Harley D. Dixon 7
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📖Chapter List.
Author's Note. As always, I hope you enjoy reading! :)
Just like everything else, the elevators are all dead.
After we rummage around for the flashlight, we have to climb the emergency stair-well to make it back up to the lobby. As the door creaks open, we find only more darkness and empty space waiting for us, but at least we have the moonlight, now. We step out. It streams in through the gargantuan windows, glittering across the polished tiles. I find it calming to know that despite everything that we people are going through tonight, the night still knows how to be beautiful all the same. I watch the round belly of the moon glow behind a thin cloud.
Beside it, a bright star winks.
I imagine it's my Momma winking down at me.
I use the sight to steady myself.
I have to be brave.
"The doors are all locked, right?" I whisper, thinking of all those dead soldiers outside, standing to attention. "Nothin's gettin' in?"
"Nothin's gettin' in." Shane promises. "Doors are all electric. Couldn't let anythin' in even if they wanted to, ain't that right?"
Dad side-eyes Shane. "Yeah."
"See? Nothin' to worry about."
Shane's doin' that thing again — lying to hide the truth.
As subtle as I can, I scoot a little closer to him, away from my Dad.
We watch as the light crawls over the reception desk, the scattered papers, and the muddy boot-prints we left behind earlier today. I hold my breath, waiting for a type of creature to lunge out, teeth bared. I must shudder, 'cause I feel my Dad give my hand a squeeze, and pull me back into his side. I wish he didn't. The light continues over the tiles, and then it slowly climbs the furthest wall from us. Dad levels it with the entrance to a corridor so dark that it seems to just be a black hole at the end of a long tunnel.
There's just one detail out of place.
"What's—?"
It's so bizarre that my Dad can't even put it into words.
There — Red light, projected from somewhere inside the corridor, flashing on the tiles. The corridor must make a turn, and the light must be around the corner, blinking on and off. On, off. On, off — As if the building isn't completely out of power.
For some reason, this light gets to stay on.
"What is that?" Dad mutters to Shane. "That corridor— What's it lead to?"
On, off. On, off.
The flashlight flickers for a moment.
"The control room."
We've been in the control room before. During the tour, it was one of the stops. It's essentially head-quarters for the CDC, and it was lined with computer engines and monitoring equipment that looked like it belonged in a move about aliens. All around us, after he booted the system up, we saw bobbing green wave-lengths and confusing scientist languages typed in pixelated text. None of us knew what any of it meant. On the main screen, the scientist played us a video of an infected woman's brain. Together, we watched her die. It felt like attending a belated funeral service, and it was everyone's least favorite part of the tour, 'cause we were all forced to re-live our days on the road, watching what we thought was me dying; attending my funeral.
It could have been me on that video.
Glenn was picking at his nails the whole time, and Rick looked like he was hating every frame of the video. Carol was so distressed that Lori started rubbing her back, reminding us kids that it was just a video. When I glanced at Andrea, she was staring at her shoes again, thinking of Amy. My Dad was the one to eventually bully the scientist into turning the video off.
Just before it cut out, a bullet pierced the woman's skull.
I hate the control room.
Everybody hates the control room.
Now, just a few hours later, we're faced with the same room again.
"Makes sense, right?" Shane mutters. "Kill the place; conserve power for the main hub?"
On, off. On, off.
"We should check it out." Dad says.
On, off. On, off.
"Are they in there?" I ask. "Is Glenn in there?"
On, off. On, off.
"I don't know, baby."
On, off. On, off.
On.
The light does not disappear again. It seems to grow brighter by the second, until it looks like the floor's been painted red.
We hear a noise from deeper inside the CDC.
Muffle, muffle.
"What was that?" Shane asks, drawing his pistol, now, as if he can kill a sound.
Geh, Ow, Now.
My Dad draws his gun too, glancing at Shane.
Geh-Ow, Goh.
"That's someone shoutin'." I exclaim.
Shane looks at my Dad. "Jenner?"
Goh-Oh-Oh.
We start jogging toward the corridor as a small unit.
Goh-Goh-Goh.
We start running.
The red light starts to flash. A wailing alarm takes over, pulsing loudly from all directions.
NEH—NEH—NEH.
Now we're sprinting.
The cluster of noise and voices and shouting reaches a concerning volume, and we're all racing down the corridor, tryna reach it; see what it is. It has to be the group. We have to help them, if they're in trouble. When we turn the corner, we see that the light was coming from this area, above a metal door. For a moment, I can see everyone standing on the other side, inside the control room.
I begin to smile.
Wait, something's wrong.
They're all rushing to the exit.
The voice becomes clear to us, at this very last moment; just one moment too late.
I think that's—
It's Rick.
"Get out, now! "
The last thing we see is Rick waving his hands above his head, and then the little red light blinks out once and for all, and the metal door hisses right before it slides shut. There's nothing we can do as it traps the group on one side and us on the other.
My Dad's momentum slams him right into the door, and he uses his shoulder to brace impact, but the door just doesn't budge. Without hesitation, he shoots three bullets — Bang, Bang, Bang — Into the crevice of the doorframe, but even they get absorbed into the metal, like it's just a big silver sponge for violence; like we could beat on it forever and it still wouldn't open. I skid to a stop just behind him.
"Did he just lock us in?" I hear Glenn screeching from inside.
The siren continues.
NEH—NEH—NEH.
It's like being inside an alarm clock.
Wait, did—? Did Glenn just say that someone locked them in there? Why would they do that?
It must have been the scientist, I think. Maybe he's upset with us for wanting to leave so soon after dinner ended, so he decided to try force us all to stay, instead of just asking. I don't want to stay, and I don't wanna be friends with him, neither. He said all those things about suicide — about my Momma — and he speaks like he's a robot with only one battery in him. He gave us soap and potato salad, but he's not actually any good at making friends. He's an evil scientist. He locked my friends, plus Rick, inside.
Shane arrives one second after, and gives the door a big, hard kick, but again, it stands strong.
He was right.
Nothin's getting in.
Nothing's getting out, neither.
It's sealed tight.
How are we gonna help 'em?
"Come on!" My Dad grunts, hitting the door.
My head thrums with the alarm.
Glenn cries again, "He just locked us in!"
