10 First Kiss, First Punishment

I try to think of something to say to Xan, but I can't. He stands up and goes off to the side, and he puts on some pants. I notice a couple of tattoos on his back, besides his solder number. He moves to walk out of the tent, and I get up and grab his arm, and say, "Where are you going?" He looks at me.

"Someplace where I know who I am." He says quietly. I get a small bit of confidence and respond.

"You're already there. This tent," I gesture around me, "is where you know who you are. I've learned more about you than you have me, but I know at least one thing: you act like yourself here. Not like a general, but like a normal person. So you know who you are, but you don't know when you should be yourself. Forget everything about the Gragzuls, everything with your dad, the war, everyone's opinions, and just focus on this moment, right here, right now. Then you'll know who you are." Xan looks at me for a solid five minutes, at least. He speaks after a while.

"... Tell me about yourself then." I smile and sit back down on the cot, and he sits on the ground on the sleeping bag again.

"Where to begin..."

"Well, I came from a small town. A couple hundred people or so. Everyone knew everyone, and everyone knew everything about everyone. It was hard keeping secrets. But, aside from that, my town was pretty nice. I lived on a farm on the edge. Korax and I met in second grade, or somewhere close to that." Xan smiles.

"Impressive. I came from a big city. Bet you'll be able to guess which one." I laugh. There's really only one or two big cities in Cordraxia. The capital, and the industrial areas.

"Sounds horrible." Xan laughs slightly.

"You have no idea." I smile and think of some stuff I haven't thought about in a while.

"There was one time someone got murdered. Everyone, and I mean everyone, was all over the place trying to figure out two things: who the murderer was, and who the victim was. They were visiting from out of town, but the next day, BAM dead." Xan looks at me in shock.

"Seriously? Did they ever figure it out?"

"Hmm... not that I can recall. Some say the killer's still out there, waiting for his next target." Xan laughs.

"Enough with the horror stories, Adraxian." I laugh mysteriously, or at least I try to.

"It's not a horror story." Xan laughs even harder.

"You're ridiculous." I smile, and look at him. The lantern in the tent is doing what it always does to his features, soft but evident. I notice something that I hadn't noticed earlier.

"Has your hair always been that red?" I ask. Xan pauses.

"What do you mean?" I get up and find a somewhat reflective surface and hold it out in front of him. He takes it from me, clearly confused. "I... I can't say that it was." He stands up and walks out of the tent. I follow him.

"Where are you going now?" He looks at me over his shoulder.

"To someone that might be able to figure this out." I realize who he's talking about.

"That's probably a really b-bad idea."

We walk over to Kor's tent, and wait a moment. "Well, sounds safe." Xan says quietly, and he goes in. I follow him and smile slightly at what I see. Jaxx sitting at the table, smiling lovingly at Kor, who is sleeping. But then I notice that Jaxx has some tattoos of something. He looks over at me and Xan, and stands up.

"Hello general. Hello to you too Adraxian." He says mellowly. I tilt my head.

"What are those tattoos?" Jaxx hesitates.

"Nothing. What brings you here?" Xan looks like he doesn't believe Jaxx, but he ignores it.

"Adraxian here noticed something." Jaxx looks at him.

"Your hair. It is more red than before." He walks over to Xan and starts looking him over.

"Do you think it might be from the whole Gragzul thing?" Xan asks.

"Maybe. Either that or you might just have forgotten that you need to dye your hair again, because you do forget that from time to time." Xan rolls his eyes.

"A 'maybe' isn't what I'm looking for." Jaxx walks over to a small cupboard and digs around in it a little, and then walks back over to Xan with a makeshift needle. "What are you-" Xan says, but Jaxx pokes him with it before he can finish the sentence. It starts filling with blood, and then Jaxx takes it out and has Xan press on the spot as he goes over to a bag, more specifically, his bag, and puts the needle in it. I spot the book I had found in my bag, but don't say anything.

"I will run some tests. Maybe some DNA sequencing if I can manage it. I will get back to you about this. But for now, I suggest you dye your hair again." Jaxx walks out of the tent. I look at Kor, who moves to lay on his back, and then at Xan. He looks back at me, his face a mix of worry and fear.

"It'll be fine." I say.

"I know." He says back. We walk out of the tent and go over to the one we 'share' and go in. Xan goes and digs around in his bag and pulls out a box. Just generic brown hair dye. "I'll be back in a moment." He says, walking out of the tent. I nod and sit on the cot. I look at the boot I have on, and decide to see if I'm healed enough to take it off or not. I pull off the velcro straps and take it off. I look at my leg. Just a couple bruises, not much else. I tap my foot on the floor, and then stand up slowly.

