Skyfall Chapter 26
26
"Tomorrow night." Kato sighed, staring up at the ceiling. I leaned back in the chair beside his bed. It was late afternoon, and Kato seemed to be well rested. The nurse ordered him to stay until dinner time so that they could monitor him, and I decided to stay with him. We had been casually chatting for a while, until the subject of the eclipse came up. Now, we both sat in nervous silence, wondering if our fate had already been sealed by the events that had passed today. "Do you think Misha could actually be feeling bad for what he's done?" I finally asked. Kato's eyes glanced over to mine, but his face remained pointed towards the ceiling. "I don't know." He sighed, looking back up at the ceiling. "He wasn't always like this. I've since forced myself to forget about who he once was, or who I thought he was." "Who did you think he was?" I whispered, leaning closer. Kato squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his head back into his pillow, sinking down in the bed a bit. "I'm sorry." I mumbled, feeling guilty. "You don't have to talk about it." "I should talk about it." Kato replied, adjusting in the bed and sitting up slightly. "I never have before." He let out a heavy sigh before continuing. "But I think it's time to revisit those thoughts." "When I was in the basement, I was tormented by Reck and another scientist, whose name I can't recall anymore. I was a powerful, young phoenix, and they needed Reck to control my telepathic powers. I killed a few scientists within the first week I was there, but soon they had subdued me enough, and I no longer posed a threat." I listened to Kato's story, trying to not become angry or emotional. "They forced me to take a human form." He sighed, staring at his hands. "Misha was actually the one who taught me to communicate. He taught me to speak, and he would also let me back into my phoenix form sometimes. He was the only one who showed me any sort of compassion. "After a while, I was moved to a cage that was too small for me to transform in. Misha would still cut back on the dose of toxin that kept me from transforming, which allowed me to keep a pretty high level of magic energy within me. After a while, I guess I sort of fell for him. He defended me many times, and if it weren't for him, I would have probably stayed in the basement." Kato let out a heavy sigh as he tried to remain calm. "I made the first move. Sometimes I wonder if I started all of this...it wasn't long after me that he went insane." I opened my mouth to try and assure Kato that it wasn't his fault, but he continued speaking. "I ended up killing the head scientist in charge of me. I used fire magic, and burned him from the inside out. Misha tried to take the blame for what had happened, but Hale didn't listen. I was punished, and I would have allowed myself to die..." Kato paused, his voice strained. "But then Misha convinced Hale to let me out. And not only that, but Misha convinced Hale to let me keep my ability to use magic. I don't know how he did it, but he did." I stared at Kato in disbelief. It actually seemed like Misha fought for Kato's life...Misha really had cared. "Of course, you know the rest of the story." Kato said. "We were together for a while, until I was drugged to the point that I was completely human." He paused and stared at me with dull eyes. "I guess it makes sense now...why I was never enough for him once I was human. Who knows, maybe he really did care about me." My ears fell as I watched Kato realize exactly what happened. "I guess I should have known." He said with a humorless laugh. "It's amazing how someone can remain in denial for so long." "It wasn't your fault." I said. "I don't even think Misha knew why you weren't enough for him." "Being in denial doesn't justify anything." Kato said apathetically. "I'm kidding myself. Misha didn't care about me. All he wanted was to get high from my potent, phoenix energy." He continued. "Besides that, Misha could have resisted his urges. If he cared he wouldn't have done what he did." Kato snapped, his eyes burning with rage. "He didn't need to rape his experiments to survive." "He became addicted to the power he gained from it, and I watched him become worse and worse. I watched him turn into what he is now, and yet I find myself wondering if the Misha I fell for was just a lie." I shivered and swallowed hard, nodding slowly. "I'm sorry." Kato said, sending me a sad look. "It's fine. I find myself thinking the same thing quite often." I paused to take a shaky breath. "I think Hale has something to do with him acting so kindly to us. I don't believe Misha could suddenly change this drastically." With a nod, Kato sat up a bit more. "Yeah." He said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Well, it's about dinner time. Let's get out of here." "What about tomorrow?" I pressed. "The plan is get to Skyfall. We can talk telepathically as things happen." Kato said. "I don't know how to plan things until we know what's going to happen. I haven't even seen Caliber around to ask him, and honestly I don't know much about the details." Kato stood up and looked around for his clothes. He was naked except for a pair of boxers. I let my eyes wander across his muscled body for just a moment before I became anxious again. "The slithurm you killed." I said, my ears pricking forward. "Do you think it was sent by someone? Someone who's after Hale? Vladimir made it sound like something might be coming for Hale on the night of the eclipse." "It's possible. Slithurms are often allied with Vladimir's brother...I don't know much about the politics between the two, but I know that Vladimir's