NEO World of Advent Chapter 16
Cipher stared at the red and blue building of Anthem Broadcasting with no small degree of indecision. Did he step inside, tell her "No, I can't leave my Family behind?" Or, as a smaller but growing part of his brain said, "It's one test. It could prove nothing, and the money could more than pay for Charles' treatment." But if it did prove Neige's suspicions… Cipher shook his head angrily. It's not like it mattered right now; Charles was still in the hospital from his freak outburst of flu. The doctors hadn't actually said it was flu, but it was easier to call whatever it was the flu as opposed to the strange series of medical terms he had been given.
Cipher made his way to the general hospital, checking the diagnosis his friend had been given; 'Acute Adaptive Rhabdovirus' was a mouthful, but it might help him be directed to whichever ward they decided Charles was safest in now. They had switched him around three times now after Charles had actually bitten one of the hospital staff in a state of sickened frenzy. Cipher was told that he was better now, but the fact that Charles of all people bit someone was unnerving.
The general hospital was a tall white building that took up an entire block by itself. A giant red cross denoted its purpose as a means for sick people to get better, but the people in Cipher's district knew it by heart. The treatments there weren't anywhere near the quality royal citizens could receive at their more private clinics, but they did the job for much, much cheaper. A reploid wearing a nurse's uniform was busy answering people's questions.
"I'm sorry sirs," she told a large party, "But your friend is too sick to see visitors right now. I will let you know if anything has changed." The men grumbled but gradually dispersed. Cipher stepped forward expectantly.
"I'm here to see Charles of Advent Family 024," Cipher said. "He should be in a ward with… let's see here, 'Acute Adaptive Rhabdovirus?'"
"Let me check," the woman said, clacking away at her computer. "Ah yes, Charles. He seems to be much better now; so long as he doesn't suffer another bite before his next rabies shot, he should be fine."
"Rabies?" Cipher scratched his head, confused. "What does that have to do with anything? And he's up to date on his shots, we all are."
"Apparently not," the female reploid said, clicking her tongue. "Otherwise he wouldn't be here in the first place. At any rate, whatever the doctors did worked. Your brother is free to go home now."
'Excellent." Cipher asked for directions and was given an interactive map he downloaded on his communicator. Following a series of arrows in relation to his position in the hospital, Cipher navigated the series of white hallways, coughing humanoids, and anxious visitors as he traveled to Charles' room. Outside, a family seemed to be beside a lupine reploid who had been given a muzzle. Strange, Cipher thought, but shrugged the manner off; he had come for Charles, not to wonder why reploids had been put in the same ward.
"Hey man," Cipher greeted his friend as he stepped inside. Charles' naturally dark skin was no longer as pale as it was before and he no longer had a bucket kept by his side in case he suddenly became violently sick again, which Cipher took as a good sign. "What're you reading?"
Charles put the book down, happy to see Cipher. "Not much," Charles said. "Just an action novel, nothing really good. It helps pass the time though," he added, looking at the clock. "It's so boring here. I actually miss working at the Shop."
"Wish granted. You're free to go now," Cipher said with a grin. "What bit you, by the way? The nurse told me you had rabies or something. I didn't even know Advents could get rabies."
"Nothing bit me!" Charles' hands flew up in the air as he expressed his frustration. "I kept telling them that, but no one believed me."
"Strange," Cipher mused. "Maybe it was Matt. You never know where he's been, and I wouldn't put it past him to take a chomp out of someone."
"Hah," Charles laughed darkly. "I haven't been near that room since the feathers incident. I told Kent he could get pelted with oil and smothered with pillows instead."
"Duly noted." Cipher held out a hand to help him from the stasis of his hospital bed. "Well, we've missed you. I've been going crazy trying to keep up with everything with you gone. Are you feeling better? You look better, but I need to be sure."
"I'm fine," Charles told him. "The guy next door has it much worse." His voice dropped down to where only Cipher could hear him. "I don't think the doctors expect him to make it."
Cipher gave the grieving family his condolences as they passed by the room with the muzzled reploid. The door was now closed, and the sounds of glass breaking could be heard from inside. The two of them sped up their pace until safely outside. "What do you think that was about," Cipher asked. "Reploids don't usually get that sick."
