Chapter 19 Remember the Times?
David
July 24th, 2017
6:09 PM
USCC Oregon
Mediterranean Sea
The afternoon had passed and evening is already here. Heard informed me the girls were briefed on their equipment and Chronos gave Max her item of specialty as well. I prayed Chronos knew what he was doing bringing Max, Rachel, her cousin and Uncle, even Chloe into a dreaded skirmish on that island of theirs. I had spent last night before the party arguing with Joyce, Ness, Ryan, James, Rose, as well as Bryan about it until Chronos somehow intervened to break it all up with words. Saying he makes many things but mistakes. Defending his actions in Portland as puppetry from Ares and had no control over himself whatsoever. This is why they should listen to him and no one else. Since then, no one's spoken about it again.
I decided to sit down with my wife and the three middle-aged Caulfields at their bunks on the refugee deck. They looked worn out from the party if not worried about what we're bringing our children into. Thought I could sit down with the four of them and talk it through in a more civic manner this time. Give them all the hope they need in believing the kids were the keys to unlocking our long-awaited checkmate against the CDF and their newly divulged leader Ares. I sit next to Joyce while Bryan, Ryan, and Vanessa drop into the scene with us for a sit-down.
"I was getting worried you'd be drunk in the mess hall before I'd see you again," said Joyce.
"That's my captain you're talking about," I said. "Courtesy of his harassment with Chloe and Max."
"We still on that, David? You shouldn't have done that in there."
"I think I was right to. Cage would've hit Chloe harder than I ever did back in our old home. When I've hit Chloe for less."
"If it's all the same to you, Dave," said Ryan. "I'd be more worried about what we're bringing our girls into tomorrow. And you know it won't end the way we expect it to."
"The conversation starter of the night," I said. "Yet I don't even know where to begin with that. You'll just have to ask Chronos for details. Then again, he'll just say 'If I tell you what happens, it won't happen. It's too dangerous for anyone to know about anyone's future. And I think he has a point that I'll never backtrack on."
"David, let's get one thing plain," said my wife holding my hand. "I didn't raise Chloe to be a soldier girl and neither did Bill. Just because she gets one suicidal crusade, doesn't mean she gets another. What if Chronos is wrong? What if -"
"There are no what-ifs in this world, Joyce. Only what is. You just don't understand."
"I do understand, David. Bryan told me everything that Max has been up to until now. Ryan and Nessa know it too. I didn't marry a soldier because I wanted Chloe to do the things you do. I married one because you knew she needed discipline in her darkest hours that began when the first man I married was taken away from me and her."
"I did my damnedest to discipline her with my every move on her all those years since I moved into that home. Barking and slapping every sense of it into her and I believe it only took that suicidal crusade in Portland to display all of those senses into her. She may still look like a punk but she's also the grown woman I had hoped to one day see her become. And she has. That is why I have more faith in her odds than I once did. You should too."
"With respect, Joyce," said Bryan. "I may agree with David. I may not have been there to experience Chloe's troubled youth but I remember a time when Bill was alive and Chloe was the most beautifully light-hearted girl I've ever met. I look at her now and she's drastically unrecognizable but mature enough to not give up on Max. She was angry with my niece at first when she found out we've been keeping our mission from her but she still cared enough to want to go back for her on the island. I don't expect Chloe to walk off that island again without a cut or bruise but I do expect her to stand strong at Max's side."
"I can't say it's been easy for me to agree with either," said Ryan. "But somehow, Bryan and I knew this day was coming. Yet we've lived in denial of it anyway and for good reason. It's not the life we wanted for Max nor Alex."
"Exactly. When Alex brought Max into her little heist at that museum in Seattle just for that to go awry, I knew I had to do better to leave them both out of this life and so did Ryan. But when Joanna intervened to bring Alex back into it as well as Max, I had to act. Knowing what Max did in Arcadia Bay and Portland, that's when I put faith back into my daughter and niece. Seeing them in action back in Greece, Rome, and Meridian Prime, I was right to."
"Vanessa, you've been surprisingly quiet until now," said Ryan.
Vanessa sat there silently for a few more seconds with her eyes rolled down at the floor with a shameful frown. Still thinking about not only the safety of her daughter and niece, or in another instance her two daughters born from her, but also feeling guilty over all the years she's lived a lie too unbearable for her conscience.
