The Aperios (Children of the Sun Book 4)

Mel sniffed as he sat down on Kaleth’s bed. He’d had no idea where to go and what to do, so he’d come back to his apartment. Mel of course didn’t expect for Kaleth to come back here, but with him able to theoretically go anything in the universe, this was the only place Mel could think of where Kaleth might go.

He’d been trying to get in touch with him, but Kaleth was keeping his mind firmly locked away from him, which always felt like a stabbing through Mel’s heart when he thought about it on a deeper level. Kaleth was clearly distraught, dealing with something scary that neither of them understood, but he wasn’t willing to let Mel try to help. Even with a hug or some calming words, which Kaleth seemed to appreciate most of the time.

Mel sighed, putting his head in his hands. He was regretting telling Rayni that he wanted to be alone. She had helped him find Kaleth’s apartment again, due to Mel not actually knowing where it was, and had offered to stay with him for a bit, but he’d refused. And that might have not been the best idea, but it was what he was stuck with now.

He couldn’t stop thinking about that split second between Kaleth losing control and throwing Mel away with his powers and him teleporting away. He’d felt so scared and lost then, and Mel hated that he couldn’t help him deal with this. The idea of Kaleth somewhere out there suffering was making Mel feel physically sick.

The Eternal shook his head and blinked away the tears constantly forming in his eyes. He didn’t want to just sit here and feel hopeless, but he had no idea what else he could do right now. And it was killing him.

He dragged himself up to his feet again, feeling too restless and pent up to just keep sitting here. But he wasn’t sure where he could go because everything around here would remind him of Kaleth. Despite the fact that now that Mel thought about it, Kaleth hadn’t decorated the place that much.

The walls were a deep, soothing shade of orange, which Mel really liked, but it could have been that way when Kaleth had bought the apartment. There were very few pictures hanging from the walls, and those were just framed photos of one cityscape separated into several pieces.

Mel ran his fingers over one of them. He was pretty sure people liked to customize and decorate the places they lived. He sure did, as did all the neighbors he’d ever talked to. Of course, if Kaleth just didn’t care, that would be fine, but Mel suspected the real reason was that Kaleth didn’t take a lot of time to himself.

Mel sighed, starting to aimlessly wander around the apartment for a moment before something caught his eye. The bathroom door was ajar, which wasn’t strange, but the fact that the mirror was cracked definitely was.

He’d seen it just yesterday, and it had been fine. He made his way over to it, running his finger along the cracks. Had Kaleth done this? He must have. Mel looked down, running a hand through his hair. He should have pressed Kaleth about there being something wrong. He had noticed something was off, but he’d just assumed it was stress.

He resisted the urge to get angry with himself. It wasn’t useful, but it was hard not to. He felt like it was his fault, at least a little. He had a permanent telepathic connection with his love. Who else was more likely to notice something was wrong?

“Love.”

Mel flinched, swirling around to see Kaleth standing there, just outside the bathroom door. Mel immediately ran to him, barely believing his eyes as he hugged him tightly, feeling like he was going to start crying at any moment, but this time out of relief.

It was only when Kaleth chuckled and stroked his hair was when Mel realized he had a million questions. He pulled away, keeping his hands on Kaleth’s arms. And he very quickly noticed there was still something very wrong.

Kaleth’s eyes were dimly glowing, but it didn’t look like when it happened normally. It kept flickering in and out, and seemingly completely randomly.

“Kaleth, I was so worried.”

He smiled, but it looked off. It looked like he was in pain. Mel felt his insides twist. Kaleth probably was in pain, but he wasn’t letting him close enough to know it.

“I know,” he replied, running his hands through Mel’s hair. They were shaking. “That’s why I’m here. I’ll just take care of something first, and then we’ll finally be together again.”

Mel stared at him. What was Kaleth talking about? What could be more important than fixing this? “What?” He took a step back as Kaleth’s smile ebbed. Had he been assuming Mel would just accept this? “What do you mean?”

“Do you remember what Enor was planning on doing?” Kaleth asked, looking serious. His eyes were glowing brightly now, and they kept twitching. Mel felt his worry multiply. “It gave me an idea.”

Oh no. Oh no. Whatever Kaleth was going to say next, Mel knew it would be horrible.

“He thought he had to kill everyone, but it’s always just a few percent who make life harder for everyone else. So I’ll just get rid of them.”

