Our Little Crusader

A clock that sat innocently on a desk ticked quietly. This did not last as suddenly it rang out and continued to do so as an arm smacked a nearby nightstand on the other end of the room in a vain effort to silence the device.

"Shut up," the owner of the arm groaned as got out of their bed to silence the noise.

The ringing continued until the individual, a Slugcat, reached the clock and shut the alarm off. With another yawn, they stretched before looking through the blinds of a nearby window.

"Huh… Rain's heavy this morning," he muttered as they opened the blinds fully.

Walking out of the room, they noticed a light down the hallway. Blinking and rubbing their eyes, they walked towards it and into the lit living room.

"Morning Mom," he let out another yawn, "What's for breakfast?"

The figure sitting at the table said nothing...not that she could verbally even if she wanted to. Instead, she just held up a carton of eggs.

"Eggs again? Seriously Mom? We live on an island and I know Dad buys fish every other day," the individual blinked the tiredness out of his eyes to glare.


Their mother was definitely a unique person. Rich purple fur, piercing silver eyes, slender frame, a large barbed tail of quills, and no mouth. This was Seven Ackerson, a Slugcat built to be an apex predator and lethal bioweapon now sitting at a kitchen table, eating a raw egg with one of her tail quills stabbed through it. Despite lacking a mouth, she was doing a very good job of giving an unimpressed glare with a frown.

Don't start with me , she signed with her hands and subtle facial twitches, It's one of the few things we can all eat as a family and you know it.

"Is it so much to want something different for once?"

You had popseed with your father yesterday Charlie. Stop complaining.

"You know it's really annoying to have my digestive system sometimes," Charlie sighed as he sat down in front of his mother and glared at the eggs, "Why did Grandpa have to decide vampiric needles coming out of our tails was a good idea? We have mouths for a reason."

I've never had one and your windpipe is right next to your esophagus which creates a choking hazard. Now stop complaining and have your breakfast either with your mouth or tail or be hungry.

Charlie Ackerson was quite similar to his mother in some ways and radically different in others. A rusty brown coat of fur, a small mouth filled with sharp teeth, stocky yet short body, hardened plates running down his back, his own barbed tail, and silver eyes. His face was currently in a scowl which was directed towards the eggs which got broken when his stomach growled.

Seven got his attention by lightly knocking on the table, I'll go get some spices later and we can make a soup tonight. Tell me how it tastes?

"Sure. But can you try to get some sausages as well? Please? I'll even eat the ones Dad likes if it means something different," Charlie replied with a smile.

You hate the taste of those.

"Which is why I'll eat them with this," Charlie grabbed his tail and held it up, not at all bothered by the quills.

If you say so , Seven shrugged before taking her own quill out of the now empty egg and before stabbing it into another one.


"Someone mention me?" a second voice asked from the hallway.

It was clear as day that Charlie was in no way biologically related to Ryan Ackerson outside of being a Slugcat. Ryan was far less exotic than the rest of his family; sporting a bright blue coat, large expressive eyes, and a few whiskers that doubled as gills were his defining physical features.

"Just saying that your taste in sausage is terrible," Charlie commented as he got up with the egg carton and walked to a nearby stovetop.

"Meh, whatever," Ryan shrugged as he reached into a cabinet for a bag of coffee, "Insult this and then there will be a problem."

"Ha! As if I'm crazy enough to insult your coffee. You've told me enough stories from your war days about arguing over which brand is better."

Ryan's smile faltered and a fast look towards Seven was all he needed to know that she was experiencing similar emotions. While their reasons were different, both were quite careful about which memories to bring up whenever they decided to go that far back into the past. Six years might have been a lifetime for them both, but it was never enough to cause those memories to fade away.

"Yeah I got into so many fights with Martin over that," Ryan said as he began to measure out the beans, Wonder how he's doing… Is he still living with his sister?

For a brief moment, he saw Charlie flinch and knew he had wandered into the past for a second too long. Blinking, he smiled and resumed focusing on the coffee.

"Anyone else want?" he offered, shaking the bag.

"I'll have some. Mom as well," Charlie said as he cracked an egg.

"Three mugs of stupid coming right up!"

Within a few minutes he had brewed the coffee and Charlie set aside another plate of eggs for him. Seven accepted her own coffee mug and promptly placed her quill into it, slowly draining the liquid inside. He sat down next to her and Charlie and began eating.

