Chapter Twelve
Explanation
Zexion panicked slightly as he pulled heavy rubble off his crushed son; Reo was obviously knocked out form the impact, or he would have used the shadows to escape.
"I just got you back...I can't lose you now!" Zexion growled as he threw the last pillar, Reo was crumpled like a rag doll, torn and in pain raw Matter oozing out of multiple wounds, but he was breathing. Zexion sighed in relief before picking Reo up in his arms and running for the exit.
The exiled King looked back at Cyclonia as it crumbled in on its self and around its foundations. He wasn't disappointed, he rather expected his sons to turn against his plan, he was more surprised that one weak portal caused all this havoc when it collapsed in on itself He looked around for the other three, Reo still in his arms, but saw no-one beyond the thick dust. He knew Lene and Firno would come soon, and the human seemed too attached to the brothers to just leave without her lover.
Zexion sat down, out of the thickness of the dust and smog and settled, looking at his grown boy. Reo was a tiny infant last time he ever saw them, full of life and a real explorer, and a little cheeky. Now in his arms was this very young man with worry and pain across his pale face, it depressed Zexion to see his son like that; he wanted to see Reo smile and run around, sparring Firno with a wooden sword. That boy was gone, only a stony faced strong young man, fighting for his World...for real, with his life on the line, remained. Zexion would have just cuddled his son and try to push tears back...if only he could cry.
"I'm so sorry Reo...I failed as a Father..." Zexion sighed sadly as he whispered. His elder son groaned slightly and his eyes flickered open.
"W-who hit me?" He winced as he rubbed his head, he looked at the destruction around him as he quickly remembered. "Brother, Jade! Did they get out alright?!" He stood up, causing him more pain so he fell back to the floor.
"Son, calm down, you'll do yourself more damage, they are bound to be okay, and the human-Jade is it?-has two powerful shadows with her, they will be fine." He said, but even Zexion doubted his words.
Suddenly there was a small squeal and the sound of running feet, the two shadows turned around, Reo suddenly to be flattened on the floor once more as Jade leaped at him and cuddled him tight. Lene ran straight for Zexion, her only friend for the moment, and looked relieved to see he was fine.
Firno grinned as he ran up to Reo. "Brother, you're okay! Wow, I almost started to panic back there-Brother?" Firno asked. Reo's squeezed eyes and bitten lip made Jade slide off him.
"That...hurt..." Reo whispered painfully.
"Oh god...I'm so sorry!" Jade gasped as she noticed the wounds on Reo "I-I didn't see! I'm sorry baby..." Jade gently hugged around his neck.
"Baby?" Reo had his tone back, a raised eyebrow made Jade blush as she realized the word had slipped out, and realized just hoe CORNY it sounded. Firno chuckled in amusement, as Zexion just smiled; at least it was one thing; Reo was settling down...in his own action-packed and dramatic way...
"Uh...it's a pet name couples give each other...d-don't worry about it."
Soon, they found their slightly damaged Skimmers and started to drive back to the Condor, Zexion with Reo, and Lene with Firno, when they landed on the Condor, the Storm Hawks were about to welcome them back happily before noticing they had guests.
"Who are those guys?" Aerrow turned to Reo. "And what happened to you?" he asked with a raised eyebrow when he saw all of Reo's injuries.
"Had the majority of Cyclonia fall on top of me...oh! Introductions..." Aerrow's cheek twitched as Reo just brushed the subject off as if it was nothing. "Storm Hawks, this is Lene. as you can tell, she's Jade's Shadow...and this...this is mine and Firno's...father..." Reo spoke as if he still didn't believe it himself.
Aerrow blinked at Zexion, this shadow looked nothing like HIS father; maybe not everything was symmetrical for him and Reo.
"I'm Aerrow, the Sky Knight of this team. This is Finn, Piper, Stork, Junko and my co-pilot Radarr." Aerrow pointed to each member in turn.
*
"There we go, Brother..." Firno mused almost to himself as he patched up the last wound, Reo lying on the bed in front of him. "All patched up."
"This crystal Piper gave me should help speed up the process." Jade smiled and placed a small green healer crystal inside one of Reo's bandages. "I'm sure it'll work for shadows." She gently kissed him. "Man you got me crying when we couldn't find you."
"Really?" Reo turned his head to her.
"Oh yeah, she almost ran out of air, screaming for you." Firno laughed slightly.
"Like you were any better!" Jade grinned as she playfully punched the blonde shadow in the arm which Firno shrugged off.
They all looked over as the doors of Reo and Firno's room slid open.
"We talked with your father; he wants a big discussion about his actions." Piper reported.
"Seems you shadow's really like to talk a lot." Finn laughed slightly.
"We're just too proud." Reo looked up at the ceiling, counting the rivets.
"Well, he said in about an hour, to allow you rest." Piper said before dragging Finn out. "See you then."
Firno glanced at Reo and Jade before clearing his throat.
"I'm going as well. I know what you two are thinking and I don't wish to be a spectator." Firno laughed slightly, Reo picked up the closest thing to him, a roll of bandage, and threw it at Firno's head with a chuckle. When the door's closed after Firno, Jade curled up beside Reo on his bed, playing with his hair. Reo smiled before kissing Jade deeply, just glad she was unharmed and safe.
*
Zexion sat down in the chair, with a mixture of shadow and human around the table in front. It was about time Zexion gave some answers... You know, it's so great to see shadows and humans mixing..." Zexion said softly as he smiles at the group in front of him.
"We're allies now. Only trust bonds us, but...I guess it's a strong one." Firno said with a slight nod
.
"I'm here to explain my actions and answer any questions, so, I best start when I first came to Atmos after being exiled, at the time everywhere I turned, Cyclonia was the hot topic. Apparently, it was growing and on the verge of taking over Atmos, and the Sky Knight of the Storm Hawks was preparing Atmos for it."
