Authors Note: Alright, so, this chapter was initially going to be a lot longer. But, while drafting it, I decided to split it in two. So that means we'll be having two more chapters and one potential epilogue rather than one more chapter and a potential epilogue left. Either way, I hope that you all enjoy this chapter.
What were the chances that the family that Maleko had found were, of all things, Acolytes? The same family the one that had shown him kindness, gave him food, shelter, and friendship, that the family he'd crashed into the yard of after almost being run over by were part of a cult. Followers of the cult that Kai Palakiko had made just a few centuries ago, followers who were now resurfacing, followers who were Maleko's only way of finding his mother.
Honestly, Maleko certainly wouldn't have believed it if Taka hadn't confirmed it for him. He'd been suspicious at first, rightfully so. Though he wanted so desperately to trust and believe them when Robert said that he would take Maleko back to Kai, he wasn't sure if he could or should trust them, they could just be lying, trying to get him to let his guard down so that they could take him back to the Academy, or somewhere worse. He had been ready to start running even after Robert had made that decision, even more, there had been something in the back of his mind urging Maleko to sink his claws in Robert's face for even trying to lie to him about this. It was the same anger and aggression, the need to hurt and maim that he had felt in the warehouse.
He had been so close to doing it, too, his claws had begun to form, his body tensed and his lips curled back. How dare Robert even try to lie to him like that, to try and bring his hopes with such cruel words.
"It's alright, little sun," Taka had assured him, and the anger, though it hadn't dissipated, not instantly, not completely, but Maleko had felt himself able to take a breath.
Then they had showed him their masks. They were similar to the ones the men from the warehouse had worn, not the same designs, not identical, but close enough that the moment he saw them, Maleko reeled back hard like he had been slapped. His mind flooded with the warehouse incident, the beating, the bloodshed, everything.
Those men in the warehouse claimed to be followers of his mother. Taka assured him that Robert was being honest when he said that he and his family were as well.
Maleko allowed himself to believe, to trust. If they were offering to take him to Kai… he had to take the chance, no matter how slim. And if Taka said that it was alright, then he was going to trust what Taka said.
He was going to let them take him to Kai.
When he'd decided to trust them, he had expected for them to go right away, to get in the car and start driving to wherever it was that Kai supposedly was. He'd been so ready, impatient, even. But, no.
As it turns out, it takes time to actually up and leave for other people. Robert had explained that they needed to make some arrangements before they headed out. Robert had to call other members to let them know what was going on, so they could meet them up on the way, Maggie had to work things out at Mickey's school since he'd be gone for a while, and the two of them had to do stuff about calling in to work, too. Then they had to pack, make travel plans, and a bunch of other stuff that he couldn't make sense of.
Not that Maleko could say he understood any of it. He hadn't had to put that much work into it when he ran away from the DWMA. Just pack a backpack and start running, even less work was done when he moved in with Kai. He just got some clothes at a nearby village and then was on his way.
No, he had to wait for the family to get ready, and the wait was driving him up a wall. They needed to pack, they needed to make calls. Maleko was an anxious, impatient wreck for the two days that it took before they actually left.
It would just be the three of them; Robert, Maggie and Maleko. Mickey had complained, he had thrown a fit over it of course. "Why can't I come along too? I'm just as much a member as you two!" he had stomped his feet and scowled, infuriated when his parents had told him that he would not be coming with them.
Maggie had given her son a placating look while hovering behind Maleko, changing his bandages once more from his fight with the Kishin egg. The injuries had healed remarkably face to the point that many were just angry red scratches, but she insisted on keeping several still bandaged just to be safe. "It's going to be dangerous, hun," she had told him, gently massaging some of that ointment cream into the cuts on Maleko's back. They were healing nicely but were still tender. "I'd sleep easier knowing you were safe. That's why you'll be staying with your grandparents for the time being."
That didn't seem to make him any happier, but he had conceded in the end. Like Maleko, all he needed to do was pack a few bags, tell a few friends that he was staying with his grandparents due to a family emergency and then he was done. So that meant that, like Maleko, he was stuck waiting for his parents to sort everything out before they left. Time that he made sure to spend with the boy.
