Chapter 2
The boy lay unconscious on the bed. He had been unconscious for three days now. Mandalay looked after the boy every day. She had stayed at UA specifically to be with him when he woke up. She was afraid of what might happen if he woke up in an unknown place.
She, Aizawa and All Might were in shock not only because of the boy's wounds, but also the numerous scars. His left arm looked like thousands of shrapnel had pierced his body. His right arm was marked by a tattoo that each of the men dressed in white had.
TATTOO DESCRIPTION:
In the center is a clone helmet with the number CT-336 placed on the forehead. The helmet is dirty. Cracks and scratches give it the appearance of wear and combat experience. Wings emerge from both sides of the helmet. The left wing is angelic and the right wing is demonic. Behind the helmet is a cracked Republic symbol. The upper inscription "BROTHERS UNTIL THE END". The lower inscription "NO ORDERS. NO MERCY.". The middle inscription - directly under the helmet "336th ASSAULT CORPS"
She remembered the conversation, the first day the boy was taken to Recovery Girl. Aizawa had invited her to the teachers' lounge. The boy's tattoo was visible on the TV screen... every man had one too.
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All Might clenched his fists....
"Something like this shouldn't have happened.... who dared to tattoo him...."
Mandalay felt sick. His heart clenched with pain.
"Who allowed a child to bear such a mark?"
Aizawa was cold in appearance. He looked at the tattoo for a long time and without a word. His eyes analyzed the lines, shape, style of execution.
"Do you remember what that captain said? Look here in the left corner. Three lines. Three years of war. And these words.... Brothers until the end. No orders. No mercy."
"This sounds like some kind of oath...." Mandalay whispered.
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Mandalay was sitting in a chair in the nurse's office, looking at the unconscious boy. Most of his wounds had healed, thanks to Recovery Girl's quirk. All Might, Aizawa, Hound Dog, and Doctor Osaka entered the room - a woman already known to Mandalay, who had an interesting quirk that allowed her to see someone's memories, which were displayed on the screen in the form of a music video.
"He...hasn't woken up yet" - Mandalay said.
Aizawa just nodded. Doctor Osaka went inside and inserted the disc into the CD reader. She connected her device to the TV in the room.
"I'm ready. We can start"
Most of the heroes were standing, only Mandalay was sitting in a chair. Recovery Girl was currently in Nezu's office, but they both watched what was happening through the cameras.
Doctor Osaka placed her hand on Eron's forehead. Her other hand was on the CD player.
The screen flickered.
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He was born in silence, raised for war…
No medals, no lullabies… only orders.
The screen showed a small boy, resembling Eron. He had a lightsaber in his hands. Metal balls flew around him, shooting red lasers at him. The boy tried to deflect them. He deflected some. Most hit him.
Eron grew up. He became taller. At some point, there were more and more metal balls. He moved faster, with more grace. Eventually, he began to deflect all the projectiles, even with his eyes closed.
One breath, one step,
Mud and blood where dreams have slept.
The image showed Eron in gray robes, holding a blue sword in his hand. He led a squad of white soldiers towards droids through some swamp. There was a direct clash with the enemy.
Fifteen years, a thousand fights,
A child surviving starless nights.
The screen changed. Now it showed Eron standing on some metal structure. It was night, but he was looking at the explosions in space. There was a battle of ships going on there.
He led in silence, struck with light,
With every friend, he lost his right
Eron was in some strange flying machine, neither a helicopter nor a plane. The machine had open sides, through which soldiers in white were shooting down at the droids. The moment the machine touched down, Eron jumped out first, leading the assault.
To grieve, to rest, to run away
Another grave marked yesterday.
Right behind him, the machine disappeared in an explosion. The boy was thrown forward. A half-burnt white helmet fell next to him. He picked it up. The camera zoomed in on the helmet... then moved away from it. Now the screen showed another place. A field cemetery. Hundreds... thousands of graves, with metal or wooden stakes driven into them. Eron put his helmet on one of the stakes. A man motioned him with his hand to go. The boy put on his hood so that no one would see his tears.
