What walks on eight legs until it’s one weeks old, four legs until it’s 16 years old, and then two legs for the remainder of its life?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Unlike what most people think, they weren’t conceived. They were created. Their existence started by the fusion of two compatible elements that formed to manifest a human being.

Supra was born first. Solar had found out in his researches that when two elements fused together, they can create a human being who will have the power of both of the parent elements. Solar wanted to test it, but it was risky since there’s a possibility for their powers to become depleted.

So, naturally, Hali volunteered. This elemental surely has some serious suicidal tendencies.

Gempa was hesitant to let them continue on with the experiment, but he can’t say no to Solar’s pleading face. So he let them be, under his watchful eye.

To his relief, the two were able to get a successful result, and a fusion was born.

Supra started out as a plasma energy, a circling ball of red and gold (is this Gryffindor?). After 24 hours, the ball of energy started to form body parts, which, after a week, will flesh out to human skin as a small baby.

Their growth isn’t normal either. Supra aged from one to sixteen in a month. His age matched the age of his parents when he was created, and from what Solar can deduce, Supra will age at the same pace as his parents.

But that doesn’t mean that Solar and Hali are a couple though. They just did what they think was the best way to protect the others. And they both understood that.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gempa watched as Supra grew and trained with his parents on his powers. He marvelled at how powerful a fusion child can be, and wished to have one of his own. He longed for a child that he can actually call his own, someone that he will protect with all his life.

“You thinking about Supra?”

Gempa blinked and found himself looking at the icy blue eyes of his chi- I mean teammate.

“Ice?”

The ice elemental’s face twitched to form a small smile. “Hey Gem.”

“How did you know I was thinking about Supra?” Gempa asked in curiosity.

Ice adopted a deadpan look on his face. “You were looking so intensely at the legend trio. I don’t know if you want to kill Supra or you want to have him as your own.”

“I…” Gempa faltered, looking towards the direction where Supra was training in swordfighting with both of his parents. “I guess I was jealous. I’ve longed for a child that I can actually call my own.”

Ice studied the earth elemental in front of him. “Then why don’t you follow their lead? Make a fusion of your own with someone here?”

“I don’t know who to go to,” Gempa said softly. “I grew up reaching out to protect others. I am not used to seeking something for myself.”

Oh Gempa, Ice thought as he stared, mesmerized into the earth elemental’s golden yellow eyes. “You could always ask me,” he said softly.

Gempa looked at the icy blue orbs and found himself lost in the depth of the eyes of the ice elemental. “Ice, I would, but only if you want to.”

Anything to pay you back, Gempa. “Of course, I want to,” Ice replied.

“But Blaze…”

Ice sighed through his nose. “I already talked with him about this. He also wanted a fusion of his own with me, but he’s afraid that our elements would cancel each other and fail. He told me that all he wanted was for me to be happy, so if I decide to make a fusion with someone else, it’s be okay for him.”

Gempa was still hesitant, but when Ice pooled (pun unintended) his power through his hand, he cautiously reached out his hand and did the same.

A month later, Glacier was formed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ice noticed Blaze becoming more subdued as time went by. He knew about the fire elemental’s desire to make a fusion child, but was afraid to do so because of the explosive nature of his element. Ice’s element is the only one that can balance it out, however, they were both afraid of complications due to the opposing nature of fire and ice.

“Hey Blazy,” Ice said softly to the fire elemental who was currently playing with a small fireball in his room.

“Hmm? Hey Ice,” Blaze muttered as he banished the ball of fire in his hands.

Silence enveloped the two of them. Ice watched the fire elemental as his gaze turned to the two fusions who were having fun with the others.

“We were supposed to be like that, you know?” Blaze said quietly, fiddling with the zip of his vest. “It’s not like I’m calling you out on making a fusion with Gem. I did tell you that I’m okay with it. It’s just…”

“You’re jealous,” Ice concluded to which his twin nodded.

The ice elemental inhaled deeply. He had consulted Solar’s help in this, and he was quite confident that it will work.

“Blaze, I think we should try making a fusion,” Ice said softly.

