Hey! bestknight32 here! heh this chapter was supposed to come out last week but i got lazy on labor day lol! oh well. I'd like to thank dahliingg for helping make the base of this story and Tim Baril for making this chapter! You two are the best! alright thats all! Alright thats until all next time! "Daer eht txen retpahc!"
Hayden was engrossed in his studies, nose buried in a digital tablet. Only, today, it wasn't about anything medical or originium related. He was perusing books on strategy. A beep from his personal coms startled him. The device was a miniature version of the tablet. He touched the answer button on the small screen.
A familiar and welcome voice came to him. "Doctor Hayden?"
He brightened at hearing her. "Yes? How can I help, Amiya?"
She sounded mildly stressed or exasperated. "Just wanted to give you a warning. Seems like Emperor dropped a virus into our system, and it's giving us a bit of a headache trying to get rid of it."
"Emperor?" He was startled. "He attacked us?"
"No! It's uh, more like a joke. Or…advertising?"
"It's…huh?"
"The virus has affected a bunch of systems. Anything could trigger it. So if you notice anything weird and unexpected, you'll know why. Don't worry, just try to ignore it until we get it fixed."
"Is it dangerous?"
"No. Just silly. And pretty annoying when you're in the middle of something, and he won't shut up."
"I don't under—"
"Sorry, I have to go." She disconnected.
Bewildered, he tapped the device to turn it off. But instead of turning off, rap music blared at him, Emperor's voice assaulting his ears.
A penguin starts to think, when I sink
Into the ocean depths like octopus ink
Writing dope lyrics as I struggle against life's grime
Covered in a flood of blood that ain't mine,
My only escape is to finish the rhyme
The music died, and the device turned off.
He blinked at it. Yes…he could see that becoming annoying quickly, no matter how skilled Emperor's music was. Shaking his head, he went back to reading.
Ever since his games in the cafeteria, Hayden had been growing more and more obsessed with strategy. Chess was no longer enough for him. He spent his down time investigating all kinds of games and playing the AI in the same field simulator he'd used against Steward and Melantha.
There was joy and challenge in it. Now that he was allowing himself to really fall into something other than regaining his medical training, he could understand why he'd become a strategist in his previous life. He took to these living puzzles as quickly and deeply as he'd taken to science and understood why he'd been out in the field with the soldiers so much in the past. This was another area where he could excel. And maybe make a difference.
He sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. He needed a coffee.
Leaving his office, he ventured to the cafeteria. Pulling a white mug from a stack, he put it under the nozzle of the coffee machine and pressed a button for a double espresso.
Emperor sang:
Here I'm risen, fresh outta prison, Terra dreamin'
Step onto the scene, cocks jealous cuz hens are screamin'
I'mma fiend for money and deadly with my Arts
A gangsta penguin, no coward, ain't afraid to die
Makin' it rain money, as deadly as meteors in the sky
Hayden had to press again to get the coffee to come out. He turned and took a sip, surveying the room.
Someone else came into the room. Touching the door button, Emperor's voice shouted out as the doors slid open.
Better lose yourself in ma music, get caught,
Righteous moment, own it, never let it go
Only got my beak and my bird crew, one shot
This penguin's a whale, mo-fo; thar he blow
The woman entering the cafeteria just rolled her eyes as she made her way to the drink machines, probably having heard such things multiple times by now.
He politely stepped aside with a bow of his head and left to return to his office.
Heading down the halls of Rhodes Island, his thoughts drifted to the future. The tournament that Melantha had mentioned was only a couple of days away. He didn't feel ready. He was sure he'd be an embarrassment. This was his chance to show the others this new version of him, the Hayden that had only been born a year ago, the one that cared about them, that wanted to save lives, that wanted to use his talents any way he could to ensure his compatriots returned from their dangerous missions.
But would his performance in the tournament prove how much he valued the lives of his fellow Islanders, or would the games be a disaster and show them how inept he had become after losing his memories? Would he be able to turn his desire to preserve lives into winning strategies or just get everyone killed?
He turned his feet in the direction of the training gym. Perhaps, if the simulators were free, he could run some games on the large training screens rather than on his office computer. Possibilities seemed to come to him more easily on the larger screen.
He tapped the button on the door to open it.
Fishes rule everything around me
Swimmin' in saline
Deadly like a submarine
Kill that krill, y'all!
Hayden chuckled and wondered if Emperor's songs would pop up during his simulations. Maybe the added distraction would be good for practice. The real world was noisy too, right?
He spotted Kal'tsit talking to Doberman in the gym and came to a halt. As always, he felt an urge to talk to the genius scientist and administrator of Rhodes Island. But the way she frowned at him told him there was no point; she'd just blow him off again. He was surprised when she was the one to call out.
"Doctor Hayden. A word."
He turned, eyebrow raised. "Of course." He approached.
Doberman nodded to him, patted Kal'tsit on the shoulder and departed, evidently not wanting to stick around for this conversation.
"Good afternoon, Doctor. What can I help with?"