Mel stared in shock at Kaleth’s unhinged grin. He finally felt a tear or two run down his face. How could Kaleth think this? He was talking about killing thousands of people. Maybe even more than that. And he really seemed to believe it was the right thing to do.

“What? No!” Kaleth seemed startled by Mel’s rejection, looking hurt even. But Mel didn’t regret it one bit. This was wrong, and he wouldn’t try to spare Kaleth’s feelings on whatever horrible plan his confused mind had created.

“Why not? No one will miss them.”

“That doesn’t matter!” Mel snapped, his whole body shaking. He wasn’t sure why since he was feeling a lot of things right now that could be causing it, but he didn’t bother trying to figure it out. Kaleth had backed off somewhat now, looking almost heartbroken. “It’s wrong. Killing anyone is wrong.”

Kaleth’s eyes glistened as they continued their erratic glowing. It almost looked like there was golden lightning flashing in them. “I just want to make the world better. For you. Can’t you see that?”

Seeing Kaleth this lost and confused was awful. Mel was torn between trying to get him to see reason and hugging him. But Kaleth was clearly not willing to let him do either because now he was glaring at him, still looking hurt but now also resentful.

“I don’t need you to make the world better for me,” Mel said, a few more tears slipping from his eyes. His vision was blurry because of them, but he could still see Kaleth’s expression, switching from deeply hurt and confused to angry. “All I want is you. All I want is for you to get better. Please.”

Mel extended his hand to Kaleth, who flinched and now was watching it intently, his own hand raised slightly, as if he wasn’t sure if he could take it. Mel breathed when Kaleth finally took it, interlocking their fingers.

“It’s okay, Kally. We can fix whatever is happening to you. Let’s just go see Yorin and—”

Kaleth shook his head, his eyes flashing brighter. “Yorin won’t help me.” He let out a shuddering breath. “I threatened him.” He sounded almost shocked by this, as if he didn’t fully remember. “I…. I kidnapped him.”

Hearing his voice break like that was enough to shock Mel into silence, nevermind the words he’d just said. Kaleth looked so terrified then, but it only lasted a moment before he glared again. “No, I had to. I had to. It will be worth it.”

“Please, Kally, you know this is wrong. You don’t have to do this.” Mel needed to try to use Kaleth’s own logic here if he wanted to get anywhere, but he wasn’t sure how to do it. “No one expects you to fix the world. You’ve done enough.”

For a second, he really thought he’d gotten through to him. There was a desperation in Kaleth’s eyes, as if that was all he wanted to believe. But he was shaking his head a moment later, snatching his hand away from Mel.

“No, no, I’m the only one who can do this. No one else is powerful enough.” He took a few more steps back, looking around frantically with an unfocused gaze. “It will be over soon, love.”

And with a deafening crackle, he was gone with a blinding flash of light. Mel couldn’t tear his eyes away from the spot Kaleth had stood just a moment ago, feeling incredibly empty inside. It took him a moment to get over what had just happened enough to move, but as soon as he did, he was running out of the apartment.

He needed to tell Rayni what had just happened. Maybe they could stop Kaleth before he killed people.

Mel kept replaying what had just been told to him in his mind. How was Kaleth even planning on figuring out who the ‘bad’ people were? What did he need Yorin for? It ultimately didn’t matter because Mel didn’t even want to think about what would happen if Kaleth did in fact manage what he was planning, but he couldn’t help but wonder.

And what would happen to Kaleth if he succeeded? Mel knew Kaleth had had to do a lot of bad and hard choices for the greater good, but he was sensitive deep down. What if he never recovered from it?

Blinking away tears, Mel finally made it to the roof and shifted into his dragon form while running, jumping off the roof and spreading his wings as he began to fall.

He flew around as he tried to get in touch with Rayni, which thankfully happened quickly enough.

Whoa, what happened, bro? was the first thing she asked, and so Mel quickly summed it up, leaving out most of the details because they made him too upset to think. He needed to focus. Kaleth had teleported, so that could be tracked, right? He realized that that was exactly what Yorin had been trying to do this whole time, but that was the only lead they had.

And with Kaleth as unfocused and confused as he was right now, maybe he would slip up enough to give himself away. Whatever Kaleth needed Yorin for, it was most likely something to do with technology, so Kaleth wouldn’t be able to just keep teleporting around as he’d done before.

Mel had no idea if any of this helped them find him, but it was better than nothing.