It was a quiet and simple breakfast. No one was in a rush today and even if they were, there would have been plenty of time to eat. All three Slugcats simply enjoyed the quiet as the sun broke through the clouds and lit up the living room.


Charlie was far less controlled than he usually lets on. He knew he was far smarter than any other juvenile Slugcat his age should be, had a near photographic memory, and had a heightened perception that only his mother could surpass (as far as he knew that was). His school saw him as a prodigy, he had the respect of several of his classmates, and two loving parents. It was a dream any kid would want.

But it felt off. Mom would sometimes look at him and see someone else. Dad hid his insecurities and bad memories behind his peppy attitude. Some of the students outside of his class whispered about him behind his back when they thought he could not hear them. Charlie was different and there was nothing that could change that fact.

What made it worse was that he knew why he was different. He was intelligent, perceptive, and very mature for his age...far too much so in any category. Charlie was a perfect mix of two combat oriented purposed organisms and it often left him feeling like he was anything but perfect.

"Hey Ackerson, you done brooding?" a voice broke him out of his thoughts, a rare and welcomed instance of where he was caught off guard.

"I am now Jack," Charlie smiled as he saw a Scavenger walking towards him, "Though you've now given Nathan away."

"You're not even looking at me," a voice complained behind him.

"Bud, you hitched your breath the moment Jack caught my attention, the gravel under your feet crunched, and you smell like eel lizards and seaweed which no amount of flower scented soap is going to mask," Charlie said without turning around as he got up from the bench he had been sitting on, recorder case in hand.

Walking into his vision was an ordinary Slugcat with a green coat and a glare on his face while carrying a violin case, "What kind of flowers?"

"Oh this is going to be good," Jack sat on his haunches and rubbed his hands with a chuckle, putting the accordion he had been carrying down next to him.

"You look like an evil villain in a comic strip," Charlie commented with an eye roll, "Blue honeyfields, imported from the mountains in the Rainlands. I use the same brand and Mom had a few of them growing in the garden back in the winter."

"Okay flowerboy," Nathan threw an arm up in exasperation, "Now are we going to head inside and learn something or are we just going to continue sitting around for the rain to start up again?"

Charlie rolled his eyes and picked up his school bag as well. Despite being two years younger than his friends, he felt like an equal to them and they treated him that way. They did not care that he was the overly smart, hyper aware kid that ran figurative and literal circles around everyone (themselves included). Instead, they were more interested in messing around and practicing their instruments.

"All right all right," Charlie threw the bag over his shoulder and started to walk for the door, "You guys need any last minute help with your homework or are you good?"

"Got it done and double checked it last night," Jack said as he got up.

"Mine's done though I wouldn't mind a fast check for the science stuff," Nathan shrugged, "Though I know you hate that stuff."

"I don't hate it," Charlie opened the door and held it for them, "It's just boring. If anything, cooking is more fun than what they're teaching."

"What does cooking have to do with science?" Nathan scrunched his face in confusion.

"It's chemistry," Charlie shrugged only to receive blank stares, "I'll explain it when you two are older then."

"We're older than you," Jack muttered.

"Not old enough to understand basic chemistry, let alone the really interesting stuff."

"What's the 'really interesting stuff?'"

"You just had to ask," Nathan sighed, "Look, I don't need a lesson in whatever before school starts. So how about Charlie checks my dumb science homework before it's too late for him to go through it and for me to fix it, yeah?"


School was usually boring for Charlie. The other kids complained about learning and not having the freedom to do whatever they wanted, not Charlie. As far as he knew, he was one of a handful of students who were closely related to purposed organisms (within three generations of a family that is, anything after that the genetics start to become less exotic) and combat oriented ones at that. For him, school was boring because it was too easy and there was no good way for him to reach more advanced courses simply due to his age. He personally blames Aunt One for this because she got him that encyclopedia last year and it contained far more interesting material.

But this was not usual. If anything, Charlie was more confused than ever. For whatever reason, his new homework project for the month was to present his family ancestry. How exactly is he to do that?! His grandparents were biological supercomputers that supposedly predate recorded history itself, his aunts and uncles on his mothers side of the family were combat purposed organisms (it got even more complicated if the maintenance and research lines were considered), and he barely even knew his fathers side of the family.

And then there was the rain deer in the room (what was a rain deer exactly and who made that phrase?): He knew almost nothing about his biological father. All that Charlie did know was that they had been a purposed organism, played a vital role during the war nearly seven years ago, and that the rest would be something that he would learn about when his parents were ready and when he was older.