Blaze’s head snapped to his direction, his fiery orange eyes wide. He shook his head vehemently. “Ice, no. I-I can’t… I d-don’t want you to risk yourself.”

“Blaze,” Ice continued on softly. “You have sacrificed a lot for me. Let me sacrifice something for you in return.”

Blaze reached out a tentative hand. “Are you sure about this?” he whispered as he let his power flow through his fingertips.

“I am 100% sure.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The attempt of Blaze and Ice in making a fusion didn’t go as smoothly as everyone would have liked.

That was actually an understatement.
Ice and Blaze almost died, if it weren’t for Glacier stabilizing the connection. He used the ice part of his power to freeze the ball of power before it drained the two first generation elementals. He kept it frozen and only thawed the frost when the ball of power started to form a human body.

Now before you ask, no. Gempa or the others couldn’t form an elemental shield around the ball because their power weren’t related to Blaze’s and Ice’s in any way. Hali’s was close, but it wasn’t enough. So the opposing twins were entirely grateful to Glacier when he did that. But they were both regretting the fact that Glacier got his motherly instincts from Gempa. Glacier spent five hours screeching at the two while Gempa sat in the corner, holding his laughter.

But it was all worth it as Frostfire came into existence.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Due to what happened, Glacier became protective of Frostfire. Much more protective than Tanah when Hali was kidnapped by Adudu. Glacier had taken to watch over Frostfire when he was training with the twins until Gempa had to drag him away while stifling his laughter.

It was funny that Glacier doesn’t trust even his own father.

But his protectiveness does really have some merit, since a few days later, the aliens got hold of the information of the existence of the fusions and were all out for their blood.

Because of this, the fusions weren’t allowed to go out of the house, and their training had intensified.

Supra and Glacier understood the seriousness of the situation and committed themselves to training.

But Frostfire didn’t.

While Supra and Glacier got the best of their parents, Frostfire got the worst. In return, Supra’s and Glacier’s powers were diluted since their parents’ powers completely merged with each other.

Frostfire’s was different. His powers, ice and fire, were constantly trying to dominate each other. They were both at the surface, quite touching each other, but refusing to merge.

Frostfire was powerful because of that. And that made him the most sought out of the three. But that also meant that he was confined in the house a lot more than the others.

He hated it. Frostfire was a son of two opposing elements, one of which is a screaming ball of stress. And this screaming ball of stress does not wish to be confined in a single place for so long. It wasn’t just in fire’s nature. However, while Blaze had learned to contain his nature, Frostfire hadn’t. And that’s what pushed him to the edge.

Frostfire snuck out of the house one night and breathed in his first air of freedom. He felt giddy, something that he hadn’t felt for a long time. All of his stress seemed to disappear as he skipped around the neighborhood.

Frostfire would like to say that sneaking out was nothing to him. He was, after all, a child of a prankster. But you can try sneaking out when Glacier clings to you like a panda even during the night. And Glacier is an incredibly tight hugger, something that he inherited from his mother.

But if he had known what would happen, he wouldn’t have done it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Glacier woke up hugging a pillow. It was odd, since in the past few days, he had been cuddling with Frostfire.

Frostfire. Somehow, while he was sleeping, Frostfire had managed to squirm out of his grasp and leave.

Glacier panicked and dashed out of the room. He looked for his half-brother everywhere in the house. He combed through the living room, the kitchen (including the refrigerator where Ice had found Frostfire sleeping once. Go figure), and every single one of the bedrooms.

The others had woken up during his search and some were not pleased to be woken up on such an ungodly hour.

“W-what are you d-doing, Glacier?” Gempa asked in between yawns. “Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping with Frostfire?"

“Frostfire’s gone!” Glacier said hysterically, on the verge of tears.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN FROSTFIRE’S GONE?!” Blaze shouted. “YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HIM!”

“I-I’m sorry, Uncle B-blaze,” Glacier sniffled, looking down on the floor.

Gempa had to be restrained by Hali from attacking Blaze for making his son cry. Poor Blaze. Abby will prepare your funeral.

“It is likely that Frostfire had snuck out of the house,” Ice said calmly, rubbing both of Blaze’s shoulders to calm him down. “He could be anywhere in the neighbourhood. How do we find him?”

