Time for something a bit different…

Chapter 37: Home

Gol sat in the library, chewing on the knuckle of his index finger, staring down at the space on the table above the book open before him. He didn't even know why he was still in here. He had given up on reading some time ago. While he had indeed managed to find a history book discussing the past several centuries, relatively little was mentioned of his time.

The book spoke of the fact that every one of the main forms of Eco had a Sage back then, excluding Dark Eco, of course, though there was scant information on what his dear sister and he had done, the only thing that came close was when the book described a time when Lurkers caused temporary trouble over the land. Lurkers! Their slaves got the credit! Where were they? The rest of the book went on to speak of a great warrior named Mar who founded Haven City, and most of the pages were dedicated to its history and that of Spargus and the people of the Wasteland.

Half-lidded eyes looked up to find Maia leaning against the doorframe, looking ready to fall asleep on her feet. Bandages were still wrapped around her arms, while the more tricky areas were left bare, to show crisscrossing gashes on her chest, healing, but no less raw in appearance. Most distressing of all was the scar still visible on her face. He grimaced. Why was it he could not protect his dear sister from pain of any kind?

"You should be in bed."

She took a shaky step forward, one hand holding onto the doorframe behind her. "I'm fine."

He stood and went to her, and she simply waited and watched, but protested when he grabbed her by the arms.

"I told you…"

"Dear sister, you must rest." That's all you must do from now on. I can't have you hurt again. But, you won't do it, will you?

"It was boring in there," she said, gazing up at him from a shorter height than usual due to the absence of heels, eyes partially obscured by unkempt hair.

"Then, you must sit, dear sister." He brushed this hair from her face and put an arm around her, walking her to the nearest chair. It wasn't like her to be so messy. That was more him, to have wild hair in the morning, while she always emerged from her room pristine, as if she slept standing up to prevent anything from coming into contact with her fountain of hair.

He sat her down on the chair and pulled another one close to her for himself, while she stared off in the direction of the book across the table, either lethargic or with a great deal on her mind. He watched her, wondering if there were any words to say or if she simply needed to be left alone, and then she turned to him and sniffled. "I'm…hideous now!" Her head fell into his chest, and the Sage wrapped his arms around her.

"Now, now, dear sister, you mustn't say that."

"Stop telling me what I can and can't do!" She certainly sounded distraught, but he couldn't tell whether or not she was crying.

"You're in no way hideous, dear sister. The scars will heal, and then you will look just as lovely as you always have."

"They better." By now, he was most certain that she was indeed sobbing, muffled by the way she kept her face pressed to his chest, though her shoulders hardly shook, as if she was holding them steady, like he would miss the crying if she did so. He would have that boy torn limb from limb for this. If it was the last thing he did, he would make him pay for causing his dear sister such distress.

Gol rested his head on top of his sister's and held her close until her sobbing abated, turning into mere sniffs. She could never be hideous. Never. Even if the scars didn't heal.

Eventually, even the sniffing stopped, and they sat in silence, a time where he had done much the same thing a year ago drifting through his mind like a leaf, to be caught on a breeze and blown away, as he focused his attention once again on his sister. She never cried. What in the world was going on? Their lives were one misfortune after another lately. They always had been, really, but even more so this last month.

Maia slid her arms away and moved back to sit up straighter, staring at her lap for a moment before angling her head up again, eyes red, but much of the sadness gone. "What now, dear brother?"

He moved a few strands of her hair back that threatened to fall into her eyes again. What indeed? Much of what they had tried had failed. Yes, they had finally taken Haven City, but it had required them to sacrifice their robot. All that was left was the remains of their factory and maybe one hundred or so of their servants. No doubt the rest had been slaughtered by now, though he didn't care to look.

So did they rebuild or try something else? That was what must be decided now, and he wasn't in much of a mood for thinking of such things as of late. All he knew was killing the boy may be a necessary first step. Why go through all the trouble of devising new plans if he will just stop them again? Troublesome boy. How could his rat and he manage to thwart their plans time and time again? It made no sense at all. It shouldn't be possible!

Gol clutched his chest, pulling in a shuddering breath, then, said at last, "I don't know, dear sister."

She put up a hand, no longer gloved, as her gloves had been sliced too severely for use anymore, to touch the cut on her cheek. "We must destroy them."

"We will, in due time." His voice was soft. The silence this room currently held didn't seem like it should be broken. He just needed some peace right now. He couldn't wait however longer it would take before the world was theirs. Only then would they know true peace, something they hadn't had since they were children. He couldn't have that quite yet, but maybe something else would calm his soul. It ached as much as his body did.