"I don't know what to say, Ryan," said Vanessa. "And I don't know what's worse? Living with the fact that I'm sending my two daughters out there like a bunch of soldier girls or how one of my daughters spent a quarter of her life not knowing she was. Instead of having the courage to say so, I've just scolded her from time to time pretending to be pissed at her when I was pissed at myself. Alex is right. Never wanted to admit it myself but I am a bitch."
"Vanessa, don't say that," said Ryan. Holding onto his wife's shoulder. "We both agreed we'd never tell it to neither Max nor Alex without Bryan's approval. And yeah, you did take it too far. But what matters now is that they both know now which is better than never."
"And what if they were killed yesterday, Ryan? Or the day before that? Or any other day wherever they've gone to while maintaining Max's cover story? Hm? They'd die never knowing the truth which would crush me to death even worse. And now I'm expected to let them go off with David hoping they won't be killed tomorrow when the polar opposite could happen."
"You have every reason to be concerned about our daughter's and my niece's well-being, Ness. And to be frank, Chloe and Rachel are gonna be out there too and their fates are undetermined as well. But Max alone has proven herself to be a heroic figure in several ways than once. The tornado storm, the trial, the Triple 4 attack, and now this. One way or another, she'll stop this crisis whatever it takes. Even if Max has to give up her own life for that."
"Joyce, you of all the people in the world should understand this is a big mistake. I don't in a lifetime believe you're agreeing to just let Chloe out there so inconsequentially."
"I don't Vanessa," replied Joyce. "But I respect it. Do you know why? Because Chloe hasn't been the same young lady I knew since she left the bay with Max. She's earned my respect to do the most daunting things imaginable and I'll live with the consequences of letting her go out there. I'll mourn her for the rest of my time alive knowing she gave up her life for the person she's cared for since she was seven years of age."
"I gotta go get some air," I said. "Say goodnight to Chloe for me if I don't see her before curfew."
Victoria
July 24th, 2017
6:15 PM
USCC Oregon
Mediterranean Sea
I sit down in the bunks I've hung out in for weeks with the rest of my friends. With Max, Chloe, and Rachel's return, it's as if our high school reunion came early today thanks to this awful war. A blessing in disguise with a curse in reality. But I also never imagined Max had an evil clone too named Alex. A cousin a few years older and a quarter taller than her height. They even have the same geeky likeness too. I knew Max and her adventure gang didn't entirely mean what they were saying to me yesterday but how many times have I made the same gestures to Max and friends before I could take it all back?
I was hanging out with my whole sorority crew with other former Blackwell nerds like Warren, Kate, Brooke, Hayden, and Steph. I sat down between Freddy, Taylor, and Courtney. We all took a few more moments of remembrance before the big day tomorrow where Chrysalis is reportedly ending this war once and for all.
"How come Max never told us about her cousin, Alex?" Dana asked. "Even Nathan before he was killed told us about his sister who's now a medic in David's platoon."
"Who gives a fuck?" Taylor thought. "You saw how she gave us the cut-throat gesture yesterday. She's practically Max's evil twin."
"I'm pretty sure they were just clowning around," said Brooke. "Not as if neither of you used to do the same at Blackwell."
"That's different, Brooke. And don't even get us started."
"Once upon a time," I said. "I treated Max like the selfie hoe I once misjudged her to be. Look at all the life achievements she's made for herself since. Saving Kate, winning her Arcadia Storm case, surviving the Triple 4 battle of Portland, and now this? Who am I to condescend to the girl she's become now?"
"There was a time we fought for Max's freedom back in Arcadia," said Dana. "When Chrysalis falsely accused her of the Arcadia Storm and martial-lawed the entire town, it was you Victoria who rallied the entire school to ask for Max's freedom. You and Kate had the courage to do so when no one else did. I think Max means a great deal to us all."
"I can't say you're wrong about that, Dana," I said. "Whatever Max has been up to; I'd say she's braver than all of us put together."
"I never thought I'd bring this up again," said Kate. "But I'm not even sure what would've happened if I – if I jumped that day."
"Why would you ever bring that up again, Kate? You should be grateful you didn't"
"And I am. But do you wanna know the real reason I didn't, Victoria? It was what Max said to me on that roof. About my sisters. I thought to myself, would my family still love me even if I ashamed them after what I indirectly did at that party? I never thought they would. After I chose to go down with Max and stayed at the hospital, my family came to visit and told me I'm still a good daughter and sister. How graciously wrong I was to nearly kill myself. And here I am. Making friends with few of the people responsible for my Vortex escapade."
