After The End

Like colors giving life to art, the memories painted a life for September that she had forgotten. Lines became images that became life, a life that she had lived and left behind. The pain and hatred she had abandoned came to greet her. It wrapped itself around her until she absorbed it all. The anguish she felt learning that her partner had been captured. The fear she hid away at the thought of death. The pain she endured as she watched him suffer. The anger she used to get to King Cassander and kill him. Then with out warning it had all been stripped away from her. She had been given a new name and a new life. The memories stored away until she would be needed again.

"Do you remember who I am?" The man asked, finally. "Do you remember who you are?"

She didn't reply. She refused. A new anger sprouted.

How could they block me?

With a control she didn't know she possessed, she heard herself speak softly, "My name is Ildiko, Captain of the Hydra. Reporting as a rogue agent. Acquired by General Space Force Agent, Tajan Himiko."

Her eyes glared at him in accusation. Tajan had welcomed the idea of being in charge of Ildiko. They had a score to settle between the two. He hadn't even thought of any grudges she might still harbor against him. He regretted the earlier kiss now.

"Good, at least you remember the important parts." He said, trying to retain his composure.

"I remember the important parts alright," Ildiko mocked. She took off her towel and dressed slowly, never breaking from Tajan's piercing look. "Thank you for that. Now, I'll do you the same courtesy. In about five minutes I will begin shooting."

"You don't ha-"

Ildiko split the dimension and pulled out her gun. Tajan had never seen her use that kind of portal. He had heard the rumors but she had been blocked before he could see her use all of her abilities. It looked like he was about to get a first hand look.

"Before I shoot, just tell me what happened?" Her hand was steady as she aimed for his heart.

"Ildiko, you don't want to shoot me. Put the gun down and we can talk. Hey, look if you shoot me then you can't get new information from me. Right? C'mon. I can tell you where your ship is." He dangled the information in front of her as if she were a starved mutt. Ildiko licked her lips. Tajan smirked.

"No, I don't want you to tell me I want you to show me." She lowered her gun and fired.

"Gaaargh, what the fuck did you do that for?" Tajan yelled, falling over and cradling his foot.

"Shut up, you know you can heal it right away and I didn't say I agreed to not shoot you. What I will agree to is you taking me to my ship. Otherwise I'll continue to shoot and you'll continue to heal between a few minutes of agonizing pain until I kill you."

"Fine! Okay, just put that thing away. You have multiple abilities and you have to use the most prehistoric kind." Tajan argued regaining his stance again. "I was planning on taking you there anyways. It's why I woke you up."

"Why was I blocked in the first place? That wasn't part of the deal you and I made!" She barked.

"You said you wanted to forget. You didn't want to remember anything that happened." Tajan replied in a stern tone.

"Yeah, but with my fucking ship! I wanted to go back to my life!"

Tajan scoffed before replying, "C'mon, what kind of officer would I be if I just let you get back to a life of pirating?"

"One that keeps his fucking word," Ildiko replied, shooting his foot once more.

"Ah, fuck! Alright, geeze! Can you put that away?" Tajan yelled in desperation. She had waited for him to heal, looking around the place she had thought was home. It meant nothing to her now. She had been living a lie on Earth.

How could I have fallen for this?

A knock came from the door. Ildiko and Tajan exchanged similar looks. Tajan stood on the opposite side of the door, his blade pointed and ready to strike. Ildiko hid the gun behind her and reached for the door with her other hand. She peered through to find a young man standing there; Haiku, her downstairs neighbor. She had known him since, elementary school. No, she didn't know him at all. Those were all part of the fake memories given to her after she was blocked by the same people she had helped.

"Hey, what do you want?" She snapped. Haiku looked hurt and surprised by the sudden lash out.

"Hi, well, uhm, there sounded like a gun. No. What I mean is that I think I heard a gun shot. I also, you-are you okay? There's a bullet hole in my ceiling. You're right on top of me- not *on* top of me but like above me..."

Haiku's head snapped back as the door slammed in his face. Awkwardly, he began walking back to his apartment when Ildiko's door behind him burst open with a loud *bang!* Ildiko and Tajan had been thrown out by an excessive force. Haiku stumbled towards them in his confusion. He heard a roar emanating from Ildiko's apartment.

"You could've told me these things had been turned loose," Ildiko yelled, pulling Tajan and Haiku out of the way as more objects were thrown out of the apartment.

