Summus Proelium

It was weird, sleeping at the shop that night. Part of that was because I was using a sleeping bag in a corner instead of being in my own bed. And yes, the floor was a hell of a lot less comfortable than my mattress. But still, I’d been camping before (Dad liked to take us out once in awhile to do things the way he remembered doing them back in his childhood), so this wasn’t exactly the first time I’d ever slept on the ground or floor.

No, it definitely wasn’t just the sleeping bag that was throwing me off. I was away from home, sleeping on the floor in a place that I’d been to plenty during the--okay not just during the day, but at least not while everyone was trying to sleep. It was just different, lying down in this relatively unfamiliar area. My borrowed sleeping bag was set up in the main room of the shop, hidden behind the counter from anyone who might try to come in the front door. I was also sleeping in my costume for that very reason. Well, mostly in my costume. I was not actually going to try to sleep with my helmet on. The mask would have to do by itself. Probably nothing would happen anyway. Probably.

That, of course, was another way this was all different. For pretty obvious reasons, I didn’t tend to sleep in my costume at home. Sure, it wasn’t like it was all that uncomfortable to do so. It was basically just a jumpsuit, gloves, and mask at this point. But I was pretty sure my parents would’ve had a few questions if they found out I was cosplaying as Paintball while I was in bed. It was just a very bad idea all around.

So yeah, it felt weird wearing the jumpsuit while trying to sleep like that, and so many other things were different too. The sounds were different, the smells were different, the air was different. Everything was just… not wrong, but definitely not what my senses were accustomed to. As I sat there before lying down, I was convinced that I’d never actually get to sleep. Or at least that it would take quite awhile. Tired as I was, this was too different.

Aaaand then there was sunlight shining in my eyes while Paige gently shook my shoulder. I jolted a bit but she held a finger to her lips and shook her head before whispering softly. “It's okay, no problems, but we should probably get to school. You know, if you don't want your brother to get suspicious. He's probably going to check on you after what happened last night. If you don't show up, they'll investigate.”

It took me a few seconds to process what she was saying and orient myself. Right, school. It was Friday morning. I probably wouldn't have gotten away with the sleepover excuse, especially without giving any details, if my parents had been coherent. But this was my brother, and he was already incredibly overworked trying to keep up with everything the ministry had to deal with. I kind of doubted he cared that much about where I was sleeping for one night, as long as he could be relatively certain I was safe.

Nodding my understanding, I whispered, “So nothing happened while I was out?” We had made arrangements for all of us to rest. The Cuddle Corps (and seriously how wild was it that they were here?) had stayed up to watch over things. They had one member of their little group staring at the screen showing all the cameras that Wren had set up around the building and the neighborhood, while the others were scattered around to watch through windows and up on the roof. Between the six of them, they could cover many different angles. And apparently they had been fine with staying up like that for hours, since they weren't tired. They tended to nap a lot while they were hiding out here in the shop, whenever they weren't overhearing every single secret we had. Not to mention the fact that staying perfectly still didn’t take up much energy.

Paige straightened up, and I stood after her. Then she turned around while I grabbed my bag and changed clothes. I'd run through the shower for just a few minutes before crashing earlier, so that was going to have to do. While she was waiting for me to get dressed, Paige replied, “If you're asking if we had any visitors outside, no, everything was clear. And if you were asking if either Sierra or I decided to try to kill Pitman while you were asleep, that didn't happen either. He's still up there, safe and sound.”

The words, and her tone, made me swallow before I reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey,” I started softly, “I know you're right about how much easier and safer it would be if he was dead. He doesn't deserve to live. Not after everything he's done and is still trying to do. But I just… I can't let a helpless prisoner be executed. And he is helpless right now. We have him secured up there, about as powerless and exposed as it’s possible to be. We can’t just take advantage of that. Not--not right now. Not like this.” I hesitated before adding, “And don't forget, he's only that helpless because of Wren. If we kill him right now, she'll see it as her fault. We can't do that to her. She's just a kid. We can't ask her to be okay with a man she basically tied down getting suffocated or shot in the back of the head or… or whatever.” I felt uncomfortable even saying that.

There was a long pause before Paige exhaled and turned to face. “I think we're going to regret that decision. But I won't go against it. I promise, until we decide together that ending him is the best move, no execution. Fred even made sure he got water and a sort of smoothie thing for nourishment. It was uhh… not the prettiest sight, but he’s been fed, basically. And you don't even want to know about the setup for the lower half. Suffice to say, it involves Wren’s teleportation tech.”

