Alit appeared with his mother in one of the guest rooms of his palace. "You can stay here until we get you back to normal in a week, okay?"
Nerisa smiled fondly at him and nodded, "Thank...you."
"It's no problem, and are you really sure you don't want your kids-" Alit broke off as she gave him another 'Alit, shut up' look, "Right, shutting up." Alit summoned over a crystal and it shone a bright light on her. "Give it a few minutes, your wounds are numerous, but minor so a half-hour of this should be enough to heal them."
"Can I... see... Antonius?" Nerisa asked.
"Oh, yeah! I need to get him, so give me a minute! Do you want me to explain what happened to you? I mean, I kinda need to because there are some details I need to add."
"Are you... even giving me... an option?" Nerisa asked, a teasing tone to her voice.
"Um... sort of?" Alit winced.
Nerisa laughed, "Tell him. I... don't know if... I could... tell him... what that bastard... made me into."
Alit 'frowned' and clenched his fists. "I hate Gattas. I hate his stupid f*cking guts."
Nerisa sighed and sat down on a crystal chair that was floating above the ground. "I... know. So do I." Tears came to her eyes, but she wiped them away, "He is... cruel. He hurt and transformed... Maple and... Bryan and turned... Antonius into a book. They... never hurt him. I am... almost glad Alit... escaped his clutches. Although... escaped is relative. Living as... a slave... isn't much better."
"Gladiator," Alit corrected automatically, then covered where his mouth would be with his hands.
Nerisa gave him a funny look. "What?"
"Um, he became a gladiator. I mean, it's still a slave, I guess, but it's a little better." Alit muttered, kicking himself.
"How do... you know that?" Nerisa asked.
"I- um, well, you see-" Alit stuttered, "Um, how about I tell you after you turn back, deal?"
Nerisa frowned, but nodded, "Okay... but then... you have to... tell me."
"I will! Promise!" Alit chirped, "Or if you will just let your kids see you."
"I'll... wait a week," she replied, causing Alit to pout.
"Okay, okay," Alit sighed, "I'll get D- Antonius now."
"What... did you... almost call him?" Nerisa wondered.
"Huh? Oh, uh, nothing, nothing! I just said Antonius, nothing before that!" Alit yelped. Nerisa opened her mouth but Alit beat her to the punch, "I'm going to get him now, see you!" Alit opened an overlay network and jumped through it. He arrived in the emperors' throne room, where Maple and Bryan were sitting on the steps writing to their dad and Dumon was doing some more calculations on a crystal tablet. Alit felt a lump rise in his throat, he hadn't expected his siblings to be here. All he was here for was to tell Dumon what had happened and find Nasch to get his dad back. Apparently Nasch had something else to do and he gave Antonius to Maple and Bryan.
Maple glanced up and she 'smiled'. "Red-nii!"
Alit waved at her, slightly happy at hearing the nickname she had given him when they didn't know who each other were. "Hey, Maple, Bryan," he 'grinned'.
Bryan jumped up and teleported next to Alit as did Maple. "Did you find Mom?"
Alit blinked. "Whoa, where did you two learn to teleport?"
"Vetrix and Dumon taught us," Maple replied nonchalantly, "And don't change the subject!"
Alit sighed, "Okay, I did find her. But..."
"But?" Maple prompted.
Alit took a deep breath, "This is going to be fun... okay, how should I put this? You know that servant of his?"
"The troll thing?" Bryan asked.
"Yeah, um, that's kinda Mom," Alit winced.
If Maple and Bryan had mouths, they would be wide open. "Wha- huh?" Bryan stuttered, eyes wide.
"She's... Mom?" Maple repeated numbly. She sniffled, then burst into tears, as did Bryan. "I- I didn't know... I didn't recognize her..."
"I didn't either, don't worry," Alit comforted her.
"Sh- she was right there all along..." Maple mumbled, not listening to Alit.
"That monster!" Bryan wailed, "I saw him beat her daily! That f*cking bastard!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Where did you learn that language?" Alit demanded.
"A little from that bastard, a little from Misael," Bryan replied.
"Note to self: never leave you alone with Misael again, and definitely never let that bastard near you for multiple obvious reasons," Alit muttered.
"Can we see her?" Bryan asked.
"Um... about that... she kinda doesn't want you to see her until she gets back to normal... and she'll only let Dumon turn her back once Dad's back to normal," Alit winced.
"WHAT?!" Maple and Bryan cried.
"Wh- why?" Bryan whimpered, "We don't care what she looks like! She's our Mom!"
"I know, but she seems to think if you see her like she is now she'll be a reminder of your suffering via Gattas," Alit sighed.
"But-!"
"I get it," Maple whispered.
