"Wake up."
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My eyes shot open, and I blinked several times in an attempt to orient myself. I was lying in a still, black void. It felt like sinking into a warm, motionless ocean, but I wasn't afraid. I gladly let the darkness pull me down further.
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A loud feminine voice cut through the darkness. "What are you doing? You're better than this! Get up!"
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The voice echoed in the recesses of my mind. It was like an old lullaby I'd all but forgotten. The voice should've been instantly recognizable to me, but I couldn't place it.
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A woman in a silk, floral gown stood before me. A halo of light surrounded her, cutting through the darkness. Her lips curved upward into a smile as I stared at her in awe. "Pull yourself together. This is no time for napping," she teased.
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I gaped at her in stunned silence. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The last time I saw her, her body was so bloody and broken she was unrecognizable, but now she was beautiful just like I remembered her. I reached out toward her as tears blurred my vision. "Mamá?"
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She cupped my face in her hands and dabbed at my tears with a handkerchief. "Don't cry."
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I threw my arms around her in a tight embrace. "I've missed you so much."
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She caressed my cheek and whispered in my ear. "I can't believe how much you've grown. I'm sorry I couldn't be there to watch you grow up."
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I fought back a whole new wave of tears. "It's okay, Mami. We're going to be together now."
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"No," she said, so softly I could barely hear.
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"What do you mean no? Why not?" I fought to keep the indignation out of my voice.
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"You must go back."
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I buried my face in her shoulder. "I'm so tired, mamá. I can't carry the weight of the world any longer."
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"It's not your time yet."
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I clutched onto her for dear life. "I don't want to fight anymore. I want to stay here with you!"
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She gave me a wistful smile and gently caressed my hair. "We will be reunited one day, but there's still so much more in store for you. For now, you must wait."
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"Please," I begged. "I don't want to say goodbye."
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"Espérame." Wait for me. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and squeezed my hands one last time before she began to fade away. I desperately grasped at her, trying to make her stay with me. She drifted away like sand in the wind.
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After she'd disappeared, I sat alone in the vast abyss with nothing but my grief. I heard a faint and distant voice calling me back to the land of the living.
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"Don't you dare die on me, you lovable idiot! If you die on me, I'm going to tell embarrassing stories about you at your funeral, so you better wake up! Can you hear me? Atlas? Carlos? Please come back to me."
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I recognized that voice. I could almost feel him trying to shake me awake. I smiled through the tears. Chase came back for me. He came to rescue me, no matter the risks. It was a stupid thing to do, but it means the world to me that he did.
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My eyes shot open, and I coughed up a mouthful of salt water.
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Chase threw his arm around me and pulled me into the tightest hug imaginable. "Oh my God, you're alive!" His tears dripped onto me, soaking my shirt.
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"Are you crying?"
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"No." He sniffled.
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I returned the hug. "Who told you my name used to be Carlos?"
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A guilty expression crossed his face. "Vindicator."
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I rolled my eyes. Of course, he did. I can't have any secrets, can I?
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"What name do you prefer?"
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"Please call me Atlas. Carlos died a long time ago. I'm not him anymore, I feel like I'm someone completely different now."
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"Sure thing, Atlas."
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I glanced around our surroundings. "Where are we?"
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"We are currently floating in the middle of the ocean, on some old garbage I found. Turns out Titanic was wrong, two people can fit on a wooden door."
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I nodded slowly as I reoriented myself from being dead a couple of moments ago. That's when I noticed Chase was missing an arm.
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"What happened to your arm?"
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Chase glanced down at his missing arm nonchalantly. "Oh, that? It's nothing. I got into a little tussle with Vindicator, that's all."
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"I'm going to kill him!" I tried to sit up, but Chase held me back.
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"I don't think he made it."
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"What do you mean?"
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Chasegestured towards Ikigai II. A small chunk of the island was falling apart and on fire.
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"What the hell happened here? Is Marisa okay?"
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Chase shook his head. "I don't know. I barely know what happened. I was focused on keeping you safe and then all of a sudden, boom! An explosion went off, and it made a huge wave. That's how we ended up over here."
