Eighteen
Ella
Five took his sweet time showing me around the Anubis, pointing out every room that he knew I would not care about. He also made a point to tell me how his presence made them all better, since apparently he was God's gift to mankind. Opposite of how he was when I first met him, Five now strutted through the walkways with his barrel chest puffed out, making long exaggerated strides and speaking with a bombastic tone. I knew that he was going for a 'holier than thou' aura, but really, he was an annoying ass.
I tried to be observant throughout the tour. I noticed the alarming number of vatborns and how many more were being produced at the moment. I saw the incredible number of skimmers that were ready to fight despite the amount that had been shot down or taken damage. I noticed how complex and sophisticated their technology was.
I noticed how outnumbered we were, and how without our full strength, the odds were drastically against us.
Five ended the tour near where we started, standing on a look-over with the cold wind rushing at us. I brushed stray strands out of my face and turned to him, trying to give him my best annoyed look. He didn't seem to notice as he leaned against the metal railing, flexing his bare biceps and looking around. We were extremely high up, and I wondered if we were closer to the edge of space than we were to the ground. Five didn't seem to care about that. He didn't seem to care about anything except for making himself look the best. His outfit - the black expensive battle gear - was unnecessary, but he wore it like a king wore a crown. They were his status symbol, and he actually seemed to believe that the Mogadorians were going to respect him when everything was said and done.
I scoffed lightly. "Why do you try so hard to please them?"
His round face twisted into a frown, his eyebrow coming down over his eyepatch. "Who?"
"Them. The Mogs."
"They actually show me the respect I deserve. They've helped me develop my Legacies and become a man. The Loric abandoned me. I don't understand why you, of all people, stay. They didn't want you to exist. They chose to let you die on that planet."
My blood began to boil as I balled my fists, glaring. "The Elders did what they had to, and they chose to save you. If they knew of the shitbag you are today, I'm sure they wouldn't mind sending me instead of you."
"Your grandfather would have sent me," he growled spitefully.
"I don't have a grandfather. My Cepan, who was killed by your people" - I jabbed a finger in his chest - "was my family. He took care of me, and you all took him from me."
"I didn't hurt him."
"Yeah but you sided with the ones who did."
I knew I was getting to Five by the way he gritted his jaw and pushed himself off of the railing, beginning to pick up his feet haughtily. I wanted to keep my cool and act like he wasn't getting to me, but I couldn't. I was clearly mad, and if he didn't have a flight Legacy, I would probably throw him overboard with my telekinesis.
Five glared at me for a moment before an evil smirk spread across his face. His one eye glinted as his shoulders relaxed, his left hand extended out towards me.
"It's not my job to convince you to like the Mogadorians or what they are trying to accomplish. It's simply my job to make sure you stay and soon be a good wife."
I frowned, taking a few steps away from him, only to find that I was backed against the railing. I couldn't go over it - I would fall to my death, but surely Five would fly fast enough to catch me. "You've got to be joking. I'm only thirteen!" For a moment, jumping over seemed more appealing than being married to that beast.
Five rolled his eye as his patience grew thin. "You act as if I wanted this to happen." His voice dropped to a low growl as he stepped closer. "I don't like you or your friends very much. You all abandoned me, but you're too stupid to see that our people abandoned us. They never trained us - never cared about us! I was stuck with some sick old man for years because the Loric people never gave a damn about us, Ella!"
His voice caught as he searched my face quickly. I noticed the redness growing in his cheeks as he took another step, gritting his teeth as he said quietly, "I don't want to marry you. I don't want to be near you. I wish I never even met you. But shit happens, and now Setrakus-Ra is demanding that we get married, or he's going to kill me."
"And why should I care about you? You didn't care about us when you killed Eight." I heard my voice waiver as I spoke, and I hated to admit to myself that it was out of fear. He hadn't hesitated to kill before, so why should he hesitate now? He could easily slaughter me and fly away before anyone knew I was gone.
But he didn't. Instead, he rolled his eye and turned around, stomping back down the look-over. "Come on. We have work to do."
"I'm not marrying you."
Five paused, but then he shrugged his shoulders and continued, calling back, "Your choice. He'll just force you and lock you away in a dungeon somewhere. If you do it willingly, he'll be more lenient."
I stood my ground. He couldn't be serious.
But I knew he was. Setrakus-Ra was insane, and he would always do whatever it takes to get his way. He wouldn't care if he had to lock his granddaughter away just so that he could weaken the Loric's power. He'd kill me if it meant that he got his way in the end.
In that moment, I knew that I couldn't die because I was too stubborn to conform. I had to stay alive so that I could escape and help my friends defeat these bastards. Once more, I was having to wait for the right time to act, and arguing with Five wasn't going to get me anywhere.
I pushed myself off of the railing quickly and hurried to catch up with Five. "Wait!"
He stopped with a sigh as I ran around to face him. "What?"
"I'll do it."
Five's jaw dropped ever so slightly as he frowned. "You're kidding."
"No, and I'm not doing it for you. What's our next step?"
Five paused as he steeled himself, glancing around to make sure no vatborns had not wandered close to us. "You know you could protest and fight back, right?"
"I know."
"And you're sure that you'll voluntarily go through with this?"
"Positive."
He straightened his chest armor as he lifted his chin. "Well, come on then. Let's go tell Setrakus-Ra."
....
The next day was as hectic as a battlefield.
