HuniePop Space Adventures
Chapter 11: Truth
"CELESTE, LET HER GO!" I yelled as Celeste held Rhea up against the wall with the dagger up against her throat. Rhea had tears in her eyes as she struggled to get Celeste to release her.
"You deceived us… You were working with him this whole time, weren't you?!" Celeste asked angrily, pressing the dagger into Rhea's throat, drawing a bit of blood.
"I swear to you… I am not affiliated with him at all! I would never agree with any of his motives! I am your friend, Celeste!" Rhea pleaded. Celeste angrily threw Rhea against her bed in response to that statement.
"Then how does the Overlord keep finding us? You are the only one who knows about his motives and you were on his ship when his crusade began! Why do you have his mark on your shoulder?!" Celeste asked. Rhea just sat there in silence, rubbing her neck in pain. Celeste grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out of the room, not saying a word to either me or Nikki.
"Celeste, let's not do anything stupid!" Nikki said, following Celeste down the hall. But Celeste was heading towards the brig, where Ember was sitting melancholy inside her cell. Celeste opened up a cell next to Ember and threw Rhea inside before leaving without saying another word, leaving me and Nikki in shock and distress. A few minutes later after things had settled down, Celeste gathered everyone except for Zero Two on the bridge and brought everyone up to speed on what had happened earlier. Everyone, not surprisingly, was shocked at what Celeste had just revealed.
"I don't believe it," Rhonda said, rubbing her head in distress.
"It's true. She bears the Overlord's mark. She's been working with him the whole time," Celeste said.
"OK, I call BS for a number of reasons. First, did you even LET her talk about it? The Overlord probably branded her like a slave and that's why she has that mark. And here you are rushing straight to conclusions without asking her about it," Amki said.
"I agree with Amki. It isn't logical for us to assume that Rhea still has ties to the Overlord when she clearly stated she has no interest in any of his plans," Eva said.
"And yet the Overlord has still managed to find us three times. That isn't coincidence," Celeste replied.
"So, what do you plan to do with her?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"We can do one of two things. We either kill her or leave her stranded on a planet where she won't be harmed and she can manage resources on her own."
"Yeah, we're not doing either of those things. She's the only one who can decipher the Magistrus book so we should ask her why she didn't tell us about her previous ties to the Overlord and give her a chance."
"Max, are you that dense?!"
"No, I'm just trying to explore any other options that we have rather than just jumping straight to us giving her the death penalty."
"Celeste, he's right! Rhea's been doing a great job at helping us protect people and right now, she's our best chance at stopping the Overlord!" Nikki said.
"That isn't the point. We've been ambushed by the Overlord and his minions three times and now one of our friends is in a coma," Celeste said.
"Except it wasn't Rhea's fault! It was the Overlord who did that to her! And you didn't see what I saw when she found us! She stood up to him like it was nothing and she protected the both of us! The Overlord is the one who's to blame, so quit deflecting it onto-!" Hiro said, completely upset.
"Hiro… Hiro. Go help Zero Two," I said, putting my hands on his shoulders.
"But… I'm right, aren't I?"
"You are, but I can handle this. Just go see if she's OK, alright?" I said. Hiro just nodded and left the bridge, leaving us in silence.
"Tell me that you were lying to him," Celeste said.
"I wasn't. The Overlord is to blame for this, not Rhea. There must be a logical explanation for why she has that mark on her back, which is why we need to talk to her," I said. Celeste just got up from the chair and walked over to me, her arms crossed.
"Look, I trust you. But if we find out something that disagrees with all of us, she leaves this ship."
"If we DO find out something that disagrees with us, we'll all decide what to do. As a team," I replied. Celeste just gave me a slight nod and left the bridge. As I started to follow behind her, Nikki grabbed my arm.
"Max, what if Celeste is right? What if Rhea can't be trusted?" she asked.
"We need to trust her. She got us this far. We should let her speak her mind," I said. I headed toward the brig alongside Celeste and we stepped in to find Rhea sitting in the corner of her cell, looking guilty and melancholic. I pulled a chair in front of the cell door and sat down.
"Rhea… I'm sorry about what happened earlier. But, right now, you need to start telling us the truth. Why do you have the Overlord's mark on your shoulder?" I asked. Rhea just rubbed her shoulder in shame before looking back at me with apologetic eyes.
"The mark represents those that the Overlord trusts or those who are his followers. He gave me this mark the day he stole me from my home," Rhea explained.
"Why did you not bring this to our attention sooner?" Celeste asked.
"Because I thought you would resent me if I told you who I really was. That you would treat me like an outcast because of my lineage."
"Lineage? What are you talking about? What did the Overlord do to you?" I asked. Rhea just looked at me while the tears came to her eyes.
"He's my father," she said. Those three words completely shocked both me and Celeste into complete silence. The Overlord was Rhea's FATHER? I found that extremely hard to believe, given that Rhea was a kind and compassionate person as opposed to the Overlord's brutal and tyrannical actions. Behind me, Celeste was clenching her fists and gritting her teeth in anger.
"You said that the Overlord killed your father," Celeste said.