"Kate, what I did wasn't the only reason. It was also because Nathan knocked you out with a drug so that sicko Mark Jefferson could take you in for whatever the fuck was so disturbing about him. But to be honest…I'm partly to blame too."
"I forgave you for what you had done a long time ago. There's no need to justify those events nor apologize anymore."
"What about you, Steph?" Warren asked her. "You've been radio silent about Max until now."
"To be honest," said Steph. "You all have more history with Max than I ever did. It's Chloe and Rachel I spent more time at Blackwell with before Arcadia Bay was nearly wiped off the face of planet Earth. I lost my mom in that storm. Mikey lost his brother Drew at that time. Now I'm here caught on the homefront of this war between Chrysalis and ConDef. Welcome to World War III if I've ever witnessed it."
"Where's Mikey these days?" Brooke asked. "Have you heard from him yet?"
"Not really, but I sure hope he and his dad are okay out there in the midst of things. Ya know? When I get off this warship, I think I'm going someplace less interested in this global crisis. Someplace in Colorado where I can take a job as a radio host, they have open."
"And where in Colorado might you find a job like that?"
"Haven Springs, I think it was called. All the listings in Denver are pretty much booked."
My boyfriend Freddy got off his ass next to me to get up and talk.
"Well, it's wonderful talking shop with everyone about this Max everyone knows so much about," said Freddy. "But I think I may have spotted a vending machine on this deck with beer in it. Does anyone want any before we get some shut-eye?"
"I guess I wouldn't mind if I do, Freddy," said Hayden. "Go right ahead."
"How 'bout you girlfriend?" Freddy asked. "Or would you rather stay sober?"
"I don't care really if you grab me one or not. Suit yourself."
"I don't drink," said Kate. "Not after my Vortex incident."
Then Freddy left for the beer to get for himself and his friends. Myself included.
Chloe
July 24th, 2017
6:22 PM
USCC Oregon
Mediterranean Sea
David had stepped outside on the flight deck for some air while folding his arms on the railing and gazing at the sunset. The golden hour as photographers called it. I approach my step-commander while taking out a cigarette lighting it up for a smoke. I stand next to David while placing my arms on the railing while smoking.
"Hey, there," said David.
"Hey," I said back.
I take out one puff of my cigarette before lending it to David.
"Want one?" I asked.
David accepted and took the cigarette with my permission for one puff of smoke.
"You didn't have to do what you did back there," I said.
"I think I did, Chloe," said David. "No one can handle a man like Clayton Cage like me. Not when it comes to his homophobia."
"It was Rachel's party. Who I know couldn't care less if two girls kissed or not. She of all people knows what that's like. She and I experienced such before."
"Well, my captain isn't Rachel. You'll just have to deal with that."
"You know what's funny? If you told me four years ago that together we'd be saving the world from a diabolical war god, we'd be laughing our asses off. Yet here we are. Nothing to laugh about now."
"Is that supposed to mean something?"
"I think about how I used to feel about you every day. That naïve and ungrateful teenager whose dad had died and was stuck with her mom in a relationship with a mustache-twirling vet. It never occurred to me how much you were the father I needed then. After Triple 4, after today, it does now. No matter how much I used to love William more, I couldn't have asked for a better father than you."
"Chloe, I knew you'd grow up to come to your senses one day. I didn't care long it took. You were never gonna come out of your rebel phase overnight. That much I know. After what you and Max had gone through since Arcadia Bay, I think we were both wrong about each other."
"Look at us, David. Max and I are about to save the world again like how we did in Portland. I'm more surprised Mom is letting go on the frontlines again tomorrow. And that she's okay with it."
"She's not okay with it. But she respects it. I had Cheryl get you girls everything you need tomorrow because that's how much I've always cared about you. Even when we were once on our worst terms. Between asking to empty your pockets in that parking lot and slapping ya across the chin in front of Max, it's the tough love in me that kept me out of line. Not anymore."
"I know I've been a horrible daughter to you and mom once before. I guess it's no one's fault but mine reacting the way you used to about my misbehavior. But I've made up for all that. I still can when we go out there and kick some more terrorist ass on that island. I say that like we'll both live to tell the tale. Even though it's too early to make that claim."