Shane crouches; gets his face as close he can to the bullet holes, like it's an intercom. "Rick!" He shouts, over the noise of the voices inside — Open those doors, Jenner, Why'd you lock us in, What's going on, Mom — and crying; that's crying, I think. It sounds like Sophia, and if I were in there with them, I would want to give her a hug. Jenner's not my friend, but I think Sophia might be; maybe Carl, too. I can hear a computer lady's voice, too, but she sounds like she's cool as a cucumber, nonchalantly counting, Twenty Nine Minutes and Forty-three seconds remaining, Forty-two, Forty-one. Shane smacks the door, wanting to know what's happening. "Rick! We're here, man!"
We wait for someone to answer.
"Are we—?" I nibble on the ends of my pyjama sleeves, worried, "We're gonna get 'em out, right?"
I remember the mouse that got stuck in the walls of our old house. It struggled and struggled until eventually, it just died.
"Yes, we are." Shane nods to me, panicked but confident.
We hear approaching foot-steps from inside.
"Shane!"
It's Morales.
I think Rick must be busy talking to Jenner. He's the best with words, after all. If anyone can convince Jenner to let 'em go, he can.
"Man, what's goin' on in there?" Shane demands. "What happened?"
"Generators," Morales pants, "Jenner said they're all on their last legs. After they're gone, CDC's got nothing. No water, no lights. That's why Rick was hollering for us to leave, and why everything 'cept this room's gone kaput. Where were you? Did you notice?"
"Oh, we noticed alright." Shane rubs at his forehead, stressed. "We were in the lower levels with our thumbs up our asses."
That's a weird phrase.
Twenty-Five, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Three.
There's more arguing on the other side of the door — What happens in twenty-eight minutes, Jenner, My children are in here, Please open the doors, Answer me right now — and the sounds of chairs and computers being thrown to the floor. I think there's another fight going on, but at least I'm not in it, this time. Morales tries translating the kerfuffle to us — Somethin' about the timer; somethin' about Jenner. He says that when the timer reaches zero, something called decontamination will begin. Does that mean, like, cleaning? It's impossible to keep up, so I just keep my distance, fiddling with my pyjama shirt. I try to ignore the missing button. My Dad uses the butt of his pistol to smash open a panel by the door, but it's for a keycard. We don't got keycards, or regular keys, or nothin'.
Nothing can open these doors except Jenner.
"Do you know what this place is?"
That's him.
His voice comes booming so loud from inside the control room that even me, Shane, my Dad are startled, and we're behind the door. Everybody goes quiet. It's like when a teacher at school suddenly decides that they've had enough, and explode.
"We protected the public from very nasty stuff!"
Dad glances at me; yanks me closer, looking tense. I guess I was startin' to drift away again.
"Weaponized smallpox!"
I try my best not to flinch.
"Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country!"
I remember hearing about Ebola. It's famous for killin' people.
"Stuff you don’t want getting out! Ever!"
There's a long, long pause.
It almost seems like the CDC was built to trap things inside it. The smallpox, and the— the Ebola? Those might've been things that they didn't want gettin' out, ever, but we do. We want out. If Jenner doesn't give us our friends back, I'll be very sad. I'll even be sad about officer Rick. He got my Uncle Merle killed, but Shane needs him. They're like brothers. I wouldn't want Shane to lose his brother.
Carol, Jacqui, Andrea. Glenn.
I'll be very sad.
Even if we never get to eat potato salad ever again, I still want everybody to be able to leave the CDC.
Suddenly, the computer lady speaks up again but she's not countin', no more.
"H.I.T.s—" She explains to us, and if she was a person, she'd be smiling pleasantly, "High-impulse thermo-baric fuel-air explosives consisting of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen at between five thousand degrees and six thousand degrees and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired."
Greatest—?
Greatest loss of life?
I freeze.
My Dad freezes.
Shane freezes, too.
He glances back at us; At me. He looks like his heart's stopped.
I think everyone on the other side must look the same way.
"It sets the air on fire." The scientist gives it to us in its simplest terms. "No pain."
Twenty Six minutes and Nineteen secon—
"An end to sorrow; Grief." The scientist continues, and I imagine him smiling pleasantly, too, like he's smelling a sweet flower. "No more regrets."
I realize in this moment, as the weeping on the other side starts up again, that Jenner is like my Momma. He wants to kill himself. He thinks that when the computer lady sets the air on fire, everything is going to be better for him that way. That's why he sounds so happy. I think back to dinner — His wrong-smile, his empty gaze, his dull voice — and I wonder how I didn't realize this sooner. People who are suicidal stop living a while before they actually die. I know that. I didn't notice with my Momma, neither, not until it was too late. It's too late now, too. Uncle Merle would say Jenner's taking the pussy way out, 'cause that's what he used to say my Momma did, but there's nothing easy about it. Nothin' at all.
My Momma wanted to jump off a bridge and Jenner wants to be set on fire.
Six thousand degrees, the computer lady said.
That's a lot of degrees.
I try picturing those windows to the outside again to calm myself; that star, winking.
"Everything."
The fire might kill us, too, if we don't get out.
I hear glass breaking, voices crying out, and thumping from inside.
The men must've broken the fire axes outta their cases, and are trying to chop the other three doors down with 'em.
My Dad shoots the keycard scanner.
Shane shoot, shoot, shoots the door frame.
All I can do is fiddle with my buttons and try not to cry — I've cried far too much tonight. Crying is for pussies. I ain't a pussy.
"Shane and Daryl are out there?" I hear someone shout.
"Yeah! That door, there!"
A few moments later, someone else is talking through the door.
"Harley?"
That's Glenn's voice. He's using the bullet holes as an intercom just like Shane was. I drop to my knees in front of them, pressing my hands on the freezing cold metal on either side. I wish I could peer through and see his face, but bullet holes ain't work like that. Glenn doesn't sound like he's hurt or nothin'. That's good. I smile.
Twenty Four Minutes and Fifty Sev—
"Glenn?"
"Are you okay?" He asks, voice cracking. "Your Dad? Shane?"
Glenn must be tryna peek through the bullet holes to see my face, too.
"Uh-huh." I shout back. "We're okay. We—"
Just as I'm about to say more, my Dad sneers at the door, screaming, "Somebody drag that Einstein-Motherfucker up 'ere so's I can shoot him through the fuckin' door! My kid's out here!" He punches the metal. "Come here, ya coward! You wanna die? Lemme do ya a favor!"
"You drive that axe through his skull, Rick!" Shane shouts into the door. "You do it now!"
"W-We—" I choke on my words.
My Dad is all angry again.
If the main doors weren't sealed, he would've already dragged me outta here.
"What is it?" Glenn asks me.
