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Kamui thought he could handle any and all storms that came his way. Then he caught sight of Chrome.
The second his eyes fell on Chrome’s ravaged, barely conscious frame, the ground vanished. What was once light immediately transformed into frightening, unfamiliar darkness. The sudden eruption of deafening oblivion enveloped what was left of the earth. Fear transformed the war-torn earth and skies, taking what was already devastating and creating a world Kamui immediately wanted to erase. He wasn’t used to it, wanted to get rid of it, wanted to pull Chrome out of whatever darkness he had fallen into. No matter the cost.
He wasn’t used to it. Wasn’t used to Chrome not moving. Wasn’t used to a world without Chrome’s voice. Wanted to get Chrome out of that world as quickly as possible. Kamui held him close and was determined to keep him close, even as tremors ravaged the only world they had left. There was barely anything holding the ground beneath their feet together as he and Wanshi ran, desperate to find hope, desperate to find any light at the end of a tunnel that seemed to go on for hours. Chrome was barely being held together by a hope and a prayer. Something Kamui and Wanshi had to rectify. Quickly.
Arriving at the Star of Light brought about a flicker of hope. Unfortunately that’s exactly what it turned out to be-a flicker of hope. The second they arrived in between its familiar walls, they immediately called for help-only to have doors slammed in their faces. Chrome was barely holding onto a thread of a prayer. The Star of Life was at full capacity. Tremors were threatening to snap the world, their hope and their sanity like a twig. Everything was so damn loud and nothing was making any sense.
Kamui gritted his teeth through tears, carrying Chrome bridal style. Clutching his Captain as tightly as he could. “Damn it, now what?! How could those bastards turn us away like that?!”
Wanshi’s normally calm facade was rapidly falling apart, despite his best efforts. “Never mind,” he told his friend, fingers typing away on a keypad. “No point in wasting your breath. We’ve got to try something else.”
Kamui’s eyes lit up like fireflies. “What about the Captain’s father? He doesn’t talk about his dad a lot, but maybe he could help!” There he was, breathless from exhaustion. Desperation. Hope.
The same emotions started to carve paths through each of Wanshi’s words, crippling his seemingly invincible, tranquil exterior. “Good idea. However, as much as it pains me to admit it, we’re running a little short on time. And his old man might be a little busy.”
Kamui cradled their barely conscious Captain as they ran through ideas, searching for a way out of the storm. Scrambling to find anything, anyone that could help. Minutes were no different from hours, yet passed as quickly as seconds. Thankfully, the two of them arrived at a mutual destination-the Star of Life Directory. All thanks to a clue from Chrome himself.
He and Wanshi ran. Ran while Kamui carried Chrome, kept Chrome close, desperately wanted to get him out of that darkness. The moment he and Wanshi came upon Asimov, five words sprang to his lips, each one enveloped in desperation and fear he had never before experienced.
“Asimov! Please save our Captain!”
————————————————————
What was harder-navigating through the nightmare, or waiting for it to end?
It was impossible to tell. Waiting for anything always transformed Kamui into a bundle of nerves. Waiting for updates on Chrome’s condition wasn’t any different from trying to wait out the worst possible earthquake, all the while sitting at its center. Time was a merciless force as he and Wanshi waited out the storm, hoping to hear only good news in the wake of such devastation.
Seconds weren’t any different from hours. Time was impossible to measure as it fell off the clock, taunting them. Teasing them with the end of a storm that had not yet passed. Wanshi fought to keep up his serene exterior but time rapidly caused it to deteriorate. Kamui was very much on edge, wanting nothing more than to hear their Captain’s voice again. Wanting everything to go back to the way it should’ve been. For even if their world was falling apart, having Chrome at its center made everything right. It made them whole. It made him whole. Quiet. Complete. Confident. Having the heart of their world stripped from existence?
Kamui would’ve preferred having Camu erase him.
