Without these words, this story would not exist
"Nine had the backing of Sandor, someone young and strong enough to train him, and then he had John. Five lost his cepan at a younger age, and before that Rey was too weak to train him, and before that Five too young to understand. Had he someone else to show him basic kindness and give him shelter, he probably wouldn't have made the same choices. Personality wise they're very similar; they're both stubborn, prone to anger, and the type to serially avoid their problems by burying their vulnerable emotions under easier ones.
-Knave, a discord user.
This story seeks to change Nine and Five, and in some ways switch their places in the story. The numbers (#) scattered throughout this chapter refer to funny alternate scenes at the end. Enjoy!
chapter 1: orta recens quam pura nites
There's a man sitting on the (1) ground. His face is patchy with unshaven hair. One hand is clutching a brown bottle half filled with liquid that sloshes as the man moves. He's looking up at the dark sky, thoughts breaking through and then tearing apart as quickly as they came. He takes a moment and sips from the bottle before glancing back up to a sky that's suddenly obscured with black clouds and whipping winds.
The man stumbles away, hair flying into his eyes, grasping the bottle loosely. He looks up and sees a circle of light descending through the sound and storm. He keeps moving.
We've landed on this planet after a year travelling in the void of space. This foreign planet is to be our new home. For once, there is an emotion shared by all the passengers, and it can be seen on all our faces. Uncertainty.
And fear.
We file of the ship in pairs, followed by a man. The ship doors close behind him and the ship turns dark.
As we stand, shivering, in the storm of our own creation, we're quickly made aware that we're not alone. From the winds and dust emerge nine natives, each with a bag that they hand off to the adults. Hugs are shared, and tearful goodbyes. The grown ups know that this is the last time they will see some of these people. Most of the children are blissfully ignorant.
They set off in different directions, specks drifting apart in the storm.
My eyes open in the half-lit gloom, like something woke me up. I'm immediately alert. But no: there's no fading echo, and Rey is still asleep on his cot. I briefly close my eyes for a second, but the nightmare I was having returns under my eyelids, prompting me to re-open them.
There's light peeking in through the bottom of the curtain. Specks of dust or whatever else drift through the beam. With a sigh, I push myself up and pull a shirt on. Increasingly, I've had this nightmare, and running is the only thing that takes my mind off it. I open the door and step out of the shack. Pigs snuffle from the pen built on to the side of our abode.
I start jogging, slowly at first, but building speed. Later in the day, when the sun is halfway through the sky, Rey will stand outside the hut with his stopwatch and I'll run again, pushing my top speed. Right now, though, I'm just running to escape my nightmare.
The water is splashing on the sand as I run past trees and vines and roots. I hear only the water and my footsteps and bugs. Always the bugs. They'll get quieter in a few hours. The combination of water and bugs noises is comforting, and I slip into a rhythm with my breath and my feet.
It hasn't always been just me and Rey. I mean, yes, of course there's been nobody else I'm as close to as Rey. What I mean is that Rey and I haven't always been living alone on an island. When we first got here-to Earth-we went to Canada.
I was five in Canada, and my name was Cody. We ate butter tarts and french fries with gravy and rubbery globs of cheese, all from roadside stands. I learned a little french. Rey was Albert there, a name he chose from seeing "Alberta" on a map. We were grandfather and son there. No one questioned that.
I liked being Cody. At night Rey would tell me about Lorien and my parents, my sister. How nothing could tear me and my sister apart. Always laughing and playing. He told me that I liked to make up stories and my sister would act them out with me. I remember my sister, her red hair, her smile, her love. I don't remember my parents as well, but I remember that they loved me, too.
And Rey's voice would become low as he talked about the Mogadorians that came to our planet and killed everyone the night we left. He doesn't like talking about that and I don't like hearing about it, but that's why we're doing this. He tells me and I listen so that I know and I understand where we came from, and how important I am.
His voice would rise again as he tells me about my Loric brothers and sisters spread out across Earth, the people we came here with. One day we're going to reunite, and stop the Mogadorians once and for all.
