A Soldier's Heart

Part One

My tale begins, deep within a lab, far below the city of Ataraxia. For three hundred years, I have slept here; undisturbed. Neither the normal humans nor the Mu know that I exist…..Save for maybe just one, but his life-force has been weakening, of late. I can feel it, every time his soul makes one of its' forays into the city proper. What is he searching for? Who is he seeking, amongst the masses of brainwashed simpletons? I grit my teeth, as my resentment makes the thrice-damned computer react, and as the metal bands at my neck, wrists, and ankles become unbearably hot…..but I do not give it the pleasure of hearing me scream. Instead, I focus my pain, in fact, even all of my energies, into once again trying to make contact with the one whom I share more than just my appearance with……Hoping against all reasonable hope that maybe, just maybe, he'll hear me this time….and that he will finally set me free from this torture…..

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Three hundred years. Quite a long time, in the normal scheme of things…..Soldier Blue sighed tiredly, as he made his way down the hall. Even though he had just been 'out' for a short while, it felt almost as though he hadn't rested properly in years.

"And I am certain that Zel and the others would give me quite an earful, if that were true." Soldier Blue inwardly sighed; partially shielding his mind from those in question, while still wearily allowing passersby to know just what he was thinking.

"You shouldn't think things like that, Soldier." One of those thought of mentally said, as he emerged from one of the rooms into the hallway, and walked alongside the troubled Mu chief.

"I know. And I apologize, Harley." Soldier Blue amended, a bit sheepishly; that one moment melting away the years from him, and making him seem more like a scolded schoolboy, rather than the leader of a group of refugees. At this, the captain of the Shangri-La could only chuckle and shake his head.

"No need to apologize, old friend. Even I can agree that Zel is a force to be reckoned with, sometimes." Harley admitted, then added, as he gazed at how worn thin his friend now looked, "Though I'll have to admit that you're not looking as though you're feeling very well."

"It won't be long before we can bring Jomy on board. His fourteenth birthday is about six months off…..and already his telepathy is very strong." Soldier Blue murmured.

"Stronger than yours'?" Harley asked, as they began walking down the hallway.

"Not yet. Someday it will be, though." Soldier Blue replied; freezing in his tracks when something called out to him…..his blood actually chilling, when he heard how similar this voice was to his own.

"Soldier? What is it? Did you hear someone, just now?" Harley asked, concernedly, when he'd seen all the color drain from Soldier Blue's face…..and felt genuine alarm, when his knees suddenly buckled out from under him.

"I-it was…..a voice…..but I couldn't….hear the words…..Pain…..so much pain….." Soldier Blue gasped, as the sensations of the sender washed over him…..Freezing cold combined with searing heat in his neck, wrists, and ankles…..telepathic waves designed to tear apart one's psyche, one piece at a time……the wordless, agonized cries of the sender's soul, as whole chunks of his mind were shredded, healed, and then shredded again…..With great effort, Soldier Blue struggled to get to his feet again; grimacing as some of the mental screams still got through to him, even as he put up a barrier against it.

"Soldier!" Harley almost yelped, when the other man had finally managed to get his feet under him again; his raised voice getting the attention of a few others (and as they also gathered worriedly around their leader).

"I…..I'm all right, Harley…..No need…..for alarm….." Soldier Blue painfully said, as he leaned against one of the walls, and gasped for breath.

"What is it, Soldier? Is Jomy in some kind of trouble?" one of the cadets asked, concernedly; feeling confused when Soldier Blue shook his head.

"No…..Jomy is safe, for the moment……This voice was that of a stranger….." Soldier Blue quietly replied, then silently added, "And yet, why had his voice sounded like mine? Could this be my brother? Or is it…..?"

"Tell Physis that I am coming. I need to speak to her before I head out." Soldier Blue commanded; coming to a decision to look into the desperate voice at once.

