Chapter Text
Katie wakes up with a fright. Looking around frantically, she pushes all the hair that has been stuck to her forehead from last night's sweat away and instantly relaxes when she zones into the white egg.
She's okay, he's okay, everything is okay. It has been a long, long month and today is finally the day. The day that everyone is allowed back to the surface. Just after Tomate had gained his voice, Cucurucho had received a message from one of his workers and quickly rushed from the lab. Katie was concerned, thinking it was something about Multi but she had to stay strong for Nacho and Tomate, she distracted them for what felt like hours. The laughed, and joked, and danced. That was until the QSMP researcher rushed in telling her that everyone needs to evacuate to special federation bunkers as the missile is soon to be launched by the Dark Federation.
Katie was distraught. This meant that not only did Multi's plan fail, but he was probably not alive anymore. She not only became a single mother, but also had to survive a missile launch and pick up all the pieces of their family that is left in the aftermath.
The month in the bunker was exhausting. Nacho was incessantly begging for his 'dada', asking of his whereabouts, why was he not in the bunker? Katie begged and begged Cucurucho for more information but none was given to her, so she had to put on a brave face and lie. Lie to her son that his father is alive and well, and that he will meet them on the surface when they are allowed out the bunker.
That has placated Nacho for the first week, but after, Katie slowly started losing her composure and had lashed out at him after the 50th time Nacho had asked for Multi. The voice boomed throughout the echo-y bunker and everyone stared, but she did not care. She was so so overwhelmed.
So, she told Nacho the harsh truth. Told him that she does not know where Multi is, that she had tried to get information out of any Federation Worker she would see walking around the bunker, that she had promised Cucurucho that she would do anything just to know whether Multi is alive or not. But her hard work did not pay off. No one told her anything, not when she tried to gain their sympathy by playing the 'potential single mother' card, not when she tried to get Tomate to get some insider information, and not when she tried to sneak around the Federation only sections of the bunker.
She told Nacho that once they get to the surface they'll have only each other. She will have Nacho to take care of, she will have a business to build back up, a HQ to rebuild, and no one will be there to calm her down, to distract her from the trouble she had got herself in.
Nacho was silent for a month, even with his mask on, Katie could tell that his face was distorting in a multitude of emotions. She saw a glimpse of wrinkles on his chin, showing that he was biting his lips in fear, she could see the furrow of his eyebrows, and the slight sweat on his forehead. But he said nothing. And for the remaining time in the bunker her continued to say absolutely nothing. He still stuck by Katie's side, still slept in the same bed as her, but he did not utter a word. It reminded Katie of the time before he got his voice, but with a lack of signs being used to communicate. That did not make Katie feel better but Nacho and Tomate were the only ones left so she had to accept this new development and move past it like she did with all the obstacles through her way.
The first day out of the bunker everyone was trying to find their bearings. A lot of the buildings were mostly destroyed, some fully. You could still smell the smoke in the air and the ground was covered in a thick layer of ash. The only good thing about this bunker experience is that everyone became more of a community. There was no longer a divide. Everyone came together to rebuild. No more North vs. Regime. No more federation vs. dark federation. Everyone had gone through enough with the missile incident. Katie had stuck to Nacho like glue the entire day and was in an active fight or flight state when anyone even went close to Nacho. She was afraid that she would lose Nacho as she had lost Multi.
Everyone around her noticed and seemed to understand her state of mind. Tina was extra cautious when approaching and had promised she would help rebuild the KTB HQ, Graf did the same. Don basically became Katie's bodyguard and would not leave her side, Ash would stick around and try to make her laugh any time he could. She tried to be brave, to be strong, but as soon as she saw the sky for the first time in a month all she wanted to do was cry. She wanted so badly to go to the reactor, whether that was because she hoped she would see Multi there, or whether it was because she though going there would help her remember what Multi looked like, what he sounded like, what he smelled like. But that was forbidden. The Federation were unsure whether the lab had blown up and the all the radiation is trapped under the Polish Cave, so no one was allowed anywhere near the cave, let alone the underground lab.
It took months of hard work for everything to even slightly resemble normal. The Financial district was rebuilt, the north was nearly done, and the Regime was back. Nacho was slowly start to speak again too. Only thing different is that the Schlatt and Co island was obliterated and none of the land, or Katie's things had remained. She had to begin from scratch. Now everything was kept in the HQ and she no longer had the safe space, her oasis that she would go to when she was overwhelmed or emotional. It now felt like everyday she had to put on an act, she had to pretend everything was normal and she was fine. But with Multi gone, with the Dark Federation finding out that she had betrayed them once more, and with her clone being on the loose, it was getting harder and harder by the day to keep the act up.
So one day, she had taken matters into her own hands. She decided to check the lab. She couldn't continue living knowing that the lab was there, that Multi might be there, awaiting people to come and tell him its safe to come to the surface. She knew she was delusional to think that he would even be in the lab. His cold, dead corpse was probably buried in ash somewhere near the temple. But she would much rather die trying to find out the truth than remain alive in this alternate reality where no one besides her and Nacho even seem to remember him. She ended up telling Nacho that she needs to meet with Ash, that he should stay in the HQ and hang out with Tomate and she will be right back.
She walked away from the HQ and took out her warpstone to travel to the place no one had uttered the name of in months. She might die in the next 10 seconds, but at this point she did not care. This was probably the most selfish thing she could be doing. If she died, she would leave her 2 brothers mourning her disappearance, probably blaming themselves for not protecting her enough. She would leave her son an orphan and her husband a widower. She would leave her friends wondering where she was, what happened to her. Ironically, she might end up with the same fate as Multi. Lost and nearly forgotten.
She held her breath and tightly shut her eyes.
One, two, three.
The purple particles released her just as quickly as they engulfed her. She opened her eyes slightly. It was cold, so very cold. And dark. For a second, she thought she was dead and that's what death felt like. But she was able to move her foot, to twist her head and look around, to open her mouth and say the name she hasn't been able to say for the past months without sobbing - "Multi?".
The lab was devoid of sound for only a second before suddenly hearing cluttering and heavy steps. Someone was running somewhere in this lab. She couldn't tell where as the sound seemed to echo throughout the lab. She stood frozen in fear and hope. Then she felt arms wrap around her from the back. Warm, and familiar arms. She hears someone choke up, it seemed like they tried to talk but just couldn't.
She forces herself to move her head to the right and take a peek. Her shoulders sink in relief when she sees green dreads from the corner of her eyes. All the emotions she has felt since being forced into the bunker; all the sadness, the anger, the hope, the loneliness, it all came crashing down onto her. With no power left in her body, she felt to the ground, Multi following right behind. She quickly turned around and hugged him as tight as she could.
She's okay, he's okay, everything is okay. Everything is going to be okay.