The Sound of Silence

Art by Mai: https://x.com/maiksovich/status/1794571108257292581

    Silence. It used to soothe me. Most of my earliest memories are filled with the rhythmic beeping of monitors and machines. After that, there was a blissful period of silence when the professor had finished his creation, and the only sounds that I couldn't escape were my own heartbeat and breath. Silence had been such a comfort to me then. I'd never really had friends growing up. Before I'd even begun to write, my malfunction had already presented itself. I was the weird kid who fell over all the time and screamed in pain when I tried to join in their games. It didn't take long for everyone on the playground to warn each other not to go near me.

    "He's a freak."

    "He pretends to be hurt and cries."

    "His mommy always shouts at us when he starts crying over nothing."
    … that one can't be true. I can't even trust my own memories anymore. Not the point anyway. Or is it? …

    Silence. It doesn't bring me any comfort anymore. Not since the day they dubbed "the slaughter in the slums." Perhaps even earlier. The day I became an orphan in everything but legal definition? Still not the point. Fuck silence. It always leads the mind to wander... or is it wonder? Whatever it is, it isn't useful for a legatus. Legatio make life simple. You wake up, you see what your mission is for the day, and you complete it. There is no time for wondering about anything else, and wandering aimlessly doesn't help find a lead like tracking does. No reason to waste energy on anything but the goal. Life is simple that way. They say that idle hands are the devil's playthings, but an idle mind leads to much worse. I've played the recording back more than a dozen times now and still don't understand why I can't put it out of my mind.

    Silence. That's what had fallen over the Noctyx house. After all, what noise is there to hear when the song has come to an end? When the music has faded and the joy it once brought becomes a conscious reminder of the loss of what once was, the dull drone of a needle on a record that goes on and on and on.

    There were still sounds of course. People coming and going. Hollow words that betrayed the absence of feeling. The ticking of clocks as time marched on. There were motions that had to be gone through. A dance that had to be performed, now without music. Was that why the fight started? Had they finally gotten as tired of the dance as I've always been? No. The fight started when I instigated it. Same as always. I play the video one more time, ignoring that same warning that always appears in my vision. The sound of pouring rain and thunder flood my ears, drowning out the silence.

    I had just come in from the garden and was trying to make my way to the kitchen when The Phantom Thief pounced on me. -No, it was The Psychic first. He was heading out somewhere as I was heading in.
"Were you watering the plants, Fuufuuchan?" He asked with a knowing smile.

    "Same as every other morning." I replied, shutting the door behind him with an echoing thud. Then The Phantom Thief had come bouncing down the stairs, full of that same energy that always seemed to drain mine.

    "How's it going, rust bucket? You bring me something nice?" My fists balled tight, the object inside making a short squeak and he began to laugh. "You really need some oil- wait, you do have something! What is it?" I continued to ignore him, simply making for the kitchen. It wasn't enough for him though and he continued to paw at me, pouncing from side to side as he went for the object crushed in my fist. "Come on, you gotta show me what it is! I promise I won't steal it like I did your heart!"

    I stopped moving, glaring as he shrank down instantly.

    "Aruban," The Officer called out from a seat at the table. "Leave him alone; he's in grumpy mode again."

    "Awwww, but that's when he's best to tease! Come on old man, show me what you got!"

    "Out of my way. Or I'll take that tail and beat you with it." My reply had no anger in it. It came across as a simple statement of fact.

    "Ohhhh, he really is in grumpy mode! He's even doing the voice thing!" The Thief teased.

    "Alban," The Officer lowered his phone to watch the scene, a single name warning The Thief to stop.

    Never one to shy away from danger, The Thief squatted down, looking even more feline than usual with his hands on the ground as he made a show of sniffing loudly.

    "I dunno, Sani, something smells fishy here, literally!" I pulled back my arm defensively, trying to sidestep The Thief but he grabbed at it again.

    "Would you fuck off!?" My voice was loud enough that it echoed through the whole building. Why was I so aggressive? I mean... that particular morning.

    "Whatever, you're no fun anyway." The Thief released my sleeve and started to walk away, a worn-out look on his face. It should have ended there, but I just had to get the last word.

    "Well maybe if you were more fun and less annoying, people would actually want to stick around with you."

    "Fulgur, leave it alone!" The Officer had returned to his phone already but still tried to mediate. From the angle of the camera, I could see The Thief's expression clearly. Shock, then rage. At the time I'd only seen the usual confident smirk he wore religiously, which he'd put back on as he turned.

    "'Cuz you've always been so much fun to be around? Didn't people get sick of this mean act before you debuted?"

    "Not sick enough to run away without even a goodbye."

    "That is... genuinely fucked up dude. What is wrong with you?" The Thief dropped all pretence of playfulness and tried to leave once more, but again, I wouldn't let it go.

    My voice was stable but my fist had begun shaking at the force I was closing it with as I once again berated, "Sure, run away kiddo. Seems to be a lot of that going around."

    "Legatus!" I hadn't even noticed The Officer shouting as he stood up from the table.