“I have an idea,” Solar said. “I’ve installed a tracking device in each of our watches for this specific purpose. I can track anyone’s location using my computer upstairs.”

“That’ll be nice, Solar,” Gempa said. “How long would you think it will take to track his location?”

“If he’s nearby, I’ll probably be able to do so in a few seconds. But if he isn’t…”

“Then we would probably need to upgrade our home-based systems,” Supra muttered, knowing how long it would take.

Hali lightly smacked the two of them upside the head. “Track now, upgrade later. We need to get to Frostfire as fast as we can.”

Supra and Solar ignored the others’ snickers as they saluted, dashing up to their room. The lightning elemental shook his head in exasperation.

“I probably need to go up there to make sure that they actually do something to track Frostfire and not get sidetracked,” Hali muttered, making his way to Solar’s room.

Based on the two muffled smacks that came from their room, Hali guessed right.

Blaze looked at Glacier, who was sobbing on Gempa’s shoulder. He shrugged off Ice’s hands on his shoulders and made his way to the two of them.

“I’m sorry, Glacier. I didn’t mean to shout,” Blaze said softly, ignoring Gempa’s glares. “I was just worried about Frostfire and my emotions got the best of me.”

“I understand, Uncle Blaze,” Glacier whispered, letting go of his mother. “I’m worried about Frostfire too.”

Blaze stepped up and wrapped his arms around Glacier warmly. “We’ll find him, Glacey. We’ll find Frostfire.”

Ice put a hand on Gempa’s shoulder and they both smiled at the scene.

“Aren’t you worried about your son?” Gempa asked the ice elemental.

“I am,” Ice said softly. “But I didn’t want to worry Blaze more. He was more than hysterical enough for the two of us.”

Gempa tried to hold in his laughter, but based on Ice’s amused look, he failed.

The legend trio came down the stairs at that time. Solar’s and Supra’s hair were noticeably singed, with Solar’s being the worst as Supra has a slight immunity to lightning. But apparently not enough for his father’s wrath.

“We found him,” Solar’s smile was crazed as he held up a data tablet in his hands. “He’s not too far away from here. We’ll be able to get there in less than five minutes.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They had found Frostfire bound to a wall in an abandoned ship, or at least, it looked abandoned to them. Upon seeing his half-brother, Glacier had hurried to his side.

“Glacey, wait!” Ice shouted for his son to stop, but it was too late. In his rush, Glacier had triggered a trap that would’ve killed the two of them in an instant. It’s a good thing that Glacier’s sixth sense for danger as sharpened considerably during their intense training with their parents. Without faltering in his step, he blocked the incoming attack with an ice wall. Supra just stood there and gaped at his cousin anime style.

After checking for more traps, they had followed Glacier’s lead and went towards Frostfire. Gempa hugged his son tightly when he had reached him. Mind you, Glacier would very much like to die an honourable death rather than by his mother’s hugs.

“Never ever do that again,” Gempa hissed furiously at his son’s ear.

“But isn’t it in our nature to protect?” Glacier retorted fiercely but still hugged his mother back just as tight.

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Gempa muttered, finally letting go of his son. He either didn’t see Glacier try to catch his breath or if he did, he ignored it.

Meanwhile, Hali and Blaze were trying to destroy the chains without hurting Frostfire. But despite their best efforts, there was not a single dent in the chains.

“The chains were indestructible,” Hali said, panting. “We must find another way to remove it.”

“There’s a keypad here,” Solar said over to the other side. “We probably need to type a code to unlock those chains.”

“Is there a clue in there? Fingerprints or something?” Supra asked, making his way to his dad.

The light elemental shook his head. “The only way to get through it is to hack the system. But it will take time.”

“We’ll cover you,” Taufan said. “Duri and I can scout around the parameter to see if there’s something odd in this place. We’ll meet you back here.”

“Be careful,” Gempa said as the two saluted and went away.

Despite being a night owl, Solar wasn’t in his right mind. He had only fallen asleep an hour before and his head is aching so bad. He made a lot of sloppy mistakes in the decoding, and he was grateful that Supra was there to catch him before he could trigger some more traps. It was a good thing that Supra didn’t inherit his father’s knack of sleeping late.

