The Last Day

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵...

A buzzer sounded, it was the end of the seventh hour.

Ky and Xiao stood with their weapons in hand, breathing heavily with the same solemn look in their eyes. There would be only one hour left and after that, the next time they see each other would be the final test that would decide their fate.

One of them was going to die, they both knew that much.

However, they couldn't stop thinking about how they would die.

Would Waller detonate the bomb in their head?

Or would Waller make the other kill the one they grew to care for with their own bare hands?

Once again, grin and all, Waller waltzed into the room with his guards and handed both Xiao and Ky their mystery drinks. Neither of them wanted to drink it anymore, especially after Ky used his new ability to see how they were made and what they were made of.

Regardless of the fact that neither of them wanted to drink them anymore, Waller still brought them out just so he could tease them like the sick man he was. "Well, well, well... Looks like this is the last five minutes the two of you will get to chat, isn't that right, Romeo and Juliet?" Waller's words were followed by a devious cackle, one that only pissed both mutants off even further.

Both of them said nothing, ignoring him and looking at the other with pained eyes. "Hmph." Waller scoffed, walking out of the room with his guards following closely behind him. As soon as the door shut, both mutants ran toward each other and embraced each other tightly.

They knew this day would come, the final day they'd be able to feel the other's warm embrace. They didn't say a word, mostly because they couldn't.

What was there to say?

It took nearly a minute before either of them said a thing. Xiao was the first to speak. "Our last break." she told him.

"Yeah, our last break." Ky repeated, speaking monotonously without any emotion in his voice. He was completely defeated at this point.

There was yet another silence between the two of them, both being unable to find the words to speak. "I'm sorry, Xiao." Ky told her softly, resonating with guilt that Xiao was able to feel herself due to her powers.

"Sorry for what?" she asked him.

"I... I should've kept my feelings to myself. You don't deserve this..." Ky was starting to regret letting things get this far between them. After that kiss they shared, each sparring session felt as if they were getting closer to a ticking time bomb detonating. Ky often felt a permanent pit in his stomach, one that was seemingly becoming more pronounced with every passing second.

Considering the fact that it was clear by this point that Xiao shared the same feelings as he did, he knew that the eternal pit in his stomach was likely consuming her as well. If he'd just kept to himself, she wouldn't be going through any pain right at that moment.

"Ky, don't be stupid." she told him as plainly as it gets. "Just because we're dying in two months, doesn't mean we should make those two months miserable." Xiao told Ky those same words he told her on the first day of their training. "Do you remember, Ky? You told me that."

"I did, but-" Ky was ready to keep bringing himself down, but Xiao spoke over him. "When you first told me that, I didn't understand it. I didn't understand why you felt such... indescribable feelings for me. You brought up loneliness and how one could still feel lonely, even when surrounded by others.

I didn't care why you felt the way you did and I didn't care about curing loneliness, but then I started being around you more often. I'm- I'm rather curious, ever since I was a little girl. You started to intrigue me with your way of thinking and the way you described your feelings and emotions.

I grew up sheltered. My father protected me from the outside world and gave me any and everything on a silver platter. I never really understood what it was like to be in love, to feel guilt, to feel inspired, to be outraged, to feel envy, to feel pride...

To feel anxious...

And to feel hope.

That was until I met you, Ky.

When I think about you dying on my behalf, I feel guilty.

When I see you becoming a better fighter, I feel inspired..."

Xiao smiled and exhaled as she thought about the first few days of their training. "Back when we first started sparring, I felt outraged that I couldn't land a hit on you after you started canceling out my attacks.

When I see you being able to have so much control over your own powers, I feel envious of you.

When I get closer to learning new things about myself... I feel pride.

And when I'm near you, Ky... I think I know what it feels like to be in love.

It's silly, I know, but I think I'm in love with you, Ky. I know we haven't gone on dates as they do in the movies, but...

I look forward to training with you. I stay up all night thinking about you as the girls do in those romantic comedies I would watch on TV, thinking about their date with the boy from school. Quite honestly, sparring for hours on end is more intimate than seeing a movie together in a theater or taking a walk on a pier... I think. I don't know because I've never been to either of those, but my point is that I love you, Ky.

