Don't Forget

#28 Reunion

A/N I thank all my readers who have made it this far! <3

Sub wakes up to voices. He aches all over, but still opens his eyes. Everything is blurry, and it takes a moment for his eyes to adjust.
      No one trusted Sub because of his silence. The Zemrlt chose to abandon GoldenEye, and he was right there in the council room when that decision was made. These people should hate him for it. He doesn't blame them.
Still, this is where Sub needs to be right now. His prince, no, brother, is still out there. Sub would never get through the squid's new port systems without a voice. The rebels still have access to supplies from across the ocean. He's seen the crates made of wood from his homeland. The soldiers have contact with Liblicen. Sub would do just about anything to get back home.
      He needed to gain the General's trust in order to get back home. What better way than to give the soldiers what they want? Blood.
Sub doesn't think much of humans. They seem wild and too chaotic for his liking. He used that. The soldiers would see him in a new light if he fed their need for destruction.
     Finding a Piscus Captain wasn't as hard as he thought. There's a lot more of them running around then the rebel's five Captains. Catching one wasn't even much of a challenge.
      Sub stole a horse and went to one of the farthest villages he knew of. It wouldn't give him a better reputation to lead back any unwanted guests. Most of GoldenEye's towns have a squid military permanently stationed there. If the rebel's weren't so cautious, they could of easily done the same as he. Sub simply waited at the soldier's waste trenches. When the squid Captain came by himself, it was easy to knock him out.
     The return trip was worse. Within the hour, the entire village knew the Captain was missing. Three villages around the area were informed after two. They were all on the hunt for Sub.
      He barely slept for the entire trip. Sub's sleeping was a disadvantage. He physically can't wake up until an hour after dawn. What sleep he did get was hours at a time: usually falling asleep at six in the morning.
     Sub didn't care much if the prisoner was comfortable. In fact, the squid Captain was gagged and hog tied onto the horse most of the time. Their constant, muffled whining won no remorse. Sub had made up his mind, and a Zemrlt doesn't go back on plans.
     Squids only caught up to him once. He tied the horse up to a tree and waited for the three scouts to close the distance. He struck from the trees. The squid Captain struggled a lot less after that bloody display.
Sub briefly remembers finding Sky and showing him where the squid was, but everything goes black after that. It feels like he's been asleep for ages.
      "Sub! Are you awake? Quinten said that you wouldn't be up until tomorrow", the voice is deeper then he remembers, followed by a dip in the bed next to Sub. The mute stiffly turns his head to see who's talking. "General Lachlan said that you captured an evil squid all by yourself. I wish you would've slept more, but it was pretty cool", Jason hovers at Sub's side, excited to see that he's awake.
     Sub just stares, not believing what's in front of him. It's been nearly a decade since he's seen Jason. He's not the little five-year-old that he remembers. Jason laughs at his surprised expression.
     "Surprised?", he giggles, "I had no idea that you weren't in Liblicen! How'd you even get here? Is Don here? What about the Zemrlt army? Did you bring them all here to kick butt?".
Sub jolts up into a sitting position, bringing on a slight wave of dizziness. He stares at Jason for another full minute without moving. Then, he starts crying.
     "Sub, don't cry! It's alright", Jason hugs the mute tightly. Sub squirms out of the hug so that he can look Jason in the eyes.
"I-I....... I-I'm s-sor-ry", Sub tries to speak, his voice sounding like a garbage disposal. He tries to say it again, but he starts to violently cough with the effort. He coughs up blood into his elbow with the strain.
     "No! Don't do that", Jason covers Sub's mouth to get him to stop talking, "You have nothing to be sorry for. Look! You found me". The mute slow recovers and beings his hands up to sign.
'No, it's just me here. I've been stuck on this continent, looking for a way back home, since the castle fell', his signing is still perfect despite the years away from home. Jason grimaces, asking him to repeat it. Practicing sign language wasn't exactly on the priority list. Most of the message manages to get across with a bit of struggling.
     "You've been here this entire time? I bet you have a lot crazier stories then I do", Jason smiles, following up with a sloppily signed 'Missed you'.
Sub nods in acknowledgment, but he doesn't feel worthy of forgiveness. He doesn't even know if Don made it back home. There's probably been lots of fake letters sent to Liblicen with fake names, begging for help. Sub has gained the army's trust, but his will he prove that it's him sending the letter?
"What are you thinking about?", Jason sees Sub's concentrated expression. That's the face he makes when building something. The mute's eyes widen.
He starts to sign rapidly, but goes slower once he realizes that Jason can't keep up.
     "My codes? Yeah, I still remember them. But it was just for fun", Jason is confused why Sub is so excited about it. The code wasn't even that clever. All it involved was putting words backwards and every other was upside down. He gave everyone he knew special names. That's why he's so sure of who Sky is.
     Sub has a way now. He can go through the army and Barney's ships, using Jason's code to prove who they are. While Sub is thinking, Jason is off in his own train it thought.
     "Sub, you know who Sky is right?", he bites his lip and looks back to Sub.

