And so begins the headcannon! I know that technically the Vandals were supposed to take over Modulon 5 but personally, I think that the Reds and Blues lived in peace on each other's planets for thousands of years until obvious differences began to result in conflict. Anyway, enough of my rambling, you can read for yourself!
DISCLAIMER: You do NOT need to watch 'Full Revolution' to read this. This chapter and the next several are all going to be a flashback, mostly from Kyburi's point of view, of how she, the Sentient war, and the RS5 came to be. Maaaaaaany more chapters to come. Read on, and thanks for everyone's kind reviews!
She had been young, just ten million, living on the Blue planet. Her mother, Kiriana had been a Red Sentient and her father Sorak Blue, and as Sentient custom went, the female axon would subjugate and live on the male's homeworld.
It was perfectly safe then.
Times were different then.
Kyburi's mother, Kiriana, had died in the conception of Kiry. Her Blue twin had not survived, while Kiry's interrupted creation had left her with minor defects. She didn't grow as fast as the other Reds her age, and was so naïve. But she was caring until the end, and sometimes Kyburi believed her dying Blue twin's traits had been somehow incorporated into her. Conceiving for Sentients was vastly different from reproduction in other species. Female Sentient shells could not be altered to support a child, and so creating a pair of Sentient twins was a completely mental, yet still intimate process. Both male and female had to be in complete agreement in the decision to form a child, and the procedure was long and complex. It was an intricate synapse, and both the male and female Sentient had to be fully committed and synchronized in their thought processes. Kiriana and Sorak had pressed their hands and chests together until their very cores nearly touched, and in that moment, both Sentients became one. The heat from the reaction produced a spinning orb of energy, both blue and red, that would eventually produce twin Sentients. The process had been completed without complication for Kyburi and Solana, but for Kiry and her uncompleted Blue twin, that was not the case. The Sentient orb had to be kept under specific conditions in order to maintain life. It was placed in a certain room, specifically designed for Sentient incubation, and had to be accessed by both male and female axon almost daily. Kiriana and Sorak together would add their core energy, spinning life into the red and blue sphere, until finally, after a gestation period of several years (next to nothing for creatures who lived for millennia), two twin Sentients were born from it.
Unless something went wrong. If the orb was not regularly supplemented with energy from both Sentients, development could be halted, changed, or even mutated. In the final quarter of gestation, Sorak had become deathly ill. He was hospitalized for months, and with no way for him to access the orb, Kiriana was forced to watch her unborn children wither. Sentient medical professionals examined the situation, but only the male who had created the life orb could spin energy into it. It was close to birthing them now, and Kyburi could make out the two small forms, curled tightly together inside its warmth. Just days before the twins were supposed to emerge from the orb, Sorak died. Kiriana was so distraught by her twins she hardly even had time to grieve for her fallen mate. She refused to give up on her children, but with no choice but to watch them die like Sorak had, she made one final, desperate attempt. She contacted the axons of Sage, Solara's closest friend, and begged the Blue male, Somark, to try and add his energy to the orb one last time. Somark and Sari, Sage's axons (both Blue), knew it wouldn't work, but Kiriana had implored them to try. Kyburi, just ten million at the time, would never forget watching everything fall to pieces. Solara and Sage had been off playing, not realizing the gravity of the situation. Kiriana had tried to hide it from her children, but Kyburi was cunning, and knew everything from hearing it behind closed doors. She watched from a crack in the door as her mother pleaded and Somark wavered.
"Please, Somark, I beg of you! You're the only male I would trust to aid the process!" Her mother pleaded. The orb, translucently revealing two small forms, hovered just inches away from them.
"I'm telling you, Kiriana, it can't be done! I won't harm your children!" Somark snapped firmly.
"Somark, you must! Without Blue energy they'll die!" Kiriana cried.
"They could die just as easily with the influence of another Blue male!" Sari cut in. "Kiriana, listen to reason!"
"I refuse to sit another day while they wither away in there!" Kiriana said determinedly. "They are dying, Sari. If it were your children, would you not do the same?" She implored, and Sari sighed. She exchanged a long look with Somark, who finally nodded in defeat.
"I will try." He bowed his head in submission. "But I make no promises."
"And if they are still…damaged," Sari said slowly, "You must promise me not to grieve too heavily."
"I have already grieved." Kiriana said simply. "Now I hope to rejoice."
Somark looked to his mate once more before slowly extending his hand towards the orb. The charged cloud surrounding it sparked with energy, as if sensing the presence of Blue matter, and almost gravitated toward him as if thirsty for the Blue's touch. Somark set his jaw and just touched the sphere with the tip of his index finger. A single spark popped at the contact, and then everything went wrong. A lightning rod of electricity ignited from the point of connection, zapping the entire orb. Somark gasped and was yanked back by Sari, whose eyes were wide with fear. The entire sphere convulsed, sending shockwaves of red and blue energy slamming through it.
