Chapter 64 Common Cold
“When I mentioned the concept of ‘therapy’ to Jarial, he simply did not recognise it. Indeed, it did once exist on Bulwark, back during the ancient days of the apocalypse and the Golden Age of Gadgeteering, but it had been one of those things lost to the ages.” - I. La Bamboo Hat Meister
Aiden stepped back, avoiding a splash of sea foam as the boat docked. It was an old fishing vessel, decorated more with rust and barnacles than its original paint. There were some strange burn marks on the bow, along with signs of battle damage. His eyes narrowed for a moment as a man threw a rope. Rain caught it, quickly tying it to the docks. Aiden’s eyes stayed on the man, he was an older gentlemen, straight posture with a figure similar to his, but tanned and salt beaten like he had spent his life wrestling the sea. The ship and man were much alike in that regard.
“Lao Wu!” Ya called out to him in qin.
“Still have all your teeth Ya?” Wu’s lips curled at the pun as he threw down a gangplank.
Without prompting Aiden stepped onto the boat, following the two.
Wu turned to him, “Who is this young lad?”
Aiden shook his head, “Sorry, I don’t understand qin.”
“Who him?” Wu asked again in broken Injish, gesturing towards him.
“New hire,” Ya introduced him, then gestured at Wu, “This is Lucky Wu, he’s captain of this ship, you’ll be seeing each other frequently in the coming days.”
Aiden held out a hand, “Pleased to meet you.”
Wu took it, his grip had the wry strength of a steel wire. He let go, and followed the group into the cabin, quietly listening in to their conversation.
“How’d it go?”
“We got Hei into the ship, but he got found at the end.”
Ya greeted the other crew mates as they brought out a large black sail and strung it up. Guessing what was happening, Aiden followed them and stepped into the sail. Popping into the pure black world that was Vanta’s ability.
The person in question was waiting, a pure black silhouette only visible in the darkness because he stood surrounded by large wooden crates and shipping containers.
Aiden spoke, “This is?”
“Your future job,” Ya said. “Vanta’s been raiding Muriganna merchant ships, he needs a partner.”
“Piracy,” Rain stated.
“Privateering,” Ya corrected. “Important distinction here.”
“I thought the Democracy was one of the Five Threats?” Aiden asked.
“Bah!” Ya snorted. “Everyone says that until they need their exports.” He gestured at one of the crates, and without a word Wu brought a crow bar and wrenched it open. Spilling piles of packaged clothing onto the matte black floor. “You’re wearing some of their stuff even now.”
Aiden paused, he looked at the tag of his jacket. It was a small detail, but the tag appeared to have been ripped off and grafted with a new one with a symbol of weighing scales. Looking at the pile, he could find an identical jacket with its original tag of stars and stripes.
“Should I be worried?” Aiden took off his jacket, then remembered his entire clothing set had been bought from the same place.
“Not terribly,” Ya answered. “They still go through the same checks, undoubtedly stricter in fact, given their origin. Once it’s in your hands they should be entirely free of influence. It’s not strange if you choose their stuff. They’re made personally by their National Level Hero, Arachne. The durability and protection it offers is insanely high for how cheap they’re sold.”
With a more ominous tone, he added, “Of course, I personally don’t wear anything of theirs, and neither do my men.”
With a bit of hesitance, Aiden slipped his jacket back on, “National level heroes, they use a different rating scale than we do, what’s its meaning?”
“National level is simple, it merely means this individual has the capacity to rival the entire country in at least one industry. Arachne is placed there for she can rival the textile output of a global superpower.”
Aiden paused, silently processing the implications when Ya chuckled. “You shouldn’t be surprised, your principal is rated one such person.”
“Principal General Monger?”
He nodded, “You know he is S-Class, but they rate him as a National Level Hero of combat. The Democracy assumes that if they brought the full force of their military against him, sans another National Level, they would be equally matched. Of course, that is a lie, the smart money is on him.”
Aiden had to scoff, “Then what the hell is he doing being a teacher?”
“It is not that strange,” Rain interjected. “For him to pursue strength beyond strength.”
Ya gestured at Vanta, “We have gone off topic, Vanta is perfectly capable of infiltrating their ships, but the risk has gotten tighter. He needs a bodyguard inside his shadow.”
“And Rain can’t do that because…?”
She crossed her arms, “I can’t hide myself from your Gifted sense.”
Understanding, Aiden offered his hand to Vanta, “Then I’ll be pleased to be working with you.”
He hesitated, his hands moved in a series of movements Aiden recognised as sign language.
“You will also have to be his ears,” Rain noted.
Vanta nodded, then signed something.