David had a few seconds of silence to collect more thoughts of his before saying anything else. Then had this story to tell.
"Remember the Diaz brothers from the shooting back in Seattle two years ago?" David asked. "The ones I met in Away with Karen?"
"Only knew them from the news when the story first came on," I replied. "Why?"
"Last year when I met them, after you visited with Max, I told Sean Diaz these things. I told him all about our bad luck in Arcadia Bay. Between our family drama and the Triple 4 tragedy in Portland. Asked him if it was worth all the trouble running away from Seattle to Mexico dodging all the cops and feds who were after him and Daniel. He said he'd rather live in hiding than face the law. I think that's exactly what he did."
"What makes you jump to that conclusion?"
"Rumor is, they somehow massacred an entire border patrol blockade at the border just to get out of the country. Authorities have been trying to extradite them ever since. All to no avail. Even Chrysalis became interested in their case since they believed Daniel Diaz had a superpower that killed the local officer who killed their dad during the incident. What those two have been up to amid this crisis is beyond my cognition."
"Why are you telling me this? What do these Diaz kids have to with our story?"
"I once told you and Max that real greatness comes from the hand your dealt. Sean made his choice to stay hidden in Mexico and there was no going back from that. Right now, your making this choice to fight by Max's side and once you're committed, they'll be no turning back from that either. This is matter of life and death, Chloe. I refuse to be held accountable for your passing on my conscious. Think about your mother on this one too."
"I could have died a long time ago in a shitty girl's bathroom at Black-hell. Instead, Max decided otherwise and gave me another chance at life with the powers that be. Even at the expense of others who could have received the same if it were the opposite way around. I had to expose the truth to Rachel about her dad. Even if it started a family crisis of their own. Sean had to kill a bunch of cops and feds with his brother just to live happily ever after in Mexico as you said. And you know what? I'd rather die saving the world than as an indirect martyr to stop the Arcadia Storm. If I don't make it, you tell mom exactly that. I'll even say hi to the man she was first married to for her as well. That's what I'm fully committed to doing."
David turned his head to my eyes. Scoffed and smiled in an ironic, sorrowful, and proud way. Then held his hand forward for shaking. I smiled back and we slapped hands together to shake them with a firm grip on our fingers. Making my commitment final. David patted my shoulder afterward.
"I'm proud of you, Chloe," said David happily. "I always will be."
"You too, Step-Dad," I said. "My first dad would feel the same."
Rachel
July 24th, 2017
6:27 PM
Mediterranean Sea
USCC Oregon
I go to my dad's bunk area to see him alone sitting down on his bunk and playing with his tablet. I come to him to have a chat with him before I go see Max, Chloe, and Alex again. Dad looks somewhat happy to see me again even after dealing with Captain Cage's homophobia. I look somewhat happy to see him.
"Rachel," said Dad.
"Hey," I said.
"Have a good birthday party?"
"It was fine. Frank and I knew how to bust our moves pretty well back there. I just hope Cage didn't give you too much trouble."
"I hope he didn't give you much either but we took care of him."
"It was my party. I had no trouble with Chloe and Max kissing in public. Even I have my experience of bisexuality."
"Well, the captain didn't have his experience. Nor does that mean everyone else won't have troubles with homo physicality either."
I sit down next to Dad to talk more.
"Was there something else you needed?" He asked.
"You're not worried at all about me going back to that island to help Max and friends?" I wondered.
"I'm deeply worried actually. As is your mother. It was hard enough you chose to leave your tour to help with Max's recent endeavors and now you wanna go back out there, grab yourself a rifle, and go to war with ConDef. When this family agreed you wouldn't try such a thing again."
"I also agreed to Max and Chloe that I'd be there for them both whenever they needed me again the most. So, I agreed with Frank that we'd drop everything for Max just so I can look after her. I even tried convincing Max to drop everything before Chloe could catch her in the act - but to no avail."
Dad wasn't even paying attention. Just staring at his tablet doing a politician's work while I sat down bickering about getting dragged into Max's crusade. Still hasn't changed somewhat over the years since he resigned from Arcadia Bay's District Attorney's Office. But there was something else I had in mind I wanted to tell him before I left the bunk.
"Ever think about what Mom is up to these days?" I asked him. "What Sera is doing with her life? What she'd think of me getting involved in this crisis?"
