A Hero In The Dark

Chapter 119: Friend or Foe

On our way up to the surface, Five tells me about what he's been doing since the last time I saw him; before I faced Setrákus Ra.

Once he teleported using the Loralite stone and delivered the cloaking devices, he flew off on his own to a small unnamed island. There, he walked the shores a bit before settling in.

"I never intended to leave you or the others," he said. "It's just that, I saw the beach from where I teleported to and there was an island in the distance. And, I guess it kinda reminded me of Rey. All of a sudden, I wasn't ready to go back."

And that's where he has been all these months. Not just to that island, but other ones too. It's why he didn't show up to my birthday party or see the HGA to meet the students or went with us to meet the UN officials to sign the Garde Accord.

He was island hopping, just like he used to.

Flying from island to island until he came across one in particular and stayed.

"I'd like to take you there some time. If that's alright with you," he said as he stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. "It holds... a special place in my heart."

I didn't say anything at first, only thinking it over. The act of dragging an unconscious scientist that took away my legacies has really taken a toll. Not necessarily a physical toll, but more of an emotional one.

I haven't noticed the silence that passed until Five nudged my arm gently.

"Emily? Is everything alright?" he asked.

I didn't look up at him; only continued staring down the hall ahead. It took me a while to place the words to reply, but soon enough, they came.

"No," I said with a shake of my head. "Everything is not alright Five."

Initially I paused to wait to see his reaction but thinking about it all just made me cry. Five stopped me from walking any further by putting a hand on my shoulder and turning me around to face him. At which point, I just couldn't do.

I dropped Drac, turned away, and hid my face in my hands. Cried. I felt like falling. I didn't feel strong enough to hold even my own weight, my legs wobbly as they were.

When Five approached to hold me by my arms in an attempt to settle my tears, that was when I broke even further. I stepped away, wrapped my arms tight around my midsection, and stared at the grey floor of the complex.

Then said, "All of you might think that I'm strong enough without legacies; or that I can figure it out with time, but you don't know me. None of you know who I am or who I was before I got legacies. Before I joined you guys; before I found John. I was just a kid. A kid going to school without her best friend since first grade. A kid growing up in a household that never understood her. That never understood what she liked or didn't like, felt or didn't feel, did or didn't do. A home without emotion is just a prison. People telling you what to do, how to live, when to feel. It becomes a pain of its own." I paused when my heart thumped in my throat and swallowed the lump that arose. My gaze drifted to Drac, lying unconscious on the floor, and I continued, "My legacies are what made me strong. I'm not sure I want to go back to living my life the way it was. Helpless and powerless and unable to press on. If he- if I can't get my legacies back... I don't know what to do..."

Five was standing right beside me then, but I only realized when he put an arm around my shoulders. Instinctively, without even being aware of doing so, I leaned my head on his shoulder. Pixie rubbed her fur against my legs and Five kissed my cheek. I hardly noticed.

Though when I did, and it became clear that I did, I slowly pulled away. Not so much as in anger, but almost as in surprise. Even though it was, and still is, hard to feel much of anything.