I try to clear my head. Through all the chaos, me and Glenn are just knelt by the door, having a conversation. Instead of thinking about my Momma, or Jenner, or all the locked doors, or the computer lady, or my angry Dad, I try to pretend that we're on the roof of the RV again, watching the sun rise, munching on old cherries without a care in the world. Bullets and axe heads and fists are banging and cutting and thumping all around us, but I just focus on Glenn, and he just focuses on me. What would I say to him, if everything was normal?
"Glenn, my favorite color's yellow."
It's the strangest thing I could've told him right now, but it's true. I love yellow. What a lovely, simple thing to think about.
"Wh—? What?"
"Y-Yeah, like um— Like the sun." I take a deep breath. "And bananas."
I'm not scared. I'm brave. I'm someone who likes the color yellow, and I'm not going to die today.
"You like bananas?" I ask.
"Wh—?"
Glenn takes a minute to adjust to the sudden change in subject — Bananas are very different from mega-explosions, after all — but then he replies, and his voice is a little calmer, this time, and a little closer, too. "Yeah," He tells me, punctuated by another gunshot. "I like bananas. Every fruit, really. My Mom used to make me and my sisters a bowl of mango and banana every day after school. We—" Somebody swings an axe into the door. I think we both jump. He continues, "We ate it all together, in— in our backyard."
"What were their names?" I ask, squeezing my eyes shut.
"Lisa," Glenn tells me, prolly imagining sunny afternoons and fingers covered in sticky fruit juice. "Naomi, and Jenny."
Lisa, Naomi, and Jenny.
Those are pretty names.
"My Momma's name was Lindsey." I find myself admitting to Glenn. This is worse than admitting my favorite color to him — This is a secret. This is something only me and my Dad know; Something I'm never allowed to talk about. Now that Merle's gone, he won't ever be able to speak my Momma's name again, which means that it died with him. That's what I'm supposed to do. After this, I swear I will. "And she was the best Momma ever."
My Dad wishes my Momma was gone forever, 'cause that's what happens when people die, like with Merle. He doesn't wanna talk about him, and he definitely doesn't wanna talk about her. But she's not gone. I know 'cause half of my cells belong to her — Lindsey Hunt's — which means that inside of me, my Momma's still alive. She made my blood, and she made my heart.
She lives in my memories.
She lives in the stars.
My Dad just don't see it.
"I bet." Glenn says. I wonder if Glenn lost his Momma, too. "What was her favorite color?"
"Blue."
Blue, like the fake sapphire gem that hung from her necklace. Blue, like her skinny jeans. Blue, like my Daddy's eyes.
"And she liked to write." I tell Glenn, 'cause maybe if I pass all these gems of information over to Glenn, my Momma can live on with him, instead, 'cause I know that as soon as we make it out of the CDC, I'm never, ever gonna be allowed to talk about my Momma again — Not to Dad, not to myself, not to anybody. If I do, I'm gonna get belted again. I don't want my Momma to die for a second time. I don't want her to be forgotten.
I think of everything I ever knew about my Momma.
"She used to write on napkins at the diner, while we waited for our pancakes. She wrote all over her hands if she ain't had any paper. She wrote a bed-time story for me too, once, for my— my fifth birthday. It was called My Little Fairy, Here's all my Kisses. 'Cause I got fairy kisses. My moles. That's what she called 'em. It was my favorite book ever. And— She called me her little fairy-girl. She always said if she could do anythin', she'd be an author."
"Open the doors!" Shane shouts. "Open them, now!"
I block it out. I block it all out.
I need Glenn to know about my Momma.
"She loved playing guitar. Daddy taught her how. She liked the Spice Girls. It's all she listened to."
Glenn lets me speak as much as I need to.
"She always kept her hair short, 'cause she hated the feeling of it touching her shoulders."
My Dad shoots the door again.
I squeeze my eyes shut even tighter.
"And she wasn't sick in the head." I quickly tell Glenn, 'cause this part is really, really important. "She wasn't. People said she was, but it ain't true. She took her medicine. She weren't sick."
I think Glenn puts his hand on the door, probably right over mine, 'cause I hear a hollow thunk. I wish there was no door.
"Harley—"
"She weren't sick. She was just sad! Okay?"
He needs to get this part.
Twenty Three Minutes and Fifty-nine seconds, Fifty-eight—
My Momma used to write, and sing, and dance, but she used to cry, too. One day she came home, and she just cried all night. After that, she cried all night, every night. I never understood why. Every time I asked, she'd just cry some more. I think my Dad understood, but all he ever told me was, It's not for little girl ears to hear, chicken, so ask me somethin' different. After a while, he stopped tryna make my Momma feel better. He gave up. That's how I know he hated her, 'cause I never gave up, and I loved my Momma. She was a sad woman, but she weren't sick.
Glenn pauses, and he sounds sincere when he says, "Okay, Harley."
The others think Glenn's a bit of an idiot, but he's as every bit caring as any one of 'em.
"She was like Jenner." I say. "She was sad, and then she died, and then she weren't sad no more."
"Harley, I'm sorry." Glenn sounds out of breath. "I'm—"
"Don't be sorry." I shake my head, remembering what I told Sophia. I suck in a deep breath. "Sorry is only for when it's your fault."
Momma dyin'— That was Dad's fault. He ain't never said sorry.
I don't think he ever will.
That's okay, though, 'cause this is the last time I'm ever gonna think about my Momma. After this, never again.
"What about your Momma and Daddy?"
Glenn listened to me, so now I want to do the same for him.
"I don't know." He sighs. "I'm not sure what happened to mine. They could be gone. They could be out there somewhere, still alive."
"I think they're still alive." I say. I'm actually smiling. "If they're anythin' like you, they're alive."
Glenn is fast like a cheetah and strong like a house cat, and he's not as big as my Dad, but I'm just as sure that he's gonna live forever. Sure, he sucks at cooking, but he learnt his lesson. He's friendly. He's determined. He's resourceful. And he's real good at finding old packets of freeze-dried cherries. If they're anything like him, Glenn's Momma and Daddy are alive, and so are his sisters, Lisa, Naomi, and Jenny. All of them.
I hear Glenn laugh.
There are bombs in the walls and everybody's panicking, but me and Glenn are laughing.
"Thank— Thank you." He tells me. "And if they're not, I hope they're with your Mom, and everybody else you've lost."
Maybe everyone who's died so far are all eating fruit together, somewhere.
I hope my Uncle's not bein' too much of an asshole to 'em.
"I hope so, too," I laugh.
What a lovely, simple thing to think about.