He met up with Rayni and Mereria just outside the city, on a grassy hill. Rayni immediately embraced him as he landed, hugging him around his long neck, which he leaned into gratefully. He was still shaking, he realized. He didn’t have time to ponder over anything, but that encounter with Kaleth had really shook him to his core.

“We’ll need Relioth,” Mereria said through gritted teeth. Mel kept his gaze down. He wasn’t sure if Relioth would want to help after what Kaleth had told him, but having the ability to teleport around would definitely come in handy.

Was Relioth even here still?

“Yeah, probably,” Rayni replied, sighing as she rubbed her eyes. “This is really, really bad.”

Mel could tell she was really worried about Kaleth, too, but that wasn’t surprising since he knew she cared about him. And she also seemed determined to not let this happen.

“Okay. Where did Relioth go?”

Mereria’s idea was to go to Relioth’s spaceship, but since none of them was sure where it was, they spent a while flying around the city, with Mereria trying to reach Relioth telepathically from Rayni’s now scaly back. And while it didn’t take too long, it was still distressing. They didn’t have any time to waste given that they couldn’t know how close Kaleth was to finishing his plan.

And clearly Rayni picked up on his worry because she kept talking to him and trying to keep him calm, which Mel appreciated very much, even if it made him feel a bit like a burden.

“He...didn’t hurt you, did he?” she asked after a moment of silence, which made Mel sigh.

“I hurt him, if anything.” Seeing her confusion, Mel forced himself to elaborate on this. “When I told him this was wrong...he was so hurt, Rayni.”

Mel knew he shouldn’t take that as him actually hurting Kaleth, but he couldn’t help it. Kaleth was clearly in the wrong here, but not in his mind. Kaleth thought he was doing the right thing, and to make things worse he was at least partly doing it for Mel, and Mel had rejected it. No wonder Kaleth had been hurt by it.

“He won’t hold it against you once we get him back.”

Mel huffed, mostly annoyed with himself. Of course he knew that, and he appreciated that Rayni said it, but he couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty for making Kaleth’s inner turmoil even worse.

He took in a deep breath as he beat his wings to fly a bit faster. He would have to stay focused. First they needed to get Kaleth back and make sure he was okay. Then they could make amends.

They met up with Relioth just outside of the city after Mereria had presumably convinced him to help. Mel had expected him to be angry with them. Maybe passive aggressive, too. But Relioth just looked anxious and worried, and as soon as they landed questions about Kaleth’s wellbeing.

“Is he okay? Mery was kinda vague.”

Mel exchanged a look with Rayni, really not sure what to say. “He’s...not okay.”

Relioth looked away, chewing on his lip as he ran a hand through his hair. Mel was at least relieved that Relioth wanted to help without question this time, which was weird with how Kaleth tended to treat him.

Mel always had to remind himself that Relioth had killed a lot of innocents to stop himself from arguing with Kaleth over how harsh he always was with him. When Relioth looked so worried and sad, it was hard for Mel to remember sometimes.

“You got a plan, then?”

Mel opened his mouth without even really knowing what he was going to say, but Rayni took over before he said a word. “Well, Kaleth apparently took Yorin to force him to help with whatever doomsday machine he wants to build. So, he teleported. Which means—”

“We can find them! All right.” Relioth was suddenly very stoked for little reason. This didn’t get them any closer. “Let’s go to Yorin’s place, then. I’ll try to follow the trail before it gets cold.”

Oh, it hadn’t actually occurred to Mel that they could do that. Mel shifted back into his normal form, ignoring the look Relioth gave him, probably due to his outfit. Rayni, who had also shapeshifted, was still wearing her Umbra uniform, as was Mereria, so he must have stood out right now.

After Mereria shared Yorin’s house’s location, Relioth opened a portal which they all stepped through. They found themselves directly inside of it, and even though Mel knew Yorin wouldn’t be there, he was still somewhat disheartened by it.

But at least all of his devices seemed to be present. Except for the telepathy amplifier, which Mel doubted was an accident. Mel heaved a sigh, leaning into his sister’s hand as she grasped his shoulder. It was at least a little comforting.

He swallowed as he watched Relioth close his eyes as he searched for the place Kaleth had gone, but his hope was short lived because a few seconds later, Relioth muttered something under his breath, glaring.

“He somehow managed to scramble the trail. I didn’t know that was possible.” Relioth actually sounded impressed, which Mel supposed it would be if Kaleth’s and a lot of other people’s lives weren’t at stake right now.