"He did, but…"
"Wait, let me guess: He got so angry that he betrayed himself and the good man he used to be was gone?" I asked. Rhea just nodded in silence, the tears running down her face. I got up from the chair and both me and Celeste walked out of the brig.
"I told you she couldn't be trusted," Celeste said.
"No, there has to be an explanation for this. I don't believe that she is the Overlord's daughter. There's no way."
"She seemed pretty sincere about it."
"There's a severe personality difference between those two. And she said that she had no interest in any of his schemes. It just doesn't add up,"
"Max, I admire how trusting that you are, but that's sometimes to a fault. She lied to us. She lied to all of us."
"And you think killing her is the answer? Rhea has been helping us a lot ever since she joined us. We should give her credit for that."
"Alright, fine. We'll ask her what she knows until we arrive," Celeste said, opening the door to the brig again.
"Arrive where?" I asked.
"Somewhere we the Overlord can't find us while we recuperate."
Hiro's perspective
To be honest, I wasn't very good at cooking. I thought that an in-bed meal would make Zero Two happy, but there weren't a lot of options for me to pick. So I ended up picking a simple chicken meal that I had to cook myself and I ended up slightly burning it a bit. But I think it was still edible. I entered the med bay and saw that Zero Two's eyes were now open and her heart rate was a whole lot more relaxed. But she didn't even turn her head my way when I came in. She just kept on staring at the ceiling even as I set the tray on the table beside the bed and sat down.
"Hey. How are you feeling?" I asked.
"I feel fine," she answered, not taking her eyes off of the ceiling. I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh, thank God. You gave us all a fright."
"Did I? I didn't mean to…"
"Yeah, it was pretty scary. Anyway, I… made you something to eat. It'll help you feel better," I said, giving her the tray. She just looked down at it for a few seconds in silence before looking back up at the ceiling again.
"I don't want it," she said in a monotone.
"Yeah, I figured. I tried to cook it as best as I could, but it got a little burned. So, are you sure you're feeling OK? You look a little depressed."
"What does 'OK' even mean? I've been trying to figure that out for the past few hours and I can't figure out what it means. And there are a lot of other things I don't understand. Why are we still here? Just to suffer?"
"Wh-what are you talking about? Zero Two, what's wrong?"
"You were right before, Darling. I am a monster. I always will be. I can never change."
"What kind of nonsense is that? You not a monster, Zero Two. You're a wonderful human being and you're very beautiful," I said, inching my hand towards hers. But right as I was about to touch her hand, she jerked it back and cowered at the side of the bed.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she yelled, throwing me off-guard a bit. Her whole body was shivering in fear and tears began to run down her cheeks.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm gonna hurt you again…"
"What are you talking about? You're not gonna hurt me, OK?" I said. I tried to give her a hug, but she pulled up the back of my shirt while keeping her distance from me.
"Then what do you call THAT?" she said. I looked back at the mirror on the wall and saw her pointing at the slash marks she left back at the prison. I mean, she did hurt me, but that really wasn't her fault.
"Well… that was just an accident. Look, the Overlord hit us bad, but we'll bounce back from this. The important thing is that you're in control again, OK?"
"I'm in control?"
"Of course you are!" I said. Without any warning, Zero Two swiftly grabbed the knife on the tray and brought it towards her neck. I managed to grab the knife before she could stab herself, but it became a bit of a power struggle because I tried to aim the knife away from her and it was within inches of piercing her neck. After a few seconds of struggling, I managed to overpower her and aim the knife at the bed, which Zero Two stabbed instead of herself. I pulled the knife out of the bed and hurled it away from us as Zero Two just sat there, not saying a word.
"Zero Two, what the hell are you doing?!" I asked, grabbing her shoulders.
"You said that I was in control. So I wanna die. I don't want to burden you anymore if I'm going to hurt you and the others. I want to end this nightmare," Zero Two said.
"Zero Two, you're not going to hurt us!"
"I have before. I hurt our Squad. I hurt our team. I called you fodder. I'm nothing but a monster."
"OK, yes, you've hurt our friends before, but that wasn't your fault! Look, you're gonna be just fine, I promise!"
"Darling, just give me the knife. End my suffering."
"DON'T ASK ME THAT! DON'T YOU DARE ASK ME THAT!" I yelled, tears running down my face.
"You know that you can't let the monster out. Just end it all. Live a good life without me," Zero Two said, running her hands down my face.
"Zero Two, I don't want to go back home without you! What happens if I do kill you? What do I tell the Squad?"
"…I died."
"Zero Two, please… don't do this. I love you!" I said, sobbing.
"If you love me, you'll let me do this," Zero Two said, wiping my tears. I hung my head in despair. What on Earth was WRONG with her?!
"…OK," I finally said. But as I went to get the knife, I fiddled around with the buttons on the bed and activated its restraining mode. Just as I grabbed the knife, I grabbed Zero Two's arm and locked in place with one of the cuffs and reached over her and forced the other down into the other cuff. Zero Two wildly thrashed around as I locked her feet in place with the other cuffs. Her eyes turned red and her horns and fangs grew again as I set the food tray on the counter and I held Zero Two's face with my hands.
