The Enemy of My Enemy
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Chapter Two: Yes
The next week passed very slowly for Genis. His only record of day and night came when various cells were called out to work, or when he simply bored himself to exhaustion. Once he caught his reflection in the bottom of a metal bowl, and the left side of his face was swollen like a kirima fruit. He didn't feel like doing anything, not after his humiliation at attempting to escape.
Occasionally Heather or Jason would attempt to speak to him—Steven never spoke at all—but he ignored them. He didn't want to get to know these people who were going to die here, imprisoned by Desians. He didn't want to think about how the same thing might happen to him.
Except, of course, that he couldn't get the thought out of his mind. With each day, his hope grew smaller. He kept thinking, kept wishing, that Raine, Lloyd, Kratos and Colette would burst in through the doors one day, Desians falling before them as they rescued all the imprisoned humans.
But there was no way Lloyd would come back here. He couldn't enter Iselia, and he didn't want to set foot on the ranch that had caused him so much trouble. Colette wouldn't return, either—she was set on saving the world. Raine would be so furious to find their house destroyed, she'd probably want to leave him behind. And Kratos…Genis sighed. He couldn't come up with a reason for Kratos, but that didn't matter. Three out of four was more than enough.
Waking from another dream filled with destruction, Genis found himself being shaken roughly, and pulled to his feet. By Desians, he realized as the sleep cleared from his eyes. They half-dragged him from the cell, and he could only cast one fleeting glance over his shoulder, where Heather, Jason and Steven watched him leave, and then the door closed. He sighed and focused his gaze on the floor.
They passed through several more doors, through hallways that buzzed with the now-familiar sound of magitechnology, and through a final door into a dimly lit room, where Genis was thrown roughly into some sort of metal chair. The Desians, laughing hysterically, turned and left through the small room's single door, which clicked as it slid shut.
Locked, Genis thought angrily. I'm locked in a room somewhere and whatever's about to happen to me can't be anything good.
"So hopeless, Genis?" asked a voice. Genis' eyes widened, and he looked around for the owner of the voice, but no one was in the room with him. "And now so frightened. Dear boy, we've no intention of harming you. Not yet, at any rate. You're a half-elf."
"Who are you? How are you speaking to me?" How do you know I'm a half-elf? Genis' mind raced. Was he hearing things? Could he really be going crazy?
"You'll find out all in good time. Now, the matter of your lineage. We can't keep one of our own imprisoned with mere humans, oh no. That would be immoral, even if you did travel with that idiot boy who tried to wreck my ranch."
"Forcystus? You're the one speaking!"
"Very good. Clever boy, isn't he? Now. We are willing to…'forgive' your little jaunt with Lloyd Irving, if you will do something for us in return."
"Forgiveness doesn't carry a price," Genis replied coldly. "I won't do anything you say."
"Not even if it means the lives of your companions?" Forcystus asked, a sneer in his voice. An image flashed onto a screen in front of Genis, an image of Raine, standing on a gallows, as Cacao had been that day in Palmacosta. "Of your friends?"
"You don't have them," Genis growled, hoping he sounded convincing enough. "They're nowhere near Iselia!"
"They're nearing another of our ranches even as we speak, boy. But that's all for another time. You see, we understand that you are just like us, a half-elf, a higher being."
Genis seethed with rage at this. He'd spent his entire life with everyone he knew believing he was completely an elf, with no human mixed in. But somehow these Desians had his secret, and he could tell they were going to make use of it.
"Seeing as you are one of us, we feel it would be…insulting for you to have to suffer imprisonment as those inferior humans do. So we have a different proposition for you instead."
"I am not one of you!" Genis yelled, jumping to his feet. "I will never lower myself to be a Desian! I will not treat humans that way!"
"We treat them that way because of how they treat us!" Forcystus yelled, and the vibration of the sound was enough to startle Genis back into the chair. The image on the screen changed to two people walking across a very large bridge. "Do you know that in some parts of the world, half-elves are executed, just for being out in the open? Out in daylight?"