I'm thankful that you showed me what I sought back when I was a curious little girl. Back when I wanted to see what it was like in the outside world. Back before I lost sight of wanting to learn more about people.

Thank you."

Tears started to fall from Xiao's face, tears that looked as if they weren't going to be stopping anytime soon. Her weeping wasn't silent, she was sniffling and choking up as she wiped tears from her eyes. This was yet another experience that Ky gifted her. "Thank you, for everything."

"I-" Ky started to speak, only to be cut off by the buzzer and the guards barking orders at him. "Continue!" one of the guards shouted. "It's okay, Ky. I know. I've known for a long time. Let's give it our all for this last hour, okay?"

"Okay, Xiao. Let's give it our all." Ky told her, he was completely stunned by her speech to him. None of that was rehearsed, it came straight from the heart.

The two mutants decided not to hold back this time around, using everything they had to truly see who was the best. No longer were Ky's attacks wild and without reason; they were calculated and precise, his practice dual swords going exactly where he aimed them.

Of course, Xiao was already good with her bo staff, only improving thanks to her endless practice with Ky. The two of them were both high schoolers, both who were ready to finish their last semester of high school. Their dreams of dancing with their high school lover at prom would be nothing more than dreams, though Xiao wouldn't have been able to attend a prom anyway. Instead, the two danced via the way of the blade, clashing weapons, dodging strikes, and blocking blows as if it were all choreographed.

When Xiao would land an attack, Ky would simply reverse time and erase it from existence.

When Ky came close to striking Xiao, she avoided the attack before it even had the chance to come out, knowing exactly when and where he would be aiming.

They were equal in both skill and strength by this point, though Xiao had something up her sleeve. Waiting for the perfect opportunity, Xiao dodged one of Ky's attacks and hit him with a palm to the chest.

For Ky, it was as if he blinked, only to wake up with his back to the ground. "What?" he thought to himself, looking around frantically. He tried reversing time, but he stayed in place, meaning he must have been on the ground for more than a second.

The buzzer signaling that their sparing was over sounded and Xiao looked over at Ky with a solemn grin. "Happy birthday, Ky. It's unfortunate that it lands on this day of all days... you were thinking about that a lot these last few weeks, so that's how I know. I'll see you later, Ky."

Before Ky could say anything else, Xiao was taken away by guards. Ky watched as Xiao looked at him with tears flooding her face before she was forced out of the room. Not too long after, Ky was also taken away by guards and sent to shower and get a change of clothes before getting thrown back into his cell.

Tom was already waiting for him, looking back at Ky with curious eyes. "You look like shit, mate. What happened?" Ky ignored him and sat on his bottom bunk before burying his face in his hands. Tom looked over the bunk, his blonde hair dangling down as he pushed up his glasses to continue trying to talk to Ky. "What is it? Only one day to go."

Tom had no clue what Ky was going through. His final test was a few days prior. Considering the fact that he was still there, what happened to his partner was obvious. However, Tom didn't care about his partner at all, so it wasn't a big deal for him.

"I'm in love with her." Ky told him.

"With who? Your opponent?" Tom asked him, showing what he thought of the person he trained with over the last two months. "Are you taking the piss?" Tom asked him.

"Tom, what the hell does that even mean?" Ky wasn't familiar with British slang. Half the time, he had no clue what Tom was saying. Tom then faked an American accent and asked Ky the same thing but in American slang. "Are you fucking with me, bro?" Tom then returned to his normal way of speaking. "Are you serious?"

"I am." Ky told him.

Tom fell back onto his bed, whistling as his head hit the pillow. "I can't help you there. Didn't fancy my opponent much. Big fella, he was."

"Listen, Tom. I'm going to let her win." As soon as Ky told him this, Tom shot up out of his bed. "You what!? Have you forgotten-" Tom looked over at the cell door and noticed a guard looking right at him. Tom calmed down and started speaking in a way that wasn't suspicious. "What about all the things we said we'd see once we became a Dark Angel? You're gonna choose some bonnie over me?"

What Tom was referring to was their plans to escape once they had access to the necessary equipment waiting for them in the outside world. "She's nice. I'm sure you two could get along nicely."

"Ky. I need you. I- I can't see the sights with anyone else." again, Tom was referring to their escape plan.