"What's happening?!" Kiriana screamed over the zapping of energy.
"The orb rejected his matter!" Sari shouted back. "It is self-destructing!"
"No!" Kiriana gasped. She watched in horror as the two fragile figures within, her twins, were shocked and shaken, felt their pain as if it were her own. "My children!" She cried. The orb was close to exploding, and the very air was charged.
"Kiriana, we must leave this place!" Somark tried to pull her towards the door.
"I have to save them!" She writhed from his grasp and threw herself into the spasming orb.
"Kiriana!" Sari screamed. The Red Sentient female was desperate. Her arms were shaking in sync with the convulsions, completely immersed in the orb, and she clutched with ferocious intensity the form of the infant Red Sentient and dragged her out with such exertion Somark worried she might collapse.
"Kiriana, stop!" He stepped in between her and the orb with his arms firmly crossed. Sari took the tiny newborn Red in her blue arms and gazed on in fear.
"Not until I save the other!" Kiriana shoved him out of her path and drove her arms into the orb again, which was now shaking with greater intensity. It was clear that it would not support life much longer, and sparks flew from the Blue figure within. Miniature bolts of electricity transferred from her to Kiriana, and it was as if the sphere was sucking her in.
"Somark, save her!" Sari cried, and Somark reached forward and gripped the convulsing Red Sentient's form. He grit his teeth and slowly pulled her away from the orb, while she gripped the Blue Sentient body in her hands for dear life. When the tip of the infant's foot left the sphere, it imploded, leaving Sari holding a Red Sentient child and Kiriana clutching to her chest its Blue twin.
Somark watched the spot where the orb had imploded, sucking into itself and simply disappearing. There almost seemed to be a remaining buzz in the air, as if—
"Get down!" He grabbed Sari and threw them both onto the ground next to Kiriana, just before a shockwave of blue and red ripped through the entire house. Kyburi heard his cry and ducked just before the wave tore through the door she had been hiding behind and crumbled it in two. Somark and Sari slowly stood up, looking at each other in fear. Slight trembles still pulsed through Kiriana's body and with them, miniature bolts of electricity. Kyburi, dread growing in her chest, couldn't stand it a second longer.
"Kiriana!" She pushed past the collapsed door and knelt by her axon's body. Sentients had no parental terms for their axons, but rather by their first names.
"Kyburi, what are you doing in here?" Sari gasped.
"What's wrong with her?" Kyburi demanded tearily. "Why is she glowing?" That was the only term that came to mind for the unnamed tremors going through her axon's body. In desperation, she pressed her hands onto her mother's stomach in an effort to revive her, and was jolted back. Kyburi's head was thrown back as her back arched and body surged with energy.
"Oh, no, not both of them." Sari whispered in fear, but the shock soon stopped, and Kyburi merely blinked. She could feel the last bits of energy still pulsing in her fingertips, but she appeared not to have been affected.
At least, not that they knew of. Not yet.
The shock seemed to have taken all of the life out of her axon.
"Kiriana?" Kyburi asked quietly. "Kiriana!" She shook the Red female desperately, but her axon made no movement or response. The light slowly faded from the hands and feet, dimming along her appendages and tracing back to her core, where it finally went out. Sari gasped silently; she knew the truth Kyburi was too young to understand.
"Kiriana…" Kyburi whispered finally, clutching her mother's hand. "No…"
Sari knelt by the child.
"I'm so sorry." She said, and handed her the Red infant. When her sister was placed in her arms and looked up at her with softly glowing eyes, Kyburi suddenly knew that she would die to protect the child.
"She is yours to name." Sari said softly.
"Kiry." Kyburi responded, as if talking to herself. "For her." She looked down at her axon's corpse, still clutching the dead Blue child. "Her twin…didn't make it, did she?" Kyburi looked at Sari with sad eyes, and the Blue Sentient female nodded in remorse.
"Don't worry, my child. We will take care of you."
At that moment, Kyburi had believed it with all her heart.
She now knew it had been nothing but a lie. Sage's family adopted Solara. Why shouldn't they? She was Blue. She was Sage's best friend. She fit right in, especially on Modulon 5.
Kyburi and Kiry did not. They were put in an orphanage, up for adoption. Unwanted. No one would adopt a Red on a Blue planet, and certainly not two who refused to be separated. Kyburi cared for Kiry every day, keeping her close despite being bullied by the young Blues in the orphanage. With time, they all went. All adopted. All wanted. All happy. But there were always more to replace them, always more to torture Kyburi, to taunt her for her Red form. She stayed strong only for Kiry, who was merely a babe. She couldn't defend herself, and so Kyburi had to. For her mother. Every so often, Solana or Sari would stop by, check in, make sure they were being treated fairly. But the abusive Blues always seemed the picture of innocence when they were there.