It's as I'm sittin' there, smiling and thinking about happy things with Glenn, that the door opens. It slides into the floor, revealing Glenn on the other side, kneeling just a couple inches away from me. We stare at each other, caught off guard.
Not for long, though, 'cause my Dad grabs my shirt and forces me to stand. I stumble after him.
Glenn snaps out of it, too, and scrambles to his feet.
Then, it's just running.
Running, running, running.
Jenner let us out?
Jenner let us out!
Rick! He did it!
We run down the corridor, and then we run through the lobby, and then we run through a side corridor, and then another one, and another one, and another one, and then we're running back into the garage-lookin' space we first arrived in, and these doors are all opening, too. My Dad is running so fast that I almost can't keep up. The roller doors open inch, by inch, by inch, and we run even faster.
The night is revealed.
We run into it.
My bare feet smack against the cement, and then they sink into grass, which is so, so soft, and we hear crickets chirping, and the breeze.
"Go, go, go!" Rick shouts, leading us all through the field the other way, this time, under the moon.
"Get down!" Shane hollers.
The explosion. The explosion is still coming.
"Everybody, behind the sand bags!" Rick cries.
We run, run, run past half-dead soldiers and full-dead soldiers, and the tank, and the barricades. We reach the edge of the field, where big, brown blobs are stacked on top of each other to make a long, lumpy wall. Ahead of us, Rick vaults it, and then he pulls Lori and Carl over. Me and my Dad are next, and he gets me by the armpits and just about throws me to Rick, who just about dumps me on the ground. Dad jumps over; muscles my head down until my nose is grazing the pavement, tucked safely under his chest. There's more rushing; more people throwing themselves behind the wall.
The ground shudder-udder-udders beneath us.
Then the air is set on fire.
Everybody bunkers down as the sky bursts like a balloon. A wave of scorching hot air thrusts over our heads, carrying smoke and debris with it as it sails through the sky. I listen to empty helmets and broken pieces of metal land sporadically all over the street. The CDC crumbles in the background. Windows shatter. Rooves cave in. Walls topple over into the field like broken Legos. It's the loudest thing I've ever heard.
Eventually, it ends.
We slowly untangle, and gaze out over the sand bags together.
The CDC is a pile of rubble and ash. It sits there, smoking gracefully, like somebody's stomped-in sandcastle. It looks like it was never a building at all — just a black husk. I think of Jenner, willingly sat at his computers, burned to a crisp. I wonder if it made him happy. Weirdly enough, I hope it did. I hope he ended up wherever he wanted to be. We watch as the moon rises behind the destroyed utopia, 'cause despite everything that us people have gone through tonight, the night knows how to be beautiful all the same.
Orange burns bright against the black of night.
We admire it like a nice view.
"Is everybody okay?" Rick gulps, hands on his hips.
Everybody murmurs a general yes.
When I glance at my Dad, he's already looking at me. Already, I know that nothing is going to be the same after this. We're not coming out the same way we went in. Next to us, Rick pants beside his family. He wraps them in a hug. Carol holds Sophia's hand to her mouth as they both cry softly. Morales and Miranda hold Louis and Eliza. Glenn takes off his cap; almost drops it. When he meets my eye, I feel a little embarrassed about all the things I told him when we were talking through the door. Shane runs his hands through his hair. Jacqui and T-Dog smile.
Andrea— Wait.
Andrea and Dale. They're not here.
That's when I see Jacqui point to the other side of the field.
"Guys, I think that's them."
I follow her finger with my eyes.
Everybody does.
Like two little dots in the distance, we watch as Dale and Andrea poke their heads up from behind some more sand bags. They dust themselves off, hesitantly look around, and then they spot us, and some of us wave to them.
Only Dale waves back.
I think back to what happened with Glenn, and I pretend that the part of me that was still holdin' onto my Momma died in the CDC. I pretend that it's a little burnt chunk turning to ash, right next to Jenner. I am never going to talk about her again. I'm never even gonna think about her. I forget every memory I ever had of her, and that's it — She's really gone, now. She died with me. I hope she would forgive me. If I could talk to her one last time, I'd tell her that I just don't want Daddy to beat on me, anymore, and that I'm sorry.
One last brick falls from the CDC.
It's time to leave another home again.
When I climb into Dad's truck, I can see Shane standing in the shadow of the RV, sneering.
Dad loads his pistol and places it on the dash, staring him down.
Shane scoffs.
Everything else might be over, but not this.
They are going to kill each other.
I'm sure of it.
As rural Georgia rolls past the windows, I stare at the pistol on the dash, thinking of Shane. I stare at Dad's bouncing leg and his knuckles as he cracks them, and I think about what might be going on in his head. I stare at my feet, thinking about how we have no home again.
When my Dad reaches for the gear stick, my body does that thing again where it flinches all on its own. I regret it immediately.
He gives me the weirdest look.
I go back to staring at the loaded pistol just so I don't have to look at him.
This is how the entire car ride goes.
Everybody is exhausted come morning.
By the time the sky turns pale blue, we're pulled over in the parking lot of a small strip mall. We all climb out, revealing ourselves to each other in the sunlight. Everybody is covered in soot and sweat, still dressed in their sleep clothes. Most of us don't even have any shoes, I realize. Rick's walking around in his socks. Everything we owned got blown up. There are no more water bottles, no more food, no more hair brushes, books, pillows, blankets, tooth brushes, or even any toilet paper. We took everything we owned, down to our very last protein bar, into the CDC.
'Cause thought we were safe.
We were wrong.
We might as well be holding a banner that says, We have lost everything. Don't bother robbing us.
Some of the men break off to search for supplies without really telling anyone. Nobody's really talking. Shane and Rick search the convenience store. Glenn and Morales take the office supply shop and the pet shop. My Dad takes the book shop all on his own, lugging his crossbow over his shoulder, glaring at Shane. Supplies used to mean gas and bullets, but now it means anything.
All I have is my dinosaur pyjama shirt, some purple pants, and a hair lackey, now.
And my Dad. I think.
I watch him disappear through the little blue door.
"Hi, Harley." A sweet voice says.
I look up from my bare feet to see Sophia walking over to me. She's just like me. All she has is a blue shirt with a rainbow on it, some spotty pyjama pants, her shoes, and the headband in her hair. Oh, and her dolly. Still, she smiles. I'm glad she's okay.
When she reaches me, I scoot over.
She sits next to me on the abandoned coffee-table I'm sitting on.
