#caliil

Rizen textpost memes

“Hey.”

A week, maybe more… no, just a week, and it was the first time someone had spoken so calmly to him. Looking up from where he was crouched, leaning on his blade for a rest, Caliil just stared back. His eyes narrowed slightly after he realized it wasn’t just the newcomer’s eye that was cybernetic.

“.....You’re not going to try and kill me?” Caliil asked, finding it hard to believe after all the hoards of crazy cyborgs he’d taken down recently. The fires of the city had burned out, but that was only because there was nothing left to burn. And the flesh mannequins had moved elsewhere.

“If I was, I’d be aiming for your head from much further away,” the stranger commented, a bit of a smirk as he gestured with his sniper rifle. His finger was comfortably off the trigger though, so he had no intention of harming Caliil. 

Looking down at the rifle, Caliil looked back up after making a connection. “...You’re the one that was sniping them from afar.” Earlier that night, or morning, sometime when he’d been fighting more puppets, someone had been taking shots at them from leagues away. Far enough that Caliil couldn’t see them, or even locate their general area. It made sense now seeing the one responsible was a cyborg too.

“The others wanted me to take the shot, but I opted for another approach,” the stranger answered, approaching Caliil casually despite the latter becoming more defensive. “I’m like you. Full body cyborg, but somehow immune to this virus that turned everyone else batshit crazy. So, they enlisted me, again, for the front lines. And since you’re already doing such a bang up job I thought I might have a partner. Someone else who won’t stare at me like I’m some monster about to shoot them in the back, if you know what I mean.”

By now he was within range of Caliil’s blade, but there was no hostility. The open defense was enough to convince Caliil that this person wasn’t a cocky bastard trying to egg him on. “.... What for?” Caliil finally asked. Why should he join with someone else, some army, to do what he was already doing.

“Resources, for one,” the soldier answered, then nodded his chin towards Caliil. “No more stealing bullet proof vests from the police department, or wherever it was that you got that. We can give you the full set up, and contractual agreements that no one is allowed to pop a shot in your head.”

“And you can promise that?” Caliil demanded, not quite buying a random field soldier being able to promise him a cease fire from the Andapos army.

“Yeah,” the stranger answered easily. Then he released the rifle with one hand so he could extend it out to Caliil. “Lieutenant Colonel Ian Lavell. But only in formalities really. They had to give me something good after begging me to come back a second time. I get what I want. Especially since I’m the only one so far that can handle a fist fight with the ‘enemy’ they’re against.”

Caliil was a little surprised to hear that title, but the further clarification made him more curious about the story behind it. He wasn’t quite in agreement though. “...I don’t want any life long contracts or anything. Once this mess is cleaned up, I’m out. That’s all.”

“Fair enough,” Ian answered easily, giving a shrug. “It’s all I’m here for as well. We can leave together then.”

It was more than a month later that Caliil’s next memory came. He was in the central Lola hospital, in one of the physical therapy rooms. The surgery had been a success, but it had taken a while for him to fully heal. And after that he had to work on using his body again. Irene was on the floor in front of him, after he’d asked the therapist to give him a moment to rest after trying to walk along the supported path.

“I can’t remember a time when something as basic as walking was so difficult,” Callill commented to Irene, earning a giggle from her.

“I knooooww. It’s like I’m a baby again. I just waddle around with my arms out,” Irene responded, holding her arms out in example. Caliil remembered her being there when he’d first woken up after the cybernetic surgery. She was in a wheelchair, and had had a few bandages on her face and arms. It turned out that she’d also suffered spinal damage, and had ended up paralyzed from the waist down. After hearing that Caliil had accepted the offer for cybernetic surgery, she had agreed to it as well. And now they were in therapy together.