"I'm sorry, but I love you even more than that. I promise you, I'm gonna fix this, whatever it takes," I said, kissing Zero Two on the forehead. I immediately ran to the brig where Celeste and Max were already talking to Rhea, but they turned their heads to me when I entered the room.
"Hiro, what is the meaning of this?" Celeste asked.
"Rhea, I need your help! It's… it's Zero Two! I…" I frantically said. Max grabbed me by the shoulders to try and calm me down.
"Hiro! Calm down! Explain to us what's wrong," he said.
"It's Zero Two! She's suffering! She's been… having thoughts of suicide and I don't know what to do! She won't listen to me!"
"What are you talking about? What's wrong with Zero Two?" Celeste asked. I just ignored her and kneeled down in front of Rhea's cell, grabbing the bars to the cell.
"Rhea, I need you to help me. I don't know what's wrong with her!" I said.
"It must've been the Overlord's magic. He's known to evoke thoughts of suicide after the victim does something unnatural in their behavior. It's very strong magic that's been forbidden to be used by my people," Rhea replied.
"How exactly do you know this?"
"Because apparently we've been sheltering the Overlord's daughter," Celeste said. I was completely shocked by those words. There was no way Rhea was the daughter of someone so cold and heartless. But I didn't let that sidetrack me.
"Rhea… please. I am BEGGING you. I NEED to help her. I can't live without her," I said, the tears running down my face. I saw the tears running down her face as well.
"Hiro, I truly am sorry that this calamity has befallen you, but my father's magic is extremely powerful and very damaging to anyone who crosses his path. That being said, the only way to dispel the magic is to remind Zero Two of who she is. If you do that, I promise you that the magic will vanish and she will be alright," Rhea said. I gave her a sad yet grateful smile at that response.
"Thank you, Rhea. Thank you."
"I am so sorry about all of this. I never asked for any of this to happen to any of you. And I am truly ashamed of my father's actions."
"Listen, none of that matters! It doesn't matter if you're the daughter of the Overlord or not! What matters is that you're helping us fight him! And we'll help you however we can!" I said. Rhea gave me a smile as I stood back up and started to exit the room.
"Hiro, we can't trust her," Celeste said. I just stood there in the doorway and looked back at Celeste in sadness.
"If we can't trust her, who else can we trust?" I asked before I left to try and help Zero Two.
Nikki's perspective
After about a few minutes of space travel, we finally landed on a remote planet, right next to a swamp of some kind. When we all stepped out, I took in the fresh air and exhaled deeply. While the swamp looked just like any normal swamp that we had on Earth, the banks of the lake close to us had crystal clear blue water, accompanied by smooth stones on the lake bed. The grass also felt soft to the touch and very comfortable to sit on.
"This place looks so beautiful. What's it called?" I asked, lying on the ground and staring up at the clear blue sky.
"It doesn't have a name. Many refer to it as Planet SE42," Celeste replied, stretching a bit.
"Any hazards that we should be worried about?" Max asked.
"Just torrential downpours. The local wildlife here is fairly peaceful. It's also a dead zone for radios or any other sort of communications, so we can lay low here for a while as I make repairs."
"Well, I'm gonna go get my swimsuit on. Anyone wanna join me?" Amki asked.
"Sure! I mean, we're not really doing anything, right?" I asked.
"I can't. I need to let everything settle down before I ask Rhea some more questions," Max replied, heading back into the ship.
"Max, she won't tell us anything else. We should just let it go," Celeste said.
"No, she won't tell YOU anything else because you're being so hostile towards her. When you decide to talk to her in a more calm and understanding way, you come find me," Max replied. I sighed. I've never seen Max so upset at Celeste before. As for the rest of us, we just simply headed in and grabbed our swimsuits from the fabricator room and then headed into the lake. The water was nice and cool and the smooth stones felt like massagers for my feet as I walked across them.
"Ahhhhh, this feels very refreshing," Odango said as she laid in the water, her face towards the sky.
"Wait, you're actually waterproof?" Amki asked.
"Of course I am! As an all-terrain robot, I'm well accustomed to all environments!"
"Except for the hell-ridden landscape of Gaia Prime," I joked. Celeste was away from the rest of us, trying her best to relax. But I could easily tell that she wasn't at ease.
"Celeste? Are you OK?" I asked.
"Not entirely. It's just the amount of nonsense we've gone through recently has been harrowing and what we've learned about Rhea's lineage doesn't make it any better," Celeste said.
"Yeah. I still can't believe that she's the Overlord's daughter."
"What exactly do you plan to do with her?" Eva asked.
"I still haven't decided," Celeste replied.
"We not going to kill her are we?" I asked.
"At this point, it seems extremely logical to do so."
"WHY? We're gonna kill her just because she's the daughter of our enemy?"
"I agree with Nikki. Killing her sounds like an extremely dangerous idea," Amki said.
"It's because of her father that this war started. If we don't do something fast to end it, more lives will be put at stake. I cannot allow that to happen," Celeste replied, running water through her hair.
"Look, do you think any of us signed up for this? We didn't, but we're here fightin' it. Plus, killing the daughter of the Overlord won't end the war. It'll only make it worse."
