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“Ok.” Sara stands at the head of a battered table. Worry squirms in her stomach, and she wants nothing more than to succumb to it. She forces her way through anyway, although she can’t get rid of the creeping feeling that this is too similar to the worst thing that ever happened. “We need a plan, guys.”
Sitting at the table are Amanda and Bradley. Pacing next to it is Milo.
Her feelings of panic are reflected on him, except dialled up by 100% and even more visible. He looks frantic. It’s understandable, but the floor is creaking dangerously. “Milo, sit down.” She adjusts her tone, away from any harsh commands. Towards a softer, kinder request.
Milo sits down, next to Amanda. Amanda moves her chair as surreptitiously as possible. Bradley isn’t even surreptitious, despite already being separated from Milo by a table. Milo doesn’t even seem to notice.
“I know this seems bad.” Sara puts a gentle hand on Milo’s shoulder, speaking softly to him. Then she raises her head to address the rest of the group. “But we are gonna find a way to rescue them.”
“We’re also gonna find a flying pig.” Bradley says, glaring sceptically at her. Behind that, she can see his fear is as great as the rest of theirs.
“Bradley!” Amanda snaps, while Milo winces. “Sara is right. The four of them have already proved that the defences aren’t impenetrable- they broke Milo out of probably the most secure building in the country.”
“Which took years of planning and failure.” Bradley points out. “We don’t have a year. We have a couple of weeks, max.”
Milo winces again. “But we need to rescue them. We can’t let them…” He trails, despair dripping from every word. Sara squeezes his shoulder. “There must be some way.”
“He’s right.” Sara says. “There is some way, and we’ll find it. Get your thinking caps on.” Even once discussion begins, she doesn’t move back to her chair. She stays with Milo.
———
Milo can’t wrap his head around it. Only a few hours ago, it was a normal day. And now his friends, his family, are gone. Captured, held prisoner. He constantly fears being recaptured, he never imagined that his family could be taken.
He takes a shuddering breath. His family, being imprisoned, being hurt. He needs to rescue them, like they did for him, but going to the resistance didn’t give him the certainty he craved. He is still sure that they can be rescued, that he will see them again. But how? Sara, Amanda and Bradley discuss for ages. Every minute that they discuss, horrible things could be happening to the people he loves so much. And he is helpless to do anything.
“What we need,” Sara is saying, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, “is something that can cause a lot of damage. That would give us the distraction that this plan needs. Do we have time to get our hands on explosives?”
“Not on this timeframe.” Bradley shakes his head.
Something floods through Milo. He sits up, an idea popping into his head. A way to not be helpless, a way to save his family. “Something destructive?” He repeats.
“Yeah. Any ideas?” Sara asks. “I don’t expect that Melissa had a secret store underneath the floorboards, but I also don’t expect that she didn’t.” Milo flinches. The past tense worms into his head. It feels hopeless, and wrong. Melissa can’t be a had.
“I don’t think she has.” Milo puts emphasis on the present tense. “But we’ve got…” Is he really going to suggest this? “… plans for the Murphy Weapon. We could build that.”
Everyone stares at him for a beat.
“No.” Sara says. “Absolutely not.”
“But Sar-“
“Milo, I want to save them too! But we’re not using you like that. No way. We’ll find something else.” Sara is vehement. As unmoving as a mountain.
He gets that, because he really doesn’t want to do this. That machine has haunted his nightmares, and often his waking hours too. Even the thought of getting in it makes his stomach freeze over, his skin chill.
But his friends are in serious danger, and he would do anything to save them. He can hardly imagine what they are going through- he can put himself through the Murphy Weapon, just once more, to rescue them.
“It’s not using if I volunteer.” Milo hopes that his voice doesn’t shake, that it isn’t as small as he feels. “Sara, please. I can’t let them die, I’ll do anything to help. I can do this.”
“You shouldn’t have to.” Sara looks him in the eyes, and he can see the distress in them. She knows how bad it was. Everyone does. His hands are shaking now, but he stays firm.