brother is the jealous type. I think their relationship is quite strained. Perhaps he hates Hale." "Hale mentioned something about a war...Something about Vladimir's brother having a war coming that was distracting the Goddesses, and that's why..." I stopped there, realizing Hale didn't think the Goddess would be here to help me. Maybe he was right. "Why what?" Kato asked, slipping his pants back on. "Why Hale felt confident that the Dark Goddess didn't care about me enough to save me. He thinks she'll be distracted with the war." "Don't worry about it." Kato sighed. "It doesn't concern us. If something's coming for Hale, that'll just help us. And you don't need the Goddess." "Unless the slithurms attack you, as well." I mumbled. "And I guess It'd just be nice to feel like the Goddess was there for me." "If you're so worried, why don't you ask Misha for some extra antidote while he's pretending to be your buddy?" Kato asked as he finished buttoning up his shirt. "I can't relate to ever having the Goddess there for me, but if she has faith in you, clearly you can do it on your own." He glanced up at me and winked. "But you won't even be alone, you've got me." I smiled at Kato, who was smirking at me. "We'll be fine. At least, that's what we have to tell ourselves." He sighed. "Now come on, I'm starving." He slipped on his coat and shook it into place with his hands. He seemed energized, ready to take on the world. I followed him out of the room somewhat hesitantly. The phoenix had a bounce to his step as he walked out of the medical wing. I was surprised to see his mood brighten so quickly. My eyes shifted to his wrist, and I caught a glimpse of the glowing marking that burned into his flesh.I know you're excited... I mentally whispered to him. But you should act more subdued, or else Misha might change his mind and drug you again. Kato turned to me with a smile. "I'm sorry." He laughed as he pulled his coat sleeve down his wrist. "It just feels so great, being this alive." My heart stung at the joy in his voice. I couldn't ask him to be upset; he deserved to feel happy. But it wouldn't be long until he could feel this way all the time. I sighed and followed him into the dining hall. I looked around the large room, feeling like I'd spent most of my conscious time here lately. "Would you like to go outside?" I asked. "We can take food." Kato glanced out towards the main entrance and through the glass doors. The sun hadn't begun to fall yet, meaning we could sit out on the lookout point and watch the sunset. "I don't know..." Kato said slowly as he thought. "It's pretty cold out." I nodded. "Oh. Right...We better keep you well rested." Kato burst into a smile again. "No way. Let's go outside." He said, dashing towards the food. The life in Kato startled me. I hadn't seen him act this way in so long...maybe even since Eldon, when he'd last become the flaming bird. I stared at him as I realized the Kato I'd known was just a restrained fragment of the phoenix. Any other happiness I saw in Kato seemed so shallow compared to this genuine bliss. Kato glanced back at me with a questioning look, and when he realized I hadn't followed him, he grabbed a few more pieces of food and shoved them onto an empty tray. He then ran back over to me and handed it to me. "Well, come on." He said, waving his tray of food towards the exit. I followed him out and carefully looked around. "Are you sure it's a good idea?" I asked. "I mean, I'm happy to go outside, but what about the slithurm problem?" "The lookout point is TRIL's." Kato assured me. "No slithurm would dare come so close. The boarder where I was attacked is several miles away." We stepped through the glass doors, the icy air sending chills through my fur. I shivered as my paws touched the sharp snow. After a few minutes, my body adjusted to the cold, and I stopped shivering. I nervously watched Kato, who seemed to be keeping warm in his jacket. We walked up the familiar trail to the lookout point. The only flowers that remained against the stark white were deep, blue-violet. Of course. I thought to myself. Of course the dark and winter go hand in hand. It was nice to be walking up this trail with Kato again. The last time I trekked through snow, I had discovered Misha at the plateau. This time, I was stomping through the thick snow with Kato following eagerly in my footsteps. The experience was very different and strangely exciting this time. Even the silence of the winter air seemed better when I was in Kato's company. By the time we reached the plateau, our food was ice cold. Kato used a blast of flames and wind to clear the ice from the tree that snaked over the edge, and he gestured me to follow him up. He jumped up with ease, balancing his food on his tray as he trot over to the edge of the tree. I carefully clawed my way up the slick bark and met him as he gazed down into the valley. He set his tray down and rubbed his hands together for a moment, taking a few deep breaths. I sat down across from him as he crouched down on the branch and began to warm his food with some heat between his hands. Curious, I stared at him. He looked up at me after a few moments and grinned. "What?" He asked. "Forget how to use fire?" "It's just cold out." I said, rubbing my own hands together. "I haven't had as much practice as you." I focused on the energy between my palms and attempted to produce heat without igniting a flame, but failed. The energy kept sparking, and the dissipating into steam in the frigid air. I sighed as Kato laughed at me. "I'm tired." I said with a smirk. "Aw come on. That's not the Decipher I know." I exhaled deeply and watched my