Her frown remained. "Are you really trying to put yourself in the field again? Do you think I'd allow that?"
He opened his mouth to answer her questions, then paused. He decided to change tactics. "Why do you hate me so much?"
But she refused to get into a more personal discussion about their relationship. "I'm told you've been practicing as a strategist. You're planning to enter the tournament coming up? Why? You think you can actually assist the military division?"
"That's right."
She shook her head as if hearing nonsense. "Why are you wasting your time with this? Our most important mission is finding a cure. You would be putting your life at risk in the field. Are you going to give up being a doctor?"
"No! But if I can be useful out there and keep people alive—"
She snapped at him. "The cure will keep far more people alive than anything you could do out there alongside professional soldiers."
He knew he should be staying calm, working to get on her good side. But her heightened emotions were inflaming his own. His voice rose. "If I can keep more of our people alive while searching for that cure, isn't that better?"
"You've been studying for months to regain everything you lost as a doctor and researcher. You'd waste all that effort in the field. Especially if you died."
"I can't just sit in the lab and do nothing while our people die out there. Not if I can help."
"There are other strategists."
"Are they as good as I used to be?"
She didn't answer.
He tried to calm down. "Look, I agree with you: the cure is my primary concern. It's RI's main concern. I don't want to jeopardize that by spending too much time in the field or by dying. I know we need every researcher we can find. But we're a small team, and I think we need to multi-task; we can't afford to specialize too much. You're our head researcher, but you also handle the bulk of the admin, don't you?"
"I have staff to cover most of those duties. Amiya handles much of it. The cure is my focus. Anything that takes me away from my research is a distraction. If you return to being a strategist, that will take away from your focus here on what matters most. A cure!"
He gritted his teeth. "I may be out of the loop since losing my memories, but I've been paying attention to what I can. Over the past six months, Rhodes Island has been coming under attack a lot more frequently, hasn't it? Reunion? Other governments?"
She only stared at him.
"Their assaults on our field teams and on this base have grown more common, haven't they? And from the way morale has fallen around here, I'd say we're barely holding our own. Isn't that true?"
No comment.
He took that as a sign that he was on the right track. "Is their aggression due to the fact that they know I'm no longer one of our strategists? Are they pushing at us even harder because they know I'm not there?"
"Rather full of yourself, aren't you?"
"No, that's— Doctor Kal'tsit, I'm simply trying to piece together the truth of what's happening, which hasn't been easy given the way you've frozen me out of all meetings and restricted my access to the network. I don't know who I was before, but if I was as good a strategist—"
She arched an eyebrow. "Good?"
"As effective. I've heard my methods were unpopular. But I also heard that I was effective. Maybe enough to give us some breathing room out there."
She didn't answer, but he saw her jaw flex.
"I've watched our soldiers come back from missions. I've seen the tears over those who haven't come back. Things have been getting worse. I want a cure as badly as you do. But if our enemies keep pressing us and our defences fall, it won't matter how hard we've worked to find a cure. Our military side needs help."
She sneered. "Are you going to learn to fire a gun, too?"
He sighed, frustrated by her stubborn hostility. "No. But if I'm as good a strategist as they say I was and I can become that again, if I can help hold our enemies off, maybe it would scare them off a bit, give us more time and freedom in the lab."
"This conversation is a waste of my time. You're not going to become a strategist. I forbid it." She turned on her heel.
"Dammit, Kal'tsit!" He roared, finally losing control of his emotions. Angry now, he took a step towards her.
She turned sharply and looked momentarily surprised at his aggression before frowning and shouting back at him, pointing at him. "Don't you dare! I will not be bullied or threatened!"
He realized how he must come off and apologized, stopping in his tracks and holding his hands up. "I'm sorry. But this is infuriating. Why won't you talk to me like a normal person? I don't know why you hate me. I don't know why you won't try to fix whatever is broken between us. Maybe I wronged you in the past; I don't remember. I'm still sorry for that. But please, can't you find a way for the two of us to work together to move forward? Talk to me!"
She growled at him and stepped in close, eyes dangerous. "I have nothing to say to a traitor."
"I'm no longer that person! You know this. I haven't been faking for the last year!"
She wouldn't give an inch. In fact, she was so angry she was quivering. "If anyone could, it would be you."
He felt his heart racing, his breathing speeding up. "I'm not!"
Her finger jabbed into his chest, nail sharp. "What happened to Theresa? What did you do to her, you monster?"
"I don't even remember who that is. I only know what people have told me. I don't know what happened."
"Liar!"
"I'm not—!"
Her fury exploded. "Murderer!"
Mon3tr appeared behind her, coming out of her spine and filling up a large part of the gym, towering over both of them. It was a terrifying beast, like a naga with four arms made of deadly blades. The body was metallic or crystalline and green. It was all sharp angles and deadly intent, red eyes full of malice as it stared Hayden down.
