Plateau

Wake up.

Kai heard the voice whispering in his subconscious, distant and earnest.

Kai. Master. Please, wake up.

Kai didn't want to wake up. The closer he got to wakefulness, the more he hurt. His head hurt, his throat hurt, his stomach hurt...

Bloody murder, Kai! Wake up or I will slaughter you!

Kai managed to twitch his nose in annoyance. Why can't you let me sleep, you Mena-cursed Blade? he said.

Sleep? The Blade vibrated violently. You have no idea. No idea at all.

Kai sighed, then grimaced. The movement took way more effort than it should have. I hate you, Moonsong, he said. At least when I was asleep, I couldn't feel any pain.

Suck it up, Moonsong said. You don't see me complaining.

You're not the one with the deadly and excruciatingly painful disease, either! When I feel well enough walk, I'll throw you into the nearest trash disposal and-

A timid voice from the world outside cut him off.

"...Kai?"

Besai. It was her voice.

He felt a hand on his face, and he half-opened one eye. The light of the single candle nearly blinded him.

"Kai!" Besai's voice was full of tears. She laughed and cried at once. "Oh...you scared us!"

"Hi," he breathed out, throat scratchy. "What-"

Besai kissed him. Lips, nose, cheeks, eyelids, it didn't matter. If it was skin, her lips claimed it.

"I- Hey- What-" Kai tried to shake her off of his chest so he could breathe, but he was too weak.

Humans, Moonsong grumbled.

After wetting Kai's face sufficiently with her tears, Besai pulled back maybe an inch, chest shuddering with hiccups. "Y-you were almost dead," she said. "For days, you've slept. I-I..." She kissed the bridge of his nose. "Even Cyrus thought you would not make eet through another night."

"What happened?" Kai asked.

Besai took a deep breath, then started speaking on the exhale. "The morning after you arrived, Cyrus gave you the serum that stops the disease. But...your condition was so much worse by then. Cyrus worked very hard to keep your fever down, and let me stay to take care of you. I..."

She kissed his lips. "I told them you were strong. That you wouldn't leave us like that. I was right."

Kai kissed her back, tasting bitter salt and...was it coffee? Poor girl. Had she been keeping herself awake for days, watching over him?

"How are you?" he asked when they separated.

Besia smiled. "Wonderful. There ees nothing to complain about."

"Good," Kai said. He turned his head and saw Ahlie asleep on the second pillow beside him. "What time is it?"

"Very late. Everyone sleeps out there. Drink thees."

"Except for you. You're awake." Kai accepted a cup of water and a pill from Besai's hands. "Thank you. Now stop playing nurse and go to sleep, okay?"

Besai's expression teetered between relief and reluctance.

"I'll be okay," Kai said. "My arm hurts- that's probably where he injected the serum, right?- but...really. I'm feeling better. Sleep for a little while, please."

Besai moved Ahlie so she slept between them, then laid her own head on the pillow and pulled the blankets up to her chin. She stroked Kai's face, which now had a full two weeks of hair on it; something he silently vowed to shave as soon as possible.

"You scared me," she said. "Cole and Jay, they were scared too."

"Jay returned? Good," Kai said. "I was worried about him running into trouble in his way back."

"Well..." Besai looked like she wanted to rebut his statement, but in the end decided to keep her peace. "Yes. He and Cole are well."

"Good." Kai shut his eyes against a wave of intense pain. When it passed, he wrapped an arm around both Ahlie and Besai. "I love you both," he said. "Thank you for taking care of me."

Sleep weighed heavily on her eyelids, and she curled into his and Ahlie's warmth. "Thank you," she whispered. "For taking care of us."

The death count from the disease was staggering. Before Cyrus had found a cure, nearly a third of the men, women, and children under his protection had died. One-eighth of the victims still perished after receiving the antidote. That left nearly three-hundred bodies waiting in frozen storage for spring so they could be buried.

They had yet to receive a count of the dead aboveground, but Cyrus was sure that the numbers weren't good.

Cole's tolerance for Kyle wasn't doing too good, either. For the first day, they had obeyed Cyrus' instructions and worked together, caring for the patients. The sun rose on day two to find Cole requesting- not all that politely- that they get different partners. Tiredly, Cyrus explained that he was low on staff, so Cole and Kyle would have to get along, at least until he had more help.

By day three, Cole was spending much of his free time searching for Kyle's blueprints, hoping to find a way to dismantle him since swords didn't seem to do much damage.