"That's absurd," Genis said, crossing his arms. But the man and woman on the screen—the half-elves Forcystus had just spoken of—were set upon by four heavily-armed and –armored soldiers, who set about escorting them to some sort of prosperous city.
As Genis watched, horrified, their execution was carried out before him. He closed his eyes as the screen went dark, determined to ignore anything else Forcystus might try to show him.
"Our people are forced to work in cellars and sewers, never seeing the light of day or conversing with other people. The luckiest ones get to live in dirty slums, without enough food or clean water to really sustain a person."
More images, but Genis' eyes remained firmly closed. He would not become part of one of Forcystus' plans. An electric shock coursed through him, and his eyes shot open in surprise and pain. He watched the screen despite his disgust and defiance, finding it preferable to being slowly fried.
Forcystus went on talking, he was sure of it, but the words and the images and the chill of the room all seemed to blend into one another. Time lost its meaning in a totally different way from the previous week. He saw things he never thought he'd see in his entire lifetime, and things he'd seen all too often. He closed his eyes for a moment, to rest them, and felt the electricity course through him again.
He didn't have the strength to open them, however, so the shock continued. He didn't care anymore. After everything he'd seen…he wasn't going to go on watching, or listening, or caring. Those stupid humans could up and die for all he…
No! What am I thinking? My best friend is a human…and Colette…and…
When Genis' eyes opened again, everything was dark, and he was on his feet. He wasn't sure how he was managing that, until a light, smaller than a grain of rice, appeared before him. He sighed, shaking his head. He was dreaming again. Well, at least his dreams were a safe haven from the Desians.
The light flashed once, and the woman with wings was standing before him again. Strangely, she was half-transparent now, and her wings nearly invisible. And she was not smiling; her arms were crossed, her forehead creased in a scowl.
"What did I do?" Genis asked, for under that glare he felt certain he had done wrong. He also felt very small, like he had as a younger child when Raine had yelled at him.
'It is what you have not done,' she replied in a sad, wispy voice. Waving a hand at the darkness before her, she shook her head. 'All their lights…have gone out.'
"No! Not just because…because I didn't do something! No one person can take the light from everyone! No!"
'What if they can? What if you've done the unthinkable, Genis?'
"Then I'll fix it! I'll do whatever I have to, but I promise I'll fix it!"
She seemed about to speak again, but with a flash of light she was gone, and Forcystus stood in her place. He sneered and laughed, shoving Genis back a step.
"Go away! You have no business here!" Genis yelled, reaching for the kendama that had been present last time. It was not there now, but he stepped forward anyway, ready to fight with just his fists if he had to. Forcystus would not best him here; this mind and this dream were his territory.
"I have plenty of business here, actually," Forcystus said, leaning against a wall that suddenly appeared, as things tend to do in dreams. "Hold no illusions, boy. I can take you out in a heartbeat."
"Of course you can. But I'll beat you in half of one, so you'll never get the chance."
"Neither will you. Wake up, Genis, and see the world with your new vision." Forcystus laughed then, a laugh that came from a deep and evil place, and without warning Genis was awake again, lying on something soft and comfortable and staring up into the eyes of his enemies.
"Before you deign to speak to us," said one of them dryly, "will you join the people who are struggling to make life better for half-elves in a world of persecution?"
"Are those people Desians?" Genis asked, trying to sound defiant and cold.
"Yes."
"Then no. And you can tell that to Forcystus, too."
The Desians laughed. One of them raised his hand and brought the back of it across Genis' face, the same side where he'd been hit before, and he saw stars—the Desian had been wearing his metal gloves. Blinking against the explosions in his head, Genis heard the Desians, still laughing, leave the room. As his vision cleared, he looked around the room he was in.
He was sitting on a bed, one that had a soft feather pillow and an intricate cover. Across the room was some sort of desk, set between two windows from which curtains hung. One set of them billowed in the gentle breeze from the open window, and Genis rose and looked out, down onto the grounds of the human ranch.