"Would that be before or after you were done using me as a shooting target?" Tajan muttered.

"So, you did shoot?" Haiku looked over at Ildiko for confirmation.

A roar pulled their attention back to the beast inside. Haiku's knees began to tremble. It was unlike any animal he'd ever scene. The snout was long with thick whiskers under each nostril. Its eyes were frozen in a golden frown that contrasted against its dark skin. It snarled showing its deadly fangs. The body slithered around the room, Haiku saw two claws near the top and two claws near the bottom.

"Is that a fucking dragon?" The snout opened in response and blew hell fire. "HOLY FUCK!"

Ildiko stood before the dragon and scribbled some runes in the air. The dragon roared in pain as it shed into ashes. Tajan reversed the damage it had caused. Haiku sat on the floor unable to believe his own eyes.

"You wouldn't have unblocked me for this if it were only one." Ildiko observed, watching Tajan closely. They both ignored Haiku as he would be reset later. "How many more are there?"

"About," Tajan pretended to calculate, "a whole new herd."

"How many are in a herd?" Haiku asked, following along with them.

"Enough to destroy the human race. Twice." Ildiko said, taking a spectrum gun out of thin air.

"Where did you get that?" Haiku pointed.

"How many do you have?" Tajan continued.

"Forget it, just take me to the ship." Ildiko ordered, hoisting Haiku up.

Tajan didn't argue. Everything was going according to plan. His team unleashed the dragon in time to get her attention. Haiku would need to be dealed with later, he thought, looking over at the mortal. One by one they jumped through the mirror. Haiku had to be pushed through. Tajan's men had the ship surrounded. The ship was docked in the heart of the 16th precinct. They had kept it there under Tajan's orders. He knew they'd need Ildiko one day and the only thing precious to her was her ship. Her team had abandoned her the minute she agreed to help him. Having betrayed her trust, Tajan cringed at the fact that Ildiko was now alone because of him. It was another reason he had fought so hard to awaken her.

The most important one was over the dragons' release. Ildiko had provided his law enforcement with a lot of information regarding King Cassander. She had turned over every piece of evidence and treasure he was hoarding away in his island. Yet, Ildiko had failed to mention the Alchemist's Secret Lair. It was filled with unknown secrets. One of which was supposed to help defeat the dragons. He had learned of it a few days ago when the dragons first began to appear. He had reached out to his Secretary of Defense, Amy Liu. She had been furious with Tajan for having missed the most crucial part of taking down King Cassander.

He waved Ildiko on as she got reacquainted with her ship. While he turned to make a call to his team and commander. Haiku looked around the stone walls and surrounding balconies. This was a ship dock. There were plenty of ships of various colors and sizes around. There were armored suits marching around as general security. He looked off to the distance and saw various citizens waving good bye to those on the ground. Haiku looked over the rail, the water seemed invisible. It was the clearest he'd ever known water to be. Huge slithering eels swam by causing him to retreat in fear. He ran off after Ildiko with Tajan close behind.

"What changes did you make?" Ildiko said, shooting Tajan an accusing look.

He raised his hands in protest, "We touched nothing."

Ildiko seemed to believe him. She lowered her gaze, "I'm going to leave."

"After you turn over the location of the Alchemist's Secret Lair, and help get rid of the infestation." Tajan demanded, raising his weapon. The surrounding officers raised their guns as well. The lasers pointed to her chest. Haiku gulped, he noticed that there weren't any lasers pointed at him. Slowly, Haiku approached Tajan. The blood rushed to his ears, his palms twitched lightly itching to reach for the gun. Sweat decorated his upper lift as he realized he had to do this quickly if he wanted to get out of this alive. He closed his eyes, counting down from five before taking action.

"I'm done taking orders from you," He heard Ildiko say.

When he opened his eyes, Ildiko was both infront of him and behind Tajan. He looked around, for every officer there was a copy of Ildiko. Haiku's mouth fell open as he tripped on a some rope. With the officers distracted, Ildiko tossed Tajan off the ship. She ran over to the stern to turn on her ship. Haiku lay dazed and confused on the floor, unaware of what she was planning. The gears began turning on the Hydra. It's notorious *roar!* filled the room, causing all who weren't already watching to turn and look. A gasp sounded as they realized they were watching the return of Ildiko, Captain of the Hydra and most notorious pirate. Camera's flashed as they tried to capture history in the making. The Hydra began to crystalize as it was getting ready to transport.