"Right away!" another of the cadets responded, before racing off to do just that.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

As soon as I am unconscious, the damned computer finally stops; the command it had been given by it's programmers coming into effect, once again. Coherent thought is an elusive thing, thanks to the mental torture I had just been subjected to….and yet, I can feel that something is different, this time around. The distant presence that has been in the back of my mind since the first day of my existence finally seems to know that I exist….and for a brief moment, a tentative hope begins to take root in my heart. All I can hope for, is that he comes soon….and that my own life doesn't come to an end, before I can meet him.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Physis 'looks' up, when she senses Soldier Blue's troubled thoughts, and just how rattled his soul seemed to be.

"Soldier? What is it? What's wrong?" Physis wondered, as she heard him enter the chamber; feeling even more worry emerge for him, when she sensed just how anxious this incident has made him.

"Physis, did you feel anything, just now?" Soldier Blue asked, abruptly; surprising the soothsayer with the tone he had just used with her.

"I…..I felt something…..For a brief moment, I thought I heard your voice…..but it was so pained….." Physis replied; noticing when her words caused even more agitation to manifest itself in the Mu leader.

"I'm going to go and look into it. I'm taking Leo and a few of the other cadets with me. It shouldn't take long." Soldier Blue said, as Harley arrived behind him, and when said captain gave him an alarmed look for his rash decision.

"But…..!" Harley tried to say, yet only got a stubborn look from the crimson-eyed man in front of him…..a look that brooked no argument. At this, Physis could only sigh and nod in agreement.

"Perhaps…..you should go now……The cards had foretold something strange, this time….." Physis quietly said, her words getting looks of curiosity from the two men in response.

"Did it have anything to do with this voice we both heard, Physis?" Soldier Blue questioned, even as he silently told Leo and the rest to get ready for the mission ahead. Tentatively, Physis nodded.

"The Twin is coming…..but you must hurry…..Death wants to claim him….." Physis said, cryptically, as she glanced back at the table where her tarot cards were laid out.

"I think I understand…..Harley, tell sickbay to be ready by the time I return. Whoever the owner of this voice is, he might be in dire straits by the time we get him back here." Soldier Blue commanded, strongly. And, albeit reluctantly, Harley agreed.

"Soldier Blue?" Leo's questioning thought came; returning Soldier Blue's full attention to the mission before him.

"Yes, Leo?" Soldier Blue replied, promptly.

"We're ready when you are." Leo said, even though a hint of trepidation could be heard in his mental tone.

"Good. I'll be right down." Soldier Blue answered, before immediately teleporting himself to where the younger Mu now waited.

"Be careful, Soldier." Harley sent, uneasily; not liking this development in the slightest.

"I will. Trust me on that." Soldier Blue said; allowing himself almost a snicker, when he sensed Harley's skepticism to that particular promise.

"Bullshit." Was Harley's only response to his promise.

"Oh ye of little faith….." Soldier Blue retorted, before he and the younger Mu left the ship, and started heading in the direction the faint presence was coming from…..only hoping, at this point, that they would be able to return relatively unharmed.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Ever so slowly, awareness returns to me. Even though my vision is still badly blurred by the torture to my psyche, I can see that something is different, this time around.

"What have you done?! What have you called here, beast?!" the computer asks; breaking it's centuries'-long silence in the face of this development. At this, I only sneer at it, derisively.

"You should know, you rotten collection of bolts and wires! Can't you 'sense' what is about to happen? Or is it that I have been wrong all along about your being able to delve deep into my mind for answers?" I snapped, and get shocked again by the metal bands for my boldness.

"Answer me! I demand an answer!" the computer hissed, angrily.

"Demand all you like! I will tell you NOTHING!" I reply, stubbornly; gritting my teeth when the electrical current gets stronger.

"Insolent creature! Do you not even realize what kind of mistake you have made?!" the computer howled, furiously.