Canada was nice. Like all things, though, it had to end. Canada's end came when the Mogadorians found us in the icy morning. I remember running barefoot, not unlike I am now, away from the house through the woods. Hiding in a tree when my legs were too tired to continue.
The figure of a man approaching. When he got closer, I saw that it was Rey. "Albert…?" I called out. "Are they gone?" My voice trembled as I spoke, and I hated how I couldn't do anything but run and hide. Like a coward. Like a useless weakling.
He had hefted his shovel in one arm and his sawed off shotgun in the other. (2) "Albert is dead." He said quietly. Even when I was that young, I knew what he meant. We had to go.
That was what my nightmare was about. What it's always usually about. Helpless six-year-old me running from monsters in the woods. In the nightmare, though, it's not Rey that finds me. It's a Mogadorian.
I'm rounding the island now, running back to the hut on the other side. Rey is probably waking up right about now.
I want to believe that I wouldn't be running the next time I meet a Mogadorian. But I haven't gotten any of my legacies that Rey says are supposed to be coming. Deep down, I know the scared kid is still inside me. I can only train, and hope that I'm good enough when they finally come to find me.
I'm back at the shack and Rey is standing outside, leaning against the wall of the shack. "Breakfast?" He asks with a wry smile. I nod, smiling back at him as I jog closer. (3) His eyes narrow as he sees my face. No doubt he's noticed the bags under my eyes, pale but still present.
"Nightmare?" He says somewhat sharply. I nod, knowing that there's no point in trying to convince him otherwise. He's far too astute to be fooled by my feeble attempts at lies.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asks, leading the way back into the shack. His head is turned away from me, which is good because I'm not very good at hiding how I feel. And I feel pressured now.
"...No, not really," I say awkwardly. Rey doesn't push any further. He's always been understanding like that. It's one of the things that I appreciate about him.
I take a seat at our small table, situated beside the wall opposite the pig pen outside. Rey stands at the counter, the only other flat surface in the shack. I can't see what he's doing, but when he turns around(4), he has two plates filled with fruit and some roasted meat. He brings them to the table and sets them down, making the table creak. It's a very old table, chipped and worn with age.
He hands me a fork for the meat and I start to eat. Even on an island in the middle of the ocean, Rey manages to make amazing food. He's told me that he was a chef on Lorien, in his spare time. Some talents never fade. Now, if only I could develop my own…
Before long I've finished my food, mumbling "thank you" around a mouthful of chicken. It probably sounds more like "hrrk oo" but Rey knows what I mean. He chuckles, still only halfway through his plate.
His eyes crease as he smiles, and I am again reminded of how old he is. Despite his age, he's one of the most capable people I know.
"You know the drill. I'll catch up when I'm done," he says, waving his fork around as he gestures. I nod and take off towards our training area. Another day, another chance to get stronger.
Omake #1
There's a man sitting on the toilet. He lets out a giant fart that shakes the entire house. He sighs contentedly. Finally, he has found sweet release from that annoying gas building up.
This blast of gas also killed all of the vat-born mogadorians on earth. wow. weaponised farts. amazing.
The End
Omake #2
He had hefted his shovel in one arm and his sawed off shotgun in the other. "YEEEE BOIIIIII!" He yelled in a gravelly voice, grinning. "AMERI-CANADA!" I stared in awe. So this was the power of freedom. I then pledged my allegiance to the stars and stripes. With this strength, I could do anything.
Omake #3
I'm back at the shack and Rey is standing outside. "Breakfast?" He asks with a wry smile. I nod, smiling back at him as I jog closer. "SUrprise mfer" he yells, wacking me on the head with the shovel. "Here's your breakfast" he says, giving me a knuckle sandwich. my eyes spin and I crumple to the ground. who knew that my death would come not at the hands of our greatest enemy, but the one who was closest to me. "goodbye, cruel world,," I call out weakly, before falling over dead.
Omake #4
Rey stands at the counter, the only other flat surface in the shack. I can't see what he's doing, but when he turns around, he has two plates with fruit, just roasted meat with sauce and fried chicken. WOw. the cepan legacy of inexplicably good cooking. I inhale the smell of the food. amazing. we could use the food to literally kill the mogadorians with kindness.