We Still Have Serious Issues

“Zayin!” Someone calls amid a harsh pounding against the metal. He gets up from his place before the fire and goes over to the door. When he opens it he is greeted by Lucas.

“Hey.” Zayin says.

“We…” He sighs and runs his hand through his curly hair, “We aren’t sure what to do.”

“That makes all of us.” Zayin answers.

“What are you guys doing?”

“Nothing really.” Zayin looks back into the forge, seeing his friends sitting on the floor in a circle.

“So, the Dark God.” Lucas starts, “He gave you some stuff?”

“Unfortunately. But what I do with it is my choice.”

“What’ll you do?”

Zayin looks down, “We can’t beat him. We were fools to think we ever could.”

“I know.” Lucas replies. “I’ve always thought that. But my question is: what are you going to do now?”

“I’m going to take those who will follow me and leave this place. We’ll do what we must to survive until we can settle somewhere else.”

“That’s a good idea.” Lucas nods, “Maybe…maybe we should all think of doing that. Todd’s in there with you, right? Think he’ll go with you?”

“I’m certain he will.”

“Would you mind if I joined you?”

Zayin looks at the boy. Standing at almost his height, only a year makes Lucas younger. He’s always been a skilled fighter, with speed and strength almost inhuman. But where his power truly lays is with his skill with people. They always hated him for his ability to analyze them so much so as to almost read their mind. He claims to be able to feel people’s souls, always surrounded by a cacophony of the apparent melody they make. Though Zayin thinks it may not be a good idea, he claps him on the back and welcomes him into the forge.

“How soon do we leave?” Lucas asks.

“Very.”

 

ɂɂɂ

 

Ana follows me up to the high deck and back into the captain’s chamber, where the others have been waiting for me. The feast has vanished with no trace, and our guests sit back in their chairs, bliss on their faces. Solution stands in the corner, tapping her foot impatiently.

“Who is she?” Lance asks.

Chiron’s face is a mixture of fear and rage. He stomps over to me and grabs me by the collar. I do not struggle, but make sure to keep myself steady.

“What happened?” He demands, “You destroyed my comrade!”

Ana and I exchange a glance, a sad look crosses her face and she shakes her head a fraction.

“Now is not the time to discuss it.” I answer, “I will explain when the time is right, for now, just know that Nessus deserved that, and more.”

“Not good enough for me.” Chiron growls. “I have known him for years, his entire life! I practically raised him since he was a colt! And now I have witnessed you obliterating his very essence!”

His essence? “Chiron, please.” I beg of him, “You are owed an explanation. But now is really not the time.”

He closes his eyes for a moment, and then releases his grip on me. “He must have done something horrible.”

Silence fills the room with an uncomfortable tension.

“Who is she?” Lance repeats the question.

“Her name is Ana.” I answer.

“Anything else?”

“Later.”

The group all exchange looks.

“Aether.” Poseidon says, “You’ve just killed someone.”

The implication only then hits me, but I feel no regret. “He deserved it.” I mutter.

“Lance,” Poseidon continues, “Would you and your companions come with me to the helm so we can plot a course to your home?”

“Certainly.” Lance answers, standing.

“I’ll go with you.” Dionysus says. I watch as the five of them leave the room wordlessly. When they are gone I turn to find Chiron’s fist smashing into my face.

“You killed him!” He screams.

 I fall to the floor, cradling my cheek when I land. I get to my feet slowly, and duck under Chiron’s next strike.

“I had a good reason.” I tell him.

“You better have!” He growls. He calms himself, and then returns to where he stood before, beside Solution.

“Ana,” She says, “What’s happened?”

“Well, it…”

“Nessus.” I say, “he…” I look to Ana again, but she keeps her gaze on the floor.

“What did he do?” Ana lowers herself into one of the chairs, and I take the one next to her.

“Ana.” I say, and she looks up at me, “You can trust Solution, and Chiron deserves to know why I murdered his friend.”

Ana’s lower lip trembles, but she nods anyway. “Nessus...” she begins, “after he took me down there, I fell asleep. Cause I still felt weak. When I woke up, he was…” She brings her knees up to her face, and wraps her arms around herself. “He was touching me, all over. I tried to fight him, but I was too weak, and he almost…if not for Aether, he would have, you know.”

The looks on the faces of Chiron and Solution shift drastically. Solution dons a look of sympathy, and Chiron of understanding.

“I had hoped that Nessus would be different, like me.” Chiron says sadly, “But he turned out to be just like his namesake.”

