catwalk to the village below.  “When Atlas tried to conquer this part of the region from the south, civilians needed a place to stay safe in case Atlas won and decided to roll their tanks through the city.  So they got some of the best and most able bodied people money could buy and they built this place.  Granted it was originally meant for the wealthy elitists and the old heads of the Huntsman guilds who ran this town, but when Atlas got defeated before making any significant gains in this region, the area was abandoned.  But my family found this place generations ago, and they discovered the crack in the wall creating the flow of water.”

            “Is that water from the reservoir above us?”

            “Well, yes and no.  Yes, it’s technically a part of that super gross basin that’s sitting at the top of this hill, but this crack taps into the purified water line that runs straight to downtown.  We never bore into the walls to confirm, but leading theory is that there is also a pipe that connects to somewhere in here that they intended to use that line to supply the rich dirtbags with clean water when the world ended but since this place was never needed, a pipe broke either due to nature or internal error and started following through him..  According to my family, my great grandfather was working on the project and when it got abandoned, he let people forget about its existence, destroyed all official files of the place,  then returned and dug a ditch to help collect and direct the water just sitting in here.  From there, we started inviting the less fortunate to live down here, and they in turn invited friends of theirs.  There are several pieces to keeping this place running.  We have merchants who come from all corners of the world to trade their goods, we have farming sustainability on a lower level we dug out and using stolen Atlas tech to help the plants grow with artificial sunlight, and so many other pieces.”

            “And nobody knows about this?  How do you keep a place like this a secret?”

            “By only letting in people we trust.  Or people who clearly aren’t on the criminals “kill” lists.  Like you and your brother.  Well, you at the very least.”  Natalie lowered her head in sadness at the mention of her brothers capture.  Caer sighed and directed Natalie towards one of the shops.

            “Hey Ocha!” she yelled catching the attention of an old man running one of the shacks.  “What’s brewing this evening?”

            “Tonight, is a lovely jasmine tea from the forests of Mistral with a dash of honey from the bees of Vale” Ocha yelled back as he started pouring two cups of tea from his kettle.  “My nephew got back from some of his travels and brought me some of the most delectable tea leaves for me to sell.”  Caer smiled and picked up one of the cups of tea and handed it to Natalie.  Natalie took a sip of the drink, which helped calm her down a little bit, but she was still clearly shaken.

            “Where did you and your brother come from?” Caer asked as she reached to place her hand on Natalie’s shoulder.  But as soon as she touched her, Natalie jumped backwards in fear and surprise.

            “Why do you care?” Natalie said with a shiver.

            “Because you ran right onto my doorstep, had Roman Torchwick himself trying to kill you, and now you are in my house.  I think I am entitled to at least a few answers.”  Natalie paused, then sat down in the middle of the street.

            “I’m from Aequo” she said taking another sip of tea.  “My brother and I have been living out in the cold for the last few weeks ever since it fell.”  Caer sighed, and offered Natalie a hand up, which she reluctantly accepted. Caer then guided Natalie back towards Irohs shack and said,

            “Mind if we borrow your back room old man?”

            “But of course,” Ocha said moving a curtain to reveal a small sitting room with nice red drapes covering the broken walls and a few small rugs next to a low table behind his little shop.  Caer then guided Natalie into the room, and they both sat down at the table.

            “There we go” Caer said taking another sip of tea.  “Now then, you said you were from Aequo?  Heard about what happened there.  That’s tough.  Had a few good traders come through here that called that place home.  But what brings you to this city?”

            “My brother wants revenge” Natalie said as she struggled to keep her shaking hands from spilling her tea.  “We were both there when it happened.  When it happened, he attacked the person who killed our family and neighbors, but then got captured, and for some reason, they didn’t kill him.”

            “They didn’t kill him?”

            “No.  I was hiding when I saw them capture him and some other guy there, and then I ran and hid away from them so they couldn’t find me.  Once they left, Nathan found me and there wasn’t a scratch on him.”

