by Melanie Ray
"Are you going be okay? Yed?" Zaria asked.
Yed removed his hands from his face. Wet from tears and sweat, he got up off the floor. His eyes revealed pain nor pleasure as he looked at the shirt and vests he held in his hand. In one swift motion, like he'd done it a million times before, he stuck both arms in at once and started to button it up. He fixed his collar and proceeded to put on the vest. Button by button, his expression did not change. He moved to the right to a window, the curtain pulled back. He walked over, his back straight and body stoic as he gazed out.
"Yed," Zaria questioned again. "You alright?"
Yed took a moment before he turned around. His eyes narrowed as a growl escaped his throat. He turned back around and faced the window. No words were said as he continued to stare out. The shelter he had made had failed. His Protectee was gone. Waryes had ravaged and pillaged against the warnos and had won. Furry men and semi-Sleek women, the last of the good left. Rings only a myth, survived through the Ancients.
"Yed?"
Yed grabbed Zaria's hand and bent it, making him kneel to the floor. "Don't...touch...me..." He let go and Zaria grabbed his hand back. Yed made no apologies as he looked out the window again. "Nothing left. There's nothing left. Fallensworth is gone, Ezra's home is gone. Ezzy..." He squeezed his hands into fists, guilt rushing inside. He should have been there, trying to stop them. Even if it meant his death, it would have been better than living the life he had now. "It's all gone, we don't even have homes anymore. Most of these are dwellings underground like wild animals, ruins we use for doors and old glass for windows. And even our song, our song of freedom and happiness has been changed to a song for funerals. Funerals!" he yelled as he smashed his hand into the wall. "The Waryes won. For good." He felt Zaria approach closer and gave him a warning glare.
"Okay," Zaria held his hands up in defense. "Yed. I won't touch you. I know whatever is-"
"You know nothing," Yed hissed. "I was trapped, on an isolated planet, out of my mind and dropped right back down. And you know what? Insanity was better." He laughed maniacally and thonked his head. "Who knows what's going on up here, anymore? Eh? Hell, I haven't for years," he laughed out loud. "Zaria, you could be in my mind, right now, a figment of the past wanting to break me down further. Drive me to finally doing myself in. Maybe you are? Maybe you aren't." He thonked his head again. "Who knows? Maybe I am in Aryu still, yelling out profanities while I'm getting stuck full of needles 'cause I think I'm here and I'm not." He gritted his teeth. "I wish I wasn't. Maybe I'm not. Maybe the brain's realigning and I'll become the clueless idiot Wye again soon. I'll be sipping margaritas on Mexico's beaches in a few minutes, give me time. I used to. Whole new worlds appeared, and things I knew couldn't be real became real. I always found my way back..." He licked his dry, cracked lips. "...just not this time. That's cause this is reality. I'm really just a prick who couldn't even defend the one warno I was supposed to Protect. Even the mother of my only children. And my kids, whoa talk about tough, huh? Growing up in a war." He slapped his face. "Everything turned out fantastic, huh?! My kids are practically first graders and look at them. Running from being sacrificed, and knowing how to handle weapons already!" He laughed pitifully as he covered his eyes again.
He sniffed, rubbed his eyes briefly and walked by Zaria with no other words as he headed out the door.
Chapter 41
YEDUCAVICH
"Wye's still not here," Muin groaned and looked over at X. "Aren't you even a little worried?"
X shrugged his shoulders. "He's becoming Smilliat, why should I care?"
"So? It would be beneficial if he was getting memories back," Muin said as she patted her feet up and down, "and you shouldn't criticize him for it. I mean, what was so awful about the old him?"
"Nothing."
Muin jumped as she heard Wye's voice. Well, sort of his voice. She turned and smiled, "Wye, it's about time you came back."
Wye shrugged his shoulders at her and with no smile casually said, "Whoopee." He jumped onto a nearby boulder and sang the national anthem softly, waking others up. Muin scratched her head. What was his problem? Grammy Happy and Foggy smiled though and started to sing together. Muin watched others continue to join in. The words were different from the funeral, and it seemed to be cheering some Furries up. Everybody was singing with enthusiasm, except one. Like X and her, the guy didn't seem to know the words.