“Chiron.” I say.

He holds up a hand, “I am the one who needs to apologize. I trusted Nessus, for naught it seems. For that I am sorry.”

I can only nod. Solution stands and comes over to sit in the chair next to Ana; she puts her arm around the small girl, who rests her head on her shoulder. Looking at them together so closely for the first time, it becomes clear to me just how different the two really look.

Ana lets Solution hold her, and tears come to her eyes. “It’s been really hard.” She says, “First Darren was mean to me, then Nessus.”

Solution sits up suddenly, “Darren? What about him?”

“Oh yeah,” Ana says, “You haven’t been around.”

“Tell me about Darren, how is he?” She sounds desperate.

“He became evil, and mean.” Ana says, “He treated us all really bad, pushing us really hard. He told me he was gonna kill me. The Dark God made him a monster.”

“A monster.” Solution repeats. Her eyes drop, and pain comes to them. She pulls her arm from Ana, and puts her face in her hands. Ana notices this, and puts her arms around Solution.

“It’ll be okay.” Ana tells her.

Oh that is just not fair. Just when I see the differences between the two, they switch personalities!

“Chiron.” I say, he looks at me, eyebrows raised. “I will not apologize for killing Nessus, but I will say that I am sorry for taking away what was clearly a dear friend to you.”

Chiron smiles sadly at me, “As an immortal, I have had more dear friends come and go than I can count. You cannot really grow used to the feeling, but I can say I have learned how to cope with it. Besides, Nessus deserved his fate for trying to defile such a sweet girl.”

Chiron and I share a smile, and Solution stops sniveling. When did she start sniveling?

“I have to say, Ana.” Solution says, “For someone who just endured attempted rape, you seem pretty bubbly.”

“That’s because of my dear white panther.” Ana responds. Oh dear.

“White panther?” Solution repeats.

Ana turns her gaze to me and smiles brightly. “Yeah, he saved me from Nessus, then we kissed. It made me feel all tingly and warm, and I knew everything was gonna be okay.” Ana blushes, still smiling, and looks down at her lap.

Solution sits back in her chair, frighteningly calm. “You…kissed?” she repeats.

“Yeah, it was really sweet and gentle.” Ana says dreamily.

Chiron fixes me with a look of pity, and I move closer to him slowly, hoping for some kind of protection.

“Did he…kiss you back?” Solution asks, and Chiron and I both cringe.

“Yeah!” Ana exclaims, “It was a really long kiss. It was funny, after I pulled away, he said ‘thank you’!”

Solution fixes her purple eyes on me, and I feel like she is staring straight into my soul.

“Aether,” Solution says, “Care to explain?”

“Not particularly.” I respond, fearing for my life.

Solution jumps to her feet, knocking her chair back, “I’m going below decks.” She announces suddenly, and walks out the door at a brisk pace.

“What was all that about?” Ana asks me.

I pat her on the head and smile waveringly, “With luck, you will not find out.” Ana nods and moves her head under my hand, apparently trying to make me pet her. I oblige, but I suddenly feel bad about this.

Chiron shifts uncomfortably. He says nothing, but I sense that he is silently eating the words that he spoke to me the other night about treasuring what is important.

“Coordinates set!” I hear Poseidon yell from above my head, “We should be there by morning!”

“How late is it?” I ask Chiron.

“It is nearing sunset.” He responds.

“Ooh,” Ana says, “Can we go watch the sunset?”

“Sure, Ana, go ahead.” She runs out the door, telling me not to take too long.

“Be honest,” I say to Chiron, “How deep of a grave have I dug myself?”

Chiron comes over to me and puts his hand on my shoulder, “My friend, you have built your own mausoleum.” I nod and he pats my shoulder, moving past me to the door. “I would suggest something.”

“What is that?” I ask.

“Don’t leave Ana waiting, you don’t want to hurt both girls, do you?” he says, heading out the door.

“Wait,” I say, and Chiron turns back, “How can we watch the sunset through the darkness in the sky?”

“Ana probably does not care about that. She just wants to be with you.”

I hang my head and wonder just how bad this is going to get.

 

ɂɂɂ

 

“Level with me.” Hermes says to Hephaestus. “Do you think this plan is gonna succeed?”

Hephaestus pulls the kiln from his forge with his bare hands, and pours it into a sword shaped mold. “I do not know,” he answers, “You know as well as I that this has never happened before.”