"Just pretend to not hate him when he's around," Varasach whispered into Cole's ear during their lunch break. "He can hardly help it."

"No?" Cole slammed his bowl down on the table and sat on the bench between Varasach and another woman. "How can he not help being a pervert?"

"He ees only three weeks old, Cole. Cyrus hadn't had time to teach heem how thees world works."

"But what happened in the hallway-"

"Don't be that way," Varasach said. "I mind not."

"He was flirting with you!"

"So?" Varasach giggled. "He ees, how you say, cute. I mind not." She waggled her finger in front of Chedva's nose. "Your daddy ees not nice, ees he? Very grumpy. Come on, show heem what a smile looks like."

Chedva's eyes crossed as she tried to focus on the finger. She eventually lifted a fist to her mouth and sucked at it, bored with Varasach's efforts.

Cole harrumphed and turned away so Varasach couldn't touch the child. "Let me eat in peace," he said. "Not that this food is much good."

Varasach swirled her spoon through the brownish rice mixture, chin propped in her palm. "You are not a grateful person."

"I'm plenty grateful, Vara. Hurry up and eat. I want to check that locked room down the fourth hall for Kyle's blueprints."

"Have you thanked Cyrus for letting you stay here?" With a mouth full of food, Varasach frowned at him.

"Nope."

"Gah. You haven't thanked Jay then, have you."

Cole wrinkled his nose. "Why would I need to thank him?"

Varasach scoffed. "Why?" she said. "Look down at that baby een your arms. Who brought her to you?"

A sound similar to a screeching violin string sounded off in Cole's mind.

"I haven't thanked him, have I?" He chewed on a chunk of stringy meat, then swallowed. Twice. It took a long swig of red wine to get it down completely.

"No, you haven't," Varasach said. "You should do something for heem."

"Do something? Why? It's too much work to do stuff- Ow!"

Varasach slapped his cheek with her spoon. "Selfish brute," she said. "You should...hmm. I don't know. There isn't many options."

"I could deliver him Kyle's head on a platter," Cole said.

"I heard that." Kyle came up behind them, holding a tray of soiled dishes. "You love my face that much? So much that you would mount it and gift it to a friend?"

He leaned over Varasach's shoulder, smiling flirtatiously. "It wouldn't happen to be this friend, eh, Cole? If it is, then I would gladly give up me head."

Varasach and Cole's faces flushed, both for very different reasons.

"Say. You busy tonight, Vara? Clear skies up aboveground. We could go stargazing, just the two of us."

Cole slapped Kyle's hand, which was snaking around her shoulder. "Go pick on someone else. Your presence is a burden to society-"

"No," Varasach said. "Cole, leave me be. I weel go weeth Kyle."

"What-"

"Excellent," Kyle said. He patted Varasach's shoulder, then straightened and winked at Cole. "I guess that leaves you alone tonight, then. Kai's got plans with his wife."

Cole opened his mouth, but was too overwhelmed with Kyle's stupidity for any words to come out. Plans? What does that even mean?

"Cole does not have any lovers," Varasach said. "Not Kai, definitely."

"Whatever you say, honey. Hey, I've got to drop off these dishes. See you later." Kyle backed into the milling crowd of people and disappeared.

Varasach coolly resumed her meal.

Cole threw his spoon across the room. It hit the back of a man's head several tables away. He turned his head to find the culprit, but Cole's attention was already elsewhere, an expression of divine innocence hiding him from danger.

"You can't stop me from going," Varasach said.

"Yes I can," Cole said. "I'm supposed to protect you from men like him. Especially men like him. You can't just expect me to-"

Varasach put a hand on his arm. "I am not entirely naive," she said. "I know the dangers. Do not worry. I have no romantic feelings for heem."

"Then why would you put yourself in that situation?"

"Because he ees lonely," Varasach said. "Can't you see eet?"

"No."

"He ees different. The only one who understands heem ees Cyrus, and Cyrus ees too busy to pay heem any mind right now. He wants to feel what I feel around you."

"Which is what?" Cole asked.

"Friendship. He dosun't understand eet, and he's curious. He wants to learn, but no one takes the time to teach heem."

"You're nuts, Vara."

"Am I?" Varasach rapped her spoon on the table. "No. I am trying to be patient. I want to teach heem. Unlike you, who shuts people out like enemies."

"No I don't."

