Back to Part 30
How Can You Say Forever Is At Your Command
When Aston was younger, he and his friends obsessed over anime. It started when they caught it for the first time on Cartoon Network after school, kids fighting in giant mechs. The show was a revelation, a completely different world than Scooby Doo or Looney Tunes. There was a plot that arced over every single episode, characters died and stayed dead, the show was a drama, animation treated with seriousness. Aston was hooked, and soon he fell down a rabbit hole of different worlds: angels attacking the earth, space bounty hunters, vampire hunters, even normal kids in boring towns suddenly swept up in a hunt for a space pirate.
Aston checked out books about Japan from the library. He marveled at pictures of Tokyo, and Japanese baseball teams — he didn’t know they played baseball! — and beautiful temples in the countryside and shopping streets and bullet trains. He read about how the roofs of older buildings in Japan were open inside, a giant cavity in case the house collapsed in an earthquake, the people inside would be protected and safe. He read about the castle in Kyoto, with floors that squeaked when stepped on, to alert the emperor of intruders.
Aston started to wonder about the city around him. So little in Japan seemed to be made of brick, like the houses and buildings in his neighborhood. He read about the Great Fire in Chicago, the laws on the books in St. Louis to combat fires like that. He dug into the works of Eero Saarinen, the designer of The Arch that watched over the city. And before he knew it, Aston could draw a line from the Cartoon Network to his three loves: anime, history, and architecture.
Being in a new city, a city that he had always known but was very different from the city he had known, he had new places to see. Usually, Razija was happy to go with him, or Oliver, with whom he shared an understanding of their city, though they were from two different St. Louises. So when Aston wanted to see Mill Creek Valley, Oliver jumped at the chance. They walked the streets they had never seen before, walked to businesses and restaurants, and took it all in. And when they were done, they ended at Stars Field, standing face to face with the statue of Cool Papa Bell.
It was the happiest day Aston had had in a long time.
That night, the Fan Poll sent him to Chesterfield.
Dash had never been one to let his guard down. His home life growing up had been less than happy, and he learned quickly that emotions were a weakness, and weaknesses were punished. He had briefly flirted with being a bully in middle school, but didn’t find the joy in it he had been looking for. Instead, he disappeared into video games. His family didn’t have a lot of money, but they had found an old Sega Genesis at a flea market, with a box of games that was all together cheaper than a family night out at the movies. Dash and his siblings wasted no time working through every single game they had.
If Street Fighter II hadn’t been in that box, Dash’s life would be different. He and his siblings learned every fighter in the game, memorized their moves, became unbeatable machines. They scrounged quarters and ventured out to the arcade to find other fighters. They stood in a mob around Mortal Kombat games, feeling like they were breaking the rules just by being there. Dash memorized those moves too, and once held his own against 20 fighters on one quarter.
Dash went to the state school in town for college, which was fine. He commuted in on the light rail, studied all day, and on the weekends he hit every fighting game tournament he could. The payouts for wins weren’t much, and while the money was nice, he wasn’t doing it for anything but the pride… okay, the money was nice too. He paid for a good chunk of his schooling on tournament wins.
He found out about the corkball league from a classmate. And if there was anything that he could point to that changed his life, it was meeting Janet and Oliver. The fighting game community was tight knit, but he had never really found a group. But the Leftovers felt like family. They had only spent a few months together, but Dash had fallen madly in love with them, the two people in his life he’d risk everything for, the only people he ever let his guard down around.
The night before, he and the Leftovers, now with Annabella, went to happy hour and talked. It wasn’t much, but there was no place he’d rather be. The next day, the fans sent Dash to the Poltergeist.
Razija asked questions. That’s what she did, and when she was little, it got her into a lot of trouble. Why were boys and girls different? Why did her family speak a different language than her friends? Why did the moon change the way it did? Why did things fall when she let go of them? Any other family might write this off as precociousness, but Razija’s parents did what they could to encourage her. Summer camps, science magnet schools, encouraging her to follow her dreams and try for MIT.
She couldn’t afford MIT, but she’d make waves in college at home. She loved the structure of the universe, the predictability of it, but also how it continued to surprise her over and over again. And, secretly, she always suspected there was more they weren’t seeing.
