Rising Shards

09 had Vita Coa’s location saved in her memory, and with finagling I didn’t understand, configured the bowl to take us back to the island once we scraped our fangs on the rosin. The last time I was on the island of Vita Coa, I was not there of my own accord. I had to fight a bunch of robots. And Jeans. I thought I’d be nervous about being back there, but we landed at a familiar gentle beach. Well, it took a few tries; 09 had to try a few uninhabited spots on the island before I remembered I had a map saved in my wristband. I looked at my wristband and projected a map saved in it to make sure we were headed to the right spot. Finally, we arrived at the seaside village of the Exumi.

“Do you think they’ll notice I’m here?” I asked.

09 shrugged. “They haven’t bugged me about it. If they do notice it’ll take them a bit.”

As if on cue, my wristband’s projection glitched out and crashed.

“Your wristband might buy you some time if it’s like that.” 09 said. “And we’re just going in for a quick look, right?”

“Right! Just checking on this thing.” I said. I felt like I did after eating a bunch of the fancy candies Amara gave everyone, like a deluxe sugar high walking back into the Exumi village. Just thinking that I might finally have a lead on my parents for the first time in my life. The mostly robotic Exumi villagers perked up at our arrival, blinking in confusion. Soon after, a familiar voice called out.

“Atrian!” Kiki said. “Atrian Zeta! I wasn’t sure when I’d see you again!”

The blue Exumi Kiki rushed towards me. While Exumi didn’t have much for expression with their masks, her eyes were bright and wide. Kiki helped us during the Fang Moon Web incident, and I didn’t get a chance to see her after the fight with Jeans. She was blocked off from it all, so I was very glad she made it out alright.

“Kiki! I missed you!” I said. “Do you do hugs?”

“What is a ‘hug’?” Kiki asked, tilting her head to the side. “And is this also an Atrian?”

“Yeppers,” 09 said.

“Interesting, your face markings suggest you are between the Atrians and the Exumi. If you are a friend of Zeta, you are welcome in our village. Our elder Mawiril is away, but I hope I can help with whatever you need.”

“Thanks!” 09 said. “And it’s a bit complicated on the betweens and whatnot. I have some cybernetics, I have some organics.”

“Just like us!” Kiki nodded. “So many Atrians visiting lately! I hope you have a happy reason for your arrival.”

“Sort of,” I said. “I hope? Did a tall Atrian named Caya show up here recently?”

Kiki nodded. “Yes, the tall and intimidating Atrian calling herself ‘Caya’ has visited a few times recently…her news was concerning, but I’m grateful for her support.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. “Did she…say anything about Arctus Kathron? Is he still here?”

“Atrian Caya informed us that the Arctus Kathron we had living with us was merely an apparition, a ghost of the past of sorts.” Kiki said. “Once she explained how you full organics age, it made a lot more sense. I last saw him when he was older, and then saw his apparition later that had a youthful appearance.”

My heart sank. “Did she…get rid of the apparition?” I asked.

“I’m afraid so.” Kiki said.

“Oh…” I said.

“I’m sorry, Zeta.” 09 said.

“It’s alright.” I said, not able to hide the crushing disappointment. My voice was weak when I continued. “We should maybe head back then.”

I wanted to just run out so none of them would see me get stupid emotional about this, a tactic that worked when a movie I was really looking forward to had a sudden downer ending and the group I went with all liked it and I personally couldn’t take that because I really wanted the main couple to get together and have a happy ending and they didn’t and it made me very sad and angry, so I made up some excuse about an upset stomach and ran away.

“What was he like?” I asked quietly. “The real him.”

It didn’t take away how much of a defeat this felt like, but this was still something. Kiki had spoken to the real Arctus at one point. My father.

“A true hero,” Kiki said. “He came to us from exile, and he and his party saved us from the monsters of Endora countless times. Their party was fractured after Desola, and Arctus left us then.”

My father was a hero. Or he is a hero. The thought was nice. Maybe he left to go to the stable world to live with my mother, and that’s when Stella and I came to be. Then we all got separated. 

“The power of Atrians truly is impressive, though,” Kiki said. “To be able to create the likeness of one’s past self and send it out into the world. When I last saw Arctus, he was separated from the Kathron blade. But the apparition’s sword looked exactly the same. When Atrian Caya eliminated the apparition, he was separated from his blade again, which I suppose is fitting in a bleak sort of way.”

“Wait,” I said. “What did you just say?”

“That Caya eliminated the apparition?” 09 asked.

“The sword!” I said. “Arctus talked to me through the sword! Maybe that was part of his memory sprite too? How else did he talk to me? Did the sword like fade away or anything after Caya destroyed the rest?”

Kiki shook her head. “Although I deemed the Atrian Caya trustworthy, I didn’t want to risk her eliminating everything from the apparition of Arctus. I…hid the sword in my hut. I expected it to fade away, but it remained. I wondered if it was perhaps the real blade, but I am uncertain…”

“Can you show me?” I asked.

“Of course!” Kiki said. She led me to her hut, where she kept the sword in a wide chest. I took a deep breath before picking up the bloodsaber once again.

“So your thinking is that this is a memory sprite as well then?” 09 said.

“Arctus talked to me through it,” I said. “So either that was the memory sprite or…maybe the real thing. He said he’d explain everything, so there’s gotta be something here.”

I looked at the blade, which had etchings of the Kathron family’s history. History that I was maybe now a part of. Or was all along and just didn’t know it.

“What is the thing I’m supposed to say to a memory sprite again?” I asked.

“’For whatever may come.’” 09 said.

Instantly, the sword lit up, just as it had when I spoke to Arctus through it.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Arctus’ voice said through the sword.

“It worked! Ah ha!” I laughed maniacally, not used to things working out like this. I jumped around as the sword dissipated in a brilliant light. As the light dimmed, sparkles fell from it, moving around us like foamy, splashing waves.

I remembered the other thing 09 said I could ask it. “Wait wait! Before you get all sparkly, uhhh who sent you?”

“I did,” Arctus’ voice said. “Arctus Kathron. Isn’t that clear?”

The sparkles began to zip around, moving to certain spots as a picture formed on the walls.

“It really worked…” I said. “And now it’s doing…something. What’s it doing?”

09 stroked her chin. As the image formed by the sparkles became clearer—well, more solidified, I still couldn’t tell what the heck the mishmash of dots of light was—09’s red eyes lit up as she analyzed it.

“It’s…a map.” 09 said.

“A map? A map to them! Right? It has to be!” I said.

“No way…”

“What? What is it?” I asked.

“This is either highly convenient or highly suspicious.” 09 said. “But if my math is right here…the source of the sprite is the same place I’m headed next. It’s a station in the void called Spero.”

“That’s incredible!” I said. “That’s where Aira and Laenie are?”

09 nodded.

This was moving too fast. But I thought to myself that maybe it needed to. I’d been waiting so long for some shred of information about my parents, and now a path was laid out before me that could finally get me there.

“Can I come with?” I asked.