As soon as we told my grandfather that we agreed to preform the marriage ceremony voluntarily, he immediately called in his servants and told them to get to work preparing for the wedding. From how he described it, Mogadorian weddings were far different than weddings I had seen on earth. The ceremony would be held before the entire army aboard the Anubis, and he would perform the ceremony himself. Food was being prepared quickly for a feast afterwards, but first we would have to recite vows together in formal wear.
I was given a red and golden embroidered dress to wear, while Five wore a red suit and a golden tie.
"Red represents the blood of our enemies," Setrakus-Ra had said earlier in the day. "It's the same color as the blood that will spill from the opposing Loric's hearts."
I was beginning to regret my decision as a few of the female Mogadorian servants began to dress me. One, who was a scrawny woman with thin hair, twisted my hair into intricate braids and placed Baby's Breath in my auburn hair. Another patted my cheeks with makeup while the other laced up my dress. I felt like a doll, being pulled everywhere all at once as women tried to make me beautiful. I wondered if Five was being dressed with the same urgency that I was, or if he was even given servants to wait on him hand-and-foot.
It was beginning to get dark outside as the time for the ceremony came close. Vatborns began to light candles that sat on the edge of each step, which led up to an archway that was laced with white roses. Under the arch, Setrakus-Ra waved at his faithful followers before smiling down at us cruelly. I stood at the bottom, my red train laid out behind me, with a bouquet of roses in my hands. Five stood next to me, his head freshly shaved as he stood at military attention at the foot of the steps.
Here I was, thirteen and about to marry a murderer. Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?
"You look nice," Five whispered as he adjusted his eye patch gently.
"You look cruel."
"Just the look I was going for," he said with a proud grin.
"It must be hard to go for a look when you only have one eye," I whispered back.
Before he could make a haughty retort, the vatborns began to stomp their feet in unison, the noise echoing all around the large chamber. Five offered his arm to me, which I regret accepting, and we ascended slowly up the black steps. Setrakus-Ra waiting patiently at the top, and once we arrived, he told us to join hands and face each other.
"Tonight, we gather here for a very symbolic unison. Both of these Loric have turned against their people and have joined our forces!"
I could have protested, but for some reason, I felt frozen in place as the crowd surged with excitement. He must have held me still with his Telekinesis, because at that moment I found that I couldn't break eye contact with Five. My breath became shallow as panic set in, and I noticed a tiny bead of sweat making its way down Five's forehead.
Neither of us wanted to go along with this.
"And now," the ruthless Mog continued, "they will embark on a new journey - one that will help us bring about another Great Expansion for the benefit of all our people!"
Once more, the crowd screamed with glee. I felt Five's fingers tighten around mine, but I couldn't move to pull away.
I want to go home...
"Now, Cody," he said, addressing my Loric counterpart, "do you take Ella to be your spouse, to have and to command, in sickness and in health, in war or in peace, until death shall you part?"
"I do," Five said firmly. Our eyes were still locked, and they didn't match his confident voice.
"Ella," the monster said to me, "do you take Cody to be your spouse, to have and to serve, in sickness and in health, in war and in peace, until death do you part?"
"I do."
The words rushed out of my mouth before I realized I said them. I do? Wait, no I don't. I don't want this anymore! I tried to correct myself and protest against the body-bind I was trapped in, but nothing worked. Setrakus-Ra was too strong at the moment as he fed off of the energy of the crowd. I felt tears stinging my eyes.
I want to go home...
"By the powers invested in me by myself, the Great Leader of the Mogadorian Race, I now pronounce you man and wife." He lifted his staff from behind him and placed it's head atop of our conjoined hands. "Now repeat after me: We, Cody and Ella, profess our marriage vows..."
"We, Cody and Ella, profess our marriage vows..."
"...as well as further pursue the Great Expansion of the Mogadorian Race under the guidance of Setrakus-Ra..."
"...as well as further pursue the Great Expansion of the Mogadorian Race under the guidance of Setrakus-Ra..."
"...and hereby conjoin our souls as one, with two bodies as one mind, for as long as we both shall live."
"...and hereby conjoin our souls as one, with two bodies as one mind, for as long as we both shall live."
The words tasted like acid as they flew from my tongue, but I couldn't stop them. Yes, I said the vows, but they were against my will. Setrakus-Ra was forcing them out of me.
"By the power invested in me, I seal these vows under the name of the Great Book until death."
Red light flowed from the head of his staff, wrapping our hands in a terrifying glow as my head felt like it was splitting open. I wanted to scream, but all I could do was gasp as tears flowed down my face. Even Five felt the extreme pain inside his mind. Our eyes stayed locked throughout the whole duration, and for a moment I swore that I could here his voice in my head.
But no, that's not possible...
Setrakus-Ra pulled back the staff, and suddenly the pain ended. The paralyzation ended as well as I almost collapsed, but Five gently caught me in his arms and lifted me to my feet. He quickly searched my face as the crowd around us screamed with pleasure.
"You okay?" He asked quietly.
I couldn't answer from the pure shock. Not because he was being considerate and actually worried about me. No, not because of the dirty trick that was just played on us. And no, not because I just got married.
I heard his question in my mind as clear as day.
The monsters around us roared with glee as Five took my hand and faced them, forcing a smile on his face as he lifted our conjoined hands into the air, even if I was the only person who noticed or knew how badly they were both trembling. Setrakus-Ra laid his hands on both of our shoulders and whispered, "I'm proud of both of you."
I want to go home...