Neither of us say anythin' for a minute, and it's like that day on the picnic blanket again. Neither of us know what to say, so we say nothing. We watch Glenn and Morales go literal dumpster diving outside the office supply shop, and we both laugh when Glenn leans so far over the edge that he sorta just falls in. Morales has to pull him out by the back of his jeans. We hear him complain, Pinche idiota, as he tries very hard not to grab anywhere near Glenn's ass. He fishes Glenn out, who's splattered with dumpster-gunk and random bits of trash.
He holds up an object to Morales, grinning.
"Wonder what he found." Sophia giggles. "He must've really wanted it. I bet it was a new cap."
I find myself giggling, too. "I bet it was a giant bar of chocolate."
"I bet it was a neck pillow."
"I bet it was batteries for his Walkman."
"I bet it was a comic."
"I bet it was headphones to block out the sound of Dale's stories."
Sophia turns to look at me, a glint in her sleepy eyes and a smile between her cheeks. I think this is what friends do. When we hear Dale pulling out that poetry book again from nearby, ready to form another story circle while everybody waits, we burst into laughter.
I cover my mouth. "S'like he heard me."
"He's way too old for that." Sophia claims. "Old people have bad ears."
"Dale's not that old."
"Yeah, he is. He's got grey hair and glasses and everything!"
"Your Momma's got grey hair!" I remind her.
"Oh, yeah." She covers her mouth now, giggling and going pink. "Oopsie."
"Don't worry, I won't tell 'er you said that."
"You promise?"
"Yeah."
That's also somethin' friends do. They keep secrets.
"Pinkie promise?" Sophia offers.
I link my pinkie with hers, and we shake 'em.
"Pinkie promise." I say officially. "I won't ever tell your Momma that you called her super, super old."
"Hey!" She grins. "I didn't say that!"
"Okay." I shake our pinkies again. "I promise I won't ever tell your Momma you accidently called her a lil' bit old."
"Better." Sophia smiles. "Thanks."
We go back to watching Glenn and Morales together, 'cause it's a bit like watching an episode of Tom and Jerry. By now, they've cleaned out the office supply store and are checking out the pet shop. The door's all boarded up, but they ain't got tools to pry it open, so they just kinda tug at it for a while. I think Glenn asks Morales to try use a rock, 'cause he picks one up off the ground and pounds it against the nails in the wood, but he ends up dropping it onto his bare toes. He bends to soothe them, frowning. Glenn laughs. Me and Sophia laugh, too.
Glenn and Morales really are stumped, though. The door won't open, and the windows are all boarded up, too.
That's when my Dad emerges from the book shop. He's holding a plastic bag full of stuff, minding his own business. He's about to walk back when he spots Glenn and Morales acting like idiots. We watch as my Dad debates going over to 'em. Eventually, he does. He must actually call them idiots, 'cause the two men roll their eyes, but my Dad just unsheathes his knife and starts whittling the boards off the door.
When it's flimsy enough, he uses his shoulder to force it open. After three crack, crack, cracks, the door bursts open.
Glenn and Morales nod, thanking him.
My Dad walks away.
"Woah. Your Dad's nice?" Sophia whispers to herself. "I always thought he was scary."
A little, I almost tell her.
"Not really." I shrug, instead. "You know, everybody always says that."
"That's 'cause everybody's always gettin' glared at." She snickers. "He's got such a mean face. So did Merle. Not you, though."
I give her a confused look.
"Okay, maybe you do."
I push her lightly. "Whatever."
She snickers some more, which makes me smile.
"Really, though. It's nice he helped them."
I always knew my Dad wasn't a bad person. Someone can't be a bad person when they sing me to sleep every night, and keep my baby photos, and make sure I always eat 'fore they do, and go cold when there's only one blanket. They can't be bad when they make sure animals never suffer when we hunt 'em, and feed birds the bread from their lunches while they're on break, and recommend brands of diapers to other people in the baby aisle. My Dad's done all of those things.
But I never knew 'bout nice. Nice is for Disney princesses.
I think I see it, though. I wonder what changed. The only thing I can think of is Uncle Merle not bein' here no more. 'Cause I know that if he was here, my Dad wouldn't have helped Glenn and Morales get that door open. He also wouldn't be handing out books and magazines to the women, like he is right now. I watch as he gives Jacqui a fashion magazine, and then a small assortment of bookmarks he found to Dale, who's been dog-earing his poetry book up until now. Dale's face lights up. When they all start thanking him for the small gifts, my Dad quickly walks away.
Merle wanted to rob these people. I heard him talking about it one night.
You're not fuckin' serious. My Dad had scoffed to my Uncle, They got kids here. What if that was Harley?
My Uncle Merle used to beat me, too.
He was the first person to ever beat me.
When my Dad came home from his shift and found me shirtless on the sofa, covered in bruises with my hair all knotted, he went straight for the pistol they used to keep under the sink, cocked it, and barged into the spare bedroom, where Uncle Merle was knocked out in his bed. He'd been sniffing powder all day, which always made him crazy right before it made him sleepy. I remember hearing him fall to the floor. My Dad almost shot his brother in the face that night. They argued for a long, long time.
When my Dad came out, he was bruised, too.
He silently sat next to me and held me for so long that we both fell asleep there, watching cartoons on mute.
After that, my Dad started beating me, too.
Maybe like how my Momma used to be a part of me, Merle's still a part of my Dad.
I'm not sure if I miss that side of Merle.
I don't think I miss him.
That's what Sophia said about her dead Dad.
It's what I almost think about my Uncle Merle.
Almost.
But I don't, 'cause Merle's blood.
He's a part of me, too.
Glenn and Morales enter the pet shop, disappearing behind all the boarded windows. Since we can't watch them anymore, which makes Sophia pout, Aw, that was fun, we decide to pass the time by letting her do my hair instead. I bask in the sun while she takes her time weaving a bunch of braids into my hair — Big ones, lil' ones, wonky ones. She even braids my bangs, which we both think is really funny. She tells me I look like one of her old Barbie dolls, 'cause she used to always experiment on their hair. We talk about all the toys we used to have, like Littlest Pet Shop and Nerf guns. My first ever toy was a Nerf gun. When I tell Sophia, she tells me her first ever toy was a pink teddy bear.
It's not long before we notice Glenn walking up to us. He's holding something behind his back.
"Hey, guys." He calls out, grinning. "Nice hair."
"She looks pretty, doesn't she?" Sophia smiles. "You want me to do yours?"
He laughs. "Uh... maybe later. Thanks."