Nevertheless, Hali would be dragging Solar to bed early from that moment on.

Solar smiled gratefully at his son as they managed to hack the system and free Frostfire from his bindings. Glacier rushed to steady Frostfire, who appeared dazed and confused.

“Glay, wha?” Frostfire muttered. “Wha am I?”

Before Glacier could reply, Taufan and Duri came rushing back. “We have to get out of here. There are a lot of aliens around and they’re surrounding us.”

Just then, weapons started flying towards their direction.

“GO! I’LL COVER YOU,” Gempa shouted at everyone who dashed away from the scene as the earth elemental kept putting up layered barriers to help them escape.

However, he was outsumbered by the enemy and his barriers were collapsing at an alarming rate. Just as his last barrier was about to collapse, an ice barrier reinforced it. Gempa went to look beside him to see his son’s blue-green eyes staring back at him.

“Glacier,” Gempa said, breathing heavily. “Why didn’t you come with them?”

“And leave you behind here alone to sacrifice yourself? No, mother. I won’t let you,” Glacier said fiercely.

“I am your mother. It is my job to protect you,” Gempa retorted as they reinforced the barrier.

“But who would protect you, mother?” Glacier whispered, tears building in his eyes.

Gempa looked taken aback. “Glacier, I-“

“NO, MOTHER. ALL YOUR LIFE YOU’VE BEEN PROTECTING OTHERS. BUT WHY DON’T YOU LET SOMEONE PROTECT YOU INSTEAD?” Glacier screamed at Gempa as he broke down. “Please, mother. Let me protect you.”

Glacier stared at his son. Glacier, his very own child, is offering to protect him when no one else had done so in the past. Gempa felt something building up at the back of his eyes and he swallowed the lump at his throat.

“G-Glacier,” the earth elemental whispered as he looked back to see that the enemy was still relentless in trying to break down their barrier. “I’ll have your back. I trust that you’ll have mine?”

Glacier gave him a small grim smile as he reinforced the barrier with renewed energy. Gempa followed his son’s lead. Together, they protected the others.
And together, they fall.

The others noticed it when weapons started flying towards them with renewed force. Blaze looked back to where they came from, imagining Gempa’s and Glacier’s bodies lying there, waiting to be played around by aliens. The thought made him sick to the stomach and he made a decision.

“I’m going back there,” he announced, and before anyone could say anything, he rushed back into the fray.

Blaze covered himself in white-hot fire, melting weapons within inches of his skin. He rushed back to where two bodies lay innocently on the floor, with shards of ice and earth littered around them.

The fire elemental’s hand ghosted over their bodies, as if afraid to destroy such naturally beautiful structures. These were the bodies of the two people who sacrificed themselves to protect them. The two people who risked their lives for Frostfire, for his son. He felt that it wasn’t right to just leave their bodies here. They deserve something more.

He grabbed on to their clothes, careful to not let his fire touch Gempa and Glacier, and dragged them towards the direction where he last left his family.

But Blaze hadn’t counted on the energy spent on maintaining the white fire. He had collapsed halfway through, his form reverting to his first tier. But before his body hit the ground, a spear pierced through his throat.

“DAD/BLAZE!” Frostfire and Ice screamed respectively. They both ran to where Fire’s body lay, blood pouring out of the wound as he gasped for breath. Cyclone made a dome around them, directing most of the weapons away from them with Solar taking care of the rest.

“D-dad…” Frostfire whispered, tears building in his eyes. He shouldn’t have snuck out. If he didn’t, his dad would still be alive. His uncle Gem would still be alive. Glacier would still be alive.

Glacier. He had saved Frostfire a lot of times. Glacier was the reason why he even existed in the first place. Glacier had protected him from Supra trying to steal his cookie, to his parents overworking him. Glacier was always there for him.

And now, he’s gone. And it’s all because of him.

Frostfire let out a loud sob as he sank into his knees. “I’m sorry, d-dad… uncle G-gem… G-glacier… It’s all my f-fault.”

Ice hugged his son tightly as tears silently went down his cheeks. “Hush now, Frosty. It’ll be alright.”