“I shouldn’t.” He admits. “I don’t want to. But they shouldn’t… be there, either. Please, Sara, you’ve gotta let me do this.” He is practically begging now.
Sara glances at Amanda. “What do you think?”
Amanda frowns, then sighs. “I really don’t like it. But Milo is the same age as the rest of us, and he says that he is willing. So I think that we should listen to him.”
Milo shoots her a grateful smile, one that she reciprocates. Then he draws his attention back up to Sara, who looks stressed and panicked and so upset. But finally, she nods. “Fine. Go get the plans and we’ll start working.”
Milo can’t feel triumphant about having won.
———
He spends the days that follow helping the resistance prepare for their attack. Aside from collecting the plans, he doesn’t go home. It is empty, too empty. Filled with shadows and ghosts and with none of the livelinesses it should.
“Hey, boss!” Someone calls. Milo is trailing after his sister, trying to help. She seems to appreciate it, saying that he is as quick minded as ever. But she turns when someone falls for her. “We’ve finished the M- the weapon!”
Milo follows Sara and looks into the doorway. His eyes widen and heart drops. In the centre of the room is the Murphy Weapon. He just stares at it, feeling transported to another time. He is frozen, trembling like a leaf.
“Milo?” Sara puts her hand on his shoulder. He flinches, still frozen. Still staring at the machine. He knows that it’s Sara standing over him, but he can’t help but expect to be shoved into the box. Locked in, his limbs pushed together and head pressing against the top. He can imagine the pain, burning through him until he screams. “Milo, it’s alright. You’re safe.”
He shakes his head. He isn’t safe, not when that weapon is here. No one is safe. People will get hurt, die, all because of him. All because of the emperors weapon.
The gentle hand on his shoulder turns him around, steers him out of the room. Once he is in the corridor, he turns to look up at Sara with wide, frightened eyes. She hugs him tightly, squeezing him to her. He relaxes in her grip, practically going limp. “Sorry. I don’t know what happened.”
“I do.” Sara pulls back a bit, looks him directly in the eyes. “Milo, you don’t have to do this. No one wants you to put yourself through it, we can see how terrible it is for you.”
Milo’s breath catches. He can’t believe that he is volunteering for this, to be put back into the box everyone promised that he escaped. But he still shakes his head. “I need to do this. I need to do everything I can to save them.” Just like they did for him.
Sara squeezes his shoulder. “If you’re sure. But you can always back out, ok?”
Milo nods. But he can’t back out. Not when the lives of the people he loves most are on the line.
———
They stand in an alleyway, a small, well armed team. Sara is ordering everyone around in a whisper. “You three, south entrance. You four, north. Bradley, Lydia, you’re with me. Amanda, you’re staying with Milo.”
Everyone salutes, marching off. Everyone is focused, ready. It makes Milo, who is failing to suppress his trembling, feel much younger than he actually is. Right behind him, Amanda is fiddling with the controls on the Murphy Weapon. He feels sick with terror, the squirming in his stomach spreads through his veins and makes his limbs feel simultaneously weak and heavy.
As the team disperses, Sara grabs Milo in a tight hug. “You’ll be ok. You’ll do great. You’re so brave, you little idiot.” Milo squeezes her back, arms shaking. “You’re as bad as Melissa. I promise that we’ll rescue them.”
When they disentangle, both siblings have slightly teary eyes. “I’ll be ok.” Milo promises, even while he trembles like a leaf. “Please be careful. Please get them.”
“I will. I will.” Sara ruffles his hair with a hand that he suddenly realises is trembling a bit. “Amanda, remember…”
“Ma’am.” Amanda salutes. “You should go now, you’re behind.”
Sara sighs. She looks reluctant to leave. Milo gets the idea that she wanted to be the one to operate the weapon- but she also knows that if she did it, it would never get fired. So Amanda is doing it.
Finally, Sara jogs off to join her team. Amanda and Milo are left to put the next part of the plan into action.
Milo finally turns to look at the weapon. His stomach leaps, spins around, does a few flips. Vomit rises in his throat. The door is open, waiting for him to get in. Willingly climb into it. He clenches his fists.