___

As the two newly become cyborgs talked about their experiences, Midas could tell there was a definite difference between them. A lot more physical contact, side smiles from Irene, Caliil watching her quietly with a soft smile. Apparently it was true that trauma could bring people together more than before. It was like the whole incident had jump started their relationship several steps, and they may as well have been dating for years now. It was rather sweet to look at from a distance, and Midas understood now why Whip still wore that wedding ring. As the physical therapist came back to help them to their chairs again the memory was reaching an end. Midas couldn’t help the small smile he had as he flipped to the next one. These weren’t his memories. He knew that for sure now, but he he still wanted to sort through the rest.

_________________________________

One of my favorite things about doing this ugly first draft online is that the feedback in real time helps me know what I need to clarify along with analyzing what about the post earned the reaction people had. XDD I loooove all the comments I get, and they actually do help shift things around sliiightly to hopefully be more clear.

There was a common concern about Whip accepting the surgery last round, which was a bit surprising. XDD And I realized that I forgot to make a note about when and where these memories are set. |D

(human violence and choking warning)

Caliil felt awful when he woke up. The room was still dark, and a glance at the time told him it was only four in the morning. His head was telling him the sun was beating it though. Something akin to a migraine, but without the nausea. His face burned too. And actually his whole body felt warm. It was probably a virus of some sort. He’d been around a lot of people recently, so one of them could have passed an illness onto him.

Feeling the bed shift as Irene sat up next to him reminded him that he wasn’t alone anymore at night. It was a comforting feeling, just having her there with him. Maybe he could just curl up around her and sleep it off. It was still early anyway, and he hadn’t meant to wake her up. “Hey, Irene?” Caliil spoke softly, not wanting to have any loud noises to wake them up completely. 

A futile hope.

He wasn’t able to even attempt going back to sleep, for the form next to him moved as soon as he made vocal noise. In a sudden movement Irene was straddling his stomach, and her hands pressed against his throat.

“KHH! Ir- ene. Wha-,” Caliil choked, latching his hands onto her’s, but not quite trying to break the grip yet. It was too dark to see properly, so after a moment of reminding himself how to do it Caliil switched his eyes to night vision. What he saw staring down at him was someone that had Irene’s face, but none of her own sense of self in it. The entire expression was non existent, her gaze boring a hole into him as she pressed her hands down more.

Automatically Caliil’s cybernetics shifted to try and keep his airway open as he questioned if this was really his wife or not. Reaching up, he cupped the side of her head and linked together with her mind. It was something they had learned they could do shortly after both becoming full cyborgs, and it turned into something they had done frequently. Often spending time together in outward silence as they conversed in a shared headspace. It had always been warm, and personal.

But now everything burned.

Where once Irene had a cool pool of memories Caliil could only find what he could only describe as albums burning in a bonfire. Immediately Caliil was panicking, for he could still feel some residue of it being Irene. It was her, but he had no idea how to handle this at all.

“I...rene!” Caliil huffed, finally gripping her hands and heaving up to shove her off of him. He tried to be gentle as he guided her to fall off the side of the bed, then immediately turned to leap towards the door. Slamming the wood closed behind him, Caliil dove for the nearest phone, syncing with it to call the emergency line. As Caliil ran over to his stored blade as well, just because he was used to having it to defend himself, the bedroom door smashed open.

<I’m sorry. All emergency lines are currently busy. Please stay on the line->

“How am I supposed to rely on the emergency line if it’s busy the one time in my life I want it!!” Caliil shouted, throwing the phone across the room as he had to dodge Irene launching a table his way.

Figuring he should just go to the hospital himself, Caliil ran out the door to the hallway connecting the apartments. He only got a few steps before another body slammed into him from behind. This one was too heavy to be Irene, a man older than Caliil himself. But when Caliil looked to see who it was, a chill prickled his entire spine and back of his head. It was his neighbor. Not a direct neighbor, but still someone who lived close by. The only other full body cyborg on this floor. And he had the same emotionless expression, eyes wider to not block any vision.

It was a nightmare.