"What's behind your back?" I ask him, trying to take a peek.
"Oh, yeah. You have to close your eyes." He says, and then he realizes that Sophia might feel left out, so he tacks on, "A-And you, too, Sophia."
"No, it's okay." She shrugs. "It's for Harley, right?"
"What? How'd you know?" He frowns. "It could just be something cool I'm showing you guys. You don't know."
"When have you ever shown us something cool?" Sophia teases.
"I found that lizard, that one time."
"It was dead!"
I roll my eyes, laughing. "Glenn, just show it to us!"
"Okay, okay. Close your eyes first."
"Do I have to?"
"Uh, duh." Glenn tells me. "It's what's-behind-my-back protocol. So, close your eyes."
Me and Sophia glance at each other, and then I do as he says.
"They're closed." I promise him.
"Awesome." And just three seconds later, after some rustling, he says, "Now open them again."
I open my eyes. I expect to see an interesting rock, or maybe a leaf with a weird pattern. I would love that. But that's not at all what Glenn's holding out to me. He's holding a small pair of yellow rain boots. My jaw drops open. These boots are more than banana-yellow, or sunshine-yellow. They're offensively yellow. They're possibly the brightest, most shocking, most blinding color yellow, ever. They've got little cartoon lady-bugs printed all over them, and one super big lady-bug on each ankle. This must be what he found in the dumpster.
They must've been easy to spot. You can prolly spot these things from a mile away. It must be like wearing the sun.
"Happy late birthday." Glenn smiles, a little awkward, like he's not sure if I like 'em.
I reach out for the boots, and he lets me take 'em.
Yellow — My favorite color.
"Oh my God," Sophia gasps. "They're so cute."
I can't believe my eyes.
"They're perfect," I gape. "It's the best birthday gift ever, Glenn."
"Sorry I couldn't find any socks," He says. "This place was all pretty much picked clean."
I pull the boots onto my feet, and it turns out that not only are they the perfect color — They're also the perfect fit. They're not too tight, not too loose. I kick my legs up and down, feeling them out. They've got a little dumpster-sludge smeared on them, and there's a hole in the toe, but they're perfect. These are my favorite boots ever.
"Thank you, Glenn." I grin down at my new boots, tapping my toes together. "I love 'em."
He looks proud of himself.
I'm already feeling a little bit better about everything that happened at the CDC.
"You're welcome." He sticks his hands in his pockets, awkward as ever. He says goodbye to each of us and walks off toward everyone else.
"Glenn's nice, too." Sophia smiles.
I think back to the CDC, and that morning on the RV. "Yeah," I smile back, admiring my boots. "He is."
"Harley! Come on, it's time to go!"
When my Dad calls for me from the truck, I feel my smile fade almost all at once. I'm not looking forward to another silent car ride with him. It's like we can almost hear what each other wants to say, but I'm too scared to speak up, and he's too stubborn. He'd rather pretend there's nothing we need to talk about in the first place. I'm not looking forward to watching his every move, worried he'll reach out for me every time he reaches for the gear stick. I'm not looking forward to the weird look he gives me after, neither. It's like drowning without the water.
I'm not looking forward to it at all.
I almost wish I was allowed to ride in the RV, with Glenn, instead. We could talk more about happy things.
Dad calls out for me again, louder this time. "You gonna make me repeat myself?"
Sophia gives me a little smile, but it's way too sad-looking.
"Bye, Harley."
"Bye, Sophia."
At least I have some cool boots, now.
When I climb into the passenger side, my Dad scoffs, frowning. "Fuck happened to your hair?"
"Nothin'."
I spend the whole car ride undoing Sophia's braids.
Author's Note.
We are finally done with the CDC 😭
I decided to keep Jacqui alive because Jim doesn't really die per se, in this fic, which I think is her main reason for wanting to stay at the CDC in the show. Morales' family is still here, too, but we'll get back to canon pretty soon since we're entering season two.
I really hope you enjoyed this chapter!! Sending love! :)
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So i decided to put this up here. I wil eventually be making one for Chun, no worries, but wanted to post this here for future reference for myself and anyone else who needs it. Since this is going to be a big reference sheet, I will include any and all reference images that are important. At the top are References for Tao's appearance, and below that are images of certain items he has with him at all times amd any other images that are relevant.
But first, I'm going to include each artist who drew the images, including the two so far that i've drawn. If any more images that relate to Tao's powers are made, I will update this with said image and the proper credit.
Artist creds
On Twitter: lupinebones77(Most of Tao's current refs aside from King and the inscence burner)
melocelli (Kaiju form)
torikalmia (King and the Incense burner)
deni_acp (Yang image)
On Deviantart: TropicalIndigo (Jinjing image)
My art: Tiger/Snow Leapord Hybrid, Li Yun(Electric/dark big cat).
Some general Info about Tao before we get into his powers.
Relationship Status: Taken by their partner/Fiancée Zihou
Age: est. 1500 (at least half the age of Wukong and Macaque)
Gender: Intersex (both male and female genetalia)
Pronouns: He/Him, She/Her, They/Them
Sexuality: Demisexual
Mental illnesses: Autism, ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, DID (magic makes this work somewhat differently in demons from how it presents irl), CPTSD
Physical Illnesses: Asthma, Pulmonary Atresia
Incense Burner/Ball and Chain Weapon
This incense burner is wrapped around Tao's waist and tends to spew some of his mist magic at any given time. It acts as both a weapon and storage. It can be used similarly to the ball and chain weapon from twilight princess, but can grow and shrink depending on what Tao needs. Misty spikes appear on the sphere when Tao is using it as a weapon.
King
A plushie made in Wukong's likeness that Macaque made for Tao when she was little. They told Macaque what clothes he wanted the little guy to wear, after seeing a future vision of baba wearing his more modern outfit. Has several small pocket dimensions inside of him that Tao can go into at any time.
Tao's Powers
Blessings of the White Snake
• Forked Tounge
• Hands(all four) can morph into snake heads
• Heatvision (Using his forked tounge.)
