Pheo swept the floor with his makeshift broom, it had holes that the dirt would escape from but it still got most of it. He wanted to keep the room clean, anything to help Ryu's condition.
Ryu has been comatose ever since. Pheo would still visit him everyday, hoping that somehow he would pull through.
He would sometimes suddenly heat up which would worry him. The vision of his skin changing colors like that other did would sometimes pop in his mind.
He won't die so easily.
He tried to reassure himself. Ryu has always shown that he recovers faster than anyone else. Maybe that's why he's still alive while the others have mostly died moments after discovery. Pheo sat down next to him and touched his forehead, he was heating up but it was stable.
"Just hold on for a week." He told Ryu, knowing that he wouldn't be able to hear him. He then noticed that someone was looking at them from the entrance, a small figure walking in alone.
"That was the person you hung out with right?" Jug went in, stopping midway. He could tell that he was unwelcomed from the way Pheo looked at him. "You know, if you were actually free you could get him to someone who knows what they're doing."
Jug went up beside him, knowing very well Pheo didn't want him anywhere near him. "What made you change so much?" Jug looked at him as if he was trying to figure out a puzzle.
"You were so different when I first saw you," he said. "So similar to us."
"Your eyes spoke of tragedy, a life that lived in suffering."
Pheo shrugged, "I guess I just didn't find any need for freedom." His answer made Jug think twice, "No need for freedom?" It made him laugh, "I wish I had the same sediment."
"What do you know about freedom in the first place?" Jug asked him "It's definition differs from every book I read," Pheo clarified. "But generally it's the power to do whatever."
"Exactly," Jug pointed at him. "The power to act, the power to speak, the power to think…"
"The ability to do whatever you want." Jug got up and started pacing around
"Have you ever had everything you wanted, only for it to get stolen in front of your very eyes?" He vented out. "When all that you have gets stolen from you and your life crumbles apart, no one will care, and time goes on."
Pheo saw that Jug was deep in his own thoughts. It made him think of his own life, "I know what it's like." Those words stopped Jug from pacing around. "To have something stolen from you, right in front of your eyes…" He continued, "Within arms reach yet for it to be so far."
"To do everything you could, yet end up back at the start. Within arms reach."
Pheo recalled his past, his unyielding effort to save his mother, her memories the only motivation that kept him in his pursuit.
He recalled the many times his father caught him, the pain that would flow through his eyes as he saw his own son going further than he did when he thought he tried everything he could to save her.
The rage that would swell right after, the abuse that would have ensured.
"I had to watch as my father slowly descended into madness, to only be able to watch as my mother stayed frozen still. For my family to slowly break apart as I desperately try to find ways to patch it back together."
"Stop." Jug held up his hand to stop Pheo, "We aren't the same. I already know from what you've told me."
"You were able to act," He told him. "That's the difference between you and me."
Jug went closer to Ryu. Pheo should've stopped him, but there was something about Jug that told him that he wasn't going to do anything. "There are some things that people just can't fight against."
It brought Pheo back to the times he felt hopeless getting his mother out of there, when he resolved himself to fix his family to the way they once were.
Jug reached out to Ryu. but stopped midway. Pheo noticed that his eyes glimmered with water, almost forming a tear. He turned away before he could see it fall down.
"Maybe you're right," Pheo admitted. "There are many things that man can't fight against such as nature or time." He looked at Jug, he had his back turned on him but he knew he was listening.
"But there is no harm in defying what seems certain." Pheo said as he took a look at Ryu, his breathing was stable but he knew that inside a fierce battle took place. Jug went to leave the room before stopping at the entrance.
"Maybe we aren't so similar after all."
He told Pheo before seeing himself out, noticing that Don was there listening from outside the room. Don held his finger up to Jug's lips, staring him dead in his eyes.
He didn't look at him however, he simply walked away from the room and went off elsewhere. Don stayed there for a while, taking a deep breath before going inside the room.
He saw that Pheo was still by Ryu's side, taking care of him while he was in that state. He dropped the practice sword he held to the ground, "Are you ready?" Pheo looked at him, nodded his head, and followed Don to practice.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A sandstorm blew itself violently across the desert. Amidst it was a woman, glued to her binoculars. She watched a small abandoned shack, barely keeping itself standing from the gusts of winds.
Anyone would think nothing of it unless they were forced to hide, but she knew. She knew of the secrets that were hidden from the rest, the atrocities that took place in a world separated from the public.
She got up, looking at it once more before heading towards an encampment. There, barely anyone was outside to keep watch, only a few that were used to the harsh environment waved at her. She headed for the biggest tent there is, letting herself in but keeping the sandstorm out.