Razija played softball from a young age on. She loved the game, loved the competition, kept at it through college. If she could have, she would have gone pro. She’d be exaggerating if she said she saw the game in physics, she didn’t. She saw the game in softball, but the physics helped a little. What was better, though, is that she earned the nickname MoMo, after the Missouri Monster. Cryptids. She couldn’t have been happier.
Razija relished her nights with Elliot. Every day she learned something new, like how spells could be like the conservation of energy principal, or how spells could be in any language you wanted, not just Latin, as long as you put you intention into it. She learned how to fly — HOW TO FLY — because she told the universe she was flying and she meant it. She had never in her life guessed that she’d be friends with a witch.
On a Wednesday, a week and a half before the playoffs, the fans swapped her to the Turtles.
Every game, Mariya put on her uniform, put on the color blue, and she walked out onto the field with her team. She had never had a team before this, never made friends before this. In many ways, it was a little overwhelming.
Mariya listened to the way her teammates talked about “back home,” back to the places they had come from. She always bit her tongue when she listened to them. She knew they had all come from worlds different than her own, but she could never understand how they could ever miss those places. She had come from a bleak world, a world of red and black, from a world that valued suffering more than anything else. She hated that world, hated the people who lived in it, hated what they did to her. And she’d do everything she could to stay.
Mariya never said so, because she was a little unsure herself, but she felt that the United were her family. She hadn’t had a family Before, not really, not anyone she felt she could trust or count on. But every night, in the dorm common area, she sat with people she would fiercely defend to the death. Every night, she wanted to tell them how much she loved them, but didn’t know how, because she had never felt love for anyone before. Even when they were fighting, when they disagreed about things, poked at each other out of fear, she wanted so badly to pick all of them up and hug them until her arms hurt.
Rammy, though, Mariya was certain about. She was unsure about love, but she knew that she wanted to be near Rammy, to be there for her. She wanted Rammy to be the last thing she saw at night, and the first thing she saw in the morning. They spent more and more time at Rammy’s, watching movies, talking about the world Mariya was still getting to know. Rammy always listened intently, so excited for her. They held hands more, and Mariya could have melted every time. Rammy tried to cook for Mariya, and did it terribly. Mariya always tried the food anyway, even if it tasted like charcoal. Mariya was beginning to learn all about the take out food around them.
Mariya hated the fans. She hated how they took away her family from here, one at a time. She could still talk to them on the phone, but they just weren’t in her life in the same way anymore. Mariya didn’t stay behind to sign autographs anymore. She didn’t look at them, she could never, not anymore.
The fans sent her to the Blackhats, and she would never forgive them. She would never forgive them taking Rammy away from her. She would never forgive them for making her dress in red and black.
Chat log between Oliver Trashcat, Janet Frans, Dash Chardward, and Annabella Ewing
Dash Chardward
I still feel lightheaded
Oliver Trashcat
I’ve heard it goes away after a few days
Dash Chardward
“after a few days”…
Janet Frans
getting dragged across space-time gotta do that I bet
Annabella Ewing
I can deal with woozy
I wish I didn’t have to start over with a new team.
Oliver Trashcat
wait where did you end up?
Annabella Ewing
weathermancers
swap for forever landry
Oliver Trashcat
oh dang you’re right down the street now
you should have told me!
Janet Frans
AB’s going through a lot!
Annabella Ewing
it’s fine i’m just tired
Oliver Trashcat
dash how’s the new place
Dash Chardward
i’m pretty sure the ghosts just watch me sleep all the time
just all the time
waiting
Annabella Ewing
buddy…
Janet Frans
i’ve heard they’re very nice
Dash Chardward
cool i’ll trade you
you can sleep here and let the pervert ghosts watch you sleep
i stg
Janet Frans
okay so dash’s weird ghost thing aside
Dash Chardward
i hate you
Janet Frans
can we hang out?
before bad things happen again
Oliver Trashcat
yeah i’m in
Dash Chardward
yeah when do you want?
Annabella Ewing
I’m doing literally nothing right now
Janet Frans
I’ll head downtown on the first train
AB’s place?
Annabella Ewing
sure its quiet over here
Oliver Trashcat
I’m bringing spencer
Dash Chardward
they having a rough time?
