Mother Alternate

Ellay Saga Chapter 10: Reunion

How odd…

Just now you find yourself nearing the end of your journey…

All of you have certainly grown since you met, so long ago…

What will you do when all of this is over?

Now that you know what pain is like, can you learn to live beyond it...without it?

The greatest…is…

Julian and his friends stood silently in front of Vee’s house and home. Peel was still in Julian’s arms, although she tried to convince everyone that she was perfectly capable of walking by herself. This surprised everyone considering that she had been in traction just a few hours before.

To everyone’s great surprise, Teddy was the one to answer the door. He stood in the entrance, towering over the children and giving them an apathetic look through the glint in his sunglasses. “’Bout time.” He said gruffly. “We’ve been expecting you.” He stepped to the side and ushered them in with his hand.

Upon entering the house Peel, who had recovered a great deal of energy, leapt out of Julian’s arms and onto the floor, where she wiggled her toes and stretched. “Mmm…that feels good…” she commented to herself. After flexing her back a few more times she turned to Julian and flashed him a smile. “Thanks for the ride.” She giggled. Julian raised an eyebrow and shook his head, somewhat bewildered. “No…problem.” He said.

Vee shut the door behind her and went to the living room, where she flopped down on the couch. She threw off her shoes and lay down, letting out a contented sigh. “It’s good to be back home.” She sighed. “I wonder where mom is…”

“Loid’s takin’ her to the hospital, just in case she got hurt.” stated Teddy, who went over to Vee and sat on the chair beside the sofa. He raised a cautious finger at Julian. “Speakin’ of hurt…”

Joshua waved him off nonchalantly. “We weren’t hurt. We’re just…tired. It’s been a long day.” He turned to Julian with a confused look on his face. “What do you think that ball of energy was…back at the warehouse?” Julian shook his head in response. “I don’t know. That girl…she said something about a ‘She’…maybe that was her?”

“It’d be one heck of a ‘She’, let me tell you.” piped Vee from the couch. “From how that girl spoke, I think she might be her leader, or something.” She sat up. “Whoever it was, she looked really powerful.”

As Joshua, Teddy, and Vee continued to discuss the days events, Julian felt Peel’s hand on his shoulder. “Can I talk to you?” he heard her say from behind him. Before he knew it Peel was dragging him along and up the stairs, into the guest room they shared. After locking the door, Peel went over to her bed and sat down, while Julian took a seat on his cot. Peel sighed and averted her gaze to the window. She seemed sad, actually. “I’m…sorry…” she began melancholically. “…about everything.”

Julian, completely taken aback by Peel’s unexpected apology, got up and sat down beside her. “Why do you have to be sorry?” he asked. “You didn’t do anything.” Peel shook her head and placed her chin in her hand. “I mean everything.” She said. “I’m sorry about all the grief I put you through…not just today, but before. You could’ve gotten hurt because of me…”

It was strange, hearing his own words preached back to him. It almost felt…inappropriate, somehow. Julian shook his head and tried to give Peel a comforting look. “It’s not your fault.” He said. “If anything, I’m the one responsible.”

Peel got up indignantly and began pacing the room. “Would you stop doing that to yourself?!” she asked hotly. “You can’t spend your entire life feeling sorry for yourself like that!” she placed her hands on her hips and looked at Julian crossly. He, in turn, lowered his head. “It’s just…Loid told me that…they had everything planned, and then I ran away…” the bitter taste of the words Loid spoke to him a few days before crawled into his mouth and left his mouth dry. Why did things have to be this way?

Peel sat back down on her bed and stretched her legs, shifting her gaze downwards and letting out a soft sigh. “Julian…” she began, “have you ever stopped to think that maybe things were supposed to be this way?” she looked up to him and waited for his response. Julian craned his head to one side and looked at Peel with confusion. What was she talking about? That Julian was supposed to run away? That this is how things are meant to turn out? “I…don’t know what you mean.” He answered finally.

Peel smiled despite herself and continued. “Yeah…sometimes I feel like we’re being pushed by…something, you know? I felt that way ever since we fought that Starman in Merrysville…what if something led you to me?” Julian shook his head and leaned back, using his arms to support himself. “Like the prism?” he asked. Peel shrugged. “Maybe. I mean, think about it…what are the chances of us getting together? Joshua, Vee, and us? How could that ever happen by itself?”

