UNTITLED: Book One

DAY 136.25

There is no speech

To prepare me for the end of my world

I should have been doing that from the beginning

The Broker is on the ground gasping for air on all fours. He is struggling to catch his breath. It is already harder to breathe because of Tozi choking him with her superhuman strength, but that teleportation must have really got to him, he thinks while struggling to adjust his breathing.

Where am I? He looks around and sees dirt all around him. He sees traces of grass that use to be there, as if it was all plowed through by fire. Then, it finally dawns on him that he is on the top of the city in the sky when he sees the quarter chunk of it missing…and that uniquely massive shade tree.

Regular people are not meant to breathe easily up here, but perhaps it is due to the wartime shield that he is able to avoid completely suffocating or feeling crushed from the pressure?

He hears people talking.

When he turns to see who it is he notices five warrior-built people in the distance. Two New Wave and three of the Dark State. Aiye and Thema! Thema looks to be in bad shape. No visible wounds, that he can see from this distance, but she looks absolutely haggard and exhausted. Her hair is drenched from sweat and her chest is heaving with deep breaths. Her posture weak. And Aiye, he is just staring at… Oh no. The Hero. THE Hero herself.

She has someone by the throat while the other, a woman, is kneeling in a bow. He rubs his own throat at the sight of this. The man being chokes is pleading with her, trying to speak through her grip around their neck.

“Pease sisder. Yew muss understhan…” is all he hears as he walks towards them, knowing what his fate will be because he now recognizes these two. And they recognize him.

The Hero notices him out of her peripherals and double-takes while still holding Carbon in the air by the throat. She drops him. And they both stare at The Broker. Carbon stands while rubbing his throat, but no one from the Dark State—from Earth, says anything. Well, until Aiye notices him.

“Broker…?” Aiye asks puzzled, as if he doesn’t believe it.

Thema also looks up at him with a puzzled look on her face, but she’s too tired to speak right now. They all just continue staring at him.

“BROKER!” Aiye says again as he runs to him and hugs him. This time Broker does not return the pleasantries as his eyes never leave the Hero and Carbon staring at him in what can only be described as stoic disbelief. No, more like a deep hatred combined with a confusion? As if to question his audacity. As if to question why he would ever show his face. And if to question the sanity of the man who stole the boy, and is now hugging the boy. The boy who clearly knows nothing… As if to doubt the situation, knowing The Warden is probably trying to set them up by offering this man to them.

Thema doesn’t know what’s going on but she notices the strangeness of all this and subtly grips her sword tighter, preparing for whatever is about to unfold here.

Aiye, still hugging him, leans back to look at his face, “What’s wrong? Are you hurt??” HOW did you even get here?? Not that I’m complaining, it’s just that it might be even more dangerous here than out there, believe it or not. Also, you’re breathing up here! A lot of questions Broker, haha… Broker?”

The Broker is in daze while staring back into the glazed eyes of the Hero, looking at him with—he doesn’t even know really. He just knows it’s bad, and I deserve it. He mumbles in response to Aiye, “Warden teleported us.”

“Us?” Thema and Aiye ask in unison.

This sort of snaps him out of his daze. “Oh, yes. My apologies. It is good to see you both. I was teleported here, along with Solara and a few other New Wave kids.”

“What’d they look like?” Thema asks while using the sword to stand to her feet.

“One was large, similar to the Old Guard—but not quite. Another was a pilot, badly wounded from their crash landing. And the third was a young lady, missing an arm-”

“Tozi! Junaid!” Thema says. Some life returning to her. “Where!? Where are they now??”

“I am sorry, Young Thema. I honestly do not know. The Warden transferred me here separately. Perhaps he did the same for us all so that he could speak with Solara on his own. I am sure that those two are most likely in The Eye, at least.”

The Hero, still silently watching Broker, glances directly up at the mention of The Eye, then back to The Broker.

“It’s okay. I think I know where I’ll find those two. I can ask them myself.”