“Yes, yes,” she shrugged, “the tea maker was just saying he would be glad to work with you.”
The black paint slid off Vanta’s arm as he offered it to him, revealing a bone pale hand, Aiden shook it.
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Aiden dreamt of a pitchblack room. Arm rested on a well worn wooden table covered in half finished homework and dishes covered in plastic wrap, staring at the door as he waited.
He heard her before he saw her, a familiar gait wearing unfamiliar shoes. ‘Heels,’ he recognised. Followed by the sound of quiet sobbing. Key jingling, a few stabs at the door which missed the keyhole, before she found her mark and the door was pushed open with a groan.
She closed the door, kicked off her shoes, and fell huddled to the ground.
“Jaiden.” Aiden flipped the lights on.
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She jumped up, “Aiden! You’re back already?”
He took her in. Tear marks and ruined mascara, make up and red nail polish inexpertly applied by an amateur hand, clothing that was… revealing. His fist tightened. “Where were you?”
Jaiden held herself tight, as if trying to shield herself from the cold with a thin blanket. “I was just out with my friends. What do you care? You’re never home.”
His hand went slack as his face fell. She could see him, eyes ringed with bags and hair freckled with grey. “I prepared dinner for you.”
Her eyes flickered to the table for the first time, seeing her homework which Aiden had left notes on, then at the food cold and wrapped. Jaiden took a shaky step forward, then another like the moment before a house of cards fell, she collapsed to the floor sobbing. Aiden was by her in an instant.
“I wanted to help,” she sobbed. “You’re never around, you’re so busy… I wanted to make it easier for you…”
Her hands cupped her face, clawing at it like a cage, “I don’t want to be a burden. You’re smart, you would’ve lived a much better life if I was never born-”
Aiden slapped her. She fell back, crashing onto the floor as he rose. “Don’t you dare say that,” he said with a quiet voice that was the growl of a beast. Blood dripped from his hand, a slow pitter patter of madness. “DON’T YOU DARE YOU SAY THAT!”
Jaiden turned to look at him, and Aiden recoiled. His hand marred her face, a great red bruise that seemed to grow and grow until it consumed her and left nothing but the wound. You’re the same monster he was. Blood poured from his hand, licked his knees, a flood that would take him, he saw it rise to his chest, and knew he would let the blood drown him. You’re used to running after all.
“What the hell is this?” Bu asked.
Lu turned to him, toes digging into the soft sand, and the gentle sound of ocean waves lapping the shore.
“Aiden Lu,” Bu stood straight, brow frowning. “That was not how that happened.”
He was back in the room, kneeling beside Jaiden as she cried, staring at the hand that slapped her.
“Don’t say that,” Aiden said with a quiet voice that was the sound of glass cracking. He helped her up, wiped her tears, and sat her by the table as he heated dinner. A bowl of rice and stir fried vegetables he placed in front of her before sitting down.
He held his hands tightly under the table, for he feared they may leap out of his control and strike at her once again. “Jaiden, don’t say things like that.”
He waited patiently for her sobs and hiccups to subside. “But…” Don’t lie, you know yourself a capable man. You would’ve lived a rich, fat life without her weighing you down.
“That is not what matters,” Aiden said quietly but firmly, “not a petty thing like wealth.” Liar, you know it would solve all your problems.
Jaiden wiped her tears, staining the tissue with her makeup, “…I just wanted to help you.” And you would deny her that?
“You never needed to, Jaiden. We are not without means and savings. If you lack anything just ask.” Even as he said that he knew from her face that she would never do so, for she was clever and kind and would never want to be a burden. But even so, Aiden had to say it. “Jaiden, it is my most sincerest wish that you would live a good life. We are family.” Says the sibling that ran away.
She tensed and slammed the table, “And you’re the only one working themselves to death! What’s so wrong with me trying to do the same!?”
“The difference is I have never once regretted the decisions I have made,” Aiden replied, his voice rising without his control. His hands tightened around each other, like two beasts tearing each others’ throat. “Look at yourself, you are nothing but regrets tonight!” He stopped himself before he could say more, taking a deep breath before he continued. “Live a good life Jaiden, one without any regrets.”
Jaiden froze, she stared away, felt the place where Aiden had hit her, and after a quiet moment, said: “Sorry.”
She started eating then, tears and snot mixing with the rice and vegetables, but still she tore into the food. When she was done and Aiden was washing the dishes, he spoke again and broke the silence, “Oh, and if those people try to pressure or put you in this situation again, just call me.”
He idly spun a knife, “I’ll talk it out with them, peacefully.”
Lu was back at the shores.
“That was how it really went,” Bu said, hands held behind his back. “Do you remember now?”