"Huh. Guess I'm alright." I sit back down and move the boot off to the side. After about ten minutes, Xan walks back into the tent, his hair having gone from bright red to dark brown. He notices the boot and looks at me.

"Man, you do heal fast." I smile slightly. It's been a couple months since I first got enlisted, and I don't know how much longer I can stand this feeling I've had to bury deep inside me. Xan must've noticed something was gnawing at me, because he starts to question me about it. "Adraxian? You alright?" I shrug, my throat too tight to actually get words out. He stands in front of me, and crouches so that he can look me in the eyes. I look at him, and he says, quietly, "What's wrong?" I blink a few times and look away. He just stays there, waiting. I finally speak.

"What if... I told you that I did like someone... but I don't know if they liked me back...?" He tilts his head at the question.

"I think I'm gonna need a couple more details to figure that out." I nod, "Fair enough." I look at him, and take a deep breath.

It took both of us by surprise. I didn't even think I was actually going to do it. I just straight up kissed him. Not like a full kiss, just like a peck I suppose. I felt myself get bright red when I looked at Xan. He was blushing too.

"I... I don't..." He says quietly, trying to even figure out what just happened.

"I-I'm sorry i-if I made you u-uncomfortable I j-just-" He interrupts me.

"N-no it's not that, I just... let's just say... I was in the same boat." I look at him, surprised.

"S-seriously?" He scratches the back of his neck, blushing a little more.

"Y-yeah..." I suddenly smile, then laugh slightly. Xan looks at me, and he's clearly confused. "W-what?" I smile wider.

"This whole time I thought I should do something and now that I did I realize that I just didn't pick up on the hints you gave me!" Xan pauses, then smiles, and starts laughing. After a little while, we fall silent, but it's a comfortable silence.

"So, now wh-'' I start to say, but Xan just kisses me. Properly. My heart skips a beat, and I feel myself blush again. He leans back and looks at me, a small smile on his face.

"Get some rest. We got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

I woke up to a small ruckus. I opened my eyes slightly and saw that someone was in the tent, talking to Xan, and they tipped something over, letting out some kind of emotion on it. I blinked and slowly my groggy brain realized that it was Raxio. Xan looks at me as I move slightly, and Raxio pauses, then turns and looks at me. He suddenly grabs me by the arm and pulls me up violently.

"What are you doing with my son?!" He yells, and I flinch.

"Father, stop he didn't-"

"Shut up Xanthos! I want to hear this soldier speak for himself." I swallow nervously.

"I haven't done anything, sir." Raxio glares at me with his one eye. He suddenly pulls me out of the tent, almost dragging me.

"Father! Stop!" Xan yells, exiting the tent behind us, having to jog slightly to catch up to his dad. Raxio just walks faster, and I try to get on my feet but I just half stumble half get dragged across the ground. As we walk past a soldier, Raxio speaks to him.

"Call for a meeting. Rank house. Now."

"Sir yes sir!"

"Oh, and get someone to hold him back." He says, nodding back at Xan. The soldier snaps and a few men walk over and surround Xan, who then tries to go around them but they keep him from going anywhere.

A couple of minutes later, everyone is gathered in the rank house. Raxio dragged me up onto the stage-like platform at the far end. At least I'm standing now. But, I have some chains on my wrists and ankles, and a gag in my mouth. "Attention! As you can see, I have another little demonstration for you." Raxio says loudly so that everyone can hear him. I try to not show any emotion, but I put my hands into fists because they're shaking. "Now, as you may realize, this is one of your fellow soldiers. But," Raxio says, starting to pace on the stage, "he has, of course, done something that I don't approve of." A couple of men come up and shove me to my knees. I glare at Raxio as he walks in front of me. He bends down and takes the gag out. "What do you have to say for yourself?" I snarl, my vision turning red slightly.

"Go. Fuck. Yourself." Everyone gasps, and murmurs start going through the rank house. Raxio snarls at me and puts the gag back.

"As you can see, he has no respect for authority. Now, since I found him in a peculiar situation, this punishment might seem a little unusual."

