Hello! :) I hope you're doing great. So, I'm a big fan of the series and since season 1 has just wrapped up (with an amazing cliffhanger and an episode), I thought of tackling my first fanfic with this great cast of characters. :) I've come up with an idea for an arc that takes place between Episode 5 and Episode 6 of the series.
So, everything up to the end of Episode 5 is canon and the big revelations about Episode 6 will be hinted but not spoiled. Other than that, I really hope you like the start of the story and that together we can fill in the tremendous amount of time needed until Series 2 (hopefully) comes out next year.
I would love to hear from you about everything regarding the story, from grammatical errors to characters sounding (or being) off character and everything you think it's relevant.
Without any further ado, enjoy chapter one of the story: Of Choices and Promises
Choices. We all have to make them, and we all have to live by them. There's no greatest regret than a path never walked, and each path we walk in life it's created by our choices. We choose to smile when we wake up in the morning and our day suddenly feels brighter; we choose to go right instead of left, and our whole future changes.
In truth, there's no greatest enemy of destiny than choice. And like every story ever told in the universe, this one also starts with a peculiar choice.
It's a cold, Sunday night and a small group of people is walking down the road. Two young men, pacing side by side, and an older, sleek woman with a blond, frame haircut.
The boys seem to be in a hurry, while the woman is reluctantly following them down the road.
"I can't believe I'm following his highness in a midnight stroll with his boyfriend. Oh, how the mighty have fallen," Miss Quill keeps mumbling to herself.
Charlie hears her and can't help himself but stop to reply. "You're here because I've asked you to protect me. Unless you want something bad to happen to me. How would that work for you, I wonder."
"I'm here because you Rhodians have a twisted sense of justice. It's about time you agreed that you're keeping me a slave, prince. Enough with your fake morality lessons," she counters him.
"You are not my slave. This is your punishment for slaughtering my people."
"I was fighting for our freedom, for the freedom of the Quill and our planet from your influence. You Rhodians have no sense of true justice. You always take until there's nothing more to give," she continues.
Charlie and Quill have now walked dangerously close together. The former is glaring at her with the fierce kindness of a member of the Rhodian royal family; the latter scowls at the futility of the situation.
Suddenly, Matteusz pops between them, stopping their fighting. "Enough you two. Aren't you bored with having the same argument over and over again?"
Charlie lowers his eyes before raising his head to stare at him; his glance suddenly turns soft. "I...I can't let her tarnish the customs of my people. The Quill have slaughtered too many Rhodians. Her punishment is one befitting her crimes."
"Here we go again," Quill snorts and tosses her arms in the air, a gesture of utter surrender. "It's your people that didn't leave us in peace. And it's your people that punish the crimes of their enemies by removing their free will and making them slaves for life. How do you think you would feel if there was a creature inside your head ready to kill you at any time for not following the orders of your master?"
"Enough!" Matteusz says again, this time louder. "Look, you can argue all you want tomorrow. Now we have to meet with the others outside the school. Alright?"
His heavy accent seems to somehow shooth Charlie. "Yeah. Of course. I'm sorry, you're right. We can't keep the others from waiting us."
And just like that, the two boys turn their backs to the ferocious Quill woman and continue down their way towards the school. Quill, on her stead, stops and sighs.
"Take a deep breath. He doesn't have much time until I'm free. Tomorrow afternoon this nightmare will come to an end and then many things will change around here," she mumbles behind her teeth. "That's it if that Headmistress, and her Governors, keep their word."
And with that, she follows the two boys.
The Coal Hill high school has always been a particularly strange place, especially during the night. The tall building gives off an ominous feeling at the ones crossing its premises, especially after the many rumors surrounding it. There's even a saying in the town for the Coal Hill high: the missing never return.
A young boy is holding hands with a young girl as they're waiting for the rest of their company to arrive. The vapor of their breaths takes form in front of them.
"Gosh, it's freezing tonight," Ram hisses as he's pulling his hand away from April to rub some heat on them.
"Well, winter is coming," April says. She sneaks a short glance at Ram, waiting for a nod of understanding at her comment. It never comes.
