IRON GOD | 1: Peripeteia

[17] Channei: A Whimper and a Bang

CW abuse

"Does Kolo have a hole in her memory?"

Channei's eyebrows rose. A strange question, she thought, but Haode had her attention now. "A hole in her memory?" She didn't know how much was too much to say. "I don't know what you mean."

Haode tensed up. "Just that. Does she seem to be missing something?"

She shrugged. "What does it matter to you?"

He glowered. "It's in your best interest – and hers – to answer me truthfully."

The shapeshifter crossed her legs. "And I will. But first, I want you to answer me truthfully. I need some help understanding your...predicament."

Haode kicked her in the side. "You think you have the right to make demands of me?"

Channei grunted with the blow, then grabbed his foot. "It's not a demand. It's a request. I think it's in everyone's best interests that we be transparent. Sit down for a moment, would you?"

She jerked his leg out from under him so he fell to the ground. He sat disoriented for a second. Violent tremors ripped through his wasted muscles. One wall creaked and his head snapped in that direction.
"How long has this been going on?" she asked. "How'd it start?"

"It's been ages," he said. "I lost count after the first few months. It started when I came down with a fever that nearly killed me. When it passed, my power stopped working right."

"All right. Thank you." Channei lowered her voice. "Now, to answer your question, Kolo does have a hole in her memory."

"Grinner is probably to blame for that." Haode sounded exhausted. "Once I see her, it should be clearer." His eyes rolled with fatigue. "I need her..."

"Are you sure about that?" Channei scooted closer to him. "Are you sure she can end your ordeal?"

Haode pulled his knees in toward his chest. "I don't know how else it could end."

She reached out and put her hands on his arm. He flinched, but didn't immediately recoil. Channei sighed. "I could end it for you."

His eyes widened and he stared at her, but still didn't move.

Channei patted his arm. "I'll do it quick. You won't suffer, I promise."

A tear slid down his cheek. Channei couldn't tell whether his silence was acceptance, or he was so frozen up with fear that he couldn't respond. Likely the latter.

She slipped the shoddily-tied rope off her wrists and placed her hands on his shoulders. He recoiled from her touch and fell backwards, hitting his head on the floor. Haode tried to get back up, but the blow to his head and days without sleep kept him down. Watching his struggle, Channei wished now more than ever that she had Master Xigon's power. She had always envied the way he could calm panic and ease pain.

"Rest a while," she told him. "You clearly need it."

Haode eventually lay still, his eyes half-open, not quite asleep but not entirely awake either. Quietly, Channei bent over him and searched him for a weapon. She found a dagger on his belt, but its edges were dull. No good. She put it back.

Channei glanced over at the closet. She knew Ido had her weapons, but it wasn't as if she could simply ask for them back. Taking them back by force wouldn't be easy either.