Hayden took a reflexive step back. Unable to meet the creature's piercing eyes, he turned away and stared at the floor. He had to get control of himself and the situation. He took a couple of deep breaths. "Am I a killer? I don't remember." He looked up into her eyes, seeing the hate there, violence barely contained. One wrong word and he'd be a dead man. "Maybe I was. But I only know the person I am now. After a year of staring into this face in the mirror and thinking about who I want to be, I find it very difficult to believe that I was ever the kind of person who would become a murderer. The idea is appalling to me. I'm sorry, Kal'tsit. I wish I could give you the answer you want, but I don't know how."
Her eyes bore into him. "Maybe I should just kill you now and be done with it. Done with you."
Mon3tr twitched, long, bladed arms slicing the air. It seemed eager to destroy.
He swallowed, overcoming his fear. He nodded to her. "If that's what you need. If that's what you think would be best for Rhodes Island. For Amiya and everyone else."
Her lip curled in disgust. "Using them against me? Already the duplicative strategist."
"No!" He begged. "I just want to help. I wasn't sure about my future when I woke up and came here for the first time. But over the past year, I've watched you all and seen the dedication, the goodness in people here. I believe in Rhodes Island. In you. In our cause. I just want to help. Whatever it takes." He stepped forward.
Mon3tr loomed over Kal'tsit, circling around her, ready to destroy Hayden. One arm rose, then plunged down, straight at Hayden's head.
Instinctively, he closed his eyes and flinched, heart pounding, expecting pain and death.
But when moving, the creature's tail toggled a light switch on the wall. Rather than turn off the lights, it triggered Emperor's lyrical voice.
I see no changes; wake up infected, and I ask myself
Is life worth livin'; should I blast myself?
Tired of this cruel world, all this death and despair
My heart hurts, damn, why can't we learn to share?
Reunion don't give a damn; you just a zero
Pull the trigger, kill a penguin, now he's a hero
Destroy the world, who the hell cares?
Greedy sharks don't care about our welfare
Hayden, astounded he wasn't dead yet, cautiously opened his eyes.
Mon3tr's blade was a hairbreath from his nose.
He gulped.
Get infected, give 'em guns, call 'em brothers
Then step back and watch 'em all kill each other
"It's time to make peace." That's what Theresa said
Blast of Arts in the back, now Theresa's dead
But I got love, not just for Babel's mother
Got love for y'all, let's all learn to love each other
We gotta start making some changes
See each other as allies, not just villains and strangers
All this hate and pain is destroying our riches
It's time for some changes; that's just the way it is
Kal'tsit's face twitched when Emperor mentioned Theresa's name. But when the music faded, Hayden was still alive. She hadn't given the order to kill.
The two of them stared at each other for a long, silent minute.
With a slight shrug, Mon3tr shrunk back into her spine.
Hayden breathed deep and shuddered with the need for air, not having realized he'd been holding his breath. His limbs twitched from the adrenalin racing through his veins.
Kal'tsit crossed her arms and turned away from him, thinking. After a minute, she spoke without looking at him. "If you insist on this course of action…fine. Play in the tournament. But before I will even consider you be allowed to try out for field ops again, two things must happen."
"Anything."
"You have to win."
He gave a pained smile. "Even though it's my first time?"
"You really want to make excuses?"
"No."
"You'll win. And all those participating and spectating will vote after on your methods. If they approve, fine. If not, I won't even consider putting you back in the field."
"I understand."
She whirled on him. "And make no mistake. Even if you do end up back in military operations, you will still be devoting the bulk of your time to your research duties. Or else."
"Of course."
"And don't think I'm going to force your presence on our soldiers. Any mission you might join as a strategist, you will have to earn the approval of the field commander and those on the team. You want people to put their lives in your hands, then you'd better earn their trust."
"I wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you, Doctor Kal'tsit."
"Hmph." She stalked towards the door. "You're lucky Amiya and Melantha already came to me and begged on your behalf. I don't trust you, Hayden. Not anymore."
A mixture of gladness and disappointment swirled through his heart. "I hope I can change that one day. And I hope we all learn the answers you're looking for, whatever they may be."
From the doorway, she looked over her shoulder at him, eyes narrow. "Lost memories won't save you from punishment if you really did betray her."
"That's fair." Well, he wasn't entirely sure if it was, but he could understand. Forgetting a crime shouldn't excuse committing it. He watched her leave. This had been a rather perilous confrontation. But at least they'd talked a little and shared something of their feelings. Hopefully, it was progress.
Now he just had to win the upcoming tournament and the hearts of everyone in Rhodes Island while he was at it.
Thank you everyone who read the chapter!
Review Questions
Guest# 1 thank you for reviewing means a lot! as for the question….man this would much easier to explain if i changed my summary already! Doesnt help im waiting for the right chapter to change it. hmmm I'll just say for this fic story team a1 knows the doctor….I hope this answers the question srry i cant be more help! :(
Guest# 2 thank you for reviewing means a lot! now onto the question. Thank you for your kind words and I really like your suggestions! I should warn you tho not to expect to much from me considering im not the one writing Tim is im basically just giving ideas of what i want. Also doesn't help this is my first fic im probably doing everything your not supposed to when writing a fic! XD but I'll try my best!