They gave him rank, but not a choice
They took his youth, ignored his voice
Another scene. Eron was arguing with some....people and aliens in robes. The green dwarf shook his head and turned away from the boy. Another tall black man waved him out of the room. The boy turned and put on his hood. One of his eyes turned yellow.
A blade in the rain, burning bright,
One hand blue, the other red light.
Another battle. The enemy had donned the armor of his soldiers. Some enemy was running towards them. He took off his helmet to show that he was a human and not a robot. He waved his hands around. He caught one of his men and took off his helmet. The soldiers finally stopped shooting.
No path ahead, no way back,
The storm inside begins to crack.
A mistake had been made. Two legions clashed with each other, thinking that they were enemies, that the enemy had taken over their weapons and armor. The boy broke down. Someone grabbed his arm. It was Captain Hellbound.
He's tired of running, too hurt to kneel,
A heart made of steel that still can feel.
The scene changed. Now he was on the metal bridge of a starship. Behind him, space could be seen through the windows. He deflected the blue missiles that his men fired at him.
Soaked in sorrow, drowned in fear,
He whispers:
"Don't come near…"
Eron stood tired and bloody. He was still on the same bridge. Corpses around him. Captain Hellbound aimed his pistol at him. The boy could only say. "Don't come near...."
Shots were fired.
("We're here to help.")
("Put down the weapon.")
("You're not alone.")
The sounds of different people. Mandalay. His Soldiers. Tiger. The boy opened his eyes right after he dismissed Mandalay from his mind.
"You don't know what I've lost...
You don't know what they made me do…"
He managed to whisper, but Mandalay couldn't hear him. He continued to flee.
Trigger shaking, vision blurred,
Every breath a broken word.
His soldiers were firing at him. Many of them were shaking. As if they were trying to fight whatever it was that had forced them to attack their commander.
His fingers grip the final breath,
He'd rather fall than face their net.
He raised his hand and several soldiers rose into the air. He threw them against the wall of the ship like rag dolls.
So small, so cold, beneath the tree,
But in his hands—two destinies.
He was now sitting under the tree where they had found him. He aimed his pistol toward the danger. He clutched a grenade in his hand.
One of light, one of rage,
And both still burning in his cage.
He was afraid. He had no strength. He was losing his mind. He looked at the tall blond in a blue suit... and remembered....
A blade in the rain, but not alone,
The force inside begins to groan.
A few moments earlier. He stood in the swamp, He looked at the soldier who aimed his heavy rifle at him. He closed his eyes.
From storm to silence, death to dawn,
A voice cuts through like breaking stone
Suddenly a sound came from above. It stopped raining. For the first time in weeks, the boy's face was illuminated by the light of a star. Not the artificial one from the ship. Not the artificial one from the flares on the battlefield. Not the one from his sword. Real, warm light. He opened his eyes and All Might stood before him. The hero had his back turned to him... Eron heard the man's loud voice.
"I AM HERE!"
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The screen was already dark. The projection ended, and the room was plunged into silence. Only the steady, irregular breathing of the unconscious boy reminded us that the hero of this tragic story was lying in the same room, just a few steps away from them.
All Might was the first to break the silence. He leaned his hand against the wall, as if the weight of this story had physically crushed him.
"This young hero.... How is he still alive.... after all this...."
Mandalay didn't answer. She held her hand to her mouth. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. Her emotions were visible on her face. All at once... Pain, anger, and compassion, all at once. Finally, she spoke.
"Did you see his look? In the last scene, when he looked at All Might... He didn't believe that there could be someone who really wanted to help him. He had given up a long time ago. He knew he would die..."
Aizawa stood with his arms folded, motionless, but his eyes spoke volumes. He looked not at the screen, not at Eron, but somewhere in the distance, analyzing every second, every frame.
"That boy... He didn't have a childhood. They trained him to become a weapon."
Hound Dog growled under his breath. When he spoke, his tone was low, full of weight.
"He fought them side by side... and they betrayed him... no matter what this Hellbound says. They betrayed him. They wanted to kill that boy."
Dr. Osaka still held her hand on the boy's forehead... her legs were shaking....