"You deed weeth Hagar," Varasach said. "For months after you arrived on the Dark Island, she was an enemy. What was eet that you said to her on that one night? Her and I were cleaning your wounds, and you got angry because she was not careful weeth her stitching. Something about you hating her whore-hands?"

Cole dropped his forehead between his thumb and forefinger, forcing his eyes shut. "Yeah. That wasn't one of my proudest moments."

"You see?" Varasach said. "That's why I am going to be kind to Kyle. So he won't go through what Hagar deed before you grew a heart."

She stood and gave Cole her spoon. "Do something nice for Jay, all right? Make heem lunch or something."

Cole turned away as she left, swirling the dark wine cup in his hand.

"She's annoying, isn't she?" he said to Chedva. "Always so pushy. But..." He sighed. "...she's right, isn't she? I'm too quick to judge."

Chedva grunted and whined.

"Oh, you can't be hungry yet," he said. "That's not possible. I fed you an hour ago."

Chedva pulled her fingers from her mouth and squealed.

"Fine," Cole said, shoving the last few bites of rice into his mouth. "I'll get you some formula. But then I've got to get Jay a gift. Some sort of 'thanks for giving me a bottomless pit, I love spending every waking moment taking care of it' kind of gift."

He lifted his glass and took a sip. Wine, he found, helped to ease stomachaches. It also boosted the immune system. Normally, Cyrus' wine was only for special occasions. But because of the disease, he had allowed it to be distributed in controlled rations to everyone.

"Hmm..." He finished the glass, allowing his gaze to drift to the kitchen door.

He had an idea for what to give Jay, and it wasn't food. Per se.

If Vara could see what I'm about to make, he thought as he stood from his chair, she'd have a fit for sure.

What does one call a blackness so black that shadows look like bright orbs of light? What does one call an expanse so deep, so wide, yet so full of nothing that it becomes impossible to not get lost in it?

Utter emptiness.

Desolation.

Void.

Kai could not tell what Jay's eyes were trying to communicate. They were dry and had no shine to them. His spark was gone, replaced by the awful blackness. Even Ahlie, who sat on Jay's lap and sucked on his fingers, babbling occasionally, was unable to alleviate the tension.

"How are you, Kai?" Jay asked.

Kai tapped the arm of his wheelchair. "Fine," he said. "I just have a headache intense enough to melt iron, but that aside, I'm...just fine. Kyle says I should recover within the next couple days. How are you?"

Jay's smile would have looked real, had his eyes not betrayed him. "Oh, same here. Fine. I'm fine. I keep getting these phantom pains in the part of my leg that isn't there. But I can handle it."

"...Good."

Everything felt awkward. Too awkward. They had gone on adventures together, accomplished impossible things, and yet...here they were, doing nothing. Like distant acquaintances with nothing in common.

"I haven't met Merv yet," Kai said.

"Really?" Jay tickled Ahlie, and she giggled. "Well, I think she wants to come with us on our adventures. So you'll have plenty of time to get chummy with her. She really is sweet."

"And timid?" Kai asked.

"Yeah."

"And skittish, and quiet, and hardly speaks her mind?"

"...Yeah."

Kai tilted his head back, then regretted it when the throbbing tempo in his head crescendoed. "They're all like that," he said. "Afraid to speak, to fight, to stand up for themselves."

"I know."

Ahlie shoved her fingers into Jay's mouth. "Jay," she said. "Jay. Jay. You Jay."

"Yeah," Jay said, gently extracting her hand from his mouth. "And you Ahlie."

"You Ahlie," she said. "You Ahlie.

Jay wiped his face with his sleeve. "She's so cute," he said, smiling. "You're luckier than you realize, Kai. Having a family like you do. Me? I probably won't ever have that. Not now that I'm even more disfigured."

He said it in jest, but the words had a deeper- darker- meaning behind them. A whisper- a tiny hint- of how Jay viewed himself: worthless and broken.

It didn't help that the one girl he had ever loved was now dead. He hadn't even had the chance to tell her who he really was; to get rid of the lies that shrouded his life, past and present.

"Why haven't you opened Nya's letter?" Kai asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

Jay glanced at said letter, then looked down at Ahlie's red curls.

"I'm not ready to say goodbye."

Denial. Kai felt it too. He wanted to believe that his precious baby sister was still alive and well, reading in the garden, so engrossed in the story that birds of all sorts came to rest at her feet. He wanted to believe that she was, at this moment, staying at the Julien Manor, working on a project with Zane. And that at the end of the week, she would return and not stop talking about how much fun they'd had together- and about how annoying it was that Pixal would not leave them alone, despite numerous attempts on Zane's part to avoid her. Like a typical annoying little sis.

