by Melanie Ray
"Right now, no. But one day, you will." King Regwallis winked at him and looked back at everyone. They had all gone away. "I feel, Protector, that it may be in everyone's best interest if you and X sleep close to your sister tonight." With that final word, he trudged off.
M-Win put the stick down. "I had it under control." She flipped her hair. "No one was going to hurt me." She glanced back at Wye and said, "still I guess, thanks for butting in." She looked over at X. "Hello, where were you?"
"I'm not a Protector, he was," X insisted as he pointed at Wye. "Entering into a scent battle without proper skill could make things worse."
"Nice way of saying 'I wussed out'," M-Win said, "and don't sleep too close to me, you guys have got some wicked nasty breath."
"What was that?" Yed had just got up from eating breakfast when he saw Muin had tripped on the floor. Ezra had gone over first to look at her little sister. "I told you that you shouldn't run in the house, especially with a hook off your overalls." Yed came over to Muin and knelt down, "Muinela, you okay?"
"..." Muin's eyes welled up as her hands flew to rubbing them. Then she made her answer clear with a loud 'No!' and cried. Wye held the cute little girl and snapped her overalls back in place. "There, there, you're fixed up. Nothing to cry about, kid. Come on, cheer up. Who's the most adorable kid in all the universe?"
"...me," Muin sniffled.
Ezra shook her head and sighed. "Here," She handed her little sister a popsicle. "Will this help you feel better too?"
"Doubly," Muin took the popsicle and grinned. "My ouchie's all better."
"Don't run through the house anymore," Yed warned her. "You'll hurt yourself again, and I don't want to put you in a Den."
"What happened?" Xiam asked as he trotted in with a rolling bag.
"Nothing serious," Yed said as he noticed Xiam's bag. "Where are you off too?"
"Outside," Xiam said. "Come on, Yed, I've been stuck with the girls all week."
"Well you should enjoy it while you can," Yed said. "Trust me, before you know it-"
"They'll be all grown up and I won't even recognize them," X said as he rolled his eyes. "Can I go now?"
Yed stepped out of his way. "Alright then, I'll see you kid. Be back in for supper, and don't leave the yard."
"I will," Xiam grinned. "Thanks Yed!"
Chapter 39
PISSED OFF
Wye woke up, startled by his dream. "Huh?" He tried to remember it, but it was fading fast from his mind. "We were kids...Muin...overall...there had been a popsicle, I think, cherry? A bag. Was X there?" He held his head several seconds, he couldn't remember. He looked back over at X who was still sleeping. Wait a minute, X was there. He did consider me a friend. He crossed his arms in a huff, but he said he hated the past me. He looked back at the Chronicle beside him. Of course, maybe we used to be close until I did something?
But what could he have possibly done? All throughout the Chronicle he was a likeable guy. He didn't do anything wrong. So, what was it? I promised him. He's my brother, I can't break that promise. It was important to him. Still, he couldn't help glancing over at his Chronicle. What could have happened? Maybe only a tiny peek? Wye made sure X was still asleep as he opened up the pages. Their surface caused some illumination, enough to read even in the dead of night. The next entry was short, but it gave him the biggest headache of them all.
AI. 5677
I have to hide it or I'll be accused of treason. I made the deal. By the planet of Pagnia and the warno race, please, let it be okay.
Wye shook his head a little, it felt so confused. What did I do, and what did I have to hide? Is that what hurt X so much? He looked over at X who was still asleep. I just don't want to hide it. What was it? It was undoubtedly something intense. He could feel so much hiding behind those short words. Maybe X is right. Maybe I'm not ready to read this? I can't leave my family behind.
Wye groaned. There was that same statement, over and over again. It was the only thing that Yed self of his said. Well, I'm trying not to, Wye argued with himself, but you know, if I could remember maybe I would have more of a chance of getting all this so-called family out! With that in mind, he kept reading. He had to remember. He was getting voices, images, and flashbacks so vividly. He was so close.
"Kingdom? Treason?" Wye tried to read between the lines, but his former self never revealed that much in his Chronicle. Personal diary thing or not, he refused to put anyone at risk. "So far I've learned squat. Yip."