"I think about it every day what your first mom is getting herself into," said Dad. "But I've been trying to remain distant from her since she left Arcadia Bay and I'm we can both understand why. What she'd think of you now would be for her to decide. Not me."
"I never hated you for trying to hurt her, you know. I hated you for not trying something else to make things work for her to be in my life somehow. Even if I already had a mom who was raising me and loving me the same way Sera would. I could never forgive you for what you tried to do to her. But when you swore to me that day at the lodge that the only family secret you'd keep is how I'm still alive, that's when I decided to forgive with no debate about it."
Dad put down his tablet to turn his eyes towards me when talking.
"If somehow God gave me a second chance that day Sera and I separated," he began. "I would do it all over again. Understanding my mindset at the time and understanding how desperate I was for your safety. Nevertheless, I gravely miscalculated my actions in protecting you and was gravely misguided in doing so no less than Sera was misguided in her life's crisis. It only took our falling out for me to come to my senses the hard way. I've been wrong about a lot of things. And you know what? Sera's motherhood was one of those things the more I think about."
"I don't think you even have to admit it for me to see that you. I'm proud of Mom for who she is and I know she'd be proud of me too for what I've done and what I'm about to do."
"The thoughts are mutual, Rachel. There's a fire in both of you that burns warmer than amber. One that both destroys and protects things in its path. It's what an Amber is made of and what an Amber does in his or her life."
I hug my dad while sitting down. He pats behind my back. Then we glance at each other both emotionally and proudly.
"If I don't make it out there saving the world with Max," I said. "Tell both, my moms, I died honorably and gracefully."
"Anything for the daughter I helped give birth to and raised into the courageous young woman she's become, I will. I'm proud of you, Rachel. As Sera would be too. I love you."
"I love you too, Dad. I wouldn't miss this for the world."
Cayce
July 24th, 2017
6:35 PM
Mediterranean Sea
USCC Oregon
I walk inside the Oregon's clinic in the med bay where I see Kristine treating a young injured boy who was with his mother. The two were refugees from the Beirut homefront who was one of the few who made it out alive. Kristine was patching up the boy with the gauze wrapped around his arm. A cut he received from falling on the ground. Kristine also put a small flashlight in front of his eyes for a checkup.
"No signs of infection on the eyes," she said to the boy. "You'll be healed in no time."
"Thank you, Miss," said the boy's mother. "My boy's been in great pain."
"Make sure he wears the gauze for at least a few days," said Kristine. "I'm glad I could help."
The boy and his mother walked passed me and the two left the clinic. I was caught by Kristine's eye and she sat down on the bed where she had been treating the child.
"Hey," I said to her.
"Something you need, Cayce?" She asked.
"A few minutes to talk? One on one?"
Kristine shook her head and allowed me to sit next to her. Hoping my apology to her doesn't ring hollow as it may.
"I'm so sorry I ratted you out the way I did," I started. "I didn't know what would happen if I listened to David or defied him. At best, you'd be nothing at all like the rest of your family. At worst, you'd betray us. Or worse, we'd all be court-martialed for keeping your secret if someone else-"
"Cayce, please," interrupted Kristine. "Just stop justifying yourself for a few minutes. You don't need to apologize to me. Not anymore. Not when I'm so lucky I've been granted amnesty from Penske."
"Fair enough. To be truthful, all I wanted was a few minutes with yourself before we get back out there tomorrow. In case it's our last day alive. It's the closest idea of an apology I can get."
Kristine scoffed ironically. But was mad more at herself than me.
"You know it's funny," she said. "How my family used to be a proud one for decades if not centuries in the making. Then my father was born. Then my aunt was born. Then I was born. And instead of owning up to that pride, my dad and aunt came up with a new agenda. First, Dad hires a disturbed photography artist into Blackwell. Next, he courts a nutcase CEO trying to merge the afterlife into the world of the living. Now, Aunt Joan is taking over the world with ConDef. And how is my family rewarded? My brother gets killed and my dad is executed. All because the Heard of Whales allowed it to happen. And here I am serving Chrysalis while my mom is doing most of the damage control too. Why should we be?"
"Maybe because you decided to course correct the errors of your dad's ways instead of enabling them," I said. "Like your evil auntie. Who's to say you've made the wrong choice leaving behind the Herd of Whales for Chrysalis?"
"Who's to say I've made the right choice joining Chrysalis after? I could've been made an enemy of the state thanks to your whistleblowing. Mom could have too. I am an outcast. Just like Nathan was at Blackwell."
