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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
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Chapter 19: The Weight of Memories
Betareader: Ant0nius
~Minos' POV~
If there was something that Minos was incredibly quick to dislike, it was the unpredictability of fate.
Sometimes it's good to be subjected to surprises, at least when they are amusing and positive to receive, but it would be a lie for him to say that he wouldn't be feeling some degree of annoyance and discomfort in all these odd circumstances.
It was instinctive, for his need to keep a sharp guard over himself when people around him had never truly settled down, even with the end of the war.
He was attentive about those he barely knew about despite their overall genuine friendliness, but, most of all, also afraid of the eventuality of making new mistakes in these new settings away from the battlefield.
Painting helped to reduce the stressing memories from flaring up so suddenly, and so did some basic training that gave him the means to keep up with a proper shape.
Yet the sensation of having to always keep up his guard around people had recently resurfaced when he had made a discovery a little less than two days earlier.
He still had some fresh memories of the last couple of years of the war, the ones that saw the most absurd turn of tides the empire could have imagined when a newcomer had appeared and… shattered the expectations of a quick victory.
The subtle but determined nature of someone he had defined a foolish bug before the imperial might, someone so little and weak that shouldn't have had managed to make so much damage in that limited amount of time.
Yet he did it, the Grand Knight had been able to score victories after victories by facing all the obstacles Minos himself had been responsible to put between his group and Earth.
He could remember surprise, anger and frustration beyond the thinkable as the Bull Prime had tried his best to subvert one of the latest threats to the Emperor, yet they all culminated with failures.
No soldiers, no space pirates, and not even imperial guards had managed to break the stubborn resilience displayed and…
And not even his personal involvement had mattered.
But these musings didn't come to him without reasoning. In fact, it was all connected to the current activity that had taken him away from his simple plans for the morning.
Humming quietly while putting down the last few color-filled cans right with the rest, Minos took a moment to blink up at the small rundown building that Miles had required some help to restore.
The place was quite ruined by years of mismanagement, the Cat Prime having long explained that the lack of certain owners up until now had seen the entire structure left untouched for several decades now.
The young man had appeared fairly nervous when he had started to explain this situation to both the human and the Bull Prime while they were all staying at the bar.
He profusely mentioned more than once how he wasn't trying to exploit his friendship with them, but that he really needed some help in fixing his current home considering the long list of activities the process required to be completed.
They both accepted after hearing some more of the current situation, drawing some prospects of tiring sessions of getting the place fixed for good.
Nothing overly excessive, just that it needed to have its water network and heating systems properly adjusted to make it a properly inhabitable house.
The work started pretty quickly by the time they had all the resources and tools ready to be used. Minos took care of repainting the external walls, while Matt started to give a look over the heating system and see what could be already fixed.
Surprisingly enough, the Bull Prime was irritated by the fact that he had been given such a 'simple task', but perhaps the division of duties had come more from the fact he himself wasn't much experienced with certain kinds of devices.
In fact, he never had any reasons to actually deal with the repairing process required for anything connected to heat-production.
Still, Minos decided to not protest over the matter, as he found the logic solid and acceptable within his mind… while also finding the reason to stay away from Matt a good motivation to finally reduce the flashbacks connected to their first encounter.
His irritation back then had been immense. His chest had burned a curious anger when he found himself finally lifting up by the neck the reason for the troubles he had been facing with the Emperor regarding his first and last failures.
The human, at the time younger and quite rude with his diplomatic approaches, had been lashing out at his arms, trying to effortlessly claw himself out of his tight hold as the Prime had started to squeeze painfully at his head.
That very memory would then twist to the way he was ultimately defeated, when Minos' final delusion shattered before the honesty of his opponent's goodness. The sword aimed at the throat, his Crest temporarily disabled and… an unconquerable might hiding behind the steely eyes of the Grand Knight.
The difference between the two instances?
Mercy.
Where the Bull Prime wouldn't have spared any to his enemies, the human that he had hunted for so long before becoming one of his companions had actually offered him peace of mind and soul.
A redemption that he shouldn't have gotten so easily, not with how much innocent blood had stained his hands because of his heinous crimes against both primekind and humanity.
