by A M Lopez
“Oh, visitors! He will be very happy! Follow me, I will lead you to him.”
Aaron looked at the girl with wide eyes, not expecting the interruption. The girl had turned around and shooed her group away, they took off flying in different directions. She looked over her shoulder at the team, smiling.
“Well, are you coming or not? He is this way!”
The members of Astrolabe shared a look before hesitantly following the girl, keeping their guards up.
Diverse colors surrounded them, streams of water flowing down from the East to the West. They didn't walk on any particular path, but were confronted by small houses peppering the grass. The orange skinned lady was skipping her way towards a big brown house, decorated by blue flowers.
It reminded Eva of mud houses, but prettier. Walking up the hill to the house, Connor stepped up next to her.
"So, when do you think you'll get over the whole Anston is with us thing?" He whispered, leaning down so only Eva could hear him.
Eva casted a quick glance to Anston who was looking at everything and anything, as a newborn puppy. "I don't know. I still don't like him, but maybe he has changed within these two years. I'm still trying not to be overthrown with the temptation of having Dawn drop him off in plain space."
Connor chuckled, throwing his arm around her shoulders. "I'll help you get over it. You still have to apologize, remember?"
Eva sank under the weight of his gaze and slowly nodded.
The team and their guide reached the top of the hill, seeing the house in front of them. The lady jumped up and started to float in place, her legs crossed over one another.
"Let's go talk to Cato!" She floated up to the wooden door and softly knocked on it.
Moments later, the door squeaked open and a man thrice the lady's height appeared. Eva widened her eyes as she took him in, from the brown curly mop of hair to the rosiness of his cheeks.
"Hello Anatia, who do we have here?" Despite the man being large, his voice was gentle talking to the blue haired lady.
Anatia made a small chirping sound from her throat. "They landed here moments ago saying they wanted to see you!"
The man scanned his friendly eyes over the team, and they gave him weak smiles.
"Let the children in, we can talk in the dining room." He stepped aside and waved the team towards his door.
One by one the team filed inside his large home, following him towards a room with a big table. They gathered around it, and Cato inclined his head.
"How may I help you?"
Aaron stepped to the front and gave him a small smile. "I am Aaron, and this is my team Astrolabe along with Anston."
Cato scrutinized Anston, who averted his gaze. "I know you. Are you the son of James Hale?"
Anston looked to Aaron who gave him a small nod in return. "Yes, I am."
Cato went silent before rushing forward and gathering Anston to give him a hug. "You have grown so much! Last I saw you, you were a wee little one! How have you been, and how's your father doing?"
Anston looked down to the floor. "We're both pretty good."
Aaron butted in. "Actually, that's kind of what we're here for." She waved Arthur forward to talk.
"We know his father tested on you and you were the only one to survive. We had some questions regarding what you went through and the whole project itself as a whole."
Cato looked at him warily from his station back on the wall. "Why do you need to know this?"
Arthur explained the situation the team was having with Richard and the mutants, causing Cato to slump down on an intricately designed chair.
"I see." He ran his fingers through his hair. "The good news, I can help you a bit. Bad news, I don't know a lot."
Arthur slid down in a chair next to him. "It's okay, the more you can tell us the better."
Cato nodded and asked. "Alright, where can I start?"
Arthur took out his tablet and typed in some words before saying, "This will record what you say and sift through the information you gave us to put it in our system. Can you begin by telling us what exactly is your mutation?”
"My blood is acid and I no longer have human organs."
Eva furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Connor, who intently stared at Cato.
"My heart had somehow become resistant to the acid as did my veins. My other organs had dissolved."
Arthur kept typing on his tablet as he nodded.
"However, the acid prevented me from getting sick and destroyed everything that entered my body. The mutation made it so that I will live for a very long time. My skin is now a tough material that is slightly resistant to the acid but not completely, so I avoid getting cut or punctured."
Dimitri came up behind Arthur. "What happens if you do get punctured?"
"The inside of my skin has the ability to withstand the acid, but the outside of my skin has not been subject to such an encounter. I don't know the answer to that, forgive me."
Dimitri nodded and let him continue.
"I also now have the ability to read people."
"What do you mean by that?" Allison asked, breaking her silence.
"I have can analyze people’s intentions and feel what they are at the moment." He looked over everyone.
"Would you care to give me an example? Maybe on Eva?" Arthur looked over to her and she shrugged, letting him know she was okay.
"Maybe we should do this privately then." Cato said, patiently.
Connor was beginning to protest, but she rubbed a hand on his arm. "I'll be fine, trust me."
He sighed and eyed Cato, before following the team out. Eva sat on the chair next to him and Cato took a deep breath in.
"You deeply care for someone."
With the bluntness, Eva's cheeks turned pink.
"However, there is some uneasiness regarding that. Are you unsteady of something involving this person?"
Eva let out a nervous laugh. "You could say that."
Cato gave her a friendly smile. "Don't worry about that. Follow your gut and you will be fine."
Eva smiled weakly, unsure but more confident than before. “Thank you. I’ll… try.”