"What?!" Bryan cried, "You don't-"
"No, I don't think that is true, but I know why she's doing it. She doesn't want to hurt us any more. I respect that," Maple replied sadly.
Alit captured both of his siblings in a hug. "It's just for a week, guys. Then she's back to normal and so is Dad."
Maple sniffled, then pulled away and handed the book to Alit. "Here, big brother. She wants to talk to him, right?"
"Yeah, I'll bring it to her," Alit took his dad from Maple gently but firmly.
"Wait, why does she let you visit her?" Bryan asked.
Alit winced, "Um, I kinda haven't told her who I am quite yet."
"Why not?" Bryan and Maple asked in unison.
"BECAUSE she wouldn't let me see her if she knew!" Alit explained, "Besides, since I had already seen her since I found out she was my mother, she would feel embarrassed! I don't want to drop that bomb on her until after she's back to normal! Or, you know, barian normal."
Maple looked down. "So... you can't tell her who you are or that you're alive..." she whispered.
"Unfortunately, yes. But hey! It's just for a week," Alit said with false cheer, something he felt his siblings could sense, "Then Dumon fixes Dad then he fixes her, and I tell her after she wakes up!"
Dumon sighed, "Alit, you manage to get yourself into the most difficult of situations."
"In a good way though, right?" Alit asked.
"How is there a good way for that?" Maple asked.
Alit gave her a long look. "I seriously need to forbid Misael from being alone with you. He's poisoning you against me and my intellect."
Maple giggled and handed their dad over to Alit, "She wants to talk to Dad, right?"
Alit nodded, "Right. I'll take him to her." Alit clutched his dad close to his chest and teleported into his own room. He felt tears come to his eyes as he opened the book and wrote,
Hey, Dad.
Alit! It's good to see you! Or... not, but you know what I mean!
You too, Dad.
Did you find your mother?
Yes...
Oh, shoot.
You can tell my tone from just that?
It's mostly your handwriting and the ellipsis. I have a bad feeling about this.
That would actually be pretty accurate...
Alit proceeded to explain to his dad what exactly had happened. When he finished, his father was silent for a long time until finally,
THAT FUCKING CUNT! HOW DARE HE HURT HER LIKE THAT?! RAPING HER, ABUSING OUR CHILDREN IN FRONT OF HER, AND THEN WHEN SHE TRIED TO SAVE THEM THAT FUCKING SON OF A FUCKING BITCH TURNED HER INTO SOME MONSTER, WOULD ONLY CHANGE HER BACK TEMPORARILY TO RAPE HER, CONTINUED TO TORTURE OUR CHILDREN IN FRONT OF HER, AND SHE COULDN'T EVEN TELL THEM WHO SHE WAS! I AM GOING TO FUCKING SLAUGHTER THAT FUCKING SON OF A BITCH BASTARD!
Alit wiped away a tear and wrote,
I know Dad, I want to kill him a million times over. He hurt her so badly! And he is NOT allowed to mess with my family like that! If he wasn't dead for turning you into a book and abusing Maple and Bryan, he sure as hell is for this!
That fucking bastard... she didn't deserve this nor did Maple and Bryan... none of them deserved this hell...
She asked for you, you know. Want to talk with her now?
Do fish swim?
Okay, but there is one more thing you should know.
Aside from all of THAT?!
It's not quite as bad, don't worry.
Alright then...
You remember how she doesn't want Maple or Bryan to see her?
Yeah?
She doesn't know who I am either.
Wait, what?! Why not?
Because she would be embarrassed and wouldn't let me see her anymore! And even if she did let me see her, it wouldn't be fair to Maple and Bryan. If they can't see her, then why should I? At least, why should I when she's acting as my mother? Besides, it's better to let her think none of her children can see her like... that. She'd feel better. If she agrees to let Maple and Bryan see her, I'll tell her, okay?
You do realize she thinks you're dead, right?
I know, but it's just for a week! Then I'll tell her and everything can go back to normal. Or... to normal considering we can't exactly go back.
Hm, true that. Okay, I won't tell her who you are.
Thanks Dad.
No problem, Alit. Now let me talk to her.
Okay!
Alit closed the book and teleported into his mother's room. Nerisa was looking dolefully at her reflection in the crystal and Alit felt tears well into his eyes again. He tapped his foot against the floor to get her attention, but not startle her. She turned around and looked up at him, then her eyes centered on the book in his hand. "That's... Antonius?"
Alit nodded and handed the book over to her along with the pencil he had been using. "Here."
"Thank you," she whispered.
"I'll come back later to bring you something to eat," Alit 'smiled' and prepared to leave when her next words stopped him.
"Why... do you have... his eyes?"
Alit looked over his shoulder. "What?"