"Amki's right, Celeste. The Overlord probably still loves her and if we kill her, then the Overlord won't hesitate to kill all of us," I said.
"And truth be told, Celeste: Max's been making more of the tough decisions around here than you have," Rhonda replied. Both Eila and Goo nodded in agreement.
"If that's so, then what is Rhea's motivation? Why does she wish to fight her own father and what does she hope to gain?" Celeste asked.
"I think we'll find out when Max gets a chance to talk to her," I said. At least, I hoped that we would get some answers.
Hiro's perspective
I cautiously opened the door to the med bay and entered, expecting Zero Two to wildly lash out at me. But when I came in, she was just sitting there in silence, not moving. I slowly approached the bed and showed her the picture of our squad, pointing at her in the picture.
"Do you see this girl?" I asked. Zero Two just looked at herself and stared for a few seconds.
"She looks like a nice person," she said.
"That's because she is. She's the most beautiful person I've ever met."
"What happened to her?"
"She's still around. It's just a matter of finding her. Don't you remember anything about where you came from?"
"I don't remember anything. Then again, I don't think that anyone could love a monster like me. I don't think I have a home," Zero Two said. My heart sank a little bit. I knew that Zero Two's memory wasn't going to be restored immediately, but I felt like it would take forever unless I found a faster way to kickstart it back into action. As my mind continued to wander, I noticed that everyone was outside swimming in the lake that we were parked alongside. Something immediately clicked inside of my brain, reminding me of a memory that both me and Zero Two once had.
"I promised you that I would help you. And that's exactly what I'm going to do," I said. I left the room and headed straight for the fabrication room, where I made a bathing suit for me and for Zero Two. After I had helped her put it on, I carefully carried her outside and took her to the lake. It didn't long for the others to notice us.
"Hiro, what is she doing out of the med bay?!" Celeste yelled at me as I gently set Zero Two in the water.
"Rhea said that the best way to break the magic's hold is to reaffirm her memory. We had a memory on our Earth that I'm certain she'll remember here," I replied. Zero Two just sat in the water in complete silence, not moving a muscle for a while until she looked down at the crystal clear water and scooped some of it up in her hands, looking at it with curiosity before looking back up at me.
"We… knew each other? We were… friends?" Zero Two asked. I smiled a bit and nodded.
"We fought alongside each other. The best that our squad could offer. Even in battle, you wore a smile on your face."
"Why can't I remember that? You know all about it but I can't remember anything. I just… why can't I remember?" Zero Two asked before walking off a bit, looking down at the water periodically. I couldn't help but smile at that.
"Why are you smiling? She still doesn't remember anything," Nikki said.
"Yeah, but she's starting to remember. Which means that Rhea was right," I said. I just hoped that it wouldn't be too late.
Selene's perspective, Overlord's ship
I paced back and forth as I waited with eager anticipation on what Philip's fate would be and what the Overlord would do with him. Zekxsie and Malicus were also in the room with me, but they could not figure out what was wrong with me nor why I seemed so bothered.
"OK, you're starting to scare me. You've been pacing back and forth for ten minutes now, Selene. What's wrong?" Zekxsie asked me.
"Just… trying to think things over. It's nothing too serious," I replied.
"I heard about what happened back at the prison. I cannot believe that Philip would do such a thing to you, sister," Malicus said. My anger rose sharply in reply to what my brother said. But, I also couldn't stop thinking about what Max also did. The thought of him actually showing sympathy for even his enemies made me sick. But it also made me have this burning desire to find out why he would do something like that. My thoughts were interrupted by the Overlord and Yoon entering the room.
"How is he?" Zekxsie asked.
"He's in very bad shape. His left arm and his right leg have been broken and his skull was nearly crushed. He should be fine in a few days after the vita-bed has healed him," Yoon replied.
"He's not DEAD?" Malicus asked, completely dumbfounded.
"He was barely alive. It's a miracle that we were able to save him in time."
"Well, good for him," I replied half-heartedly. The Overlord just looked at me with curiosity and confusion.
"Yoon, I wish to talk to Selene alone. See if you and the others can relocate our quarry," the Overlord said. Yoon bowed and he and the others left us and a hush fell over the entire room.
"You didn't kill him?" I asked.
"Philip still possesses skills that I need. He does not need to die."
"He betrayed me. My life was in danger and he did NOTHING to help me. And what do you offer him? A bland, weak scolding?"
"Philip's treachery did not go unpunished. I saw to it myself."
"By using one of Max's allies. What exactly will become of her now that you've infected her with your magic?"
"She will be fine."
"And how, pray tell, would you know that?!" I asked, enraged.
"My daughter is with them," the Overlord calmly told me. I was completely shocked by the words he said. But I just let out a sigh of anger and disappointment.
"The mage… the one who was on this ship and helped them escape… she was your daughter?"
"I told you that she was the last reminder that I had of my world, yes? She is well educated in my ways. She'll help cure the girl of my magic."
"Once again, you've kept this secret from all of us. And it's one of many lies that you've been telling me."
"Selene, what I've been offering you is truth. Truth from the past that haunts you and the evils that this universe holds."