“HAH. Sol’s back here now. I wasn’t actually sure where she went. That’s good.” Aiye says while grinning, pleased. “I don’t how she linked up with you, but it’s her, so I’m not surprised… Glad she’s back. Now we can fuck shit up together again! Orrr, she will, while I watchh.” Aiye says, excitedly pondering this last thought before he’s interrupted by the Hero.

*clears throat* “Uhm…Ai-Aiye.” She says hesitantly as she slowly and cautiously approaches him. She sticks out her palm trying to trigger some familiarity, tears streaming down her face now, knowing he was taken too early for that to work. Be she tries nonetheless.

Aiye stands back. She pulls her hand back to her chest, hurt, but trying to hold her feelings in. She takes a deep breath and releases, finding her conviction. Smiling now through her tears, she continues her slow approach.

“You recognize me don’t you?” She desperately asks while nodding her head repeatedly. “Yeah, I can see it, you do don’t you? I mean, you were just a baby, but how could you forget. Those eyes of yours. See!? We have the same eyes!” She laughs through a sob and more tears.

Carbon, on his knee now like Electrum, looks to the ground in shame and sorrow. This sight of his sister too much for him to bear.

“It’s me, baby… it’s me. It’s mommy—Mother. Your Mom? You’re such a big boy now so you’d probably prefer Mom right? That’s what all the older kids your age say anyways. Or is that too much? I don’t know… I really don’t know. I just don’t want to pressure you too much.”

“Anaye-“ Carbon begins, his voice sad.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP AND BE GLAD I DON’T KILL YOU.” She roars back at him, startling everyone. Her emotions completely unwound now. Her mental balance fading quickly due to all the people in her life betraying her trust. And without that foundation—stolen from her, it is a near-impossible task trying to take on all of this emotion at once. Hit with so many polarizing feelings at once, she, like anyone would, struggles to keep herself together.

Carbon sinks back into his shameful silence. She turns back to Aiye with a scared look in her eyes. Thema straightens herself up and bows her head slightly, in sadness but also out of respect for the situation, not really sure what to do here.

“Ohhh. No! No no no nooo. Baby don’t worry. I’m sorry you had to see that. Your Uncle did a bad thing and I’m just angry with him. That’s all. Did he hurt you??” She says now close enough to touch his cheeks and examine his body for damage.

The Broker begins to step away.

She chuckles sinisterly, “Hah. No. Nope… See, you might have lived if you didn’t come any closer. Might. But surely you must’ve known that coming this close was the end for you?” She turns just her head to face him now. “Surely… You stay right there. Because while I’m definitely planning to kill you in the most painful way possible, right now I can’t possibly think anything more painful than what you did to me.” Anaye says to him with a deadly tone. Looking at him with one more time with a side-eye glance before she looks back at Aiye, gently rubbing his shoulders. Aiye stands stone-still, unsure of what to do.

“Let’s go home, yeah?” She says to him, beaming now. She’s looking up at him with pride. “We were always a tall family, but what have they been feeeeding you?? My goodness, hahaha! Look at you!”

Aiye glances over to Thema. They make eye contact. His Mother notices.

“She could come to! It’s fine. Bring all your friends. We can all go on a trip together… Far away from here. Not even Earth if you don’t want to…” She then gives another desperate laugh through a sob. “Let’s just all, go. Children *sniff* shouldn’t have to live like this anyways… We shouldn’t!”

We? Aiye gently takes a small step back, this time more politely, and finally speaks up, “Uhm. Miss Hero-”

“-Oh! Not that. Please. Mom?” She quickly corrects then pleads.

“Mo- M- hmph…” Aiye struggles to say it, anxiety building up with every attempt. She reaches to his arm and soothes him reassuringly, but lets go immediately after remembering his discomfort.

“Anaye.” She nods encouragingly, “Anaye is fine too. Call me that. It’s okay love.”

“Uhm…Anaye, I don’t… think, I can go with you. I- -uh, don’t really know what to feel about all of this, to be honest… I don’t even know you… I’m sorry.”

“And that’s okay! You’ll get to know me. That’s why I’m saying you can bring your friends. All of them! It’s okayyyy. You kids can have fun and play-” She desperately defends, denial filling her words.