“Yeah, that’s my point.” Hermes responds, watching the boring process of Hephaestus picking up the cooling sword shape and pounding it with a hammer. The only fun part is when Hephaestus cuts his hand open. “Why do you do that again?”

“Ichor infuses magic into the metal, making it a weapon that can not only kill monsters, but return them to the pit they spawn from.”

“Right, right.” Hermes says, “That’s….major boring s**t. So, back to topic!”

“Enough, Hermes.” Hephaestus says, “I understand that you are bored, all of us are. But like it was before Aether showed up, we have to find a way to amuse ourselves.”

Hermes groans loudly, “But nobody can keep up with me! Even Dad can’t, and he uses freakin’ lightning to speed himself up! And running by myself is just stupid.”

“I cannot help you, Hermes.” Hephaestus says, starting to hit the sword with a hammer, pounding it into the correct size and shape.

At that moment, all of the light goes out, even the fire burning in the forge. Hermes yelps as sparks burn his foot. Hephaestus tries to see the sword he is looking at, but the fire is gone, and the metal has become cold as ice. Hephaestus drops the sword, now wasted metal and ichor, and summons a flame to his hand. He picks Hermes up by the neck and heads to the gate of his chamber.

“Where’s that noise coming from?” Hermes asks Hephaestus.

“Sounds like it’s coming from the gate of Olympus.” Hephaestus answers. Outside, the sky is darkened more than usual, and Hephaestus can hardly see in front of him.

“Okay, I’ll run ahead and meet you there.” Hermes says, taking off.

Hephaestus does not care for Hermes much. Very annoying and a huge attention w***e had always been Hephaestus’ impression of the messenger god. Hephaestus limps his way to the gate, cursing his mother and father for throwing him off of this damned mountain. For thousands of years he’s had to limp his way around, no matter what he tried. Even magic wasn’t enough to heal him. By the time his gold and silver braces carry him to the gate, the other gods are assembled there, waiting for him.

“What’s going on?” Hephaestus asks.

“We’re waiting to find out.” Ares responds, “I hope a fight is coming!”

Hephaestus scoffs at Ares’ bloodlust. Belligerent fool.

A horrible pounding noise rings throughout Olympus from the direction of the gate. The protective lights flash, indicating that they are being strained. With a loud burst, the lights go out, blinding all of the assembled. The gate doors blow inward, narrowly missing the gods.

Erebus stands between the broken posts of the gate. He has a hand on one hip, shifting his cloak to reveal his black armor. He stands lazily, loosely holding his staff behind his back.

“Hello Olympians.” He says as if greeting old friends, “I thought I would drop by to see how you all are doing. By the way, Hades sends his regards.”

Zeus summons his master bolt, and fires it at Erebus, who merely waves his hand, making the blast fade away.

“Weak.” Erebus comments. “I have heard a lot of good things about your palace, the thrones in particular. Would you mind too terribly if I went in to check on them? I want to see for myself.”

All of the gods who can fire magic blasts fire without restraint at Erebus. When the blast fades away, he is standing there, looking bored. He shakes his head and clucks his tongue.

“Foolish children.” He says. “You are playing with forces beyond your ken.” Erebus begins walking forward and past all of the gods. “Never mind a guided tour,” he continues, “I’ll show myself the way.”

Zeus quickly catches up to Erebus, and grabs his shoulder, lightning in hand.

“Unhand me.” Erebus says, not stopping. When Zeus does not oblige, Erebus stops walking and puts his hand over Zeus’. Zeus endures the same terrible experience that Aether forced him to undergo, only much more quickly. Aether had had to concentrate to do this to Zeus, but Erebus does not even need to think about it.

Zeus falls to the ground, color settling at grey rather than returning to full white. Hera rushes to his side, but Zeus does not notice her.

“What have you done to me?” Zeus asks.

“Consider yourself now being halfway between demigod and full god.” Erebus answers, resuming his walk.

Erebus puts up two fingers, and gestures for the gods to follow. They do not move for a few seconds, but then all of them feel a drain sapping their power away, same as Zeus. As their full power returns, the gods follow Erebus to the throne room, all of them frightened.

Erebus pauses for a moment outside the door. “Now this…is wonderful architecture!” he marvels mockingly. He makes a large show of opening the wide doors and parading into the throne room.

“I admit,” He says, looking around “I had imagined the thrones being a bit grander than this.” The gods gather behind him, Hera and Athena holding a now-weakened Zeus.

