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The quiet of sleep is broken when Chayanne feels a pair of hands shaking his lying form.
“Chay, are you awake?” Chayanne lets out a groan and turns, facing his sister, Tallulah.
“I am now,” he responds, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles. “What’s up? Bad dream?” Tallulah shook her head but clutched her mushroom plushie closer to her chest.
Chayanne sat up and opened his arms for his sister to crawl into. She eyed the invitation, biting her lips slightly before climbing the bed and into her brother’s arms. She made herself comfortable in his arm and simply hugged him. The pair sat in silence, the tension of an unspoken issue hovering over them.
“Was it about Dad?” asked Chayanne, breaking the silence. Tallulah tensed but shook her head again. “I didn’t have a nightmare, but I just keep on waking up in the middle of the night. I can’t stay asleep,” explained Tallulah. Rubbing circles into his sister’s back, Chayanne nodded in understanding.
Interrupted sleep is common for the two, especially after learning of the disappearance of their dad. It’s been a month since they have heard from him and even though their many superpowered aunts and uncles reassure them that they will find him, it does little to quell the fear in their hearts.
“Do you want to hear a story, Lullah?” asked Chayanne. A distraction would be good for her, to keep her mind off the missing figure in their lives. She took their dad’s disappearance the hardest, having already been abandoned by her birth parents. She needs to be comforted and what else can a 13-year-old kid do in this situation except try their best?
“Yes, please” whispered Tallulah, placing her head on his shoulder.
“Has Dad ever told you about my first day at school?” began Chayanne. Tallulah shook her head.
“I was super worried,” continued Chayanne, “I only really knew Ramon because of Uncle Fit and it was a new environment for me.” The childlike fears and anxiety that he had during that time crept into his mind. Funny how small this fear was in comparison to now, with his only parental figure missing and the responsibility of taking care of his sister lying on his growing shoulders.
“I was being really fussy with Dad because I didn’t want to go. He tried to reason with me that Ramon would be there and that I’d make friends, but I wasn’t budging. Do you know what he said to finally convince me?”
“Was it access to the kitchen or a promise to visit Uncle Etoiles’s fighting class?” responded Tallulah. Chayanne let out a small chuckle, recognizing the playful dig. “I didn’t know Uncle Etoiles yet, so no. And I wasn’t that interested in cooking before you joined us.”
“What did Papa say then?” asked Tallulah, turning her head to look up at her brother.
“He said that he would take me flying,” revealed Chayanne, staring at the dark night sky through the window. “He said that after school he was going to fly me to Federation Tower where we can watch the sunset.”
“Papa really said that?” asked Tallulah, lifting her head off Chayanne’s shoulder, bewildered. Her Papa was always so cautious, especially with their safety.
“He did but he never set me down. He just kept holding me even after we reached the Tower for fear I would fall off the building or get hurt,” continued Chayanne, “It was so cool flying! I felt like a bird because I could hear Dad’s wings flapping.”
Chayanne remembers the scene well. The sound of wings flapping, the rush of wind through his blonde hair and the amazing view was hard to forget. He remembers telling his dad about his day at school and how he made 2 new friends called Dapper and Leonarda when they were watching the sunset together on Federation Tower.
“While we were watching the sunset, Dad waved at the sun,” said Chayanne wistfully, “He said that it was a bit of a ritual he did. A kind of ‘see you soon’.” Chayanne turns to look at his sister. “A see you soon to the sun as it will always come back and that he’ll be able to say hello to it again the next day.”
“I hope Papa is like the sun. I hope he comes back tomorrow,” whispered Tallulah, averting her eyes from Chayanne’s.
Chayanne wished the same. Though his dad’s wings were jet-black and he worked during the night, Chayanne always viewed his dad as the light of his life. He taught him the basics of fighting, was always down for jokes and was the one who brought his little sister to the family.
“I hope so too, Lullah,” whispered Chayanne, hugging his sister tighter. “He will come back soon, he has to. And when he does, we can all go flying and watch the sunset together! Dad owes us one after making us worry about him this much.”