“But. We’re not kids. We’ve never been.” Aiye replies while gesturing towards the war all around them.

“But you should be. You shoulddd be Aiye. You shouldn’t have to live like this!” She also gestures out to the war in the distance. “None of you should!” She looks at Thema who seems confused at how to respond or if she even should, genuinely not wanting to be disrespectful in this moment.

“Sister-…”

Anaye furiously whirls around to Carbon, “I TOLD YOU-”

“Then kill me!” He retorts while hitting his chest with both hands, now standing in front her face with his own eyes watering. “KILL ME. You have EVERY right. No one has more of a right than you. NO ONE. But please, please sister. Hear me. I love you more than anything! I would die for you again and again. You are the only family that I have left.”

“Family doesn’t lie! Family doesn’t hurt each other like you’ve hurt me! Family doesn’t try to kill their sister’s son!” Anaye shouts in his face.

“I hurt you, is an understatement. I’ve killed a part of you that I know you can never fully get back…”

“Nonsense. You overestimate yourself. My baby boy is here, in front of me. I have everything I ever wanted, back, right in front of me again.” She says while pulling Aiye by the arm. He just let’s her, still unsure what to do. “No thanks to you, brother. RATHER THAN TRYING TO KILL HIM, the moment you found out he was alive you should have called me over here. Especialllyyyyy since you LOST him the first time. Which! *deep breath* Which… I. Do not. HoldAagainst you *exhale*… I don’t. I forgive you. And I love you too. But you were trying to attack my boy??” She grabs Aiye’s cheeks an puts her face side-by-side with his. “Could you not recognize him? Can’t you see the resemblance??” She let’s go of Aiye and continues talking, “Of course he’s confused and needs time to get used to us. It doesn’t make him a traitor you idiot! We could have killed The Warden together by now, for his crimes—all his atrocities… AND THIS RAT FUCK TOO.” She gestures to The Broker with a wave of her arm.

“Ma’am.” Electrum speaks up softly, still kneeling, but this time looking up directly at The Hero.

“What!?” Annie yells at her, spinning in her direction.

“Ma’am, I understand a fair a mount as to where you are coming from.”

“Ohhh dooo you??” The Hero sarcastically responds.

“I do ma’am. I understand. I have two kids of my own back home. Waiting for me. Care for by my loving, and supportive husband.” She continues to speak calmly as she slowly stands up and peacefully walks towards her. “Knowing, that I most likely came here to die, but hoping, that I make it. I understand the desire to become a soldier, just to feed your babies on a starving world. Watching my own siblings and extended family die off from starvation and disease while I receive their curses for the so-called benefits. Benefits I gain with each of my bones that I break. And every ounce I bleed.”

Anaye—The Hero, grows silent and calm for a moment while she looks into Electrum’s eyes.

Electrum finishes, “I did not come from a military family. Before The Fall, I was a fitness instructor… ma’am… and I haven’t seen my family since I was admitted to The Hero Program.”

“Th- That. Is a long time.” The Hero mutters to herself.

Nodding her head in simple agreement, her eyes intense but watering with compassion, “Yes. Yes it is ma’am. And maybe—as I speak freely ma’am—maybe, this isn’t the way to get you what you need. Who, you need. Maybe all of us standing here can come together, to figure out how to do the right thing here.”

Anaye stays silent for a moment. Taking Electrum’s words in. Really taking them in. Her hardened walls slowly weakening the more she considers this. The longer she looks into the sincere mother’s eyes.

And then… Carbon places his hand Electrum’s shoulder a little too long, and seeing this confuses The Hero. It drags the emotion back to the front of her walls. The emotion and understanding that was just about to enter her heart.

Then, Carbon speaks up, “Yes, K. Very good point. I believe we can start there.”

K? The Hero wonders why her brother is so familiar with this soldier he should only have just met upon deployment. This Mother, with two kids and a loving husband.

Then, she wonders why her brother’s tone is that same annoying tone he makes when he is faking sincerity. The same tone he would make when they were kids, when he was happy that he got away with something.