"YOU LIE! Every night, I cannot sleep because the nightmares of my past continually haunt me. You talk of saving this universe from whatever evil that you claim is taking place, yet you fail to see that this plan of yours is folly! Info is completely unhinged, Taarkin is dead, and Philip is a damned traitor! This is a battle that we are LOSING! CAN YOU NOT SEE THAT?!" I yelled. A hush fell over the entire room as the Overlord stared at me in sadness.
"I do admit that we are falling in our numbers, but it will not matter once we have achieved our goal. And I promise that you will be free of the nightmares that haunt you," the Overlord finally said.
"Empty lies. That's all you've given so far. And this crusade of yours? It's doomed to fail. To a human, no less. I no longer want any part of this," I said, walking away from him. But after a few steps, I turned back to him. He wasn't making any objections or even threatening me not to leave.
"You have no complaints?" I asked.
"The path is yours alone to walk. If you believe that you can find peace on your own, I will not stop you. But know this. If you stand against me, I will not hesitate to injure or kill you. Any resistance will be extinguished, even you," the Overlord said. I just nodded in silence and headed back to my quarters. After I had packed all of my things, I headed for the escape pods and placed my things inside one of them.
"You're leaving us?" a voice said behind me. It was Malicus, who was standing against the wall with his arms crossed.
"I have no other choice," I replied as I set up the pod for my departure.
"There's always a choice. He took us in! Trained us to be better! Had it not been for him, we would've both starved to death on Actaeon! Are you not grateful for that?!"
"I am grateful. But are we actually better? We've slaughtered several who were deserving… and many more who were not. It has left a hole in me that I have no idea how to mend. I let myself think that we were making things better. But we're not. That's why I can't do this anymore. I'm done."
"Do you have a death wish?! There is no 'done'!" Malicus complained, grabbing my arm.
"Perhaps not for you. Goodbye, brother," I said before I struck him in the throat, which made him reel back in pain. I took the opportunity to get onboard the escape pod and leave the ship, disappearing into the void towards wherever I wanted.
Hiro's perspective, Planet SE42
The wind swept through my hair as me and Zero Two climbed up a steep slope. The soft grass felt like we were walking on a blanket as we continued to climb until we got to a cliff overlooking the lake. It was an extraordinary view, but I knew that the real reason that I was up here was not to stare out at a view like this. I was to help Zero Two remember another memory that she held dearly.
"It's beautiful from up here, isn't it?" I said, looking out over the horizon.
"It does look very pretty. But why did you bring me all the way up here?" Zero Two asked.
"So you can remember. About who we were. And what we are now."
"We were partners, right? That's all that I can remember."
"Seriously? There must be more that you can remember."
"I also remember that I was… created. They tortured me… like the monster that I was. I bet I deserved it…"
"That's not true! What they did to you was inhumane and wrong! You're a wonderful girl!"
"With all due respect, what would you even know about who I was?" Zero Two asked scornfully.
"I know a lot more than you might think. But, if that's how you feel…" I replied before moving to the edge of the cliff with my back towards the horizon. Zero Two just looked at me questionably.
"What are you doing?"
"It's a sheer drop to the bottom from up here. If you claim that you are a monster, you'll let me drop from here without even a second thought."
"…You're not that crazy. You don't look that crazy to just throw away your life like this."
"Wanna bet? I'll do it!" I said, backing up until I was almost at the very edge. But Zero Two just walked up to me, grabbed my shoulders and lead me away from the edge.
"No, you won't," she said. I thought for a second that she finally regained her memories. But before I could say anything, she pushed me aside, and walked up to the edge before turning back to me.
"But I will," she said. I immediately ran to try and stop her as she fell backward, but I slipped on the grass just as I grabbed her wrist and we both fell off of the cliff. As we fell, Zero Two looked back up to me and then her eyes widened, as if she had just remembered something and after about five more seconds of free fall, we hit the icy cold water below. Luckily, it was deep enough to cushion our impact. I grabbed Zero Two and brought her back up to the surface and dragged her to the shore, where the others rushed over to help us.
"Hiro, are you insane?! Did you think twice before jumping from up there?!" Celeste yelled at me as Nikki did CPR on Zero Two. After a few chest compressions, Zero Two violently coughed up water and laid back in exhaustion, staring up at me.
"We weren't just partners… we were… lovers?" Zero Two asked, panting. I couldn't help but smile at that.
"We still are. You always called me your 'Darling'," I said. But Zero Two just pushed me away in disgust.
"How could you love something like me?!" she yelled. I just smiled again and put my hands on her face before I tenderly kissed her on the forehead.
"Why not?" I asked. Zero Two didn't reply. She just began to cry and walked away from the rest of us, leaving me to figure out what to do next.
Max's perspective
Remember when certain teams break up due to differing opinions? It's happened to even the best of teams: The Avengers, the Justice League, Overwatch. And now it was happening to us because we were sheltering the daughter of our greatest enemy. I didn't really know what we could do to help Rhea, but, at this point, I was more determined than ever to try and prove her innocent. Right as I was about to enter the brig, I heard the voices of Rhea and Ember talking, so I silently stood beside the doorway and listened in.
