Chapter Summary: Miko, the sentient ninja healer fungus is up for chapter 6.

Notes: My muse for this story told me these two were friends. There's no evidence for it, but I liked the idea. Gave me an excuse to listen to their voice lines, too. Plus, the only other Eldrid I wanted to do was Alani, and I had the same problem as Pendles, there.

…and then I added the Kid Ultra chapter, which you've already read, where I still had to deal with that problem. Sorry, Alani!

Italics means flashback.

Chapter 6: Miko

Under normal circumstances, perhaps Miko would not have befriended Whiskey Foxtrot.

As it stands, though, the universe is close to ending, Miko is the last of their kind, and he is the last of his batch of clones, and so they have something to start a conversation about.

And yet, oddly, that was not what their first conversation had been about…

"You okay?"

Miko looked up from where they had been clenching and unclenching their digits. "We… do not like heights. We are not meant to be untethered from the ground like this."

The purple clone had nodded. "Yeah. Being on a ship going toward or away from the ground is different from being on a ship in space."

"It is… embarrassing, though. We did not used to have this problem. But then we became the last and…" they had sighed, "It is easier when with the other Eldrid, but when around unfamiliar beings, or if it happens suddenly in battle."

"Yeah, friends can really help when it comes to making things you hate suck less."

He had asked them to tell him about their friends, then, to take their mind off of it. They informed him they were not much good at such small talk, but he assured them that he wasn't "asking for top quality shit." He expressed some amazement that they counted Phoebe as one, though admitted this was due to not knowing her well beyond the fact that the Chaos Witch did not like her.

That had turned into a short debate over whether Orendi had a good reason to not like her, and before Miko had known it, the trip was over.

There had not been time to continue the discussion on the trip back to Nova; the mission had been quite successful, and they and the others with them had been in high spirits. Happily, the time had been spent recounting events that had just happened had taken precedence.

(It was not until an early morning sometime after that mission that they had a chance to even thank him. they had been walking past the mess hall when they heard his voice coming from the open kitchen door, singing some sort of song about drinking with intoxicated seafarers.)

Miko would not say they were necessarily close friends, but they felt they could count him as a friend. Whiskey Foxtrot turned out to be an interesting philosophical debate partner, and a fair poker player (he lost to them more than he won, but seemed to do it for the social aspect of it during their games). He was willing to let them (and others) hang around in the kitchen while he worked so long as they did nothing foolish and helped keep an eye on Orendi if she was in there as well (all the Rogues were rather evasive when it came to explaining why, though apparently it was quite the mess).

Eventually, of course, during their occasional chats, the subject of being the last came up, as unpleasant matters had a habit of doing.

"Someone we spoke to once called us a "Last Child", the last living member of a race. Usually, he told us, one is referred to as either a "Last Son" or "Last Daughter", but when one is like us, "Last Child" is used," They said, looking into the glass of water he had given them. "We suppose that, these days, we are no longer the only ones who have this title."

He was silent for a few moments, leaning back in his chair so that it stood on two legs and dared the artificial gravity to make him fall. "What if," he finally said, "you're the last of a particular batch of clones? That no other clones who came after you were made the same way? And you knew you were the last, because you'd watched all the others die, one way or another?" He leaned forward, fast enough that his balance had no time to realize it had been upset before the front legs hit the floor with a "thud", "Would someone be a last son then?"

Miko had been somewhat aware of his history; one of the things everyone on Nova, including Nova herself, took some enjoyment out of was gossiping or "sharing information" as those who thought the former sounded petty preferred to call it. They had not put much thought to how affected he was by such events. But now that he was more than just someone they knew was on their side, they certainly were.

"We think that, perhaps, the term could also be used for the last surviving member of a family," They finally said. "It is not how the term is usually applied, but in that sense, one such as you is also a "Last Son"."

After a moment of silence, they added, "We find, though, that being a "Last Child" is not as lonely as one would think, provided one has good companionship."

His somber mood had broken slightly as he chuckled, "Yeah."

The exchange, the admitted sense of loss they both felt, the knowledge that despite that, they were not alone, had been cathartic. And they could not say that he was the only one who needed to hear a conclusion that had already been found (and he clearly had, considering his closeness with his friends, the quick exchanges of affection between himself and Deande) once more.

Notes:

I swear, I'm gonna write a poker night fic because of this chapter.

There really are a lot of Battleborn who are the last their kind, it seems. I feel like Miko, being one themselves, tends to make friends with them. And while it doesn't come up much for them, I think Whiskey probably has some issues from the whole "all my clone brothers are dead" thing, which he usually deals with by making new friends.

Miko and Whiskey aren't what you'd call best friends. But they are friends.

Miko seems to be okay with space travel, but if you listen to their voice lines for being thrown in the air, they seem really uncomfortable. I figure that when you know this is the only body you have left, the thought of falling to your death can be troubling. Plus, there's no one else in the hive mind any more who could distract you from the thought.

I know that Miko is canonically the last one, but they have to try to reach out with their connection. I mean, they're already all fighting an impossible battle against the Varelsi. Might as well see if anyone will answer a call, right?

I first came across the term Last Son from this DC novel. It's a pretty good book, and involved three of DC's famous Last Sons, Superman, Martian Manhunter, and Lobo. The term Last Daughter also came up, so I figured Last Child could work, too.

One of the most important Rogues is up next chapter.

Comments are appreciated.