I take a deep breath or two and glare at Raxio as he walks past me again. "I know that, much like cowboys, most of you are probably gay, due to the only company around you being men. And, as you most likely already know, your general is gay. And I found this soldier," he says, pointing at me, "with my son! He was trying to kiss him!" Everyone looks around, and one can feel how worried everyone is. I see Xan out of the corner of my eye, and he's silent, knowing that if he says anything, it'll probably just make this worse. "Now, I also believe many of you have heard of BDSM, correct?" Everyone murmurs again. "Today, in this example, we're gonna do something similar." Raxio says, stopping in front of me. I glare at him, and he backhands me. I move my jaw around slightly, popping it back into place, and I just stare at him. He snaps, and a soldier provides him with a metal rod. "So, 218-973, or rather, Adraxian, have you ever been in a situation like this?" I shake my head. "Good. Maybe it'll keep you from ever trying it." He hits me with the thin end of the rod, scratching my cheek. He takes the gag out again and asks me what I have to say again.

"Fuck. Off." He hits me with the rod again, and I grit my teeth. I know this is going to be a long, long process.

It's been at least an hour. At least, it feels like it. I have several cuts on my face, and I've yet to break in Raxio's opinion. He sets the metal rod on a table, and picks up a leather strip, similar to a whip. "Now, Adraxian, anything to say?" I close my eyes, starting to get tired.

"Fuck off." He hits me with the whip so hard I lurch forward, grunting slightly. Everyone gasps.

"Let's ask a different question, shall we? Who is in charge of you?" I sit up slowly.

"Definitely... not... you." He hits me again, getting a small yelp from me. This goes on for at least ten or twenty minutes. By now, my throat hurts from screaming. All I feel at this point is just straight up pain. I think my whole back is just a collection of giant scratches. Raxio walks in front of me, crouching, and makes me look at him.

"Who is in charge of you?" I swallow, knowing I've almost hit my limit, or on the edge of just flat out dieing due to probably a lot of blood loss at this point, and I manage to speak, my voice all scratchy and my throat burning.

"Not... you..." He stands up and goes back behind me and hits me with the leather again, this time getting a solid scream from me. I slouch forward, knowing that I won't be able to take any more of this. Raxio does the same as he did before, but he says something different.

"Who is your master?" I instantly respond.

"Y-you, sir." He lets go of my chin and has the men take the chains off of me.

"You are all dismissed." Raxio shouts. The last thing I see is Xan, Jaxx, and Kor running towards me, and a silver flash.

I slowly wake up, unsure of where I am. I groan slightly, and someone grabs my shoulder, shaking me slightly. I open my eyes, trying to figure out what's happening. My vision slowly clears and I see Jaxx, who is paler than usual, and he speaks hesitantly.

"A-Adraxian are you okay?" His voice is shaking badly. I look at him closer.

"Are you okay? God what happened to you?" I reach up toward his face slightly, and he flinches, moving away.

"I am fine. Adraxian, do you have... any idea how long you have been unconscious?" I shake my head slightly. "A week. You have been unconscious for a week." I shuffle slightly, feeling only a little pain in my back, and I mumble a question.

"Where are Xan and Kor?" Jaxx shakes his head.

"I am afraid I cannot answer that. No one has seen them in a while." I sit up slowly, and look around. We're in a tent, an unfamiliar one at that.

"Where are we?" Jaxx stands up, flinching.

"It is okay, this is a friend's tent." I look at him.

"Seriously, are you okay?" He swallows, nodding.

"I am fine."

I look at him closer, more at his clothes to see if I can figure something out, whatever it is. I notice a dark patch on his shirt, off to the side. Before he can react, I grab his shirt and lift it up. He has a horrible gash on his side, and the sight is both horrendous and astonishing. Due to his silver blood, it looks like metal is growing over the gash, but he's still bleeding slightly, so some of it is just running down his side as if it's melting.

"Holy shit! What the fuck happened?" I say, making Jaxx flinch again, and he takes a couple steps back. Suddenly, Raxio enters the tent.

"I see you're awake." He says to me, smiling as if I don't remember the fact that he just whipped the living hell out of me just a while ago.

"What did you do to him?" I say, nodding towards Jaxx. Raxio turns to him, and then back at me.

"Let's say I... reunited him with someone from his past." His smile sends chills down my spine, and I just look at him.

"What about Korax and Xanthos?" Raxio tilts his head slightly, as if thinking, and then speaks.

"Well, Xanthos is perfectly fine. Korax is... not as fine, but he's in better shape than you or Jaxx." I take a deep breath, and Raxio walks over, grabbing my chin and making me look at him. 'Must be a family thing.' I think to myself, remembering that Xan does the same thing when I try to avoid a subject. "But don't worry about them," he says calmly, "focus on what you're going to do right this moment." I look at him, knowing he can see the defiance in my eyes. "Still some fire in you after all that, I see? The feisty ones always scream loudest." I try not to react, but panic slightly inside.