• More liquid/snakelike movement
Powers from Sun Wukong
72 Transformations
• Panda(Bear)
• Phoenix (Bird)
• Tiger/Snow Leapord hybrid (Big Cat)
• English Lop (Rabbit)
• Chow Chow (Dog)
• Long Eared Jeroba (Mouse)
• Chinese Moon/Silk Moth hybrid (Bug)
• Maine Coon (Domestic Cat)
• Datong (Horse)
• Impressed Tortise (Tortise)
• Yellow Pond Turtle (Turtle)
• Leatherback Turtle (Sea Turtle)
• Dulong Cow (Bull/Bovine)
• King Cobra/Burmese Python Hybrid (Snake)
• Chinese Water Dragon (Lizard)
• Tokay Gecko (Gecko)
• Chinese Alligator
• Eastern Dragon
• Yangtze Finless Porpoise (Porpoise)
• Hainan Eld's Deer
• Himilayan Marmot
• Steppe Polecat (Ferret)
• Asian Small-Clawed Otter
• Asian Badger
• Rhesus Macaque/Golden Snub Nosed Monkey Hybrid
108,000 Leap Somersault
Useful, but can cause Tao to have an asthma attack if preformed too fast or in a place with lots of debris.
Chi Manipulation
Mainly used in exorcisms and not in actual combat with living beings.
Flight
Loves soaring all on her own. can use his body to propel himself around and even gets help from the wind.
Replication/Shadow Cloning
Makes misty clones that can take on a physical appearance if nessicary.
Telepathic communication/Astral Projection
Has links to Wukong, Macaque, Chun and Zihou, but can easily astral project to anyone so long as they accept.
Flaming Fist of Fury
Strengthened by the Yang Samadhi fire to dangerous levels
Lazer eyes
Has the ability to use this power, but has never done so.
Gold Vision
Capable of using this in it's original state, and an altered version that allows him to see as if he wasn't blind.
Kaiju Form/Smoke Generation
Inherited from both parents (I will go i to more detail about his Kaiju in Macaque's section.)
Powers from Liu Er (Macaque)
Enhanced Hearing
Although Tao only has one extra set of ears, his hearing is still very sensitive.
Shadow Manipulation
Tao's shadows are more fluid-like in appearance compared to Macaque's.
She is capable of calling upon their mother's shadows should he ever find the need to.
Shadow Cloning/Replication
Clones usually take on a misty, cloud-like appearance, but have the ability to turn into identical clones to the original. Shadow clones of Macaque's can also be summoned if needed.
Shadow Transportation
Tao can use this ability easily, and the shadows tend to do most of the work for him. Macaque can sense each time Tao uses the shadows to warp.
Smoke Generation /Kaiju form
A misty form with a stone-like mask and chest plate with all four of the hands being stone as well as some stone bits around her wrists and tail. This form has three alternate forms depending on Tao's mood and the element that corresponds to it.
The Kaiju's base form
Height: Mainly between 120 Meters (394 Feet) and 158 Meters (521 feet), but can shrink to smaller heights. (Imagine the heights between Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Kong and King Ghidorah)
Fire Form
Uses the Yang half of the Samadhi Fire to further fuel itself. The base form has only parts of Tao's hair, the twin tips of his tail and around his wrists ignite, the same places where his stone parts are excluding the stone mask and chest piece. This differs fron his fiery wrath form, in which the entire body of the kaiju is engulfed in flames, which burn any and all they come in contact with.
Water Form
Uses the primal power of Tao's water abilities to fuel it. This form is rarely used for fighting and more as a method of escape, as it can seemingly 'melt' into any large body of water and vanish. Every time this form appears, heavy monsoon-like rains follow. This form is completely made of water with the exception of the stone bits.
Dual Form
A mix of all three forms and is the most destructive in terms of passive property damage. It has currently never been used, and for good reason. It's power alone rivals the power of the primordeal gods of old. The Yang Samadhi fire is unaffected by the water from this kaiju.
Powers Unique to Tao
• Echolocation
• True Sight (A modified verison of Gold Vision that allows Tao to see as if he wasn't blind)
• Familiar creation, allowed him to summon a unique companion based deeply on his personality. There are currently three. These three count as pokemon in the Pokemon AU I have for Tao.
Yang (Height: 9'2" Feet)
A fiery ghost dog that has been Tao's friend and companion since they were young. He used to be a living being, a half hellhound. Died protecting his master, and once in the Diyu he became so distraught and enraged over his master still being in danger that he singlehandedly broke out of the Underworld by digging himself out. His flames were so intense at that point that no one could get close without severe casualty to their person, not even the 10 kings. He lost all skin on his paws and head aside from his ears in the act, and successfully escaped to return to his master's side.
He is the only being aside from Wukong that has successfully escaped the Diyu, and since his only goal was to be reunited with his master, the ten kings decided it wasn't worth trying to bring him back. His bays, barks and howls is so intimidating that most sane beings will instinctively flee upon hearing it. He is semi-incorporeal. he consumed his own body as a spirit upon returning to battle and can choose to be more ghost-like or not. Yang often stays in Tao's incense burner/pokeball, or his master's shadow when not needed at that moment. Yang can control his flames to the point that allies will not be burned by them, but instead feel very warm. He's the perfect heater on cold winter days.
Jinjing (Height: 3'5" Feet)
A spunky fishy fox familiar that has also been with Tao since she was young. She acts like a service animal when Tao goes out and about, since Yang and Li are too big to do so without issue. Yang may be able to phase through walls but his Aura is extremely intimidating even for Erlang's hounds. and Li is far too big to be able to fit comfortably in most places. Jinjing knows DPT, can retrieve Tao's medicine on command, and helps to break them out of anything from a spiraling episode to ADHD paralysis (Not a medical term). Those big blue flowing antennae can act as hands if she really wants to use them. The webbed collar is backwards to help with drag in the water. when she flips it out, it helps slow her down in the water and causes drag. She can also inflate it enough to keep her head above water.
Li Yun (Height: 6'0" Feet)
The newest of the familiars, Li is the second most intimidating of the them. They can summon lightning storms at will and are capable of absorbing electricity. Their barks can sound for miles, and wherever they step, thunder and lightning are said to follow. They are generally neutral in most affairs and are more reserved than their Fire and Water counterparts. If Li isn't running about and stretching their legs, they're either in Tao's incense burner/their pokeball, patrolling Megaopolis from the rooftops, or by their Master's side.
• Feelers by his ears that allow him to sense the most subtle changes in the atmosphere.
Past/Future Sight
Able to see into the past or future. This ability is very different how his mother Liu Er sees into the past and future. Tao can only see one type of vision at a time. The triggers for both visions are very different and he can only see one type at a time. The inner color of his each represent the past (Purple) and the future (Yellow). When having either vision, his eye swill glow a pearlescent white color, and some kind of sparkling dust matching the color of the inside ear comes out of the corresponding set of ears.