“GET THEM OUT OF HERE,” Solar shouted as he blasted away a stray javelin. “I’LL COVER YOU!”

“You ain’t going anywhere alone,” Hali growled, readying his cleaver. “Not on your condition.”

“Exactly, I will just slow you all down!” Solar shouted back.

“You are still family! And family sticks together through thick or thin!” Hali screamed at him. “Gempa’s gone, Solar! We can’t lose you too!”

Solar gritted his teeth and jerked is head forward before rushing out of the veil. Hali followed suit, and both of them blasted away the weapons that dared to come their way.

Supra went to follow them but a hand wrapped around his arm, stopping him. He went to look behind him and saw his uncle Taufan’s cerulean blue eyes looking at him pleadingly.

“Don’t, please,” the wind elemental whispered. “We need you.”

Supra turned towards the direction that his parents have gone and went to look back at his uncle. His shoulders sagged in defeat. “O-okay.”

“Can you teleport us out of here?” Taufan asked him, to which he shook his head.

“Dad and I already tried, but there’s something in the ship that disables any form of speed travel. We need to get out of the ship before we can do anything,” Supra said.

“Well, then. We need to go. We’ll just shout at Hali and Solar when we’re outside the boundaries so we can all go home together,” Taufan said, putting a hand on Supra’s shoulder.

“Come on, Frosty. We need to go,” Ice told his son who was oddly frowning in concentration, his tears long gone.

“Frostfire?” Ice asked. But his son paid him no attention as he covered his hands with fire and put it against his father’s throat, carefully removing the spear in the process.

Fire’s body convulsed in agony as he opened his mouth on a silent scream. Frostfire flinched but did not remove his hand until the wound was completely burned shut.

“What did you do?” Ice asked faintly.

“Dad talked to me,” Frostfire muttered dazedly. “He was in my head. He asked me to burn the wound in his throat.”
Frostfire shook his head furiously. “I didn’t mean to hurt him. I only wanted him to live. I didn’t know how much the fire will hurt him. I-”

Ice cut off his son’s hysterical rambling with a tight hug. “Thank you, Frostfire. You saved him.”

The ice elemental pulled Frostfire up to his feet. Duri reverted to his first tier and gently wrapped some vines around the three bodies. Daun led them out, using the quickest and safest route that he and Taufan saw when they were scouting.

Frostfire hastily explained his telepathic conversation with his dad while they were walking.

“So let me get this straight,” Supra said. “Uncle Blaze talked to you telepathically, and when Uncle Ice tried it, Uncle Blaze wasn’t able to hear him?”

Frostfire nodded. “But when mom tried to talk to me, it worked.”

“So it only happens on the fusions to their parents and vice versa, but the parent elementals weren’t able to communicate with each other,” Supra muttered. “Interesting."

“No time to think about it, Supra! We’re nearly there!” Daun shouted, sprinting as fast as he can as he gently floated the three bodies behind him.

Mom, Dad, we’re near the entrance! Supra shouted in his head while reaching for the mental connection he had with his parents.

Supra? Is that you? Hali’s sharp yet melodic voice rang in his head.

Yes mom. Before you ask anything, there’s no time to explain. We need to go now! Supra said urgently.

We’re on our way.

“They’re on their way,” Supra said breathlessly. “Mom just told me.”

Just as Supra said that, Hali went running towards them, carrying the limp body of Solar in his arms. The light elemental was bleeding at his side where a javelin was pierced halfway through.

There was no time to react as an arrow went flying from the entrance and made its way to the back of Hali’s neck.

“MOM! DAD!” Supra screamed, teleporting to his parents’ side.

“WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!” Taufan screamed at him. “GET HALI AND SOLAR’S BODIES AND TELEPORT US HOME! YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE HERE WHO CAN DO IT!”

Supra swallowed back his tears and dragged his parents’ bodies towards the others. Daun wrapped two separate vines at the new bodies and Supra teleported them all home.

Upon arriving at their house, Daun went straight to work. He brought all of the bodies in their makeshift hospital as the others waited in the living room. Taufan went to follow him in case he needed an extra hand.