"You know, they would adopt you if they could." Solara said quietly, taking her twin's hand. They were sitting at a table in the visiting room, alone. Kyburi, now twelve million but mature beyond it, clutched Kiry tightly in her arms.
"That's a lie." Kyburi snapped. She knew it was wrong to be mad at her twin but lately, it was as if everything had gone right for Solara. Everything had been handed to her. "If they truly cared they would have at least brought us to the Red planet. No Blues want us here, and none ever will."
"Somark and Sari do care-"
"Then why are we sitting in this room?" Kyburi demanded angrily. "Why do you get to go back to a real home while I have to return to my bunk and make sure no one has stolen what few belongings I have left? Why do I have to live in fear of every Blue here while you play and laugh with them? Why do I have to exist in the fact that no one on this planet would ever take me away from this place?"
"Kyburi, don't be so dramatic." Solara snipped.
She didn't understand. She never would.
Solara continued. "Somark and Sari would take you in, it's just that-"
"They're both Blue, and we're both Red." Kyburi stated flatly. "Face it, Solara. We don't belong here. We don't belong anywhere."
"I'm sorry you feel that way." Solara glanced up at the clock anxiously. "Um, I have to go. Sage and I—…er, I have plans."
"Right. You and Sage." Kyburi said blankly. "Have fun."
Solara stood to leave. "Um, bye, Kyburi. I'll stop by soon."
"Bye." Kyburi said emptily, and watched as her sister left. As the door slammed shut, she stood, taking Kiry and walking back to her quarters in the lonely building. All of the females shared one wing filled with bunk beds, and the males the other. Kyburi kept her bunk as far away from the Blue females as possible, and so far no one had volunteered to share it with her. She hid her most personal belongings on the top cot in a weak effort to protect them, but after talking with Solara for even a few minutes she was sure the female Blues would have poked around. When she reached the dormitory, she realized with a sad recognition that several of them were crowded around her bunk. Kyburi steeled her nerves and took a deep breath, approaching them uneasily, her stilettoed feet clacking a warning as she advanced. The Blue females stared her down as she drew closer to them, not saying a word, her belongings spread on her bottom bunk for inspection. The girls in this particular group were her regular tormenters, and their leader a particularly cruel Blue named Samira. Kyburi swallowed.
You are not afraid of them. They are weak.
"What are you doing with those?" She demanded, stopping in front of them with her arms folded. There were several of her belongings spread on the bunk, but there was only one she truly cared about.
"What, this?" Samira raised an eyebrow, holding up a red necklace salvaged by Kyburi from the wreckage of their home. Kyburi's eyes widened; that was the only memory she had of her axon.
"Give it back." She said coldly, panic rising in her chest.
"Oh, but it's just sooooo pretty." Samira smirked, unlocking the clasp and moving her hands to her neck as if to put it on. Anger seized Kyburi, and she gripped the young Blue's arm with surprising force.
"I said, give it back." She said forcefully, digging her nails into the cold shell. Kyburi felt something at that moment, felt the pulse of Samira's core, felt the warmth energy running through her below the cold exterior shell. She thought of how easy it would be to suck the life right out of her, and as they locked eyes, that was exactly what happened. Kyburi was not aware of what she was doing. Samira held her death gaze, but as her arm grew cold beneath Kyburi's grip, her eyes widened, and she looked down at the appendage in shock. Its blue glow had faded to a dull gray all the way up to her shoulder, and the azure light was fading fast, drawing towards her core. The lifeless hand went limp, ad Kiriana's necklace tumbled from it and onto the floor.
"What are you doing?!" Samira shrieked, making a panicked struggle to break free. Her arm slowly resumed its natural blue glow, the gray being taken over, but Kyburi stood frozen in shock, her trembling hand at her side.
"I knew there was something wrong with her!" Samira exclaimed shakily, still fearful. "J-just stay away from me!" She stumbled off of the bed and sprinted away, the other Blues following her in fright. Kyburi slowly fell onto her mattress in realization. She gripped the hand, the thieving, mysterious devil of a hand, in her other, and examined it closely, setting Kiry down beside her. Her hand was glowing a bright, angry red, more than usual, but the glow was gradually subsiding and fading, drawing back into her. She could feel its pulse traveling through her and finally reaching her core, and she let out a quiet gasp. It was as if five sleepless nights had been eliminated, and the truth slowly dawned on her.