Yet it had happened and now… he was grateful.
He was angry at his old ways, spiteful of how his devotion to such a flawed cause had led him to make so many terrible mistakes… but now Minos was happily enjoying true peace, away from ever being subjected to a position of power.
There had been circumstances after the disappearance of the Grand Knight that saw the Bull Prime actually pursue some positive activities to fix his mistakes, starting by the important task of finding the other cells of Primes that had scattered across the galaxy after the destruction of Prism.
There had been so many hopes back then while he had tried to at least make sure that everyone was brought back to the fold now that the empire had collapsed… yet his expectations turned out dull and unfounded when nothing was found after months spent search across the solar system.
In the end he had to concede that Ambar's orders to conclude the search had been the best option to take, especially with the unexpected development of the newly-crowned Queen to refuse taking court in Neo-Earth.
The shocking detail for many had actually been something that Minos had found logical, especially with how distraught the young lady had been at the end of the conflict.
The 'simple grieving phase' that the Crest of Wisdom had so considered temporary for the true monarch had eventually taken a more permanent note in history as she was forced to assume control as the High Prime to avoid the full collapse of the newborn government.
The Queen had retreated to self-isolation, accepting just a handful of visitors once in a while in her royal-owned section of the grand palace in Prism City.
And despite the fact that centuries had passed since the conclusion of the war, the young woman was still driven by sorrow to avoid making a public appearance to her people, to her subjects.
To a younger Minos, this would have been proof of a weak and unworthy ruler for an entire sentient race, someone that was brought to a position of power without having proved their worth.
But the Queen did prove her integrity and determination to save her own people, abandoning the early reluctance of being bestowed with the role so young and so suddenly.
In his mind by now there was no reason to doubt her worth, her capacity to rule properly and justly so, but the issue wasn't about being able to do something… it was about being willing to commit to such a grand burden while also living with the costs of the victory.
The Bull Prime had thought well about Ambar's words of keeping quiet, finding the Gods' will to be so much of a hindrance considering the fact that the worst had been gone for so long now.
There was no Emperor, the Narakhans-led resistance was quite feeble at best and many just weren't as fanatics as they used to be and… the Crests were all well-integrated within modern society.
Everyone had found a reason to go forward with their lives, and Minos was more than sure that it was no longer about some serious threats.
But what could've driven the deities that had so favored Primekind to remove and then return the Grand Knight for so many centuries? Why?
It would have been his wish to remain and see the fruits of his labor, to see the beginning of the peacetime and assist for the best the inexperienced monarch that he had known for so long.
...And yet it didn't happen.
The Grand Kni- Matt was now unaware of the weight his figure still held within many old circles, how his presence had shaped the end of a millenia-long warfare, his mind missing many of his past memories and limiting his knowledge to just a fraction of what it once had.
The Grand Journal, the 'little' notebook that had turned out to be a thousand-pages book with essential information over the solar system's planets, had been extremely useful to create a proper understanding of Space back when the early steps of the 'Search' had started.
It was the only relic surviving the disappearance of the 'legendary figure', someone that history saw more as a mythical being rather than a real person.
And yet they were all wrong to think so, in fact… Minos was now staring at the 'legend' himself.
The human took a sigh as he took out the slightly-burned gloves off from his hands.
"This is the last time I try to fix something so rusty without a manual," The young man huffed tiredly before looking up at the Prime. "Is everything alright, Minos?"
"Yes," He stated with a nod, looking at the wall he had unconsciously painted in a simple white, the large brush used to properly conclude the task still dripping some of the liquid color. "I'm moving on to the next wall and… are you done with your own situation?"
Matt nodded happily, showing a tired look for a moment. "Yep, the Heating system should be working well now. I had to double-check to make sure that it wouldn't malfunction on a false start."
"Good to know," The Prime commented politely, his lips twitching in the ghost of a smile before looking at the next wall. "Can you keep me company then? I have some questions I would like to ask you."
It was curiosity driving him now, but the sense of worry was working well to hinder the chances of messing up this attempt to probe a little at the amnesiac young man.
"Sure thing," The human agreed quietly, showing no worry about this sudden request as he decided to follow the Bull around.