"Someone so young shouldn't... even know what war is, let alone be an officer."
Aizawa looked at All Might. The hero looked as if he had aged a decade suddenly.
"All Might.....you saw in the recording...how the boy looked at you....when you were standing with your back to him..."
All Might didn't answer right away. His gaze was fixed on the floor, and his arms hung heavily at his sides. The tension in his muscles betrayed that he was still boiling with emotions inside.
"As if he didn't believe that I had come.....to save him....What kind of world did he live in Aizawa-san....what.....?"
"I talked to Hellbound. He told me that the Jedi are guardians of peace...they are like pro heroes here."
Mandalay walked over to the bed where the boy was lying. She tried to wipe her tears with a tissue and wanted to say something, but her voice broke.
"How...how can a child bear such responsibility? To lead? To fight?"
All Might straightened up....for a moment he closed his eyes, then opened them...with determination in his eyes.
"I won't let anyone hurt young Eron. It's my duty as a hero."
He looked at the people gathered here.
"Everyone...let's show him that he doesn't have to kill anymore and can be a hero of peace."
Hound Dog nodded with clear anger and concern at the same time. His voice was rough but firm.
"This boy will need more than just protection. He will need therapy, time...and people who won't be afraid of his past."
Mandalay looked at All Might.
"I'll take him with me. We have a large estate. He'll be safe there, close to nature, he'll be able to rest..."
Nezu's voice came out of the speakers.
"If Mandalay takes care of him, UA will provide all the resources that will be needed. Of course, psychological help as well"
Hound Dog placed the boy's lightsaber and backpack on the cabinet in such a way that it would be visible to the boy when he woke up.
"We have to gain his trust. This is the first step. You've seen what this weapon is capable of, but if we suddenly take it away from him... it will only deepen his fear. We won't be much different in his eyes from his tormentors."
All Might took the sword in his hand..... and activated it. The sudden weight surprised him, but he didn't drop the weapon. A blue laser buzzed in the room. For a few seconds, no one spoke. Everyone watched as the blue light reflected in the eyes of the number 1 hero.
All Might's heart beat faster.....he felt.....his quirk.....One For All.....he felt the strength growing inside him....despite the wound he received in the fight with his nemesis....he felt....he heard the sword whispering to him...he didn't recognize the words.....he wasn't even sure if they were words.....
"Toshinori...."
"Nana-sensei?"
All Might opened his eyes. He was standing on the edge of a beautiful clearing. In front of him on a hill stood seven people. In the middle was Nana...the seventh bearer of his quirk....
"Toshinori...remember.....who you are..."
Someone grabbed his arm. He turned around and saw Aizawa. He was in the nurse's room again.
"All Might...you drifted away here for a moment...are you okay?"
"Yes...uhh....yes everything is fine...sorry....I was lost in thought..."
All Might deactivated the saber....and put it in the boy's hand. There was still no reaction from him.
"They failed him. Everyone failed him... Never again....because.....I...AM.....HERE.."
All Might made a promise to the boy. He said the last words with a sense of duty....after all, he was a symbol of peace....and if what he heard from Hellbound about the Jedi being guardians of peace....All Might would do everything to make the boy become what the Jedi were, and are not....
"Mandalay....I entrust the boy to your care..."
All Might bowed to the woman. She nodded and replied.
"You have my word that I will do everything to help him."
All Might headed for the exit....when he left, he looked at his own hand....the one he had previously held the weapon in....he felt.....power.....
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Aizawa escorted Doctor Osaka to Nezu's office.... Mandalay stayed in the room with Hound Dog. The school psychologist glared at her.
"You're not leaving?"
"No.... I wanted to talk to you.... ask for help.... maybe you have some advice.... for...."
"I have to advise you on how to help a boy who has been fighting on the front lines as an officer for 3 years. I have to advise you on how to help a boy who was trained to fight, and who had to kill his own soldiers.... PTSD is not enough...."
Hound Dog plopped down heavily in the chair, sighing loudly. Mandalay sat down opposite him.... and listened to him carefully.
