“What the starshit are you talking about?” Akio tried to sit up, only to fall back down. Without arms to pull up with, all she had were her weary abdominals. Every muscle in her body ached, far too weak for this kind of use. Grumbling, she reluctantly stayed as she was. Stupid body, failing her again. “Genocide? Really? I know he’s been sending out assassins.” Like I used to be. But never enough forces to wipe out entire planets or species.”
Meli’s watery face grew solemn, taking on the form of a wise, older entity that had seen far more suffering than anyone should ever be unlucky enough to experience. “Did you try to go back to where you were born after the Commander retrieved you?”
Akio swallowed. “No. Why would I go back to the place I was rejected because of the way I was born? There’s no sense in that.” Her hearts raced. Dread knew what was coming, emotion didn’t want to acknowledge it. The only question was, could she trust this entity? Sure, they had saved her life, but anyone was capable of doing so to further an agenda.
Reaching out, Meli gently but their hand on her shoulder.
A flinch escaped before Akio could control it. Had she been armed, Meli would have been bleeding right now. Unsolicited touching was not something she would ever get used to.
“I’ll show you,” Meli said. “Because I was there.”
Images of the ceremony to purge the world of the unclean, the cursed Se’li came into Akio’s mind as if she were watching a holographic film. A recording. More like Meli were there, armed to each wave of their watery bodies.
“When do we move in?” Meli asked, her voice the same as it was. Did entities age? Probably not.
“We’re not here to stop this. It’s a part of their culture, we have strict orders not to interfere. We’re here to protect them from the Commander’s assault,” an entity with a uniform covered in medals stated. “I’m sorry, Meli, we didn’t come to be heroes, we came to be soldiers.”
Meli growled. “I didn’t sign up for this. I’m not letting them kill some kids.” He left the rest of the group behind, running forward toward a young Indra.
Then everything went to starshit. A strong mix of emotions wafted from Meli, sadness, regret, shame, anger, devastation. It was almost too much for Akio to handle in a constant barrage. She gasped, attempting to disengage her powers. Even without them on, she could still feel the trickle of the aftermath.
Smoke that caused everyone to choke, falling to their knees overwhelmed the Se’li group. The Commander came in, grabbing several of the children but missing two. Several entities were captured as well, one of which Akio recognized as Arden.
Wait. . . If Arden was there, why didn’t he tell anyone about this? Unless, he was in on it, a traitor to his kind. This could have been a show. Something in Akio’s gut told her that was not a possibility for the weapon she had regarded as a brother and friend, but—she had once felt the same of Daira. How many more memories had Hao been forced to take for the sake of peace among the troupe?
A bomb dropped as the Commander’s ship fled into the sky, eliminating the few who remained. Everything turned black before Akio was jerked back into the present.
“How’d you survive if no one else did?” Akio asked somberly. It felt wrong to be grilling the entity over such a traumatic experience, but it was them who willingly showed it to her.
“I’ve been asking myself that for year. I believe it’s simply because my death is slower.” Meli gestures to shrapnel and other hazardous materials lodged in their watery body. “I cannot remove them. As you can see—“ They gestured to how the left side of their body was partially solidified, unable to become liquid. “—the damage is spreading. Soon, I won’t be able to move anymore, then I will shatter.”
Akio clenched her jaw. That was messed up. All of this was messed up. “Is there nothing to be done? Nothing at all?” Another death. Just how many would die beneath the Commander’s hand before they were strong enough to do anything about it?
“It is too late for me,” Meli stated, a weird smile pulling across their face. “But it is not too late for you and the vigilantes. Stars, even the royals are in danger. The Lizz, Gebul, and remaining Se’li are next on the list.”
Raising a skeptical brow Akio considered them. “Oh? And where did you get this information?”
“From me,” a familiar voice stated, coming into view. The easily recognizable tentacles brought a sob to Akio’s lips.
“Iyar?”
Traveling across the floor, Iyar wrapped Akio in a hug. Akio heaved, leaning into him. How she wished she had arms to return the hug. She never thought she’d see Iyar again, much less have him on her side in an impossible fight she was cursed to lose.
“You’ve survived so much, little Se’li. Though some starshit is coming, right now the thing you nee most is rest.” He pulled away, staring at her with unyielding purple eyes. “I’ve already gotten in contact with your group to let them know what’s going on and to stay on lockdown. They know me, I’m one of Haim’s contacts, or well—was.”
Akio nodded, her head growing increasingly heavy with each word Iyar uttered. The weariness settled deep into every pore of her being, traveling through bones and muscles. She leaned her head against Iyar’s chest, finally feeling the slightest bit safe for the first time in a stars turn.