Ram turns and stares at her in bafflement. "What?"
A pressed smile appears on April's face. "Nothing. I think I'm spending too much time in front of the TV." A moment later, she's rubbing her hands in front of her mouth as well.
"Where in the hell is everybody? We said to be in front of the school by midnight and no one has arrived yet. What's with them?" Ram exclaims.
"Well, you know how Charlie and Quill get when they start arguing. And Tanya has to be really careful sneaking out from her house. Her mother is really strict."
Ram nods at April's remark. "Yeah. You're right. One time her mother caught us video-calling and it was bad."
In the distance, a lonely figure appears out of the sudden. April is the first to notice. "Oh. Here she is. Tanya," she says and waves her hand above her head.
The young girl shushes her from the distance while at the same time looking around her. "Are you mental? You're going to wake up the whole neighborhood," she says in an abrupt manner.
April, on her stead, shrugs before talking. "Hey. Aren't you a bit jumpy tonight? Is something the matter?"
Tanya has closed in the distance now; she seems like she's panting. "My mom. When I was sneaking out of the house, I thought she had woken up. She almost gave me a heart attack. Let's just hope I was wrong."
Ram, walking around them, hasn't said a thing. That's before he notices the fast approaching group of people coming from the other side. "There are the others. Finally, we can start," he hisses again, freezing from the cold.
"Hey guys," Charlie is the first one to talk when all of them have amassed before the building.
Tanya, April, and Ram stare at Miss Quill suspiciously. She seems to notice. "What? Would you think I'd let him," she says and tilts her head in Charlie's way, "die and take me with him? No, no, no. Wherever he goes, I'm going as well. There's no way I'm leaving you five alone. Someone has to protect him," she says.
Matteusz jumps in and says: "I will protect Charlie. There's no way I'll let anything bad happen to him." He sounds tough and cute at the same time. Charlie seems to notice and shares a shy smile with him. The tall young man's face quickly shines in satisfaction.
April is the one to continue. "It's not that. Aren't you freezing with just that top on?" she says.
She cackles. "You think that's cold? Try fighting Rhodians in the peaks of Uxok amidst the Frotering, and then you talk to me about cold." The whole bunch, including Matteusz, look at Charlie for an explanation.
"It's a long story," he brushes them off. "Now, can someone tell us what was so urgent that couldn't wait until tomorrow morning?"
Tanya hems before speaking. "Since I called you, I think I should be doing the explaining now. You all know that since our whole guarding-the-world-by-ravaging-aliens adventures started, we're always one step behind the imminent catastrophe."
Ram and Charlie both turn and look at their significant other, confused by the last word. Matteusz and April mumble simultaneously:
"Disaster."
They all burst into a childish giggling. Tanya, however, seems to annoyed by them interrupting her.
"Come on guys, focus," she says at once. She waits a moment for the laughing to die off before continuing. "Lately, I've been spending my time mapping the locations tears have been opening since the night of the prom. I wasn't expecting to discover anything important when I started, but I wanted to make sure we weren't missing any major incident. However, it turns out that something weird is indeed going on. All the recent tears seem to encompass a certain point around the center of the school.
"Also, what's even more interesting, it's that the tears closer to the center of the circle are bigger and in the past were the ones that caused the major incidents. Like, letting the Shadow Kin come to our planet."
Silence falls between them. Just a reference to the prom night and the Shadow Kin is reason enough for them to focus on their younger friend. Tanya stops and stares at them, waiting for them to have figured out the rest of her thought process by now. However, no one, not even Miss Quill, seems to know what she's talking about.
April, being the kindest of them four, decides to talk. "So? What that means?"
Tanya sighs before continuing. "It's like a gravity field. Okay, so picture a stretched sheet. Now, picture tossing a big ball on it. What will happen?"
"The sheet will submerge and a funnel will be created," Ram suddenly says.
"Exactly! And in a funnel, the deepest part it's the place where the ball has fallen. So, practically, we're here searching for the ball."
Everyone except Charlie exclaim like they have heard a big secret. However, the young man doesn't feel comfortable asking one of his silly questions again. At least, not in front of everyone.