Before I can even react, Cordia walks into the tent, and Jaxx scrambles backwards slightly, a look of pure terror on his face. I've never seen anyone so scared in my life.

"Sir, they have requested to speak with you." Raxio tilts his head, thinking.

"Let them in. Both of them. Make sure both of them won't try anything." Cordia nods, and leaves the tent, only to come back a few moments later with Kor and Xan, holding one of their arms so they can't go anywhere. Xan looks a little roughed up, but he looks fine otherwise. I can't help but notice the fact that his hair is just a wild mess, proving that he still hasn't gotten a haircut. Kor looks like he hasn't been outside for pretty much the entire week, but he seems okay.

"Why are you doing this?" Xan says firmly, glaring at his dad.

"Oh son," Raxio says, walking closer to him, "if only you had the courage I have. This war would've been over years ago."

"This war isn't over until you're dead." Xan says, his voice full of authority, so much so that Cordia releases Kor and Xan's arms. The first thing that happens: Raxio getting knocked to the floor by Xan, who looks absolutely furious. I watch with almost a morbid fascination as Xan just beats the hell out of Raxio, who tries to get up, but he can't, because now Jaxx and Kor, even in their weakened states, are managing to pin down his arms and legs. Xan stops for a moment, breathing hard, his fist up by his ear, ready for another punch, and he says, "Do you surrender?" Raxio, who is bleeding from several spots, his lips, nose, one spot on his cheek having all been pummeled by Xan, speaks.

"There it is... the courage. It's in your blood, Xanthos... you're just like me. Born a killer, always will be a killer." Xan tightens his fist more, and punches Raxio one last time, knocking him unconscious.

Jaxx instantly goes to Xan's hand, making sure he didn't break anything, and then he stumbles to Kor, and they hug. Cordia just stands there, not sure what to even think about this situation. Jaxx looks at Cordia, and lets go of Kor, and he stumbles over to Cordia.

"Look, there may have been a lot of shit between us for the longest time... but" Jaxx holds out his hand, "truce?" Cordia looks at his hand, then smiles slightly, taking it.

"Truce." They shake hands, and Cordia just stands there now, smiling contentedly.

"Hey, can you go tie him up somewhere?" Xan says, getting up off the ground, nodding down to his dad.

"Sir yes sir." Cordia says, and he picks up Raxio with some difficulty, but he manages to get him out of the tent.

I sit up, moving my legs so they're hanging over the side of the bed thing I'm on, and Xan turns to me. Between his messy hair and his bleeding hand, I honestly have never admired anyone this much in my entire life. I slide off the bed, and walk over to him, pulling him into a hug. He hugs me, resting his chin on top of my head, and he says, "I'm sorry." I try to say "It wasn't your fault" but it's just a muffled group of noises. He laughs slightly. "I know." Jaxx and Kor stand next to each other.

"I told you they'd be a thing before the end of the war." Kor says, making Jaxx roll his eyes and Xan and I blush hardcore.

"Hey, it is true, you two have been head over heels with each other from the start." Jaxx says, making Kor smirk.

"Shut up or you're both getting booted." Xan says, his face dark red. The four of us laugh, finally happy that at last the 'gang' is back together.

After a while, Xan tells everyone what happened. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone. A fucking news crew even came. Raxio has officially been impeached, and actually was arrested for a count of mass genocide and several counts of assault. We let Cordia off easy, only a couple weeks in jail for basically making sex slaves for people, but he seems fine with it. He revealed to us that when he first did it, he was in a rough state of mind, and needed money for his mom's care. She's pretty sick from what he told us. He knew that after a while he should've stopped, but he didn't. But, now that Cordraxia is only being ruled by Marx Rioxal, Raxio's assistant of sorts, everyone is scrambling to try to get some candidates for our whole voting system. We try to still have remnants of a democracy, but at this point it's turned more into a monarchy, but we still vote on our leader, so I guess that's good.

Anyway, Xan walks over to Jaxx, Kor, and I, and he immediately says, "I can't believe that just happened." Jaxx laughs slightly.

"Neither can I. Thank Zuli I saw the bastard that killed my people get put in jail. He is probably going to end up getting killed, you know that right?" Xan shrugs.

"Sometimes people have to die for the greater good." I smile.

"You did good." An unfamiliar voice says, way off to this side of the four of us. We all turn to look at who it is, and are taken aback slightly. Definitely a Gragzul, but... who?