            “I see.  Well that’s going to disappoint Torchwick to no end then.”

            “I’m sorry, what?”

            “You see, for the past few weeks, ever since Aequo fell, there have been whispers amongst the bounty hunters who pass through this town.  A powerful shadow organization from somewhere in Vacuo has put a bounty out for anybody from the town of Aequo.  Ten-thousand Lien for alive, a hundred thousand for dead. However, amongst that bounty was a clause stating that select people were not allowed to be killed.  And if those people were found dead, then the person who killed them would meet the same fate.  So if Roman has a contact within this organization and they tell him your brother is on the No Kill list, I suppose he  will be all right for now.  Unless he decides that once your brother is of no use to him dead he could still use him alive either as a bargaining chip or perhaps some form of servant.”

            “Oh no….” Natalie felt her heart sink at this revelation.  As she looked at her hands holding the cup of tea, she saw herself starting to disappear once again.

            “Sorry kid” Caer said without even reacting to Natalie disappearing right in front of her.  “But that’s how things go in this town.  Either you come from money or you end up being used to make somebody else money.” Then, Ocha stepped in to the back, and looked straight at Caer in confusion.

            “Did the child leave?” he asked scratching his head.  “I never saw her head through the door.”

            “What are you talking about?” Caer said tilting her head in confusion.  “She’s still right there.”

            “Caer, is your Semblance playing tricks on you?  There’s nobody there.”  Caer looked over straight at Natalie confused.  She then walked over and pointed straight at Natalie.

            “She’s right here, I’m not sure what to tell you.”

            “I’m sorry,” Natalie said with a slight whisper.  “It’s my Semblance.  I don’t know how to control it.”

            “Wait, Ocha, you really can’t see her?”

            “My eyes may not have been what they once were, but I can only see you and hear the other one.”

            “Invisibility Semblance.  Not bad kid.  That can take you far in this town.”

            “I don’t know how to control it.”

            “In my experience, a Semblance responds to you when you are willing to listen to it.”  As she said this, Caer removed her sunglasses and revealed that instead of two functioning eyes, she had two white blank eyeballs.  She was completely blind.  “My Semblance basically kicked in for me at birth.  I couldn’t see anything the same way you can, but I have a sort of sonar ability that allows me to ‘see’ things so I don’t trip over everything.”

            “I’m sorry…”

            “Don’t be.  I don’t need anybody’s pity.  Heck, I’m the one who saved your life, right?”  Natalie simply continued to sit there and hold her tea, but she started to fade back to being visible.  Caer sat back down across from her at the table and smiled.

            “Look, if anything, your brother will be out working in either the mines or the factories in a few weeks, and we can try to figure out busting him out.  But until then, I’d suggest that you take a few days to rest and recuperate.  I’ll see about finding a family who would be willing to let you stay with them, but until then, Ocha, are you all right with her staying here?”

            “Of course.  And I’d be willing to let her stay even longer if need be” he said with a smile.  Natalie smiled, and laid down on the rug, and started to close her eyes.

            “You’ll be safe here” Caer said with a smile.  “Don’t worry.”

 

 

 

            Natalie slowly opened her eyes and realized she was lying on the grass of the field she used to play on back in Aequo.  She quickly shot up and looked around to try and see if perhaps she had a bad dream and was back playing with her old friends, but was disappointed to see that she was the only one there.  She sat down and curled up into a ball on the field, and started to cry.

            “I messed up….” she said between sniffles.

            “Messing up is life” a new voice cut in.  Natalie turned to see her mother standing at the top of the ridge, smiling down on her.  Natalie quickly leapt up and ran to her, tears flowing down her face.  As soon as she got to her, she embraced her tightly.

            “How is this…..” Natalie asked as she squeezed her mother even tighter.