Luckily, the end of the nightmare was in sight. The moment Asimov emerged from his chambers, to inform Strike Hawk of Chrome’s condition, Kamui’s being leapt several stories into space. Did Constructs have hearts, or was there simply a force keeping a mechanical body alive? Chrome led Kamui to believe the former. Having the Captain anywhere near led to him believe that there was indeed a heart beating inside of him, for it experienced joy. Surprise. Wonder. All of the precious elements of life that had long since been lost, due to the Punishing Virus. The last couple of hours had crippled whatever was left of Kamui’s being, once again proving to him that his body did indeed hold a heart.
The second Asimov began to tell them Chrome was conscious, Kamui ran towards their Captain’s room. He heard flickers of Wanshi apologizing to Asimov on his behalf, but no one could mistake the eagerness that was in his voice either. Nothing else mattered and everything became right again as Kamui approached Chrome, his heart racing, mind reeling, tears burning the edges of his being. The moment he caught sight of his Captain, sitting upright, he immediately threw his arms about him and did something he had never done before.
Kamui called Chrome by name.
“Chrome!”
Did Constructs have hearts? Were they able to cry? Kamui used to ponder all of those things and more. He used to doubt he was anything at all. Perhaps he was only made of silence and doubt. Of deafening oblivion and lies. Perhaps, one day, he’d go back to where he had come from-a place of endless quiet and overwhelming darkness. But seeing Chrome, being near Chrome, made everything right. Reminded him that he was made of something other than venom and darkness. Reminded him he could experience something other than the death and devastation brought about by war. He was alive, able to taste joy and relief, crying just as any human would. Crying himself raw.
Chrome looked different. Of course he did. His original frame was corrupted beyond repair. There had been operations, all of them handled by Asimov. And all of which resulted in a brand new frame. But Chrome was there, all the same. Smiling. Rubbing the back of Kamui’s neck.
“Good morning, Kamui. Sorry to have worried you so much.”
‘Good morning’. Words his Captain had spoken so many times before missions. Words Kamui had become so used to hearing. Words he had almost lost. In the blink of an eye.
Asimov was explaining the intricacies of Chrome’s new frame. The world had become a blurry, incomprehensible canvas of blinding light, but Kamui picked up bits and pieces. Wanshi was certainly picking up more than he was. No matter. Whatever could possibly go wrong, he’d be there to help make it right. He’d be there to bring Chrome back home again. He’d be there. No matter what. At any cost.
Despite his best efforts to hide it, Wanshi was clearly exhausted and clearly relieved. Once he and Asimov were finished with the debriefing, he turned to his fellow Hawks with what was easily identified as a smile. It was a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. One weighed down by exhaustion but alive with relief. Affection.
“Welcome back, Captain.”
Chrome, all the while rubbing Kamui’s back, gave Wanshi a tearful, infinitely warm smile. “Thank you. Thank you, both of you. For everything. Please forgive me for being so much trouble.”
Wanshi’s face and tone took on another abnormal characteristic: iciness. However, it was far from malevolent. It was the playful kind of iciness one would affectionately give a sibling, after experiencing a life-changing period of separation.
“You really wanna thank me? How about this? Give me a week off and I’ll consider it.”
“After everything I put the two of you through, I just might,” Chrome replied, leaving behind no doubt. His medic wasn’t about to let the matter go that easily, though.
“You’d better. Constructs don’t age but I feel as though I’ve aged fifty years in the last hour. And, thanks to you, I’m behind on my naps. I don’t forget being burned, Captain.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t of more use,” Kamui wept, his face buried in his Captain’s chest, his arms still wrapped around the other’s waist. Getting out even a single breath wasn’t any different from climbing up a mountain. Speaking even a single word was a Herculean task and a half.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, Captain! I hated seeing you like that, hated it so much-“
Hands cupped his face. A kiss brushed his forehead, painting Kamui’s world in flickers of luminous gold and daybreak.
“I’m sure you could use a week off too. You’ve got a couple of games you need to catch up on, I’m sure.”
“Play with me,” Kamui immediately said, not as a plea but as a demand, wanting to create as many memories as he could of Chrome. “Promise you’ll play with me, Captain!”
Despite being unbearably tired, barely emerging from being broken, Captain Chrome of Strike Hawk laughed.
“Of course. I’m already looking forward to it.”