The two kept playing Persona, getting as far towards the money guy's palace, whom Mickey said was a 'punk ass bitch'. But most of their time was spent watching recordings that other members of the Acolytes had taken of meetings with Kai, at his insistence of course. Maleko liked when they sat on the couch watching her on his laptop the most. Just seeing her, even if it was on a screen, just hearing her, even though it was through a speaker, it revigorated him, it breathed life back into Maleko.
He missed her so much that he started crying at one point and had to be held by Mickey until he calmed down.
After a few views, he'd started to notice things about Kai, the Kai in these videos, disparities between the one he saw on the screen and the one who took care of him.
When he thought of his mama, he saw someone warm, gentle, a big heart who was always there for him. He saw someone who was good and kind, someone who loved him unconditionally and who he loved more than anything in this world. He saw the greatest person there ever was, that's who his mama was to him, that's who Kai was.
But, the Kai on these screens was different. He hadn't noticed it at first, too wrapped up by being able to see her and hear her. But, now he did notice, he saw every little difference, every little change that he hadn't seen before now stood out to him like a sore thumb.
Her eyes were cold, there wasn't a shred of warmth in them when she talked, she frowned more, her smiles weren't normal, forced. He even saw the bags under her eyes, the stress and strain of exhaustion. Everything about the Kai he saw now on Mickey's laptop screen was cold and hard; unfeeling and remorseless.
She frightened him.
He didn't want to admit it, but this new Kai he saw, she scared him, she was so different that he was afraid. Would she still be like that when he finally reunited with her? Was she just as cold in person now?
No, no! Maleko refused to accept that. She was just stressed and sad and that's why she was looking like this. Once Maleko found her again, she'd be happy, she'd be smiling and there would be that pretty glint in her eyes again. He had to believe that, he had to believe that she'd still be the same mama as before once they were together again, because if she wasn't… if she wasn't the same… he didn't think his heart could take it.
Clinging to strands of hope was all that was keeping Maleko going through these past few weeks, it seemed. So, why stop now when he was so close to finally putting an end to this long nightmare?
Still, the excitement and fear had made it hard for Maleko to sleep at night, he spent his nights wide awake, staring out the window or pacing the halls anxiously, torn between waking the others to make them move or just to wait. He spent much of the night hours while the others were sleeping to talk to Taka. Sometimes he'd sneak outside just to get some fresh air for a few minutes, too.
He had introduced the family to Taka, too. They had been a bit surprised by the fact that he talked to a bird, but, considering he was a sorcerer, they accepted it rather quickly. They couldn't understand Taka, though, and so Maleko had to tell them what Taka was saying to them.
Eventually, it was time to go. Mickey had bid them farewell in the morning, taking his own car for the long drive to his grandparents house while Maleko rode with Taka, Maggie, and Robert the opposite direction.
It was going to be a long trip, they had warned. A few days at best. And when he had been placed in the backseat with some bags, snacks and pillows, when they hit the rode and started driving, he found they weren't lying.
The drive alone took forever. The first day alone was torture.
Several long hours that Maleko was spent cooped up with hardly a thing to do. He tried napping, but couldn't bring himself to sleep, he'd tried reading the numerous comics Mickey had left for him, but at the reading level Maleko possessed the words might as well have been gibberish. He tried drawing and coloring, but that was an impossible task with the numerous bounces and jerks the car caused.
It was horribly boring. Maleko wanted so badly to just be there by now, but nope. Nope, nope, nopity-nope.
Kai was really far away, so they had to travel for a very long time. Maggie had told him that they have to take the long way, because Death may be keeping an eye on travelers and if they're too direct with their journey, they may arouse suspicion. It made his blood boil, the DWMA was still keeping him from seeing his mother, even now, but he bit his tongue and let the anger simmer.
They made several stops, to refill the car's tank, to use the restroom, or even to eat. Maleko didn't like these, even if it was necessary, but he put up with them whenever they came to a stop and he had to follow them out of the car. He felt like this was just taking up time, making it longer until he could see his mama again.
Taka assured him that it would be fine, that he just had to relax. Relaxing was hard. At least there was comfort in knowing that Taka was riding in the car with him, that Maleko could find safety by keeping the bird on his lap and running his fingers through soft feathers.