            “It doesn’t matter” her mother said with a sigh.  “What matters is that you clearly are struggling Natlz.”  Natalie let go of her mother and wiped her tears.

            “I don’t know what to do.  I promised Ember I would take care of him.  That was the last thing she ever asked me to do.  And I thought I could do that by following him on this revenge plot, but now it’s gotten him captured.  And now he’s probably going to be tortured or killed.”

            “Your new friend doesn’t seem to think he’s going to die.”

            “But what if she’s wrong?  What if they do kill him?  Then I’ll really be alone.  And when I had a chance to help him, I just ran.  When I could have helped him back in Aequo, I ran.  When I could have helped Ember back at our house, I hid.  And now again, when I could have stayed and tried to help Nathan, I ran!  And now I’m probably going to lose him forever.  I’m a terrible sister.”

            “Natlz, you aren’t a terrible sister.  The fact that you’ve stood by him despite his antics proves your commitment to being there for him.  You just need to know when to stand up for yourself more.  Your brother can be headstrong, yes.  But you are just as capable as he is.  You said you would be alone without him, but don’t forget also, you are all he has left too, and it’s up to you to take care of him, right?”

            “But how can I do that?  I let him get kidnapped and taken away!”

            “Then go get him” and with a smirk, Natalie’s mother disappeared, leaving Natalie standing alone in the middle of the field.

 

 

 

            Natalie slowly got up and realized she had fallen asleep on the rugs in Ocha’s shack.  She looked around to see if he was still around, and saw him brewing another pot of tea.

            “Good morning young one” Ocha said as he poured a new cup.  “You were out for quite some time.  Caer is out getting some fruit for you to eat.  You seem like you haven’t eaten will in quite some time.  Natalie smiled and took a sip of tea.  Caer then suddenly appeared and lightly tossed a banana at her which she caught after almost dropping it.  Caer laughed and sat down across from Natalie.

            “Welcome back” Caer said with a chuckle.  “And here I thought you’d be sleeping for days.”  Natalie chuckled a little bit as well, but then her face turned more serious.

            “Do you know where they’re keeping my brother?”  Caer’s smile fell, and she grew concerned.

            “Kid, are you trying to be a hero right now?”

            “I’m trying to save my brother.”

            “A bit late for that one, don’t you think?”

            “I was late to save him last time.  I won’t fail again.”

            “Look, I know he’s your brother and all, but given the way you described him and how he’s been dragging you on his big revenge scheme power trip, don’t you think it might be better to think things through before going in guns blazing?”

            “I made a promise” Natalie said with determination.  “And I plan on holding true to that.”  Caer pinched her forehead, knowing full well she wasn’t going to be able to stop Natalie on her attempts to save her brother.  She then motioned for her to follow and Natalie obliged.  Caer lead Natalie through the streets of shacks towards a set of stairs that lead to the lower farming levels just below the flowing river.  Once they reached the bottom, she walked towards a small farm and opened the doors to reveal several farming tools.

            “It’s not much, but it’s better than just a pair of fists” Caer said with a small smile.  “Plus, Torchwick might be a big shot, but he also underestimates people rather easily.  Pick out your weapons of choice and I’ll get you a map of pipes to follow that will lead you to were Roman always seems to torture his prisoners.”

            “Torture?”

            “Ah, don’t worry about it.  It’s only been a day.  I’d say given Roman’s tendencies, the worst they’ve done is a few punches and maybe a few knife stabbings of the shoulders.”

            “Comforting thought….”

            “Look, Roman isn’t the best with technology.  And it shows with how he handles security.  While some of the other crime bosses have started using stolen Atlesian droids, he still uses flesh and blood help.  But if you do run into any guards and have to fight, there’s a good chance you’ll have to make a bit of a mess.  Are you okay with that?”  Natalie paused and lowered her head in worry at this thought.  She was still just a kid, she hadn’t tried to kill anybody at all before.   And all she could think of was everything that had happened in Aequo.  Everything she had seen and felt.  But she slapped her face and grabbed a farming scythe from the shed.