A small laugh escaped Tallulah’s lips, the idea of all of them flying in the sky being an almost absurd but comforting image.
Chayanne smiled, hearing his sister’s laugh, though faint. He hates how their current parentless circumstance has made his best friend lose her smile. Getting to be the cause and witness of a little bit of the old Tallulah, the Tallulah before their dad disappeared, filled his heart with joy.
But the joy only could last so long as the anxiety crept in. If his dad didn’t come back at all, what would happen to them? Sure, their extended family would take care of them, but they are also busy superheroes with kids of their own. Could he keep taking care of Tallulah if it came down to it?
The pensive silence is broken as the door slams open, startling the two kids. Frantic conversations could be heard through the walls, causing the two to freeze in place.
Tallulah turns to look at Chayanne, a silent question of whether they should open their bedroom door to check who has entered their home. Chayanne nods to his sister and the pair quietly approaches their bedroom door. Chayanne grabs the handle and slowly twists, pulling the door open ever so slightly.
Peeking through the small gap, the whispering became louder, and Chayanne could just about see one figure in the entranceway. The deep blue trident on his back and the bald head was instantly recognizable to the child. “I see Uncle Fit”, whispered Chayanne, opening the door wider for Tallulah to see. The younger peeked through the opening, taking note of the worried expression on her uncle’s face.
“Should we say hi?” asked Tallulah, looking at Chayanne for answers. Chayanne was unsure as Uncle Fit and the people he was with seemed to be extremely stressed. But this is his home, and he is a curious kid. “Why not?” answered Chayanne, pushing the door wide open and stepping into the hallway.
The two approached the living room area and called out to their uncle. Turning to them quickly, Fit took two steps and picked them both up, walking in the direction of their room and away from whatever was going on in their living room.
“What’s going on?” cried Tallulah, struggling against her uncle’s grasp. Chayanne was struggling as well, trying to push and scratch through.
“Sorry kids, I can’t let you guys see or else your dad will be furious at me”, said Fit, crossing into the bedroom and setting them down on the floor. He closes the door behind him.
“Is this about our dad? What’s going on? Did you find him?” asked Chayanne, staring up at his uncle. It’s been a month since he had last seen his dad and he was getting tired of hearing empty reassurances from his family. He just wants his family to be complete again.
Fit kneeled to meet Chayanne and Tallulah at eye level, taking their hand into each of his. “We did find your dad,” explained Fit, “but he is very injured and unwell right now. He wouldn’t want either of you guys to see him like this.”
“But we want to see him! He’s been gone for a month! I want to see my Papa!” shouted Tallulah, ripping her hand away from Fit’s. Chayanne could only stare at Fit, as the realization that his dad was a room away hit him.
He pushed past Fit and tried to open the door before feeling strong arms lift him up. Tallulah tries to open the door too but is subsequently blocked by her uncle’s large figure.
“Kids, I know you want to see your dad but he needs to rest,” reasoned Fit, struggling a bit with the emotional children. “What happened to my dad? Why is he hurt?” yells Chayanne, still attempting to rid himself of Fit’s grip on him. “Let us see him!” yelled Tallulah, hitting on Fit’s body.
Looked at Tallulah, then to Chayanne in his arms, a conflicted expression dotting his face. “Listen, I’ll tell you guys what has happened if you both promise to stop trying to escape,” says Fit, sounding stressed and tired. The siblings turn to look at each other, a silent agreement forming between the two.
“Deal.”
After setting Chayanne down and making sure that the kids didn’t try and escape from him again, the three sat on the pale pink sheets of Tallulah’s bed, Fit by the end of the bed and the siblings near the head.
“Has your dad told you guys about the Ender King?” began Fit. The siblings nodded their heads, remembering the stories that their dad told them.
“He was the bad guy that made Papa go back to being a superhero, right?” asked Tallulah. Fit nodded. “That’s right, he escaped 3 months ago and because your dad was the hero that defeated him last time, he was called back in.”