Julian closed his eyes and tried to recall his memories of his friends. Vee, who was offering them a place to stay despite the fact that she barely knew them…Joshua, who had never seen the outside world until they came along…maybe the four of them were destined to meet for a reason…

“Julian! Loid and my mother are back!”

Vee’s voice rang through the house and reached Julian’s ear suddenly, drawing his attention to the side and interrupting his thoughts. “I—I’ll be right down!” he called back, then stood and headed for the door. Halfway there he turned to look at Peel inquisitively. “Are you coming?” he asked. Peel nodded. “In a minute.” She replied. After Julian left the room she flopped down on her bed and closed her eyes, sighing tiredly. “Julian, you dummy…” she muttered under her breath.

***

Julian sat in the living room with Loid while Teddy and Vee tended to a very weakened but still standing Mrs. Vasconceros. She was apparently still dizzy and repeatedly spoke to Teddy in rapid Spanish, triggering many an annoyed grunt from him. Apparently she was still very disoriented and thought Teddy was her husband.

Loid took off his glasses and pinched his nose while he went to the chair opposite Julian and slumped down in it. “Please tell me that crumbling warehouse had nothing to do with you.” He pleaded. Julian gasped. “How did you know about that?” he asked incredulously. Loid groaned and shook his head. “An abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Ellay suddenly collapses, for no apparent reason. Do you honestly think something like that won’t make the news?”

Julian lowered his head. Loid had a point. “Well, at least no one was hurt…except maybe Earth Bluesman.” Julian remembered the way Dual Proghauser spoke…maybe she was about to do something to Bluesman? Why else would she have shown up like that?

Thinking of the warehouse brought to the surface something that had been bugging Julian ever since they had left the battleground earlier that day. “Hey Loid,” he asked. “What do you know about the leader of the aliens…the person behind all of this?”

Loid shook his head dejectedly. “Next to nothing.” He admitted. “I’m assuming it can assume human form, though…otherwise it wouldn’t have been able to work with the good doctor Schneider.” He sat up and flicked his glasses out of his pocket, snapping them open with a quick motion and slipping them onto his face. “Why?”

Julian waved Loid off and stood, clearly intending to head back to Peel’s room. “It’s…nothing.”

***

The wind ruffled Julian’s hair playfully as he stood before the old house that Mr. and Mrs. Schneider considered the closest thing to a home. He hadn’t bothered to take any of his friends with him; this was something he wanted to do for the sake of his own curiosity, nothing more.

He stepped up to the door silently and extended his finger to ring the doorbell. His pulse rose ever so slightly as his finger caressed the metallic button and a loud, penetrating ding rumbled through the house and echoed through his head. It was nearly impossible to believe that anyone actually lived here…

“We are not interested in buying anything, thank you.” Julian heard Mrs. Schneider’s low voice through the other side of the door, menacingly stoic, as always. Julian cleared his throat nervously. “Um…Mrs. Schneider, it’s me…I was here with my friend Loid the other day.” He then added, just to identify himself clearly, “I’m the boy with the mark on his hand.”

Mrs. Schneider opened the door a crack and stuck her head out, peering beadily at Julian. “We have nothing further to discuss.” She stated pointedly. “Good day.” As she went to slam the door rudely for effect Julian stuck his hand out and stopped her. “Wait! This’ll only take a minute, I promise.” He pleaded. Mrs. Schneider tried to force the door shut, but Julian was obviously stronger and managed to hold the door open. A look of vexation crossed the elderly woman’s face as she tried to lock herself back inside. Finally she gave up and let go of the door, nearly causing Julian to stumble forward suddenly. “You have five minutes.” She said. “Then I will ask you to leave.”

Julian stepped inside and headed towards the couch, but decided against it considering his host’s hostile demeanor. Instead he waited for Mrs. Schneider to come and sit herself, although he himself did not sit down even then. He stood there, hands in pockets, while the portly Mrs. Schneider looked him over. “What is it that you want?” she asked, her tone acidic. Julian cleared his throat again. “I…want to ask you about the people that worked with your husband a few years ago…the ones who helped him build the World Device.” He asked.

Mrs. Schneider uttered a proud ‘hmph’ and jerked her head back. “I have told you everything I know about them.” She said. “There is nothing further to discuss on that matter.”

Julian took out his hand and held out his palm, as if trying to stop Mrs. Schneider’s penetrating gaze from blowing him clear out the door. “It’s not that…” he said meekly. “I just want to know…what they look like.”

