Between the Black and Grey (Starlight Brigade AU)

30 - Wake Up

Sung swallowed his past feelings about the girl and gently eased himself closer to her. Widget looked ready to attack if she tried anything, but Yzus's face showed no such intent. In fact, her expression was all too familiar to Sung.

"You're on our ship," he soothed, "Don't worry, you're safe here."

The girl shied away from him as he drew nearer, pink eyes flicking repeatedly back to Widget. She looked absolutely petrified.

"I'm... sorry..." she said.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Sung assured her, waving behind him for his crewmates to back off. "We just want to help you."

Those words were apparently a mistake as Yzus began to tremble. She shook her head, her eyes filling up with tears. 

"No... I hurt you... you don't want to help me!" she cried, "You want to... to hurt me back..."

"I mean, what'd you expect, freak?" Widget snarled behind them.

Sung wasn't sure how he refrained from turning around and punching Widget in the face. Instead he instructed Havve to take the troublesome man outside and not let him back in. Miraculously he didn't put up a fight, but he definitely didn't looked pleased with the outcome. Once he was gone Sung turned his attention back to the sobbing girl.

"I promise I don't want to hurt you."

"But... I hurt you!"

"Did you want to hurt me?"

"...No....."

"Then as far as I'm concerned, it's water under the bridge."

"Water... under the...?" she repeated slowly, looking confused.

"Forgotten. I forgive you for what you did," Sung clarified with a smile.

Fresh tears spilled out of the young girl's eyes suddenly, and Sung feared he'd said something wrong again. 

"I'm sorry! They made me do it! They said I... I could see Mama again... if I got it! I didn't want to hurt you! I didn't want to hurt Widget!" she wept, the words spilling out like a waterfall.

Sung's heart broke at the sight of her so distraught. Her meltdown brought back memories of Nad in those early days, and before he knew it he found himself embracing her, holding her frail body against his chest. Meouch watched on with quiet sympathy while Brian simply stared at the exchange. Yzus took a while to calm down and find her voice again, and when she did she had something else to say.

"Is Nad okay?"

"Excuse me?" She knows Nad's name? I thought he was just reading it upside down this whole time...

"When you left... he looked bad. That's... that's not my fault, is it?" Her lip trembled guiltily.

"No, not at all!" Meouch jumped in to prevent more crying, "But uh, how do you know Nad?"

"He's my big brother..."

EXCUSE ME!?

Sung physically blanked, his already cramped brain not knowing what to do with all this new information flooding in. His mouth moved, but words were failing him, so he passed Yzus off to Meouch who seemed to be having more luck.

"Your brother, eh? You know, I have three brothers in my litter!" He offered his paw to Yzus to help her up from the floor.

"Really? What are they called?"

"Um... they didn't have names..." Yzus's curious expression started to fade. "But hey, neither did I! I actually named myself, you know."

"What did you call yourself?"