I made a face at that and shuddered. By then, I was dressed, and two of us headed through the shop quietly. Wren and Fred may have been in their own rooms, and I was pretty sure Qwerty was in with one of them as well, but we were trying not to wake up Sierra, Murphy, or Roald, who were scattered around in their own sleeping bags just in case things went down. The latter two had let Roald’s sister know where they would be (another reason among many that having Rubi in on things was very useful), since their school was already out for the summer. Peyton’s wasn’t, and her mom never would’ve agreed to letting her sleep at the shop anyway. So she had gone home for the evening.

Part of me felt nervous about even going to school now, when anything could happen here. But Paige was right, if I skipped there was a good chance that Simon would find out. And I really didn’t want to have to try to deal with that. Wren was here in the shop that she had already set up with every defense she could. And she had Fred, Qwerty, Murphy, Roald, Sierra, and the entire Cuddle Corps here. It would have to do. Paige was going with me because the school was paying extra attention to the students right now considering it was so close to the end of the year. We had today, then the weekend, followed by three days of finals. By the end of Wednesday next week, school would be over for the next few months. Which meant at least one distraction would be out of the way. I could hardly wait to find out what would end up replacing it.

In any case, the two of us headed for the back door. Oak was there with the door cracked, peering down the alley. And yes, seeing the two foot tall stuffed turtle peeking through the crack to play lookout made me smile. God, I could understand why so many people wanted to hug them all the time. But I restrained myself and simply spoke up quietly. “Hey, thanks for watching over the place all night.”

Unfortunately, we’d apparently taken him by surprise because Oak jumped and spun to face us, one hand up against his chest. “Ah! Oh, it’s just you. I mean--ahem.” Straightening up, he gave a quick salute. “Just doing our job, ma’--uhh should I say ma’am or sir? Not only do you portray a man in your guise, but from what they’ve said around here, you’re also--ahh--umm… not… straight forward either way? I’ve read about sa’am being batted around as a possibility, but frankly, I’m not really a fan.”

Snorting despite myself, I shrugged. “Yeah, that’s kinda bad. But just call me whatever you like, either-or, or just my name, Paintball or Cassidy. In public, I mean, if we ever get to that point, talk to Paintball-me like I’m a boy. It’s all just way too complicated.”

“No arguments here!” the small, fuzzy turtle agreed. “But you’re going to school now, huh? I wish I could go to school.” He lamented that with a heavy sigh. “We tried that for a little bit, but uhh, it didn’t work out. We were too distracting, so they gave us private tutors, and it’s just not the same experience.”

Giving Paige a brief glance, I turned back to him. “You guys are… uh, what, like ten years old?”

He straightened up to his full height of two feet, proudly adjusting his tweed suit. “Ahem, that’s a bit different. Most of us are eleven years old. Aspen is, certainly. And most of us came into being with the same psychological age. Cherry is the youngest of us, having… joined us most recently. She is our Small. We don’t know her exact equivalent age, but… young. Meanwhile, if she is the youngest of us, I am the opposite. I feel and behave as the elder member of the group. It’s my job to be the wise one. I believe I may be as old as thirteen.” He let that hang for a moment, then offered a very cute stuffed turtle grin before audibly snickering.

I couldn't help but chuckle a little along with him. Paige and I looked at one another again and I knew we were thinking the same thing. So I turned back to him and asked, “Well, why don't you come to school with us today? I mean, I know it's not exactly the same as being able to go to your own school for your own age and everything, but it's something at least? You can stay in my backpack.”

Looking regretful, Oak replied, “I'm afraid I can only be a short distance away from the rest of my family before being pulled back to them. We are fine to spread throughout the building, and even the city block, but going all the way to this school of yours would be impossible.”

I started to tell him if that was too bad, before stopping. “Actually, you know what, there might be a way we can do it after all.” I explained about the linked bags that Wren had made, where I stored my costume. “If we had you stay close to the bag that I keep on me with it open, while the other bag is here in the shop, maybe that would give you a way to go with us. It's worth a shot, anyway, right? Besides, if you need to, you can always get back to the shop through the bag.”

Oak was staring at us incredulously. “Ah, you know, I think you're right, that might just work. Wait, do you really think we could do something like that?”

Shrugging, I replied, “Well, you’d have to stay in my backpack, so it would probably be a little bit of a tight squeeze for you. I don't know if you're interested in sitting in a cramped bag listening to teachers all day long. You’d have to keep quiet.”

“They're good at pretending to be toys,” Paige pointed out. “It's the last couple days before school ends. Nobody's going to give you a hard time for having a stuffed animal with you if he sits on your desk.”