"Oh that was fun," King Regwallis said, "I haven't heard that version since I was a kid. The words...warno..."
"Yeah. Every real warno should know it. Not Rings, not Furries. We're warnos," Wye said firmly as he jumped off the boulder. Unlike his usual self, he did it with grace as his eyes narrowed on X. "Vallencio."
M-Win glanced between both of her brothers, and could feel the massive tension between them. Wye was wearing a different shirt and a green vest too. What was going on?
"Head to the left with everyone. I'll be there soon," Wye said as he walked over to the guy who didn't know the words. "Don't play with me, I'm not in the mood for play," Wye growled. "Name."
"L-lenil," The Furry stuttered.
Muin didn’t like the way her brother was acting. He didn't seem like himself at all. "Come on," X insisted as he grabbed her hand. "Everyone this way."
"Guess we should get going?" Lenil said as he smiled at Wye. Before he took a step though, the mad Ring had reached out his hand, gripped him around the throat and lifted him from the ground. He squeezed, making sure Lenil couldn't talk without struggle. Lenil looked at his eyes. The crazy but gentle guy Wye was long gone as this Ring choked him. The colored tail of an iridescent blue swished with a warning as the fur stood on end. The round pupils had turned into slits like a wild cats. He had never seen such a strange thing before. "Okay," he managed to sputter, "what do you want?"
"What do I want?" The guys growl echoed from deep within his belly while a yellowish tint darkened the white of his eyes, changing his blue iris to a dangerous jungle green. "Has it ever mattered what I wanted?" He tilted his head in an unplayful fashion. Lenil closed his eyes, knowing it was over.
"Well, now what?" M-Win remarked as she looked at a huge white wall. "He said to head left, this is all that's on the left."
"I don't know," X said. "Who knows what Smilliat ever wants."
"Quit calling him that," M-Win scolded him. X didn't answer her back, but M-Win didn't care as she saw Wye marching toward them. Still looking like some kind of soldier on a mission. "What do we do now, Wye?" Muin said. Her smile faded as she watched Wye go right past her without so much as a word. Not even a sign of acknowledgement. He felt around the wall and seemed to put in some kind of code on something, working fast with his hands. She watched as the wall opened up, splitting into two revealing a home only a short distance away. “Nice digs.”
"Wow," Grammy Happy and Foggy couldn't help but remark.
"That place is huge," Koko had to add. "That's the biggest place I've ever seen."
Wye walked straight in with everyone following suit.
"How'd you find this place?" King Regwallis asked Wye in curiosity.
"It's mine your majesty," Wye remarked as he went over and opened the door. There was a strange guy waiting in the living room up ahead of M-Win. "They are all here and she's toward the back of me."
The stranger nodded and M-Win watched Wye head up the stairs. She looked at the stranger, knowing there was something familiar about him.
"M...Muin?"
Muin didn't recognize the name the stranger called her at first, but X did.
"Zaria?" X blinked as he approached in front of the stranger. "You're alive?"
"Xiam," Zaria nodded and tried approaching Muin. "Muin, is anything coming back to you?"
"Huh?" M-Win looked between X and the stranger. "Oh yeah, that's me." She pointed to herself, then at him, "and who are you?"
The stranger beamed like he won the lottery. "I've been looking for you for a long, long time honey!" M-Win gasped as the strang
e guy scooped her up. Before she could stop him, she'd already been spunned around.
"Hey, who do you think you are," Muin yelled as she slapped him. "You’re a jerk!"
The stranger grinned in triumph. "You haven't changed a bit, Muiny."
X sighed, "M-Win that's Zar and Cooey's dad. Zaria."
"Zar and Cooey's what?" M-Win looked Zaria up and down. "Are you serious, X?"
"Yep, he's basically your husband," X said at he smiled at her in an awkward fashion.
"Okay," M-Win said slowly as she looked at the stranger. Zaria. Husband. Okay. Husband. First missing kids and now a husband. Didn't anything ever make sense? She was not wife material, never had been. She might not remember too far back yet, but she knew enough that she was never some yuppie housewife. Who the hell had she been on that planet? Some brainwashed fifties wife? She waved once at him. No way am I becoming that woman again.