            “I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it” she said with determination in her voice.  Caer sighed, and motioned for Natalie to follow.

            “The entrance to the pipes is over there.  I’ll get you the map and you’ll be on your way.”

            “Thanks for everything” Natalie said with a smile.  “Maybe we’ll see each other again someday.”  Caer looked back at Natalie with a confused look on her face.

            “You seem somehow crazy calm given everything you’ve been through these past few weeks.”

            “I’ve had to do a lot of growing up in that time.  And I still have a good way to go before I can truly keep my promise.”

            “What promise is that?”

            “To look after my brother.”

            “Keeping promises can kill people in this town.”

            “Well then it’s a good thing I don’t plan on staying here forever.” 

 

 

 

            Natalie continued following the twisting and tight fit of a path that Caer had marked for her through the tunnels.  It was big enough that a person could pass through, just not without maybe ripping a few tears in their clothes.  Natalie’s shirt had a few new tears added to the collection, but finally she saw the opening that Caer had written down to look for on the map.  A service pipe with a green ladder leading to the surface.  Natalie quickly started climbing the ladder and opened the service hatch and climbed out into the service area of an abandoned dust mine.  It took a moment for Natalie to figure out getting the scythe out of the pipe, but she managed to wiggle it out without making too much noise.  From there, she looked around and saw an illuminated exit sign off in the corner of the service room.  She quietly made her way over, and opened the door to reveal a hallway that looked like it had been through a war.  The ceiling was falling apart, the floor had cracks and holes in it, and at first glance, Natalie swore she saw three different birds’ nests all sitting on the edge of the same big gaping hole in the roof.  At first, she was worried that she had the wrong place, but then noticed a soldier standing by a more heavily fortified door leading deeper into the building.  Natalie took a deep breath, then started repeating to herself in her head,

            “I don’t want to be seen, I don’t want to be seen, I don’t want to be seen….” over and over again as she slowly started walking towards the guard and the door.  As she got closer, a ray of light shone through the hole in the roof, and went right through Natalie’s body and landed perfectly at the feet of the guard.  Natalie had a quiet sigh of relief as felt she was finally getting the hang of her Semblance.  It wasn’t instantaneous as she had hoped, and she thought for a split second the guard might have seen her hand pop out of thin air for a moment when she couldn’t fully keep her concentration but he kept standing there.  She stood there watching the guard twiddle his thumbs, then turn around and open the door into the rest of the building.  As he entered, Natalie used her now invisible scythe to catch the door and keep it open long enough for her to sneak in without the guard noticing that it longer than usual for the door to close.  After that, she realized that she might be in a world of hurt.  The building went from decrepit to state of the art.  The walls were covered from floor to ceiling with metal, there were florescent lights illuminating every single inch of the space, and there was not a speck of dirt to be seen unless you were right next to the door leading outside.  Natalie took a deep breath, and began to question where she might actually be able to begin looking for her brother.  But then, she suddenly saw Roman himself angrily marching through the hallway yelling on his Scroll.

            “…yes I know what I said!  Well, how was I supposed to know that kid was on the “do not kill” list?  Look, I’ve got the guy himself on hold for a call that I need to take.  Just make sure the kid isn’t dead and that he doesn’t remember anything about that night!”  Roman angrily slammed his Scroll back into his pocket and continued his angered march.  Natalie decided to follow him all the way into his office.  Roman then closed the door behind him just after Natalie managed to sneak in, put his bowler hat on a hat rack, then pulled out his Scroll, pressed a few buttons, then plugged his Scroll into a speaker.   After a few rings, the other line picked up and greeted Roman with,

             “I have several projects on my plate right now Torchwick” the new voice said.  “So I suggest you make your excuses quick.”

            “Look, I don’t know what to tell you!” Roman yelled throwing his hands in the air.  “My intel told me neither of those kids were on your precious “don’t kill” list!  Here I thought I was going to make bank!”