**************************

     He was in complete shock to find his brother right at home. Ross hadn't seen him in seven years, and then Max suddenly popped up right underneath his nose.
     He was a scared twelve year old when they separated, but Ross is 19 now. He's a little more independent and trustful in his own abilities. Still, his goofy nature shines through.
     The soldiers aren't the only ones who hate the Piscus. Most of he common citizens were left to fend for themselves at the mercy of the squids. Going against them head on would get many killed. Those who were still loyal could only act out in small ways while still blending into their own neighborhoods .
      Lots of different loyalist groups dotted the continent. There was almost two groups for every single town. They all had slightly different views on how to handle the squids and what the kingdom should look like if it can be restored. None had any power on their own.
     A rich noble stepped in to unite the scattered groups. Daniel D. Carter was on the king's council before the castle was taken. Dan was very popular, and most likely to inherit the throne if the king hadn't of had any of his children.
     He was powerful enough to bring the different loyalist groups together. Even by force if necessary. Dan won the hearts of the people because he looked and acted like one of them. He wasn't born a noble. He wasn't afraid to travel without guards shadowing him.
     Dan is currently the leader of what he named 'The GoldenWings'. The name is from a rebellion that happened centuries ago.
     Ross is part of this non military organization; he has been for three years now. The job mostly consists of gathering as much information as possible. Squid troop rotations, their level of training, and other tidbits help draw up the picture of how the squids operate.
These long years haven't been wasted. Multiple spies have worked their way into high positions in and around the castle. They're finally in a position to do some real damage. Ross has even heard rumors that the royal amulet was stolen right out of the vault.
Dan has decided to finally contact the troops. A man like him has people everywhere. Ross signed up to follow him to the coordinates a few days later. He was just stopping at him to tell his mother his plans.
If either of them had arrived an hour later or before, Ross and Max wouldn't have met until later.
Ross turns his head to look at his brother, shifting in his bed. Their mother wouldn't let either of them leave at night. She was nearly in tears the entire night to see both her boys healthy and together.
Max's bed was getting small for him when they left for the capital, and now he lays with his legs bent to fit.
"Still awake?", Ross whispers. The room is slightly lit by the moonlight from outside.
"I'm way too jumpy to sleep", Max mumbles back, laughing a little. They have to be quiet so that they don't wake their mom up. It gives Ross a wave of dejavu.
"I still can't believe how you got here. An assassin that nearly killed me, huh?", he smiles.
"I'm sure Mitch will keel over and die when we bring your hybrid friend back. Sky is really something else", Max has heard Lachlan mention how close they were before.
"Jerome's gonna flip out. He'll probably beat us back once we tell him", Ross agrees.
The two fall silent, lost in thought and past memories. Just being home in each other's company is enough.
"Hey Ross?".
"Yeah Max?".
"I really missed you", he folds his arms over his chest. "I never really stopped looking, but there were some days where I thought.... that you really could be-".
"But I'm not. And you're not", Ross interrupts. There's no use in thinking of bad things when this should be a happy occasion.
There's a pause in the conversation. Ross looks over at Max again, finding him looking back.
"There's probably one more thing that I should tell you", Max bites his lip.
"What is it? You didn't throw another kid in the ocean, did you?", Ross tries to crack a joke. Max doesn't bite.
"No....... I got a letter a while ago...... It's from my father in Kyladia".