DEVIATE / / (An unOrdinary fanfiction)

XII.

"Remi, where are we going?"

I followed her energetic pace as we turned corners in the girls' dormitories.

"To Seraphina's. I wanted to formally thank her for what she did in Turf Wars." She replied.

Remi abruptly stopped at a door and rapped her knuckles against the wood. The door opened at once to reveal Elaine.

"Remi! Delta! What brings you guys here?" She smiled as I internally rolled my eyes at her farce.

"I want to speak to Seraphina. Is she there?" Remi asked.

"Yup, right in her room! I'll make some tea for you three-"

"No, it'll be quick." Remi interrupted politely as we headed towards her room.

"A-ah, are you sur-"

I followed Remi as she knocked on Seraphina's door.

"It's Remi."

"Come in."

We both walked in to find her sitting on the floor, against her bed reading a graphic novel. I felt a pulsating, threatening aura in the room as I scanned around for the source. My eyes landed on the teddy bear perched on her dresser.

There was something off about it. Could I be wrong? My intuition normally doesn't fail me.

Remi's gaze was also fixated on the bear. So i'm not wrong. I wonder what she was seeing.

"What is it?" Seraphina's voice snapped us out of our observational trance.

"Sorry for my absence." Remi suddenly bowed at Seraphina, taking both of us aback. "I know how much you hate Turf Wars and working with Arlo, but I appreciate you subbing in for me."

Seraphina exhaled and offered a small smile.

"You don't need to thank me. I owed it to you. All this time you've taken the Queen's burden off my shoulders. It's the least I could do." She looked at me. "It was actually Delta who did all my heavy lifting during the fight."

I grinned.

"Remi...?"

Her gaze was locked onto the bear intently.

"Remi!"

Remi's eyes turned to Seraphina as she nervously scratched the back of her head.

"What's wrong? You keep looking at my bear." Seraphina said.

"Ah..." Remi glanced at the bear. "There's a weird circuit inside. It's throwing me off a bit."

"What?"

"Oh, so you don't know? Mind if I take a look?"

Seraphina nodded slightly as Remi reached for the stuffed bear, tearing the seams from the back of his head. I felt the aura grow stronger as she fished for culprit through the cotton, pulling out a tiny blinking circuit.

"A....transmitter...?" I concluded, perplexed by the tiny device.

Remi zapped the circuit and fried the hardware as it immediately stopped blinking.

"You should stay alert from now on. We may be powerful, but we're far from invincible." Remi said as Seraphina nodded mindlessly, something else obviously occupying her thoughts.

"Anyways, we should get going." I said as we started for the door.

"Wait, Delta."

I stopped and turned at Seraphina's voice.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

I looked at Remi as she nodded, closing the door behind her.

"What's up, Seraphina?" I asked.

"I need you to do me a favor."

I nodded. "Sure, of course."

"Have you heard of the book unOrdinary?" She asked.

My eyes widened. The book that was banned not long ago for its philosophies?

"Y-yeah, it's pretty infamous. What about it?"

Seraphina crossed her arms and sighed.

"I got my hands on a copy, and well, I think that Elaine saw it in my room a few days ago."

"Oh! Are you in trouble?" I asked with a genuinely concerned tone.

"No, but if Elaine saw it, i'm certain she tell Arlo or a higher authority. If they find out, I can be expelled." Seraphina paused. "If that happens...or anything like that happens and i'm not around because of it, I want you to protect John. Please."

I felt a sudden gloom weighing heavily down on both of us. Her blue eyes held a sudden desolate expression that i've never seen before, a familiar expression i've seen not too long ago.....

"Please, Del." Blood trickled out her nose. She looked so limp and helpless in her bloodies state. "Just go!"

"No!" More tears flowed uncontrollably down my cheeks. "I can't leave you. Please, please don't do this!"

She placed her bloodied hands tenderly on mine. "There is no time, Delta. You need to go. It's now or never."

"I love you."

"I love you more."

"Don't let the subject get away!" I saw a herd of white coats who spotted us lunge in our direction.

"Go Delta! Go!"

"Delta...? Are you alright..?"

Seraphina's anxious voice brought me back to reality. I unthinkingly nodded as I wiped the moisture from my cheeks.

"Y-yeah, t-there was just something in my eye." I quickly changed the subject before she could push further. "I have to ask....why me?"

"Believe it or not, John speaks fondly of you. You both share matching philosophies in terms of the corrupt modern social hierarchy. As a high-tier that doesn't share a pompous attitude with the other powerful beings, it gives him hope there's proof society doesn't have to be structured in such a corrupt way."

I smiled. It gave me hope that there was someone else who shared the same views as me.

"I'm glad he feels that way. I promise, Sera. I promise i'll protect him."

Seraphina smiled back.

"Thank you, Delta." :;