Erebus strolls up to Zeus’ throne. “Hmm, no originality, no style, and no taste. This is a pitiful throne, no different than any other kings’ throughout history.”

Erebus places his hand on the throne, and lightning shoots out of it, funneling around Erebus in an electrical storm. Erebus is unfazed, however. He begins to raise his hand slowly, and black lines spread through the throne at the same speed with which Erebus is moving.

As Erebus’ power spreads through the throne, Zeus begins to feel a pain greater than losing his godhood. He can feel the emotional connection between him and his throne being forcibly severed. Erebus laughs in delight as the chair grows in shape, becoming a black monstrosity with five spires coming from the back of it. Erebus turns toward the gods, bows before them, and sits in the chair. He crosses one leg over the other and smiles at the gods’ horrified expressions.

“Now that that is settled.” Erebus says, “Kneel down before your new king.” 

The gods stare at him in horror. Erebus chuckles, annoyed. He raises his arms and two black walls of energy charge through the room like snakes, obliterating every throne, forcibly cutting the gods from their seats of power.

“Fear not, new pawns.” Erebus says, “I have not taken away your power as gods, well, except for Zeus. Now, as I said before, kneel before your new king.” Erebus growls the words at a near whisper. As the gods slowly oblige Erebus’ demand, he smiles broadly and begins to laugh maniacally. “Oh this I could get used to!” he screams in delight.

 

ɂɂɂ

 

As I reach Ana at the prow of the ship, I notice that she has quickly changed into a new shirt. Similar to the old one, but the color is a light blue. She still has my coat draped around her shoulders, which she holds close to her face. Wait…is she, smelling it?

“You are still wearing my coat.” I say, stopping just behind her.

She turns suddenly and smiles upon seeing me, then her smile drops, “Oh, did you want it back?”

“No, no,” I say putting the hood up, “I want you to hold onto it for me.”

“Okay,” she says. She tries to pull the hood down, but I keep it where it is. We both begin laughing, wrestling for control of the hood until Ana backs away.

She giggles and turns to lean on the railing after pulling the hood back down. “You can almost see the sun here.” She says, “I’ve never seen it before, I bet it’s really pretty. Have you seen it?”

“Yes, not long ago,” I answer, leaning on the railing next to her. “But it was fleeting.

“Yeah.” She sighs.

There is a sudden break in the dark clouds and for a slight moment, the sun appears on the horizon.

“Did you see it Ana?” I ask.

“Yep.” She does not sound happy about it.

“Was it pretty like you thought it would be?”

“No, it made my eyes hurt.”

I laugh and eventually Ana joins in. She leans closer to me and we watch as the sun again disappears, leaving the world in its now usual state of blackness.

Lights come on from the four masts, allowing my vision to return as soon as my eyes adjust. I look out over the water, and feel that we should still be able to see without artificial light.

Erebus. I start to remove my arm from Ana’s, but she holds it tighter, not wanting me to let go. An idea just now dons on me, perhaps it is a good thing that I have become mortal and lost my memories. Were it not for that, I do not think that I would have as much incentive to defeat Erebus. I have people to protect, and to save. I hold Ana closer to me and lay my head on hers.

Without people to love, I would be fighting Erebus out of sheer stubbornness and a foolhardy sense of duty. In a strange way, I now think that I should thank Erebus for making me mortal. If he had not done that, I would never have met Ana or Solution. Turning me mortal has given me a drive to defeat him. I chuckle as the thought comes to me, but then frown as I recall what we had discussed with Hermes before.

What if I made myself mortal? Was this it? My head starts to ache terribly, so I rub my temples with my free hand. Ana snuggles closer to me, and shivers.

“Are you cold?” I ask her. She nods and buries her face in my arm. “Come, let us go below decks where it is warmer.” She nods again, and we walk together to the second level.

I start removing the armor from my clothing and Ana falls onto a bed.

“Even with the bad stuff,” She says, “this turned out to be a really good day.” She rolls around on the bed and winds up facing me, though she is upside down. “Thank you, Aether.”

I say nothing, but nod and sit on the bed next to hers. I lay back and consider the events of this day. Only yesterday morning I was on Olympus, fearful and anxious. Now, now I feel content. My eyes close and sleep comes for me swiftly.

 

ɂɂɂ

 

Zayin sits atop the Great Hall’s table with several Resistance members standing around him. He has Aether’s staff in his lap, and his favorite hammer at his side.