"Uh, mister Logger?" Charlie raised his hand in question.

"Yes?" the teacher, a Scavenger, replied.

"I can understand history that history is important and all of that but...why exactly are we doing this? Did they change the curriculum?"

"Oh great, the know it all is giving us more homework," a student complained.

"There he goes again," another muttered.

"Ahem! I will have none of that and if I hear anymore of it there will be consequences," Logger warned, "To answer mister Ackerson's question, this is a recent change. The school council decided that the recent war has given us much to consider. After all, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

The class sat in silence. Charlie failed to see how that answered anything related to his question.

"The goal of this project is to teach you about where you came from and how your past will shape your lives. It could be because of the war, immigration from a foreign country, a family business closing due to change… Well, you'll learn more about yourselves doing this project than playing sports."

Well if he's going to put it that way… Still is going to make dinner tonight complicated, Charlie thought before horror struck him, How do I explain this to Mom and Dad?!

An hour after school Charlie was with his friends. They had decided to spend the afternoon with each other before heading home, climbing up an old repurposed factory complex that had a park on top of it. Unfortunately, their plans to spend the afternoon going over homework and playing their instruments had been ruined by the temperamental weather. This had the unfortunate effect of leaving nothing to distract Charlie from the thoughts in his head.

"You know, I understand we live in a temperate rainforest climate but this is just silly," Nathan growled, pointing at the weather with his violin bow, "How much is it going to rain today?"

"Could be the Rainlands and have Iterators dumping boiling water on your head every week along with the regular rain," Jack shrugged, accordion strapped and hanging from his neck.

"We have an Iterator nearby doing that all day. He just dumps it into the ocean constantly."

"Which generates steam and clouds which causes rain to happen."

"Okay, when did you become Charlie?"

Charlie blinked as he registered the comment, "Hey!"

"It's the water cycle. We literally covered this stuff last year Nathan," Jack said plainly.

Charlie ignored his friends as his mind continued to wander. Thoughts about his project kept floating in his head like disorganized batflies. While the argument faded into the background, he tried to clear his head and stared up at the ancient chimneys and antenna arrays reaching towards the rainclouds.

To think people in the Rainlands climb those on a regular basis, he thought as he listened more to the rain than his friends, Did Mom do the same? Did..."Dad?"

"Hey! Reality to Charlie!" Jack knocked lightly on Charlie's head.

"Cut it out!" Charlie snapped, arm snapping up to cease the annoyance and quilled tail flaring.

"Easy there, spikey butt. Just reminding you to get your head out of the clouds."

"That was terrible and you know it," Nathan sighed before he turned to face Charlie, "So what's up there and what's bothering you?"

"Just something I need to handle in school," Charlie replied, releasing Jack's arm and relaxing his tail.

Both Jack and Nathan glanced at each other with surprised looks.

"All right… Who do we need to talk to?" Nathan said with an edge in his voice.

"It's not that," Charlie sighed as he put his recorder away and grabbed his bag, "And it's not something you guys can help with.

"Wha-?! Where are you going?!" Jack exclaimed.

Charlie said nothing as he walked out into the rain. It felt a bit uncomfortable and cold but he was too emotionally wrapped up to care.

"Hey! Would you just stop and talk to us?" Nathan ran in front of Charlie with a concerned expression, "What's wrong?"

"It's a family thing… And I don't know how to handle it," Charlie answered, hands twitching nervously.

"What does your family have anything to do with school? You're the top of your class!"

"Stop… You can't help with this Nathan."

"I can't if you won't talk to us!"

"It's personal. Just stop."

"No! You need to stop!" Nathan snapped, "You keep acting like every little thing is your problem and whenever you need the help you push us away! Do you have any idea how-?!"

"Nathan! Let him go!" Jack ran out to them.

Nathan growled but ultimately relented. Charlie was glad he was standing in the rain, it helped hide the fact his stinging eyes were filled with tears. He gave Jack a nod of approval and continued walking away.

"I hate it when he does this," he heard Nathan behind him.

"He can still hear you," Jack warned.

"I don't care."

"You know how he is. He'll bounce back later tonight."

"He better… Why can't he let us help whenever he's like this?"

Charlie turned around a corner in a stairwell and took a shaky deep breath. He knew he was being unfair to his friends. He knew he was setting himself up for more pain. And he definitely knew this was not the right way to act his age as an immature six year old brat who blew things out of proportion.

