Coyotl

 

The appearance of a Zee-like robot certainly shocked me, but all else present seem to take to it in stride regardless of the situation’s absurdity. Perhaps that is simply a consequence of not knowing the system as well as they all do, something I would be more than happy to see to fixing…were it not for the disdainful fog that needs be crept through to meet with Sue and Zee. I suppose I cannot blame them, however, after all I have done, I would find great difficulty in forgiving me as well…or, rather, I do struggle with said difficulty. Regardless, I should be focusing less on myself with their arrival, as a plan appears to be in motion amongst the team.

“You’re absolutely sure this’ll work?” Cat bemuses, joined at the table by Elizabeth and the robot Zee, all but the latter most keeping their wits about with the help of Fox’s freshly brewed tea, though, I can see Zee needing to stop himself from shorting his own circuits in reaching for a cup.

“Oh, we’re never sure of anything, but that’s never really stopped us before!”

The rat smirks and snickers with a sip of her drink, poising herself daintily like a statue of chiseled venom, meanwhile Cat groans with a shake of her head.

“Can I get a bit more reassurance before we just throw you into a fight seemingly as dangerous as our bout with Metatron?”

The feline shuts her eyes, worry contorting her face into a furrowed frown.

“Thousands of years of boiling hatred, bottled up into a single entity so overflowing with malice that it can’t even contain its vitriol within. I ain’t gonna let any of us go up against that without absolute assurance that you’re not throwing your lives away.”

“Whoa whoa whoa, easy, Cat!” Zee interjects, holding up their pointed robotic hands as if to soothe Cat. “I get the concern, but our confidence isn’t unfounded. You may recall a month ago how we were able to see through the magical veil Waywr…”

A sharp glance vrrs in my direction as Zee stops to correct himself out of the politeness he can muster for me, and though I understand…hearing that name…it brings me such a great deal of pain to hear now. Waywright… Who in their right mind is so bursting with molten, bubbling confidence in their hateful goal that they name their child that…

“...ah, the veil Coyotl had set up,” the robot continues. “That was because we were using Navi as a proxy, and we’re pretty sure Project Double Vision will suffice in protecting us just the same. Worst comes to worst, we’re still holed up in this house and down a robot. We can always build another body if this gets totalled or we need to disconnect for mental reasons.”

Though still clearly concerned, some of Cat’s worries do seem to be alleviated by the wits of the duo. Would that I could do the same, but alas, I am the one dragging her and her friends into this mess…

Coyotl…please, have more faith in yourself. It’s all too clear how dearly they all care for you. Trust in their faith.

…I will do what I can.

“Our numbers are secured then,” I proclaim, standing up from the couch and separating from the serpent who was threatening to coil around me. “However, we still require a plan of action. This is not just a ghost, but an actual train, and we should be prepared for it to move as such, if not even faster.”

“I’s can attest ta dat,” Liz adds, having foregone her demure poise to kick her legs up onto the dining table, much to Cat’s displeasure. “Dat thing used ta be runnin’ like a normal machine, but lately it’s been speedin’ through Subterfuge like a screamin’ bullet. Wouldn’t surprise me if dat thing really ran off ‘a hate.”

“I believe that’s where we come in once again!” Zee announces, standing up, the segments of their forearms spinning with excitement. “We’re gonna need some man power though. Sue and I can whip up some schematics for a machine that’ll carry us ahead of the ghost train, but this is a big project, thus–”

“I’s comin’ inta da picture once again ta save da day~” the rat sings and chortles, her tail swishing about behind her, just as wound up as the robot seemingly. “From what I’s hearin’ on da radio, everythin’ past da Sunlit Bounty is submerged in a cesspool ‘a churnin’ malice, black as ink and oil. But, Hal’s elevators to da surface means we can take materials straight from dere~”

“We can ask the space pirates to hold the fort while we build, then!” the robot exclaims, the lights on their body flickering and their electric hair sparking. “They should have the numbers and power to where they can pull folks out when the malice becomes too much. Alright. Alright! We have a plan!”

Their excitement…I suppose doing this is less for me and more for a greater good considering the damages the ghosts have already caused…

“...Good. Then I shall meet you all tomorrow once the preparations are complete.”

My cloak flows behind me as I begin stepping away, only to find it snagged by a claw, turning to see Fox holding on with a sad face.

“You’re not going to stay the night? I can keep you company on the couch if you’d like.”