They were still trying to clear away the garbage from before, he saw, and Desians stood over the humans and whipped them, sometimes without any real provocation. It was simply a desire to cause pain.
But…but the humans…they caused the pain first! Genis thought, recalling vividly a scene in which a half-elf child was left alone in a burning city, searching for the parents the humans had killed. And then…then the humans had come back and killed the boy, too.
That was wrong. Despite everything Genis knew about the Desians and their ranches, deliberate killing like that was wrong. And everything had been like that. In whatever part of this world that was…people were dying. Just because they were different. Because they weren't…human.
Humans. Genis' mind raged at the thought of them, and one fist pounded the windowsill without his knowledge. How dare they take innocent lives? How dare they force his people to live in shadows and slums, and burn their cities and kill their children? How dare they?
The pain in his hand alerted him to the fact that he'd hit the sill again, and he rubbed it with his other hand, shaking himself out of such thoughts. Humans were his friends, and had always been. Raine's, too.
But they banished you from their village, and didn't care one bit that your house was burned, and look at the way people think of the Desians…but they think of them that way because they harm innocent lives! But…they're not innocent, they're killers…
Genis sighed and held his head in his hands. He didn't even know what to think anymore.
It was an hour before anyone came into the room again. An hour of watching the humans pulling and lifting and being whipped. An hour of his mind warring with itself about humans, half-elves, good and evil. Genis was almost grateful for the relief as the door opened.
Until he saw Forcystus walk through it.
"Certainly you must understand," he said, in a calm and understanding voice very unlike his usual. "We Desians do as we do in an effort to stop persecution, destruction and death. And the Exspheres work so much better when they're connected with humans, it seemed a logical addition."
"But…but how does…harming others, imprisoning them…how does that stop all these things?" Genis asked uncertainly, though he was certain that this was a good question.
"It doesn't. We merely wish the humans to see how we have felt, all these long years. We wish them to experience what we have experienced, that they may better understand and respect half-elves."
"So…so this is just…just temporary?"
"Yes. That is also why we set a death count and do not exceed it, as was shown in Palmacosta. Until we are certain that the killing and hatred will stop, the human ranches must continue. Do you understand, Genis?"
Genis blinked. The way Forcystus said it, it all made so much sense. But…this was the same man who had turned Marble into a monster. The same man who had caused Lloyd's banishment from Iselia, and Genis' as well. These were the people who had been going to hang Cacao, and had captured Chocolat.
But was that all alright, compared to what the humans themselves had done?
Genis shook his head, and looked up at Forcystus with a sigh. "I don't know."
"Well, I'll come back again tomorrow, perhaps, after you've had some time to think. But…Genis…there's something I want you to see. Will you come with me?"
Genis' name sounded strange when spoken by Forcystus, but resignedly Genis nodded, following behind Forcystus as he left the room and turned down a long, well-lit hallway. They turned again and came to a door at the end of the hall, and Forcystus held the door open for Genis, gesturing for the boy to enter first.
In this room was another large screen, but there were several other things as well, and the humming vibration that came with magitechnology permeated the air. Forcystus, a hand on Genis' shoulder, stepped up to the screen, and Genis walked with him. He was deep in thought, trying to figure out his strange, almost trusting feelings towards the Desian, and so barely noticed as the wall came to life.
Two people, a man and a woman, both with silvery hair and blue eyes, stood outside a small house. The man was holding the hand of a girl, and the woman carried a baby in her arms. Gathered around them were several other villagers, and the one in the lead was shouting.
Several things happened at once, and Genis almost couldn't make sense of them. But at the end of it all, the girl and the baby were left outside the village, alone. The screen went dark, and after allowing Genis to process what he'd seen, Forcystus looked down at him.
"Well?" Genis asked, shrugging. "Haven't I seen enough of that?"
Forcystus laughed softly, though there was no humor in it. "So. You do not understand. You didn't recognize those people. But how could you? You were too young to remember."