It was times like this where his instincts and emotions tore him apart that he hated his life.


Seven was busy painting in the living room. The rain had started to let up and the early evening sunlight was starting to break through the clouds. It had been a quiet day for her and she found herself in her favorite pastime of artwork. Anyone who knew what but not who she was would have found it bizarre that she enjoyed such an activity. For her, it was a running joke within her family that her father's combat line of purposed organisms were deliberately given softspots to turn them into overgrown children for him to care for.

Her thoughts were broken when the front door opened. She briefly caught sight of Charlie rushing down the hallway, not even slowing down to greet her. The sound of his bedroom door closing loudly caused her to flinch. With a huff and a flared tail, she put her paintbrush down and closed the open front door.

If we have to file another complaint to the school I'm turning someone into a pincushion, she thought as walking down the hall.

With a gentle knock, she opened Charlie's door. He was sitting on his bed fidgeting with his tail and soaking wet.

What's wrong? , she signed after knocking on the door.

"Oh hi Mom! Sorry I didn't say anything," he said quickly and let go of his tail with a false smile.

What's wrong?

"Just got into a disagreement with Jack and Nathan earlier. I'll apologize later or tomorrow if it gets too late," his hands rapidly twitched in broken sign language while his voice was anxious, "Anyway, I should probably get a start on my homework!"

Stop hiding , she snorted with a glare and grabbed his hands to steady them.

Looking at his face she could instantly tell something was wrong. Charlie had inherited some of Ryan's peppy attitude and was an expert at hiding his emotions, but Seven was a master at finding hidden details. Something was bothering her son and she would stop at nothing to fix this.

Easing him back onto the bed and sitting down next to him, she changed her expression from annoyed to concerned, It's okay, I can help. What's wrong?

Charlie took a shaky deep breath and avoided looking at her, "Mister Logger gave us a new project. I'm not sure what to do about it."

He was still deflecting her but it was a start.

"He said it's about learning who we are and our past… Though he also mentioned history. Still not sure what he meant by that," Charlie's hands started twitching again, "I mean...it makes sense but I don't know how to do it. Or rather I know how to do it but I don't at the same time, you know?"

Seven noticed he was struggling very hard not to cry as his hands twitched faster. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed.

"It's to map out a family tree. I know I can talk to you and Dad about the family but there's also 'Dad' to talk about and I know we don't talk about him," he got up and began pacing with his hands no longer forming proper words and tail swishing anxiously, "Like, I can't just ignore my biological father but I know nothing about him. But every time we bring him up you get upset and Dad gets uncomfortable and-"

Seven got up and tightly gripped his hands. He stood in shock and blinked, not realizing he had started crying. She knew exactly what he was trying to do and it broke her heart.

Damn you Hannibal. There's too much of you in him and I can't even be angry at you for that, she thought as she hugged Charlie who began to openly cry.


Seven felt older than she was. For nearly thirty years she had wandered from one task to another. She remembered being cold and clinical on most of those tasks, focusing on the job and getting it done with little patience for inefficiency or wasted time. The less time she spent with people the better, no one felt comfortable around a biological weapon and she did not want to be reminded about what she was.

But then there was Hannibal. At first they were work associates, then they were professional coworkers, then friends, and finally at the very end they had become lovers. Hannibal had accepted who and what he was and embraced it regardless of genetic programming. Always caring for others without sacrificing a moment all while being a combat purposed organism just like her. In the end, he had been more than a purposed organism and died as a free Slugcat who could look back at his life with dignity.

Of course, he left an impact on Seven's life in more ways than one. The biggest, however, was a single night where they made the wonderful mistake of ignoring professionalism and deciding to admit to their feelings. A few months later, after the war and him passing away, she had to deal with the consequences of that beautiful, wonderful mistake that she would have repeated a thousand times without any regrets.

And just like that, Seven was given the most important assignment of her life: Be a mother for her Little Crusader. When she first held Charlie, she knew that he was the perfect mix of her and Hannibal. Charlie was intelligent but humble, strong but gentle, cheerful but wise. He also inherited her analytical process of compartmentalizing her emotions and Hannibal's overly compassionate nature, the greatest gifts and curses to receive from his biological parents.

This is my fault, Seven thought as she gently brought Charlie into her lap as he cried softly while curling into a ball, I have ignored my past for too long.

