“I’ve fucking had it! I can’t wait any longer. We need to decide what to do and do it tomorrow,” Esther decided as she threw a steak knife aggressively into the sink.

The group of rebels had been hiding out in Sera’s house until they figured out a plan to rescue him. Pepsi was re-arranging her diagrams for the hundredth time that night on the kitchen table. 

“Even if we had a plan, I don’t know what facility they brought him to. Oh man this is really stressing me out.” She gripped her hair and pulled on it. She hated feeling so stupid and useless. 

“We’re running out of time!” Esther kicked a chair, making the other two jump. “And I haven’t even considered how I’m getting my sword back. Only that massive bitch can reach it on that stupid pillar, and it’s not like they’re showing up any time soon offering it on a silver platter.”

There was a knock at the door. The rebels gasped and huddled together, anticipating a horde of officers to break in and arrest them.

Instead, Nakia let it glide open and ducked under the frame. “I believe you’re looking for this.” In their arms was a bundle of towels. They unwrapped them, revealing the golden sword underneath.

“Speak of the fucking devil.” Esther stepped forwards and lifted the weapon from its bed of towels. She gazed up at Nakia suspiciously. “What’s the catch? I know you’re not offering this up for nothing.”

“I want to help your friend, but I need your help to do it. If I release him myself it will ruin my reputation.”

“Oh, of course!” Esther shrilled. “We wouldn’t want that to happen now would we!”

“I know that what we're doing to you is wrong, but one day I'll have the power to change things. Right now- I have to present myself perfectly. But I care about Sera, and I want you to rescue him from me. I won't put up a fight at all, you can beat me up and make it look like you broke him out. I swear to Jeffrey Preston Bezos that you can trust me.”

Esther sheathed her sword and crossed her arms defensively. “Well I like the part about beating you up.” She looked to her two friends for support, not wanting to be the one to agree with Nakia. 

“We’ll do it,” Pepsi said. It wasn’t like she could come up with a better plan, as much as she hated to admit that. “Where’s the facility? Give us a time and we’ll be there.”

“In the morning, at the depression clinic in the dungeon of the abandoned warehouse. Bring whatever weapons you can hide. Your truck remains outside the warehouse for inspection. If you manage to fend off the officers, you can use it to escape.”

Pepsi nodded. “Thank you Nakia.” She touched her head to the back of Nakia’s hand, since their head was covered and too difficult to reach anyway. They nodded back, then vanished into the night.

It was the day past deadline, and Nakia hadn’t brought a rope. Sera glared at them as soon as they appeared at the bottom of the stairs. 

“Did you bring it?” He asked bitterly.

Nakia shook their head. There were no words for the sorrow they felt, looking at him for the last time.

He laughed, angry. “You’re so selfish. You really think you’re doing the right thing? You’re just a coward. I don’t feel bad for you at all. You think you’re friends with someone who can’t even escape your cage. If I could leave I would, and I wouldn’t think about you. Not for a minute.” He said, but it felt like a lie. He tried to ignore it.

“I know you don’t care about me. I don’t expect you to. But I’m still not letting you kill yourself.”

“Then let me out you idiot!” Sera kicked the bars aggressively. “In case you’ve forgotten that’s the whole point of keeping me here!”

Nakia smiled at him, trying to memorize what he looked like. “You’ll be free soon Sera.” They told him gently. “I won’t ever forget you.”

Sera narrowed his eyes. “What do you-”

“Sera! We’re here to rescue you!” Pepsi yelled as she stumbled down the terribly engineered staircase.

“Don’t say that so loud!” Esther complained.

“Hurry, we have to get to Deidre before she gets sent out!” Bentley added.

Nakia rushed to the lock and cursed as they fumbled with the key. Sera stared at them as they opened it. “But your gepatro.” He said quietly. They hadn’t told him everything, but sometimes you just knew.

Nakia turned to the three rebels and assumed a kneeling position on the ground. They closed their eyes and prepared for a blow. “Make it look real,” they said.

Esther was more than happy to oblige, until Sera positioned himself in front of the kneeling heir. “Don’t.” He said, causing Esther to pout and lower her sword. 

“Not even one hit? Just a little one? For my troubles?”

“No.” Sera sighed and took Nakia’s face in his hands. They opened their eyes and looked at him blankly. 

“I thought you didn’t care.” Nakia said firmly.

“I thought you didn’t. Stand up, Nakia.”

Nakia had waited their whole life to hear those words. Sera gripped their hand tightly and refused to let go. The group ran up the steps towards the warehouse across the block. Bentley raced for his truck, throwing every door open once he arrived so the others could huddle up inside. Nakia shook free of Sera’s grip at the intersection and stayed behind.

Sera looked behind him. “Come with us!” He begged.

Nakia shook their head. They could hear officers gathering behind them, and their gepatro’s booming voice. Bentley started the truck and began pulling into the street while the officers prepared crossbows to shoot them down. 

An officer looked at the heir of Arbaro. “Orders, Nakia?”

They took a deep breath. This was the critical moment, where all the power they wielded would matter just this once. “Don’t shoot.”

The officer was puzzled. “What?”

“I said don’t shoot!” Nakia repeated in a strict growl. “If anyone fails to drop their weapons now I will fire you.”

The officers followed the command unknowingly. When Nakia’s gepatro made it to the front lines, they grabbed their braid and yanked them around. “You will suffer severe consequences for this, do you hear me child? You had one job and you failed- you will receive nothing! I will make you wish you were never born.” 

Nakia felt their gepatro’s hand latch onto their headscarf. They quickly unraveled it, leaving their grip empty. There was no time to think, only one pent-up instinctual reaction. They grunted with force as they threw a punch directly against their gepatro’s nose. It broke with a crack. Nakia took one glimpse of the blood then ran as fast as they could towards the truck.

Sera opened the back door, letting old packages fall out as Bentley drove forward. Nakia coughed as they struggled to keep up with their breaths. They reached for Sera’s hand and held on tight, leaping so he could pull them on board. He slammed the door shut, blocking the barrage of crossbow bolts that clanked against the metal.

Nakia curled up against him, breathing so hard they saw stars. Sera stroked their back as it rose and fell. He leaned his head against theirs, rubbing their faces together affectionately. “You did good, Unutero.” He praised. “You’re safe now. You’re home.”

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