Chapter Text
Kian
The night deceivingly started off quiet. Cozy.
The curtains were closed and two lamps, each on the opposite side of the wide living room, gave off warm yellow-orange light. The television was on a low volume as Dad flipped through channels.
On the other side of the living room, Kian spun his chair side to side slightly, annoyed at his red-brown bangs for repeatedly trying to obstruct his vision. He stared at the packet in his hands that he had to memorize for next week's exam, finding himself unable to focus on the terms. Part of that was probably because he was listening to what the channels, most covering some sort of news, were saying. And the other part of that was probably because Kian kept mentally re-planning his next dinner with Mark, who was in some of Kian's college classes.
"Sounds like the reporters are calming down a little," Kian commented from his desk in the corner. Dad looked more focused on doing taxes than actually watching the TV despite still tapping the remote after a few sentences from each channel.
"Only a little," he responded offhandedly as he freed the remote for a second, scratching the back of his head through dark auburn hair sprinkled with some gray. "I think we're all getting sick of hearing about the verdicts we were present for."
There was a sound of paper being turned over from the dining room before Elliot's blue eyes glanced up from the taxes to see Kian staring at his review blankly.
"You worked on college stuff all day. I think you need a break," Dad commented.
Kian shrugged and began putting away his papers scattered across the desk, preferring to not force himself to study more anyways.
"Do you want to do a movie or something? I heard about a new one that's good. You've been filling out those court documents all week." Elliot glanced at Kian to include him as he called to Alex in the dining room with the last sentence.
There was a sigh from that direction. "There's a ridiculous amount of papers I have to sign and my wrist is starting to hurt from it. So yeah."
Kian was indifferent about what they did and prepared to get out of his mesh chair.
"'Kay. I'll start making popcorn," Dad said as he got up from the sofa, tossing the taxes onto the end table to finish later. Kian followed him through the oddly dark dining room to the relatively small kitchen, flicking on the light and getting out the butter while Elliot retrieved the kernels.
Alex squinted in the sudden light and finished writing something on one of many papers. Then she gathered them up into a neat pile off to the side before absentmindedly tightening her long braid.
From her tower near the dining table, Meowlit saw Kian in the kitchen. The tan cat yawned and stretched before dropping off the tower and trotting across the floor. Once she got to his feet, she clambered up his pants and shirt to finally balance on his shoulder.
"Why're you working in the dark with the patio curtain open?" Kian questioned.
"Oh." Alex glanced up at the glass sliding door and dark backyard beyond before her brown eyes darted back to the pile of papers briefly. "I think I was too focused on doing these to notice it was getting dark. I could still see because of the moonlight."
Kian didn't understand how she could be so oblivious to the light fading but didn't say anything.
"They think it'll rain tomorrow," Elliot said over the popping of the kernels after they'd been heated up for some time. Alex glanced suddenly at the popcorn and Elliot, probably realizing it sounded similar to gunshots, covered the pan it was in with a glass top to quiet the noise.
He and Kian had done some research and talked to a few therapists to try their best to identify and minimize triggers for Alex. Or otherwise notice if she seemed to be affected by something that could be a trigger. She'd luckily found a good therapist to see who'd told Elliot and Kian some additional ways they could help Alex at home.
"That's good," she responded after a moment, though not showing any signs of having experienced a flashback. "A heavy rain?"
Dad nodded. "They think so."
Every time it rained, Alex went outside without a coat or umbrella for at least ten minutes, saying she'd missed hearing and feeling the rain. She best liked a cold downpour, whereas Kian would only go out when it wasn't more than a drizzle. Elliot would sit side-by-side on the patio with her most times, both of them drenched and surrounded by the thousands of pounding droplets that were too loud to allow a conversation even in close proximity.
Alex loved all the tiny everyday sights and activities–going on nature walks, seeing the moon, watching the sunrise and sunset, and staring at the clouds. Kian had never quite thought about all the basic things on Earth that space had deprived her of. When she'd gotten home from the airport, it'd been funny seeing her get so excited about the carpet and declaring that it was one of the best inventions ever.
Kian was still getting used to having another parent, though it'd only been a week since the court case finished and allowed their family to try functioning like a normal one. That is, save the pestering interviewers always trying to make Alex talk about things on the Advancer that she said made her incredibly stressed or–when she was trying to tell Dad about it a few times while Kian was doing homework in a nearby room–left her in tears if she talked about it for too long. Elliot and Kian, at Elliot's lead, had told off a few of the reporters when they couldn't tell that Alex was trying to get away.