Seven had done a lot over the course of her life. She had delivered confidential information that was dangerous no matter who was in control over it, hunted down and eliminated rogue combat purposed organisms that were a threat, pushed aside her political apathy in order to help ordinary people, fought in a war that changed everything including her beliefs…

Became a mother to a wonderful son who never got the chance to meet the Slugcat who stole her heart all those years ago. Nothing in all of her experience could have prepared her for motherhood and even now, after six years, she barely knew what she was doing. That hurt a lot more than any trip down memory lane.


"I'm home!" Ryan called as he walked through the door.

The house felt strangely quiet despite the sound of Charlie's recorder being played in the background. Seven was sitting at the table with a steaming pot of soup and three bowls ready, all of them untouched. She glanced at him and held up a notebook, her primary means of "talking" to him. The fact she looked miserable and the general atmosphere of the house informed him that he was not going to like what he was going to read.

Need to talk

School project, family tree

Hannibal

I need help

Ryan sighed and sat down. He knew this day had been coming and in many ways he had forgotten about it. He loved Charlie and would gladly sign up for another war for the kid if he had to. But...Charlie was not "his" kid and there was nothing that would change that fact. It was a painful reminder that he had been initially a replacement for Hannibal, someone to fill in the missing gap of a father figure. Sure Ryan quickly became a father, but he knew Charlie would never be "his" kid.

Even so, he was still a parent and a husband and this was his family. He was not going to run away from this even if it was painful… He owed them and Hannibal that much.

"He's not asking but he wants to," Ryan stated rather than questioned.

Seven nodded, having an ashamed look on her face.

"Did you tell him anything yet?"

She shook her head.

"Ideas on what he really wants to ask?"

Some

He's more concerned for us

"Of course he is," Ryan ran a hand down his face as a sharp, out of tune note rang out.

He's been playing for hours

"How bad was it when he got home?"

Forgot to close the front door while raining

Soaked but sat on bed

Hands shook too much to talk

"He rambled?"

Yes

Ryan…

Am I a good mother?

Oh this is just fantastic! He spent a long day fixing boat engines, had shocked fingers, had to argue over missing replacement parts, and now he comes home to this.

"Stop it. This isn't helping anyone, Sev. You're a Slugcat and you make mistakes just like anyone else. You're more than a purposed organism, you're his mother and he needs you. I know you're better than this so why aren't you acting like it?!" the sound of the recorder screeching again cut through his frustrations, "Stay here and get the bowls ready. I'm going to talk to him, we're going to have dinner as a family after that, and then the two of us are going to talk like adults. He needs us and if Hannibal were here he would be telling you the same thing."

That's not fair

"Good," Ryan got up and started for the hallway, "I'm tired, had a long day at work, and have this to deal with now. I'm not in the mood to be fair with you if you won't be fair with yourself."

Ryan walked down the hallway and stopped in front of Charlie's door. It was closed and the music had stopped. Ryan knew Charlie overheard him and his footsteps. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and knocked gently.

"Hey kiddo… Can I come in?" he asked quietly.

There was no response.

"We're not angry at you. I know you heard me just then but… I'm not angry at your Mom either. I had a long day and just let it get to me. You did nothing wrong and you're just trying to do your schoolwork."

"It's more than that," Charlie muttered only loud enough to be heard through the door.

Well I guess my drill sergeant was right about ignoring personal problems for too long. "I'm coming in."

Ryan opened the door and saw Charlie was sitting in his desk chair gently holding his recorder as if it were a lifeline. Ryan sighed and sat down on the bed, ignoring the fact the sheets were still wet.

"Okay… Enough hiding and hurting yourself for our sakes. I want to hear what the problem is and you're going to talk to me. Up-buh-buh-buh!" Ryan raised a finger as Charlie opened his mouth to protest, "You're going to talk and if that means a rant you're going to rant. If you want to make me feel better you have to tell me what's wrong. Got it? No false smiles, no half truths, no ignoring the problem, just the truth. I know you know exactly what I mean so talk, I can handle it."


Charlie blinked and put his recorder on his desk with a sigh. He felt confused and awful. Realistically, he knew he did nothing wrong and he really did want answers. At the same time, he hated these situations because it made him feel as if he was hurting his parents by making them uncomfortable about sensitive topics.