“Milo?” Amanda says. “Are you sure-“
“I’m sure.” He interrupts. “I’m sure. Just, give me a minute.”
She is probably worrying about the schedule, but she nods. So he looks back at the weapon, at the gaping hole that is staring up at him. He crouches down, edges closer. Every muscle in his body screams at him to stop. To run.
He glances up at Amanda. “You’re gonna have to lock the door.” He forces himself to say.
Her eyes widen. “Are you sure? I want to give you a chance to back out.”
Milo looks away. “Lock it.” He says firmly. “And no matter what you hear, no matter what I say, you can’t let me out until it’s fired. You can’t stop it.”
“Milo…”
“You’ve gotta promise, Amanda. We’ve gotta save them, no matter what it takes.” Milo’s voice shakes with desperation. “Please, Amanda.”
Amanda hesitates. Then she nods. “I promise.”
Milo nods. He looks back at the weapon.
He is so paralysed with fear, he wonders if he’s going to have to ask Amanda to haul him in. But then he thinks about his friends, his family, the people who saved him. He just needs to focus on them, he can do it for them.
He climbs in. As soon as the metal touches his arms, his head, as soon as he feels that cramped and squished feeling, the breath stops in his throat. He squeezes his eyes shut, hugging himself tightly. “Milo? Can I-“
“Close it.” Milo says quickly. The door shuts, he hears the click of the lock. He can’t breath, he can’t think. Everything is too small, fear is holding him in it’s huge metal clutches and squeezing until he pops. And then it is moving, being wheeled into position.
He can’t hear Amanda. There is nothing aside from darkness, tightness, panic. He hugs himself, imagining Melissa hugging him. Zack comforting him, Cavendish and Dakota helping him. He takes shuddering, shaky breaths, waiting in horrible anticipation.
The vibrating starts. He winces, squeezing his eyes shut even tighter. Digging his fingers into his arms. And the vibrating gets worse, and worse, until it starts to hurt. Not much, at first, and then more.
It burns like fire, crackles like electricity. It feels like being electrocuted, over and over, and it doesn’t matter how many times he has been through it before because it is just as painful every time. Tears pour down his face, gushing like a waterfall.
He bites the inside of his mouth, trying to be quiet. But he can’t help but allow a pained whimper to slip from his mouth, and then another, and then he can’t hold back anymore.
———
Milo can’t hear Amanda, but Amanda can hear Milo. Can hear his panicked breaths. He is terrified, utterly terrified. She should be stopping this immediately, not making it worse. But she is going along with the plan, even though it hurts her.
She turns up the dial. She hears a gasp. When she turns it up to the top setting, she hears a pitiful whimper. Her heart shatters, and it takes all of her self control not to lunge to open the box. To get him out of there.
She hears him get more and more distressed, noises that worm into her broken heart and break it further. She aims, and then covers her ears. She should be on guard, in case someone comes. But she can’t listen to this.
She can hear it echoing in her brain. She doesn’t think that she will ever forget it. She will be hearing it in her nightmares.
She presses the button and weapon fires, a bright blast of light that hits the building. Immediately, she hears a crash. And then another crash. She grabs hold of the machine and rushes for the alleyway. It is warm, still lightly vibrating.
As soon as they are hidden in an alleyway, she opens the door. Milo is slumped inside, head resting against the wall while still pressed against the roof. He looks limp, and tears stain his pale face a blotchy red. When he looks at her, pure fear flashes through his eyes. It is soon replaced by relief, but it still hurts. “Milo, it’s ok. You did it, it’s ok.” She reaches into help him out.
She pulls him out, and he slumps against her. She hugs him, feeling him trembling. “You’re safe.”
His head lolls against her chest. “The others?”
“I dunno. But I’m sure that they will be here soon.”
“Mm.” Milo’s eyes flutter shut, although he is fighting against it with all of his will. He is in horrific pain, exhausted. She rubs his back, guilt throbbing in her chest.