"Why are we still wasting our time here when we already know all of them are in there?" A man slammed his hands down on a table, capturing the attention of everyone in the tent. His baggy eyes and ragged look set him apart from the rest.
"You must understand," A young man tried to reason with him. "Not only is the weather unstable but we have yet to confirm the positions of the targets." The ragged man paced quickly back and forth, he batted his eyes towards her. "What do you think then, Anora?"
"Should we stay here, idle around as they're free to do whatever they want down below our very noses?" Anora looked at him, his dire state paired with his desperate eyes showed her just how desperate he was.
Truly a caring father.
"I believe that even if we know most of the targets are known to be at the location, we must find a reasonable time to strike."
"Exactly," The young man said. "It would be best if we wait for the opportune moment rather than blindly rush in. Thank you." The young man nodded his head at her as a sign of gratitude. Meanwhile, the ragged man groaned.
"Of course, the paid help sides with their employer," He looked at the empty chair. "I can't even have someone else by my side because he's late."
"Tell me then," He took a deep breath and finally sat down. "When can we finally go, Wing?" He was surprised at his sudden change in attitude, but kept his composure.
"As soon as the conditions are clear," He stated. "And when we can finally confirm that our main priority is still alive." Wing pointed at the picture of a child, a young boy whose name was displayed right below his picture.
Timothy Howard.
Wing grabbed his coat, he looked at both of them as he wore it. "I know that we're here not only because of the money, but also for our own personal reasons."
"Even I want to rush in now," Wing told them. "But this is something we can't afford to fail." Those words made the ragged man react, his composure wavered as it reminded him of what's at stake.
"Let's meet again later on tonight." Wing said before he went off. Meanwhile, Anora approached the man who shook controllably. "Ikra, I know you worry of him, but he's a tough kid."
She gently placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him even if it's just a little. "After all, you raised Ryu to be the toughest nut there ever was." Her words made Ikra laugh, one mixed with anxiousness. "He was never someone to sit down."
"It makes me worry about how they're treating him." He clasped his hands together. His behavior concerned Anora. Ever since Ryu went missing, he's been on high alert the entire time.
A gust of storm blew over the both of them, they turned to see a pale man coated in black enter. "I couldn't help but hear the two of you." He sat down in the seat previously empty. "Better late than never, right?"
Ikra looked at him with malice, "Where were you while we were having the meeting, Arm?"
"I was busy" He reached into his satchel and pulled out something wrapped in cloth. He unfolded it and revealed a set of tools. "And frankly, couldn't be bothered"
"What do you mean you couldn't be bothered?" Ikra looked at him confused. "It's a meeting that's about the operation YOU'RE in!" Arm shook his bag onto the table, rolling out multiple orb-like objects. He grabbed one of them and started to tinker with it.
"I couldn't be bothered because no matter what, oil and water won't mix," He told him. "No matter how hard you shake, they'll eventually separate." He cracked one of them open, revealing the intricate design inside. Arm inspected its contents, replacing some of the parts that seemed broken.
"It doesn't take a genius to figure out how this meeting will end with you and Wing in the room." He told them as he tinkered around. "I just came afterwards because I know all the pent up steam will blow out once it ends."
Ikra bit his tongue, he wanted to talk back to him but he knew he was right. The meeting was bound to end with nothing done. "So what's the plan then?"
He shut the ball back together, "Prepare." He placed the ball back to his satchel and cracked another one open, "I guarantee you that Wing won't have his way this mission."
Anora's ears perked up, Wing was in charge of the operation. He was calling the shots, so why did Arm say that?
"So it'll go your way?"
"No," Arm told her. "It'll go nobody's way."
"Just like how oil and water doesn't mix, those three down below don't either." He grabbed the documents on the table and slid over some papers towards Anora. "Read this."
She picked it up, looking at the three who were in charge of the operation. "I already read about it, they're experienced enough to deal with all of the teams dispatched so far."
"They're adept in all kinds of warfare," Ikra added, leaning in closer. "Even in areas we haven't dived in yet."
"Even if we outnumber them, we're still up against professionals here." Arm applied pressure on a part deep inside the ball, suddenly popping it out. "Interestingly enough, each of them has some form of history with us too." He reminded them, "The most obvious one being the person currently absent."
Anora looked at the entrance, checking if anyone was arriving before she spoke. "It's probably eating away at him inside."
"After all, they've been together for years."
"We're fighting our own battles here," Ikra told her. "Just as I have to keep myself under control, he has to pull the trigger without hesitation." Ikra grabbed a tool from Arm's organized set and started copying what he was doing.
Arm noticed, then sighed. "As long as you don't break anything." he said as he continued to do maintenance on his items.