That was a good point, so I gave her a quick nod. “Yeah, that's true. I’ve seen people goofing off in there for the past couple weeks. Shouldn't be a problem.” To Oak, I added, “I mean, like I said, you still couldn't move or anything. And actually, the more I talk about it, the more it sounds like it would probably be pretty boring and annoying for you. Sorry, I guess I wasn't really thinking--”

Oak, however, quickly interrupted. “It sounds wonderful! Yes, I can keep still, I promise.” He made a motion as though crossing his heart. I won't let you down, captain!”

Paige looked thoughtful for a moment before smiling just a little. “You know what, I have an idea to make this even more safe. Do you think you can get to school on your own? I've got a quick trip to make.”

Well, that was curious. Still, it was obvious she wanted whatever it was to be a surprise, so I nodded and said I-- or we, considering Oak was coming-- would take a rideshare over there.

Oak took a minute with the rest of his family, explaining what was going on. He really was excited about it. This poor kid just wanted to go to school and he was so deprived of it that the idea of simply going along with me and staying silent and motionless through class after class was making him giddy.

It was both cute and a little sad. It made me think about what their lives had been like for so long.

Obviously, the other members of the Cuddle Corps were interested in this trick we were going to try out with the linked bags. They all gathered around the one that was kept back at the shop, with Cherry asking if they could talk to Oak through it. I made sure they knew they were definitely allowed to whisper to him, and vice versa, they just had to be ready to keep quiet if anyone was paying too much attention. They, in turn, assured me that they could communicate silently.

And with that, once they all had a bit of an emotional hug (yes they would still be connected through the costume bag but this was definitely the closest any of them had been to being totally separated from the others) I put him in my backpack along with that open Tech-Touched bag, leaving it a little bit unzipped so I could talk to him quietly while we walked out the alley and down the street to wait for a ride a couple blocks away.

With each step, it was clear that he expected to be yanked back to the shop. Honestly, I was kind of holding my breath too, uncertain if this would work. But it did. He was in my backpack with me (I had to take basically everything else out of there so he could fit), but with the Wren bag in there too and open, he still had a direct link to the shop where the others were.

While hanging out waiting for that car to show up, I asked Oak a little bit about his family. Things had always been a little vague on where exactly they came from and what they were, both in general and to each other. Everyone just called them a family. Some thought they were literal stuffed animals who had touched all together, but they were a family of siblings who touched at the same time with similar results, and others thought plenty of different things.

Oak, however, explained that they were what was known as a System. They had originated as a single girl, the one named Aspen. But even before Touching, Aspen had manifested other people within her mind. I wasn't exactly sure how that worked, but that's how it was. They were individuals sharing the same body. At least, they had been until they touched. Then they had all been put into the different bodies of the stuffed animals in their room.

Yeah, it sounded complicated and confusing. But I was glad they had at least been able to get their own bodies. Oak, for his part, sounded a little… Well, not sad exactly, but contemplative. He said there were upsides and downsides to having different bodies, and that sometimes they joined together into their combined form just to have that experience again. The way he described it was sort of like a very strong and lingering hug. They were all together in the same space, all linked in a way that couldn't be adequately described or explained. It was an incredibly deep connection that only people in that sort of situation could understand fully, apparently.

Still, even if I couldn't fully understand it, I got the general idea, and I could tell it meant a lot to him. Even then, however, he assured me that they were happier having the choice to separate or be together. They would always be close to another, especially considering the fact that they couldn't get too far away from one another without being yoinked back. But it was more than that. They were something even closer than siblings. They had a deep emotional connection.

Yeah, I was glad they were here. We were going to have to do something for them to help in the long run. No way would I be okay with simply sending them back to their old home when this was over. They deserved a lot better than that.

Eventually, we made it to the school, and I immediately found out what Paige’s plan had been. It was readily apparent, considering she was standing there in the front entranceway, smiling at her own work. She'd beaten us there, despite the stop she had to make. A stop at a toy store or ten, as it turned out.

Her plan, apparently, had been to buy every single Cuddle Corps stuffed animal she could get her hands on, and hand them out all over the school. The entire front foyer and connecting hallways were full of students holding, tossing around, and just generally playing with those stuffed animals. Which might've seemed a little odd for highschoolers, but Paige had set up a table with a large sign saying they were for emotional support leading into finals.

Wow, just wow. Taking all that in, I watched her while she looked over and gave me a wink. I reflexively started to walk over to join her, only to realize that was a bad idea. As far as other people knew, Paige and I were still… not exactly friends. It might look weird for me to go over and just start chatting.

So, I simply unzipped my bag and pulled out my little turtle friend, holding him up against my chest. No one even looked my way, since there were at least seven other tweed-wearing turtles within my eyeline, let alone other members of the Corps.

“Well, Oak,” I murmured very softly while barely moving my lips as I let him take in the sight before us, “hope you’re ready for a long, boring day at school.

“Because boy, I sure am.”