"If you have the strength, dear sister, perhaps we could take a little trip. Now isn't the best time for working."

Her finger continued to trace the scar on her cheek, while eyes that had returned to staring off into the distance focused on his once again. "Where would we possibly go, dear brother?"

"I have just the idea." He stood, a hand out to her, and she took it. He helped her up and grabbed her other arm to steady her. And then he wrapped them in a cloud of Dark Eco, and they found themselves in a place very much unlike their citadel in the Wasteland.

It was green here, a place still untouched by the sands of the desert, nothing but grass and trees all around, wilder now than he remembered. Gol led her by the hand as she moved on footsteps unsure, but stronger than before, the grass soft and cool beneath his feet, just as it was when he was young. They padded along, the area quiet and still, aside from a breeze and the distant chirping of birds. It was so much like he remembered.

But, one thing was missing. He could see it as they ducked beneath drooping boughs blocking their path to find an old town in an indentation in the forest, a clearing long turned wild and overgrown, footpaths now reclaimed by the forest floor, while the canopy above attempted to slowly knit itself back together again.

They stopped and gazed upon this familiar place, scenes of long ago taking up residence in their minds, more real now at having visited the location where they had happened. Good memories and bad ones, but with the complete peace of this place, the good ones were currently strongest of all.

"Home," Maia said.

"Yes." Long abandoned, but here it was, built up a bit more than he remembered, but it was still the same, old place.

She looked up at him, expression unreadable. "But, why here?"

"Where else?" Where else had they had peace, if only for a little while, before the world began to gradually turn against them? Where else had they lived as carefree children, with only positive hopes for their futures? When the world seemed good and kind, because children were too ignorant to know any better. "Come, dear sister."

Gol led her further, to walk amongst the rounded huts, thatched roofs no longer much use anymore, holes forming in them now that they no longer had anyone to care for them. Roots grew through doorways and forced themselves through walls, not content to occupy only the outside anymore, as they attempted to reclaim the homes that no one lived in anymore. Windows, round and dark and empty, but he could imagine the people that lived on the other side of them. People that had cared for them and they had cared for in return, until that changed. But, at first, it was a good place to be, as good a home as any, the relatively few people living here making it that much more a home.

They were people they had once trusted, a trust that was eventually eroded away when these same people began to treat them like outcasts, but right now, he cared not to think of that part. He had for too long, and for now, it was better to think of the short time before all their troubles began. All because they had found a puddle of Dark Eco in the woods. Why should his life and that of his dearest sister's be cursed to go downhill just for that? Was that so great a sin? Had he done something so wrong that this peace had to end for them?

He stopped again when Maia pulled on his hand, facing a house that stood out from the rest, but not in appearance. It looked like any of the others, with slight variations in the size and placement of windows. It was a place he wasn't certain he wanted to see, though, if he had wanted to avoid it, he really shouldn't have come here in the first place.

"Should we go inside, dear brother?" Maia said, her voice soft, almost the way he remembered it, before she had changed.

The door to their childhood home was strangely intact, though the blue paint was long gone, the surface rough and dull. He wasn't certain if this was a sign to stay out, or if it was beckoning him to open it, preserved as it was after however many years abandoned, as if to guard the place until their return.

Maia looked up at him when he didn't answer, and he looked down at her for a moment before releasing her hand. He stepped towards the door, hand partially outstretched before grasping the doorknob. He should be the first to go in. As illogical as it was, he was halfway expecting to find their parents in there, with disapproval on their faces, apparitions that had clung to this world for the sole purpose of waiting for the return of their unruly children they had believed had, in some way, wronged them. This wasn't so much how their mother was, but he could certainly see his father holding onto this and eventually turning her to his mindset.

The Sage turned the knob and opened the door, a horrendous screech splitting the silence. The hinges were almost entirely rusted, and he pushed on the door until it would open no further. He kept his gaze on the door before he forced his eyes over to the darkness inside. He jumped to feel a hand touch his arm and looked back to see Maia, the same unreadable look on her face, gazing inside and then at him. He stepped inside as she came with him, using him for balance for a few more steps before releasing him.

The place was empty of furnishing or other such signs of human life. Dirt and leaves had come in through a broken window and through the holes that had formed in the walls, holes that left rotting boards visible, the debris obscuring much of a rough, wooden floor, speckled with light shining through the now shoddy roof. Several boards had been pushed loose by roots that had grown up through the floor of the kitchen, not far from where the table they had eaten dinner at had been. The sitting area was off to the other side, where they had played or sat in a single armchair to read a story together while their mother worked on dinner.