The brush dipped back once more at the open can, white staining the bristles as he started to carefully press it by the strong texture of the barrier while still giving attention to his new spectator.
With Miles gone to try and find for the plans of the water network connected to his home by the city hall, there were only the two of them working around in that place for that very moment.
This was a golden opportunity to test the waters for some personal efforts to bring back some memories.
"I remember you mentioning that Ms. Linda's daughter will soon return home," The Prime started with a simple topic, unwilling to sound too blunt with his attempt as he knew that exaggeration was something that at worst fitted with the current case. "Anything you can comment about her?"
He needed to take a slow but steady pace to get some success out of this.
Matt blinked at the subject, but he didn't seem anywhere close to unwilling to provide some information over this matter.
"I think she is nice, but she also seemed angry at herself and the world around her," The young man replied with a serious tone. "I expect her to be rough to deal early on, distrustful even and… I might have snapped a little at her when I first called her."
Red eyes blinked away from the wall and back to the human. "You 'snapped' at her?"
"It's bad, I know that and… I got bashed well enough to know I could have been a little less oppressive back then," He tensed up a little while replying, sounding quite nervous over it. "But I plan to apologize to her, perhaps later today once I'm done with my shift."
"Still, that sounds like there is some story to it," Minos pressed on with some curiosity within his words. "You usually are moderate with everyone."
"I was driven to a brief state of irritation when she sounded so dismissive despite the fact I had some very serious information she had to know," The human admitted quite quickly. "I mean, I can understand having to deal with some tough life choices and all- but I just couldn't lose the chance of informing her of something I knew well enough that she needed to know."
"Did you see yourself in that kind of response?" The Bull Prime suggested quietly, his tone turning cautious as to not sound insensible over the delicate topic he was grazing with this slight detour.
…
"Did I go too far or-"
"No." The solid negation interrupted the Crest. "The only thing I can relate with Mora now is that she might feel terrible since she knows her mother might die pretty soon. It's just the kind of 180 that nobody should ever want to experience in their lives, the one that brings you from reluctant isolation to outright worry in a span of a second."
The Prime nodded at that. "I can only guess that it would sound quite hurtful if provided so bluntly."
Matt flinched a little, but didn't continue at that and… Minos decided to finally move the discussion into his real subject of interest.
"You know, I've heard of something similar happening a couple of centuries ago," The Bull Prime started to explain, his tone of voice turning quieter and his curiosity drowned by mindful attention over his next words. "About two strange individuals that had both lost their parents at the same time. The reasons were different but… both hated each other for these tragic developments."
The odd scene displayed by Minos caused the human to frown at that comment, his eyes narrowing in confusion at the words.
"Wait, why would they hate each other for that? Did their parents die in a battle or maybe-"
"The circumstances nowadays are not well known, but their hatred was quite… intense early on," The Crest continued. "In fact, it came to a strange and absurd novelty when they ended up teaming up against a common enemy, someone that was actively trying to kill one of them for the sake of the… greater good."
"Well, perhaps they were both good guys and so they just allied-"
"They were a boy and a girl," Minos corrected while pressing on and ignoring the comments coming from Matt. "Both were meant to fight together, but they didn't trust each other for several reasons… but still, they ended up siding together against the greatest of evils."
"I don't want to sound insensible there but… how does that make for a good fairy tale, Minos?" The human rebutted with even more confusion dripping from his voice. "I mean, this does sound like a good premise but-"
"It's the first part of a bigger part of modern history," The Prime interrupted again, this time a small smile settling on his face. "In fact, it could be defined as the very reason that saw the end of the Grand War."
There was some silence there, with Matt pondering over this detail for some time and then… he sighed.
"Wait, you are going to tell me that there are other important people that were responsible for the downfall of the Emperor? I've always thought it was just the Crests that-"
"While the Crests were the main elements that shattered the true power of the Emperor, there was a leadership that supervised them in the last years of the war," Minos interjected one last time. "In fact, the girl herself was- is the current Queen of Prism."
He blinked in surprise, but his eyes still sported some confusion. "What about… the other guy?"
"He was considered her protector and closest confidant. He was a kind man with good notions of life that sadly was lost after the war," The Bull Prime answered with a hint of seriousness. "Someone that is now remembered as… the Grand Knight."