Zaria laughed and hugged her, making her tense up again. "Oh, don't worry. You'll remember soon, Muin. I just can't believe this is happening. You've come back to me."
"Neither can I," X looked over at Zaria. "What happened to you? We all thought you were a goner."
"Oh, I got stuck. Literally," Zaria said. "By the time I got free and headed back to you guys, you were gone. I thought you didn't make it."
"Okay." M-Win made him let go and moved closer to X. This guy was stirring up weird emotions she didn't understand.
X looked down at her with his supreme 'I remember all' smile. "You'll have to give her some time, Zaria."
"I know, Yed said that." Zaria agreed. "I just couldn't quite help myself. It feels like it's been forever." He looked over at M-Win again. "So, Zar and Cooey are somewhere out there?"
"Somewhere we think," X said. "Smilliat tell you that too?"
"Eh, not so many words," Zaria said. "He's having a hard time right now. I think everything crashed a little too fast into him."
"I'll say," M-Win looked around. "Why did he go upstairs?"
Zaria gestured upstairs briefly. "He's looking over some blue prints, I think, but don't you want to talk first?"
M-Win held up her hands. "Not yet, Mr. Grabby. Talk to X." She moved past him and headed up the stairs.
Zaria watched her head up. "..."
"She'll remember one day," X smiled at him. "It's great to see you made it, Zaria."
Zaria nodded but continued to stare up the stairs longingly. After all this time, Muinela was alive...
...but he still couldn't hold her.
"Wye?" Muin shouted as she finally found her brother. He was over by a table looking at scattered blue prints. "Nice place you found. Bonus points for the fireplace." Wye ignored her and continued to study. She ran over and looked over his shoulder. "Watcha doin’?"
Wye moved some of the blue prints around to look at others. "I'm busy. Go away, Muin."
M-Win was far from enthused with that comment. "It wouldn't kill you to say more than two words to me. Or at least smile, brother."
"I'm not your brother," Wye said in a plain manner.
"You are too," M-Win disagreed. "Maybe not here, I don't know, but in Aryu you were, which means you are."
"Step off Muinela," Wye demanded. "I will not partake in any extra Protector duties at this point."
"What?" M-Win looked at him confused. "What's that mean, Wye?"
"It means go bug Xiam and leave me alone," Wye said firmly as he looked back at blue prints.
M-Win placed her hands on her hips. "What's wrong with you, Wye? This isn't how you ever act. Even when you're mean and teasing someone, you never do this." Wye ignored her again. "This isn't you," Muin whined. "Come on, Wye. Why can't you be yourself anymore?"
"What?" Wye asked. "Be an insane idiot because of the lack of inhibitors? No thanks."
M-Win placed her hands on his desk "What's happened to you, Wye?"
"It's not Wye. It's Protector Yeducavich Smilliat," Wye said. "Now leave, Muinela."
"Hmph, fine Yeducavich." M-Win pursed her lips and then smacked her hands palm down on his blue prints. "Let me know when my brother is back, you prick."
Yed narrowed his eyes on her. "He's gone for good. I am in control now."
"No way. You might think you discovered the past, and that you were Wye, but your mind is just as jumbled." M-Win made a figure L with her fingers on her forehead. "Insane loser."
"I am myself," Yed insisted. "Now get out."
"I'll get out until Wye comes back," Muin warned him.
"He's not coming back," Yed said one more time. "Wye was a figment, a dazed character my mind made up in the background because it couldn't think straight. Now go away."
"Nuh uh, you're not Wye, you've just taken over." Muin looked into his eyes. "Wye must have seen something he couldn't take."
"Get out already, female." Yed moved her hands away. "I am working."
"Oh no you di-int!" M-Win came unglued as she snapped her fingers. "What did you just say to me, you jerk, huh?"
"I referred to you as female."
"And what's that supposed to mean, is that Ring language for calling me a bitch?!"
"No, it is a sign of respect."
"Well why would you say that?"
"To try and get you out of here politely," Yed groaned. "Please leave, go associate with your brother and male, and leave me to my work."
"Fine, until Wye comes back."
"Wye isn't coming back, Wye remembers, this is me. This is him, this is us and this is it."