Kristine lowered her head. I try thinking of something that could cheer her up in the slightest. Then my old CO came to mind.
"You remember my old CO?" I asked. "Captain John Stone? Before Cage and David?"
"What about him?" Kristine wondered.
"Stone used to say 'A traitor is a traitor. But even a betrayer can be redeemed even after committing his or her darkest of deeds. If he or she only remembers to be selfless than selfish.' Something he told me before one of ours snitched us to the enemy. Accept the traitor there chose to be selfish. The whole reason my whole team was killed. Stone included."
"What happened to the traitor?"
"I killed him for what he did. But still, I wondered to myself whether he deserved it or not? I could've turned him in for a court-martial. A fair trial before the death penalty. But chose not to. Because I did it out of revenge. Then I thought about you when I overheard you confessing to David at the Marsh Residence. Pointing a gun at you immediately brought me back to how I did it at the ass-wipe who got Stone killed. Part of me wanted to shoot you. Part of me wanted to hear you out. Most of all, I didn't want to be betrayed twice."
Kristine turned her head to me out of sympathy for my story.
"David defended you from Penske," I said. "If the committee doesn't have anything against you, if you aren't a traitor, own up to it. Don't make them regret dropping the charges. Don't make David regret defending you. There's so much good you can still achieve for Chrysalis. It won't bring Nathan or your dad back, but you shouldn't let whatever greatness is left in the Prescott name go to waste either. Even if Joanna is out there with Alkaline and Ares doing otherwise. I know you're better than that."
"You just might be the first person to ever tell me that in my whole life," said Kristine. "Other than my mom. And you know what, I'm thankful we talked."
I give Kristine a hug sitting down as we caress arms around each other. Then pat her on the shoulder before I get off the bed and leave.
"I'm gonna go see David now," I said. "Glad we talked too."
"Wait, Cayce, may I ask you something?" Kristen said.
I turned around to listen.
"Want to meet me later in the woman's locker room?" She asked. "I'll be having a shower. I thought – you know – maybe you'd wanna join me?"
I hesitate to say yes at first but after our talk, how can I say no?
"Sure," I answered. "I see why not."
Kristine
July 24th, 2017
6:40 PM
USCC Oregon
Mediterranean Sea
I give Cayce a light smile before he walks out the door. That's when I hear my late brother's voice in my ear again. Only this time in a less condescending tone.
"You wanna talk now, sister?" Nathan asked. "Like grown-ups this time?"
Nathan was sitting down to my left on the clinic bed. Only I could see him there in my head and no one else. I close my eyes dreading another mockery from my hallucinations.
"If the answer is yes," said Nathan. "You shouldn't look away from your little brother like that. Cayce likes you and you should like him back for all that it's worth."
"Why? So, I can lose him too?" I asked. "I never wanted to lose you, Nathan. I always wanted to help you even when I wasn't there."
"So much happened we never wanted. So much we wanted to happen that never did. I was a scapegoat for Marky Mark Jefferson and Derrick Cros-bitch. You're a scapegoat for Aunt Joanna and her terrorist boyfriend. We're a match made in heaven. Or otherwise, a match made in hell."
"Is that supposed to make me feel all better, Nathan?"
"I'll tell you this much. It doesn't make me feel better at all. But the way I see it, we're merely products of our piers' evil. Victims of their machinations and not the masterminds. We've both discovered that the hard way. From being bullied to tattletales to death threats by people we've hurt. We can at least both agree Dad and Auntie Joan deserved that more than anyone with the Prescott name attached to theirs."
"Yeah, I guess we can both agree on that much."
"A bold statement," said my dad. Who was now sitting to my right in my mind. "Coming from the daughter of mine."
I clench my eyes dreading the sound of my dad's voice that was now hallucinating in my ear as his imaginary form was hallucinating in my sight. Why won't he just get out of my head already?!
"Don't give me that frown, Kristine," said Dad. "You know your brother is right and so is Cayce. He's more of a good influence on your life than you'll ever know."
I smile and chuckle quietly. Raised my head in laughability towards my dad's own words.
"Wow," I spat. "Coming from you, him? A good influence? The real Sean Prescott would say otherwise."
