Doomsday

Chapter 2: Medicine

Atticus woke up to the sound of chatter. At first, he could only hear, but then he began to feel his body. His thigh, where Athena had stabbed him, no longer hurt. It was as good as before he got stabbed.

"Is Atticus moving?" He heard someone ask.

"His bones are moving. He's awake." Another person said

And then, he was able to open his eyes. The bright light blinded him for a second before he was able to see.

"Atticus?" Aria asked. She was sitting next to his bed, and everyone else— including an old lady with pure white eyes and a hunchback, who held a large crystal ball in between her hands- sat around him. Even Peter, who he last saw on the floor, blood dripping from an open wound in his shoulders and large scratches across his neck. But now, he looked brand-new.

Atticus suddenly felt a warm sensation in his thigh. A tall man stood opposite him, with his eyes closed and steam coming out from his ears. And then, he was able to move it. It didn't hurt at all.

"Thank you Nam," Aria said calmly. The man nodded and then walked out of the room. Atticus slowly sat up.

"Atticus, this is Mama Wondana, Mama Wondana, this is Atticus." Fiyeree introduced.

The woman smiled, her yellow and crooked teeth showing.

"How long was I asleep?" Atticus asked blankly.

"Hmm..a week, give or take," Peter replied. He still had a large bandage across his shoulder.

"We managed to crack the clue. Well, Mama Wondana did, really," Luca explained. "We think The King is hidden on Rhatbane."

Julie shot him a look. "Yes, but we don't know if he will help us, or not."

Luca nodded. "We need to be cautious. If he is frozen in ice, he's not gonna be in a good mood when he wakes up."

Atticus frowned. What's he doing here, untied? Shouldn't he be in a cell? Just because he helped them back on Mercury doesn't mean that he should be allowed to sit with them, much less contribute. Atticus thought.

"Where's Ben?" Atticus asked, pushing his thoughts of Luca aside.

Lola sighed. "He's stable but unconscious. His throat is filled with smoke, thanks to Olven."

"How were there so many soldiers at the Temple?" Atticus asked again, "I never knew they had that many assets."

"Looks like they got an upgrade," Peter answered, his eyes wandering the ceiling.

"I think it's out of our hands now. We've told the ULE about them and they said they'll take it from here," Lola said.

"We can't just quit," Fiyeree argued. "We know what they're capable of and more importantly, where they're going."

Aria nodded. "Even if we do fight back, One ship isn't going to be enough. The Nutcracker isn't going to be enough."

"Then it shouldn't just be the Nutcracker," Luca said awkwardly while swapping a smile with Julie.

"Go on," Julie said, holding Luca's hand.

Atticus's face turned red. He couldn't understand why Luca always wanted to be the hero. Every time something happened, he wanted to

"Remember when we were at Kalador? When you gu-"

"Get to the point," Atticus grunted in annoyance, interrupting Luca.

"I have another ship. The Voyager," Luca said, his hand moving through the air as he said it

"You mean that ugly thing sitting in the middle of a destroyed city?" Peter said sarcastically.

"No. We aren't going," Lola said sternly. "The ULE's got it covered." She didn't like how Julie was so...rebellious.

Julie gave Lola a sarcastic look. "Yeah the ULE'S totally got it covered." She said, exaggeration in her tone.

Lola gave her a mean stare, something like 'stay out of this.'

Then the ship began to vibrate. At first, everyone thought it was some kind of black hole— something they could easily deal with, but then they realised: it was Julie. Julie's hands were clenched and her eyebrows were crossed.

"Julie! Look at me! I need you to calm down." Lola replied, her blonde hair starting to turn a different colour: red. It was beautiful— firelike strips in her blonde hair.

"Lola. Your hair-" Peter said quietly as he wrapped her in his arms. "It's okay," he said quietly.

By the time everyone had calmed down, no one wanted to talk about it anymore.

"I agree with Lola. It's too much of a risk." Fiyeree said, trying to change the subject and trying not to sound frustrated, "Peter?"

"I'll go with the majority," He replied hesitantly, his arms finally letting go of Lola.

"Okay, let's say we get it, what's our next move?" Lola questioned.

"We'll plan an ambush with the ULE." Julie said, "We beat a whole army, and we can do it again." She didn't like how everyone was yelling and the conversation was turning into an argument. If only Lola would listen. She thought.

"But at what cost!" Lola yelled, "For god's sake, Ben is in a coma because of that."

The room turned silent. Lola's words made everyone feel something. Something they couldn't deny:Guilt.

"I say we go," Luca said, breaking the silence.

Julie nodded. "I'm with Luca. Atticus?"

"Too dangerous. I vote no."

Aria looked at Lola. "You know where I stand," Lola said without hesitance.

"I'm with Lola and Atticus," Fiyeree said.

"I say go," Mama Wondana said. Everyone seemed to forget she was even there and she seemed hurt that no one had asked for her vote.

"Aria. You're the deciding vote." Lola said giving her a stare. "Go or stay?"

All of a sudden, all the attention awkwardly turned to Aria. She sat and the edge of Ben's bed, her hand wrapped around his, before leaning forward and kissing his forehead and then standing up.

"We can't let everything we've done be in vain," She said. "I say we go. But we need to be safer. We need friends— allies."

Julie smiled. "I'll get the resistance to help us. When Lhoda was invaded, most of its citizens scurried to the resistance for help and protection, and I'm sure they'd want to fight back."

"I'll call the ULE," Lola said defiantly before leaving the room.

"I'll get the Nutcracker up. Voyager, here we come," Luca said, causing Julie to flinch.

Don't worry Ben. Everything will be okay. Aria whispered in his ear. Rest well.