He wondered how Mickey was doing, if he'd reached his grandparents yet. He wondered what Kai was doing all the way in the north, where it was cold and harsh.
By the third day, the plan was changed, just a little.
Maleko was in the hotel room with the others, just relaxing with Taka on his lap, or trying to relax. It was hard to when they were cooped up in the hotel room, but Taka told him that humans needed rest, that it was dangerous for all of them for Maggie and Robert to keep driving without sleep. But, it wasn't night anymore, they had gotten their sleep and the sun was making its way through the sky.
So, why weren't they on the road yet?
Maggie sat behind him, humming as she ran a comb through his hair and clicking her tongue. "Your hair is getting long, hun," she mused. Was it? Maleko hadn't really thought of it before, but, now that she mentioned it… his hair hadn't really been really short when it all started, it'd been a mess of white curls reaching his jaw. But now, his hair was almost down to his shoulders. Sure, it wasn't as long as it had been when he first met mama, but, it was getting there.
"Maybe we should take him to a barber before we head out," Robert said, poking his head out from the bathroom while his hands fiddled with the tie around his neck. "Put some dirt on him and he'd look right at home in the woods. I think it'd be good if he looked nice when we brought him back."
Would it? Maleko couldn't say he remembered Kai ever really caring about how he looked. Though she did make him get his hair cut off when they got home the first time, maybe she didn't like him with long hair. "Then we drive?" Maleko asked, face scrunching up as Maggie hit a stubborn knot.
Robert laughed, "Then we drive," he assured him.
In that case… okay. Maleko would be fine with a haircut. He wanted to make sure he looked nice when mama finally saw him again, maybe she wouldn't recognize him if his hair was longer. No, mama would still know it was him. She'd know it was him even if he'd dyed his hair black, or if he was all grown up. Because mama would always know him.
Thinking about her this time, Maleko wasn't anxious to get moving like he usually was. He just let himself lean back as Maggie worked his hair, petting Taka in his lap as he let his mind drift to how the two would finally reunite.
Though, he would admit that the trip to the barber wasn't entirely pleasant and that Maggie had tried to convince him to actually dye his hair black. Just because he knew that his mama would recognize him with dyed hair didn't mean he wanted to dye his hair. He liked his hair how it was.
At least Taka seemed to get a kick out of it. All Maleko could say that, after they had his hair cut short, he was glad to be on the road again.
Kai groaned, rubbing her tired eyes as she hunched over her desk, staring at all the papers, the documents and reports that had been coming in from every corner of the world, detailing plans and proposals to her about things that she couldn't give a single fuck about. She didn't care about isolated terrorist attacks, she didn't care about kidnapping and indoctrinating, she couldn't care less about the idea of catching weapons before they enroll at DWMA and turning them over to her side.
That didn't stop the Acolytes from pestering her with these ideas.
What wasn't helping her nerves was the fact that the numbers she had with her here in the artic was growing steadily each and every day. Their numbers ranged in the thousands now, which of course amazed Kai on one hand. It was strange to her how the cult had been able to grow and thrive through these few hundred years without her interference, but on the other hand, that part of her that absolutely loathed dealing with people and being around people was dying inside.
They were loud yet silent, always in the way even though they took extra care to give her as much space as she needed, and they were always looking to her for advice, answers, miracles. She couldn't bring herself to blame herself for ditching them the last time.
The only good news that had come so far was that Kom had confirmed to have finished his drug and had already begun mass-producing it with the help of a few dozen alchemically-talented humans and witches. It'd give them just the edge that they had needed.
"Because gasses may harm our own allies, and needles will be ineffective on a weapon in his or her combat form, we will use the meister," Kom had explained to Kai and the branch leaders—fools who were styling themselves as her generals—while holding up a vial containing a vomit-orange colored fluid. "We will put them in darts so that we can strike from a distance, just one dose should be enough for the average meister."
Yuri had crossed his arms over his chest, watching Kom carefully, "And how exactly will these drugs affect the weapons when we inject the meisters with them instead?"
For the first time in a while, Kai saw a familiar smile stretch across his face, the kind of smile he only made when he was particularly proud of his work and glad to talk about it. She rolled her eyes, just a little. "A good weapon-meister pair are able to synchronize their souls, and we will use that against them," he explained, loading a dart into a small gun. "It will go into the meister and the effects will transfer over to the weapon through their shared wavelength. In doing so, it will destabilize the weapon's wavelength, preventing them from using their weapon form to their full ability, preventing him or her from connecting with the meister."