"You know, I know what it feels like. To be betrayed by your own kind and those whom you trust. The pain never heals. You just have to live with that and use it like a weapon," Ember said.
"You're wrong. My people didn't betray me. My father betrayed them. I hate what my father has done to this universe, the many innocents that he's killed, but I will not let my anger consume me the same way it consumed him," Rhea replied. I silently stood in the doorway as Ember continued to talk to her.
"You have no idea how it works, do you? If someone wrongs you, you make their life a living hell and make them regret ever having done you wrong. I can see it in your eyes. You want to make him suffer for what he did to you."
"Then you don't know her at all," I said, walking into the brig. Rhea looked at me with wide eyes while Ember just had a disgusted look on her face.
"This does not concern you, human! Piss off!" Ember said. I just simply pressed a button on the wall beside her cell which lowered a dark screen in front of her, blocking out her perception. As I sat down in front of Rhea, I could hear Ember banging on the bars, but the screen also blocked out the noise that she made and also blocked out what we were saying.
"You… heard all of that?" Rhea asked.
"Just the last few seconds. You really meant all of it?" I asked.
"Every bit of it. I don't care how I stop this madness, but I need to put a stop to my father's actions, by any means necessary."
"Look, I wanna help you. But I need you to tell me everything that you know about him. What he did, what he lost, why it matters so much to you, everything."
"I… I wouldn't know where to start."
"Start from the beginning," I said, placing a recording device next to me.
"OK… OK. My father was originally from a planet known as Altus. It was known famously for having one of the greatest empires the universe had ever known. But what most people didn't know about Altus is what they did to rise to such power. They exploited power from other planets: Resources, magic, weapons and artillery. My father was leader of an elite guard under his own command and his superiors sent him and his militia to Obraxis to find out the secret of my people's longevity and the source of their power. When they arrived, they were brought to my mother, who was one of the leaders of Obraxis at the time. When my father met her, he fell in love with her and he resolved to abandon his quest and to help the people of Obraxis hide from Altus. Over the course of 10 years, he fathered me and my five siblings alongside my mother and my people taught him their magic in return for his protection. But, as fate would have it, he couldn't fool his superiors forever. When they learned of his betrayal, they sent more of their forces to eradicate my father and his entire militia. But, my father knew that they would have eventually attacked the planet and they were ready by the time that the militia arrived. After almost 8 whole years of attacks, my father and his militia went back to Altus to personally deal with the empire. But, unbeknownst to any of us, his superiors ordered one of the waves to release a deadly virus that they had previously acquired from another planet onto my entire species. My mother was among many of the individuals that were infected and when my father found out, he slaughtered all of his superiors, took the cure from them, and burned the entire empire to the ground. But by the time that he returned, my mother was too sick for the cure to work and after she died, my father vowed to destroy any and all evil in the universe. Before she died, my mother gave me her magic staff and made me promise her one thing: That I would stop my father should he go too far, even if it meant that I should kill him. Everything changed after she died. My father took the remaining survivors and killed the rest of Altus' military by destroying Obraxis. I didn't wish for my siblings or the rest of my people to suffer at the hands of his evil any longer, so I sent them to a remote planet while I stayed behind. My father punished me for my actions, but he agreed to spare the rest of my people in exchange for me staying with him. For 2 years, I've watched him descend further into his madness, recruiting those who shared his beliefs. It was only after I discovered that you had the Infernite energy within you that I decided to take action and try and help you stop him. I'm sorry that you all had to find out under these circumstances," Rhea explained. I turned off the recording device and stood back up.
"Sometimes there are things that are out of our control. He made a decision to try and abandon evil. It was his superior's fault that he brought their own downfall with him," I said.
"It's just that… within one day, my entire life fell apart. I lost my mother, my father, my home world… and I couldn't do anything about it."
"Then you're just like me. I lost my first girlfriend when I was almost finished with high school. I loved her so much. When she was murdered, it felt like my whole world was gone. But I learned to move on. What I'm saying is that if you want us to help you, you need to be straight with us. You need to hide nothing from us. If you do that, we'll be able to help you."
"You're right. And I know how to keep the Overlord off of our backs."
"How?" I asked. Rhea immediately turned her back to me and uncovered the mark on her back.
"I've been trying to figure out how exactly my father keeps finding us. And there is an unusually high electric surge coming from my shoulder. It turns out that he implanted a tracking device in my shoulder underneath this mark," she said.
"Wait… so what you're saying is…"
"You need to rip out the device and destroy it. If we do that, the Overlord will be unable to find us."
"Rhea, that sounds dangerous. I mean, isn't your father able to sense when you're in pain? And even if he isn't, what happens if he finds out that the tracking device was removed and destroyed? He'll rain hell down on all of us."
"It's either that or we'll never be able to escape him. It has to be done, Max. I'm begging you. PLEASE," Rhea said. I really didn't want to do it. Hurting her sounded almost like the death penalty for all of us. But she was right. If we couldn't get the Overlord off our backs, we would never get anything done. I went to the med bay to grab a first aid kit and then I returned to the brig and let Rhea out of her cell. She laid down on the floor with her back toward me and removed a part of her cloak to reveal the mark.