"Oh yeah?" M-Win leaned in on his blueprints and looked at him face to face. "If that's true, then where the hell did your Texas accent go, smart ass?" She was awarded with a confused look before she thonked him on the side of his head with her finger, and headed out the door.
Chapter 42
BEAT UP BY A RING
"Muinela," Zaria noticed her sad expression. "Are you okay, honey?"
"What a jerk," M-Win looked over at X instead. "Wye isn't. I mean Protector Yeducavich, what a prick."
"I told you," X said. "Wye's gone now. The only thing up there is Yeducavich Smilliat, the Protector." He sighed. "Hopefully he can get us back to Earth at least."
"Wow, nice way of phrasing it," Zaria noted sarcastically. He smiled at M-Win. "It's alright, he's having a hard time dealing with everything, Muin."
"Stop calling me Muin!" M-Win yelled at him. She looked over at X angrily. "And you too," she covered her ears. "I don't want to remember anything. Just look at the person Wye used to be," she said. "I don't want to become like that. I don't wanna, I don't wanna have kids, I don't wanna have a husband, I don't want any of this!"
"Well, how about some sweets then?"
M-Win looked back at Zaria, and saw him shaking something similar to a candy bar at her. "What?"
"Sweets always made you feel better," Zaria said. "It's from the Pink Kingdom, but its sweet candy like you used to eat."
M-Win stared at Zaria, wide eyed. She was having a temper tantrum, and this guy was offering her candy? She felt her face get hot for some odd reason. Knowing her face getting hot meant it was also getting red, made her face even redder as she grabbed the sweet and started to eat it, ignoring the emotions that were going through her.
Zaria said, "Listen, Muin. Oh, if you wish I could start calling you M-Win?"
"Well, I guess you don't have too," M-Win said between bites. He was right, it was sweet. She recognized the taste, having tasted candy more than once in her life. Although she couldn't remember when the last time it was she had something like a candy bar. "I mean, Muin is my name. Right?"
"Don't worry about changing so much, okay," Zaria said. "You have a ton of great memories. You won't turn angry like Xiam because he's just an angry jerk that hasn't gotten over his sister and Yed getting together."
"Hey," X objected.
"As for Yed, well, honestly, I don't know. I've never met anyone who left Pagnia. Give him some time, he'll probably be fine," Zaria insisted. "I admit Muin, you're going to be sad,
but you'll be happy when you remember too. You'll remember your mom, your dad, your old Den days, when we first met, and everything in between."
Muin couldn't help but smile. No one had ever tried to cheer her up like that and succeeded so well before. She couldn't even help a small giggle that escaped. She'd scold herself for that later "Okay." Still, she did worry. Wye had never let his split personality have so much control. Could he regain it back?
Zaria gestured toward a chair. "Now, I promise I won't be Mr. Grabby. Let's sit down and talk? I want to know everything about where you've been."
Muin blinked as her heart picked up speed. She felt remarkably warm inside around him. "That's not easy," she looked over at X, but he'd already taken off. Shoot. She looked back at Zaria. "Look, I don't remember much. My mind still remembers the last week on Earth. I always remember X and Wye, but..."
Xiam watched as Muin and Zaria sat down and talked. After all the time on Earth with Muin being his single sister again, it felt like she was being stolen away for the second time. Of course, he knew he had no right to feel that way. In fact, Earth never should have happened. He never should have had that second chance. Then again, he felt something else as he watched them. Something he had been feeling off and on, but had increased as he watched those two. He only had a short time to accept what had happened before their memories were wiped and they were whisked off to Earth. Then again, there was not enough time in the world to ever accept what had happened.
Zaria smiled at Muin, but glanced over at X. "Okay Muiny, I'll be right back. You can get your thoughts together, I need to see your brother about something."
"Hey X," Zaria watched as X seemed to snap back. "You okay?"
"Fine. Why wouldn't I be?" X said, faking a quick smile.
"You know, I've been doing some research," Zaria began, "and your sister, your mom and your wife are all alive."
"Wife?" Muin couldn't help it as she eavesdropped. She looked over at X in shock. "You were married?"
"So were you," X pointed out. "I figured out they were, Zaria. They're all huddled in cages."
"Not exactly," Zaria corrected him. "Like Ezra, Iri was converted. Her name's Shimmer now."