Genis gasped. No! No, he can't be telling the truth! He…he can't be! Those…those weren't my…
"Those were my parents."
"Yes, Genis, they were. Perhaps…perhaps now, you'll understand."
Genis barely even noticed that he was led back to his room, the door locked behind him. He didn't feel the softness of the bed as he sat on it, or the soft breeze coming in through the window. He paid no attention when food was brought, or as the sun set outside his windows.
He sat there for three hours, numb and unfeeling, unable to really make sense of what he'd seen. Or what he now felt.
Forcystus…showed me…how my parents died…and countless before and after them…he explained why…why they treat humans like this…why it's necessary…why they all have…Exspheres…
Genis laid down on the bed, closing his eyes. But that didn't work. Every time he closed his eyes, all he saw were his parents dying. Over and over again.
I…I might've had a family…a family that loved me…and we'd still be together now, if it weren't for…the humans…Lloyd! He's…he's my friend…no. No, he…he must be pretending, faking it…no human will ever be my friend. Not after what they did to my family.
Genis' eyes closed again, and this time the arms of sleep drew him into welcome darkness.
Genis knew, now, that he was dreaming. He couldn't have been doing anything else—he had his kendama and clothes back, and he was outside, looking at the stars. He was starting to get very annoyed with this, these dreams that meant nothing to him. He wanted a dreamless night. Just to fall asleep and wake up again without remembering anything in between.
"But don't you want to know?" asked a voice. He turned around and met the eyes of a girl his height, with silvery hair and carrying a staff.
"Know what?" he snapped, annoyed. "The only thing I want to know is how to make these stupid dreams go faster."
"I don't know that. But I'll put it on my list," she promised, tapping the staff on the ground. "Say, you're a half-elf! Well, mister half-elf, it was nice meeting you!" The girl smiled at him, then turned to walk away. Genis almost called out to her, but suddenly it wasn't worth the effort.
He sighed and sat down, trying to ignore the fact that he couldn't control his dreaming any more than he could control Forcystus. It seemed that for a very long time all he did was look at the stars and think about nothing.
He did recall, however, that there was something he hadn't done, and that had made the woman with wings…not upset, really, but sad, perhaps. Forlorn. That was a good word for it.
He awoke to the sound of his door clicking open. He didn't open his eyes, though—better that whoever had come in leave just as efficiently. He didn't want to be bothered. There were some metallic noises, and then whoever it was did indeed leave again, and the door locked behind them.
Opening his eyes, Genis saw a tray of food sitting on the room's desk. Realizing that he hadn't eaten in more than a day, and that he was starving, he rose and sat at the desk, tasting the meal hesitantly, finding that it tasted good, and eating it quickly.
As he finished, the door opened again. It was Forcystus, arriving as he had said he would. Genis sighed. After the night before, he finally believed he understood. But he also knew that this was not what Raine would want him to do.
But I'm doing this to protect Raine, Genis reasoned. He was doing this for Raine's benefit, for everyone's benefit. This would be a decision that would help the world, he thought, suddenly quite proud of himself.
Still. It wasn't what Raine would want him to do. But it would be easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission.
In a startling and, admittedly, frightening moment of clarity, Genis realized that he should not have anything to do with the Desians. But the look on Forcystus' face, unrelenting and kind at the same time, told Genis that his only alternative was death. And he couldn't let that happen. He had to stay alive, to get back to Raine and the others again.
And then he'd kill the humans. …Right?
Genis shook his head, then looked up at Forcystus.
"Well, Genis?" the Desian leader asked, his voice still odd when it said Genis' name. "Do you understand? Will you join the Desians in their cause?"
Genis saw, for a fleeting moment in his mind's eye, himself and Raine standing outside their house in Iselia, with Lloyd and Colette running to meet them. But that image was quickly replaced by death, destruction…all the horrible things. Blinking once, Genis returned Forcystus' steady gaze.
"Yes. I will become a Desian."
Well. Well. Well.
What can I say? This wasn't an easy decision for Genis to make…
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