The full weight of the war Yume has now become woven into crushes her. The guilt of being the cause of all this destruction is a burden to bear. Maybe if she hadn’t gone to Hypatia and been so hardheaded about learning the truth, this all wouldn’t have happened.
She sobs into Hypatia’s shoulders, trying not to huff the dust and ash coating her cloak. Hypatia turns around to hold Yume in a shared bitter solace. Yume can feel the soft impacts of Hypatia’s tears against her hair. A tight embrace of enormous emotion.
A slight pitter patter can be heard from behind the many pillars of smoke. Mygal rounds the corner and cautiously walks near the two of them, keeping a keen eye on Rosie. He speaks directly to them after a healthy amount of inspection.
“Yume, Hypatia, what is wrong with this creature? Why does she not attack you?”
Hypatia wipes away a layer of snot and tears off her face.
“She was reprogrammed.” She motions towards the pile of rubble where Junker’s body lays silent and still. “Our friend fixed her so she wouldn’t harm others. Her name is Rosie.”
“Is your friend all right in there?” Mygal attempts to lift up a piece of the concrete and Junker screams out in pain.
“Leave him be, there’s nothing we can do without putting him through further pain.” Hypatia snaps urgently.
The other two spiders arrive and then begin communicating to each other. Mygal and Weaver nod at each other and then make laps around the pile. Yume and Hypatia get up and try to get them to stop, but they are not reacting to their pleas.
After several laps of them investigating every crevice, they begin attaching bits of web to specific pieces on either side. The two of them spend several minutes precisely placing strands and weaving certain pieces together. Mygal finishes first and then Weaver second. They glance at each other and then in a swift motion, they use their front legs to get underneath the web and then lift up, throwing the pieces behind them.
Junker howls at the sudden movement and writhes in pain. The pieces that penetrated him have been removed.
Mygal darts his eyes towards Yume. “Retrieve a vial of fixer from our supplies. Time is of the essence.”
Yume nods and runs towards Mygal’s satchels and frantically digs through them, throwing items out without thought. After digging through two bags unsuccessfully, she opens a third and is met with a bright, blue glow. She shoves her hands in and grabs a vial.
“I got it!” She yells and then sprints towards Junker. “There’s no needle on this, what do I do?” She asks.
Hypatia comes to her aid and grabs the vial from her hand. She cracks the glass near the top, creating a clean opening.
“Yume, hold his mouth open.” Hypatia says.
Yume nods and follows her order. It’s a bit of a struggle as Junker’s body is spasming in pain, but she eventually pins him down enough to pry his mouth open. Hypatia tilts the vial over and pours it entirety into his mouth. A few moments pass and he stops moving erratically and begins to smile. It starts as a subtle creak of his lips and then engulfs his face.
“Ahh…” He exclaims. “This is the good stuff, isn’it?”
Hypatia laughs, with tears still flowing freely. “Yeah, Junk. We got it straight from the source.”
His body begins to twitch and spasm. “So, these eight-legged fellas taught you to make fixer?” He chuckles, “Well, they sure know what they’re doing. My lord!”
His eyes roll back in pure ecstasy.
“I’m so glad you’re going to make it, Junk. We’ll let you enjoy the buzz.” Hypatia says, as Junker starts to writhe and roll around while the fixer begins to work its magic.
Hypatia turns to Yume and lifts her as she stands up. Yume is shaking form the whirlwind of events and finds herself unable to stop sobbing heavily. Hypatia embraces her in a tight hug and lets her get the emotions out on her shoulder.
“You know, dear, this isn’t your fault. None of this is.” Hypatia says.
“I-I know that. It’s just hard to not take the blame.” Yume says and exits Hypatia’s embrace to gesture broadly at the destruction around her. “Look at what they did. It’s a fucking warzone out here, all because I broke your fake memory. It’s disgusting.”
“It is, Yume, it really is. Take it in. Look around you and really digest it.”
Hypatia lets Yume look around at the cratered landscape and then points up towards The Rung. She slowly stops shaking and her tears subside as she stares upwards intently. That familiar feeling of conflicting emotions creeps its way back in her head.