"You'll call me Dad as we discuss this like family," said Sean. "Now, what if I said to you that you've always been right about me for years? Stubborn, incompetent, contrived, you name 'em. And you know, I actually would have done better if not for your aunt leading the herd. The things she told me not to do to protect our family's secret society are the reasons I failed this family alone. Everything I did, whether you thought it was good or bad-"
"If I need to hear, one more time, you did it for the family - !"
"I did it for myself."
I open my eyes eased by my dad's sudden confession. Though I was still uneased by his hallucinated presence.
"I was a coward," he continued. "Overprotecting Nathan from the doctors trying to help him, abusing your mother every time we fought and argued, sending you away to Peace Corps, aiding and abetting the nutjobs who were Mark Jefferson and Derrick Crosby, just to protect me more than I was the people I married or raised. All because I trusted and listened to Joanna. Who had been behind everything from the beginning. Our family's downfall, the Arcadia Bay storm, the Blackwell shooting, the Portland invasion, and now World War III with her toxic lovebird and diabolical war god."
I turn my head in Dad's direction. Conceding on my frustration as he now speaks the truth for once in his afterlife.
"The thing is, your brother and I are dead now. There's nothing you can do about it. But there's everything you can do to stop my sister and her ConDef allies from taking over the planet with Ares. That bridge has not yet burned."
"Dad and I may be lost causes," said Nathan. "But your not, Kristine. I know somewhere deep down in my big sister's heart you can succeed where we had failed. Mom, David, Cayce, and all your Chrysalis groupies are the only family you have left to count on. Don't let them down in life. Don't let us down in death. May the herd guide us all."
"May the herd guide us all," said Dad.
And that's when my brother and father disappeared from my eyes. Back to reality and ready to confront the problems my dead family members could not resolve. For the first time in my life, I'll stand up and own up to Sean Prescott's words.
"May the herd guide us all," I said to myself.
Max
July 24th, 2017
6:47 PM
USCC Oregon
Mediterranean Sea
I sit on the bed in my quarters provided by David and Admiral Penske for me and Chloe. Reflecting on what may very well be my last day alive after the homophobic drama Chloe and I experienced with Captain Cage. I thank him for us staying alive and in return call Chloe a dyke. Glad David intervened when he did. Even though Chloe wasn't too proud of it.
I couldn't stop thinking about what would happen tomorrow on Meridian Prime. The look on Chronos's face when he told me there were only one out of fourteen million ways it could all go down, I could tell I wasn't going to like what he'd tell me if he had told me more. Yet here I am going along with it like it's no big deal when it is. I didn't know what else to think.
I hear a knock on my door. Someone wanting to come in.
"Come in," I said.
It was Chloe who came inside to check on my well-being. Who wouldn't have guessed it'd be her?
"Hey there," she said.
"Hey," I said back.
"You look lonely and quiet. Should I ask if you need the company?"
"Can't say I don't, Chloe. I can't be any prouder that you're here now."
Chloe sat down on the bed next to me. Then another knock was heard. Was Chloe followed?
"Door's open," I said.
Then came in Alex and Rachel. I'm sure I know what brings them here.
"Pardon us, my ladies," said Alex. "But are we interrupting anything?"
"If you were, I wouldn't let you in," I replied. "Do join us if you must."
Alex and Rachel sat between us. Alex is next to me. Rachel is next to Chloe. Fitting Chloe and I would be sitting beside our friends who filled in the absences of Chloe in Seattle and me in Arcadia Bay. Discussing whatever's left to discuss before our lives come to a potential end tomorrow. Might as well speak our minds now before it's too late.
"So, what's on the mind of our fair lady who will lead us into battle tomorrow, hmm?" Alex wondered.
I sigh with my mouth closed and my nose only. Taking a few seconds of silence before I say any speech I have unrehearsed and wing it as I come up with it.
"You remember the times in Arcadia Bay, Chloe?" I asked her. "When we were kids running around and playing pirates all day? That last day with William alive, especially? To this day, it still feels like yesterday."
"What does my dad's last day on planet Earth have to do with anything?" Chloe thought.
"Everything. Why? Because looking back on that day up until now, I feel like that's when my real all began. I had Alex coming up with wild ambitions to seek Meridian Prime while all you had left of me was a tape recorder and apology note to stare at and listen to. Then I lose Alex in a failed heist to a tragic accident. You lose Rachel to one of Mark Jefferson's and Nathan Prescott's kidnappings. Yet they both came back to us alive and well. Then I think back to when I returned to Arcadia. The storm, the trial, the invasion in Portland, and now this war. I don't say this all to guilt trip. I say this all like everything that's happened to us for the past nine years has never been a coincidence. That our fates were all meant to be from the very start."
