Anthony’s POV
Anthony exhaled slowly. He was probably afraid to tell the truth, afraid that he’d punish or discard him. So instead of letting his exasperation leak into his voice, he softened it. “Winston, I need your answer. How many fingers can you see?”
Winston’s POV
“Please don’t leave me.” Winston let out a whimper as the first few tears started escaping. “I—I can’t see… And I know you think I’m worthless already, but please don’t.” Winnie sniffled, shaking. “I’m not gonna get into art school now or cook ever again or—“ Winnie’s hysterical rant was cut off by a choked sob.
Opals POV
“Wait Pasithea,” Opal said, trying to get to her. “I wasn’t the one who called them here,” Opal said, shocked to hear her own voice pleading “I didn’t call them.”
Anthony's POV
I froze as I saw tears slip down Winston's cheeks. My traitorous heart went out to him, and so did Samuel, whining softly and nudging his hand. "Hey, it's alright," I found myself murmuring, trying to soothe him. "You're with a healer, remember? I can fix your eyes. How did they get damaged?"
Ae-Ri's POV
Ae-Ri's shock at seeing Opal with a criminal again dissipated in the face of her fury. Pasithea must have done something to her friend, some kind of mind control—
Before she could stop and think, she was forcing an image into Pasithea's head, one of total darkness.
Winston’s POV
Winston did his best to stop crying, sniffling as he looked in Anthony’s general direction. “I–I think it was the light…” He managed to croak, fumbling to pet Samuel.
Sienna’s POV
Before Sienna could respond to Opal, the world went dark. She stumbled back in surprise, reaching for the table to support herself. “Don’t waste anymore lies on me Opal.” She hissed, taking a deep breath. “You got what you wanted.”
"Stay still," Anthony murmured. He hesitated for a moment, then gingerly took Winston's face between his hands, placing each thumb beside the other boy's eyes. He shut his own and concentrated, reaching out with his power. He sensed blood pumping, synapses firing, muscles twitching…. and there it was; a blockage. The healer focused on the black spot and pushed. Golden sparks flew from his fingers and slowly, Winston's vision was coaxed back to his eyes.
Winston’s POV
Winston’s vision came back into view slowly, first dim and blurry, but gaining in clarity as he rested his head in Anthony’s hands. His crying had stopped out of shock as he blinked, feeling dizzy from the rapid improvement. His vision got to the point where Winnie was seeing as well as he did before, but it continued to improve, enhancing everything around him with startling clarity. Winnie toned down his glow to around that of a shining halo, taking in the way Remedy looked as if for the first time.
Anthony's POV
The moment the dark spot vanished, Anthony was yanking his hands away and stepping back, slamming a neutral expression over his features. "Can you see?"
Winston’s POV
Winston was in a complete and total state of awe. “I can see everything!” His eyes sparkled with excitement as he looked at his hands, holding them up to see his face. He immediately bent down to greet Samuel, smiling brilliantly at the creature and affectionately rubbing its head. “I— thank you. I can see so much better than before! My doctor always said I needed to get my eyes checked, but my Ma knew we couldn’t afford glasses and— Did you know your eyes are green?”
Anthony's POV
Anthony frowned down at the other boy.
"………Yes? Now let's go, we've got an agent to save."
Winston’s POV
“Right, sorry. Thanks!” Winston was giddy off his new ability to see clearly, scooping up Samuel in his arms again before standing back up taking a deep breath before cautiously moving down the stairs.
One by one, the grotesques hopped over the newly made hole with Anthony close behind. They made their way cautiously down the stairs, through winding hallways and rotting rooms. At each turn, Anthony left a grotesque behind; a sort of 'trail of bread crumbs' for him and Winston to follow back.