Chayanne remembers that day well. He and Tallulah were practicing their instruments when their dad left to take a call. He remembers loud arguing in the other room and the worried expression on his sister’s face. When Dad came back and sat them down, explaining the new situation he was put into, the anxiety only grew in his heart.
Chayanne was only 4 when the Ender King first came onto the scene. He does not have any memories of this time period, but the stories told by his school friends years afterwards about how the Ender King was defeated by The Crowfather gave him enough to know what had happened.
The scars on his dad’s wings and his limited ability to fly also helped to paint the picture.
If he was the one who kidnapped his dad, Chayanne was too scared to think of what the outcome could have been.
Fit continued the story, giving a quick recap of who the Ender King is and how the Resistance has been trying to find their father. He begins talking about today’s mission, how they were able to infiltrate the Ender King’s lab and defeat him.
“We found your dad deep in the Ender King’s laboratory in an unconscious and injured state,” said Fit, picking at his scarred fingers.
A gasp escaped Tallulah’s mouth at the mention of her father. “He’s alive, though? Right?” she asked, eyes watery.
Fit brushed some hair off Tallulah’s face. “He’s breathing. TK was able to heal him physically but he’s still asleep right now.”
Tallulah nodded her head, her eyes still watery. Chayanne brought his sister into a hug, placing his check on the top of her head. Though Chayanne’s memories are sparse, he at least was very aware of the dangers of superhero life to a certain extent. Tallulah has only known Dad as her Papa, not The Crowfather.
“What was dad doing in a lab? Was he… experimented on?” asked Chayanne quietly, fear seeping into his voice. Memories of the scars on his dad’s wings, never fully healed even years later, flashed in his mind.
Fit sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “We are not sure. When we found him, he was just on the floor.”
That did not reassure Chayanne at all. His dad was gone for 3 months, what did the Ender King do to him?
Fit brought his metal hand and placed it gently on top of Chayanne’s clenched fist, rubbing small circles onto the skin.
“Your dad is one of the strongest people I know,” said Fit in a calm and low voice, “He may be injured right now but he will bounce back, good as new. He’ll be so happy to see you both safe and sound.”
He brought the kids into a hug, allowing them to collapse forward, the weight of the new information weighing down their collective mood.
They stayed hugging until a yell could be heard from the living room.
“He’s waking up!”
The trio froze at the yell. “Kids, don’t move,” commanded Fit before detangling himself from his niece and nephew. He stood up and rushed out the door, toward the living room commotion.
The kids stared at the retreating figure before getting off the bed. They followed suit, not caring about their uncle’s order to them. Don’t move? Their dad, their sun, was awake, and they were going to go see him no matter what Uncle Fit told them.
Rounding the corner, the kids met the sight of Uncle Fit, Aunt Bagi, Uncle Etoiles and Tio Pac, huddled and kneeling, surrounding a figure that was stirring on the floor. Quick whispers could be heard within the group as the kids approached the group of superheroes.
Tio Pac noticed them approach first, and though he gave a silent look to his partner Fit, he made some space for the two in the huddle circle to see their dad.
The sight of their dad was not pleasant at all. Though Fit has said that he was physically healed by TK, scratches and scars could be seen littering his neck and arms. His wings were in no good condition either, wrapped up in white bandages that covered most of the dark feathers. Blood stained his clothes, the same clothes that Chayanne and Tallulah remembered seeing their dad in last.
Tallulah was already sniffling at the sight of her Papa while Chayanne stared in frozen horror, shocked at the sight in front of him.
A twitch of the mouth and a small groan escapes their dad’s lips. His eyelids tense slightly before he slowly opens his eyes. Dark purple meets Chayanne’s green.
His father’s eyes, unfamiliar, in a body that was littered with injuries, a body that he misses so dearly.
“Papa?” asked Tallulah, tentative, awaiting a response.
The purple eyes moved to meet with Tallulah’s deep brown. Then back to Chayanne’s blue. Then to all the other figures in the room.
“Who are you?”
And Chayanne’s world shatters into thousands of pieces, only the feeling of his sister’s fingers gripping his arms keeping him from passing out.