"Death trains his little children how to fight using their weapons, many of these people may not be able to fight when that weapon is taken from them, and many weapons may not be proficient fighters on their own, too," Kai had spoken up, drawing the attention of all in the room to her. She stood up, walking around the table until she stood beside Kom and picked up one of his vials, holding it between two fingers and watching the way the light reflected off the liquid inside. "They're taught to work and fight together as one, and so we'll force them to fight on their own. It will give us an edge by limited what they can do."
Someone, a woman of sixty whose name Kai never bothered to learn, nodded her head approvingly. "I can certainly see how that will work in our favor," she said, speaking with a heavy accent that Kai would have placed as Algerian, maybe Morocco, could be from an entirely different nation for all she knew. Though, to be fair, virtually everyone here was from a different country and spoke with an accent, if they weren't relying on a translator to speak for them. "Yes, this is exactly what we have needed."
Kom bowed his head a little at her words while the other leaders began speaking up over one another, voicing their thoughts and opinions. Not that it was a subject that needed discussing, their hollow words only agreed with the plan to use the drug, supporting it only because Kai did, not considering any other possibility because, to them, why should they consider something that goes against what she said?
They were sheep. Unable to think for themselves. As useful as that unyielding loyalty may be, their inability to argue was annoying. Ideas were made and improved from discussion and disagreement. Once she took care of the DWMA and Death, she'd have to get them to work on that.
Though, even though they were unable to do much, she approved of the few dozen or so Acolytes who would be promised to Kom to help him mass produce as much of the drug as they could in their limited window of time. Not only did they need to make this anti-weapon drug, but they would need to distribute the drugs to their current base here, and to other branch leaders around the world. It had to be done fast and discretely. Constant travel to and from the arctic desert without alerting suspicion.
But, Kom seemed confident that they'd be able to make it work, so long as they had a good supply of the ingredients and that the ones who were being brought to his makeshift lab had a decent understanding of chemistry.
It hadn't seemed as though Kai's presence was necessary for the meeting anymore. Everything she had been invested in discussing was finished, and now it was just some smaller scale issues that Kai couldn't care less about, such as sleeping space, rations, patrols, the sort of stuff that she'd pass off to the others to figure out while she spent her time with something else.
That meeting, however, had been just a few days ago, and already Kom had been bringing in reports of the few dozens of crates that they had filled with their drugs. Kai was also getting reports from scouts and spies that the DWMA was getting ready for an attack, calling in their Death Scythes, a hustle and bustle to them that was clear they were desperately waiting to strike but didn't know where.
It was amusing, just a little. Watching them run about was like watching chicken without heads, so desperate to put an end to this but not knowing how, not knowing where. It was fun. For a short while, but soon even that grew boring for her.
She did what she could in the meantime, between meetings and planning, she searched for ways to keep herself occupied, to keep her mind occupied. It was the best way to get time to pass, to keep things moving. Kai didn't want to stagnate for too long, it'd let thoughts fester.
People continued to arrive, through small planes or boats, they'd come in small numbers and slowly swell the ranks more and more. More shelters had to be erected, rations distributed more carefully, but that was work for someone else Kai didn't care too much if they had the supplies to support the army, only that they had an army.
Days passed by, perhaps a week in total. Each day Kai worked, observed and then slept before doing it again the next morning. It was a simple routine, doing the same thing again and again while waiting for shit to hit the fan and the ball to start rolling. She was getting a tad impatient, but she did her best to not think of it too much, lest she might start lashing out at her own army. Kai need not do that.
However, after a full week, the routine had finally been disturbed.
Kai awoke from her sleep to a rather loud commotion outside her tent. The scowl fell right into place on her face as she rose from her simplistic and barely comfortable cot. People were shouting and yelling, it was hard to tell just what kind of yells they were. Were her followers so excited they went crazy with their drinks and were causing a riot, or was there a problem and everyone was panicking? Did it even matter which it was when they'd disturbed Kai's slumber either way?
