Broken Family

I follow the mother through the tunnel as they let us in. They have every right to suspect us. We dress weird– compared to them. On top of that we don't even own a firearm to defend ourselves but instead we have Sylvie's sword and my daggers. The gate slowly shut behind us and I heard some of them talking about the camouflage for the gate. It's still a prototype and currently testing to apply it to the gate. That's why we could still see the gate when we arrived. How long do I need to carry this man on my back? This is a long tunnel for a secret base. As I see there are more gates as we go deeper. Probably to buy the citizens more time to evacuate when the base got attacked. Very clever.

Sylvie, you have been quiet ever since we left the bridge. Is there anything bothering you? I guess it's better to leave you alone for now. If we are anything alike, you might be wondering if the Variant was here or not. We should ask questions when we have a chance. Other than that, I'm looking forward to seeing the leader of this base.

Finally there's light at the end of the tunnel. As soon as we got out, the only thing we could see was wounded fighters and injured children and adults, lying around with no beds or blankets in a large room. The mother leads us out of the room and gets to the hall. The longer this war goes, the more innocences get hurt– wait since when did I care so much about people? Did anyone I know passed away other than my adopted parents? I feel like I made this person a promise "Please, save them," I recall but who said it? Anyway, I need to see their leader as soon as possible.

We get into another big room with fewer casualties. The mother leads us to their 'corner' of the room where there is only a big blue carpet lying there. She politely asks me to take her husband off my back with a sweet "thank you" in her tone. Her eyes are still filled with tears as she kneels down with her husband in her arms. She strokes his hair, presses their foreheads against each other's shoulders. I can hear the sound of her sniffing but very quiet. It's okay to cry even out loud. Loss is terrible. It hurts the most when you slowly realise, they aren't with you anymore and you can't meet them anymore. They don't exist in your world anymore. She presses their foreheads together and whispers

"We're home, sweetheart. You are home…with us. We will always be together. We promised each other, remember? Wherever you go, I go. Wherever I go, you go. Now, you'll go with me until the day I join you, alright sweetheart? I love you." Then she kisses his forehead.

Their children come in and hug their parents. They cry out loud, unlike their mother but slowly she does too. As I turn to Sylvie, tears are already filling her eyes. I hug her with my right left arm and she leans into me. Even myself can't lock away my emotions. Tears stream down my cheeks, then on Sylvie's head. I gave her a kiss on her head to comfort her. Their position feels too familiar. It felt like it had happened before but I can't seem to remember.

An hour has passed, Sylvie and I are sitting on a bench next to the stairs with her head on my shoulder. The children are sleeping and we are watching over them. Their mother has taken her husband to bury. She didn't need our help, so we left her alone. The little girl wakes up and rubs her eyes as I turn around and look over my shoulder from the noises.

"Mister, have you seen mama?" she asks innocently.

"She's handling something. Don't worry, she will be back in no time." Am I talking with a child?

"Of course she will. She always protects us from monsters," said the little girl.

"There are monsters here?" asks Sylvie, turning around.

She read my mind right away.

"It's a game we play when we are bored. My parents are mine and my brother's protectors. They usually ask the other people in this room to join us and one of them will be the monster. The protectors' job is to spot the monster. My papa usually fails but never my mama," she explains.

Sounds like a scary game during this time. As soon as the mother comes back, her little girl runs toward to give her a hug. I stand up with Sylvie next to me and head toward her direction.

"I'm Mako," she introduces herself. "Thank you for saving us. We owe you."

"You owe us nothing," says Sylvie.

"This is Kaje," she strokes the little girl's head. "And he is Kane," she looks at the sleeping little boy. "You guys must be hungry. Are you hungry, little princess?"

"Starving," replies Kaje.

"Alright, let's go get your brother, then we'll eat at the cafeteria," says Mako.

The Cafeteria is almost as big as my father's throne room, even though I don't quite remember its size. I could say the same for Sylvie since she left Asgard way earlier than I did. I get my food and sit down with Mako while Kaje and Kane sit at the children's table. It's been a while since I ate a peaceful meal. Ever since I met Sylvie, my meal plan got a little messed up. I chased her down, headed to the void and now chasing after a Variant. The Variant! Now is the time to ask.

"Mako, have you seen anyone with a green cloak wrapped around with a hood pulled up?"

"Can you be more specific?" she asks after swallowing her food.

"Um– he… wears a metal mask. All of his limbs are also covered by metal."

"The description seems familiar. I think I saw him through the window in the City Hall before we were attacked by the patrol," Mako replies.

He was IN the City Hall. He was there when we hid behind the statue. We missed our chance.

"A friend of yours?" she asks.

"You could say so."

"Anyway, where is your friend? She isn't hungry?"

"Yes." She spent most of her life hiding from the TVA in the apocalypses. She might have found a way to ease her hunger but still maintain her energy. I don't know how she does it but I never question it. "Anyway, I've been meaning to ask. What were you doing out there with your children?"

"Oh, we…we… What were we doing out there?" Mako starts to get confused.

"Wait, you don't remember?" I ask.

"Ye– yes, what were we doing out there? We have children, my husband died. What were we doing?" she starts to tear up.

"Mako. Mako, it's fine. Take a deep breath, alright?" This is his doing. He manipulated this family to walk into danger. He knew we would save them to slow us down. He knew that this will buy him time as the government is on our back. Well played, Doctor Doom, well played. The government is also on your back now, since you're not from here. We are also Magicians.