Zilch. Zero. A big old nada. His old self was too protective of the information, and even reading the Chronicle had helped very little. I give up. What am I supposed to do with this? I've read the relevant stuff, and none of it's explained or helps. He rubbed his nose between his hands in frustration. Treason. That'd be a royal matter if a monarchy works the same here as on Earth. Maybe that king knows then? Wait, he would have been small back then, no way he'd know. Then again, maybe he could get the treason off his head? He looked over at X. Maybe X will know and understand? I just, I don't get the feeling I was any worse than I am now.
Wye stood up and headed over to the king. "Your majesty?" King Regwallis groaned as he saw Wye. Wye held out his Chronicle. "My old self talks about some kind of treason. Something I could never talk about and I think it's why X hates me so much."
King Regwallis yawned and sat up as he looked at the entry. "Oh," he waved it off. "Forget it, there's not much of a kingdom left anyhow." He read through it again. "Didn't say much, did you?"
"Nope," Wye read the entry again himself. The short but powerful entry.
"Eh, it'll come to you. Until then..." King Regwallis yawned again as he suddenly stood up and shouted. "Rings, Furries and semi-Sleeks of the Ring Kingdom!" Everyone groaned. "No matter what anyone says, they will not be accused of treason!"
"In that case," Koko started to wake up, "I've got a couple things I'd like to say."
"Go to sleep, Koko!" everyone shouted.
"And dag nabbit, Who the heck announces that at this hour?" Grammy Happy scolded the king. "Go to sleep, Regwallis!"
The king chuckled and looked back at Wye. "There you go." He pointed at X, who was now wide awake. "Why don't you go ask him then? He might understand."
"It said something about treason," Wye said as he went over to X with the Chronicle and handed it to him. "Read it. It's like the last entry."
X didn't look pleased with the thought but read while Wye watched. Would X understand it? "How far?" X gave back his Chronicle. "How much were you involved? Half and half, or whole?"
"Half and half?" Wye shrugged his shoulders, "Like milk and cream?" X was not laughing. "I don't know, I don't remember. I thought maybe this would make it more clear that I wasn't so much of a bad guy."
"I don't know how bad of a guy you were, but you still kept it." X growled at him as his tail waved in the background. "This treason thing. Until you remember, I'm not just going to give in and say Smilliat was great. I want to know how much you were involved."
"Not much, okay," Wye said, clearly noting the cat-like hiss that emerged. "I wouldn't do anything bad, X, I'm sure of it."
"Don't talk like you remember, you don't, you don't know a thing," X said, his eyes filled with rage. "You were never someone Ezra would love you were just-"
"Just?" Wye coaxed him on as he stopped. "What?" X was about to drop something.
"You were only a one night stand," X finally revealed.
Wye wasn't expecting an answer like that. He looked at X and slowly began to smile. "I was dating your sister?"
"No you weren't. You're a traitor. You used her," X pointed at his Chronicle, "and that's probably where the treason fit in. I always knew it, you mistreated Ezra so you could try and save an already doomed kingdom. You only cared about your own self."
Wye didn't know how to respond to that at first. "Save a kingdom?" I never did it for the kingdom. "I never did it for the kingdom."
"What?" X growled.
"I said." Wye
spoke with his teeth pushed together. "That I may not remember, but I trust myself. So, Xiamipoc, I never did anything bad for the kingdom. Let alone some one night stand."
"Don't say that," X hissed back. "You don't remember a damn thing."
Wye glared at X and sat straight on the ground as his brother walked away. It didn't matter what he did, X would never trust him. He picked up his Chronicle and flipped through it again. Nothing, nothing, nothing, this whole thing didn't help at all. Then, a small piece of paper drifted out. It had been stuck in between some of the back pages. A breeze had come up, making the small piece blow away from the book. Wye wasn't too fond of going after it, what could it possibly say that the whole Chronicle couldn't? Still, he took some extra effort and got off his butt to catch it. He looked at it with interest. It was similar to the paper of Earth, but it was more fractionalized with unstraight lines. He flipped it over and read what he thought would probably be an insignificant paper...