“I do,” Aiden murmured. He was on his way back from the docks when Puppet Rain stopped him, Jun was sleeping, but her quiet breathing had turned to anguished moans. “And so I came to Jun’s place, but I caught what she had.”
He turned to the other voice.
I’ve been caught.
It was a kaleidoscope of people mashed together into the vague form of a person. Constantly oscillating between faces and parts like a shattered slideshow, each fragment showing a different thing.
“You remember it, don’t you Bu?”
Bu nodded, “Yeap, that’s the flu. We caught it from Jun. Really slipped up there, and you’re supposed to be the one studying biological warfare.”
“I can’t disagree,” Lu nodded. “I just rushed in. Trist is right, I am an idiot about other people.”
You two are just going to ignore me?
Aiden turned to it, “There’s no point, is there? You’re a collection of viral particles, who’ve happened to gain an ability that allows you to harvest emotion and perpetuate yourself. What I’m talking to now isn’t an intelligent or sentient thing, just evolution randomly reaching something resembling human speech through accident.”
He raised a hand, and upon it rose an orchid mantis, “You are like this orchid mantis, who achieved their form through aggressive mimicry, but even if it looks and smells identical to the real thing, it doesn’t fundamentally understand what an orchid is or its experience. I’m wasting my time talking to you, because you’re just spouting words without understanding what they mean, all you’re trying to do is pry an emotional reaction from me so you can harvest it and replicate more. No, even ascribing intent to you may be a stretch. So leave my head, I’m going to wake up now.”
Not the first time I’ve heard that. It’s getting rather boring, having people think I’m a Chinese Room. But that doesn’t make what I say any less true, every third word you speak is a lie. How much have you lied to all the people around you? Those who love you?
“Lalalala,” Aiden plugged his ears, “I can’t hear you.”
And the thing grinned a crooked smile pieced from dozens of mouths.
Why didn’t you hug her?
Aiden froze. He knew the words held no meaning, for the thing could not comprehend such a thing, but it was a flaw of the human mind to seek meaning and patterns where there were none.
And if anything, Aiden was still human.
You think you didn’t deserve it right? After you had just hurt her. But haven’t you stopped to think, doesn’t she deserve it?
A green fist gored the creature through its chest. Johnjohnjohnjohn slid his other arm through the hole, and together ripped the apparition in half.
“I should thank you,” Aiden said with a voice as still as the grave. “People live on through their memories, that adage must be significantly more literal for me given my power, hence why I could resist you.”
Wolves and canines of a hundred different species howled as their dark eyes flitted through the forest. Above the beating wings of vultures, crows and a thousand other scavengers. Below crabs and a million crawling things clawed their way out of the sand.
All descended upon the thing, a hyena broke its bones, centipedes wormed into the cracks and sucked its marrow as its flesh made feast for the kingdom of beasts.
“Another thing is that my power requires emotion. I was rather confused about this, but given that you harvest emotion…” Aiden recalled the reasoning, “You need emotion, because manifestations fundamentally require emotions to occur. You are like Xotan ereu, those parasitic fungal statues. Your power allows you to harvest emotion so you can use it to manifest more power in newer viral particles… That is an interesting thing to consider.”
The flu smiled from underneath its prison of claws, fur, and teeth. Keep distracting yourself with trivia, you are ever good at fleeing from confrontation.
“Keep-” Aiden held his tongue, he knew it was pointless, it was about time he acted like it. Instead he turned away.
Jaiden would’ve loved meeting me, wouldn’t you agree?
Johnjohnjohnjohn stamped down on the final piece of flu, crushing it, but not before it showed Aiden one last dream.
A much younger Aiden, merely a boy wearing rich long sleeved shirt to hide the bruises. Sat beside a child Jaiden as they read a book together.
The book was blank.
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Aiden opened his eyes, he was wrapped tightly in a blanket, sweating heavily and breathing from his mouth, for his nose was more clogged than that time Jun tried Mexican food. He rolled onto his side, eyes adjusting to the darkness where Puppet Rain was watching him. He didn’t fall asleep on the couch, nor did he have a blanket originally. He briefly considered the implications of this, before he groaned and went back to sleep.
When morning came and Jun groggily emerged from her room, eyes half closed and lidded, showing she got as much good sleep as he did, did Aiden bother to get up and call the school.
A red butterfly soon came by, dropping off a few pill bottles along with a doctor’s note from Dr Oliver Oliver. One pill for the nightmares, two for the mucus, and another for the headaches, along with a note wishing them to get well quickly.
Aiden was at this point too tired to contemplate the mundane insanity of this, and simply made sure Jun had hers before he popped his own and went to sleep.