Cato became more serious. “Are you feeling…bothered or intimidated about something, someone?”
Eva tensed, trying to relax herself. “I… yes. It is about a person and how I treated them.”
Cato put a hand on her shoulder. “You are bothered by this person’s presence and are intimidated of talking to them—” Eva scoffed. “ — because of what you need to talk about.”
She looked down, proving Cato was spot on. “You are overthinking it. Tell the person what you need to say and keep an open mind about them. You can stay on guard but at least give them a chance, even if it is hard.”
Eva nodded, knowing he was right. “That will be hard… but we need to talk.”
Cato smiled, standing up. “I believe we are done here;, shall we get your friends?”
Eva smiled back, following him to the door. When they opened it, Connor was already standing in front of them. He raised his brow at Eva, his worry obvious to her despite his blank face. Wanting to calm him down, she winked. Immediately, his body relaxed, sending her a smile.
“Well, is he telling the truth?”
Everyone turned to Anston, frustrated by his rudeness.
Thankfully, Cato didn’t mind. “You have changed so much, Anston. Don’t worry, you are not alone.”
Anston froze, comments stuck on his tongue. The rest of Astrolabe looked between him and Cato, trying to understand what was happening. Suddenly, Anston jerked, shaking his head slightly as if to dispel any unwanted thoughts.
“Whatever. I have no idea what you’re talking about man.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, head held high but eyes looking anywhere but the man.
Cato’s brows furrowed and he went to speak, but Anston cut him off. “I’m pretty sure Arthur had more questions for you.”
Cato pursed his lips togeth
er, letting out a sigh. “You are correct. Come, everyone back inside. I have a feeling your questions will take some time.”
Everyone silently followed him back into the room they had been in before, Anston trailing behind but entering the house nonetheless.
~
Arthur’s questions took a long time, at that point the majority of Astrolabe had spread themselves out after receiving permission from Cato. Eva had moved a chair to sit near a window, curious and needing a moment to relax. Connor had taken the chair closest to Eva and sat without moving it, knowing she needed space but wanting to stay near just in case. Allison sat in the chair next to him, the second closest one to Eva, also wanting to be there for her. She had put her feet up onto the table when Cato said he didn’t mind, and began twirling a wrench she had in the utility belt around her waist.
Cato sat at the head of the table, far away from the other three, though that was their choice not his. Next to him sat Arthur, their conversation seemingly never ending, while Aaron sat on Cato’s other side, attentive. Beside Arthur was his twin, who looked interested in his answers. Despite the tension between them, Anston leaned against the wall near Cato. He was listening to the conversation and added in when he found necessary, looking away whenever Cato smiled at him.
Suddenly, Arthur clapped his hands. “From what you’ve told me about your mutation and Mr. Hale’s files, there seems to be a cure.”
Everyone on the other side of the room tensed up when Arthur said this, disbelieving but hopeful.
“There is.”
Everyone was looking at Cato in shock.
Aaron spoke up, brows furrowed. “You knew?”
Cato sighed, rubbing his temples. “Unfortunately. Knowing about it and trying to create it has become an unhealthy obsession of mine.”
Dimitri’s eyes narrowed, distrust shining briefly before being overcome by curiosity. “You don’t know what you need, or if you do, you don’t have all of the materials.”
Cato groaned, running a hand down his face. “I have most of the ingredients, only three elude me.”
Connor raised a brow, prompting. “Which are?”
“A special flower found on Airie, a beautiful dimension from what I’ve heard. A crystal from Solat that deals with all, it’s high in worth but difficult to retrieve. And finally, electricity, not necessarily needed from a specific planet or dimension.”
Aaron drummed her hands on the table. “You know what you need and where they are for the most part, so why not go get them?”
Cato smiled weakly, obviously disappointed in something. “There is little known about those dimensions, if I go and I puncture my skin somehow… I would’ve never survived the journey. Instead, I focused on the other ingredients, they were easy to find here on Orae. If not found here, then I was able to pay others to retrieve them. However, these last three are too daunting because of how little information there is on them.”
It was then the team realized Cato was disappointed in himself. They wanted to comfort him but were beaten to it.
Anston put a hand on Cato’s shoulder. “It isn’t your fault.”
Cato smiled at him, causing him to back away again. “Thank you, Anston.”
Anston smiled, throwing finger guns. “I’m just being my awesome self. No need to thank me but I won’t complain about it if you do.”
Everyone was surprised when Cato laughed, hand over his heart. “You still help people out, even if it is in a different way now. I appreciate that while you changed, your heart has not, at least not completely.”
Anston looked away. “Yeah, whatever. Do you think we could help him out, Aaron?”
Aaron raised a brow, before sharing a look with the rest of Astrolabe. They all shared the same thought, they would help Cato.
Nodding, Aaron stood up and addressed her team. “The twins and Anston will stay here to begin putting the cure together. Arthur, you will also have the duel responsibility to keep us updated on what you find out about a dimension and when. The rest of us will split up. Connor and Eva will go to Airie to get the flower. Allison and I will get the crystal on Solat. As we are gone, Arthur figure out how to get the lightning. All understand?”
