Hero
Once upon a time
"Tell the story again mom," the little gray bunny requests. He is five, wearing his favourite blue pajamas that match his eyes and he is tucked into bed. His mother smiles warmly down at her son, sitting on the edge of his bed, a book held in her hands.
"Fine, but this is the last time Ace," she tells him. "Once upon a time, there was a knight. The world was in danger from a dangerous dragon, and none of the knights in the kingdom were willing to go fight it, except for one. He journeyed through many hardships, until finally he came to the lair of the dragon and defeated it. Then he went back home and was declared a hero. Then he married the king's daughter and lived happily ever after."
Ace grins. "Was the hero brave?" he asks, eyes wide.
"Very brave," his mother confirmed.
"It's good that he got to live happily ever after - I think he deserved it." Her son yawns.
Ace's mother smiles softly, rising from the bed and planting a kiss on his head before heading to the door. She pauses in the doorway, looking back at her only child, who's already snoozing away, and her smile widens.
there was a knight
Ace grew up quickly after the death of his parents.
Car accident. He by some miracle survived, but was forced onto the streets. His mother's parents had passed, and his father disowned from his family because of their marriage. They don't want him. And he doesn't need them.
The older gray bunny jams the stolen bread greedily into his mouth, savoring the taste and the fact he'll have a full stomach tonight. He stands up and heads down the alleyways of the more rough side of the city, sirens wailing in the distance. The sky is dark and even the moon is blocked by clouds.
There's a sound of loud running and woman rushes past him, followed by a few men. He follows them, curious and concerned. The men leer and threaten her with their weapons. He remains hidden in the shadows, until he's able to sneak up near the largest one and hit him in the head with a garbage can lid. The man crumples, the other three spinning around but he's already safe and knocks all of them out.
The woman turns to thank her savior, but he's already gone.
He is not a knight in shining armor, no matter what people want to make him out as.
The world was in danger
He has seen and heard the reports of the meteor coming.
He tries to keep himself safe before it comes, but due to the desperate need for money, he can't. Otherwise he would lose his job, and he can't afford that. That day, it's the impact.
He flies through the air - ten, twenty feet - and lands with a painful thud on the ground. Buildings are crumbling, people are screaming and running everywhere. Flaming debris is falling everywhere. He screams with pain as a large chunk hits his leg and traps him on the concrete.
from a dangerous dragon
He has heard a lot of crazy things in his life. Like his powers, or joining the team, or having friends that cared about him, or hearing Lexi say, "I love you." But this was the hardest to accept.
"We have to make sure the Draconi aliens don't get their whole army here, otherwise they'll take over," Zadavia recaps. Lexi squeezes his hand, and he can feel her trembling and tries to reassure her by squeezing back. A quarter of the army is on Earth, a limited number of crew members on the ship close to their universe.
When he first sees the Draconi, he thinks that they do resemble dragons with their scaly skin, curved necks, leathery wings and sharp claws. But there's something about them that's so obviously human that it makes him cringe inside when he spills their blood.
Soon, his hands are soaked in it, and it's just another mindless thing he has to do.
and none of the knights
Zadavia tells them about the dangerous mission. So far, they had pushed the Draconi back far enough, but they couldn't keep them at bay for long. They needed to take action. Someone needed to sneak onto the ship and get rid of the transport device on board. That way, more soldiers couldn't come through, and the ship could be destroyed and the aliens would leave. The catch: only a small vessel would be able to make it through the forcefield protecting the ship without being detected.
A vessel only big enough for one person.
"Any volunteers?" Zadavia says weakly.
in the kingdom were willing to go fight it, except for one.
"I'll go."
The words fall so automatically from Ace's lips it scares him that he's so ready to risk his life. Zadavia nods grimly, and others give him sad looks. Lexi tightly grips his hand. He tries not to show how scared he really is, how he desperately wants to tremble in fear. He swallows the lump in his throat. Because he is a leader. Their leader, and he would't allow any of them to risk this.
"Tell me what I have to do," he requests.
He journeyed through many hardships,
They're all waiting for him, at the tiny ship. The boys all give him tight hugs and even Duck is fighting back tears. Zadavia gives him a faint smile. And Lexi kisses him so passionately he forgets what he's about to do for a second and wraps his arms around her, wishing desperately to say, "Don't make me go."
But he doesn't, because the people see him as a hero, and steps onboard, his eyes staring at his waving friends and mentor, trying to memorize them.
The ship is already through the forcefield when the explosion goes off, and he can see. The giant plume of black smoke rising into the air. Moments later, Zadavia appears on the communication screen of his armor.
"Explosion," she says breathlessly. "Surprise, ambush. The others - God the others, they're -"
She doesn't finish. She doesn't have to.
But somewhere in Ace's shellshocked mind, he's grateful, because if no one says the dreaded word, he can pretend it hasn't happened.
Dead.
They're all dead.
until finally he came to the lair of the dragon
There's a sick sort of pleasure swelling up inside of him after landing onto the ship successfully. Although the ship had limited crew, he ran into him. Anger surged through him, and almost smiled as his blade slices through the Draconi's shoulder. Dark blood guzzled out of the wound and he steps over the body with ease.
Quickly, thanks to some stolen schematics of the crewmember he had run into, he locates the transporter. With a few slashes of his sword, the machine is nothing more than scraps of metal and broken wires.
and defeated it.
Although unnecessary, he heads to the cockpit of the spaceship where most of the crew is. He slays them all easily, his remaining anger finally diminishing into grief as he moves back to his small vessel. The ship is spinning out of control with no one to guide it as he steps into his tiny ship. It instantly rears up and begins the trip back to Acmetropolis.
All the while, a little voice is hissing in his mind.
(You killed people. You're a murderer.)
They deserved it. They killed my team.
(It doesn't wash the blood from your hands.)
Then he went back home and was declared a hero.
The citizens of the city celebrate him vastly, once they come back from Blanc where they had been evacuated for safety. "Hero!" they chant. "Hero!"
He spends his first few days in the empty tower. Everything is how his team left it, and he doesn't move a thing. He keeps the windows closed. He can't stand to hear the chant ("Hero! Hero!") knowing he is nothing more than a man who killed for revenge, not to help the people of his home.
Home.
Can he even call the tower that anymore?
On cold days, he wonders if the citizens know he's more of a villain than a hero.
Then he married the king's daughter
What should have been, he thinks. If they hadn't come to see him off...
Some days, he can picture her so perfectly. Her laugh, smile, the way her brows scrunched together whenever she was thinking hard.
Other days, he can see a photo of the two of them and forget her name for a second.
It scares him more than anything in the world.
and lived happily ever after.
Ace stares down at the water, crashing against the rocky cliff, and vaguely wonders what the newspapers would be like tomorrow. Acmetropolis Hero: Dead from suicide.
When he was young, he remembers, he wanted to be a hero. What a stupid thought for a naive child. He wishes he could have just been an ordinary person; a person who needed saving.
He may not be ordinary, but he still needs saving.
He takes a deep breath and takes a step off.
Was he brave?
Very brave.
It's good he got to live happily ever after - I think he deserved it.
Unfortunately, people don't always get what they deserve.