middleofsomewhere | So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

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So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

Time to leave!

There is not much of the city left, but the park is holding together as those anchoring help those who are not voidtreckers through back to where they belong. Monsters continue to attack and a little further out there is a battle of hearts and minds being fought with the mass of colours and chaos.

Eventually, after the bulk of citizens had been evacuated everyone with SCA's on would hear Jin-Roh's voice after a few frantic beeps, as Chiff aligned everyone's SCA's. "We are almost done here, if you are with anyone not tethered to a voidcraft get them to the evacuation point, as quickly as possible."

Anan pulls out of the anchoring point to call out to any defenders in the park. "Come on! Anyone who isn't a voidtrecker! It's time to go."

Luckily those off fighting the entity headed the message and made their way to the park as Jin Roh spoke again.

"Everyone else get ready. When we call it you need to leave. If you don't have your SCA on then get to someone who does."

As the last people rushed to the park Anan calls out again, through her SCA and outloud to the park. "You need to unanchor, before you can evacuate. Everyone be ready."

She goes in again though, because there are some last people, those from the large battle, getting through as another message was called.

"Almost there. Be ready. On my command..."

Anan unanchored again. "Quick everyone unanchor."

"NOW" Jin Roh's voice came through strong on their SCA's. Hopefully those with SCA's would grab those without.

There is some outside help as well, the train pulls anyone who is unconscious or still under the entity's control, forcibly evacuating them. This includes Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji and Zagreus.

Luggage Carriage

There has been a mass evacuation before and that was crazy enough but since then the population of the train has almost doubled and now it is an extremely tight squeeze as everyone crashes into the luggage carriage at the same time.

The train jerks and rolls as they enter into the void at breakneck speed and again as they seem to slow, rather than speeding off though the void.

There's a crackling from their SCA's. "Voidtreckers? Voidtreckers come in!" Anan's voice. "Please tell me you made it..."

There's only a few moments of signal and soon they are flying though the void again, away from the strange non-world, the entity sealed for now. To new adventures, but first hopefully some time to recover from all that has happened.

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There really was no worry for her falling. As soon as Caleb started moving with her, one of her tentacles has wrapped itself around Caleb's forearm to form a base. "When I found Essek, he was... so scared and worried, like he saw the worst thing he could think of happen to him. Did that happen to you too?"

"... Something like that. But I... nn. This isn't the place to explain... that. Just... know that when you came in that night, I answered things the best that I could without outright lying." He wasn't a good person. He was put away for a long time... those things were still true.

Her eyes open, looking more lively than they were a minute ago. "Caleb..." Hmn... how to say this. "I want to tell you something, but it may be too... familiar." He owed her nothing, the least of all a relationship that he would rather forget.

"... We can talk in the room. Hopefully no one else is about." And hopefully he doesn't fall asleep on the way there, because his body is threatening that idea very hard.

Eight nodded, but took that as permission to mention what she wanted to say: "I'm... not a good person, too."

"I think we're not exactly alone on that one." He smiles a tiny bit and rubs the top of her head a little fondly. Ugh, okay. Getting there. Almost there, then they can collapse.

She remains quiet for the rest of the trip, only to hop onto her bed by the time they get there. Ordinarily she would fly out of Caleb's arms, go into a barrel roll, and transform into a human as she landed onto her bed. This time she just sort of... flops down into a gooey mess.

...

She'll clean her bed when she feels like. At least she's human (for now).

He sits down on his bed after he closes the door. He presses hiss head in his hands or a moment beore speaking up.

"I did terrible things as a young man, Eight. To the point where once I was free I kept changing names."

She looks over at Caleb, her features somber. So that part of the illusion was in fact real. "What is it that caused you to feel such shame?"

"... A man manipulated my memories to give me what I thought at the time was reason to kill my parents for the good of the Empire. I... had killed others for the same crime. I was trained to." His hands shake and he puts them in his lap.

"And I wanted to help the Empire, to protect it. I was ambitious... but either too much or not enough. I... broke. And... I was sent away to an institution for eleven years before I regained myself."

Eight wasn't prepared for that. She gasps audibly before covering her mouth. She listens and attends, taking in every moment, more wide awake now than she had been since arriving.