Caliil could hear everything now. His hearing unconsciously flicked over to a wider range, and he could hear the sounds of fire, crying, screaming, breaking. Something was going on and it was completely erasing the people who had cybernetic enhancements.

Flipping his neighbor over his shoulder to get him off, Caliil tried to run over him to get out but was caught by the other man latching onto his leg. It then it became of series of Caliil detaching the man from grabbing onto him, getting thrown by him, or having something thrown at him. The worst part was that Irene was in the back too, crashing a metal stool through the wall of the home across from theirs.

His patience starting to wear thin after seeing his wife acting like a destructive automaton, Caliil snarled as he tried to shove his neighbor off again. The man latched onto his arm this time, and a wrenching motion earned a gasp of pain from Caliil as he had to quickly step forward and twist his body to avoid getting his arm broken. Annoyed, confused, and already desperate, Caliil smacked his neighbor across the head with the flat of his blade. That was probably a lot rougher than he should have been, but he wasn’t about to care just yet. He could apologize later. For that, and for already having cut him up a little to see if the small, harmless gashes would make him stop. Shoving the man aside again, Caliil turned to run down the hall once more.

Unfortunately he wasn’t able to get very far before another figure crashed through the window. This one had their own weapon now, and Caliil immediately fell into a defensive stance, blade held up. He was instantly grateful that his uncle had insisted he not only learned the moves for sword arts, but also practiced with them by sparring with his uncle. It made countering this newcomer's reckless attacks with the horribly mutilated metal bar much easier than expected. The only hiccup was having his neighbor come join the fight again as well.

After getting smacked in the brow with the tip of the bar, and having his neighbor grabbing onto his leg again, Caliil gave a frustrated yell. “GET OFF!” he snapped, shoving the newcomer away, then kicking his neighbor in the head to detach him. When he felt the presence of a form looming behind him, about to jump on him again and aiming for a downward blow to his own head, Caliil spun to raise his blade to counter, only to feel it puncture through something unfamiliar in feel.

___________________________

It was almost a year before the next memory, and Midas couldn’t help the chuckle when he saw it. It was their wedding day. About time, Midas had to think. But he also knew that he shouldn’t have thought that since he’d gone into this already knowing they got married. It was beautiful though. There were flower petals everywhere, and so many people. Caliil’s parents, and uncle who taught him sword arts. Irene’s sister and her husband. And apparently she had a friend that was like a brother to her, crying while holding the bouquet. Midas took a moment to recognize some of the people as being the group of friends who had instigated the whole relationship on the train with bets. It was stunning to watch. Caliil apparently held this memory very dear, for the details were immaculate. Midas could see every detail in the lace on Irene’s dress. The faint flavor of the cake as they smeared it on each other’s faces. Having someone dump champagne on Caliil’s head and feeling the bubbling liquid drip down his hair. The uncomfortable crunch of the ground on his knees as he and Irene knelt in front of his uncle to get his blessing, a tradition from Caliil’s side of the family. It took a moment for Midas to realize that Whip couldn’t remember who or how it had been asked for them to get married. Whip was pretty sure it was him, but he couldn’t remember how he’d done it. And therefore he wasn’t a hundred percent sure he had been the one to ask. Having it in the summer was the best idea though, even if the suit he was wearing had long sleeves that made it too hot. At least he could take the jacket off after the formalities.

Midas watched in fascination at the traditions of old. The dance the families did together, where Irene was dancing with her father at first, and Caliil with his mother. And then the two parents gave their children away to dance with each other as a new family. Caliil effortlessly picking Irene up despite her increased weight as a full cyborg alongside him, and running away as people chased him with ugly black ash they were trying to throw on their white clothes. At one point Midas even got distracted by the trees in the background. Actual, living, full sized trees. It was amazing to see. And grass, everywhere. It was hard to believe it was a real memory and not a dream. For more reasons for Caliil than just the foliage.