"It's not just them," Charles said. "I've seen a few humans come by as well, but it's mostly reploids, yeah. I think it has to do with Advents though," he said guiltily. "There was a news report on how we could be passing on diseases that reploids couldn't ordinarily get."
"Hopefully they're wrong," Cipher said. His mind was on the first opponent in the tournament. "We don't need Senator Crux calling for an 'emergency quarantine' again."
Charles rolled his eyes. "There's no way anyone's going to listen to that lunatic. He's old news; nah, there might be a public advisory, but that'll be it."
Cipher nodded. "I hope you're right. Anyway, you can take it easy tomorrow. I'm not going to make you go back to work if you're not fully up to it."
"Nah," Charles said, stretching in the cool breeze. "It's fine. It's about time I start pulling my weight again," he laughed. "Sometimes I feel like you do more than half of us put together, Cy. I don't know how you do it. We'd be lost without you."
Cipher felt his muscles freeze up, feet locked in the direction of Neige's office. His heart beat quickly as Charles asked him what was wrong. "It's nothing," Cipher lied. "I'm just glad to have you back."
Cipher hailed an auto-cab which took them to the apartment complex that they made their home. Shirley was beside the pool, trying to keep the younger children from harassing one of the few residents not part of Cipher's rambunctious Family. "Hey Shelley," Cipher called out. "Look who's back!"
"About time you used my nickname," she called back to him. "And welcome back, Charles! You're late to the party."
Charles laughed as the three of them managed to corral the kids of the Family into the shallowest corner of the shallow end. "I take it the kids wanted to play in the pool again?"
"Yeah," Shirley said. "But we actually planned a party for when you came back. If someone let us know," she projected her voice toward Cipher, "Maybe we could have had it ready for you."
"I guess that makes me early to the party then," Charles said. "Let's get the kids settled first. I do want to see if there's cake though."
"Don't worry," Shirley said. "Joan baked you something the other day. She made us promise not to eat any on pain of death. You should probably let her know you're okay."
"I will," Charles said. "I'll give her a call tonight."
"I'll let her know," Cipher said. "She's usually busy shutting the Forge down at night, but if she's expecting a call, she'll make time for it."
"Gotcha." The three older teens made a pact with the younger kids to play one game with them before heading back upside.
"So," Shirley said. "What's it gonna be, kids?"
"We wanna play Mavericks and Hunters!" No split court there, Cipher thought with some amusement as they spoke up in unison. It was their favorite game to play.
"How am I not surprised?" Shirley smiled. "I'm going to count to ten, alright?"
"No," they said. "Let Cipher do it! It's been ages since he played with us."
"Not true," Cipher reminded them. "We played Marco Polo last night, remember?"
"That wasn't Mavericks and Hunters," Matt reminded Cipher. "Different game, so it doesn't count."
"Fine," Cipher said as he placed his communicator on a chair so it wouldn't get wet. "I don't mind getting wet. You remember the rules, right? I tap one of you on the head and you go to the other end of the pool. Try to swim across without getting tagged and the last one standing wins. Those tagged become mavericks themselves."
"We know the rules," Matt told him sarcastically. "It's not the first time we've done this."
"Just making sure. You can be the maverick," Cipher told him. "I think it suits you." Shirley turned a snort of laughter into a cough beside him. "Go!"
Matt turned the pool into a feeding frenzy. Fittingly enough, the kleptomaniac troublemaker made an excellent maverick and soon the pool was filled with like-minded crazed machines in search of human prey. Matt was so efficient at his job that, by the end of the game, not one of them had managed to escape his grasp.
"Alright," Cipher said. "You had your one game," he reminded them. "It's time to go."
"It doesn't count if no one wins," Matt complained. "That's no fair!"
"Life isn't fair," Cipher said. "Not everyone gets to win." Matt grumbled, but gradually exited the pool in a parade of soggy minors as they were shepherded to their rooms.
"That went easier than I thought it would," Shirley said brightly. "Thanks, Cipher."
"No prob." Cipher held his absolutely drenched clothing at a distance. "I'm going to go dry off, okay? Go set up the party with the others, I'll be right out."
Shirley tossed him a towel from one of the racks nearby. "On it. Just so you know, if you take too long, we're eating the cake without you."