Kian was also trying to get to know Alex better, but he liked what he understood of her so far. When she wasn't busy doing the court paperwork, they talked about random things as though they'd been friends for years instead of only knowing each other since she could video call from the Advancer a few months ago.
Having a mom was definitely a change, but now that he actually had a general sense of her, it hadn't been and wouldn't be as hard to adjust to. After all, she was able to teach him a few new recipes and Meowlit liked to use her as a bed when Alex stayed in one place for too long. So, at the very least, she was Meo-approved.
Alex came over and, seeing there was nothing else to do since the popcorn was in the bowl now and buttered by Kian, sprinkled a bit of salt over the top.
"I'm gonna grab some water, too. Do either of you guys want something to drink?" She asked as Kian picked up the bowl and Dad started for the living room again.
"Nah," he responded over his shoulder as Kian shook his head before following.
They got seated on the sofa and Elliot found the movie with the search bar. He'd only started renting it as Alex's footsteps began getting louder from the kitchen when the screen went black.
Dad's brow furrowed and he glanced down at the remote when the TV started up again to show something tall and gray facing the camera with a neutral expression.
Even though he was currently studying them in college, it took Kian a second to register the beaked, tentacled form as an akulu. And there was the sun and a silhouetted planet in the window behind him.
Earth.
Wait. That akulu… was that–
"Alex, can you uh– what time is it?" Dad called as he frantically pressed the channel button. When that did nothing, he shifted to the power control, but the TV wouldn't shut off.
Dread settled in Kian's gut as he realized the aliens had strategically removed all control. They had no choice but to let it play, let everyone see it, let everyone fear the akulu on the screen.
How sick.
Alex's footsteps paused and backtracked for a second before she said, "2034. Is something wrong? You sound–"
She appeared in the doorway between the dining room and living room, seeing the screen just as Elliot had grabbed a blanket to presumably throw it over the television.
Her face paled and she froze.
A slow smile crept across Ekun's face as he growled from not just the screen but all their pockets as well, "hello, Earth."
Elliot got up as Alex looked scared by Ekun's voice seeming to come from everywhere. She got her device out of her pocket and put it facedown on the nearby end table with her glass of water so fast that it almost looked like she threw them.
"Here, let's go outside or something so–" Dad tried to say as he approached Alex. She took a step back from him and stronger fear flashed on her face for a second. He stopped, a trace of sadness in his expression before he buried it.
It'll never be something personal. I just won't feel like I truly know someone for a little bit after and that'll make me scared, Alex had told her family before when talking about the emotional flashbacks she'd gained from her time on the Advancer.
"No," Alex said shakily. "I want to hear what he says."
Elliot was quiet for a second–perhaps he wanted to ask if she was sure–but then gestured to the couch questioningly. She shook her head, so he stayed where he was as well.
Kian set the popcorn bowl aside, feeling like he was supposed to be standing too since he was the only one sitting. But it'd probably be strange, since Elliot was already near Alex to help in case whatever she had to stand for happened.
"I am Ekun, currently giving you humans a message on behalf of the akulu. Years ago, the country of Winalu sent thirteen soldiers onboard a spaceship, the Advancer, with a mission: study a discovered planet that might be inhabitable. And about ten years later, the Advancer landed on Apino in the northeast quarter, resulting in the first interaction between humans and akulu. I was present to witness the landing, as devices detected something unidentifiable entering the atmosphere and a few elite units were called from the southwest quarter in case violence broke out.
"The humans stayed for one Earth year, and our kinds learned many things from each other. We were told Earth was dying–which I can see." Ekun turned his head to glance at the silhouetted ball in front of the sun, the polite smile gone from his face and replaced by an emotionless, calm expression. "One particularly important detail we learned was that the Advancer was essentially a scout, seeing if there was any means one of our three already-inhabited planets could be taken over by humans."
"We told the humans there is no room for the billions they said lived on Earth. We tried to suggest other planets in Arwitan, our solar system, but our suggestions were shut down."
"Unlivable," Alex growled softly, her glare glued to the screen as Meo dropped off Kian's shoulder and curled up in his lap.
"The Advancer left, but things the humans had said gave us a sense that the humans would not give up. That humans would attempt to take a planet by force.
"So under orders, I boarded the Advancer partway through its homebound voyage and made sure to reinforce our message that humans are not welcome to live with us. I killed Lieutenant Zane Ward and used his identity to both repeatedly sabotage the ship and kill Mateo Gibson, General Sebastian Hughes, and Owen Patel. I took part in the votes that got Helena Burke, Evie Howell, and Quinn Harris left to die in space and I attempted murder on Alexandria Driscoll.