            “Nathan Grover is a key piece to a much larger puzzle” the stranger stated in an annoyed tone.  “Killing him would have massive consequences for future events and consequences.”

            “Look, Memoriare, I get it.  You have your massive secret underground criminal organization you’re trying to run but….”

            “I’m not running it.  I am simply one of its most powerful pieces.”

            “Oh spare me the company synergy schlock.  You are so cagey about you and your secret fan club that nobody, not even the top dogs of Statera know what your organization is!  So don’t give me the runaround as if I know everything about who you are or what you do!  All I want to know is how can I recoup my loss here?  Is that sister of his on the no kill list?”  There was a pause, as Memoriare seemed to be thinking about what Roman was suggesting.

            “She is an interesting piece.  A wild card if you will.  Yes, at one point or another, she will die.  Setting the stage for events yet to be.  Perhaps in that regard, this could be beneficial. “

            “Stop speaking in riddles and give me a direct answer you pompous windbag!”

            “The one called Natalie may die.  You would be paid in full by my organization.  On one condition, however.  As soon as she is dead, use her to traumatize her brother, and then bring him to me.”

            “A killing and child trafficking?  I’d better get triple the bounty for this job Memoriare.  Because if this goes south….”

            “It won’t Roman.  I will make sure of it.  But again, this hinges on if you manage to kill the girl.”

            “Look, I want you to commit to triple my pay or else there’s no deal and I’ll just sell the girl’s corpse to somebody else.”

            “Very well.  But again, she must be dead.”

            “Yeah yeah, glad to be of service and all that junk” Roman said as he hung up.  He groaned and then stood back up unplugging his Scroll from the speaker and making another call.  “Neo, meet me in the strategy room.  We need to go about finding this stupid little girl.”  With that, he stormed out of his office leaving Natalie to re-appear and start gasping for breath.  She wasn’t sure how much longer she could have kept herself invisible but was extremely thankful that Roman had left.  She then gathered herself and made her way towards Roman’s desk.  It was covered in papers and files, but she noticed a small bit of what looked like a map of the complex.  She pulled it out to take a closer look at it, and saw labels on each and every room in the building.  From finding a sticker of Roman’s sigil on his office, and other notes pointing out the armory, the old river loading dock, and a small area labeled as “prison”.  Natalie went over the map several times, mapping out how to get to the prison, and once she felt she had the path memorized, she took a deep breath, turned invisible once again, and snuck out of Roman’s office.  She snuck down the corridors taking her time to get to the prison.  There weren’t many guards around, but she didn’t want to take any chances.  However, as she was making her way there, she passed the armory and saw a guard placing Nathan’s clubs on a shelf inside the room.  As soon as the guard left, Natalie snuck in, grabbed Nathan’s clubs, and snuck out before anybody could have even noticed.  Eventually, she reached the prison and saw that there were two doors.  One seemed to lead into a small control room filled with lights and buttons as well as a one-way mirror, the other lead to a flight of stairs going down into what appeared to be an old docking bay filled with decrepit machinery and tools.  And sitting in the middle of that dock was Nathan, tied up in a chair.  Natalie quickly opened the door into the dock and ran down the stairs, still keeping herself invisible.  She finally reached the floor of the hangar and ran over to Nathan, who she could see was covered in cuts and bruises.

            “Hang in there big brother,” Natalie said as she used her scythe to cut the ropes binding him, “I’ll get you out.”  But just as she did so, the lights of the dock suddenly turned on and beamed down on where Nathan was sitting.  Natalie looked around, and quickly looked at her own arm to make sure she was still invisible.  Then, she looked up at the one way mirror of the control room, and saw a small pane rise up to reveal Roman standing there with a wry smile on his face.

            “Welcome to my house, little Miss Disappear” Roman said with a chuckle.

Author's Note

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