Chap 190: Sirsy

Tee had commanded Patience to stop, but it didn’t stop Kie’s curiosity. He reached for her robe and pulled it on, using it to hide his bareness.

Tee’s gulp was loud as she slipped out of bed and wrapped herself with the sheet. She pointed to the window, and the glass slid aside, letting the cool morning air sip through.

“You can leave now,” she told him.

Kie’s brows knitted. “Through a window?”

Tee gave a nervous laugh. “Yeah, I know. Vergants are weird.” She caught his reaction and quickly added, “I’m sorry.”

He turned toward the door instead. It slid open.

Behold—an ice-saber with a saddle, staring him dead in the eye.

He stepped back in fright.

“What the freck!” he blurted. His brows knitted. “Wait a second.” He turned to her. “You…”

“Yes, I went back for the ice-saber,” she blurted, wrapping the sheet tighter around her frame.

“I can’t believe you disobeyed an order that had a majority rule,” he said, turning away from the mutt.

Tee walked up to her pet, Patience, and pulled him inside. The door slid shut with all three of them.

“He’s completely tame. And we even got him a saddle,” Tee smiled.

“He?” Kie asked.

He looked away and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I didn’t think it would be a big deal,” she said with large, beady eyes. “The Lieutenant even allowed me to bring him back. And the Commander approved.”

Kie lowered his hand from his face and looked at her. “You’ve disappointed me.”

Tee released Patience and stepped closer to Kie. “Fine. How can I make it up to you?”

Kie glanced at the clock on her study desk and realized there was still ample time before breakfast.

“I know the perfect thing,” he said.

The next thing, Tee was sitting on the edge of the bed with Kie’s head in her lap as she brushed his bangs. He swore he was in heaven. They talked a little, which led him to tell her he had seen iced coffee during an outing without her, but he hadn’t bought her any.

Tee stopped brushing his bangs, her voice suddenly serious. “Why? Were you broke?”

Kie turned his head to look up at her. “No. We weren’t a couple, so why should I?”

“So… are we a couple now?”

Kie was careful to say his next word as softly as possible, knowing it would hurt her. “No.”

Tee gasped in pain and stood up so abruptly that Kie almost fell. She turned toward the window, moving her hands as she fumed.

“How are we not together? We just had sex.” She turned back to him. “You’re using me. We’re not together, but you come here and all, ‘Oh, brush my hair for me.’”

Kie defended himself. “No, you brought me here. That was your fault.”

Tee hissed and looked away, folding her arms.

“Oh, I see what’s happening,” Kie said as he grabbed his pants from the ground, trying to lighten the mood. “You’re just mad because I didn’t buy you iced coffee.”

But Tee was annoyed. She walked to the door and stood there, keeping it open.

“I have a cure to find, and you’re wasting my time,” she said.

Kie mumbled as he zipped his pants and reached for his shirt, “You were already wasting your time before I came.”

Tee looked at him with knitted brows. “Excuse me?” she fumed.

Kie replied, “There hasn’t been a cure for over two thousand years—and there never will be.”

Tee was shattered. Was he saying they would never be together? That they would never have a chance? That she would never have a chance at happiness? Did he understand what he had just said to her?

She ran out of the room, and her ice-saber followed her.

Kie realized he had destroyed something in her and shouldn’t have said that. But he had spoken the truth. Over two thousand years and no cure. He kicked his shoe and cursed his damned fate.

Alone in a garden, petting her Patience, Tee had tears streaming down her face. Life was so unfair. But was she expecting too much? She was a Xeno-victim, and no one could really want her. Being used was the closest she would get. She should be lucky that Kie even spoke to her.

Kie took his luggage and, with a Vergant’s help, found his way back to the Primus base. He was allowed only one bite of his fish roll before heading to training. He couldn’t stop thinking about Tee—about how he had hurt her.

At night, Tee couldn’t stop thinking about the intimate moment they had shared, and even the ones before that. She craved Kie whether she liked it or not. But did he see her as a whore? Something just to satisfy his sensual desires and nothing more?

Deep in the night, she heard Kie’s voice through her telecom and hesitated to answer. But she listened as he apologized for what he had said. Tee let the silence stretch until he finally asked,

“Hey, are you there? My battery might die again.”

Tee answered, “I’m here. And whatever. We’re just friends. I get it.”