"My effect was spread even further by the brief psychosis my mission caused afterwards in Brad Cromwell, who killed Olivia Cobb and Jennifer Arnold while being present for the votings that left Lexi Bauer and Charlie Reed for dead. Overall, I–one akulu–am responsible for eleven deaths on that ship and heavy psychological damage to the two survivors. So that is what humans are up against if you insist on taking something of ours by force."
"Not an ounce of remorse," Elliot muttered with audible disgust.
"While the akulu understand your desperation, you cannot have any of our planets. Find a different solar system and leave us alone. You shouldn't have killed your planet and we should not have to pay for it. We have been able to save our planets a number of times from extinction, so it is not an impossible task to have asked of you.
"And if my actions are enough to inspire a declaration of war, know that akulu only have one rule of war: no destroying celestial bodies. But seeing as how humans have broken that already by doing it to yourselves with Earth, we can set that rule aside. We have a button-activated weapon aimed at your planet as I speak with enough firepower to explode your sun, but we don't want to set the rest of this solar system into chaos, so we'd fire at only your planet. That is, if we have any major provocations. Kindly take note we've also infiltrated the Internet, so your leaders better be careful what they say there."
Ekun's claws had been behind his back the entire time and out of sight, but now he brought one forward to scan something yellow in his grip. Kian noticed his eyes moved from bottom to top, making him wonder if that's how the written akulu language was read.
Less than a second later, Ekun leaned to the side and wordlessly handed the cards to someone offscreen, apparently speaking from his nonexistent heart now. "With those clarifications set aside, I have a personal message that speaks for only myself now, specifically targeted towards Brad and Alex."
"Are you sure you don't wanna–" Elliot started, taking a step closer to Alex. She still didn't look away from the screen.
"I'm sure." She responded less shakily than before, most of her color regained.
Kian still thought it was annoyingly dramatic for Ekun to have his voice seem to come from everywhere. It made Kian feel like there was no escape–which, admittedly, was probably what the akulu was going for. It had to feel so much worse for Alex, Kian figured as he glanced at her distressed expression again.
"Brad, it's great that I arguably inspired you, but you honestly should've killed Alex too. It's the least you could've done for me; you interviewed me on Apino and killed like I had! We could've been murder buddies if you'd just done it.
"And Alex…." Ekun made that tsk noise Kian had always hated. "You should've called a meeting and accused me instead of being so trigger-happy."
Elliot's eyebrows shot up and Alex laughed in disbelieving anger. "What the literal f–"
"If you'd gotten to the button in time and said it was me on the speakers, I wouldn't have killed you since it'd look bad. And that shove into the chamber… just wow. Quite unnecessary."
Most of Kian's motivation to study akulu was now so that he could figure out how to kill Ekun. Or at least mess him up and kill that pompous attitude.
"So I don't exactly think of either of you fondly. But anyways… I know a Lanviden secret." A smile flitted across the alien's face. "You're sure lucky I don't feel threatened enough by either of you to care enough to execute one of you. Since I'm not going to say a few more words, you could say 'I forgive you for everything'?"
Alex's face paled again and her eyes widened at his voice turning into hers.
Dad and Kian glanced at her with confusion before Kian asked, "did you say that?"
She shook her head, managing to tear her eyes away from the screen for a moment to glance at him. "Negative. No, I–" She looked at the TV again, where Ekun had a punchably smug expression like he knew something everyone else didn't. "I forgive none of Ekun's actions. And he's not sorry anyhow."
"What I think would be awfully interesting for humans to see is the information those recently-removed microchips gathered on you two, since Brad went insane and Alex was the second-most stressed subject. I'll admit the murders were also done as a psychological experiment. Or study, if you will." Ekun grabbed something that looked like a thin tablet and made a few swiping motions on it before turning it around for the camera to see, pointing out things like a formal scientist. "This is Brad's emotional report spanning from the insertion of the microchip to the end of his psychosis. As you can see from the key below and colored lines on the graph, his highest emotions were guilt, fear, and stress. They all shot up around the time his psychosis began and then higher with every death until the peak at the end."
He pressed the side of the device to alter the chart, which must've been modeled after human charts just to help the audience understand. "And this is Alex's. Her sadness started after Quinn died but got fairly shoved down by her stress once Olivia was killed. Her anger built and peaked when she shot me. Her stress built up more gradually and the majority of her guilt appeared shortly after Charlie's death. Again, her three main emotions peaked at the end of her less-intense psychosis. A little bit longer of a build and maybe she would've turned murderous as well."