Ice went to comfort his hysterically crying son who was blaming himself for everything. Supra, meanwhile, had sank to his knees and stared blankly at the wall.

One hour. One night. One incident. And everything changed. His mom, his dad, his cousin, and his Uncle Gem were all dead. And his Uncle Blaze has a large possibility of dying as well.

Supra brought his knees to his chest. He didn’t blame Frostfire for sneaking out. Nor did he blame Glacier for failing to watch over him. No, he only blamed himself.

He was supposed to be the protector, and his parents told him as such.

Last night, before they all went to bed (or at least, before everyone else except Solar), Solar and Hali had confided to him the real reason why he existed in the first place. He was a child meant to wield two different elements and fuse them together, creating a more powerful element.

Solar had admitted to him that at first, they both thought of him as a tool, a weapon they can use to save everyone. But as time passed by, they had both grown to love him as their son, despite the two of them not having any romantic interest towards each other. That’s just incest. Or selfcest, considering that they all came from a single body once. Whichever works.

Supra was hurt, of course. He had loved Solar and Hali as his parents ever since he was created. But for them to admit that they had thought of him as a tool for a short time, well, what do you think he would feel? Giddy? Like, oh yes! I’m a weapon, baby! Seriously, who in their right mind would think that?

Supra fiddled with the visor that his dad had given him a few weeks ago. It will make you look so much like me, he had said. Hali had heard the conversation and he started a fight about who Supra looks a lot more like, again. His parents have serious ego issues, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He was, after all, a part of them.

But now, they’re dead. Not the type where they were sulking in their respective rooms for days and talking to no one. No, they’re really dead, and there was no hope of reviving them.

Supra looked over his cousin, who was still hysterical over everything. He made his way towards Frostfire and gently took him from his father. Ice smiled at him gratefully and went towards the makeshift hospital, trusting Supra to do his magic.

Supra gently rocked Frostfire back and forth, the former running a back on the latter’s back as he tried to calm him down.

“I’m sorry,” Frostfire kept repeating under his breath as he struggled to breathe.

“Hush, cousin. It’s not your fault,” Supra whispered to his ear.

“H-how c-can you s-s-say t-that?” Frostfire gasped out. “I-I-I k-killed them. I k-killed your p-parents. I-I-If I j-just l-listened, t-they would s-still be alive.”

Supra wanted to snap at Frostfire. He was right, he shouldn’t have snuck out when the aliens are out for their blood. But held his tongue, not wanting to worsen the situation. Frostfire already learned his lesson. He just wished it wasn’t so brutal.

“Frostfire,” Supra said softly instead. “What’s done is done. Let’s just hope for the better, okay? I forgive you.”

This statement only reduced the fire fusion into more tears and Supra sighed. He wasn’t any good in comforting people, the job was more into Glacier and his Uncle Gem.

But someone have to take their places, just as someone had to take place of being an intellectual and a frontman. Supra didn’t know if he’s up to the challenge.

Daun came out of the makeshift hospital, with Taufan and Ice right behind him. The nature elemental look stressed, and it showed on the way he walked stiffly. His forest green eyes landed on the two fusions and his face softened.

Daun got Frostfire from Supra’s grip and was saying some soothing words to calm him down.

Supra’s eyes met his, and the fusion seemed to ask one question. How are they?

Daun smiled sadly, briefly changing into Duri. “Blaze will make a full recovery, however, his vocal cords are completely destroyed and he won’t be able to speak again.”

“And my parents?” Supra asked in a small voice. “Uncle Gem? Glacier?”

“Gempa and Glacier had spears piercing through their hearts and my guess is that they were dead before Blaze could even get to them. Hali…” Duri swallowed.
“The arrow severed a nerve at the nape of his neck, cutting off the connection between his brain and his body,” Duri said softly. “If it helps, he died a quick and painless death.”

“How about my dad? Is he okay?” Supra croaked out.

The nature elemental sighed. “I was able to remove the javelin and treat the cut. He’s still alive. However…” Duri’s eyes were pained. “He might not be able to make it. The javelin pierced through one of his vital organs and he had lost a lot of blood. He had only a few hours left to live at most.”