Electrum notices The Hero’s changed demeanor and tries to defend herself, “Oh! Ma’am, no it’s not what you—!”

“Soldier… That’s enough out of you.” The Hero snarls through gritted teeth.

“But ma’am… It really isn’t—.”

“Soldier. I can’t court martial you on the battlefield…” The Hero threatens.

Understanding, Electrum immediately returns to her kneeling position. “Yes, ma’am…”

Carbon sighs and shakes his head. “Sister… You, are unwell. We have pushed you. I have pushed you. Continuously. Because I was desperate and I needed you to save us. To save me?”

“Then just tell me that you found my boy! It’s simple! IT’S THAT FUCKING SIMPLEEE!” She rages to him, shaking her flexed arms at him in a choking motion. She calms herself with a sigh and release, brushing her fingertips through her hair.

“You just needed to tell me, but instead you chose loyalty to Core over me. Of course he’s going to be of the 21st, fight for the 21st. He was taken by them!” She steps to Carbon, pleading. Then points a finger in The Broker’s face. “Taken by this monster! Taken from me—from us. Don’t you want our family back? He’s your nephew?” She sighs to stop herself from crying.

“But, it’s fine. Not okay though. WE aren’t okay. It will take me a long long time to forgive you. But we will have a long long time to get through this. Together. All of us. You can come too child.” She says the last part to Thema again. “We are all going to get through this.”

“What do you mean he took us?” Aiye interjects, looking back and forth between Carbon and The Broker now. “What do you mean by that? I thought you said The Warden took me?”

“Oh, of course. I’m so sorry. Stupid… Stupid stupid stupid.” She hits her head repeatedly until Aiye catches her arm by the wrist. He changes his grip to a relaxed one, hoping to soothe the answer out of her.

Carbon takes a step back.

“Uhm…Anaye, may you please tell me, what happened to me?” He asks again while gently rubbing her back with his other hand. Using the same approach he practices with Solara.

She smiles up at him, at the sight of her boy seemingly embracing her more. She tells him. Tells him everything. About the day she watched The Millennium Hero. About her Mom, his grandmother. The greatest fighter in the world against two of the weapons. About Core and Earth, and her dislike of both. About the training and healing she went through for years after. About finding love and creating it too, through him. About how much he means to her—and Aiye could feel it through her words and mannerisms too. How genuinely she meant it. He could feel her passion in everything. About how he was as a baby. About the day the 21st colony attacked Earth, mysteriously bypassing every other colony and the Earth’s defenses too. Appearing out of nowhere. How she fought people off while they tried to take Aiye. About The Broker taking her child to The Warden that day because of the price, as her brother had told her… Hm? As. Her. Brotherrr… Had told her? Brother-… told. Her…

She turns to his direction, her head cocked at an angle, not making eye contact. She sort of stumbles in shock, her eyes showing her struggle to process her realization. She holds this look of shock for a while before finally looking at him directly, horror in her eyes. Looking Carbon deep in his now tearing eyes, for what feels like an eternity of silence. Extracting the truth through his soul, and he feels it. Silent tears stream from his eye while he tries to maintain his strong stance to no avail. He looks defeated as he begins to silently sob—shoulders shaking, still attempting to stand tall.

“Anaye… Our world was dying. I needed-… I am so sorr-” Carbon begins.

But that’s all he gets out before The Dawn Hero pulls her fist out of his chest. She stares at her bloody arm confused and not realizing what she did, or when? She looks back and forth between her arm and Carbon’s lifeless body on the ground, blank look on her face as she blinks repeatedly. Everyone else stands around in silent shock.

Then the dawn of a new day arrives. The sun rises on them as they all silently stand there, speechless. She doesn’t know what to say or how to respond, or what to think. Still looking at her bloody fist, she finally opens it to reveal a small dark pulsating orb. Power emanates from the core that makes it possible for them to use their suits. Then, her eyes begin darting around in a panic as the realization of what she’s done starts to swell up. Sensing the incoming panic attack, she quickly and desperately swallows the orb, then gulps.

The thunderous drum strikes once…