breath mist out in front of my face. I let the silence of the air calm my mind, and then tried again. This time, there were barely any sparks, but I was only able to barely send a wave of heat to my food before the energy ignited and sent a wave of fire over it. "Forget it!" I laughed, picking up the lukewarm meat. "Close enough." "See?" Kato asked, picking at his own food. "We can still have good times." "I never said we couldn't." I said, gnawing at the meat. "I know." He sighed. "But we both need a reminder sometimes." His voice became a bit more serious as he looked down at his food. "Just make sure you remember the good, no matter what happens." "Hey." I said. "Don't turn this into one of those moments. We're going to make it. Kato's eyes remained on his food, and his face held a sad smile. "I know." He said softly, but his tone worried me. I don't think he believed me. The moment felt all too familiar as I remembered my few friends back home...who hadn't made it. I glanced down towards the white valley, which was full of snow. The valley seemed to be shallow now in comparison to the summer months, and I wondered just how deep the snow went. I smiled at the thought of watching Kato fly into it, melting it away as he sank to the bottom of the fluffy layers of white. I looked back up to Kato, who had become quiet as he ate. "Are you warm enough?" I asked. "Yeah. It's much easier to stay warm when I have my energy to help me." He said. "But I shouldn't exhaust myself, you're right." I looked at the sky. "We don't have much longer until the sun sets behind Skyfall." "Yeah. I want to see that." He said, following my gaze. "I haven't been able to see a winter sunset yet this season." "Hey, Kato," I asked, keeping my eyes fixated on the mountains, "why are the mountains called Skyfall?" Kato leaned back against the tree and put his hands into his pockets. "Only those who have seen the top of the mountains truly understand why." He said, letting his eyes wander across the edges of Skyfall. "The grave of the original spirits of the sky sit atop the mountains. They say their spirits still roam there. The western peak is home to the female spirit, and her mate rests atop the eastern peak. Many people have travelled there for knowledge, to ask the great spirits for guidance." I remembered what Asodar had told me. Skyfall holds every answer you have ever sought. I watched as the sun began to fall behind the peaks. After a few moments, I turned to Kato. Maybe he and I would seek the answers of Skyfall together. The pure world around us was set ablaze by the setting sun. The white snow trapped the colors of the light and reflected them in ways that my eyes could hardly comprehend. I watched the warm hues slowly turn to cold indigo as the sun vanished. I looked back at Kato and noticed he had moved closer to me. For a moment, I could see the silhouette of the flaming bird dancing around him as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the fresh air. He was sitting right next to me, eyes fixated on the last of the light as he slowly opened them. For a moment, his eyes wandered to mine, but he swiftly looked away. He was starting to shiver. I carefully stood on the branch, picking up my food tray as I gazed into the dark valley. It was so tempting to just run now...to forget about Reck finding out...to just hope we could outrun them... "Come on." I sighed, gazing into the now-black pit. "We should go inside before it gets too cold." Kato shook in a rough shiver and nodded. "Yeah. I'm already pretty cold." He said, shakily standing up. I reached a hand out to help steady him. He gripped my hand tightly, and I carefully led him off the tree. He seemed hesitant to let go, I cringed and had to pull away. We stepped into my earlier footprints and began our descent back to the lab. We stepped back into the warmth of the lab, and Kato was greeted by a guard. "Kato." He began, glancing at a sheet of paper. "Come with me. The medical facility would like to do a physical to ensure you are healing correctly." Kato nodded and glanced at me. "Well, I'll see you later then, Decipher." He said, handing me his tray. "Would you mind putting this back in the dining hall for me?" I took his tray and stared at him helplessly. I had a bad feeling about this, but I didn't argue. I watched him walk away with the guard before heading into the dining hall. When I entered the dining hall, I caught site of Caliber as he put his dishes away. I ran over to meet him. "Caliber!" I shouted as I put my trays down. "How have you been?" He looked up at me with a somewhat stunned expression. "I've been fine." He said. "Can we talk?" Caliber glanced around nervously. "Sure." He sighed. "But not here. Your room?" I nodded as we began to walk towards my room. It felt like it'd been so long since I'd spent an entire night there. "How have you been?" Caliber asked me, staring into me with his golden brown eyes. "Fine." I lied out of habit, but then noticed Caliber's skeptical expression. "Okay, not so fine." I admitted. "But today has been better. Kato's been pretty happy, too." "Kato?" Caliber asked as we began to climb the stairs towards my room. "Decipher...you can't let your happiness depend on others." We passed the information desk, and I thought about Caliber's words for a few moments. My ears fell. "Oh." I shrugged. "I'm not really...It's just nice that Kato's also happy." "What do you want out of this life, Decipher?" I opened my mouth, but stopped myself from saying what I was thinking. I just want Kato to be happy. I sighed. What was wrong with that? "Do you want to leave this place?" He asked as we walked down the hallway