Jay cleared his throat and folded his hands on his lap, though they would not stop fidgeting. "I hear you and Cole got your Blades?" he said.

Kai nodded.

"Can I see it?"

"Sure." Kai pulled Moonsong from his pocket and handed it over.

Jay fingered the etchings in the sheath. "That's a neat gem. Kind of orangish-red. What is it?"

"My guess is topaz," Kai said. "But I'm not a rock expert."

"Hmm. What's its name?"

"Moonsong."

"That's weird."

Kai rolled his eyes. "And Stormstrider makes loads more sense."

"Touché. What's Moonsong's power?"

"It's hard to explain," Kai said. "And I haven't felt comfortable enough to practice it, either. But apparently I can manipulate minds."

"Like hypnosis?"

"No," Kai said. "It's more intrusive than that. It's more like... I can read people's thoughts."

Jay looked less than pleased as he handed the Blade back to Kai. "So you're reading my mind right now?"

"Of course not," Kai said. "I can control my powers just as well as you. And I only tried it once. On Cole's mind." He shuddered. "It's a mess. I can't imagine actually...you know, being in there all the time."

Jay dipped his head. "My head probably doesn't look too great right now, either." He pretended to laugh.

Ahlie copied him, giggling loudly as she stood and toppled over onto his legs.

"Gah!" Jay gasped and pushed Ahlie into Kai's lap. "Don't! Ow!"

Ahlie cowered in Kai's arms as Jay lifted the blankets and touched his leg. "I should've been more careful with her on me," he said. "Wow. I hope I didn't break any sutures. Cyrus is already so busy...I'd hate to make him or Kyle do more work."

"I haven't seen much of Cyrus," Kai said. "How's he doing?"

Jay shrugged. "I haven't seen him since I woke up from surgery. He's been sending that new assistant, Kyle, to make sure that I'm eating and that my leg isn't infected."

"I wonder what Cyrus is busy with," Kai said.

Jay sat back, but kept the blanket pulled away from his leg. "Liana told me he's is making an enormous load of the antidote to distribute aboveground."

"Why didn't he start doing it sooner? There's a lot of people dying across the island."

"He's been doing it for a few days now," Jay said. "Quietly. He doesn't want to attract Garmadon's attention yet."

"How does he distribute it?"

"He sends Kyle out every night on horseback to make deliveries. People trade supplies, like food and clothing, for him to cure their families."

"All by himself? Cyrus must trust him a lot."

"I hadn't even met him before that shooting a week ago," Jay said. "So it seems weird to see him so close to my uncle. Y'know, since Cyrus and I are like family. Having Cyrus put so much trust in Kyle so soon..."

"It feels like you're being replaced?" Kai said.

"What? No," Jay said. "No, no. Cyrus' affections for Liana and me haven't changed. It's just...like he's adopted Kyle as another part of the family, though. And he treats Kyle the same way he treats us. Which made me jealous for a little while."

"Why?"

"Because I used to be the one riding the horse in the middle of the night, distributing the illegal antidotes and selling weapons and...stuff," Jay said. "But now that I'm lamed, he's been forced to find someone new to take over. Not that-"

"Stop it," Kai said.

"Stop what?" Jay asked.

"Stop acting like you're worthless. No one ever said that you were being replaced, or that missing part of a leg means you have less value."

He set Ahlie on the floor, then leaned forward and clasped Jay's bony shoulder. "Don't think I haven't seen what you've done to yourself. And I'm glad that Cyrus took the time to notice, too. You've got problems, yes. But you're worth so much to us. Starving yourself won't fix your past." He growled. "Why do all of my teammates have these problems? Cole and his...scars, you and your anorexia."

"You too," Jay said quietly. "You've got problems. You just pent them up, pretend they'll go away if you keep acting like a normal person. But that's the thing." He turned his head to Ahlie, who was crawling on the floor. "We aren't normal. So why bother fighting it? Let Cole and me grieve in our own ways."

Kai didn't know what to say. Telling Jay that he was an idiot- however true it may be- wouldn't better anyone's situation.

In the silence, Ahlie found the courage to toddle to her feet and cling to the side of Jay's bed. She stared at his leg for a long while before saying, "Sohmu."

"Sohmu?" Jay asked.