Winston, although a bit spooked, was genuinely excited to be able to see so well. His chipper behavior drove him forward, glowing enough to cast light ahead of them, but not enough to injure Anthony’s eyes. Hell, Winnie didn’t realize how pretty they were at first. Green and gold in a hypnotic swirl, beautiful enough to act as a sedative to Winston’s fears. He still held Sam in his arms, unwilling to leave to grotesque behind at any point.
"Check again wit your mission control," Anthony ordered, picking his way around a fallen beam of wood. "We haven't found him yet."
Winnie nodded, touching the earpiece. The familiar mechanism buzzed to life. “Viper, this is Firefly. No sign of our agent. Any luck with the zonin’ in?” He waited a moment for the reply.
”…fly—two turns.. luck with… watch out for…” Winston flinched as the earpiece was filled with crackling static.
“Viper? Viper, come in!” Winston gulped nervously as the crackling suddenly stopped, the line dropping dead.
Anthony approached him carefully.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” he asked, a note of concern mingling with the words he spoke.
Winston turned around to face Anthony, his bright blue eyes filled with fear. “We ain’t got connection… We’re alone. Viper said somethin’ about two turns and then to watch our for somethin’ I couldn’t hear her. I’m sorry…” Winnie dipped his head in shame, expecting a reprimand for his failures, much like the training simulations he’d go through at headquarters.
Anthony inhaled sharply. They were alone? This wasn’t good…
“Why are you apologizing?” he asked, “It’s not your fault the connection is shit down here. It’s fine, we’ll find the guy on our own.”
“Sorry.” Winston mumbled impulsively. “I’m not supposed to lose connection in training. They said it’s most important.” He continued squeezing Sam a little as a comfort.
“Stop apologizing, and we’ll be just fine.”
Anthony moved past Winston, squinting into the corridor ahead. “Come on, Firefly, lead the way. I’ve done some of my missions without a Mission Control, I can handle this.”
Winnie trailed after Remedy, soothed by his assertiveness. “Can I keep holding your pet?” He asked, hugging Sam close.
“He’s not my pet,” Anthony growled, suddenly defensive. He’s my brother. “And fine, yes. But I need you to lead the way, I can’t see a thing.”
Winston flinched as Remedy turned hostile. “Sorry… I don’t like calling them grotesques. It sounds harsh.” He explained softly, walking forwards again, his light bouncing off the walls.
That’s not what I meant..
Anthony clenched his teeth, a muscle working in his jaw. “Don’t call him my pet.”
As soon as he’d spoken, he realized his mistake. “It. I meant to say ‘it’.”
Winston stayed silent for a moment.staring down at the grotesque in his arms, which had been quiet since he scooped it up. He had the feeling whoever it once was meant a lot to Remedy. “I’ll be careful with it, I promise.” He murmured, reaching the end of the hallway and turning.
“Why would I care what you do with him—it. With it.” Once again, Anthony made the same mistake.
Samuel, who knew from the moments spent alone with his brother that he was still loved, grew confused. Why did Anthony not want his newfound friend to know that he cared for his little brother? He whined softly, eyes glazing over.
Winston grew panicked as Samuel whined. “Did I hurt you, bud? I’m sorry! You okay?” He quickly stopped in his tracks, ready to put Sam down if need be.
“Keep walking,” Anthony snapped, “How many times do I have to tell you that there’s a man, dying, who needs our help?” In truth, he was jealous. No, not quite… he just wished he could be free to express affection for his little brother just as easily as Winston could. But unlike the other boy, he couldn’t afford to show weakness.
Samuel shook his head once, releasing a sigh as he lay his head on Winston’s shoulder.
“Sorry!” The word was part of Winston’s core vocabulary, integrated into almost every sentence. He gave Sam’s head a little nuzzle with his own before nervously picking up the pace.
Minutes piled up as they continued to sweep the halls, avoiding the apparent danger mentioned after the ‘two turns’ Mission Control had warned them about. Anthony kept reaching out with his powers, feeling for a heartbeat, but the only ones nearby were those of Winston and Samuel.
Until…
“Did you hear that??”