    "He was called back to his time you dick," The Thief snapped. "At least one of us has someone who gives a shit about them from back home!"

    "Oh good, so the androids have him by now? That's much better! You think he made it 5 minutes back there with how much of a crybaby he-"

    The Officer's boot slammed into my side, hurtling me into the wall. I watched through the recording as my expression went from blank to grinning. That might have been the first time I smiled in weeks. The Thief on the other hand had stumbled backwards, watching from the doorway, his face a mask of pure terror.

    "Would you just shut the fuck up dude? He left you alone twice. Twice! Is that the problem? Big bad man has abandonment issues?"

    "Me with the abandonment issues? Weren't you betrayed by your own men? Must suck that the same thing happened again?" I grinned mockingly at The Officer but he simply stared back.

    "It's not gonna work on me. You may think you're the strongest man in the world because of all you've been through, but guess what? You have no idea what any of us have been through. Shit from our past still haunts us to this day, but that doesn't mean we let it define us. THAT'S fucking weak."

    "You think I'M weak?" In the video I stride over to The Officer. It's like I'm watching a horror movie with myself as the villain. My hands grip either side of his jacket and casually lift just enough that the tips of his boots are dangling off the ground. He pulled at my wrists and struggled to kick at me, soundlessly. His knees didn't reach flesh, only colliding uselessly against unmoving metal.

    A flash of lightning and a roar of thunder shook the very foundations of the house. I dropped The Officer, stumbling back to the wall he'd kicked me into with a cut-off scream.

    "Fulgur -you good man? Is it your back?" The Officer's tone had completely changed as he rushed forward to steady me. I pushed him away, making for the doorway which The Thief scrambled away from. Before I could retreat any further, The Psychic took The Thief's spot and glared at me, one eye radiating an odd energy that made the recording flicker and glitch.

    "Get the fuck out of my way!" I roared as I tore closer to him.

    "Apologize to Albie and Sonny first," he commanded, his voice less soft and airy than I'd ever heard it. At the time I hadn't noticed the change.

    "I could just make you move!"

    "...try it." I came to a stop, close enough to strangle The Psychic and stared him down, breaths shallow and my expression a mixture of pain and rage.

    "Uki, it's fine; just let him lay down," The Officer said from behind.

    "He's not in any physical pain. He needs to apologize first," The Psychic said. In the doorway, The Thief's face appeared, worry clouding his features, and The Officer lowered his stance, ready to intervene had I done something stupid.

    Another flash of lightning dyed the room in bright white but the thunder this time didn't hit for a full second. By then my face had softened to only slightly pissed off. "I'm sorry," I said once the thunder had finished its roar. Everyone in the room visibly calmed and The Psychic stood aside to let me through.

    "They're fine you know." The Psychic's voice was raised slightly but back to gentle. I paused at the top of the stairs without daring to ask anything else. "I can still feel them a little. I see glimpses here and there. They're winning. Their little cat thing is even the symbol of the resistance now."

    "Byte..." both The Thief and The Officer were shocked that I was the one to reply, but The Psychic just returned to his knowing smile. "It's a smart pun! Cats bite. They're vicious," I snapped, responding to a question no one had asked. The silence hung in the air for a moment before another roar of thunder blissfully shattered it.

    "We should have that takoyaki party!" The Thief exclaimed, almost jumping for joy as he ran to get the pan.

    "Do you even know how to make them?" The Officer asked.

    "How hard could it be?" The Thief replied. I'd taken one more step when The Psychic called up to me.

    "You can bring the drinks, right, Fuufuuchan?"

    I froze solid at my door for a moment before responding, "sure..." and entering my room. The final part of the recording showed The Psychic enter the kitchen, bend down and pick up the crushed can I'd tried to hide from The Thief before looking directly at what I thought was a hidden camera and smiling once more in the same way.

    Once the recording is over my IIs return to staring at the ceiling. The blinking warning in the corner of my vision snaps me back to reality and I quickly return to power-saving mode.

    I still can't get it out of my mind. When the flash of lightning occurred, I was sure The Officer had changed. It was still him, but he was covered in red and amber liquid, looking down at me from an even higher angle. His eye had faded from the normal bright blue to a dull, lifeless grey. The other-

    Knock knock

    A knock comes from my door and a calm voice calls out into the room, "Fuufuuchan, the pizzas here. Are you ready to come down and eat?" Finally, the silence had come to an end. Wait-

    "What happened to the takoyaki?" I ask, making my way to the door and throwing it open. I immediately sense the answer when the smell of smoke assaults my nostrils.

    "It's harder to make than Albie thought." A slow, breathy laugh comes from The Psychic before he turns to head down stairs. "We might not be able to use the oven for a few days," he teases.

    "We'll get through this," I respond, the first time my voice has turned soft in a while.

    "We always do~" I pause for a moment at that comment but The Psychic disappears down the stairs before I can comment on it.

    "Wait... did he put the takoyaki pan INSIDE the oven!?"