“Guys,” He says, exasperated. “I’m telling you, I can’t be the one to lead you.”

“Zayin.” One of them says, a girl who goes by Ruby. “We’ve always needed a leader.”

“She’s right.” A boy agrees, “And if not you, then who?”

“I’ve been planning something.” He tells them. “I think it would be best…if the Resistance disbanded and left this place.”

“This is all we know.” Ruby responds.

“You’ve gone insane.” The other boy, Matt, says.

“I haven’t.” He replies, “It’s just, we need to think about survival. What have we been living for, really? Defeating Erebus? We’ve always known that was impossible. We’re what’s left of the human race, and we need to make sure we can survive so we can continue our species.”

“So what do we do?” Ruby asks again.

“I’m gonna take a small squad of people, and we’re going to become nomads. We’ll live off the land and follow the food we can find until we discover a place we can settle and rebuild. I’d recommend we all do the same.”

“We’re just going to leave?”

“Yes. We’ll spread out, maybe find other people. We’re done here.” He gets down from his place, ignoring the arguments from his listeners. “Spread the word.” He says over his shoulder. “Gather the people you care most about, and prepare to leave the Fox-Hole.”

 

ɂɂɂ

 

I awake from dreamless slumber to the sound of crying. It is faint, but I know that sound. And that voice…Solution’s. I sit up and look around the room. From the lack of motion I can tell that the ship is anchored. On the bed next to mine is Ana, sleeping peacefully. A few beds away I see Kara. Next to her is Demos, and next to him, sitting up, is Lance.

“Sounds like that girl of yours is upset.” He whispers. “It’s irritating, go deal with it.”

“Alright.” I whisper back.

I head down below to the third level, and the crying grows louder. I walk down the hallway, stopping at each door. At the door farthest to the end, I hear what is certainly the sound of Solution crying. I open the door and see her sitting on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest.

“Solution,” I say, “what is going on?”

She looks up slowly, and throws a piece of wood at my head. I dodge it and enter the room, despite Solution telling me to leave.

I know the answer, but still I ask, “What is the matter?”

“You know damn well what the matter is.” She says quietly, ceasing her crying.

“I know, but I want to hear you tell me.”

“That girl, Aether.” She says, wiping the last of her tears away, “Earlier you told me that you hold me so close to you heart that it would burst. Then you go and…”

“I did not lie to you, Solution.”

“What else is there?” Solution says. “If you aren’t lying to me, then you’re messing around with Ana, and that’s just sickening.”

“That is not the case either.” I say.

“Then what is it?” Solution asks.

I put my hands on my head and sink to the floor. “I am confused, Solution.”

“About what?”

The words come without thought, and I say them loudly, “I love you, I have from the moment I first saw you.”

I look up, having realized what I just said, and see Solution blush, “You love me?” she says, and I nod. She shakes her head, “Well then, what’s the deal with Ana?”

“That is my dilemma.” I say, “I think I have fallen in love with her as well.”

“You can’t love two girls, Aether.” Solution says.

“I am well aware of that. And it tears me up inside having to try and sort it out.”

Solution does not speak for a painfully long time. I bury my head between my knees, and worry about what might happen. Will Solution believe me, or will this be the end of our relationship?

“You aren’t cruel or clever enough to try covering up some bullshit plot with something like that.” She finally says. “So I can only surmise that you’re telling the truth.”

“You are right.” I say feeling hopeful. Wait, not clever?

Solution shakes her head and gets to her feet. “I know when people are lying, and you aren’t. But I still can’t forgive this.”

She turns to walk out of the small room, but I jump to my feet and grab her by the wrist.

“What the he…” is what she gets out before I turn her head towards me and press my lips to hers. It is a passionate burst with all of my emotion behind it.

She tries to pull away, but I can feel my message get through to her, and she kisses me back, tenderly.

After a while, Solution pushes me away. “I don’t know what to think about this.” She says.

“Nor do I.” I respond, lightheaded.

“Whatever happens, one or all three of us is going to end up hurt.”

“I pray that things turn out well.” I whisper.

“Can gods pray?” She says.

“I am unsure.”

If there is a power beyond the gods, help me now. I do not want Ana hurt, nor do I want to hurt Solution.

“Alright then,” Solution says, “We need rest, so we should get back to our beds.”

“Agreed.” I say.

Solution walks out of the door, but I hang back to have a quiet moment of reflection. What exactly am I doing here? I enjoyed kissing Solution, that taste…never mind that. But I feel as though I betrayed Ana. Yet I also betrayed Solution by kissing Ana. What the hell is my life coming too?