…
Red eyes tried to gauge a proper reaction out of the young man, attentive for any change of expression or even the smallest detail that could hint to some realization.
But the sign was actually easier to spot on that he had expected as, instead of nodding off this new bit of knowledge, Matt actually flinched, with his posture tensing up a little at the conclusive bit of his reply.
"T-That's quite interesting alright and-"
"Do you know what's the queen's name, Matt?"
…
"Her name was-" Minos paused for a moment, his stare noticing the human's lips already mouthing something similar to the name he was just mentioning… but littler, reduced. A nickname.
"Adela-!"
Just as he offered the proper name, his eyes went wide in panic as he saw Matt's body tense up suddenly before starting to fall backward.
Ditching the brush and the can, Minos' rushed to catch the young man before he fell to the floor, quickly noticing how tense and shivering his body was.
The skin had gone pale white, his eyes seemed unfocused and unable to keep looking at the Prime, while the most notable element in that panic-worthy scene was the trail of blood leaving through one of his nostrils.
"Matt, don't- I didn't mean to-"
Was this what Ambar had meant with never mentioning to the human anything too 'powerful' about his past? He hadn't expected such a strong reaction and… his worry tripled when he tried to bring him inside the currently empty household.
Pacing quickly inside the building and towards where the mini-fridge was located, Minos swiftly took the half-empty bottle of water sitting there.
Reaching from the sugar in one of the cupboards, he added both liquid and sweet substance to a small glass, not even bothering to wait to have it mixed properly before giving it to the human.
Matt sipped slowly, his attention span having dropped drastically but he looked capable enough to drink some sugared water.
Moments of silence ensued, with the human's breathing coming to a calmer pace after a painstakingly slow recovery.
Gulping down the rest of the content within the glass, the young man coughed briefly as he regained control over his footing.
More silence, this time the concern started to dwindle away as Matt managed to stand up without the support offered by Minos.
"T-That was quite scary," He admitted with a sigh, taking a step out of the Bull Prime's arms as he tested his current balance while standing on his own. "I hope I didn't frighten you too much with that little heart-attack."
The Prime blinked in surprise at the comment, confused by the fact the human thought that this situation was somehow connected to a simple biological issue.
That hadn't been a heart-attack.
He shook his head, finally gaining some lucidity to think properly of the situation… before frowning.
"Actually, now that I think about it… were we talking about something important?" Matt inquired with a curious tone. "I can't actually remember the topics but it was about-"
"Taffy," Minos lied quickly, knowing now that it wasn't wise to keep pressing over the past without dealing with that kind of worrying reaction. "I was teasing you about the fact that you still refused her despite the fact that-"
"She is a sweet girl, there is no denying it," The human failed to notice that this wasn't the truth, his mind possibly still unable to keep up with logical thoughts so complex to realize that. "But I just don't see her like that. Plus, I bet she will get someone more trustworthy than me. I'm sure of it."
The Bull Prime merely nodded, keeping his presence in the conversation minimal as he was still digesting what had just happened.
The Gods… what have they done to Matt?
~Mora's POV~
Her new hotel room was much better than the subpar places she had been forced to live in up until now and… she liked it now that she was out of that miserable situation.
Mora Linda had taken great attention in looking for any good flight plans to reach Gossamer the quickest possible, her eyes having seen way too many leaflets detailing the 'best budget-saving flights' she could take to get back home.
Her mind had been set to make a hasty return there in that little farm deep in that heavenly place that was her hometown for some time now.
Her childhood, her years as a teenager and… her first years as an adult.
She was ready to finally go back and face the music, to deal with her inner demons and perhaps have a much-needed talk with her mother.
Matt had sounded trustworthy, his tone feeling legitimate and his chastisement so much painful as truthful.
The Cow Prime had wasted too much time wandering around after finding out what happened to her father, and she couldn't see herself wasting time even after her mother was truly gone.
To think that Diana Linda, that strong woman that brought her to this world, the lone parent that had seen for her growth together with Randal's and Alej's, was now going to die soon-
It was infuriating, but also dreadful to even consider so suddenly.