She had stolen Samira's energy.
In fear of herself, Kyburi dropped her hand, watching it fall onto the bed. What had possessed her to do that? She hadn't meant to steal Samira's energy. She hadn't even known she could. It was terrifying but exciting at the same time. Would the Blues finally stop their torment of her now?
Her small triumph was sadly short-lived. Samira had gone to the head director of the orphanage and told her everything. The director had never been fond of keeping two Reds in his company, and was happy to have an excuse to get rid of them. Kyburi and Kiry were thrown onto the streets, a twelve million year old Red in a Blue world with a child to support. She had with her only Kiriana's necklace, and just minutes after leaving the orphanage, knew it was her only chance of survival so far.
Kyburi sold it. It had felt like someone had ripped out a piece of her soul, but she sold it. It was their only hope. Now that they had money, they needed shelter. She found herself at her old house, the one that had been leveled after the explosion of the orb and thus foreclosed. It was dangerous, but she knew better than anyone that beggars couldn't be choosers. Only one room in the house was still livable, and slowly Kyburi was able to salvage their belongings, selling almost everything but the bare minimum she and Kiry would need to survive. Their living room came to contain a mattress, a light, a small table, and not much else. Selling their belongings left her with money, but Kyburi was not too young to know it wouldn't last forever. So, at twelve million years old, she set out to find a job.
Kyburi was sixteen million when she met Krytus. She had just come home from work, sorting books at the Modulon 5 library. It was a dull job, repetitive and uninspiring, but it was one of the few that would take her in these tense times between Blue and Reds. It kept Kiry alive, and that was all that mattered. Kiry was eight million now, and Kyburi was helping her learn how to read with one of the books from the library. She could have easily enrolled Kiry in public school, for it was free to all Sentients, but free was starting to have a different meaning for the Reds on Modulon 5, and Kyburi didn't want to put her sister through her experience at the orphanage. It didn't help that Kiry developed more slowly than other Sentients her age, who had learned to read Sentient symbols at just six million.
It was seven o'clock, and growing dark outside. Kyburi still remembered the page she had been reading when he had opened the door.
Krytus had been young at the time, just seventeen million, but standing there in the middle of their door, red core shining in the darkening night, he seemed eons older than she. Kyburi would never forget how he looked that night, the shock on his face when he realized that he had barged in to someone's home.
"I—I'm sorry, I thought this place was abandoned." He said quickly, taking a step closer. Kyburi stood abruptly, the clawed extensions at the end of her fingertips already trembling in warning. No one had ever visited their small home, much less walked right through the front door.
"What are you doing here? How did you find this place?" She demanded, trying not to let her voice shake. Kiry, eyes wide, clutched her hand tightly.
"I was just—…" Krytus took another step, looking at her more closely. "You're red." He stated in surprise, and Kyburi suddenly felt very conscious of how she looked.
"Well, yes." She nodded, wishing she had some sort of covering. Of course, no Sentients wore technical clothing, but she still felt very exposed.
"I'm sorry, it's just that…there aren't many Reds here anymore." Krytus looked at her more closely.
"Well, some of the Reds don't have a choice." Kyburi said coolly, trying to sound in control. "Now, what are you doing here?"
"A friend of min— of my sister, used to live here. I'm trying to find one of her old—"
"Solara?" Kyburi exclaimed, and Krytus nodded, surprised.
"Yes. Do you know her?" He asked.
"She—She's actually my Blue twin." Kyburi admitted, and Krytus gasped.
"Then…you…you must be Kyburi." He said finally, and she took a step back, somehow vexed that he knew her name. "I'm Krytus."
That name would stay with her a long time. He lifted his hand in greeting, asking to synapse with her. Kyburi hesitantly raised her palm to his, and miniature sparks flew between the two. She was slightly taken aback by the intimacy of the feeling. Kyburi had synapsed before, but his felt different. Trusting.
"Solara's told me a lot about you." He said shakily. It appeared the synapse had affected him as well. "I thought you were at the orphanage?"
Her eyes narrowed a little. Was that how he thought of her? Orphanage girl?
"No." She said coolly, and that was the only explanation she gave him. "Why are you here?"
"Hey, I didn't mean to offend you." He said gently. "Solana wanted to look for one of her old bracelets, but my mother didn't want to send her out alone at this hour."
"Well, you can tell her that it's gone." Kyburi folded her arms.
"Do you…really live here? All on your own?" He asked slowly, looking around the small room.
"Yes." She said again, arms still folded.
"Huh." He said finally. "Well, I guess I'll see you around, Kyburi."
This shocked her a little. She thought he might try to stay.
"Right." She nodded, still a little wary. "I'll see you."