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H.O.M.E. 14
by Fin
finslandofgayart.blogspot.com
"How do you feel? How do you think I feel!?"
Franklin was not the only one upset at the oversight.
"Do you know what it cost me to copy your fatally cursed species?"
Slim was also quite annoyed at the news.
"I can just feel my slime rotting off me as we speak!"
"I thought a Slime Lord could copy as many species as they wanted?" questioned Franklin with a scowl. "That it was no big deal for you."
"I lied," confessed the besotten alien. "But how could I have known that a real Umon would be so... mortal."
The ret. admiral salutted his business partner for the "gift" without too much personal regret. For the man had his own tragedies to attend. And was trying to drown them with shots at a rate quite unusual for the respectable admiral.
Their rescue mission had been doomed from the outset. Time it seemed flowed much faster in this new dimension. So much so, that when Franklin and James had left Earth on route to The Rift, Sam would have already been an old man himself, if alive at all.
Most likely... they were now too late.
And neither father nor son knew how to handle the news.
For himself, Franklin blamed Slim whom had been acting as the human's unofficial guide and educator.
The violet blob man had failed to question the conversion of Earth Years to Core Cycles that closely, assuming the Umons were like most other species to this world.
But when it turned out actual man had a lifespan far less than what Slim's modified clones would have indicated, the fate of the original Icarus Mission was by far not the first priority on The Slime Lord's mind.
Instead it was for his own fair looks.
Sloughing around The V.I.B. Lounge in nearly a fainting spell, the fat ooze monster questioned one of his nearby Sam servants in a tizzy.
"Does this pustule look wrinkled to you? I swear it was a different color yesterday."
"My son is lost... and all you care about is your youth!?" shouted Franklin from the bar.
"Like I had anything to do with that, brother!"
The crash of a shot glass exploding against a wall echoed through The Exo Club.
"Don't call me brother!"
Several Sam clones raced into the room at the commotion. That was sure to help the situation.
"No don't pick that up! He can clean it himself!"
"You're hilarious Brother."
Another exploding shot glass.
Several stories down and on an outside patio, their argument could still be heard ringing throughout The Exo Club. James sat with a drink in his hand much like the ones his father was tossing against the walls upstairs. The soldier was dealing with his emotions in a somewhat calmer state, but no less sorrowful in the end.
When the lad had learned his older brother may still be alive, he had stopped at nothing to try and reach him as soon as he could. But now with the hopes of Sam's survival dashed once more, and himself now marrooned on an alien world too no less, gloom had settled in over the young lieutenant.
"Do you mind if I join you?" said a quiet voice from the doorway beyond. "I brought you another drink."
It was the young Sam clone whom he had met that first day in Outer Ring City. And based on the racket emanating from the upper floors of the club, the boy could tell that something was amiss.
"I'm not really in the mood..." began James before he was tutted into silence, the new drink already in his hand.
"Sure, you are," said the blonde lad. "No one likes to be alone with their sorrows."
The soldier looked at the affable ghost wearily, then took a sip of the alcohol.
"It's good. What is it?"
"A Glistening Guyser."
"I shouldn't have asked."
Taking a seat next to the long faced soldier, the youthful clone tried to make small talk.
"You don't have to tell me about whatever is wrong," said the boy with a commiserating smile, "I have something else for us to discuss."
"You do?" asked James, unsure of what his new companion meant.
"You said you would help me find a name," the lad replied earnestly, hoping the soldier had not forgotten.
"That's right I did," said the already half drunk man. "I'm sorry it has taken so long."
"It's fine," said the blonde boy, inching closer to the soldier. "There's time now."
Thinking to himself, James did not know quite where to begin.
"And you've never had a name before?"
"None you'd want to hear in daylight."
James blushed. No. Maybe he did not want to know those.
Staring at the youthful blonde replica of his long lost brother, the soldier was briefly overwhelmed by visions of the man this boy would never be. A fighter. A pilot. His hero.
But James was the older one now, and this clone was a boy he'd never met before recently.
Taking another swig of the alcohol, the brown haired lad tried to brainstorm.
"Our grandfather's name was Jeremiah. But that just doesn't feel right for you," said the lieutenant as he looked at the teenager in front of him. "I really still can't believe you're not as young as you look."
The bombshell from earlier in the day, that the Sam clones had been utilized in Outer Ring City for far longer than The Blades had expected was still ringing in his ears. This clone began at this age, and would stay that way for many many hundreds of Core Cycles yet to come.
"Do you not like it?" questioned the lad mischievously, sidling up closer. "They say we Umons look much better when we stay young?"
James laughed to himself embarrassed and scooted an inch further away. Swallowing, the soldier continued on with their task at hand.
"You know Sam always hated when I called him a certain nickname," mentioned the older boy. "But maybe Sammy could work for you though?"
"Sammy? Yeah I kind of like that," said the blonde, trying out the word in his mouth several times.
Once the lad had concluded that the name fit all his hidden requirements and unknown expectations, he immediately became elated at the new title.
"Sammy it is!" exclaimed the blonde youth in disbelief at how easy it had been. "How can I ever thank you?"
The blonde boy then leaned in, and much to the surprise of them both, kissed his brother.
Their lips met briefly.
Instincts responding more than will.
Then, always the soldier, James retreated.
"Sammy! We can't....."
His protests were however ended by more enthusiastic smooches as the blonde lad nearly jumped into his lap.
More kissing.
More grabbing.
More breathing.
That's when James turned to see a lone figure standing in the nearby doorway. How long he had been there, the soldier did not know. But this certainly was not what he ever wanted the man to see or find out.
"Dad!"
The shadow vanished.
James was on his feet in a flash.
"Dad! Wait!"
But before he could chase after the man, an explosion rocked the building, throwing the soldier to the ground.
Flames engulfed the rainbow chambers as smoke buffeted through its vast halls.
The Exo Club was under attack!