"Any 'mistake' I have made, I will make up for on my own…..I don't need the help of some over-glorified bucket of bolts!" I answered; becoming angry now, despite the intensifying pain that was now going through my body…..Somehow finding the strength to force myself to my feet, and summoning my latent powers to come to my aid. And then, all at once, I feel it; the presence I have grown up with…..have lived all this time with…..was getting closer…..Closing in even faster than before, now that my own powers are surfacing……

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

They were quite some distance from the Shangri-La, when Soldier Blue and his group suddenly felt what seemed to be an almost psionic roar come from one of the many caverns…..and then heard and felt the tremendous explosion that followed.

"It came from straight ahead!" Leo silently shouted, before Soldier Blue took off in that direction.

"Soldier! Wait! Don't go it alone!" one of the cadets called, yet went pretty much ignored by the stubborn rebel leader.

"Harley and the rest of the Elders are gonna kill me….." Leo inwardly muttered, as he and the cadets followed their leader as closely as they could….only wondering, now, just what they were about to be faced with…..

"Such strength! Whoever it is that has this power, must be almost as strong as Soldier Blue!" one of the cadets muttered, as they slowly caught up with the stubborn Mu leader.

"If I didn't know any better…..I'd almost say that the one we're going to rescue…..is Soldier Blue…..But how could that be? There should only be one Soldier Blue….shouldn't there?" Leo wondered, as they neared the place where the mysterious presence was coming from; skidding to an abrupt halt, when an unbelievable sight came to his eyes. Just six feet in front of him, stood Soldier Blue; his eyes wide with disbelief, and even some horror, as he stared at the same thing the younger Mu now saw. There, floating before what appeared to be an obliterated, computer-run lab, was what appeared to be a young man. Long, dingy white hair floated weightlessly around his scarred, pallid body, and bright crimson eyes struggled to focus on them. His naked skin was covered in sweat and blood, most of it coming from the deep wounds under the metal bands on his wrists, neck, and ankles.

"You…..you are the one who had called me…." Soldier Blue murmured, as he took a step forward; throwing aside caution in favor of trying to get the stranger to calm down before he burned himself out. In answer to his comment, the stranger nodded slightly; his strength wavering as he did so.

"Who are you? What happened here?" Leo asked, as he also tentatively stepped forward; trying to keep his posture as neutral as possible, so he wouldn't spook the badly abused Mu before them.

"I…..have no name…..Have never…..had a name…..At least…..not one of true worth." The stranger mentally whispered, as he began to descend; physically and mentally spent, from having broken out of his own prison. Quick to react to this, Soldier Blue rushed forward; barely catching the severely weakened Mu before he could hit the ground, and feeling it when a jolt traveled through him upon contact. In his mind's eye, he could see the lab as it had looked long ago…..the scientists that had run it…..the equipment within it…..and then the reflection of one of the 'birthing tubes' came to his eye…..Almost reeling back in shock when he saw what it had held within it. There, floating within the synthetic amniotic fluid, fast asleep, floated a younger version of him!

"W-what…..does this mean?!" Soldier Blue wondered, as he removed his cloak from his shoulders, and carefully wrapped it around the shivering young man; feeling another chill travel down his spine, when the stranger looked up at him, and gave him a haunted look.

"The humans…..had wanted to have a 'test subject'…..after someone named 'Type Blue Origin'…..escaped from them. And so….they made me." The stranger softly said, within all of their minds; opening his heart to them, now that he knew that he was safe, at last.

"A clone…..You're a clone, then?" Soldier Blue whispered, numbed by what this meant.

"Yes….and no. A true clone….wouldn't have survived….as long as I have." The stranger said, tiredly.

"What exactly are you, then?" Leo questioned, yet only got a confused shake of the head from the stranger as an answer.

"I don't know." The stranger murmured, then added, "I wish I knew…."

"Well, you can tell us a bit more, after we have returned to the ship. Just rest easy." Soldier Blue said, as he carefully lifted the other Mu up off the ground, and then rushed off; carrying the rapidly weakening man back to the waiting Shangri-La on his own, not waiting for the cadets and Leo to join him, before doing so.