Mrs. Schneider’s brow creased, ironing out the wrinkles on her forehead and creating new ones below her eyes. “Why would you want to know that? It is unimportant.” Julian opened his mouth to contribute a reply, but Mrs. Schneider never let him, her broad girth shuffling over to a drawer in a nearby table and opening it to empty its contents. “I have a picture of her.” She said.

Julian’s eyes glinted. It was a her. He let Mrs. Schneider carry the photograph over to him, at which point Julian took it gratefully and turned to study the contents. The left side of the worn photograph showed a younger version of the crippled scientist lying in bed just above him, dressed in a white lab coat and holding what appeared to be a pencil in his hand. To the right of the photograph, facing something out of the lenses reach, was a tall woman, apparently African-American, who looked much more like an ordinary woman than an ex-member of an intergalactic force of space pirates. Julian studied the picture for a moment then turned to Mrs. Schneider. “Do you mind if I keep this?” he asked. Mrs. Schneider let out another ‘hmph’ and turned away. “Do what you like.” She replied. “If that will be all…”

“Just one more thing.” Julian placed the picture in his pocket. “I just want to tell you that…” he realized that he didn’t really want to say this, but it was too late to stop now. He paused, took a deep breath, and lowered his head. “I think…you shouldn’t lose hope.” It wasn’t the best save, but he didn’t want to cause any more trouble than necessary. “You…maybe, after all of this is over…”

“All of what?” Mrs. Schneider was incredibly hostile when she said that. As far as she was concerned, this needless waste of her time had no further reason to remain there. Julian shook his head and sighed. “Just…don’t give up. In a few days things might turn for the better.”

Mrs. Schneider’s eyes narrowed and she pointed towards the door. “Good day.” She said, then waddled over to the door and opened it. Julian had barely stepped out when the door slammed shut behind him, blocking him off from the Schneider’s forever. He sighed and began his trek back home.

***

“So that’s it then? We’re doing it in two days?”

Julian nodded to Joshua and scanned the living room before him. He had gathered everyone there to make his impromptu announcement. Loid and Teddy were sitting in the back while Joshua, Peel, and Vee sat closer to him. Julian was standing before them all, as if he was some sort of public speaker. He reached into his pocket and produced the picture he had received earlier that day. “I already know who the ‘she’ Dual Proghauser mentioned is. I think we should seize the opportunity and go as soon as possible. Besides, we’re being expected.”

Teddy shifted in his seat and adjusted his sunglasses. “So what do you need us for?” he asked. Always straight to the point, bless him. Julian cocked his head to the side. “Look, from the TV broadcast a few days ago, we can guess that Earth Bluesman was the one who hypnotized the mayor and organized the barricade outside Ellay. If that’s true, then whoever’s guarding the barricade is probably—”

“A whole bunch of Starmen.” Loid finished for him. “So you want us to distract the guards while you sneak by, successfully gaining access to Mt. Itoi.” Loid sighed. “Fine, we’ll do it. But I don’t agree with it.”

Julian managed to shoot Loid a look. “Since when have you ever agreed with me?” he asked nonchalantly. Loid scoffed, an indignant scowl clearly stamped all over his face.

Joshua was, not surprisingly, chattering with Kir, and talked to the others in between bouts of primal chit-chat with his primate companion. “We might as well go…we have nothing to gain by waiting here.” He commented. “We can use tomorrow and the rest of the day to set up.”

“Then it’s settled.” Peel rose and turned to face everyone, her tone excited. “We’re going to Mt. Itoi!”

***

It was nearly midnight when Vee climbed out of her window and parked herself on the roof of her house. This was something she did often, weather permitting, when she needed to think. She would sit on her roof and watch the stars, meditating on her experiences and thoughts. Her room, being on the second floor, had its only window jutting out onto the roof, so getting from her room to the outside wasn’t a great difficulty. At the moment she was sitting, her knees to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs for comfort. Her head was resting on her knees and her eyes were contemplating the constellations near the horizon, watching them slide through the night sky.

The sound of someone climbing out through the window caused her to break eye contact with the heavens and whirl her head around. To her amazement she saw Joshua trying to climb out onto the roof silently, and having little success. The boy stumbled a bit as he made his way to Vee’s side, not saying a word. When he finally did reach her the two stared at each other for a moment. After a long pause Joshua flopped down onto the roof, his legs spread out and his eyes watching his feet wiggle.