"I know. But I can't kill her. It's not happening. I'm sorry. I'm sure you can see the sights yourself just fine."

Tom was annoyed, exhaling before plopping back down onto his pillow. "Alright, then. I hope you change your mind by tomorrow... I know we don't talk much, just a few hours before lights out, but... I see you as a friend, Ky. I don't want to see the sights with anyone else. I mean that." this time, Tom wasn't only referring to the plan. He truly meant what he was saying, word for word.

He and Ky weren't nearly as close as Ky and Xiao had gotten, but he really did look forward to escaping together. To start new lives together, as friends.

Despite Tom's wishes, Ky's mind was already set.

And so, the lights eventually went out and Ky enjoyed his final night's sleep as best he could.

.

.

.

𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙠

Ky's eyes shot open as he lay in bed, hearing someone knocking on the door before hearing a female's voice calling to him. "1226, you're coming with me."

The room was almost pitch black due to the lights being off throughout the facility. Ky looked over, able to see the silhouette of a soldier wearing battle armor. "Now, 1226!" the woman rushed him, pounding on the door with her rifle. Due to Ky being so groggy, he failed to notice that the voice was actually familiar to him.

Tom was awake too, looking over at the guard with his eyes squinted. He didn't have his glasses on, so he couldn't really see. All he knew was that he wanted Ky to hurry and follow orders so he can go back to sleep.

Ky got up and walked over to the door, finding it odd that his power dampeners weren't pulling his arms together as they usually would when he was being transported. When the door opened, Ky was greeted by an oddly short soldier, which threw him off. Usually, the ones guarding the cell block were two men, strolling up and down the hall, not this tiny woman.

"This way." the soldier grabbed his hand and dragged him away from his cell. From the way she was holding him, it was definitely against protocol. Usually, two guards would transport each inmate, both pointing their rifles at the inmate's back as their arms were bound in front of them.

This seemed as if the person pulling him was a girlfriend dragging him through a mall or something...

"Wait a second..." Using his psychometry ability, Ky searched through the memories of the person he was touching, only to find out it was Xiao in disguise. "Xiao?" he whispered, shocked that she would pull something like this.

As he scanned her memories, wanting to see exactly how this stunt was even possible. It went all the way back many days prior when Xiao was able to touch a guard by pretending to fall. In doing so, she used the same ability that she used on Ky, command inducement.

It was a power she discovered only recently, just as Ky discovered his psychometry ability, where if she touched a person's chest, she could command them to do almost anything she wanted, though there were limitations. The one under her bidding could only do things that were possible for the person to do. Luckily, however, once her commands were given, her power dampeners being activated did not cancel the commands.

With a guard under her influence, she tried coming up with a plan to escape, but they all led to nowhere as it was impossible for her to find a way to deactivate the remote bombs in their brain. If she were to exit the facility, Waller could blow her head up as soon as he found out about it. Even if that wasn't the case, there were escape measures that made the bombs explode instantly upon crossing an invisible boundary.

She thought of taking control of Waller, having him deactivate the bombs and set everyone free, but she couldn't get close enough to him.

So she used the guard as her puppet, learning how the facility operated and if it were possible for her and Ky to see each other alone on their final night. As it turned out, the building was far less secure at night and there were only a few guards, most of which were too lazy and overconfident to do their jobs fully.

If a prisoner was suspected of anything suspicious, they could be summoned for a search at any time of night. Tom knew this well, which was why he wasn't suspicious at all when Ky was taken away. In fact, he was grateful it wasn't him being dragged away at night.

"Shh... There are still people on night watch. They'll think I'm taking you to be searched. I know a place." Xiao continued to lead him throughout the facility, which was jarringly dark and silent in comparison to how Ky usually saw it. Eventually, Ky and Xiao approached a maintenance closet, which also happened to be in the blind spot of a camera, though the cameras were already spliced momentarily by her puppet to make it seem as if she and Ky were still in their cells.

Xiao opened the door and pulled him in, shutting the door behind them and enclosing them in a pitch-black room. Reaching for the rifle on her back, Xiao activated the flashlight attachment on it and propped it up against the wall to add some light to the room. She removed her helmet, showing Ky her face once more.