"That must have been my Dad." Aerrow smiled slightly. "D-did you meet him?"
"Yes, once, when I asked what was going on as fleets of Skimmers and Carriers flew over me, to battle. I vaguely remember a photograph of a woman and a baby boy...must have been you then, Aerrow." Zexion replied, making Aerrow smile more.
"Cyclonia won, I'm guessing all humans know that…I did nothing to interfere, I couldn't, but a few years ago, something caught my ears. Master Cyclonis', the one you all knew I mean, her grandmother had planned something big, she had been looking at opening up the portal between both worlds, and let the shadows live with the humans again; at first I was angry, I can see on Reo's face now he thinks the same, but look at you guys right now! You're all living together without any problems! Okay, you may not like each other sometimes, but that's normal, the point is there's no constant battle, not killing intent, you showed me, that merging Atmos and the Shadow Realm is possible"
Zexion paused to let this all sink in to everyone in the group before he continued "Then the younger Cyclonis' took charge, researched more into it, and managed to find smaller portals, scattered around Atmos...that was when she stole my son...her original plan was to kill Aerrow yes but her back up plan was to use Reo to find other small portals, and the main one." Zexion paused as everyone turned to Reo, whose fists were clenched.
"I was about to fly over there and show Cyclonis' what I was made of, NO-ONE steals my boys, but I realized, that you were safe...away from your Mother. I heard a rumour Firno was with you...a-and I was relieved. You were both far away from the horror in which you were raised, I started thinking about Cyclonis' plan...and how it could have worked."
"I doubt it would have, I would have had something to say about it-ATMOS would have had something to say about it." Aerrow said with a slight frown as the Storm Hawks nodded around him in agreement.
"Maybe so, but don't underestimate the wrath of the Realm..." Reo muttered softly and Zexion nodded at Reo's response
"Exactly...part of this whole idea was to attract my children's attention, to tell them they weren't alone, I know now…that part of it was in my selfishness...and I beg you're forgiveness."
"Hey, the main thing is that nothing ever happened and it'll all just be stories." Jade smiled as she shrugged a little; at the end of the day she and her friends were still in one piece.
"Yeah, it will just be a rumour the Seaside Shanty will tell to get customers." Finn replied with a lazy grin.
"Not like anyone would believe those stories, would they?" Junko pondered.
"I doubt it, humans are naturally narrow minded...no offence." Reo said.
Zexion looked around at the crowd as they naturally made conversation, he watched as they smiled and laughed and he leaned back in his seat with a fond smile; it was truly a strange but inspirational scene…and for a second, he saw his old sons, the careless and free ones as they talked with their human friends…
*
It was deep into the night; Reo was sitting on his bed, content as he read through some of Piper's books, rubbing his sore arm every now and then. Firno was snoozing lightly from his side of the room, tossing and turning in his slumber, as Reo placed the last of the ten books given to him back down to the floor, he looked out the window in a daydream. He desperately tried to remember his past, it was so clouded and hard to understand, all he remembered was his cloaked father trying to save them, he sighed slightly as he failed to bring up anything.
Suddenly, a cold grip grasped at Reo's ankle, before he could yell for help or get himself free, he was pulled into the Horizon, as he reached the lightweight safe No Man's Land, he looked around for the snatcher. He spotted a tall thin woman floating not so far off, an eerie green glow shone around her, the harsh look in her eyes told Reo he was hardly welcomed, despite the fake kind smile on her face.
The woman then opened her arms, as if to welcome him.
"Hello Araxta..."
Reo froze, that name...it all came back, well, partly. His true name, his real shadow-given name...Araxta...meaning warrior or saviour depending on the context, named after the great King Yazuk Araxta, who would have been his great, great grandfather...
This woman must be his mother...the cruel twisted mother Zexion warned Reo and Firno about, he had to get out of here.
"I've looked everywhere for you." She curled her lip into a plastic smile.
"...Yeah well now you've found me..." Reo narrowed his eyes and he kicked his leg slightly to glide away from the Queen.
"Don't run away from your Mother, Araxta." She snapped bitterly.
"Queen Vexel, I'm not running away from my MOTHER I'm running from my past." He partly told the truth here; most of him wanted to know what happened to him so many years ago, but part of him wanted to forget it and to move on.
Reo suddenly jumped slightly as another hand pulled him back further, but this hand was softer and not as rough.
"Father..." Reo smiled weakly, glad to have someone with him against this person.
"You!" Vexel screeched. "I banished you!"
"I will not let you harm our son again, Vexel! He's been through too much already; let him be until he is ready!" Zexion snapped, a protective arm keeping Reo back.
"He is already good enough to be King-!"
"What?!" Reo protested wide eyes in surprise "I can't be King!"
"You are the eldest and you will follow the tradition, Araxta!" Vexel growled.
"He's only sixty, what are you thinking! He's not even of age just yet!" Zexion protested with a sigh.
"Then he is to learn and train here, in the realm where he belongs!" Vexel hissed her dark eyes narrowed to slits as she talked.
"He needs to stay with his brother-"
"Kratonis? That boy is better off in Atmos." Vexel spat harshly. She blinked when she realized Reo had disappeared, in the confusion, Zexion quickly left.
"Father, are you okay?" Reo said as he sat away from the shadows, Firno standing by his side looking concerned. Zexion climbed out quickly before turning back to the shadow, hovering his hands over it. A calm blue aura curled itself around the shadow before sinking into it.
"There, that should keep Vexel and her followers away from the Condor at all times."
"You met Mother?" Firno looked down at Reo, who nodded.
"Unfortunately...because now..." Reo sighed slightly with disappointment a she glanced at his brother "We have a whole new problem" He finished.