Vee returned to her stargazing and hugged her legs tighter. The silent reprise was soon broken as she let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes. “Couldn’t sleep.” She whispered, almost inaudibly. Joshua nodded and continued to clap his feet together. “Me neither.” He replied without looking at Vee. The two then lapsed back into silence.

Joshua crinkled his nose and stopped clapping his feet. “I’ve been thinking…about things.” He announced. Vee looked at him briefly out of the corner of her eyes, but otherwise did not move. “Really?” she asked. “What about?”

Joshua turned to look at her, but his gaze fell quickly and he found himself staring at her feet instead of her face. His eyes took on a sad glint. “It’s just…I was wondering what I’ll do…afterwards.”

“What do you mean?” Vee asked. The words had barely left her mouth when she understood and her eyes widened. “Oh. I see.” She rested her head back on her knees and her eyes closed halfway. “You’re wondering whether you should go back to the forest.” She hadn’t been with Joshua when he was still in the forest, but the weight of that statement managed to carry over to her. For Joshua that could be considered the toughest choice he’d ever have to make.

Joshua took a page from Vee’s book and hugged his legs as if they were his only source of security in the world. He sighed. “I…after I left the forest and got to see the world, I saw how wonderful the outside could be…I realized that there were many things I had to see and learn, but…” at this point his eyes watered up and became glassy. “I don’t have anywhere else to go…the forest is the only home I’ve ever known…”

Vee relaxed herself and shifted herself closer to Joshua. She could feel his hot breath on her arms, and her skin tingled with every breath he took. “Listen, Joshua…” she began, trying to form a comforting phrase as quickly as possible. “It’s not all bad…” she tried to say something else, but nothing came to her. Her eyes were on Joshua’s, who were barely able to hold back the tears of grief and fear that were stored inside Joshua for a long time.

She thought it odd that she couldn’t feel sorry for him at that time…she wanted to pat him on the head, say, ‘Poor Joshua’, then leave it at that…but there was something preventing her from pitying him and forcing her to feel something else. After all, here was this boy who, without being forced to, left the security of his home and began a perilous journey from which he had no guarantee of returning. Only someone incredibly strong would be able to do that…

Vee could barely believe what she was saying until after she said it. “Joshua…would you like to come live with me?” the words came suddenly and without warning, as if some deep recess of Vee’s mind was asking the question without her consent.

Joshua’s eyes snapped open and he jerked his head back. “Live…with you?” he asked, as if he couldn’t believe or understand what was being said to him. When Vee nodded with a look of equal shock on her face, his mouth gaped open. “I…don’t know what to say…” he managed to get out.

Vee turned back to the horizon, dismay written on her face. Her breath was rapid and her arm seemed to be shivering. “Well, if you don’t want to, I understand…” she said. Joshua raised his hands in protest and waved them frantically. “No, it’s not that!” he said. “It’s just that…I’ve never had a family before…I don’t know what it’s like…”

Vee sighed. “It’s…hard, sometimes. Sometimes you’ll fight, and sometimes you’ll be sad…but it’s worth it. My parents are really nice, and we could get you a birth certificate and everything, and…” she smiled despite herself. “It would be wonderful to have someone to share things with…”

Joshua mulled those last words over in his head and nodded. “It would be nice…” he said to himself. He looked at his open palm, as if expecting to find some sort of answer there. Vee stared at him expectantly. “So…what do you say?” she asked.

Joshua took a deep breath and steeled himself, then turned to Vee and nodded quietly. “Yes…I’d like that a lot.”

Vee let out a sigh of relief and reached out to Joshua, grabbing him and pulling him close. “Come here, you,” she said, her voice suddenly filled with energy. The two hugged for a long time, feeling the warmth of their own bodies and basically enjoying the moment. After a moment of closeness Vee broke the hug and held Joshua at arms’ length, looking him over. All of a sudden he looked…different. He was suddenly emanating a different type of aura…

“Welcome to the family.” With those final words the two stood there for a long time.

***

The infamous Ellay Entrapment was anything but impressive when looked upon by an objective eye. A few road blocks were sprinkled here and there, with two armed guards patrolling the barricade like automatons, following a preset path that made them seem more like toy soldiers popping out of a huge clock rather than human beings. They could have almost been expected to make ticking sounds as they worked.