Mora was angry at herself, or rather at that part of herself that led her to stupidly ignore the fact that she had abandoned her only family for a reason and, once that objective had been fulfilled, she had still decided to ditch the need to make a return home.
Maybe it had been the shame of the horrible things she had to do to keep going, to survive, or perhaps the young woman had just found herself restrained by that silly pride of hers.
Pride can be a good thing to sport around, but that is until something as serious as what was happening at Las Lindas happened.
Moving quickly out of that little settlement located by the eastern regions of the United States, the Cow Prime had carefully made way to arrive in California as her main target was the major airport in Los Angeles.
With several means to reach the other coast of the nation being hindered by the terrible weather, her only hope was now catching a plane to reach DC and then up to Prism City.
It would take some time for her to accomplish this all, but she was just two days shy from making her first step to finally leave for home.
Mora was frustrated after having gone for two long days of barely getting some rest as she had been driven around by the need to quickly reach home.
Her determination had weakened a little when some sleep bags had formed right below her eyes, dignifying the fact she had gotten little sleep since she had heard from the remaining worker at the farm.
So instead of outright catching some immediate rest and going through her regular session of nightmares, the young woman had already started pondering over the ways she could go to waste some time without having to be drained by her sleep-deprived self.
Perhaps there were some good bars nearby, hopefully one that lacked any unwanted people she wanted to deal with right now.
Her musings were interrupted by the familiar vibration of her cellphone, the little device having been placed by the bedside just a couple of moments earlier.
Green eyes regarded the object with a mix of apprehension and uneasiness, part of her quickly shuddering at the realization of whom was currently calling her.
The number had been one that she had saved quickly after the end of the last call, her mind urging her to keep contact with the young man responsible for keeping up Las Lindas going right now so as to not confuse him with anyone else that could have called her.
Her hand carefully reaching for the phone, she sighed before bringing up to her ear and starting the call.
"Hello?"
"Hi Mora," Matt replied with a quiet and tired tone. "I hope I'm not calling while you are busy or-"
"N-No- I mean- Everything is fine," She replied in a brief bout of panic, messing up greatly with her reasoning to try and at least appear calm.
"Oh," The man replied calmly at that. "Well, it's good to know that and… I might have to give you a little notice. We've a spectator to this call."
She tensed up a little at this, her worry increasing at the possibility that it could have been her mother.
Yet her concerns lessened at the following words coming from the other side of the call.
"And he's here because I might have burned myself out during my shift," Matt continued with a sigh. "I might have gone a little far today and… yeah, almost tripped on myself while making my way back to the house."
Randal, she thought absently as her attention was diverted elsewhere, with her eyes widening a little at hearing about this development. "Are you alright? No injury or anything like that?"
"I'm fine. Mostly," He admitted curtly, almost annoyed by the inquiries. "I had just a little brain fart, nothing to worry about-"
"Except that you almost fell face first towards the metal fence."
Mora flinched at that distant interjection, remembering that familiar voice as Randy's.
"Tell Randal I say 'Hi'," The Cow Prime muttered quickly. "And how the hell does a 'brain fart' get you to crash into a metal fence?"
"Mora says 'Hi', you prick," Matt shot back at the Collie, getting a snort from the young woman before he actually returned his attention back to the call. "And let's just say that there were good reasons for brain farting that hard."
"I'm quite sure that's… not actually possible."
"It is."
"What will you have for dinner then?" She continued that mirthful exchange, surprising the young man with that question.
"Uh... I think Randy had mentioned something like… chicken soup with some veggies?"
"Ha, that's mom's recipe to help when someone is actually sick," The young woman replied with a victorious tone. "So, you are sick, what do you have?"
…
"Are you kidding me? Like, you predicted I'm sick from-"
"If there is something that I know for sure is when mom can spot some serious cases," Mora interjected smugly. "Still, you've to tell me what it is."
"Let's just say that I had a moment of weakness a couple of hours ago and, in my immense wisdom and intelligence, I might have decided to still go through with my shift."
"Maybe you meant 'in your immense idiocy'." The Collie's comment arrived on the device.
"Did Randal get sassier than I last saw him?" The Cow Prime found herself asking to the other side of the call.
