Crow (NoochZahHutt)

Part Thirty-Nine

 This is the message I delivered to the people:

Greetings. You'll be surprised, and probably glad to know that the previous president of the country has been dead for upwards of a year, based on the state we found his corpse in. It's a grim thing to say, I know, but it's true.

For that time, a computer, which has been named Peace, was ruling the nation. It was programmed to keep order and nothing else, hence the need for permits and heavy paperwork - computers can't read personality, they need specifics.

This computer will not be dismantled, but rather, put to another use: helping find scientific advancements.

My name is Brandon, but I sometimes go by Pete. I was part of a project done by an organization called SOUL Laboratories. In this project, ten ordinary people had their memories wiped and their souls bound to necklaces that gave them extraordinary powers. Together, with them, we overthrew the government, and now, we are technically the only ones in charge. However, I propose an election.

I don't know if you'll want some escaped experiment running the country or not, but I plan to run anyway. Another person that I know wants to run is a friend of mine called Ashley, who was not one of the experiments as I was. If anyone else wishes to run, instructions will be provided at the end of this message.

Currently, it is April. Voting will not take place until November so that the population can get a good idea of who they're voting for.

I thank you very much for listening to me.

-Brandon, AKA, Pete.

~~~

A few days later, I sat against Rob's tree with Mat by my side, watching as construction workers began tearing down the arena.

It had been a fairly mutual agreement through the population that the Genesis Arena had done more harm than good, and a giant tree served as a much better landmark. The sport of PvP would not halt, only become more regulated and involve less killing.

Preston told us that he could hear him, Rob, inside the tree. We all thought he was crazy.

But, to be honest, now that I was in close proximity to the trunk, I could feel...something. A life force that wasn't like a plant's. A life force that felt like Rob's.

Pink petals floated down gracefully from the sky. I wondered what color the leaves were going to be.

Mat grabbed my hand and rubbed it with his thumb.

"Hey, Brandon," he said, in the most serious tone I'd ever heard him speak.

"You called me Brandon," I observed.

"Yeah, I know, dumbass," he said. "Because I'm being serious for a moment."

"What's up?" I asked, slightly worried.

"Well, I was wondering," he began, "if maybe, you, y'know..."

"What?" I said, turning to face him more.

"If you...would want to..."

"Spit it out, fuckface," I said playfully, growing annoyed. I nudged his arm. He laughed.

"If you'd want to..." he trailed off, "...get married?"

I froze momentarily, my heart skipping a beat.

"Oh my god, are you proposing to me?!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah...I mean, that was the intention, yes..." Mat said awkwardly. "You can say no, it's fine, I..."

I cupped his cheeks in my hands and brought our faces close together. "Of course I want to marry you," I mumbled against his lips. I kissed him quickly.

"Okay, good," he said. "I'm not sure what I would have done if you'd said no."

~~~

Somehow, we managed to refrain from spilling the beans about our engagement while we walked with Choco, Kenny, Vikk, Lachlan, and Preston to Balamb.

The main reason we were going was because Kenny was worried about his wolves. As we walked, he continued to go on and on about each one and their personalities, how "oh, Coco must be so scared...she always clung to me when she was a puppy and I've never been away this long" or "I bet Bruiser doesn't miss me a bit. I have a scar on my ankle thanks to him."

"I have a question," Vikk stated, interrupting Kenny's monologue about his wolves. "What am I supposed to do now? Everyone thinks I'm dead."

"Uh," Lachlan said, putting a finger to his chin in thought. "That's a good question. Unfortunately, I don't have a good answer."

"Someone's gonna need to take care of Balamb," Choco suggested, "you two are both out of work, what do you say?"

Vikk and Lachlan exchanged glances, as though they were having a telepathic conversation. Then Lachlan turned to Choco.

"We'd be happy to," he said with a bright smile. "But what are you two going to do?"

"Kenny wanted to open a hospital in Genesis," Choco said, "and I figured I'd help him out."

"I'm going to stay in Genesis as well," Preston said. He was looking at the ground, his hands shoved in his pockets. "Someone needs to look after that tree - after Rob."

"What about you two?" Kenny asked, glancing at Mat and I.

"What, you mean presuming I don't get elected president?" I asked. "Oh, I dunno. Maybe something to do with PvP."

Mat's lips twitched. I could tell he was having a hard time not telling them.

We arrived at Balamb. The place had a sad, lonely aura.

Kenny's wolves were very happy to see him. Choco was very happy to see his old house, but sad to say goodbye to it.

After a bit of exploring, pulling weeds out of the farms, scaring away raccoons and lounging on Choco's porch, we gathered in the kitchen and snacked on whatever was left in the fridge (which wasn't much).

I nudged Mat's arm. He nodded.

"Hey, uh," Mat said, grabbing everyone's attention. "We, uh, have an announcement. Petey?"

He gestured to me. "Uh," I mumbled, "no, you can tell them."

"No, you do it," Mat retaliated, nudging my shoulder.

"No, please, you have the honors," I argued.

"Honestly, I want you to tell them," Mat said.

"Someone, just tell us already!" Preston exclaimed, frustrated. I swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

"Marproposedtomesonowwe'regettingmarriedIguess?" I said quickly.

"What?" Preston asked, confused.

"WHAT?!" Choco exclaimed, clearing having heard what I said.

"I have no idea what you just said," Lachlan said.

I sighed deeply. "Mat proposed to me so now we're getting married, I guess."

"Oh!" Kenny exclaimed. "Congrats, guys!"

Choco was still flabbergasted.

"Oh," Preston said, considerably more disappointed sounding than Kenny. It was understandable. His boyfriend had just become a tree. And it wasn't like you could legally marry a tree.

Congratulations were given, hugs were hugged. It finally started to feel like everything was going to be okay.

~~~

I went to prom last night im tired as FUCK

Ciao!