Year of 5678, After Inhibitors. Month of Madness, Day of 12.
I don't know how to start this letter. I don't want to write this letter. You deserve it though, the both of you. Just because I can't be there doesn't mean I can leave you wondering. I'm sorry I couldn't stay and watch you grow up. I'm sorry I have to miss your first steps. I'm sorry I have to miss your first words. I'm sorry about everything. If there was a way for me to stay here for you I'd do it in a heartbeat. If there was a way for your mommy to be here, she'd be here too.
This has to be the hardest letter I've ever had to write. There's so much I want to tell you. About what happened, about your family, about the future. Oh I wish I could tell you your future. Tigeravich, you grow up to be big and strong. Staring at your tail and eyes right now I can see you are going to look a little like me. I hope you take after me too and survive this. Then again, I'm not the best warno to take after. Hardships make you colder to the world and that's the last thing I wanted for either of you.
Carressela. Stay out of trouble and ignore guys. They aren't worthy of you. You are something special, and you should be treated as such. Don't settle for anything a guy offers, especially money. That doesn't mean anything in the end. If I were there I'd make sure no one got close, ever. Listen to me, I know.
Carress and Tiger, you two take really good care of each other, and no matter what happens or what you might do in the future, know we loved you. And above all, stay happy. Happiness is the true key to a warno.
Your Daddy,
Yeducavich Zuffel Zinfan Smilliat
Jerk. Liar. He's becoming more like him every day, X thought as he laid down to try to sleep on his stomach. Wye Warno from Dallas was disappearing. The trustworthy friend he once had was being erased. Soon Smilliat will take over for-
"You lousy piece of-, when were you going to tell me?!"
X opened his eyes in a daze. He was now on his back and staring at the fiery eyes of Wye. Dilated and large, they resembled a beast ready to tear into meat. "Wye?"
Wye held the piece of paper up and wiggled it around. "Now it's starting to make sense," he growled from the back of his throat like a wild animal. "M-Win's not the only one who had kids, and you knew it. We even met them, and you didn't say a damn word to me."
"Well what was I supposed to say," X growled back, "I couldn't risk your brain getting fried, we had to get out M-Win."
"I don't care, you should have let me know," Wye growled back. "I had the right to know I was a dad. I even sat them on my lap, and you didn't say a damn thing to me!"
"You were hardly a dad, only biological," X yelled louder, "but fine, you're their off kilter split personality insane daddy. Now what are you going to do?"
"..." Wye let go of him. "...I don't know." He grabbed his head.
"Well you brought it on yourself being a drunk," X accused him. "Like I said, a one night stand. That's all you were, a bad mistake."
Wye took his hands off his head and said, "is it my fault your sister was easy?"
"Wye?" M-Win woke up over the fight and looked at him, appalled by what he said. "What did you say?"
"Sorry M-Win," he apologized. Like he knew, he didn't even remember the woman. "I didn't mean to say that. It's just-well, it's not all my fault."
"You're wrong, it is!" X accused as he pointed at him. "You even wrote in your Chronicle about it. I bet you had kids to try and save the kingdom. Like I always thought. You never cared."
"I don't believe it, I am not a bad guy, and I know I wasn't a bad guy before Dallas. It's not who I am." Wye's eyebrows bunched together as he glared at his oh-so-called brother.
M-Win covered her ears. "You guys, don't fight. You two never fight unless it's Xiamipoc in charge."
"You were a bad guy," X continued to yell as he looked at M-Win. "I Xiamipoc, I am Xiam, and I am X. And I know," he pointed at Wye, "that you were an evil guy pretending to be good, and I'll never forgive you, Smilliat." His eyes narrowed straight at Wye. "And if Wye Warno doesn't see the truth, I'll never forgive him either."
Wye felt his brother's words sting right through the heart. A part of him wanted to say sorry, that whoever he used to be didn't exist now. But another part of him...
I never did it for the kingdom, kid.
Wye couldn't deny the voice, deny how he was treated, and his feelings deep inside couldn't be contained. It repeated over and over for a reason and as much as he didn't want to drive X away, he knew he couldn't ignore it. "I never did it for the kingdom, kid." X saw red as M-Win's eyes grew. Wye's posture changed from lax to straight, his eyes became focused; brave but calm.
