Eratos
Pt. Two: Don't Cry Alone





2 years ago...



Prozen looked at the new Lieutenant as he stood by Karl's side, he was perturbed at the fact that the person was wearing a black uniform instead of the shitty, off-grey color. The person could read the anger in Karl's eyes, he didn't want to deal with Prozen. Marcus was on Karl's other side, standing at attention in Prozen's eyes. Prozen turned toward the man in black, frowning.

"Why are you not showing respect in the presence of a Minister, a High Official?"

"Pot-smoking on the staff, Prozen? Tsk tsk."

"You're on thin ice, Aethelwulf."

"I would be on thin ice but I can levitate, sir."

Prozen ignored that comment and turned toward Karl, his expression dark. "You lost us another battle, Major." He reeled his hand back and slapped Karl, then without warning, Leon slapped Prozen back. The white-haired Minister felt his cheek with a disgusted look on his face. He went back to what he was doing.

"I cannot afford to keep you as a Major if you keep fucking things up for me!!"

"I dunno, you're digging a nice grave for yourself, Minister." Leon interupted Prozen's words with his own.

"Watch it, Aethelwulf."

"Sorry, sir. But we cannot lose anymore troops, these are human lives you're gambling with! My job is to keep my men alive!"

"Your job is to win us battles and gain victory for the Empire, Mjr. Schubaltz!"

"I don't care about victories if many men had died to gain it!"

Prozen reeled his hand back and slapped Karl again, and like before, Leon slapped Prozen back.

"Sorry, reflex."

"...."

"Minister, may I offer some advice?" Leon spoke up, walking from behind Karl.

"Oh how can you enlighten me, upstart?"

"Do you know the difference between 'zot' and 'zap'?" Leon asked, rolling up his sleeves.

"What kind of question is that??"

Without warning or anything, Prozen was nailed by lightning, a loud, booming ZOT was heard. It shattered windows and computer screens and deafened Marcus and Karl temporarily. Prozen was charred and smoking, he blinked, his hair at fritz. Leon walked up to Prozen. "That was zot.... this is zap." he touched Prozen's shoulder, zapping him with another high voltage of lightning. Then Prozen was nailed with a bolt of lightning again. "Zot." Leon touched Prozen's shoulder, zapping him yet again. "Zap." He smiled and patted Prozen on the shoulder. "Remember that next time. It'll save me the headache."


Marcus, Leon and Karl walked down the hallway, Leon had a smile on his face but Karl's cheek was bruised and Marcus was pissed. Entering the officer's lounge, Leon gently put his hand on Karl's shoulder and slowly turned him around. He softly and featherly touched Karl's bruised cheek, their eyes locked, their gaze soft and gentle.

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. I'm used to this."

"....P-prozen slaps you often?"

"..."

In that fleeting moment, Leon could see how human Karl really was. Instead of attacking that weakness, Leon's thumb stroked Karl's cheek, then brushed against his lip. He pulled Karl close to his chest with his arm, surprising the effeminate major.

"I hadn't been human in 15,000 years. It's okay to cry."

"C-cry?" Karl pulled away from Leon's loving grasp, his expression trying to hide the heartache. "I can't cry, I can't be sad. I have to be strong in the eyes of my men."

"... to be human is the ultimate role-modeling for men of military status. They need a human leader... they need a leader who can feel emotions, who can bleed, who sheds ears and can laugh..."

"...." Karl turned away and walked away, his lovely face so sad and sorrowful.

"K-karl...!!" Leon ran to Karl's side and grabbed his arm, turning him around to face him. "You are better than me in most respects! Look!!" Leon cut into his wrist with a knife, causing Karl to gasp. He slapped the knife from Leon's hand, then went to bandage the cut. But looking at the cut, Karl dropped the gauze. Touching the wound, he looked up at Leon. "Your blood is... aquamarine."

"I am no longer part of the Pattern, I have no use for blood or much any other organ. Anything I comsume becomes quintessence for my Quintessence Storage, that's why I ate large amounts that day... I was out. This is not blood, Karl. This is quintessence. It flows in my veins more than blood. This power is needed to fuel my spells. The blood in my body is used for another power.... my psionics. The only blood in my body is up here..." Leon's fingers touched his temple, a frown on his face. "I forgotten what it was like to be human. But for a human to act like an immortal idol..."

"Then you don't understand how I feel." Karl's eyes narrowed, he turned away to walk again. "Military comes first..."

"Don't be to sure. Along with being human you are also mortal. You'll die of old age before what it is like to truly be alive."

Karl stopped then turned around to face Leon, his eyes were in fact watering. Leon put his hands on Karl's slender cheeks and wiped them away with his thumbs. "Tears... Karl, devils never cry. Tears are a gift that humans have that I wish I had."

"Y-you can't cry?"

Karl's hand lifted up the slate-blue bangs from Leon's eyes to see with his own eyes that Leon's left cheek was stained with red blood. He was crying blood, not water tears. Karl returned the favor by wiping the tears from Leon's eyes, even if it was getting blood on his uniform.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright." Leon smiled, his fingers gingerly touched Karl's cheek.

"Leon.... I want to ask you something."

"Yes, Karl?"

"Why do you look like you're sad all the time?"

Leon frowned and pulled away, turning his back away. "...I cannot tell you."

"Why not?" Karl asked, frowning himself. "Let me help you!"

"....no... this burden I carry, I carry alone. I am sorry, Karl, but that is the way it's always been."

"Leon." Karl watched Leon walk off down the hallway, his eyes narrowed and he put one hand over one side of his face. "Don't. Don't cry alone, Leon. Even though it's blood you cry, you can still do so."




-Continued-