OCs 4

Nate and Ender's Talk After Everything (Powers)

Nate appeared and hurried over. "Ender?"
Ender glanced over and smiled. "Nate! Hey!"
The two hugged tightly, and Haley smiled softly, giving them some space.
"I heard what happened..." Nate said, frowning. "I had no idea it wasn't really you. I knew you started acting weird, but I never would've guessed Teresa was behind it all."
Ender nodded slightly, pulling away. "I understand. It was pretty convincing. And... I'm sorry for all the things I said when we were trapped together. You were at your worst, and I was a jerk to you-"
"It wasn't you," Nate interrupted. "Don't apologize. It's okay. Teresa said those things to me - not you."
Ender relaxed slightly. "I... Thank you for understanding..."
"I'm guessing Arc took it pretty hard," Nate said quietly.
Ender frowned and nodded. "I would imagine so. She hasn't talked to me since she found out, which I understand, but... I told Chloe that when she's up to it, I really want to talk to her. I don't want to intrude, but I need to clarify something. I wish she would just talk to me though..."
"What do you want to say to her?" Nate asked.
"I want to tell her that despite the fact I didn't choose to date or even marry her, I don't regret anything except that I hurt her," Ender said quietly, frowning and glancing down. "She's probably overthinking everything and feeling bad... If any of it has to do with me 'being a victim,' I want to comfort her about that. I would've always chosen Haley, but I don't regret the time we spent together at all except for the parts where Teresa made me hurt her."
Nate blinked in surprise. "Ender... I'm sure that will really help her, but you need to wait until she's ready."
Ender nodded. "I know... I'll wait as long as she needs. But..." He frowned. "...I do hope it's soon."
Nate nodded slightly. "I understand that. I'm sure you need to talk things out too."
Ender nodded. "That's true. Um... So, did I miss anything? How are you doing?"
Nate blinked. "Oh, uh..." He hesitated, glancing down. "Before she was defeated, Teresa used her planet guardian powers to kill me."
Ender's eyes widened in shock. "Nate! Oh my gosh... Are you okay?! How did you come back from that? If I had been there-"
"Ender," Nate interrupted. "There's nothing anyone could've done - even you. She made me fade away. Grace, Clem, and Soren came to unreality to save me. It was really hard, but Grace managed to do it. And... Well... I'm okay. Caleb helped me recently, which was a big help, but I'm still not quite 100% yet. I'm getting there."
Ender frowned. "Nate... I'm so sorry. I'm glad you're doing better though. I can't believe she would do this too, on top of everything... Controlling me, hurting Chloe, breaking Sadia's mind and memories, hurting Arc... And killing you on top of everything else she's done. What is wrong with her?"
"I don't know," Nate said. "But I'm pretty sure it's over."
"Yeah... Chloe said that Grant, Val, and Stella got involved after Jaxyn and Arc delt with her," Ender filled in the blanks.
"Grant? Wow... It really must be bad then..." Nate agreed.
"...wait, so... Grace can bring back the dead? Since when?" Ender asked.
Nate smiled sheepishly. "I'm pretty sure this was her first time. She keeps learning more and more about herself and her abilities. It's pretty incredible..."
Ender nodded. "...right... So, did you hear? Haley and I got back together!"
Nate smiled. "You did? Tell me more about that-"
The two brothers continued chatting happily, catching up with each other for the first time in 600 years without anyone's influence.