The worst part was that she had heard of such stories too. Only when an octoling was institution it was to remind them of the purity of their purpose... and if that was not enough, then there were other things that could be done in the service of the Octarian cause. Her hands trembled at how easily she had grown to accept that.

"Caleb... I..." She had no words. She wanted to but it was too much. She wanted very much to tell him that he had no responsibility and that he was blameless. But she knew how this worked. The words get to you, become a part of every action you take, the purpose for every decision. Even if you were just following orders, a part of you believes it and, eventually, you begin to accept the cruelties of your actions and find ways to justify it. Her head lowers for she has nothing that could possibly help.

"... I know." 'It's not your fault.' 'That's terrible!' 'No one should be made to do that.' He's heard it before from his friends. He runs his fingers through his hair and sighs. "I was an ambitious young man, to the point where it's better I didn't continue. Just... not at the cost of their lives."

"That's why... I don't know if you watched the reports, but the whole area burned. The - even the illusion of so many people burning, I... I burned my house down. S... so..."

Please, for the love of every god, let it have been an illusion.

Eight shook her head, reaching over to hold his hand. "...I did, but I was more worried for... for my 'dads' and my friends. Senku, Gen, Raven... I knew everyone that was called traitors." It was selfishness on her part, but the people she cared for meant so much more than the people who were lost. It was a blind sight that she was starting to feel terrible for ignoring.

"It's... okay, Caleb. You can let it out... Its okay..." By now she had climbed over to his side, taking a seat right next to him.

"... No, I... oh. No, I'm not going to cry." He blinks slowly, confused as to whether or not that's the issue. "I'm... as awful as it might sound to some people, we need to take care of our team first. You were right to look for them first."

He looks down at her hand holding his. ... It's strange, but somehow he doesn't hate the touch. Not for the moment, at least.

Mm... "It's the training, isn't it? 'Eyes forward, soldier.' 'Keep on the mission until the job is done.' 'Collateral damage is a part of war.' 'Anything that is done in the name of our people is one step toward us receiving the justice we were rightly denied.' 'Trust your people. We are your safety. They are not your people. They want to hurt you.' 'You are the blessed arm of your king. Your king's will lives through you.'" The words ring empty now, but despite all the time away she still knew the slogans by heart.

He jerks back in surprise, staring down at her. ... She really isn't that much older than he was when he first went away to the Academy. "Less military than that - that'd be more like my father's training - but... you're not wrong. 'Complete the mission, no matter the cost or distasteful things you must do.' 'You are the hand of justice.' 'Traitors must die, end of story.' Things like that."

She leans in on him, partially in consolation, partially because the fatigue was reaching her yet again. "Its easy to hate... especially when you don't know anything different. Sometimes you see things... that make you sad... and make you doubt... but they are your people and it is your home."

"Unless you learn of another way... or it breaks you." Her hand tightens around Caleb's. "It... is not your fate to spread that hate. Not if... you have people who can help you be you... the you your heart wants you to be..." A lesson she learned all too well.

"... Heh." He closes his eyes and shakes his head. "No. My goal now is to take down the man and institutions that would mold children to their liking like that. None of them deserve that sort of treatment."

"It may be too late for some of us, but there are people who can yet be saved."

"It's only too late... yawn... if you give up on yourself... you're broken... and hurting... but you can still keep moving... not everyone can do that..." Her eyes drift and in the corner of her eyes she sees the blank blue eyes and skin of the lost. Their eyes filled with empty purpose. Husks of the people they once were.

She shivers and rouses for a moment, the lingering remnants of the dream clinging close to mind. "I'm not ready to give up on you."

"... I have things I need to do before I finish. I cannot just lie down now and feel sorry for myself."

He puts a careful arm around her to support her. "... I appreciate it, though."

"Caleb..." She whispers. "...I was going to tell you more about where I came from, but I'm so sleepy... if you ever want to know about the real Mimi, remind me to tell you about it... yaaawn ...after I take a nap..."

"Rest. You need to sleep. Nothing will happen to you. I'm going to be right here."

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So Familiar a Gleam: Conclusion

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cw: institutionalization, patricide, gaslighting, nationalism

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