Time stretched by, and Kie and Tee continued to night-chat on their telecoms—Kie using the ones he kept back from Leak missions. But their conversations lacked humor and warmth, more like briefings on what had happened around them. Neither of them dared to insist on meeting up again. 

During that time, Kie and his teammates went on several more outings through different districts, moving from place to place with a purpose that never quite left them. Kie told her about each one afterward—what went wrong, what went well, the moments that stayed with him longer than he expected. 

Tee listened, weighing his words. She tried to imagine herself there beside him. In the end, she wasn’t sure whether she would have wanted to be there or not, and that uncertainty lingered longer than any of the details he shared.

Two weeks later, they found themselves on another mission to eliminate the Harbingers. But something was wrong.

They appeared at the new location and fought swarming nanobots that formed weapons and mechanical beasts of all kinds. The Fragment stood on a floating temple, alone and without the company of Sade. After hours of fighting, Tee and her teammates confirmed there was no sign of the Harbingers and had to leave as things turned chaotic.

“Strange,” Zod said when they teleported back to the mission base. “No signs of the Harbingers?”

Miko smiled while holding her bruised arm. “Maybe they can’t handle defeat.”

“Maybe they had something more important to do,” Saeda added dryly.

Kie had a sinking feeling. He remembered when future Tee mentioned a similar occurrence—when the Harbingers stopped showing up. What did it mean? Were he and his teammates going to return to their normal lives like they had then, leaving Tee at Primus alone? A brief flashback of his entire time at Primus rushed through his mind. It had been roughly nine months since he left his Mid-Guard to come here. Time sure flew.

Tee didn’t join the conversation. She only acknowledged Kie with a glance and then left.

Kie had been looking forward to the outing in his district, and during their nightly chat, he asked Tee to come.

“It’s not a date,” he said. “But who knows—maybe you’d get iced coffee?”

Tee knew he was tempting her, but secretly, it wasn’t the iced coffee that made her want to go.

“Will all five of us be staying together, or will it just be me and you?” she asked.

Kie thought before answering. “Well, Zod and Miko usually go together since they’re a couple and all, leaving me and Saeda. So it’ll most likely be the three of us.”

Tee frowned at the thought of being around Saeda, who didn’t like her, but she brushed it off, focusing instead on being with Kie.

“I’ll come,” she said.

Three days later, Kie and the rest of his teammates stood waiting in the mission base.

“Are you sure she’s coming?” Saeda asked.

Kie folded his arms and stamped his feet. “I’m positive.”

Tee eventually came rushing through the archway in a floral, vintage corseted dress, her white hair flowing freely.

Kie’s jaw dropped. She looked like something out of a fairytale—far too elegant for their casual outing. She wasn’t wearing a crest, but she might as well have been, judging by the stares.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said as she reached them. “Couldn’t let my dress get crushed. Shall we depart?” She stepped beside Kie, unable to stop smiling.

“You look… nice,” he told her.

The others remained speechless.

The Lieutenant immediately recognized Vergant date-night attire and wondered who the lucky guy was, but she didn’t comment.

“As I’ve said many times, these telecoms are set for individual teleportation. Please go somewhere private before activating them,” the Lieutenant said, handing them their devices.

Not long after, they were in Kie’s district.

District SkyFar

The group stepped out beside an old telephone station, wedged between two burned-down apartment buildings. Once they left that depressing sight behind, they were greeted by a road filled with moving vehicles and surrounded by tall buildings.

“This area is called SkyFallen,” Kie said.

He pointed to a massive, archaic, metal-like rock perched on what looked like a hill, oddly placed among modern lights and bustling structures.

“The place is named after that strange object that came from Apocalypse Prime,” Kie added.

“It’s a rock,” Miko said.

“Not just any rock,” Zod replied. “It’s one of the few remnants from the cataclysm that crashed into Earth some two thousand years ago. No one dares tamper with such a remarkable piece of history.”

“Alright, enough history talk,” Tee said, wrapping her arm around Kie’s hand. “Where are we going first?”

Before Kie could answer, Zod cut in. “It’s time we split up. Miko and I will head off. Have fun, guys.”

Zod and Miko disappeared into the moving crowd, leaving Saeda, Kie, and Tee behind.

Saeda shot Tee a look of disgust before making her decision. “I’ll go on my own,” she said, then walked off.

Tee’s gut sank. That look of disapproval cut like a knife. Was Saeda still mad about Snickers, about everything else, or both?

