Brokenly, Restored

Chapter #15

(Pete's POV)

It's hard for me to believe that this is all happening. I didn't know why I trusted Dalaina so much when she yelled at me in the ally, but if she's my sister....... do I really have six siblings? And one of them a twin? I don't know how I could have forgotten them all so easily, but it feels right to be around them all.

The rest of the afternoon was a blur of activity. All my siblings wanted to get to know me just as much as I wanted to know them. I'm not very fast with my sign language, but I find our conversations starting to drift in and out of sign and spoken. Two of my brothers can hardly speak with how much they stutter while the rest of them can speak with only a few mistakes.

Dalaina is one of my sisters, but the other girl who dropped the pot is named Lancien. The two boys who were first shoving each other on the couch are Macanel and Kadixen. All these names are really long, and I'm hoping that I never have to spell them. My twin's name is Jadtilen, but nobody can tell me what name I was suppose to have. It'd be confusing to change my name now. My oldest brother, who's 26, is named Vilion. I can tell that he feels terrible that I was trapped for so long. He's 12 years older then me, and my twin and I are the youngest. It isn't until later that night when I get asked another question.

     "We're all happy that you're here, but what brought you to the Sorcerer kingdom? People don't usually travel back and forth just for the heck of it", Vilion says.

     "Do you remember how Matt has to follow orders from the lab people?", I try and explain, "There are coordinates telling him to go somewhere on this continent. We've just been following him around".

"That sounds like a terrible idea. How do you know it's not a trap?", Vilion tilts his head.

"Thank you! At least someone else sees it", Choco throws up his arms in frustration. He's been talking about the danger ever since we set out. Matt doesn't say anything, but I'm sure he doesn't care if it is a trap.

     "Wa-Wait, does that mean you're leaving again!?", Dalian sits up straighter in alarm.

     "You can't leave!", Lancien, my sister, and my twin, Jadtilen, both shout at me at the same time.

"Well, I would come back after because-", I try to defend my reasoning, but Choco interrupts me.

"Matt and I have been meaning to talk about that with you......". Choco's feathers flatten themselves to his body. "Matt, um, he brought up a pretty good point earlier. This is your family. They'll protect you and keep you safe, and I'm not sure what's at the end of those coordinates. I think it might be better if....... if you stayed here". I stare at him, unsure if I heard him correctly.

     "What!? You can't go on with out me!", I protest.

     "It is only logical. You are in no danger here, and there will be more unpredictable variables to come", Matt says.

     "Predict this! What's the definition of family?", I shout back at him.

     "Blood relatives, those who you are born to, the older protect the younger", Matt relays.

     "Exactly! Family protects each other", I repeat, "Who's been protecting me for the last eleven years? Hmmm? Yeah, it's you and Choco. You're my family, too. And I also have to look after you. I have to make sure you get your emotions back".  I swear that the corner of Matt's mouth twitches up in a smile.

     "Are you sure, Pete? I don't know how much farther we have to go", Choco gives in. I can tell that he didn't like the idea from the start.

     "Yeah, I want to come with you guys! And we can come back here after. Why would we even have to go back to GoldenEye?", I look back over at my oldest brother, "Well, if that would be ok? To come back and live here?".

      "Of course! I understand your sense of duty, little brother, but you will always have a place here", Vilion says, ".....and for your other family". I smile at him, just happy that he understands.

     Everything finally seems like it's going to work out. We're going to go to those coordinates, find out what Matt's trying to get to, find a way to help him, and then come back here to my siblings. The lab's influence on us is finally loosening.