[attr="class","text"]
The second her hand hit the glass, her entire being shuddered.
[break][break]
To turn to
violence--even for the right reasons—was so against everything she believed in. Immediately, those gentle green eyes swim with tears.
“Leon, I—” She expected hurt. Maybe anger. But she didn’t expect
that. Freckled cheeks turned a startling crimson as her jaw dropped.
Did he just—?! Arceus! Not in front of—what if—oh no!! Suspicious eyes drop to his shorts, seeking out straining fabric. But before she reaches the, she spots blood.
[break][break]
The monkey’s laughter is like nails on the chalkboard. Her face crumples with shame as she whips off the extra shirt and rushes toward him. She dabs it in the ichor, trying her best to stop the flow. Tears mix into it, turning crimson into red sea.
“I’m such an idiot.” All she’d seen was that dead man and something short-circuited.
“I didn’t want them to—I thought I could—can you breathe all right?”
[break][break]
The monkey’s laughter is like nails on the chalkboard. She pauses to throw the
beast a glare. A hiss from a Megalopan guard sent her to work. The cuts in her hands felt like karmic retribution for the terrible,
monstrous thing she’d just done. Though she tried to come up with a better apology, her mind kept circling to one word:
mammina.
[break][break]
At some point, he tells her their daughter’s fate. She had preferred to travel with her grandparents. So, it seemed, she was
safe. Any sense of relief, however, would be short-lived.
Then, the work came to an end. With a groan, she forced herself to her feet. Her feet retreated to the edges of the cell, the prison somehow her den in this mess. As the thieves were hefted, the doctor’s blood ran cold. “No!” Suddenly, she’s grateful for the
terror that had stopped her plan.
“How can you punish them for rules they don’t know!” The rest of her words are muffled in her husband’s blood-streaked chest. Even the six-pack couldn’t muffle the
noise of bodies hitting the ground.
[break][break]
Over.[break]
And over.[break]
And over.
[break][break]
Through the edges of his arms, she can see
glimpses of the screen. Her hands clawed at Leon’s arms. But she wasn’t sure if it was to
hold them there or
push them away. The screams of her fellow inmates make it obvious what’s happening. Just who was innocent here. Just
what those noises signify.
Why aren’t the balls letting them out? What kind of sick monsters would do something like this? But, then, she remembers the spaceships. The locks used on mercurial,
dangerous Pokemon like Cassieopa.
[break][break]
Stella.[break]
Eimyrja.
[break][break]
Her words spill out in an endless stream, as repetitive as the show above.
“No! No! Let go of me! I can’t—they need—let me help!” The tears are fiery. Out of sight, those scarred fingers curl into fists. “They’re monsters!” Then, the warmth is gone and she’s left to face the room and their
trap. She knows this game.
[break][break]
Her eyes sweep across the assembled. In them is a bottomless empathy.
“I’m—I’m sorry.” Even if these monsters were to blame,
she’d do the apologizing for them. The spineless asses weren’t about to do it themselves. She hopes those two words might soothe those with a perceived loss.
[break][break]
Aubre’s eyes lock with
DESIREE BLOOMS for a moment. Then, her gaze slides angrily to the cowardly ones like
Andrew Fisher. As Leon speaks, some part of her wants to be
angry. To yell at him for not joining hands with the trust circle. But she also knows that isn’t fair. Leon and her aren’t the same person; they’re compliments. And, loathe as she is to admit it, he’s right.
[break][break]
This is a game of poker, not just a philosophy puzzle.
[break][break]
When she speaks, the redhead stands straighter. Her words are a hint of what might have been. What
was in another world. She digs deep to understand people who turn their back on the other ward. To respond to cruelty with more of, well, that just made it worse.
“Striking back at the other ward won’t make up for what these monsters did. Save that anger for them.” Aubre can only imagine what they’re feeling.
“But I know my Pokemon would want me to do the right thing, even if this game might be rigged.” Green eyes slide to the drooling Megalopans and the psychic type.
“Especially if it’s rigged.”[break][break]
She swallows. It’s funny how nervous she is about this decision. As if there was even a smote’s chance she’d choose anything else. She’d married the man who went to jail for the worst day of her life.
“I’m trusting them.” The words are surprisingly calming.
“And, if I pay for it, I’m—I’m fine with that.”[break][break]
Because the guilt of any other outcome is
far worse than what these aliens could do.
4W4z4tOp