A-ah. Such a bold offer…but…

“Even were we to take the couch, there are far too many of us to all stay,” I explain, crossing my arms and keeping my eyes off the fox and to the side. “Unlike me, Liz does not have a place to go home to within Aspen Town. As such, I should be going…”

“Bah, like I’s not sharin’ a bed with Miss Cat Kitten tonight~”

“What.”

The rat haws and haws again, kicking her legs merrily, to which Zee smiles and shrugs.

“I ain’t got a problem with Liz sharing the bed with us, you’ll probably be separating us anyways, hun.”

Liz’s guffawing etches a grimace onto Cat’s face, and yet she does not fight back, sitting back and easing up.

“Whatever.”

“Haw haw~”

Well, even if that is taken care of…

“...Niamh, Bomba, what of you two?” I ask, turning to the snake with a seedling in her lap, the both of them looking away from the book in Bomba’s hands and staring blankly at me.

“If anything, us two had plans to leave. We’ll probably be up until we finish this here story, it’s absolutely riveting~”

Bomba nods in agreement, already having turned back to continue reading, thus dragging the snake’s attention with her so as to not fall behind.

“Ah…”

Looking around the room once more, I find myself under the spotlight of Fox and Cat’s smiles, Liz and Zee more interested in their phones, while the aforementioned readers get back to their novel.

“No excuse not to stay now, eh?” the vixen smirks, leaving me without much of an option outside of just being rude, which I would never stoop to doing, especially to these gracious hosts, thus…

“...Oh…fine. I suppose if you insist, I cannot refuse you,” I answer with a slouch, only to be set straight by a lunging fox wrapping her arms around me.

“Good! I’d be sad to see you go so soon,” she says, tail swishing back and forth as Cat stands up with a paw on her hip and approaching us smiling softly. “If this battle is as big as it sounds like it will be, I want to make the most of our time before it all goes up in flames.”

“That’s less of a good thing when I’m not around,” Cat smirks, patting me on the back and wrapping an arm around my shoulder. Ah…these two…err, three? Violet does not seem to be outwardly present, but I would not want to exclude her…

“...Thank you, you all…I do not deserve such kindness–”

“Aw, quit it, wouldja?” the feline groans, lightly shaking me from side to side in her side hug. “I’m deciding you deserve it. That’s the only judgement call that should matter, nya? Err, right?”

“She’s right,” Fox agrees, looking up only to be met with a face full of chest, embarrassingly enough for me, the vixen needing to release me and step back to see my face. “But also it’s important to be able to forgive yourself. Trust me on that.”

Hearing Violet’s voice on the matter really strikes me through the heart, though I feel it may just shatter…forgiving myself…I could not do such a thing until I have truly redeemed myself, could I?

Before I have a chance to offer an answer to either of the girls, Zee stands up from his seat and begins walking towards the door, Liz seeming to smirk while the rest of us turn our heads and watch the robot open the door, letting in a cold chill that makes even standing here feel as though I’m to be frozen in place for an eternity.

“Don’t mind me, I need to uhh…cool the motors. Or something. Be right back.”

The moment the door slams shut behind the robot, Cat and Fox are already moving in to break through to their partner…but…

“A moment, you all,” I interject before they get too far, placing a claw on either of their shoulders. “I…I would like to talk to them. If that is okay.”

Despite the obvious fears that would come with sending me of all people to confront Zee’s worries, these girls allow me to champion their faith, nodding to me and stepping aside, my path ahead clear, yet my steps quake enough to cut faults into this road. Still…I need to do this. Ahead I march on, opening the door and embracing the chill of night and snow.

 

At first, it is not exactly clear where the robot went, but feeling as though they wouldn’t leave this premises, I’m left with one place after scouring the perimeter of the house.

“Sue, Zee, I am ascending,” I proclaim as I step onto the Amazing Mirror and allow it to raise me to the roof, only then realizing my phrasing. “E-err, not that form of ascension, but…”

I find Zee sitting with their legs pulled up to their chest, and they find me groaning at myself as I try to walk on the tiles of the roof as carefully as possible. They don’t seem all too happy to be seeing me, and I don’t blame them, yet they do not budge one bit, allowing me to sit a few feet away from them on this snowless night. It’s quiet, sitting here with them, neither of us wanting to take the first step, though, I’d imagine there’s less apprehension on my end, so perhaps I should do them a favour.

“Sue-Zee, I…”

They glance my way and I’m immediately struck with a stiffening fear, my lungs caught in my throat for a moment before finding the courage to continue.

“...I know there is little an apology can do to ease what I’ve done, but if you would allow me and accept it, I would do so regardless, not for my own conscience, but so that this step may be the first in mending the gap I tore.”