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I felt the gripping sense of panic sinking in. My heart hammered against my chest like a pounding drum with every gasp of air I took. My entire body shook, but I couldn't tell if it was from anxiety or from being soaked to the bone on the windy sea. What's the point in resurrecting from the dead if I'm just going to die out here?
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Chase rested a hand on my shoulder. "It's alright. I'm panicking too, but you and I are going to make it, I promise. I called for help."
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"No one is coming for us, Chase. Emergency Services is in Bionic Corp's pocket, and even if they weren't, they don't come out this far from the island."
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His face morphed into a sheepish expression. "I didn't call Emergency Services."
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I narrowed my eyes at him. "Who did you call?"
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Chase refused to meet my gaze. "Um, someone."
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I caught a flash of his wrist and noticed he was wearing my Holowatch. I eyed it suspiciously. "What are you doing with my watch?"
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He hid his arm behind his back. "What watch?"
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I caught a glimpse of something large and white looming in the distance. I leaned to the side to get a better view. A vast, ivory party yacht rapidly approached us. Blaring electropop music poured through the speakers. As the yacht got closer, I could finally make out who was piloting the vessel. It was none other than Gabriel St. Martin and Adrien Kumar. Kill me now!
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I lightly punched Chase in the shoulder. "What the hell have you gotten me into?"
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"It's not my fault you had Gabriel's contact saved in your Holowatch."
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"That was in case of emergency!"
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Chase gestured to the roaring waves surrounding us. "This is an emergency!"
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"You should've asked me before making a deal with the devil!"
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"Gee, I would've, but you weren't exactly conscious at the moment."
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I crossed my arms and slumped down. I guess he had a point, but I don't have to like it. Gabriel will want something in return for saving my life. Will he force me to fight in the arena again? A shiver crawled up my spine from just thinking about it.
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The yacht parked a few feet away from us and Gabriel leaned over the side. "Hello boys, I heard you need a ride."
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I nodded begrudgingly.
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"Yes, thank you, sir, for taking time out of your no doubt very busy schedule to save us."
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Gabriel gave a dismissive wave. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll repay me soon."
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"Yeah, you owe us big time!" Adrien added.
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I fought back a grimace.
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They threw down a ladder and I clutched onto it, so we wouldn't drift away. I allowed Chase to go first. Having only one arm made the climb difficult, but he scaled it like a pro. His climbing skills have improved drastically over the past few days. Breaking the law and evading Bionic Corp will teach you a plethora of new skills. Once he reached the top, it was my turn. I gripped onto the lowest rung and pulled myself up. My cybernetic strength and reflexes made the task a breeze, even with the bullet in my hip. When I reached the top I hopped over the railing and joined the others on the skiff.
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"Where's my piece of the map, Curseword? I want it back. It's the least you can do after everything."
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Chase decided to play dumb. "What map?"
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"The one you two stole from me. Remember that?"
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"Oh, that map! Yeah, we don't have that anymore."
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Gabriel clenched his jaw. "Is that so? Do you care to tell me what happened to it?"
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"Vindicator stole it, and if I had to guess I'd say it got destroyed when the explosion happened," I signed, nodding towards the island that was currently on fire.
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"How could you be so stupid and careless?" Adrien barked. "We should throw you back overboard for your incompetence. Come on, Gabriel!"
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Gabriel firmly clutched his arm, restraining him. "We will do no such thing."
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"You're no fun," Adrien grumbled.
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Grasped my side in an attempt to slow the bleeding.
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Gabriel's eyes widened as he appeared to notice the bullet wound for the first time. "That doesn't look good."
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"That's an understatement."
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"Let's get you some medical attention." He ushered us across the dance floor, past the hot tubs, and towards the back of the ship.
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Scantily clad cyborgs sneered at us as we limped past.
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"Sorry, we interrupted your party. You're welcome to resume whatever you were doing," Chase called out.
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Gabriel unlocked a hidden door that led us to a private indoor lounge with large glass windows, plush ivory couches, and a full liquor bar. He directed me to lie down on the longest couch.
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"You know I'm going to get blood stains all over this thing, right?"
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"I don't care about that." Gabriel ordered an intern to bring us heated blankets and warm coffee. Gabriel sat on one of the barstools. "Now, let's talk business. You already know I don't do anything for free. You're now indebted to me."
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I nodded. "I understand."