Oliver Trashcat
they’d never say so but yeah
Annabella Ewing
that’s fine
i’ll order something
Janet Frans
i’m heading out. be there in 30
Dash Chardward
omw
Oliver found Elliot in the locker room of the Civic Center. She sat in her alcove, hugging her knees to her chest. She stared at the floor, and didn’t acknowledge Oliver.
“I’ve been looking for you,” Oliver said. “You weren’t answering your texts and I’ve been worried.”
Elliot didn’t say anything. Oliver sat down in front of her, trying to catch her gaze. Elliot closed her eyes.
“Wanna talk about it?” Oliver said.
“No,” Elliot said, muffled from behind her arms.
“Elliot…”
Elliot sat up a little, just so she could talk to Oliver a little better. “I was supposed to keep you all safe. I’ve been failing you constantly. Every day.”
Oliver thought for a moment, because the answer deserved thought. “We’re dealing with things we don’t understand. You’re super smart, you always have been, but the Regents are always a few steps ahead of us. That’s not your fault.”
“It’s my job to be anticipating what they’re going to do.” Elliot wiped a tear away. “And I can’t. I’m trying but I can’t.”
“You’re here,” Oliver said. “You’re showing up. Sometimes that the best anyone can do.”
Elliot hugged her knees tighter. “I’m scared of what will happen if I can’t show up.”
Oliver didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure of what to say. He tried a few times, but couldn’t find the words. What words would even make this right?
“I know you’re trying too,” she said softly. “Thanks, donut.”
Crasher entered the locker room, game bag on their shoulder. They saw Elliot and blinked, and then started towards her. “Hey, witch-“
Oliver stood, grabbing a bat out of Elliot’s alcove and held it out in front of him, standing between Crasher and Elliot.
Crasher froze, holding up their hands. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hang on, you got the wrong idea, Ollie.”
“What idea am I supposed to have?” Oliver said, narrowing his eyes.
Elliot stood and gently moved Oliver out of her way. “Thanks, donut, I got this.” She stood face to face with Crasher as best she could, her hands at the ready at her sides. “You got a question for me?”
“Yeah,” Crasher said, unsure, but found their footing. “Yeah, why the hell does this keep happening?”
“If you know how to stop it, I’m all ears.”
“That’s what you’re supposed to do. You fix it. You’re the witch.” Crasher stepped forward again. Elliot raised her hand, glowing, crackling magic steaming off of it.
“Crasher…” Rammy stood in the door of the locker room. She looked exhausted, like someone who had no more tears to give. She went to her alcove and dropped her game bag off. “Don’t fight with the witch. You should know better.”
Crasher stepped back. “This keeps happening. And it won’t stop-“
“It’s not her fault. She’s trying. The Regents are too much for us.” Rammy pulled her shirt off and slipped into her uniform. Oliver turned away, though they all knew what they looked like without the uniforms on by now. It was all a matter of fact. “Elliot being here is keeping us alive, at least. That’s the best we can hope for.”
Crasher took out their phone. “…gonna call Amy…” They turned away, and started toward the club house.
“HEY.” Rammy said. Crasher froze. They turned to Rammy, wide eyed. Rammy motioned for them to come back. She gathered the four of them together.
“Look, everything sucks right now. It’s just us left, just the four of us from the original United.”
“Well, three and Elliot,” Crasher corrected.
“Stop,” Rammy said. “I’m hurt too. We’re all hurt. But we’re all we have right now. Our job is to get this Ship of Theseus to safe harbor. And we can’t do that if we’re at each other’s throats. Spencer is right, it’s exactly what the Regents want. If we’re fighting with each other, we can’t fight them.”
Crasher dropped their eyes to the floor. “Yeah,” they said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
“We’re all sorry,” Rammy said. “When the others get here we’ll go over the game and the lineup. And I expect all of us to be taking care of one another. All of us.” She put her arms around Elliot and Oliver, pulling them all close, and bowed her head, touching all three of them. “Right now this team is what we have. And United will fight until there is no more United. Be kind to each other.”
Rammy stood up straight. “I’ll be in the office.”
Crasher watched her go. “Go team…”
-g
Back to Part 30