"There is no greater motivation than cake," Cipher said solemnly. "I'll be out soon enough."
Cipher pat down his pockets, realizing that he had left his key card in them when he was inside the pool. "Hey, I may have a problem," Cipher said. "I left my key in my jacket."
"Use mine." Charles tossed him their room key. "Yours'll work once it's dry again. Believe me," he said, "I know from experience." He and Shirley exchanged tales of what they had put in the pool that they shouldn't have as Cipher entered his room.
Inside, the room was as Cipher left it. The beds were made, everything was in complete order. Being two complete neat freaks, Cipher and Charles got along well. Still, something felt off, wrong somehow. Cipher wondered what it was as he stepped inside the shower, rinsing the chlorine from his hair. Everything was as it should be: Charles was back, the kids were headed to sleep, even the hospital bill hadn't been that expensive. So why did he feel like there was something out of place?
It was him, Cipher realized. He had changed. That small unbidden part of his brain that had always longed for a parent had snuck on him, caught him off guard. For years he had managed to keep it quiet it by telling himself that he was alone, an orphan. That he had no family. Neige changed all that when she gave him the option to take the test he had always been forbidden to take. Cipher looked into the mirror as he dried off.
"You can't be their son," Cipher said to the reflection. "And what does it matter, anyway? Even if they are looking for me... You have a Family. They're waiting for you now," he said aggravatedly as if his imitation was keeping him there. "Just forget about the test. None of that matters anymore."
Cipher put on a fresh set of clothes, sighing raggedly. Was it really this hard to do the right thing? He opened the door. Charles stood outside, holding a small paper plate with chocolate cake held high upon it. His mouth was open.
"I got you some cake," Charles said at last. "The others said you were uh, taking too long."
"How much of that did you hear," Cipher asked.
"Enough, I think." Charles set down the plate on Cipher's bed. "Did I hear you right? Did someone find your family? Your real family, I guess that would make it," Charles said softly.
"Someone thinks they did, but it doesn't matter," Cipher reassured him. "I'm not taking it anyway. I'm needed here."
"You should take it." Somehow, those were the last words Cipher had expected to hear. "I know I would." Charles face burned a shameful red as he examined the floor.
"What?" Cipher's mind was in chaos. "You would?"
"Yeah," Charles said. "I'm an Umbrian, you know. I told you that already. My parents never met; Umera put their DNA in a test tube- you know the rest. I wasn't supposed to know that, but they let it slip. I always thought that maybe if they knew I existed they'd want me. When it was just the two of us, I always dreamed of someone offering me a test like that. I guess some part of me still does. I think you should take it, Cy." Charles wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "Who are they? Your parents."
"Charles…" Cipher felt horrible. "You should have said something. I could have arranged for a test, under the table. Why didn't you?"
"My parents didn't want me," Charles said. "They probably don't even know I'm alive at all. But I figured you guys did. You knew I was alive and you actually gave a damn." Charles gave Cipher a watery smile. "I figured a few siblings who I knew cared were worth more than two parents who might. It sounds like your parents do care though," he said. "If they're still looking for you, you shouldn't deny them that. We'll still be here."
"I…" Cipher found himself wiping his face now. "Thank you," he said. "I won't forget you. Or Shirley. Or Brandon. Or Kent. Or even Matt," he said. "You guys are like family to me, you know that? For real."
"I know," Charles said. "That's why we would want you to go. You never said who they were," he said. "But you don't have to tell us if you don't want to."
"I doubt you'd believe me even if did say," Cipher said with a weak-hearted attempt at a laugh. "But I'll tell you guys later."
"Alright," Charles said. "They're probably wondering what we're doing. Let's go enjoy my party, shall we? And eat that cake. I'm pretty sure that was the last slice."
Cipher picked up the plate, feeling as though it were much heavier in his hands. He took a bite. "I've got to thank her," he said. "Joan, that is."
"Yeah," Charles said. "Me too. Maybe we can do it together. One last hurrah." The words were hollow as he said them, even if Cipher knew Charles hadn't intended them that way.
"Let's go see what the others are doing," Cipher said. "Tonight, we're a Family. We'll always be there for each other, even if things don't go as planned."