Off to the side of the dirt road was Julian, who was hiding along with his friends behind a nearby grove of trees. They were all set for travel, sporting new backpacks and gear. Julian wore a black sweater over a pair of blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. Peel wore a loose, blue shirt, coupled with a pair of shorts and some hiking boots. The sleeves of her shirt were disconnected from the body, and were linked to it by a black thread, loosely cross-stitched. Joshua wore a long sleeved, beige shirt with matching pants and a pair of normal boots. Vee had a short-sleeved, hooded red sweatshirt and wore tight black sweatpants. Finally, Teddy and Loid were behind them, wearing their usual attire.

They double-checked their supplies one last time. Peel had spent the previous day working with Loid and building an array of new gadgets, as well as remodeling Loid’s bazooka, which was strapped on to Peel’s shoulder. The others carried only the essential hiking gear, such as compasses and matches. Julian kept the prism in his own pocket—he and Joshua went to retrieve it at the Rosemary Mansion the day before.

Teddy shot the children one last look before taking two steps forward and crouching down on the ground, a menacing glint in his sunglasses. “Okay…on the count of three…Loid and I rush out and distract the guards while you run through. Got it?”

Joshua nodded. “Got it.” He turned to Loid and his face softened. “Take good care of Kir for me, will you?” he pleaded. Loid didn’t respond but instead went to crouch down beside Teddy. “Sure thing.” He said. After a few seconds he added a rushed, “Good luck.”

“Let’s go…” Teddy clenched his fists and dug his toes into the ground, turning up some grass. “One…”

Julian took a deep breath and held it.

“Two…”

Joshua and Vee glanced at each other briefly.

“Three!”

Loid and Teddy sprang nimbly from the bushes, uttering war cries and flailing their arms about like lunatics, desperately trying to gain the attention of the barricade guards, who stopped pacing and turned to look at them. In a comical display of desperation Loid and Teddy ran up to a few meters from the guards and began screaming bloody murder, stopping briefly only to gather breath and look to their hiding place, trying to see whether Julian and his friends had made it past or not.

The guards stood adamantly in front of their supposed attackers, not budging a muscle. After a few seconds one of the two turned to the nearby bushes where the children were hiding and raised an arm, silently pointing the shrubbery out to his companion.

A startled look crossed Loid’s face and he stopped screaming. “Starmen…” he said under his breath. “They really are Starmen…Julian was right…” Thinking fast, he turned to the other side of the road, the one opposite Julian’s hiding place, and called out to it. “Julian! Run!”

The disguised Starman fell for Loid’s bluff and looked to the other side, quickly firing a beam from his arm into a bunch of bushes. As soon as it did Teddy and Loid lunged and grabbed the robots by the arm, knocking off their hats and revealing the smooth, metallic skin and black visor underneath.

Julian, dread rising up, dashed forward, followed closely by his friends. As they distanced themselves from the roadblock they could hear the sounds of battle—explosions, yells and grunts, startling the birds nearby. Silently Julian hoped they would be all right and kept running.

After a few minutes of running the group stopped to catch their breaths, positive they were out of harm’s way. Julian, his hands on his knees, turned to the others and checked to see if they were still in one piece. “Are you guys…all right?” he said between breaths. The others nodded, a little frayed but not too tired. Julian straitened himself up and reached into his pocket, grasping the prism and making sure it was still there. After making sure it was, he faced forward. It was then that he caught sight of it.

“Whoa…is that Mt. Itoi?”

He knew it was big, but not this big. The huge rock was completely brown, with small spots of grey and brown dotting the top. The seemingly-dead crag scraped the sky with its massive peak, caressing the clouds. The base appeared almost as wide as the entire city of Ellay, and it seemed to go on forever, a larger-than-life megalith that was imposing, unending, and unforgiving in its stone gaze, casting an oppressive shadow over the countryside and dwarfing the rest of the world.

The four children stood there, gaping at it and admiring the stone deity before them. Conquering the mountain was a Herculean task, but the summit of that mountain housed the answers to the questions plaguing the world…it was the end of a year’s worth of pain, traveling, and grief. It was what brought these four together and united them against a common enemy from the past. From far away it didn’t look like it was good or evil…it was hard to believe that it even was at all…

Julian pulled out his prism and looked at it, searching for reassurance. He breathed deeply, looked at his friends, and steeled himself.

“Okay,” Julian said solemnly. “Let’s go.”