Kie quickly pulled her along. MG officers and troopers in purple uniforms were everywhere, almost unnoticed. Some blended seamlessly into the crowd, while others stood so still in hidden spots they were nearly invisible. But unlike the last time in the modern world, Tee didn’t feel their stares as much since she wasn’t wearing a crest. She had the Balance Seal, so she wouldn’t be a danger if she mutated. Any looks she received were because of her hair and attire.

Tee and Kie went to watch a mech battle match, where two massive machines clashed. Scrap flew through the air, metal crushed on impact, and the crowd placed bets on the winners, bursting into cheers with every heavy blow.

They bought street food and sat on the edge of a high-rise, legs dangling, sharing bites and quiet laughs while drones passed far overhead.

Tee had bad memories of the last time she tried to go into a movie theatre, but that time she made it. They watched a two-hour movie in 3D high definition with surround sound. The food and popcorn were wonderful.

They explored a mall, trying on clothes and pretending to be rich.

In a bar, they shared one drink, teasing about flavors, brushing fingers when paying, and playfully arguing over what to buy.

They came across some graffiti artists. Instead of scolding them, Tee borrowed a spray can and drew something. Kie watched her artistic skills but didn’t join in.

“What is it?” he asked.

Tee dropped her shoulders. “It’s Patience, my ice-saber.”

When the sky began to turn orange, Zod contacted them on their telecom, saying they were leaving. Kie wasn’t ready to go and wanted to visit his old Mid-Guard. Zod and Miko thought it would be interesting and decided they would all meet up. Saeda stayed silent, but she came along.

They took a bus to First Class Mid-Guard, a towering building about ten floors high and wide. Around it stood a large wall blocking most of its base, with designated entrances and pull-down grilles.

Nearby was a train station where many troopers were gathered. Some were already in roll call long before the hour. Typical, Tee thought.

Kie and his teammates walked through the crowd of troopers and quickly began to draw attention. There were looks of scrutiny, and even mockery of Tee’s hair. Kie regretted bringing her there, but Tee was tough and ignored it.

It didn’t take long for the stares to shift from Tee to Kie. Troopers began to recognize him, and whispers spread.

“Where are his scars?”

“Wow, he looks great.”

“Are you sure that’s him?”

A trooper called out to Kie, and he rushed over without hesitation, leaving his teammates behind. He spent time laughing and catching up with his old friends, exchanging fist bumps and shoulder pats as signs of respect. Most of the conversation centered on his scars.

While Kie was busy chatting, Tee remained with the others. The silence was unbearably awkward.

Miko finally broke the ice, telling Tee that while she was gone, they had gone on outings in their own districts too.

Tee heard about Miko’s shore district, SkyLine, where the beach was practically in the backyard and almost every home had a pool. They didn’t visit her parents, since she was supposed to be in another district at Mid-Guard, which would have raised questions.

Zod’s district, Drud Salvanar, was filled with hovertracks in the slums. He took them to an amusement park where everyone had to wear skates to get around.

Saeda lived in the overly crowded, towering apartment buildings of the Pactover. They visited many art scenes, museums, and enjoyed great street food.

Tee already knew all about their outing since Kie had told her, but she played dumb. She didn’t want them finding out he had snatched telecoms just to chat with her. Though, hearing about it didn’t compare to actually being there.

“Wow, I missed out a lot, didn’t I?” she said.

Kie finally came back with a huge grin on his face, his hair a bit messy from too many head rubs.

He took one glance behind his teammates and tensed. They heard someone clear their throat and turned to see who Kie was looking at. A girl stepped off her hoverboard and onto the ground.

She was tan, with dark brown hair pulled into a tight bun, a few loose strands framing her face.

The group parted to let her pass, and she went straight to Kie, throwing her arms around him.

“Is it really you, Kie?” she asked and then gasped.

Miko, thinking the interaction was adorable, said, “Aww, Kie. You never told us you had a sister.”

Zod mumbled to Miko, “He never told us anything about his family, remember.”

Tee knitted her brows. Kie had never mentioned a sister. Something was wrong, and a bad feeling settled in her gut.

Miko stepped closer and continued, “I can see the resemblance.”

The girl released Kie and shot him a sideways look. Kie looked away, scratching his head.

Kie cleared his throat before introducing her. “Guys, this is Sirsy—”

The girl finished his sentence. “His girlfriend. Hi, nice to meet you.”

Jaws dropped, and Tee stepped back in shock.

Girlfriend?!