Everyone nodded in response, except for Cato. He looked worried.
“You don’t have to do this. I would hate for any of you to get hurt because of me.”
Eva smiled, butting in. “We’ll be fine. We want to help.”
Cato smiled back at her before looking at the rest of Astrolabe, hesitantly he spoke. “If you are all sure…”
Aaron spoke for all of them, since they were all on the same page. “We are.”
Cato grinned, unshed tears in his eyes. “Thank you.”
~
After talking with Cato, the team headed back to their ship with him in tow. He had brought a pack with him, saying it would be useful. They left him with Anston in the conference room while everyone else gathered what they needed. Quickly meeting back up in the room, everyone waited for Aaron to give out orders.
“Anston, Cato, Arthur, and Dimitri will stay at Cato’s house since he has a lab and the ingredients. The rest of us will take Dawn to our respective dimensions. Arthur.”
Arthur stood and pulled two calculator looking objects. He handed one to Eva and one to Aaron.
Allison spoke up. “These are a way to contact Dawn. She will be on autopilot and will head to whatever coordinates are typed into the device. Usually, I would give you direct communication with her but we don’t know if anything will interfere, so we aren’t taking chances. Your suits can tell you the coordinates of a location just by pointing at said area and asking for them. That function works no matter what interference occurs.”
Eva and Connor nodded, looking at the object.
Cato took the opportunity from the lull of silence to start speaking. “I have brought things that should help you.”
Pulling out two chisels, he handed them to Aaron and Allison. “You will need these to remove the crystals. “
The girls accepted them gratefully.
Connor raised a brow. “Do we get anything to help us?”
Cato laughed, amusement prominent on his features. “Indeed, you do.”
Chapter Sixteen
“I can’t believe this is what we got.”
“C’mon, Connor. It isn’t that bad.”
Turning to look at Eva with a blank look on his face. “Really?”
Looking at the object in his hands, Eva winced. “Okay, so maybe it is bad. We can work with it.”
In Connor’s hands was the object Cato had given them to help find the flower. A fat bee in a large jar with the top containing small holes to allow air to pass through. The bee would fly in the direction they would need to go until they found the flowers.
Connor glared at it, as if trying to will it not to exist. “It is a stupid looking bee and I don’t like it.”
Eva laughed, trying to stifle the rest of it but the damage had been done.
Connor’s glare turned to her. “Why are you laughing at me? I have every right to hate this bee.”
Eva snorted, desperately trying to draw her breath. Her hands on her knees as she breathed heavily, as if she had just run a marathon. Connor pouted, hurt that Eva had betrayed him so.
Connor and Eva were the first ones to be dropped off, and were now standing on Aerie's flat planet. No mountains were seen in sight, and the planet's green grounds contrasted to the blue of the midnight skies. The bee inside the jar was buzzing softly, overwhelmed by a green glow around it. The bee had come from Cato's dimension and was slightly different from bees Eva's seen on Ranison, with its larger than normal size and ability to be trained, the duo were confused when Cato gave it to them.
"We should get going." Eva looked down at her black boots.
Connor gave the jar a little shake, causing the bee to buzz louder. "How exactly do we activate it?"
With those words, the bee began to float and fly in the opposite direc
tion they were dropped off on. Connor and Eva looked at each other and shrugged, following the direction where the bee faced.
In their walking, Connor asked, "So what did Cato say to you?"
Usually Eva would be confident in telling Connor anything, but from the new revelations they had, Eva was not feeling up to the task of spilling her feelings. "Not much, things I already knew."
He insisted. "Such as?"
Eva took in a deep breath. "No offense Connor, but I really don't want to talk about that right now."
Connor looked at her strangely but changed the subject.
"Okay then, when are you going to talk to Anston?"
Eva was trying her best to not snap at him. "Soon."
He did not take the hint. "You need to get your feelings straightened out."
"Connor. You're my..." She didn't finish the sentence and skipped onto the next one. "But I'm really not ready."
"Oh, just as you're not ready to talk about us?" Seems like he also had things on his mind.
"It's not that I don't want to." She looked to an interesting looking tree.
He rolled his eyes. "Then what is it called when every time I approach you, you run?"
Eva’s feelings were now overflowing the jar, and she now began to ramble. "Maybe I'm not ready, maybe I don't want to talk to you about this. Maybe I'm fine the way we are and I don't want anything to change." She snapped and glared at him.
"Oh really?" He said in a calm voice, face settling into one of silent nonchalant fury.
"Really."
Some time had passed since their last encounter and Eva had not stopped fuming but the bee had suddenly stopped flying forward. Eva looked down and saw the blue petaled flower. In silence, with nobody around, Connor and Eva began to uproot the flowers. They took their time with small shovels as to not hurt the roots. Dimitri had specifically mentioned that if they hurt the roots, he would hurt their faces.
A light began to appear from afar and Eva stood on the balls of her feet squinting. She wasn’t able to see, not even with the upgraded glasses Arthur gave her. The small light seemed to get a lot closer as each second went by.
"Connor."
He ignored her and continued to dig.