Silence still. It’s cold, like a frozen gasp freezing your insides, shuddering your very core, wanting to cough and sputter but finding naught but a dry pain.

“...Though, I understand should you be unable to forgive me–”

“We should, is the thing.”

At last, the robot speaks, eyes turned back to the still horizon as murky and dark as the ocean depths.

“We should, I know we should. It’d make things so much easier since everyone else has no problem with you…”

“Even if that were the case, you are not obligated to forgive. That is your choice to make, I understand–”

“Would you stop being so damn kind?!”

Their voice sparks and becomes slightly bit crushed as they shout, releasing their legs from their arms to grasp at the roof, then their hair, then the air, legs splayed out and unsure of what to do with themselves.

“I can’t…I can’t accept you so easily, so stop acting like this is an easy choice for me…!”

Despite the aching in my chest, my heart beats a rhythm listening and following Sue-Zee’s words.

“...Why is that, if you are comfortable to say such…?”

Though traces of their frustration linger in the cold air, they lower their arms, laying back and staring up at the dark clouds and specks of stars overhead.

“You probably won’t feel great hearing it.”

“I accept that my seeking of redemption will require uncomfortable truths,” I rebut, deciding to join the robot in laying on my back.

“...Alright. I mean, first off, it’s just…hard to see you acting the way you do now after seeing your mistakes on repeat for a hundred years. Uhh, time travel stuff, don’t think too hard about it…”

Ah huh. No point in questioning that, I suppose…

“We’ve had to watch you kill Fox almost a dozen times, and even if Sue was more focused on our mission, I couldn’t stop living in that moment again, and again.”

“I…I killed Fox…?”

They remain silent, clearly as unwilling to approach the topic as I am.

“...Nevermind. Though, knowing this alone, I can understand your frustration…”

“That’s not it, though.”

Ah? At last I turn my head to look at the lounging machine, unrelaxed and quite tense looking.

“It’s…fuck, man, I dunno. You may be the first Coyotl of their lineage, but the first I knew is still back in the future, a time I’ll never see again. How can I accept you without giving them up…?”

…Well, this brings up many curiosities, but it is clearly not the time for such questions. No, I lay here, and I listen. That is what I need to be doing before I act, from here on and ever.

“Ugh…our mind has finally accepted staying in this time, but our heart lays eons away.”

…

Quiet, again. A stillness that caresses all of us, giving time for this wound to breathe.

“...Please, be patient with me, but I believe I understand somewhat.”

Yes, they do not seem to like the sound of that, but at least they are willing to hear me out it would appear.

“Fox, Cat, Niamh, Bomba…all of these people have pulled my mind from the past, and yet…what good is it to know that I am here if I cannot feel it? My heart…stuck in the past sheltered from feeling…unable to let go of all I’d been taught and knew, despite knowing its rancid truth now.”

Looking at Zee now, I see eyes wide and knowing, processing, comparing and understanding as they gaze into the snowy heavens, fleeting flakes of snow beginning to reach out towards us.

“...Perhaps my mind and heart being in different places is less literal, if I am understanding your interpretation, but…I hope it makes sense at least.”

A smile. A slight one, one hesitant to exist, and yet…

“You may be an idiot, but you’re not stupid.”

“Huh?!”

Laughter, a staticy bit crushed laughter that holds its arms wide open for the falling snow.

“No, no yeah, I get it. I guess that makes things a little less tense, but…that just means we’re both struggling, huh?”

My brow furrows, eyes shutting and lungs accepting a deep breath at last. Yes, we are struggling, but…

“We are not alone in this struggle. In fact, we are much closer in our plights than I would have ever imagined.”

A quiet acknowledgement of our proximity hums through the air, an imperfect tune that sloppily attempts to mend this gaping wound.

“...Zee. Once again, you need not feel obligated to accept this, but…”

Deep breath. He’s listening. Think clearly. Speak clearer.

“...Would you like to meet in the present? The path may seem long and arduous, infinite and mocking even, but…knowing I would be able to see you there when we make it would make each step towards you all the lighter.”

And though the melody is messy, our songs seem to meet, harmonizing, stepping and tripping over one another, but feeling our ways through the strife.

“...Y’know what…sure,” they answer, turning their head to face me and holding out their fist. “We’ll see you there someday.”

Ah, a fist bump, I think. Once reciprocated…my heart feels at ease. If Zee can even try to forgive me, then maybe…maybe I have a chance. There is not much time to travel such a length, but being drawn to such a magnetic character will make it all the easier.