"Listen, this is going to hurt. Just try not to scream," I said, extending my blade a bit.
"I will try," Rhea replied. She put a part of her cloak in her mouth and she gave me a nod to tell me to begin. I lowered the blade onto her skin and cut an 'X' on the symbol. I pressed even further inside of Rhea's skin, her purplish-blue blood spilling out from the wound onto the floor, until I felt that I had cut far enough. I retracted my blade and stuck my fingers inside of the wound, trying to feel for the device and when I did find it, I used my other hand to hold Rhea's shoulder down and slowly pulled the cylindrical device out. After I bandaged up Rhea's wound, I set the device on the floor and crushed it underneath my foot. Rhea was steadily panting, but it looked like she was no longer in any pain.
"We did it…" she said as I set her back in her cell.
"Just try and rest for now. I'll try to see if I can convince Celeste to let you out of here," I replied as I picked up the recording device and left the brig.
Hiro's perspective
"Listen up! We'll be leaving shortly, so get ready to pack up!" Celeste yelled to us.
"Already?" I asked as Nikki and the others headed back to the ship.
"I'm afraid so, Hiro. If you're going to try and help Zero Two regain another memory, I suggest that you do it now," Celeste replied. I just lowered my head in sadness and looked back at Zero Two, who was sitting in the water beside the banks. I walked back over to her as she swirled the water a bit with her finger and sat down beside her.
"So, you still can't remember anything?" I asked her.
"Not a thing. What you've been telling me doesn't make any sense at all. That you and me were both partners and lovers, that I was never a monster… it doesn't add up," she said, barely even looking up from the water.
"You have to remember SOMETHING. I believe that your memories are still there, it's just a matter of finding them."
"Look, I appreciate all that you've been trying to do, but it's pointless for you to keep trying. Just leave me here to die," Zero Two said. I felt like there was no way to convince her to go on. But I knew that giving up would leave me feeling empty inside and I wasn't about to give up that easily. As I looked out over the lake, I noticed a small shoal of fish jumping in and out of the water trying to catch some flies that were hovering over the lake. I immediately got an idea.
"Maybe this will jog your memory a bit," I said before I dove into the lake and swam toward the shoal. The fish weren't quick enough to spot me and I managed to grab one with my teeth before rushing back to the shore and leaping out. Zero Two did it when I met her the second time, but I didn't exactly do it as gracefully as she did it. Still, I just stood there the fish still wriggling in my mouth as Zero Two just stared at me with confused and upset eyes.
"You… are the most STUBBORN person I've ever met. You won't let me die. You're so persistent to help me even though there's no point. And yet, even then… there is also this look in your eye that I can't ignore."
"Mm-hmm."
"It's a look of… danger. Like you live for it. And if you lived for it, then you loved to take risks. But not all the time."
"Mm-hmm."
"You were sometimes cautious. Even our friends respected what you did. And even when you felt that you weren't the best, you…"
"Hiro! Spit that fish out immediately! It's venomous!" Celeste yelled to me from the ship. My eyes widened in surprise and I spat the fish out, which swam away as soon as it hit the water.
"Don't scare me like that! And I thought you said that there were no other dangers on this planet!" I yelled to Celeste.
"The fish had venomous barbs hidden within its fins. A second longer and it would have shot them at you and you would've been paralyzed for a few hours."
"Well maybe warn me next time so I know!" I said, completely embarrassed. But after I had finished that sentence, the once-emotionless Zero Two began to snicker a bit until she burst into full-on laughter.
"Oh, Darling… You crack me up sometimes!" she said, resting her head on my chest for a bit before she then looked up at me with her usual smile. But her smile then vanished when she looked around at the lake.
"Wait… how'd we get here?" she asked. I was completely confused as to what was going on.
"Are you… OK?" I asked.
"I'm fine. It's just that one second we were at the prison and now we're here. Did I pass out or something?"
"You don't… remember anything?"
"I remember that you were trying to eat a venomous fish a few seconds ago," Zero Two replied, giving me a smug smile.
"I didn't know that the fish was venomous! Celeste told me that the only danger on this planet was the weather and I thought that…" I started to say. But, I couldn't say anymore after that because Zero Two wrapped her arms around my neck and embraced me with a heartfelt kiss. I just went along with it and I gently held her in my arms as we lost each other in the kiss. After about a few seconds, Zero Two broke off the kiss and hugged me.
"Did you think I was going to lick you like last time?" Zero Two asked me with a smile.
"I was prepared this time," I replied, hugging her tightly.
Rhea's perspective
The coldness of my bed was a bit unnerving as I laid on it. I winced in pain a bit from the wound in my shoulder, but I felt more at ease now that the tracking device had been removed. 15 minutes had passed since then and the silence of the brig was haunting. Suddenly, without any warning, the main door to the brig opened and Max stepped into view.
"Celeste wants to see you now," he said, opening the cell door and leading me out. He was doing his best not to touch my injured shoulder as he lead me to the bridge, where Celeste was sitting in the command chair with the Hiro, Amki, and Nikki sitting nearby.
"You wished to see me?" I asked.