“He teleported to his apartment just a while ago. Maybe there—” Mel couldn’t finish the sentence before Relioth had disappeared. He blinked at the empty space in front of him, only to blink again when Relioth reappeared, looking even more annoyed. And a little upset. He really did seem to care about Kaleth in his own way, though Mel still wanted to keep them separate, if only due to how angry Kaleth always got around Relioth.

“Same thing. Scrambled.” Relioth huffed and leaned against the wall. “Well, that plan didn’t work out. Anyone got any other ideas?”

Before anyone could reply, a knock sounded on the door. Everyone turned towards it, surprised to say the least. Did anyone even know about this place? Why would they come here?

Rayni went to open the door, only to see Nef and Nira there. Oh, that made sense. Nef worked with Yorin, after all. Oh, he worked with Yorin—maybe that meant he would know how to use the device Yorin had used to track Kaleth around the Federation.

“Whoa, wait, what’s going on?” Nef asked as he looked inside the room, very confused. There were already too many people inside, so Mel appreciated that he didn’t try to join them. “And where’s Yorin?”

“And my dad?” Nira asked right after, her already worried eyes scanning the room.

“Was he supposed to be here, too?” Rayni shot a look in Mel’s direction, her eyes widening. And so were Mel’s. He didn’t want to jump to any conclusions, but it wasn’t out of the question to assume that Kaleth had taken him too. Most likely to get Yorin to do what he wanted.

Mel swallowed down the pain that idea caused him. Kaleth wasn’t himself right now, he knew that. But he would blame himself after this was over, and Mel didn’t want him to suffer any more than he was already going to.

“What happened?”

And so Mereria yet again summed up what had happened in as few words as possible, which Nef and Nira took in with varying levels of acceptance. Nira looked horrified and really worried for the most part, but she didn’t seem to be panicking as much as Mel had been expecting. She had just found out that her father had just been kidnapped by his...friend? Was that the right word? Well, regardless, Nira would have been entitled to freaking out, but she seemed to be keeping it together.

“Okay, that was a lot,” Nef said as he ran a hand over his face. He frowned in thought, fisting one hand in his own hair while squeezing Nira’s hand with the other. “Oh, but Yorin was using that tracker to find Kaleth earlier. That’s why we’re here. I wanted to help out. I can see if I can find Kaleth through it.”

Mel thought it best to leave the room/house then, as there really wasn’t enough space, and he wasn’t needed here. He closed his eyes as he leaned against the metal wall, praying to someone, anyone, that Nef would find something. Because they really didn’t have any time. And Mel couldn’t think of anything else they could do to find Kaleth either.

Rayni came outside as well and hugged him, not saying anything, but she didn’t need to. Mel took in a breath, trying to keep calm and not succumb to his hopelessness. Because even if they do find Kaleth, what will they do then? He didn’t want to listen to reason. Or not Mel’s reason, anyway.

Mel really didn’t want to physically fight him. It would break his heart. But if he had to, he would without a second thought. Saving Kaleth’s soul would be worth it, but even the idea of hurting him left Mel shaken.

A few minutes passed which felt like an eternity. The tightness that had been in Mel’s chest even before Kaleth had disappeared had never left him, but it had really multiplied as they waited. There was just nothing else to do but wait and worry, and it was killing him even more than before because then at least he’d had no idea that Kaleth was planning anything, much less murders.

Mel was so lost in his thoughts that he physically flinched when he heard Nef start talking loudly. He eagerly turned around, sticking his head inside the room, so that he could find out if there were news.

“Well, I can’t find him anywhere.”

Mel immediately felt his whole body slump as disappointment and misery crawled inside his heart.

“His last energy signature is in Enbrant, which I assume was his apartment,” Nef continued. “Which means that he either found a way to hide where he goes completely and didn’t bother with it when he visited Mel. Or more likely that he’s not on this planet.”

Mel clutched onto the door frame, desperately hoping that this would go somewhere.

“Kaleth only knows two places in the universe to go,” Relioth said, rubbing his beard. “And only one of them has any of the equipment he might need.”

Mel figured out what Relioth was getting at just as the Eternal said it. Kaleth was on Enor’s ship, a place only he and Relioth could access. And finally, Mel felt somewhat hopeful. He knew it would hurt like hell to face Kaleth like this, but he was ready for it. They were going to get him back.