Maia began to walk forward, shaky steps becoming more steady, as she headed for the doorway in the middle of the far wall, stepping over twigs and feet crunching on the dry leaves. He followed her as she disappeared around the corner to find her outside the room they had shared, which had turned into hers when they had grown older and the spare room eventually became his, to the protest of them both. Finally, an expression he recognized could be seen on her face, a smile, one that spoke of remembered mischief, as she walked into the room. She stopped, fists going to her hips as she looked at the poorly patched up hole in the floor where their first Dark Eco stash had eaten through. Their father had abysmal carpentry skills, and apparently no one had ever bothered to fix his work. The damaged flooring was by the wall, and perhaps the occupants that had come after merely covered it up with furniture.

She turned to him and held her arms out from her sides. "This room is sure small, isn't it, dear brother? Our new rooms are so big by comparison."

"We spent many a night here, staying up past our bedtime when our parents thought we were long asleep, to whisper over the things we did that day and what we planned to do the next."

And even after they no longer shared rooms, one would sneak over to the others' late at night, often times to discuss the future Sage's newest cache of Dark Eco, now much more reasonably stored in sturdier containers he had gotten from their local Red Sage at the time, regularly switched to prevent the same damage as before, which would otherwise have inevitably led to their secret becoming known once again. No one but Maia knew he had it, and he had given a less-than-detailed answer to the Sage when asked why he wanted the containers. He said he wanted them to store Eco (Red Eco, at least, could be nearly as corrosive as Dark, due to its ability to melt things), but he didn't say what kind.

Even then, as a child, he had studied Dark Eco, learning its properties and even seeing what it could do to various objects and plants. And these things he would save mainly for nighttime, when no one could catch him but his dear sister, who was almost always there to watch and assist. They had been a team since even then. They had always been one unit, and he couldn't imagine them ever being apart.

Gol blinked, realizing he had been daydreaming, but looked over to find Maia in the middle of likely the same thing, a tranquil look on her face. At that moment, she looked just like the Maia of long ago. Perhaps the hair and skin color were different, but the face certainly was the same, soft and gentle, like he remembered it had been.

She had changed since then. Not in a bad way, but she had. She had gained a more fiery disposition over the years. She had to. That's what happened when you were treated like an outcast. She no longer cried and worried over what the world thought of them. She no longer felt the same pain from how they were treated. Her sadness turned to anger, which turned into them both finally taking action over the injustices of this world. She was a much better Maia for it, and he hoped he was better, as well. A better man and a better Sage, and most importantly, a better brother to his dear sister.

Yet, at the same time, he couldn't help but lament the loss of her gentler side. Sing again, just once. Let me hear that lovely voice of yours again that I haven't heard in so long. It's been centuries since I've heard it. And how foolish I'd look if I asked. But, why? Is that such a silly request?

Her smile faded as she saw his face. "Is something the matter, dear brother?"

"No, dear sister. Everything is quite all right." Everything will be fine as long as you're here. If only you would sing again, though. That's the one thing missing.

She walked up to him and put her hands on his arms, giving him a kiss on the cheek, before walking by. Her footsteps faded as she moved down the hallway, likely to gaze into other rooms to she what memories she would find. Thoughts of a peace from long ago weren't as comforting as he would've thought, though who really liked to dwell on what they had lost? But, if things were better once, could they not be again?

He sighed and left the room, her returning to him to put her arm around his, though she no longer seemed to need support, her strength coming back to her, as if this calm environment had revived her. They went outside, and their walking led them to the woods, also little different from when they used to wander here as children, aside from the fact that the stream they had once played in had dried up, possibly as a result of the Wasteland choking out its source many miles away.

Maybe this peace could indeed be theirs again someday, once the world was finally under their control. They would cover it in Dark Eco, just as they had planned, and not only would the hideousness of the Wasteland be no more, but the ignorance of the human race, as well. The world would be wiped clean, and perhaps then, and only then, the peace they had felt as children would be restored to them. Maybe then Maia would go back to being the gentle soul he used to know, and maybe he would finally hear that voice of hers again that he had been longing to hear.

They stayed a time longer in the woods, stretching off into the distance in such a way it was no wonder, as children, they had believed it covered the entire world. If felt like that even now that he had seen with his own eyes that such a notion was not true.

It was quiet and calm and cool in the shade, but it really was about time to return to the heat and the desolation of the desert, so they could continue their work.

I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Please review.