"He's not just a victim. He survived, and that's the worst part. He survived when others didn't. You live with such a burden... differently. Don't expect gratitude from him. Not right away. Maybe not at all. Many people can't live with such a burden.... but I can give you some advice... First, observe. If he talks, just listen. If he's silent, observe. Second, don't touch him without his consent. Never, ever do that. Don't sneak up behind his back. When you get the impression he hasn't noticed you, announce your presence. Greet him, say anything.... Third, don't try to 'fix' him by force, because there's nothing to fix here. You stay with such trauma for the rest of your life... Mandalay.... there will be screams.... there will be outbursts of aggression.... there will be fear.... we just don't know when and in what order." Hound Dog leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He hid his face in his hands. "Sometimes he'll sit in silence for hours, staring at one spot. Other times he might wake up in the middle of the night screaming, ready to fight."
Mandalay listened.... finally she asked quietly.
"Is he going to be like this forever? I mean, like in that forest...."
"Mandalay.... no one knows. From what I've heard, the boy was ready to blow himself up just to avoid being taken prisoner.... why do you think he did that?"
Mandalay didn't answer.... So Hound Dog answered his own question.
"Because in his world there probably is no such thing as the Geneva Convention. After being captured he would probably be tortured and at best murdered right after. Mandalay listen to me well. The boy clearly knows the limit to which he could go. He knew he wouldn't survive torture. He would start talking. Remember that he is.... he was a commander in the Grand Army of the Republic, as Captain Hellbound called it. He would lose his mind and he knew it. That's why he was ready to die, even though he didn't want to lose his life. If that was the case he would have blown himself up the moment he saw All Might coming out from behind the trees."
Mandalay was putting his words together in her head... it took a while... but she finally managed to say it.
"Thank you Hound Dog..."
Hound Dog stood up... he headed for the exit... and in the passage, he turned his head to say.
"Maybe there's still hope to give him a normal life. Let me know if you need anything. I'll be on the phone....or call Nezu....he'll help too."
He left, closing the sliding door behind him.
Mandalay stayed for a while longer....finally she decided to take Nezu up on her offer and went to the guest room, where she could sleep in comfort.
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Eron moved slightly. His muscles tensed reflexively, as if expecting another explosion. His breathing quickened, his eyelids fluttered, and his hand tightened around the hilt of his lightsaber. He lay still, not making a sound. He listened, just as Hellbound had taught him.
Silence.
He opened his eyes. He had to act quickly. Assess the situation. What did he see... the ceiling... the white ceiling in the room. There were cabinets, a desk, a few beds, but only one was occupied... the one he was lying on. He scanned the rest of the room. Walls, corners, windows. A potential escape route. He moved each limb slowly... he wasn't chained. His wounds mostly healed.... tired... hungry... but whole....
He checked the contents of his backpack.... two holocrons... one square and the other triangular.... two additional lightsabers.... A pistol with a belt and a holster on his thigh.... he strapped the weapon on.... he put the backpack on his back.....And then the door opened. He turned abruptly towards the woman, who had a plate of steaming soup in her hands.
Mandalay stopped just outside the threshold. Dressed in normal civilian clothes. She wanted to look less threatening.
Their eyes met. Eron didn't move. Neither did she.
Five seconds passed. Ten.....
"Hello Eron..... I'm Mandalay..."
He was silent. His eyes watched every, even the smallest, movement. In his hand was a lightsaber. Deactivated.
Mandalay calmly and slowly entered and placed the Miso soup on the table.
"You must be hungry.... Recovery Girl.....um....the UA nurse said not to feed you anything hard to digest because after 7 days your stomach might rebel...."
Eron still didn't say anything. He looked from the meal to Mandalay... the smell of the soup was so... aromatic... after seven days every meal would smell aromatic.
Mandalay saw the struggle in his eyes. Hunger versus fear.
"This isn't poison... you can eat it safely. I promise."
She sat down on a chair in the corner away from the soup.
Eron carefully walked over to the table... he put a spoon in the soup and took the meal with him, crouching in the corner near the windows. He balanced the plate on his knee, eating with one hand and holding his lightsaber in the other.