"Okay, so if you're right, how is that going to help us? It's not like we can control the tears or even close them," Quill says, deciding to add to the conversation.
"For once, if I'm right, we'll know the existence of the tear and we'll be able to predict any future events by studying it. Also, a tear can work both ways. Maybe, if it's big enough, like the one that got the Shadow Kin in, we'll be able to cross it and learn more about how it works."
April and Quill quickly nod, but Ram seems to have a different idea of what they should do. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute. We're going to do what? What if a giant, man-eating alien is waiting for us on the other side? After everything we've been through lately, it wouldn't strike me as all that much weird if that actually happened."
Quill clucks. "It's weird how this planet seems to be run by men and how every time, at the first chance, it's the men that run away first in fear."
Ram doesn't take Quill's words well. "I'm not afraid. I'm trying to be the voice of logic here. We can't go on looking for trouble because there's a high chance trouble will find us."
April is the one that replies to him. "Look, Ram, think of this as a reconnaissance mission. We have to know what we're fighting against or else more people close to us will get hurt by the threats flowing out of the school."
Ram quickly seems to change his mind. "Yeah, now that you mention it, I haven't thought of that. You're right. However, just to be safe, let's just promise we won't do anything rash if something goes wrong. Okay?"
The moment he says that he stretches his hand in front of him and starts staring at the people around him.
April is the first one to comply with his suggestion. "I agree. After all, if Tanya is right, we'll have plenty of time to explore the main tear tomorrow."
Tanya also does the same. "Yeah, I guess I'm okay with that. Let's take it one step at the time," she says.
Matteusz grabs Charlie's hand and places it above the rest of the hands, close to his. The latter looks at him estranged. "What's going on? Is this some kind of human ritual?" he asks.
The others look at him, half smiling knowingly. Matteusz is the one doing the explaining to him. "It's a human thing, yes. We all take a promise together by touching our hands in a circle. That way, we're connected and so is our promise. If you break your promise, then it's like you're breaking this circle. Think that if you break this circle, a lot of people will be pissed at you for doing so," he says.
Charlie, not wanting to piss anyone by breaking the circle, or his promise, quickly embraces the others' hands and says out loud. "I promise I won't break my promise."
Matteusz, now sharing a wide smile with Charlie, stretches his hand as well. "I promise too. Nothing rash, not before it's safe to move."
And just like that, the five people stare at each other for a short moment, the vapor of their breaths floating around them. When the moment is over, nothing has changed physically, but all of them feel somehow closer to each other. The strength of their promise seems more than enough to lead them straight into the school building.
In the meantime, Quill tosses her arms in the air once again, totally ignored by the five teenagers. "Yeah, sure. Forget the only person here with the keys to this place. Kids these days are so disrespectful," she says.
Before following them, though, Quill stares down at her hand and snorts. "Promises. I still have to meet a person that has kept them."
Her high heels click on the asphalt. She can do nothing but follow these brats for now, or else, if something bad happens to the pampered prince, it'll be her demise by the Anh. And she can't allow that, not before tomorrow. Not before she has found out more about these resources the Governors have that can remove an Anh from her brain.
"Remember, Andrea. Remember. You are war itself. You can do with one more night of his absurd orders," she mutters.
In the meantime, Charlie pulls Matteusz aside from the main group and urges him to slow down a bit. He seems a bit confused by Charlie's sudden approach.
"What's wrong? Is everything alright?" he asks him, leaning closer to his ear.
"Yeah, sure. I'm fine. I just have one question, though. Are we here searching for a ball? Did I get that right?"
Matteusz can't hold back a grin. Also, before answering to him, he gives him a soft kiss on the lips. Charlie eagerly kisses him back.
"You're too cute when you make those questions. No, we are not searching for a ball. We're searching for the biggest tear of the Coal Hill high school."
Quill now passes next to them. "Come on, boys. Leave romance for the house. We have a job to do."
Charlie stares at her and back at his love, the stunning Matteusz. Having him so close to him soothes his mind but races his heart. Still, for once, Quill is right. This is no time for romance. They have to get to the end of this.