The Confined

28. Ego

2302. 04. 23.

I opened my eyes. I saw the ivory colored ceiling, and inhaled the moldy smell of medicine in the Confined hospital. I turned my head and found Violet watching me.

"Thank God," she sighed. I almost thought I had gone back through time and everything that had happened was a dream. It was just like the first time we met and spoke. But this time, Violet held my hand and I realized that everything had really happened. And I really had changed.

"My name is Maximus Pluto," I said. "You can call me Ego," I joked.

Someone knocked on the door with very bad timing. I kind of wanted to be alone with Violet.

"Come in," Violet called out.

A tall and beautiful woman walked into the room. Her pitch black hair reminded me a little of Min, but when I looked into her eyes I quickly realized that she looked nothing like her. Her eyes were a mysterious green color, and somehow, gave the impression of my own eyes. In fact, they were almost the same as mine. Except my eyes were mostly brown with a green hint, when the woman's were mostly green with faint brown smothered in. That's when I understood that she was my mother.

"Pluto," I greeted her. I had been waiting for this day from the moment my consciousness awakened. When I met my parents for the first time, I thought was going to abandon them. The same way they had with me. But as I looked at her, I understood. I somehow understood, that there was something behind all of this. That I was not abandoned, I had been taken away from her.

I had never imagined in my whole life that I would be talking with my mother so comfortably. I thought that when I saw her, I would hate her with all my heart. But I did love her. I knew that. Now, I couldn't help but show that I loved her. I hadn't been hating her, I had been longing for her.

"My son." She burst into tears as she hugged me. "My son. My son. My son." She kept calling me. "Maximus. Maximus."

"You can call me Ego. Mother," I insisted.

My mother had a dazzling smile. "Ego, then." Her face darkened a bit as she started to speak heavily. "I know that you must hate me. But I couldn't find you. You have grown up so well without me." She was crying harder now, it was hard to understand what she was saying. Violet brought her a cup of water and helped her calm down. "You've got a nice girlfriend."

"Thank you," Violet blushed.

My mother explained everything. From the beginning. She told me that my father was Keith Pluto and he was the ruler before TITAN. She told me that my father was not alive. She told me that I was taken away from her before she left. Then, she told me her real name. "Isis Pluto," she said. Then, she left the room and left Violet and I to talk alone.

Violet smiled as she got back into the seat where she had been sitting earlier. "Do you remember what happened?"

"No," I admitted. "I only remember my stomach really hurting." I touched my belly and felt there were bandages on it. I was surprised. I hadn't noticed because I had been talking with my mom with such enthusiasm. What had happened? "Was I shot?"

She nodded sadly. "But it's all over now. We're all safe. Actually, the doctor said that you can get out of bed today. You'll be fine," she reassured me.

"Where are we?" I asked. "We can't be in public can't we? Or..." I gasped in realization. "Is TITAN dead?"

This time her face turned grave. She shook her head. "Pluto shot him. He survived though, stubborn man. We all fled, and now here we are. The CR."

"The CR?" I asked.

Violet smiled happily. "We finally made it. See for yourself." She took my hand and led me out of the hospital. When I took a step out the door, the first thing I noticed was that the ceiling wasn't red. In fact, the ceiling was as high as the Desperado. The building was built as a direct rectangle, with large columns on each side. There lay a stage in the front, on both sides, you could see people going up and down stairs, into their bunkers in the CR. The bunkers weren't gloomy and stuffy like the bunkers in the Confined. They were about the same size, but they were much brighter, with bigger windows, and less people crammed into one room. The place was huge and beautiful. It wasn't beautiful in a fancy way, but the people in it were beautiful. People were buzzing with energy and life, talking about this and that, laughing heartily. They seemed like they were all free from their burden of being a Confined.

"What is this place?" I stared in awe.

"The Confined Rebellion," Violet looked at me with playful eyes. "Where dreams come true." She laughed.

I laughed too, but inside I knew that this place was much more than that to me.

Where our dreams will come true.

No, where we work to make them come true.