"A'ah." Ahlie stroked his bandages. "L Sohmu gre' meya."

Even Jay looked confused by her halting two-year-old speech. "I think she's trying to say that she knows someone called Sohmu who also has a missing leg," he said.

"Herng' lassi," Ahlie said.

"Nanesh," Jay said. "We don't say 'herengla'asi' here. We say 'sorry'. But it's no big deal; you didn't know that my leg was hurt when you jumped."

Ahlie wrinkled her forehead. "Na herng' 'lassi? Say...saw-wee."

"Close enough." Jay lifted her back onto his lap. This time, she did not bounce.

"Saw-wee," she sang, popping his fingers back into her mouth. "Saw-wee."

The door opened behind Kai, and he turned his chair. "Hey, Cole," he said, smiling at the man in the doorway.

Cole stood with a flask of brownish-red liquid in one hand, glaring at Kai.

"Screw you," he said. "Varasach wheeled you in here, didn't she?"

"Yeah. She said Jay was lonely, so I agreed to come in here and talk with him."

Cole grumbled something under his breath and stepped forward. "Screw her, too. Here, Jay." He grabbed Jay's hand and pressed the flask into it. "Uh...thanks for everything."

Without waiting for a response, he turned and left, slamming the door behind him.

Confused, Kai repositioned his chair and squinted at the glass bottle. "Er...why do I feel like I don't want to know what that is?"

Jay pulled the cork free and sniffed it. "Phew!" He grimaced. "I may be wrong, but it smells like death and decay made an ugly baby."

The scent reached Kai's nose, and he plugged his nose. Ahlie sneezed.

"It would be rude to not try it, though," Jay said, face the poster child of reluctance. He lifted the flask to his lips and took a small sip.

"Nanesh, Cole," Ahlie said. "Na. Na na na, Cole."

Jay swallowed, shuddering as it went down. "That is the weirdest thing I have ever tasted in my life." He took a larger swig, held it in his mouth a little longer. "It's bitter, and sour, and smoky, and sweet. And...wow. How did he make this." He handed it to Kai.

Kai took the tiny flask, and Ahlie scrambled from his lap with a squeal of horror.

"Na, na, na, Cole!"

The brownish liquor burned down Kai's throat. He immediately felt dizzy.

"My mind doesn't know what it should think about this," he said. "It's hot and cold. It's absolutely revolting, but..." He sipped at it again. "I just want more of it."

"H-hey!" Jay snatched it back. "Don't take a third drink. It's mine. And I...I...whoa..." He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "I'd better put this away. I'm already feeling...uh..." After two unsuccessful attempts, he reinserted the cork and set it on his nightstand.

Ahlie glared at the bottle, nose turned upward in disgust.

"Bad stuff, Ahlie," Kai said, though he couldn't restrain himself from giggling a bit. Her face was just so funny.

"Bad," Ahlie said. "Bad. Na. Bad Cole."

Jay and Kai broke into unrestrained laughter that did not stop for many minutes. Ahlie kept repeating her serious (and accurate) description of Cole's drink. "Na. Bad, Cole. Bad."

Bloody mortals, Moonsong grumbled.

Merv eventually entered the room, carrying a load of laundry. "What ees the noise?" she asked. "Jay? Are you well?"

"Merv!" Jay said. He composed himself, then looked into Kai's eyes and started laughing again. "I...oh, my. Help!"

"I swear," Kai said, wiping tears from his eyes, "it was only two mouthfuls. Oh, that stuff is dangerous."

His vision was growing blurry. Was it more tears? Was the liquor killing his brain cells? A combination of the two?

"You should not be up, Jay," Merv said. "Lay down. Sleep. Und you." She shifted her laundry to one arm and pointed a finger at Kai. "Go away."

Somehow, Kai managed to bite his tongue and stifle the chortles. He plucked Ahlie from the floor and wheeled toward the door. "Don't drink that without me," he said. "I want more."

"More? Now?" Jay clicked his tongue. "That would be suicide. Naw, I've had my fix. Come back tomorrow."

"No," Merv said. "Tomorrow you get your new leg. You must practice weeth eet. So no more of..." She picked up the bottle, then set it down and wiped her hand on Jay's blanket. "Thees. No more."

"Fine. See you later, Jay. And it was nice to meet you, Merv." Kai wheeled himself into the hallway, still grinning like a madman.

"Bad," Ahlie said. "Nanesh, Cole. Na, na, na. Bad."