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"Not you, Curseword. Chase. He's the one who made me come all this way on my day off."
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"I understand, sir. Name your price and it's yours."
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Gabriel clapped Chase on the shoulder. "That's what I like to hear. You should take notes, Curseword. Things would go easier for you if you could stand to be a bit more agreeable."
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"I don't work for you. I could not care less if you like my personality."
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Gabriel placed a hand on his heart. "You wound me with your words, Curseword. I could throw you back overboard if you'd prefer to take your chances out there."
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Adrien poked his head in the door frame. "Are we throwing them overboard now?"
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Gabriel waved him away. "No."
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Adrien muttered something foul and stormed away.
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"One more thing," I signed. "Stop calling me Curseword. My name is Atlas, and I'm not anyone's plaything anymore."
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Gabriel pursed his lips. "Alright, Atlas. I want you to know I never meant to make you feel like a pawn."
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"You were exploiting me for monetary gain before I was old enough to drive! How am I supposed to feel, Gabriel?
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"Listen I know you don't want anything to do with me anymore, but if you ever change your mind just give me a call. I still care about you."
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I remained silent.
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He gave me a somber glance before closing the door and leaving us alone. As soon as he was gone, I began scolding Chase. "What were you thinking? Why would you call him?"
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"Because I knew he'd come to rescue you," he replied.
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You're going to owe him a favor now!
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"I'm fine with that. I'd rather be alive and owe Gabriel St. Martin a favor than be dead."
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I folded my arms across my chest bitterly. I couldn't control Chase's decision, but I didn't have to like it.
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...
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A few minutes later the intern returned with our coffee and blankets and a nurse came to take a look at my wound. She'd managed to dress the wound and reduce the bleeding, but I'd need surgery to remove the shrapnel as soon as I got to land.
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I tried to take a nap, but Chase wouldn't stop pestering me with random questions. I think he feared if I went to sleep, I would never wake up.
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...
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After an hour at sea, the door creaked open, and I glanced up expecting to see Gabriel again, but instead, Patch and Marisa stepped into the lounge.
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"You're okay!" I signed. I ignored the doctor's orders to rest, and I sprinted toward them. I enveloped them in a tight hug.
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Patch ruffled my hair. "It takes a lot more than that to kill me."
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Marisa leaned in and held on to me for dear life. "Thank God you're okay. I was so scared." Her voice quavered.
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I squeezed her right back. I was scared of losing her too.
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Once we finished our group hug, I asked, "How did you get here?"
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Adrien lingered in the doorway. "I received a distress signal from Vindicator. So, I went to his location to rescue my favorite new fighter, but when I got there, I found these losers instead. I thought I might as well save them while I was there."
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"Thank you, Adrien."
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"Yeah, whatever. It's no big deal. There's no need to get sappy."
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"Is Oblivion gone?"
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They both nodded.
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"And she took the Annihilation Code with her," Patch added.
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"What? You found it?"
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"Your map was spot on, kid. You led us right to it."
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I forced a smile. That's great!" It's not that I wasn't happy the code was destroyed. Of course, I was. It was selfish and wrong to feel any other way, but I'd always thought I'd be the one to destroy it. That could've been my redemption. If there was any way to atone for what I've done, that would've been it. Now, the ghost of my past will stalk me forever.
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A gentle voice floated through my brain. "Don't look at it that way. You traveled all over to put together the pieces of the map, and when it was stolen, you recreated it from memory. Atlas, you're amazing." Chase shot me a reassuring smile from across the room. He knew how I was feeling, and he didn't judge me for it. Of course not, we were linked, after all. "You can let go of the guilt now, the victims have been avenged."
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I swallowed down the lump that was forming in my throat. "Thank you, Chase."
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"Don't worry about it. I've got your back no matter what."
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I smiled back at him through the sorrow to show my appreciation for his never ending support. I don't know if the guilt and the shame will ever stop haunting me, but I know for certain Chase Huxley will never leave me. Together we formed a bond that can never be broken, and I know he'll always stand by me even in the bad times. I don't deserve the devotion of someone like him, even if he's and dumbass and an asshole sometimes. I don't deserve anyone's love, not Patch or Marisa or anyone else, but maybe I'll claim it anyway.
ns 15.158.61.53da2