Mandalay didn't move. She just watched as the boy devoured the meal greedily. A few minutes passed like that. Eron finished his meal, placing his plate on the nearest table.
"How did you like the soup?"
He didn't answer. He just nodded slowly.
"If you want more, you'll have to wait, unfortunately. The school nurse forbade me from giving you more, because it might harm you at the moment. I promise you'll get more as soon as your health improves."
Eron stared at the floor. Mandalay could see him listening, examining every sound. After a while, the boy spoke quietly.
"Why am I not... being interrogated?"
Mandalay raised her eyebrows slightly. Her voice was weak, but calm. As if he had been weighing each word for a long time before saying it. She also noticed that he pronounced the word 'interrogated' as 'tortured'.
"Because you're not a prisoner, Eron."
Eron narrowed his eyes, trying to read the lie in her face.
"Where am I..."
"You are on the grounds of a school called UA. It's a school for heroes. You are on the planet Earth.... and from what we understand.... you are very..... very far from the Republic, the Separatists and their war."
Eron frowned. He was looking for signs of illusion. Lies. Manipulation. He was looking for any reason to start... well... what did he want to start... fight? Run away?
He blinked. His hand tightened on the hilt of his sword, but he did not activate the blade. There was something more than suspicion smoldering in his head. Anxiety. Disorientation. Emptiness..... Fear.
Fight? With whom? Against what?
Run away? Where? He knew nothing about this planet.
He closed his eyes..... he remembered a loud voice.....
"I AM HERE"
He opened his eyes....
"Who... who was that man with blond hair?"
Mandalay looked at the boy with a gentle gaze. The boy finally started to open up....or at least she hoped so.
"That was All Might. The number 1 hero in all of Japan...um...Japan is a country on Earth...there are many countries...each with its own government, language and traditions."
Eron listened attentively. He didn't interrupt. When Mandalay spoke about Japan...he was surprised...many governments on one planet? Not only that, many different languages and cultures?
Mandalay looked at Eron with interest.
"Eron? Can I ask you a question?"
The boy nodded.
"Can you tell me what the Republic is...and who the Jedi are?"
Mandalay wanted to get someone else's perspective other than Captain Hellbound.
Eron fell silent. For a moment it seemed he wouldn't answer. His gaze became empty again, as if he had disappeared somewhere far away....
"The Republic...is...a federation of tens of thousands of worlds...each system had its own representative in the government...or more precisely in the senate."
"Democracy?"
"Yes...democracy...the highest authority was held by the Chancellor - elected by the senate for a specific term."
"A...Jedi? Who are the Jedi?"
Eron looked at his lightsaber.
"The Jedi Order... The Jedi are... They were guardians of peace and balance. We were supposed to protect the people. We were supposed to be diplomats, peacemakers... not soldiers.
"Why do you say 'were' and not 'are' guardians of peace?"
"Because the Jedi betrayed all those who needed our help. The Separatists rose up because they were fed up with exploitation by the core worlds and unfair trade treaties. Slavery was rampant outside the Republic. The Jedi promised to protect everyone, and instead they locked themselves away in their temples. They failed."
Mandalay held her breath. She hadn't expected such an answer from a child, but what she heard wasn't a parroting of someone's views. It was his voice. The voice of a young boy who carried a burden that didn't fit his age.
"I tried to live by the Jedi code. I really tried...."
Eron shook his head.... from tiredness... helplessness.... shame.
"What code.... can you tell me more about it....?"
Eron, looking at the floor, began to recite, without emotion.
"There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force"
Mandalay froze. Her heart clenched at the sound of those words... at the way the boy said them... he didn't believe them.....
"Eron... you sound like you don't believe it..."
"Because I don't believe it... they're just empty words. They don't have any meaning anymore. "
Eron....lied....lied to her and to himself....something deep inside his spirit told him to say that it wasn't true....that he believed....that he still wanted to believe.....but he would also lie if he said that he believed in the code without limits.
Mandalay felt a shiver run down her spine....she decided to change the subject of the conversation.
"Can you tell me about your weapon?"