"It's stupid. All of this is so stupid. I'm better than this and I hate that I know that. I hate that Mom looks at me and sees someone else. I hate that you look at me and feel as if you're not my Dad. I hate that I am too sympathetic and have to help everyone else when the real person who needs help is myself. I hate that sometimes I feel like a fake, like someone who is better than everyone else because he cheated when I'm just acting like myself. I-I-I just hate all of it sometimes because I feel like I have to live up to someone I don't even know and that all I can do is be me and I don't even know who that is half the time!" Charlie shouted, hands subconsciously signing broken sentences and pulling at his ears while his tail erratically swayed.

Dad just sat on the bed with a tired expression. He did not have his usual smile or energy and he was emotionally tired. Charlie hated seeing Dad like that, it felt wrong. Dad was always peppy even when he was exhausted.

"I just… I just want to know who I am," Charlie collapsed into a corner and curled into a ball with his eyes closed, "I want to be me without hurting anyone. I don't know how and I hate that so much."

"You hate that many things that much huh? Charlie...do you hate yourself?" Dad asked.

Charlie opened his eyes and saw Dad crouching next to him, "N-no," he sniffled, "I just want things to make sense."

"Come on. I want you to see something," Dad said gently as he offered a hand to help Charlie up.

Charlie grabbed the hand and was pulled up. Whipping his eyes and nose, he followed Dad to the bathroom.

"Look in the mirror," Dad said as he flicked on the light, "What do you see?"

Charlie knew this was a test and that Dad was asking about much more than a reflection, "A confused little brat who can't even act his age right," he answered with bitter sadness.

"I see a young man with a big heart and a sharp mind," Dad said quietly as he grabbed a washcloth to wipe away the tears, "He's upset, overly concerned, and confused. He loves his friends and family, is intelligent, and strives to help others. He's flawed like everyone else and that's what makes him special.

"I also see a father who forgets that he has an important role in that young man's life. I see a retired soldier who bitterly hurts those around him because he gets lost in the past without even realizing it. And I see a fool who makes mistakes and ignores them until someone else pays the price."

Dad let out a long sigh as he put the washcloth in the sink, "Listen to me Charlie. I'm flawed, so is your mother, and so are you. There's nothing wrong about that. It's okay for you to be confused because we're confused sometimes. You're smart but you're only six and you have a lot to learn regardless of how smart you are. It's our fault for leaving you in the dark for so long when we should have seen that you were asking for our help. Our past is painful but...that's a part of life as is facing it. And as for your father… He would be proud of you just the way you are. He would want you to be yourself and live free from his shadow. He would want you to be Charlie Ackerson and happy for you the same way we are. You're our son and the only person you need to live up to is yourself."

"I know… Thanks," Charlie sniffled quietly as he hugged Dad, "I love you Dad."

"Love you too Charlie. No matter what happens or where you came from, you'll always be an Ackerson and our Little Crusader," Dad replied, hugging him back.

Charlie chuckled out a weak laugh at the nickname as he cried happily.


The rest of the evening went by quietly with far less drama. The Ackersons had dinner together and agreed to wait for the weekend before starting on the project. Charlie spent the rest of the evening doing his daily homework while his parents cleaned up. By the time he had fallen asleep, the dishes had been taken care of and his homework stored into his school bag. Seven and Ryan were left alone in the living room as the distant sounds of thunder were heard.

"So… We still need to talk," Ryan said as he and Seven sat next to each other, notepad in Seven's hands.

We do

"To start… We both have made mistakes. We knew we would when we got together."

More than a few

Will make more

"And we'll handle them together. Starting by helping him and doing what we need to."

Wish I did better earlier

Hate that I can't talk

"And I hate that I can barely understand your silent conversations with him. We have our ways to get a point across. And you're a good mother even with today being...a mess."

We're a mess

"A disillusioned soldier and a purposed organism who pretend they're perfect. Who would've thought they weren't?"

Very funny

Thank you

For being you

Don't think I could've done this without you

"I'm sure you could've."

…Probably

The two of them sat quietly. After the emotions have settled and the hours passed, there really was nothing left to talk about.

"Hey… Think we could do a family reunion? It's been a while since I've seen my parents and they still haven't met Charlie in person."

Maybe during next break

Been a while since mine got together

Not sure about Father

We're not visiting his facility

"He can send one of his eyeball thingies."

Overseers

"One of those."

I'll let him know

…Ryan?

"Yeah?"

Two questions

1: Do you want to make a wonderful mistake ?

2: Can you bring "Ruffles" back to do it?