“We broke their failsafe and then created an enormous amount of energy cleansing that node. They did this because they fear what we may do next.”
Hypatia’s words inspire Yume’s controlled chaotic clash of love and hate. These emotions rumble within her, with the contents of her hate rapidly changing states. An hour ago, it felt like a vibrant, bright red. Fueled with passion and anger. Now, it’s tainted and rotting. A putrid, coagulation of deep maroon clinging to strands of black, burnt scars. It’s sharp and jagged. This new-found hatred is pure violence and disdain.
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All the love in her heart can’t deescalate such a feeling. The hatred overcomes her and it’s near impossible to contain. It manifests itself through an audible groan.
“We need to take this fight to them. To their city. To their people.” Yume says, with a confident posture. “I want to bring the fear to their front door.”
“Let’s give Junker a chance to wake up, then we’ll head there.” Hypatia says, noticing Yume’s drive. “I like that look in your eyes, it reminds me of someone.”
Yume smiles briefly, “You think so, huh? I remind you of him?”
She stifles her smile and tucks it beneath a grim determination.
“I understand it all now, so, so clearly.” She says, now staring at the dirt at her feet. “He was hardly there for me as a teen, you know? I hated him for that. Now that I have seen The Chamber’s true colors, I don’t blame him. If I weren’t so angry right now, I would be crying. It all has made me love and respect him so much more.”
Hypatia sets her hand on Yume’s shoulder.
Yume continues, “He was fighting for me. Not just for me though, for every person. He wanted to make the world livable for us.” She throws her hands up, gesturing broadly at the people in The Rung. “I can’t let his, or any of the constellation members’ efforts die. We will end this, together.”
Hypatia smiles and takes her hand off her shoulder. “Yep! Just like him!” She laughs and walks away towards Junker and the spiders.
Yume follows behind her and watches as Junker’s twitching slowly tapers off. His body lays still for a few moments before springing to life and jumping up to his feet.
“WHOOO!! That stuff was nice, Pat.” He turns abruptly to her for a high-five.
The two of them slap their hands together over and over like children. Junker laughs giddily and Hypatia shares a grin with him. This moment of happiness is ever fleeting, as Hypatia’s look grows ever more serious by the second. She eventually stops high-fiving and grabs his hand to prevent another slap.
“Junk, do you have any fight left in you? Do you want to join us?” She asks.
“F-fight? The hell are you talkin’ about, girl? Don’t you have eyes? We already lost! Two times now to be exact. I don’t ev’n know why they attacke-“ Hypatia places a finger over his lips to stop his babbling.
“Junk, listen.” She says a takes a deep breath in. “Do you remember what Yume asked of you, before all of this happened?”
“Oh, yeah…sort of?” He scratches his head. “Somethin’ about some fairytale nonsense Adam gave her on a memory node. She wanted to tell you, but I didn’t want her bringing up old wounds.”
Hypatia sighs. “Well, what she has shown me was detrimental to our futures.”
Junker’s absence of eyebrows lift up in shock. “There’s no way in hell that’s real!”
“Oh, but it is, Junk.” She sighs. “Just the action of her showing me those memories was enough to alert them. It broke the hook that they gave me before I returned to the pit.”
“Jesus, I didn’t even know you were hooked. Guess it’s all sort of making sense now.” His eyes suddenly light up. “You know, you could’ve given me a heads up! Me n’ Rosie were just sitting in the shop when all hell broke loose.”
Hypatia grimaces and looks down. “I know, Junk, that wasn’t fair to you. We didn’t have time; I am truly sorry. We had to meet with our friends to fix something before The Chamber made it down here.”
“Well, what is this thing? I fix stuff! Ya could’ve come to me.” He pouts.
“Do you recall a red node on Yume’s bracelet?”
Junker shakes his head. “I mean, I saw it. Just thought it was a cracked node or somethin’ of that sort.”