She threw on her coat and slipped on her boots, the shouting didn't stop, but Kai could now make out a more frantic tone to it. Certainly not the screams of inebriated idiots.
Throwing open the door and walking out, Kai kept her back rigid and her face void of feelings. People were nervous and excited, that much she could tell from the way they shifted, the glints in their eyes, the hushed whispers. But, they straightened out, silenced themselves, and backed away when they saw Kai approaching, parting like the Red Sea had for Moses so that she may cross the crowds.
It couldn't be that Death's army had arrived, there would be more anger in the crowd. They'd be running back and forth to ready the weapons and get into position to attack.
"Kai," Kom was at her side, keeping up with her pace as they walked. "What's going on?"
Kai's scowl deepened, "I was hoping that you'd be able to tell me," she answered. Not even Kom knew the reason behind this sudden frantic energy among her Acolytes, and not one of the followers was stepping forward to tell her. It was frustrating, someone was going to end up dead at this rate.
"All I know is that we had a new ship dock with more members, and then the crowds went mad over it," Kom responded, flicking his tongue between his lips as his mouth twisted into a frown. "I can only assume there was some problem with the ones who've just arrived."
That was more information than she had a minute ago, but it wasn't enough to go by. Kai's face didn't lighten as they continued to march, reaching the end of their camp as the Acolytes backed away with hushed whispers of reverence and apology to Kai.
But, even as they reached the source, it was hard to tell what exactly the problem was. There was a group of Acolytes surrounding whatever it was, among them, she recognized Yuri and another higher ranked official. The others, she couldn't say she recognized their faces, but that could be said to about 95% of the people here. They had bags at their feet and some had masks hanging from their belts, clearly members of the Acolytes and not prisoners.
They were talking, hadn't even noticed that Kai was there yet. Their voices quiet, but fervent, something moved between them, shifting, and Kai thought she saw a glimpse of white, perhaps just a patch of snow seen between bodies. Still, she drew closer, waiting to see how long it would take for them to notice her, or if they would ignore her the entire time.
"This is monumental!" Yuri had said quickly and quietly, mesmerized by something. "It could change everything. You've done right by bringing him here, my children."
One, a middle-aged woman bowed her head. "It was an honor and a pleasure," she said, her hands on something in front of her.
Yuri continued talking, bringing a hand to his face, "With your magic and knowledge, you might just be the deciding factor in this war, little one. You're the only one here who knows who we're fighting on an intimate level. You—" he stopped, his body giving a jerk as he turned his head to see Kai. "My lady!"
With that, Yuri gave a deep bow, the members behind him gave gasps of fear and awe before dropping to their knees, following his cry of 'my lady' to her. She didn't care about any of that, ignored Yuri, ignored the others to let her eyes fall on the only one who was not bowing, the one who—
Kai's eyes widened; her voice caught in her throat. Was she still in bed, was she still dreaming? There was no way that this could be real, right?
"Mama?" Maleko asked, his voice quiet as he stared at her with wide eyes. He looked as though he had seen better days, covered in faded bruises and bandages. His hair was shorter than it had been when she saw him last, his eyes had bags under them much like her own. A bird was perched on his shoulder, eying her with its golden eyes.
She couldn't find her words, she could only stare at him in mute wonder and awe, trying to find something, anything that would alert her that this was a dream before the inevitable heartbreak. She opened her mouth, forcing the words around the lump in her throat. "Maleko? Is that, is that really you?
The boy let in a shaking breath and took a careful step forward, stepping past Yuri and away from the others. The hawk silently flew from his shoulder to perch on some crates. She watched as Maleko's nose twitched, sniffing the air, his eyes beginning to water.
With a choked cry, Maleko dashed through the last few feet, closing the distance between the two as he threw himself at Kai. "Mama!" He cried as she caught him, dropping to her knees and holding him tight against her. "Mama, it- it's you! You—you, found! I found you!"
"Oh, Maleko, I missed you, I missed you so much," Kai murmured, burying her face into his hair.
Kai didn't care that she was openly crying in front of her followers, she didn't care if this wasn't the sort of display of a 'God'. They didn't matter, their beliefs didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that Maleko was here, alive and breathing in her arms. He was alive. Clinging to her as desperately as she clung to him. Warm. For the first time in months, she was warm. She was happy.