X took a deep breath as his nostrils flared. "So, the vindictive Protector makes an appearance."
Wye raised his eyebrow at him, "huh?"
"You're no longer Wye," X declared. "You aren't the guy that ran up and down beside me, you aren't the guy that annoyed Tar, you aren't the guy who laughed or cried with us all those years on Earth. You're Smilliat, through and through. Memories or not, my brother Wye is dead."
"Dead? You said? You-son of a-" Wye scrunched his nose and rubbed his head in frustration. Dead. He couldn't even stomach talking anymore as he turned and walked away.
"Wye, wait," M-Win called out. She looked back at X. "X, how could you say that?"
"Because he's not the same. He's not the Wye I knew anymore," X growled.
"How could you be so cruel to our brother?" M-Win said. "He doesn't even remember being anyone else."
"Not yet, but he will." X turned his back. "He will."
Chapter 40
INSANITY WAS BETTER
Wye marched in anger through the woods. How could X say that about him? That he was dead to him. Dead. They had been together for years on Earth, even farther back then he could remember. Yet, he had the nerve to say that. Wye knew Yed wasn't a lousy guy. Strict, overprotective to a fault, untrusting, and an overall guy he probably never would have been friends with in the real world. In fact, he probably would have enjoyed teasing him even more than Tar. But overall, the guy wasn't bad. He continued to walk, wishing he had some shoes. With the tough terrain and the cheap shoes he had from Earth, they were the first thing to wear out. All he wore now were basic rags lent to him by others. Material someone would put on if they were going to work on a car on Earth. Earth. He missed home. He missed the uncomplicated life they used to lead. Sure, maybe he wasn't completely all there, but at least he wasn't traveling to who knows where trying to find a new place to call home. At least at Aryu he had a warm bed and some food with shelter, instead of splitting up scraps and curling up on the ground on cold nights. When they were in their right minds, they had their home, the Double Yella. Most of all, he had X's friendship there.
It's all going to be alright. This'll make everything better.
Wye continued to march as he heard the strange voice. Yed, you better have good news. I'm sick and tired of this planet. I want to go home.
Wye had an icy chill ride over his back. The refrigerators. Refrigerators he thought used t
o chase him, but he realized, now that he had a clear head, that wasn't it. It was instinct, something trying to lead him. He turned right as he felt the chill again. He continued to walk, the chill turning to a sensing tingle. He stopped when he came to a large white wall that was covered with vines and wild plants. "Why did I stop here?" He felt around the plants, searching for something. Something he knew was there somehow. His senses were itching his brain like crazy. His hand reached something that felt irregular, and he pulled back the plants to get a closer look.
It was a panel, fitted exactly to appear as a segment of the gigantic wall, even the paint was the same. The only way to tell it was different was by the close feel of it. Wye felt around and with a few clicks, opened up the panel.
It was some sort of keypad. Wye looked at the buttons with curiosity. "What's the combination?" He was about to start pressing random letters and numbers, but something told him that he knew it. Like a combination on a locker he briefly forgot, but he'd remember if he gave himself some time. Something important. Yed wouldn't be using anything common to guess, and Wye knew he was involved with whatever was behind this wall. Keywords. What do I know? Mnui was Yed's favorite thing here. No, too simple. Rings. Furries. Pinks? No, that can't be it. Those names were after we were gone. Warno and waryes would be way too easy at that time. This guy's good, frickin' brilliant, he wouldn't make it this easy. What if it was a huge, gigantic code of memorized numbers? Then again, the panel didn't have numbers, only letters. Okay, I'm a Protector guy that’s way overprotective. I wouldn't use anything simple and there' are no numbers. What the hell would I use? He typed warno anyhow and watched the numbers glow green then fade. Green. Must be part of it. Warno justice? No, too lame. Warno forever? No, too much of a rockband saying. Warnos unite? He didn't see it. There was something more to it. What else did he know about the world? They sing their national anthem at funerals. Long, but that might be it. He inputted the first verse.
Around our whole planet