"Uh… Those are not what I expected to hear from you tonight… I haven't been Ruffles in years. Why do you want him back?"

He was positive, happy, could make bitter cynics genuinely smile

Think we need him back for a little bit

"Heh, yeah I guess I was a different Slugcat back then. Maybe I just got old."

We got old when we saw and did too much

Getting old probably was the best thing either of us could have done

…Well...do you?

"Thinking about having more kids, Sev? Isn't one enough?"

Yes and why not more?

Time to be a Sev Ackerson

Not just Seven on an assignment

Not fair to Charlie

…Also want another kid

Specifically with you

Hannibal would encourage it if he was here and saw us

Need to embrace all of myself, not just " Seven "

"All right, you make a compelling argument. I guess I should remember that Ruffles is a part of this just as much as the rest of me is and I wouldn't mind another Crusader running about...just let's find the right time to do it… Hey Sev?"

Yes?

"I love you."

I love you too Ryan


Charlie woke up to a thunderclap in the middle of the night. Grumbling, he turned over and fell back asleep. He dreamed about a memory he had at a beach two years ago. He was sitting between Mom and Dad watching a meteor shower. Mom was drawing the scene while Dad commented on shapes that streaked across the sky. He remembered being in awe of the bright lights in the sky and the feeling of comfort being with his parents.

As the dream slowly faded as sleep took him, Charlie felt happy. He had a crazy family with a complicated past, but it was still a family that loved him and he loved it right back.

What more could he ask for?


So this is something different from my usual writing projects. Going into this, I wanted to treat it as an experiment. Truthfully, it's not the most complicated story but it's the one I wanted to write. Does this mean I'm changing what I usually write? Nope, but it does mean I'm willing to branch out more. Much like this story, life is both a complicated mess that throws you for a loop and a very simple day-in day-out process. Even if I do plan to bring Ryan and Seven back for a different story, this is more about the quiet daily slice of life they go through after they're done dealing with Iterator nonsense. Their days of being involved with history defining moments ended a long time ago, they have a kid to look after.

Now for some explanations about the characters and why they are so different from one another. In my headcanon for this story setting, purposed organisms are born as fully grown adults who only need a refresher course to make sure they can do their jobs and take care of themselves. The accelerated aging ceases to be a factor upon "birth" and they are very much their own individuals even with genetic programming, but they are adults with everything programmed into them. If they are programmed to be a super soldier, a maintenance worker, a security guard ect. they are going to be that regardless of personal opinions/quirks.

Charlie is not a purposed organism but the offspring of two of them, thus having a rather interesting genetic makeup even by Slugcat standards. This results in him having the mental capacity of a teenager, the physical body of a tween, and six years of experience to process this all while being aware of it in the first place. Also factor in that he's very good at ignoring his emotions until they boil over and that he's empathetic to a fault regarding other people… Well you can see that he's a very confused individual who just needs to be reminded about the little things that matter more than the big scary picture.

Seven is indeed the Spearmaster and she is her own mess. She is not the fearless bioweapon who completes the mission regardless of the odds in this setting, those days are long done and over with. Instead, we have a self-conscious middle-aged woman who has insecurities and is at times out of her league because she has a job she wasn't prepared for even six years later. Sure, she still is a super soldier who can take the world by storm, but she's a mother who has her own baggage at the moment and that's a lot more difficult for her.

And then there's Ryan AKA the Rivulet… Yeah truthfully I wanted him to be something other than the airheaded, overly cheerful, speedy cartoon character the internet has painted him to be. He does have that peppy attitude and loves his coffee, but he's very grounded and down to earth because he's a regular Slugcat unlike the rest of his family and thus thinks/acts like an ordinary person. It's because of these facts and him processing things differently that makes him the voice of reason in this story. Sure he's a stepfather trying to fill in the void of someone else and a veteran with personal baggage, but after six years being a family man he knows how to step up to the plate when he has to. He's also the "normal" one in the family and reminds his family that sometimes you just need to stop, appreciate the little things in life, and it's okay to be "normal" so long as it's your "normal." You don't need to be perfect, just be yourself.

Other than all of that exposition...yeah I feel pretty good about this one-shot. If anyone wants me to return to this setting or want their own spin on it, feel free to let me know. If requested, I can also share the region concept that I have related to the Crusader's story (as in an in-game Rain World character, not Charlie as we see him here).

Until next time, take care and happy readings!

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