"Antonius' eyes," she clarified, "Your... eyes are the exact... same shade as his."
Alit shrugged, "Oh, uh, that's cool. Really. Not sure why I would, though." He looked down and tears sprung into his emerald eyes. He knew fully well what she was talking about. All his past life, he had always heard that his eyes were just like his Dad's, and for the first time in any life, he slightly regretted his eyes.
"Are you... not telling me... something?" Nerisa asked.
"Well... yeah, I'm not," Alit admitted, "But I promise I will tell you everything once you're back to normal."
"I'll... hold you to that," Nerisa replied sternly.
Alit 'smiled' and chuckled, "I know, and I have no intention of backing out on my word." Alit waved goodbye and teleported back to his siblings, leaving his mother and father alone together.
Nerisa looked down at the book, running her finger across the spine gently. She swallowed and whispered, "Oh Antonius... what has he... done to you?" Tears came to her eyes as she stared at the book. Taking a deep breath, she opened up the book and pressed the tip of the pencil to the paper.
Antonius...
Nerisa? Is that really you?
Yes, Antonius. It's been so long.
Nerisa! Damn it, I heard what that bastard did to you and I bet that what I heard was the watered down version.
It was, but what he did to me?! He turned YOU into a book!
How about we don't argue about who got screwed over more, because I think our kids win that one.
Agreed. That- that fucking bastard!
Wow, you actually swore. I can count the number of times you've done that on one hand. Or... I used to be able to anyway. I REALLY hate having to make those corrections.
Antonius...
Yeah, I know. I sound like a basket case. Relax, I'll be free in a week.
I know, but...
It'll be fine. You know, it's really good to talk to you again.
You too. I missed you so much. That bastard told me what he did to you within the first week of our imprisonment. I was so furious.
I know the feeling. When... that alien told me what happened to you, I lost it a little bit. I can't do much except scream, but trust me, I don't think I have ever sworn that much in one paragraph in my life, except for maybe when I found out what he did to Maple and Bryan.
So... you do know how I look then?
I do, and if you think that changes how I think about you at all, you obviously need to get some psychological help. I love you no matter what you look like. Hell, even if you aren't able to turn back(which is a moot point considering I know you will be able to), I would still love you just the same.
Thank you...
Nerisa, there are no thank yous needed. I mean, you still love me even though I'm an inanimate object.
That's true...
So I heard you have trouble speaking.
Yes, it was because he thought that women should be seen and not heard. So he made it extremely painful for me to talk.
Chalk that up to the hundreds if not thousands of reasons I need to strangle the bastard when I get out of here.
I thought the book was your body, not a prison.
It's both, trust me.
I see what you mean. I suppose I feel a little like that too, to a lesser extent than you are, of course.
Don't worry, Nerisa. We'll be back to "normal" soon.
How are Maple and Bryan doing?
Why don't you go see for yourself?
Did the alien not tell you?
No, he did.
Ah, so that's why you said that. And I hope he explained my reasoning?
He did.
And?
And I think the two of them don't give a you-know-what, they just want their mother.
I know. I feel terrible, but I know that even if they don't think so at first, I will remind them of those years and I want them to forget about it as much as they can. They're healing and I will NOT take a chance of interrupting that process.
I guess you have a point, it doesn't mean I like it though.
Neither do I, but at the moment it's for the best. Besides, it's just one more week. Then I get to see their hopefully smiling faces again.
You may get to see more than that...
What does that mean?
Huh? Nothing! Just thinking out loud! You know, I try to talk and letters appear?
So you were mumbling to yourself?
Essentially, yes.
Back to my original question, what did you mean by that?
You'll see.
Antonius...
Look, I made a promise to not tell you. After you're back to normal, the alien will explain.
He's not telling us something, isn't he?
Um, no. He's not telling you something?
Why is he hiding it from me?
It's... a long, long, LONG story, honey. Just trust me that you will find out after you're back to normal, or if you let Maple and Bryan see you but I am rapidly beginning to understand that that's not going to happen.
I trust you Antonius. I won't press the matter, but if I don't know what you're talking about within a day of getting back to normal...
If that happens, I'M going to have a talk with him.
Alright, just so we're clear on that. Antonius...
Yes?
I missed you.
I missed you too. I was scared for so long, not knowing what happened to you or the kids. Just being alone in the dark...
You really can't see anything in there, can you?
Sadly, no. It's like I'm floating underwater in a dark room with white walls. Then I see writing appear in front of me whenever I try to talk or someone writes something.
That sounds horrible...
It kinda is. I used to manage to think positive about it and enjoy the experience, but that was a long time ago. I'm just ready to move again.
Antonius?
Yes?
I love you.
I love you too.