The past visions are usually triggered by physically touching an object that either has a spirit or spiritual energy attached. Places that have a lot of spiritual energy can also trigger a vision the moment Tao finds a high enough concentration of energy. Sometimes he will move around during these visions, coming to in places he didn't pass out in.
Future visions are different with the exception of the glowing eyes and yellow dust. These visions can happen at any time, and leave Tao completely immobile until it ends.
Those who ingest the dust from either set of ears will temporarily gain the ability of future sight or past visions. These only have one use and may drive one mad the more they ingest. Humans and demons from all over sought to capture Tao for his oracle abilities, and to collect the dust he creates during a future vision.
Yang Samadhi Fire
Unlike what has been told about this powerful flame, in reality it was split into two seperate pieces long before the birth of Red Son. Tao possesses the 'Yang Half' of this flame, equally as powerful as the 'Yin' Half Red Son was born with. What is different about this flame is that ist is less likely to be triggered by emotion, but for Tao anger is the only trigger outside of activating the flames himself.
The flame tends to have more untriggered power behind it despite being of equal power to the Yin half. This flame tends to have a higher power output in the spring and summer months in accordance to Yin and Yang. It is a calmer flame compared to the Yin half, which feeds off of the emotions of it's host, and in Red Son and Mei's case makes it harder for the host to control their emotions.
The Yang Half of the flames is the only thing capable of completely calming the flames of the Yin.
In the primal days, the combined flames were said to scorch anything it touched into nothing, and was split in two in an attempt to mitigate the intense damage it caused when it raged unchecked. For the time being, the Samadhi Fire will remain seperated until the proper time.
Water Manipulation
The ability to use and manipulate water (In a similar mannter to the water benders of ATLA, but with some differences.) to his whim.
Thanks to the maleability of the water in his body plus the blessing of the White Snake, Tao is able to extend his limbs far past their normal limits. when using this ability they can move around as if there are no bones in his arms. They can also extend and retract at will.
An extension of this ability is an extremely dangerous one,
Blood Bending
Tao is able to control the blood of living beings, being completely capable of controlling their bodies. Most beings can attempt to resist and break free, but anyone blood related to Tao will be unable to control their body until he releases them. This only works on Wukong, Macaque and Chun. Tao doesn't like using this power often, however he often uses liquid bending to help defeat any construct that uses a similar circulatory-like system.
When they were younger, Tao would often cause some unintentional issues, as when she cried, rain would start to fall in a certain raduis around him and quickly become monsoon level rains if left unchecked.
Siren Song
Tao has a singing voice similar to the likes of sea sirens, being able to influence and/or control others through his voice. His voice is also powerful enough to rip flesh off of bone should he choose to use it, or cause the user hearing it to go mad. However this power is rarely used due to Tao not wanting to cause potential death and/or property damage. The inside of her mouth glows yellow when using this ability.
Glamours/Illusions
Tao can use glamour to take on a human appearance at any time, and prefers to not look so much like a monkie. He can also make illusions with his shadow abilities.
Water Warping/Portals
Tao is capable of using a very unique method of travel similar to shadow warping. The main difference is the stream of magic that is being used. Warping through water is usually done by oracles, as the stream of water magic used to travel is also the closest to the timespace stream, the flow of time and space around that entire dimension, In it's own pocket dimension, a seemingly strange place where water flows around breathable air in a tubelike tunnel from all sides. This is an area that only oracles can access, and with the floating islands scattered about it is safe for them to make living areas there.
Water Portals
These take more concentration to use, but are very handy for travel; as the requirement for warping is different. Unless the place is somewhere Tao has visited before, he can warp to and from any large puddle or body of water to anywhere in the world, even places he hasnt visited before.
Tao can also breathe underwater, but doesn't really need to breathe at all.
Primal Diety
Tao and his sister have full control over certain elements, regardless of the control gods from China and other pantheons have. In other words, an example being that the gods of the sea (ex. Posiedon) loose their control if Tao extends his control of water to the entire planet, same with fire.
Misty Form
Tao can turn himself into mist at will and change back at any time. He is more succeptable to being trapped in items like jars with an airtight lid or enchanted items of the same ilk, but he can return to a shrunken form at any time, or change back to his normal size and potentially break the item holding him if it isn't strong enough to contain him.
Fairly Recent Abilities
Tao was kidnapped by the Spider Queen some time during her attempted takeover of Megaopolis in the season 2 finale. See tried to turn them into a spider demon, but the only thing the venom did was give her silk glands in her hands that produce high quality enchanted silk (Silk moth like silk). This is abnormal since there is no other creature that can create enchanted silk naturally, so Spider Queen took quick advantage of this, using Tao as a silk producer for her takeover. Unfortunately making so much silk at once caused Tao's pawpads to become agitated and inflamed, and they stopped producing enchanted silk. Fortunately he managed to escape before the Lady Bone Demon tried to capture him for his half of the Samadhi fire.
The silk strands come out through the pawpads on their hands, and by pressing them together and stretching his arms apart, the silk forms into thick, glowing strands with each motion. This raw material can be used in many products from clothing to armor to fabric.
Misc. Info
• Tao is capable of storing immense amounts of magical power and has more potent magic than his twin sister. His snake heads, when not hands can sink their fangs into a person and suck their life essence and even their soul from their body.
• They a connection to death and the 10 kings, and his mist magic is capable of acting on its own and raising the dead, mainly those who's lives were tragically cut short.
• She sometimes sleepwalks, and depending on the phase of the tide, either moves around like a slow shambling zombie (low tide) or gets aggressive in his sleep and goes into water kaiju form (High Tide). this is one of the only times the water form becomes aggressive.
• Being physically intersex leaves him a target for European alchemists from all over.
• Sometimes purple and gold christhamanthemums spring from her bare feet whenever they touch natural ground. (Think Amaterasu from okami when she runs) these flowers have very potent medical properties.
• Their familiars are an extension of his magic and personality given form, and usually reside in his incense burner/Pokeballs/Shadow (Yang only) when not needed or resting.
• Her fire antlers were once crystal-like purple horns, that upon awakening the samadhi fire burst into flame. These flames started small in the beginning, but grew with age. They shrink to a smaller size during sleep.
That's everything I have at this time! This will be updated each time there is a change or new reference image. If you've read this far, thank you for actually reading all the way through! I would give you a cookie if I could. Tao is one of my most developed OCs, and I hope you've enjoyed reading this, I put a lot of research into him and the AU he's a part of as a whole, and I can go into more detail on the world building I've done at a later date if anyone is interested!
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