"Why would you say it's never been a coincidence?" Alex asked.
"Ares told me back on the island that somehow he was behind everything. That the Herd of Whales was behind everything from the beginning. Jefferson, Crosby, the Prescotts, every single escapade they've ever committed that we've ever fought against was all plotted by them behind closed doors. The Arcadia Storm, Triple 4, and the war with ConDef. All of which we've come into conflict with. If what Ares told me is true, then the worst may be yet to come."
"I remember when my journey with Chloe began during a concert at a lumber mill," said Rachel. "Then the play at Blackwell. Little did we know that we'd make a lot of enemies over the years. Damon Merrick, Mark Jefferson, Hugo Alvarez, the Prescotts, Derrick Crosby, and now Ares. Coincidence or not, I think they've underestimated us more than we've underestimated them if that's not hyperbole."
"No matter who we've overcome in the past," I said. "I fear our latest enemy is like no other. That's what's not hyperbole."
"We all don't have to do this, you know," said Alex. "Some of us can at least drop out of this battle while we still. This is more of our fight than it is Chloe and Rachel's."
"You might be right about that, Alex. But I don't think that's our say so now, is it? If it wasn't their fight too, Chronos would have made that call. Assuming he can be trusted, assuming he's been redeemed from the evil he brought to Portland, Chloe and Rachel are coming with us. Whether we like it or not."
"I wonder," said Chloe. "What dad would think of us now? What William would think of all that we've done thus far and all that we've been through to outlive it all? Would he be ashamed of our insolence or would he be proud of our courage?"
"The William I remember," I said. "Would be the latter despite the insolence we've committed to achieving it. In another timeline, in another universe, William still loved his daughter even when she had to lay down in bed all day over disjointed spinal damage caused by an accident she was in. And I know he'd still love you even after all the wild adventures we've been in. I wouldn't think twice before taking a bullet for any of you. Whether it'd be in a school restroom or on the battlefront, I know every one of you would do the same for me. No matter the cost. No matter the circumstances."
Chloe smirked happily at my bold words. Knowing I may not be wrong. Only it's easier said in this secluded room than it is done when bullets are raining left and right.
"My closest opportunity to ever taking a bullet for you, Max," said Rachel. "Was giving up life to stop Elysium back in Portland. But you denied me that chance and took your life instead to put an end to that crisis. Then I used my power to restore you to life. Sometimes, we don't need to make martyrs out of ourselves to complete our lives. We just need to keep moving forward no matter what lies ahead."
"I just want everyone in this room to know," I said. "No matter what's at stake, no matter what we must endure, no matter what sacrifices must be made on that island, we will face them together. Like friends. Like family. No sacrifice, no victory."
Note: And that wraps up my long-awaited chapter in the penultimate episode of Eternity War! I'm super, super sorry this took way too long for me to UPLOAD! Forgive me for my meandering hiatus for those still following this story! The best explanation I can hand out to you all is this. After the COVID-19 pandemic, side-tracking myself with other things in life whether it'd be school or playing games, and simply the lack of motivation to complete this story, that pretty much explains it all. But after playing both the last game in the LIS series by Deck Nine that is True Colors and the remastered collection of the first two games (LIS1 and BTS), it somehow rejoiced my motivation to continue with this story. There's also the fact I chose to think carefully about how I would want to go about this chapter. As it's meant to be written as a calm before the storm chapter. Where characters reflect on their past deeds before the final battle and I wanted to make it as best written as I can. So, I'm ending this chapter here with the best of my confidence. That is the true reason this took forever to write down.
Now originally, this chapter was meant to be my second to last. BUT…..after thinking it through, I decided I need one more chapter before I can get to the last. You'll know why once I upload the actual second to last chapter. Wish me luck on that!
Until next time, stay tuned and golden!
P.S. You'll notice that I mention references to LIS2 and even True Colors in this chapter. And you'll notice the LIS2 references contradict the main continuity. I would openly tell you why but I should keep it from my readers for now as it may spout spoilers. This is fan fiction after all. So, anything goes. And no, I'm not bringing in characters from LIS2 nor TC into this story at all! Period! Thank you for your understanding.