If you missed the last chapter of REEF MOB, you can find it [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/223361920/0/0]here[/url], or if you need to find a previous chapter, you can find them all in the [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/218618986?sort=0&page=0]Table of Contents[/url]. Please give a bump or leave a comment if you enjoy this and any other chapter!
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[i]“You’re wondering what you’ll do now,” Seren proclaims.
I place the tea she’s given me carefully on the table, considering my words.
“You said this is my new home.”
“I did.”
“Am I not allowed to leave, then?”
Seren chuckles.
“Of course you’re allowed to leave. If you wish.”
She takes a sip of tea.
“But where will you go?”
I ponder her words – is there even a place I do belong? Where did I come from? Why am I here?[/i]
The cell door clangs open as the Sarifs draw it back. I lift my head up and see Seren striding confidently in, a victorious smile on her lips. I feel a shiver run down my spine as she approaches, rattling the chains connected to my hands and feet.
“Leave us,” she orders the Sarifs, and they lock her in with me. Somehow, even in the darkness, her vivid blue eyes continue to glow. She snaps her fingers, and the overhead lights come on as she kneels ceremoniously in front of me, pulling a basket from behind her back.
I recoil instinctively before seeing her unpack a small teapot and two delicate cups for us.
“[i]Senzhin,[/i]” she says, smiling. “Do you remember, Nas?”
I don’t answer her – [i]what’s she doing?[/i]
She acts as if the silence doesn’t bother her as she continues her ritual, wiping our cups before gracefully pouring the steaming tea into each.
“You know I still can’t drink that, right?” I ask in spite of myself.
Seren chuckles.
“I remember,” she replies. “But the symbolism of the gesture is more important than its utility.”
[i]Huh?[/i]
“I don’t get it,” I tell her, wary and alert.
“Of course you don’t. You don’t have all the pieces yet.”
Seren places one of the cups at my feet, smiling maddeningly at me once more.
“But you will. You must.”
“The hell does that mean?”
Seren takes a sip of her tea.
“You’ll see.”
I can feel my anger brewing as she takes another sip.
“So why’re you keeping me in here, then? What do you want?”
Seren looks me deep in the eye – after several moments, it becomes unnerving and I’m forced to look away.
“That’s not important,” she says, taking another sip. “Yet. There is a time and place for everything.”
[i]“There’s something I haven’t told you,” Kenedi said. “Something Seren wants you to know, but not until…”
“Until when?”
“Until now.”[/i]
“Apparently it’s important enough to tell Kenedi,” I sneer, our conversation forcing itself to the front of my mind.
“Kenedi isn’t as important as you,” Seren answers. “Nor did he come to me of his own free will. You did, Nas. You have no one to blame but yourself.”
The chains rattle as I instinctively pull against them.
“I didn’t come on my own – you played me! Played all of us!”
There’s the briefest glint in Seren’s eye, and they almost seem to glow more brightly for a moment – but then she takes another sip of tea and smiles.
“It was necessary.”
“FOR WHAT?!” I shout, my agitation getting the better of me again. “Kenedi said you knew we weren’t going to find Ia on Taniks’ ketch! He said you knew everything, but you let all this….all this shit happen anyway! Why?!”
Seren calmly looks me in the eye, searching, before finally saying:
“Because that was how it was meant to happen.”
“So you’re saying [i]destiny[/i] is the reason we lost Djido? Why Ia’s still lost?!”
Seren smiles.
“Yes.”
The chains rattle as I instinctively strain against them again. I can feel a sense of growing panic, of confusion, that I’m just a puppet having my strings pulled by a cruel and uncaring deity. I wonder briefly if this is how the organics feel, if this is why I hear them speak of gods, but then Seren stands and crosses over to me.
“Those won’t be necessary any longer.”
She unchains me and I sit quietly rubbing my wrists out of habit while watching her like a hawk.
“I don’t understand,” I tell her. “Why would you do this?”
Seren locks eyes with me silently for several moments, almost like she’s questioning me as well, before finally saying:
“Because you told me to.”
[i]Huh?[/i]
I shake my head.
“You’re never going to give me a straight answer, are you?”
Seren rises and holds out her hand to help me up.
“I just did. Now come – we must prepare.”
She crosses to the door and raps lightly against it – it springs open instantly, and she turns to hold her hand out.
“Come,” she commands, and with no other choice, I obey.
Stepping out of my cell, I avoid the gaze of the two Sarifs who close in behind me, weapons in hand.
“Where are we going?”
“We are going to where you can see and hear everything,” Seren answers. “It’s time you knew what your purpose in all this is, my old friend.”
I feel another shiver run down my spine as Seren turns and claps her hands. Light footsteps approach, and I grow wary about what newcomer this may be –
But as he steps around the corner, all I can feel is shock.
“Kenedi?”
“Hello, Nas,” he replies. “It’s good to see you again.”
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Kenedi's back?!