And yet, despite the excitement and joy, as the day and memory were drawing to a close Midas could feel an anxiety rising in his chest. At first he was annoyed, and worried that it was just his own unwillingness to have the event end. But after analyzing it a little, Midas realized that the memory itself was tainted. The last few moments held a saturation of bittersweet that Midas realized had been stuck to the event long after it had happened. It was enough to make Midas move on to the next memory, which was the late night of three days later.

__________________________

Babies gettin marrieeeeedd~ Woo woo~

The mood was broken though when Caliil caught sight of something out the window, and immediately reached forward to Grab Irene and pull her close, trying to protect her. As the train was passing by a freeway raised higher than it, a freight truck took the turn too fast, smashing through the wall and plummeting towards the train. 

Irene’s small scream was muffled under the crunching glass and metal as the entire side of the train car they were standing in crumpled, and Midas could dully feel the truck smacking against Caliil’s back. It didn’t have the full force of the truck’s momentum behind it, but Midas ended up subconsciously reaching behind him to place a hand over his own back. All he could hear was more screeching, and cracking of metal, glass and rock before everything snapped to darkness.

___

Knowing that this was a rather stressful memory, Ian held off on continuing to the next one that Midas had. The lad looked uncomfortable, but luckily Ian had managed to distance him from the memory well enough that he hadn’t fully felt what Whip had. Ian still noticed Midas’ mental image of himself resting a hand on his upper back, right between the shoulders, and was tempted to put a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t want to startle him, so just spoke up instead “.... You alright?” Ian asked, just to make sure.

The answer was a bit delayed, but Midas gave a hesitant nod, brows furrowed. “Yeah. Let’s keep going,” he directed. He could process through everything after he’d seen it all. Obviously Whip was still alive, and they hadn’t gotten married yet in that memory, so neither of them had died then. Midas wanted to see what was next before he got stressed out over it.

__________________________________________

previous

intro             first

“Helloooo~” Irene greeted cheerfully, moving forward a bit as Caliil pulled back in surprise. “Your hair is amazing! What product do you use?” The way Irene spoke made it seem like she already knew Caliil, but the way Caliil answered betrayed that they didn’t know each other.

“Uhhh…. Fellosswain,” Caliil answered, obviously very confused. He wasn’t opposed to Irene talking to him, but it was a bit odd. Especially since it seemed the rest of her friends were watching them. Were they doing a prank or something?

“Ah! Of course. It had to be something expensive,” Irene huffed, knocking a wrist against her head as though it was obvious. She seemed nervous, but not with any ill intent.

“It’s… not really. It’s only mid tier,” Caliil mentioned, smiling slightly since she was pretty cute as well as amusing.

Going silent for a moment, Irene ended up giggling sheepishly. “I’m sorry. Your hair really is amazing, but I couldn’t think of anything else to say and I really just wanted to talk to you,” she abruptly admitted. “I-i mean, I see you on the train often, and always thought you were cool, but-”

Caliil looked surprised, and inevitably flabbergasted at the sudden revelation, but then started laughing. It was just too amusing of a conversation to him, and not at all like movies portrayed first meetings. “It’s okay,” he assured when he calmed down. “You’re pretty coot too.” And then he realized what he’d said and his face flushed a little in embarrassment.

“....... Were you going to call me cute?” Irene asked after a moment’s consideration, moving her head to keep looking at Caliil’s face when he looked away.

“Y’know…. I actually was, but then I remembered you called me cool, and it came out that way,” he admitted, scratching his cheek with a finger.

Irene ended up sputtering an amused huff before she gave a chorus of giggles as well. “I guess being coot is pretty gool as well- oh my gawd I’m doing it too,” she started to respond, then cut herself off with a snort. The exchange of looks, and a few back and forth snorts and snickers led them both to giving a good bout of laughs and giggles. They didn’t even notice her friends exchanging what looked like bet money, and subtle high fives in triumph.

________________________________

previous           next

intro             first