 

Though, neither of us wish to spend too long out here in the cold, as inviting as the soft flurries are, we stand and step off the roof, Zee landing with ease, and me nearly falling on my face.

“...Ahem. Ah, there was one thing I wished to ask you about…about this descendant of mine…”

Though it is a tense and somewhat odd and uncomfortable topic, they don’t seem opposed to hearing me out.

“Is it possible they had an heirloom passed down to them? While we should both be moving on…I do not think you need forget your dear friend. Perhaps I could search for this item they are to have, so as to remember them by.”

Their eyes go wide, then relax, smirking and shaking their head at me.

“We shouldn’t be surprised by you at this point, but…yeah. An amethyst brooch, if that rings any bells.”

“Hmm…magical stones are quite abundant in my old house. Perhaps we can go and look for it together sometime.”

They nod, content to put such a thing off to a later date, instead focusing on the now that is getting out of this damn cold.

Entering back into the house together, we find Niamh and Bomba have already gone on their way, leaving Fox and Cat cuddling on the couch while Liz messes with the TV, the former two lighting up and rushing over to Zee and me with smiles brightening the whole room.

“Meowdy, ny’all! You feeling better, Zee?”

The robot nods and yawns, stretching their arms into the air with the buzzing and whirring from their chassis raising in pitch as they do.

“Yeah! Feelin’ good, ‘bout ready to shut down. You good to snooze?”

The feline woman nods, pulling Fox in for a moment to lift her up and kiss her on the snout, the little vixen in a daze as she’s placed back down.

“It’s going to take a while to get used to this size, huh…”

Heh. Our little group snickers with each other until the rat interrupts, grabbing Cat by the paw and dragging her to bed.

“I’s been waitin’ long enough, let’s go ta bed you fruits.”

Cat rolls her eyes, stepping forward to pull Liz instead, Zee following along as he waves back at us.

“G’night, y’all.”

“G’night, everybody!”

“Unhand me, wench!”

The click of their bedroom door closing echoes through the now much quieter living space, leaving me and…Fox. Ah…why is my heart suddenly feeling this odd sensation…?

“Sooo, guess we should get some shut eye as well with tomorrow rapidly approaching,” Fox suggests, taking me by the claw and tugging me towards the couch.

“Ah, will you be taking your feral form, then? I am not sure if we will both comfortably fit atop it otherwise…”

“Oh, no no, check this out!”

The vixen shoves the coffee table away from the couch before hauling a lever on its side, and…

“Good gods!” I exclaim, watching the couch itself unfold into a mattress!

“Pretty cool, huh?” Fox grins, leaning against the side of it as if she were showing off her prized car. “Never had one of these when we were younger. Pretty impressive if I do say so myself!”

“Impressive is correct! Being able to fit an entire bed within but a couch…and you handled it so swiftly!”

“Aw, jeez, you’re making me blush, it’s nothing really–!”

“Go to bed you gay assholes.”

Ah, we are meandering are we not…the shock of hearing Violet from Fox’s tail gets us both moving, Fox’s shadow seeming to loosen up on her form to make something more comfortable for sleeping, while I…take off my cloak, gauntlets, and greaves.

“...I apologize, I do not exactly have sleepwear…”

“Ehh, it’s no problem,” the red furred girl says with a wave of her claw, hopping up and into the bed and patting her side for me to join. “Coziness is defined by the company, I’m sure we’ll be just fine.”

Ah…Well…I shouldn’t make her wait. Crawling in with Fox, she pulls the covers over us, and suddenly our closeness is all the more apparent being confined to these blankets together…

“Ah, I apologize for any discomfort…” I say, turning to face away from the girl, only for her to snuggle up right behind me, an arm around my waist and another raised to play with my static hair. “F-Fox…?”

“Hmm? Oh, don’t mind me, I’m just getting comfy, tell me if you need some space.”

U-unbelievable…it feels as though this is all happening so quickly, but the gentle breath of the fox, her soft handling of my body, her content little snores…

…Even if I struggle to believe I deserve this…the welcoming touch of this girl makes it difficult to decline closing my eyes, static tears slowly dripping out of my screen…

“Shit, is this too much, Coyotl…?”

“No…no, this is fine…just…new…”

The best answer I can give is to stop my tail from wagging by wrapping it around her leg, taking deep breaths and leaning into the vixen.

“Completely, utterly new…”

“...You poor thing…”

Even through the quiet sobs, Violet and Fox’s all encompassing embrace cradle me in comfort, and for the first time, I can smile as I drift aslumber…