"This is a lightsaber....a Jedi weapon....it is a symbol of belonging to the Jedi Order. Every Jedi has at least one.... and every Jedi creates their own lightsaber."
"How"
"The first and most important step is to find a kyber crystal."
"Um...what is it?"
Eron sighed heavily.
"It'll be easier if I show you"
Eron slowly sat down cross-legged in the corner of the room. The lightsaber rested on his lap. For a brief moment, nothing happened. Just a heavy, thick, almost sacred silence. Mandalay was about to ask a question when.... The boy rose a few centimeters above the floor.
The lightsaber slowly rose from his lap and hung in the air, spinning around its axis. Mandalay froze. She stared at the boy with wide eyes.
The lightsaber began to disassemble on its own. The individual parts of the weapon drifted around each other in a silent dance like planets in a solar system.
And then, between the spread parts of the hilt, a light flashed.
A clear, blue light.... coming from the blue crystal inside.
"This is a kyber crystal"
Mandalay watched what was happening as if she was in a movie theater and was watching her new favorite movie. It was.... beautiful.
After a few seconds, the crystal stopped spinning, and the parts of the hilt folded back together. One by one, in exactly the same order they had been taken apart. The sword folded back into its previous form.... then Eron held out his hand.... and the sword slowly flew into it.... A blue blade flashed.
Mandalay was silent, still in awe of what she had seen. Her heart was beating faster than usual, but not from fear. She was moved. The boy's Quirk is.....powerful.
Eron deactivated his lightsaber and slowly sank to the floor. He let out a heavy breath.
"Eron....I can't say I know how you feel....I can't say I understand you...but I want to get to know you and hear your story someday....I want you to give me a chance to earn your trust....I've already talked to the school administration....If you want, there's a place for you in my house. I share it with my team and my nephew. It's in the forest but quite close to the city."
"Home.....?"
"Yes Eron....Home. A little peace, a little chaos...sometimes Tiger and Pixie-bob argue about whose turn it is to clean the kitchen. My nephew Kota....is 5 years old...and recently lost his parents..."
Eron froze. The word "home" sent a wave of emotions through him that he couldn't name.
"I...never had a home..."
Mandalay felt her heart clench painfully at those words. Eron had said those words so simply. Without pretense, without regret. It was a tone that stated something obvious, like 'The sky is blue'.
"Oh Eron.....I'm so sorry..."
"It's not your fault."
"No, Eron...but I'm a pro hero...and I want to fight for a world where children don't have to fight. A world where every child has a home. By our law, you're still a child too."
"I am 15 years old...for three years I fought and commanded a company, a battalion and finally an entire legion. There were Padawans older and younger than me who did the same. They fought, led and died. I saw my brothers kill and be killed. I led assaults, I repelled counter-strikes. I made laws and passed sentences. The 336th Assault Legion was at the forefront of the Republic's elite military."
Mandalay listened in silence, but her eyes betrayed agitation. The boy who should have only just learned about life already knew the worst of it.
"On Earth, when you're fifteen, you go to school. You develop your passions. You make mistakes. You laugh at stupid things. And sometimes you argue about who's cleaning the kitchen... sometimes you eat ice cream for dinner. You make friends and go on dates with girls your age. The only thing a fifteen-year-old leads is his younger siblings by the hand. The only thing he fends off are stupid comments from his peers about his first love. He makes law in his room and passes sentences only on mosquitoes and flies that fly in. Those who want to become heroes are already applying to UA and other schools to take tests."
Eron stood up. He looked out the window. In his mind he still had that scream.....
"I AM HERE"
"Become a hero... like All Might?"
"Yes Eron. Like All Might... and if that's what you want... then me and my team will train with you so that you become a real hero."
Eron closed his eyes.....Mandalay was talking about something....that Jedi were meant to be from the beginning....The form of heroism she was showing him....that All Might had shown.....he wanted that....he wanted to become that Jedi.... He turned to Mandalay.
"A hero....it's a heavy burden...but I think it's the path I should follow."
Mandalay smiled softly. A glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes.
End of Chapter 2