“Well, that node was what caused the first cull. It was originally a gift of monumental power created by the king to be bestowed upon his child, Shingetsu. Adam, Gael, and I stole it from the king before it was given to him. This node had the power of ultimate control, regardless of having a node. He would’ve used it to turn our entire planet into a similar society.”
Junker laughs, “Yeah, OK. I see now why you didn’t want me tinkering with that.”
Hypatia smiles. “It’s not that we didn’t trust you, Junk. Weaver, Mygul, and Morphae possess the knowledge needed to cleanse something like that. It’s the same process they use to make fixer. We believe that us cleansing such a powerful tool is what caused them to come down so hard upon us.”
Junker looks at her, with a curious look. “So they know you have their toy?”
“We’re unsure. It’s our belief that they know something substantial occurred down here. We’re hoping they are unaware of the truth.”
Junker crosses his arms. “So, let me get this straight. You two have those bastards’ ultimate weapon and you’re gonna use it to kill ‘em?” He chuckles. “Hell, I’m in! Y’all can do the heavy lifting with your fancy node and I’ll sit and look pretty!”
Yume and Hypatia both laugh along with him.
“That didn’t take much convincing!” Yume says.
Junker smiles and snaps back “Girl, you’re lucky you just saved my life! I’m still mad at you for pulling a fast one on me. ‘I’m just going for a walk’ yeah, my ass!” He laughs heartily, trying to prevent Yume from feeling guilt, “It’s alright, darlin’ I know you had good intentions.”
“I’m sorry I lied to you. I just felt like it was what I had to do.” She says, quietly with her head down.
Junker points towards the piles of rubble around them. “Well, you can make it up to me with a new shop and a doghouse for Rosie! After we take care of business, of course.”
They both chuckle and Yume gives him a hug. Junker squeezes her hard, almost to the point of discomfort. Yume wants to wiggle out, but she knows this is his way of showing love and forgiveness.
Hypatia turns to Junker. “Our only way up is on the backs of our friends here, we will have to leave Rosie behind for this.”
Junker looks to Rosie and smiles, “She ain’t stayin’ here! She can climb just as good as these big fellas!” He gives Rosie a hefty slap on the top of one of her segments. “Ain’t that right, girl?”
Rosie jumps at the opportunity and starts climbing the rocks and debris around them, in an over the top effort to show off. Junker cheers her on with a few that’a girl!’s and gooooood job Rosie!’s. Her effort wasn’t for naught, as the other party members chuckle and silently agree that she can join them.
The group gathers all of the supplies that Yume threw about earlier and secure them for the journey ahead. They head towards the giant wall and Hypatia walks Junker through the gist of their plan.
“So, when we get up there, there is more than likely going to be heightened security.” She says, in a serious tone. “With Yume’s node, we’ll be able to break the citizens of The Rung out of their delusions. I will then try my best to recruit them to join our battle.”
“Interesting, so this node works the opposite way of what it used to?” Junker asks.
“Precisely. We have already proven this on Yume. Once we gather all the people we can, we’ll head to our old entrance to the middle. There should still be a stash of equipment there that can help us with transporting all the new people.”
“From there we just gotta murder a prince?” He asks.
“I’ll be frank with you, Junk. Once we get to The Pinnacle, there is no plan. Killing Shingetsu and the king is the goal. How we achieve those is going to be an in the moment decision. We don’t know what’s awaiting us up there.”
“Ah, that’s reassuring!” He laughs, slightly pained with fear, “I’m sure we’ll be alright.”
“We will be. I’ll make sure of it.” Yume says, confidently.
Junker smiles with wide eyes at her. “I like this new thing you got goin’ on, Yume. Not the same question-askin’ girl I knew some days ago.”
The team reach the base of the wall and mount their respective spiders, with Rosie trailing behind them. One by one, they ascend the wall in a straight line.
As the ground beneath them gets further and further away, Yume feels a tinge of fear and immediately squelches it. This is it, she thinks to herself. The last time she had a thought like this, it was on the day of her cycle graduation.
The juxtaposition of this memory against the reality she is in draws a smile on her face. She realizes she is ascending today, just not in a way she ever dreamt of.