I go down the hallway and see Chiron leave one of the rooms, shaking his head.

“Chiron,” I say quietly, “What is going on?”

“A quiet moment of mourning for my departed friend.” Chiron answers.

“I apologize again.” I say.

“Again I tell you there is no need.” he responds. “Go to sleep, my friend, you need it more than any of us.”

I heed his words and go up the stairwell, longing for the comfort of my bed. That thought disintegrates as I come upon the situation in the room.

“He loved me first!” Ana yells, oh s**t.

“He kissed me first!” Solution retorts. Not very clever for her, so she must be tired.

Ana is about to say something, but then sees me. “Aether, what happened?”

Oh s**t, oh s**t, oh s**t! What do I do? Solution turns around and looks me in the eye. “Aether,” she says, “Explain this to her as you did to me.”

“Explain what?” Ana asks.

“Yeah, explain what?” Dionysus says, sitting up in his bunk.

I look around and see that everybody is here and staring at me. Even Chiron has ascended from below and is watching me expectantly.

Gulp, “If we must discuss this, can we go up above to do it?”

“Please, don’t hold back for our sake.” Poseidon says.

“I thought you were handling the ship.” I say to him.

“A: the ship is anchored, so I don’t have to. B: this is way too fun to pass up for anything.”

Even the strangers are sitting up in their beds, staring at me.

“Wait,” I say to Ana, “I thought you were sleeping.”

“She was awake when I got up here.” Solution says.

“What’s going on, Aether?” Kara asks me, trying not to laugh.

“I…um…” I cannot even stutter a response. The pressure closes in on my brain and I before I think about it, I am running out of the cabin, heading for the upper deck. The bronze railing, darkened even further by the night, stops me, and I gasp for air over its side. I breathe in deeply for a few moments, but yelp when I hear voices behind me.

“Don’t think you’re dodging this.”

I turn around and am partially grateful that it is only Ana and Solution.

“What’s going on, Aether?” Ana asks. She looks sad, an adorably somber look spreading across her face. I look to Solution, and the anger in her face frightens me. I never noticed before, but Solution looks really cute when she is angry. Her eyebrows lower and her lip trembles, as though she is growling. Frightening, but also alluring somehow.

Comparing the two is going to get me nowhere, I lower my eyes and focus on the deck between us. Unfortunately, that is not much space to focus on.

“Answer us!” Solution shouts.

I look up and try to scramble for words, however nothing comes. I sigh deeply and throw up my arms in defeat.

“What do you want me to say?” I yell.

“Just tell her what you told me.” Solution incredulously orders.

I look at Ana, who stares at me expectantly. How does anyone deny that face? I sure cannot.

“I…” I begin, I take a deep breath to calm myself, “I think I have fallen for you. Both of you.”

Solution’s expression does not change, but Ana’s eyes widen. She blushes, “You love me? Hold on, how can you love both of us?”

“I do not know.” I respond, trepidation only growing, “But I am sure that it is true.”

They do not seem to know how to react.

Ana looks down with a small smile. “You love me?”

“’Love may be a tad strong of a word.” I consider. “I adore you, strongly.”

“The feeling’s obviously mutual.” Solution declares. “So what do we do about it?”

“Perhaps…I let you two decide?”

“Are you an idiot?” Solution says.

“In this case, I obviously am.” I answer.

“Yeah.” She agrees. After a moment she looks down at Ana, “Best girl wins?” she suggests, and Ana nods.

“What are you suggesting?” I ask.

“We’re gonna have a little competition.” Solution says, “We’ll both try to impress you, whoever you decide does the best will stay with you.”

She cannot be serious. “Are you serious?”

She nods. “Ana?”

“Sounds like fun.”

“Fine.” Solution says. She and Ana turn around and start heading back to the sleeping quarters.

What exactly just happened? Did I seriously just confess my love to both of them, and they were completely okay with it?

I head after the two, “Pardon. Are you serious?”

Solution stops and looks back at me. “Pretty much.”

“Aether.” Ana says, do you really wanna talk about this? Question it?”

I stop in my tracks, and stand still.

“Close your mouth.” Solution instructs before going down the stairs.

Ana lingers, a look on her face that I cannot identify. Sad or confused or…I have no idea but I strongly dislike it. I offer her a smile that quickly fades away.

She says nothing, but sighs and then descends after Solution.