"I think it might be the case and… anyway, I think we should move to the real reason why I've called you."
"Anything you've forgotten to say last time?" Mora inquired with a serious voice, praying for it to not be the case as the situation was already grim as it was.
"No- or better, not truly about the situation here but more about the call itself," The man admitted with a sigh. "Look, I might have sound a tad bit too harsh on some part of our conversation back then and I feel like I need to apologize about being far too stern here and there-"
"What are you talking about?" The young woman asked with a confused tone. "I thought you said that mom is-"
"That is still true, but the issue is that I was too forceful while giving it and too chiding in what followed after that and… I wish for you to know that-"
"No, stop it," The Cow Prime interrupted swiftly, getting irritated by this development. "Look, Matt, I don't care what you might've thought about my reaction about that but… I needed that wake up, and whoever told you that I needed some apologies is a moron to think so little about me-"
"I mean, Alej did say that you would've appreciated that I-"
"Wait, Patches told you that?" Now, that was something that got the young woman's attention for good. "You mean to tell me that you know her and… that she has come to visit the farm?"
"Twice now," Matt admitted quickly and without hesitation, ignoring the little tension within her voice. "She had been trying to approach Diana again. They both seemed to be going for great strides about it."
"And she is only reconnecting emotionally, nothing else?"
While she once knew the bespectacled girl in the past, Mora was also wary of the fact that Alej had dreamed of buying the farm from Diana so that she could improve it.
And that dream hadn't changed at all compared to many of her more childish details.
"Seems so to me. I did have a private conversation with her and… she seemed quite genuine about that," The young man replied calmly. "Why, is there anything you need to tell me I might need to be careful about?"
"Just to be careful in general, nothing biggie," Mora answered with a sigh. "Still, I suppose that was the only thing you wanted to tell me, right?"
"Yep and… how are you going?"
She snorted. "You mean to tell me that you are asking about my current whereabouts now of all times?"
…
"Yes?"
Her lips twitched, forcing the young woman to fight back a small smile from forming at that bluntness.
"Well, I'm four days away from reaching Los Angeles. From there I should be able to pick a plane for DC," She started to explain calmly. "I think I will be there in a week at best."
"I've heard there is some nasty weather in the US at the moment," The young man mused calmly. "I hope that you find no issue because it."
"I hope so myself," She sighed with a nod. "Thank you for calling."
There was some silence for some time.
"You're welcome, Mora," He replied with a happy tone. "Also, I'm glad that we have no problems about-"
"If you continue to mention that part again we might end up having some, mister," Mora interjected, letting out a brief giggle about it. "And now I've to go. I really need to catch some rest so… until next time?"
'Until next time?' Why the heck she had to say that? It's not like he would actually care for some more conversation if-
"Sure, why not," He chuckled from the other side. "And I'll leave you to your beauty sleep. Stay safe."
"Bye," The Cow Prime muttered quietly before the call ended, the phone returning to the bedside as she silently let her back arch right down to the mattress so she could stare up at the ceiling of the room.
The young woman blinked for some time, thinking about if she should really try to sleep with the chances of getting some nightmares or waste some time around in a search for some alcohol.
Her eyes closed softly, her thoughts softened to nothingness as she felt the drain on her mind finally pushing her to seek some rest.
Perhaps a long nap would help her with what kind of journey awaited for her.
And much to her immense surprise, the following couple of hours spent in blissful sleep were filled with nothing even resembling nightmares, but instead, the sensation of being lulled by a familiar motherly hum keeping every bad thought away filled her mind with peace.
AN
And another chapter done, we are almost two thirds done with this story and-
I'm bored.
...What?
I, the High Prime, am bored.
Weren't you… angry just a couple of days ago?
Do you know what happens when I'm bored, Bukharin?
...I feel like I know where this is going.
When I'm bored, I become hungry-
Yep, I'm leaving. I knew it-
I'm not done yet~!
*Proceeds to run up away from the giggly Prime*
*Proceeds to give chase~*
REVIEW Q&A! (With Lady Ambar~!)
InvictusValeyard:
Oh why, thank you!
Indeed, Mr. Bukharin did right and… good~.
Goddammit.