Alex looked like all her stress was returning just by seeing her mind laid out to everyone. Elliot glanced at her as though he wished Alex would get away from the thousands of triggers Ekun was clearly throwing at her.
While it was interesting to see what they'd been going through emotionally, Kian was glad when Ekun finally put down the tablet. The akulu was clearly only doing it to flaunt his power and knowledge.
"Which, of course, is the reason Brad's seeing this from prison. Lifelong sentence, wow. Must be so sad to be stuck in that little container forever…. Of course, there's nowhere to escape to and nothing to defend yourself with if I come to make the Advancer's survivors just one. And Alex, you could be lured in with a threat to your family if I want it to be zero, too."
" I'm gonna kill him, I'm gonna– I knew I should've shot him again! I won't let that son of– " Alex snarled suddenly, her hands clenched into fists as she looked like she wanted to murder the TV too. Kian glanced with a little bit of concern at her abrupt violence despite Ekun also making him mad as Meo's head popped up to see what was going on.
"It's okay. I don't think he's really going to do anything," Dad tried, looking a bit nervous as well.
"Anyways, I'll be going. But the akulu will be watching, so it's really best for all of Earth if you humans heed my guide to your further survival. Again, leave us alone, find your next place to pollute somewhere not in Arwitan, and don't provoke us. If it isn't regarding taking something of ours, however, we are open to contact. Humans are interesting to study."
The television finally shut down a second later and then started back up to again show the renting screen that Elliot had been on before.
" I should've killed him and stopped this all…. Should've cut off his head, " Alex growled.
"I'm mad too, Alex, but there's nothing you can do. I think it's an empty threat. You're being a little scary right now," Elliot tried again.
She glanced at him with a hint of worry and unclenched her fists. "I meant towards him. I didn't mean to–" She glanced at Kian and Meo. "I didn't mean to be scary."
Alex had told Elliot and Kian a little about how she and Brad had managed their stress and trust afterwards on the Advancer, part of that requiring them to manage fear they might cause whenever one of them felt threatened by the other. Kian guessed it meant trying to appear as calm and unthreatening as possible when the other person expressed uncertainty.
"I know. I'm really mad at Ekun too and yeah, I've wanted to kill him as well ever since I learned what he was doing. A lot of people want to kill him, judging by what I've seen online. But he's just trying to upset you," Dad explained.
Alex looked at him again. "Yeah. And I hate him for it. All of it. Everything. But if he does anything to either of you–"
"He won't. And there's not much that can be done about it, so there's no reason to worry."
"Are the doors locked? Is our security system up to date? Are all our camera lenses intact?" She questioned, going up to the front door and jiggling the handle.
While Elliot double-checked the back door, Kian pulled up the security system reports on his device. "Security's good. And people have never messed up our camera lenses."
"They could," Alex said into her glass cup as she took a drink of her water by the end table.
"Back door's fine. If that broadcast was live, the akulu couldn't even get here that fast. And they might not know where we live in Winalu," Dad said as he came back over.
Alex didn't look convinced.
"Well, I think we definitely need a distraction now. Here, come sit." Elliot dropped back into his regular spot and Alex reluctantly took hers in the middle cushion after Kian moved the popcorn bowl. He nearly set it in his lap before remembering Meo was there.
Kian always found it a little funny that Dad was usually the person finding movies to watch when he almost always fell asleep towards the end, regardless of the time. But once the movie ended two hours later, Kian was a bit surprised to see that Alex had also dozed off.
Ah, well. Meo was snoozing between Alex and Kian, and the sofa was pretty comfortable.
Warmer than bed would be right now, Kian figured, setting his head down and closing his eyes.
Two weeks later, there was an official-looking envelope on the front step when Kian arrived home from college. He furrowed his brow and noticed the government logo stamped at the top corner when he picked it up.
"Guys?" He asked after opening the front door, glancing up from the words to see Alex and Elliot playing a card game in the dining room. They turned to look at him.
"There's a paper on our step from the government. They said they're sending letters instead of using the Internet so the akulu can't see."
Dad set his cards facedown on the wooden table, accepted the letter, and began reading.
"They were contacted a few days ago by the Lanviden government," Kian told Alex, "who said they want to set aside past conflicts and open their borders to us.
"Lanvide wants to ally with Winalu to solve this akulu problem."