"I did. It's about how we move forward," Celeste replied.
"I understand. If you wish to leave me here, I won't stop you. I deserve this."
"See, that's what I originally intended to do. But, the truth is… you've been doing a lot to help us. And I never knew of what you had lost and the promises that you made. I acted rashly and unfairly toward you and I am truly sorry for how I acted."
"B-but, you have every right to be angry at me," I said.
"Max shared your story with the rest of us. It sounded heartfelt and true. What I'm saying is, I wish for you to keep helping us fight the Overlord by staying with us. As long as you are here with us, we have a real chance at defeating him. Not just because you are our only chance, but also because you are our friend," Celeste said. I immediately came to tears and tenderly hugged Celeste, who hugged me back.
"Thank you so much. I promise that I will do everything in my power to stop my father once and for all."
"And I promise that we will honor your mother's wishes. It's time we got back to work," Celeste replied, handing me a book with the Magistrus family symbol on it. Max pulled me to the side along with Nikki and Hiro as I clutched the book.
"Thank you," I said.
"I told you that we would do what we could to help. You're a part of this team, whether you're the Overlord's daughter or not," Max said, putting his hand on my good shoulder.
"But… What about Zero Two? Is she…"
"She's going to be just fine. She's starting to act normally now," Hiro replied with a smile.
"Looks like your method of dispelling the Overlord's magic worked. Thanks to you, it looks like she'll pull through," Nikki added. I couldn't help but smile, knowing that Zero Two would now be OK. But Hiro began to look around the bridge like he had just lost something of value.
"Hiro, what's wrong?" Max asked.
"It's Zero Two. I swear, we both came back onto the ship together and now she's gone!" Hiro said, panicking.
"Hiro, relax. Zero Two probably just went back to your room so she could get some rest. I mean, she was under a hypnotic spell for a few hours," Nikki said.
"Found her!" Amki yelled over to us.
"Really? Where?" Max asked.
"She's outside. In the rain. With her shirt off," Amki said, pointing out the window. When we went over to the window and looked out, Zero Two was standing amongst the rain with her arms outstretched, almost as if she was in a trance. Hiro immediately ran out of the room and headed out even though Nikki tried to stop him from panicking too much.
Zero Two's perspective
The soft pitter-patter of the rain against my skin and my face felt very calming. The ambience was also very nice as I stood there, the rain drenching the land around me.
"Zero Two!" Darling yelled to me as he ran from the ship all the way across the grass over to me.
"What's up? Come out here to join me?" I asked as he panted.
"Why are you out here without a shirt on?! You're gonna catch a cold!" Darling replied, wrapping a blanket around me. I just gave him a light chuckle and hugged him.
"You're so sweet. That's what I love most about you."
"So… what exactly were you doing out here? We're about to take off soon."
"Just trying to clear my head. I've been… remembering things."
"You mean…"
"Back at the prison. I lost it and nearly beat Philip to death. And I became so tortured that I wanted to kill myself," I said.
"…Yeah," Darling replied, looking really guilty.
"But I also remembered how you calmed me down at the prison. And right here, on this planet… you didn't give up. Even when it looked like I couldn't be saved," I said, smiling.
"Well, of course not. I love you," Darling replied. I just gave him a hug as the rain continued to fall.
"Darling… There's something that I want to ask you. Or rather, there's something that I want you to ask me," I said, pulling a small box out of my pants pocket and giving it to him. Darling opened the box and his eyes went wide with surprise and confusion. Inside the box was a ring with a blue gem on it that I had bought.
"Wha- when did you get this?"
"Back when we had our argument, after things had settled down, I bought that ring. I thought that, whether we were staying in this dimension or going home, it was about time that we got married. Wouldn't you think so too?" I said, smiling. Darling just looked at the box for a few more seconds before that guilty look of his came back.
"I can't," he said.
"Why not?"
"Because I already know what your answer will be. I just don't think that the whole setup is necessary right no-."
"Darling… Just humor me," I said. Darling mumbled a bit, but he then knelt down on one of his knees and showed the ring to me.
"OK… Zero Two… will you marry me?" he proposed. I just gave him a smile at his commitment.
"Yes," I answered. Darling got back onto his feet and embraced me before we locked lips again as the rain began to fall harder. I gently rested my head on his chest as he stroked my hair.
"See, was that so hard?" I asked. Darling just laughed and we both headed back to the ship, completely drenched. Both Max and Nikki were looking at us happily as we walked inside and the ship began to take off.
"Well, that was cute," Max said as I slipped back into my shirt.
"Yeah, and that whole Shawshank Redemption setup was pretty cool too," Nikki added.
"Shawshank what now?" I asked.
"Never mind."
"So… what happens now?" Darling asked.
"We let Rhea decipher the book and once she finds out where it's taking us, we go where we're needed. And then we take down the Overlord's forces piece by piece until we can…" Max started to say. But before he could say anything more, a violent explosion rocked the entire ship to the core and we fell to the floor. We barely had time to recover before another explosion rung out. And it didn't take a genius to figure out what the source of the explosions were. The Overlord had found us.
And he was back… with a vengeance.
To Be Continued…