"I guess so." Charles gave a deep sigh. "Ready to face them? We can just say you hit your head in the shower."
"Ready as I'll ever be." Cipher stepped outside their door to the fanfare of confetti. Kent and Brandon showered them with string while Shirley recorded their shocked expressions. Cipher smiled, naturally this time. Even if that might change, they were still a Family for now. He might as well act like it.
Charles gave him a sideways glance, letting Cipher know he felt the same. The two put on smiles as they told a fabrication of how Cipher slipped on a bar of soap. Charles said it was his fault for leaving it there. The others bought it, too. The only thing they had a hard time believing was that two neat freaks were capable of leaving soap on the floor of the shower.
"This is the start of becoming a slob," Brandon said, arms draped around their shoulders. "It starts slow, with things like soap or forgetting to take out the trash. Soon enough, your room is filled with soda cans and candy wrappers."
"Urgh," Charles said. "No thanks. I'll let it be a one-time thing, if you don't mind."
"Suit yourself," Kent said. "We've embraced the slob life. Let us know if you ever need any expert advice."
"Believe me," Cipher said. "We know how messy you two are. Your room looks like a disaster zone; I don't think we need to take any tips from that."
They laughed, made fun of each other. Like brothers and sisters would, Cipher supposed. Like a real family would. He was dreading the end of the night because he knew what that meant for them. For this. But it had to be done. That small corner of his brain would no longer accept doing the right thing if doing the right thing meant saying goodbye to the best shot he'd ever had at real parents. When the last of the silly string was put away and the place was once again in order, Cipher cleared his throat.
"There's something I need to tell you guys," he said. "I may not be around for much longer."
"You're not dying are you?" Kent's eyebrows shot up, alarmed. "Please tell me that whatever Charles had didn't give you cancer or something."
"No, nothing like that" Cipher said quickly. "I met a woman who said she'd sponsor me for the tournament, Neige. She told me that she might know who my parents are. She says that they've been looking for me all this time." He braced himself for their reactions.
"Who?" Brandon said at last. "Who are they?"
"Zero," Cipher said slowly, aware of how ridiculous it sounded. "And Ciel. The erm, leaders of the Resistance."
There was a long silence in the wake of his words. Shirley laughed. It was higher pitched and strained, not like her usual mix of cackling and snorting. "Nice one Cy. You had us going there for a second."
"You're serious aren't you?" Brandon said it. "You look just like them."
"He is freakishly smart," Charles said thoughtfully. "And if he made it this far in the tournament, he's gotta have some skills right?"
"Woah." Kent shook his head as if trying to process it. "Your oversol's red, right? Like, woah."
"Come on guys," Shirley rounded on them. "It's a joke. Even if that reporter did tell you something like that," she told Cipher, "It was probably just to pull your leg. You got to compete in the tournament and she got a laugh out of it. Fair trade."
"Shirley," Charles said uncertainly, "You don't honestly believe that do you?"
"We need him Charles!" Shirley's back was to Cipher as she looked the others in the eye. "This Family barely functions with him. How do you expect us to get by if he's gone?!"
"It's his family Shirley," Brandon said. "Don't tell me you didn't want this too, at some point."
"It's illegal," Shirley reminded him. "And we're his family." Shirley shook her head slowly as they said nothing. "No, no, no. You can't honestly be okay with this."
"Come on Shirley," Kent said. "Be reasonable."
"I am being reasonable! It's you three that are being crazy. And you," she said, turning to face Cipher. "We're a team. We do this together. They made you the Head of this Family, you can't just abandon it."
"I'm not going to abandon it." Cipher's jaw was set as he said so. "I'll do everything in my power to keep in touch. This doesn't mean goodbye."
"Oh yeah?" Shirley clutched the handle to her door. "Goodbye. I hope you all come to your senses tomorrow. I'm not dealing with any more of this crap." She shut the door with a slam. One of the younger kids next door started crying.
"She'll come around," Charles told him. "You'll see." Cipher stood there as his second-in-command checked on the crying toddler in the next room over. "It's not goodbye forever, right? Just means you won't be around as much."
Cipher stared at Shirley's door, telling himself he was imagining the soft sounds of a sob coming through the cracks. Had he really made the right choice?