to my room. I nodded. "Of course I do! It just happened that Kato made me brave enough to try and escape." I whispered. We stopped at my door, and Caliber stared at me with a probing look as I unlocked it. "Is it wrong that I just want Kato to be happy?" I exclaimed. "I just care about him!" "Not at all, Decipher." Caliber said, keeping his eyes on mine. "But you can't let Kato be your only source of happiness. That's a dangerous road." I sighed as I opened the door and walked inside my room, trying to ignore his statement. I was too exhausted to think about it too hard. I flipped on the light switch for the first time in ages and sat down on the couch. The dim lamps flickered on after a few moments and illuminated the room just enough. "What's going to happen tomorrow?" I asked Caliber, who was standing by the window, gazing out into the dark sky. After a few moments, he turned to me with a sad expression. "Hale has big plans for you, unfortunately. It's going to be tricky getting out." "Kato was attacked by a sliturm. Do you think something will come for Hale?" "Probably." Caliber sighed. "But that's not the best news for you two. Kato is especially vulnerable." "I know." I cringed, rubbing my head in frustration. "I'm hoping Misha will make me some extra antidote while he's pretending to love me." "You think he's pretending?" The question took me off guard. I stared at Caliber for a few moments as he turned back towards the sky. "I don't trust him, if that's what you mean." "You shouldn't trust him." Caliber said, watching the stars. "But believe me, Decipher, he does love you. He's never tried so hard before." "Don't tell me that." I groaned. "It's hard enough convincing myself I'm going to kill him." Caliber turned around completely to face me, and sat down beside me on the couch. "Kill him?" He asked, shocked. "That's a pretty serious decision, Decipher." "Doesn't he deserve to die?" I asked, somewhat irritated. "The Goddess herself told me not to pity him!" "It's not my place to say whether or not he deserves to die." Caliber let out a slow breath. "But it doesn't matter what I think. I've killed people who were far more innocent, just for TRIL's benefit. Just make sure that's what you really want to do. You have to live with your decision for the rest of your life." Confused, I sighed and stared out the windows. I had no idea what the Goddess expected of me, but I was growing tired of jumping through hoops for her. I needed to stick with my decision. "Is there any helpful advice you can give me for tomorrow?" I asked after a few moments, still staring at the starry skies. "Yes, actually." He sighed again. "There are a few windows of opportunity. The eclipse should happen a few hours after dinner. Hale will probably bring you to an alter that will be set up in the courtyard if he intends to sacrifice you," he sighed, "which is the rumor going around." "Do you know anything about that sacrifice?" I asked hopefully. "Not really." Caliber let out a heavy sigh. "But I do know that Hale will be weak, and vulnerable. It's Reck you want to watch out for. He's the one in charge of keeping us employees in check." "How can I fight him?" Caliber's eyes shot towards me, as if he was surprised by the question. "That's not a wise thing to do, Decipher. Avoiding him is your best strategy." He said, keeping his wide eyes on me. "Unless you want to go insane." I leaned back on the couch and stared hopelessly towards the stars. "Well, what can I do?" I sighed. "What are those windows of opportunity you spoke of?" Caliber leaned forward and followed my gaze towards the stars. "Before Hale drags you out into the courtyard, he will probably try and drug you. I'm assuming he'll have Misha administer the drugs...if this is the case, you have the chance of convincing Misha to help you escape." He said, looking back at me. "And if you can't convince Misha, your other option is to fight the drug. I know you have the capability to do so...it just might be difficult." "Wait." I said, furrowing my brows. "Hale said something about me fighting him during the eclipse...or fighting back, at least. What do you think he meant by that?" "I couldn't say." Caliber shrugged. "But he might just be trying to fuck with your head. Be smart about this, and you'll be able to get out. Hale will only try so hard to keep you here. As long as you can run far enough, he won't bother looking for you." "Why not?" I asked, somewhat surprised. "Hale seems to have gotten what he wants from you, especially since he's planning on sacrificing you. If he misses the eclipse, you are no longer useful to him." Caliber shrugged. "From what I've seen, he's not really one to seek revenge. It's just not worth it for him. The worst he'll do is probably issue a bounty on you, but that should be easy enough to take care of once you're out. Honestly, I think Hale has a lot of respect for those that can escape him. I don't know what goes on in his head, but I think if you win the game, he respects that outcome." I nodded and stared off into space. That was...somewhat comforting. At least I didn't have to worry about living in hiding forever. Caliber stood, shaking me from my thoughts. "Well, I should go. My break's almost over." He turned his back to me as he looked out the windows one last time. "Goodbye, Decipher." He said. "It was nice." I stood next to him, and walked with him to the door. "Thanks for everything, Caliber." I whispered, trying to deny that this was our farewell. "I hope to see you again someday." "Doubtful." He said with a hint of a laugh. "You'll make it out." He didn't look back at me as he disappeared into the dark hallway.