Tajan, recovering from the recent toss, managed to jump onto the Hydra as it vanished from the ports of the 16th Precinct. Waves rippled through as they appeared back in the open sea. Haiku looked up at the sky shocked to see two suns split on opposite ends of it. He was about to ask Ildiko about it when he was shoved back to the floor by a stumbling Tajan. The motion sickness of the transport leaving him a bit flimsy. Ildiko sighed in frustration.

"I will not be taking you as my prisoner." She remarked, unhooking a small boat from the side of the Hydra. "I'll give you enough food and water for three days. Which is more than you deserve if you ask me."

"I-I can't let you do this." Tajan mumbled.

"Try and stop me." She taunted. He sat as he watched her. He knew his federation would not be able to find him fast enough even if he did stall. His government's transportation was limited compared to Ildiko's. Her ship was legendary for its ability. It defended every secret of itself, revealing all only to its captain. That's why she was able to activate it and they were not. They had discovered the only way to infiltrate it was by a combination of Alchemy and technology. Both of which were found in that lair she had ransacked. The question he had was...

"Why?" He whispered. Ildiko stopped what she was doing. "Why do you need it? What are you planning on doing to this ship?"

"Have you not figured it out yet? Who told you this ship's weakness? Who told you about King Cassander? Who was the one you came running to for help?" Ildiko laughed. She enjoyed the freedom in it. "Tajan, I'll tell you the truth as it seems you're owed a bit of pain yourself. I planned all this from the beginning. I made King Cassander a mark. I needed access to that lair. Did you know that he doesn't even know about that lair? That Alchemist was about to kill him when I stepped in. I told him I was the niece or whatever."

Tajan's mouth went dry. He had been played. Ildiko continued.

"I had come to take his place. King Cassander was so far up his own ass he didn't even see it was a lie. He couldn't even fathom the treasure he was sitting on." Ildiko sat on the floor watching Tajan.

"And you did?"

"How is that even a question? I killed the Alchemist and took his place in order to gain access to his lair."

"But then why did you need me?"

"I couldn't extract the lair on my own. At least not with out attracting attention."

Tajan stood furiously, he finally understood, "You needed us to get it out for you so you could steal it later. When did you-"

Ildiko smirked, " 'Tajan, I just wanted to say thank you.' "

Tajan remembered that night vividly, "You charmed me!"

"Like the snake you are!" She teased, "You know I almost took you to be the nice guy. You almost had me."

"Ildiko, I had no choice but to Block you." Tajan argued, weakly, even he knew it was bullshit. "I had a plan to get you back, but these dragons-" another realization hit him, "You let the dragons out, but how?"

Ildiko scoffed, "Do you honestly believe I wouldn't have a back up plan? Me! The Captain of the notorious Hydra. Honestly, I am offended in how much you underestimate me."

Tajan sat down waiting for her to explain. Ildiko finally relented.

"I had already set some dragon eggs to hatch. If I had made it back that night, I would have stopped them and escaped. If not, well then you'd have a problem with dragons."

"How did you know he'd come for you?" Haiku interrupted.

He had been listening intently the entire time. He was still in shock over everything he had witnessed. Before she was Ildiko, Haiku had known her as September. A childhood crush that he had coincidentally run into when he found his apartment.

He looked her over now. She still looked just as beautiful as the first day he saw her. Her hair was waves of ebony and her eyes glittered like gold against the sunlight. She had an athletic build with heart-shaped hips adding to her curvature. She had been so sweet and innocent.

Their eyes caught. There was a tiny glimmer of the woman he used to know. In the blink of an eye that woman was gone and replaced by whatever this was! He moved closer and slumped down next to Tajan, feeling just as confused and defeated as him.

"She's the only dragon slayer left." Tajan explained.

"Oh, about that," Ildiko began, "it was actually part of my plan to get me out. I planted the dragons. Let you know of my lineage. If you did block me, the minute the dragons ran loose you'd automatically think of me. Thus awakening me and helping me escape."

"You played me! Was Kyle part of your plan too?" Tajan seemed to hit a nerve with that question. Ildiko responded with a right hook. That sparked more arguments. Nobody on board seemed to notice the ship silently approaching in the distance.