Supra let out a choked sob. His mom was really dead, and there’s a chance that his father won’t survive.

By that time, Frostfire had already fallen asleep against Duri’s shoulder, though his breath were still coming out in gasps.

“If you want to see them, they’re inside,” Duri said softly and he carried Frostfire inside the makeshift hospital to let him rest.

Supra hesitated, glancing anxiously at the door. Ice put a hand on his shoulder.
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Ice said. “You can visit them tomorrow, after you’ve taken a rest.”

“But what if dad’s dead by that time?” Supra whispered, shaking his head. “I have to go to him. I don’t… I don’t want him to die knowing that I didn’t even visit him.”

Ice didn’t say anything, and instead led Supra inside.

The makeshift hospital had ten beds lined in pairs across each other. Six of the beds were occupied. The bodies of Gem, Glacier, and Hali were at the beds nearest to the corner. Blaze’s was nearest to the door, as well as Solar’s. Duri was putting Frostfire beside his father’s.

Supra passed by his father’s bed and to where Hali’s body was located. Hali looked peaceful, something that looked odd on his face. He was used to the frowning face of his mother, especially at the face of Solar or Taufan.

Supra’s fingers brushed against Hali’s body, internally flinching when he felt only numb coldness. He searched for the connection he had with his mother but found nothing.

Hali was really dead.

Blinking back the tears from his eyes, he went to kiss his mother’s forehead, his lips lingering for a few minutes.

Supra stepped back from his mother’s bed with one last look before he went to sit beside Solar.

“Hey dad,” Supra whispered. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but it’s me, Supra.”

“I hope you’re proud of me, dad. Even though I failed to save you. All of you. But I promise I’ll protect everyone else. I won’t let you down.”

“Goodbye, dad,” Supra whispered, stepping back. “Say hi to mom for me.”

“You should take a rest, Supra,” Duri said softly from behind him. “I’ll take care of the rest.”

Ice guided Supra by the shoulder to his room. But despite being exhausted, Supra took a long time to sleep. And just right before he did, he heard the flatline sound of his father dying in his bed.

Solar was dead.

And Frostfire will wake up knowing it’s all his fault.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

What walks on eight legs until it’s one month old, four legs until it’s 16 years old, and then two legs for the remainder of its life?

It’s Glacier and Frostfire.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some of the notes I’ve made while I was writing this oneshot (yes, this is still a oneshot).

“…will you help me create a new life?” (that was oddly poetic, Gem)

“…will you make a fusion child with me?” (hoookay, that sounded weird)

“…will you help me?” (too vague)

“…only if you want to.” (perfect?)

“You are not a tool, Glacier,” Gempa said softly. “Neither of you are. You’re our children, period, no erase.”

“So let me get this straight,” Supra said, even though he knew that no one’s straight in their family.

“I have an idea,” Solar said. “I’ve installed a tracking device in each of our watches for this specific purpose. I can track anyone’s location using my computer upstairs.” He ignored the betrayed look that Supra was giving him.

And yes, I know how it feels like to sleep for only an hour. My head ached and I was dizzy the whole day.

This is what happened after the ending:

Frostfire will live by the guilt till the day he dies. And he never disobeyed orders again. He also became more subdued.

Blaze became mute. Since nobody in the family knows sign language, Blaze usually speaks through Frostfire, or writes what he wants to say.

The troublemaker trio stopped being immature. Duri became the unofficial healer of the group, and taking over Supra and Frostfire whenever the others were busy. Blaze took on the role of Gempa, conveying his love and appreciation through actions. Taufan took on the role of being the responsible older brother, helping everyone should they need anything.

Ice became their anchor, the one who keeps everyone sane. Especially Supra, who had taken to bury himself in studying.

They were never the same again.

This story is brought to you by the one and only Queen of Angst, Glace.

“They don’t call you the Queen of Angst for nothing- you’ve been through many tearful events, but you still made it up until now.”

“We stan a powerful queen. Thank you, Your Majesty.”

~Kaz

I will not let go of this title till the end of my writing career, Kaz. Thank you for everything.

Okay so why do I feel like there are onion ninjas everywhere?

Final word count: 5826 words