The Creatures that We Are

“Ah…”

Gao Yang jerked awake, consciousness flooding back. Overwhelming disappointment and helplessness crashed over him—this was the "reality" he couldn't shake, the dream that wouldn't end.

A sharp discomfort in his skull demanded immediate attention. His situation was simple enough: he hung upside down from the ceiling, suspended by an extendable rope that somehow looked like cutting-edge technology.

“Whoa, he’s up!”

Gao Yang twisted around, his inverted view revealing a girl in the living room. She was small and skinny, swimming in a white jumper decorated with an orange pattern that reached her knees. Her feet were planted in oversized industrial-style sneakers, and her puffy brown hair bounced in a bob cut. Her holographic mask shifted colors, featureless except for a flickering “Qiao”[1].

“Haha, the boy’s finally up!” A burly man rushed from the kitchen, beer bottle half-empty in his hand. His masculine brown leather jacket hung open, revealing silver metallic pecs and abs. His holographic mask took the form of a bear.

“Let’s lower him.” A slim young man sat properly on the sofa. His voice was young with a hint of shyness. His white shirt was meticulously pressed, paired with cropped khaki pants and casual dress shoes. No augmentations marked his visible skin. His mask displayed a mahjong tile bearing the character “xi”.

“Getting blood in the brain for, too long, will kill him.”

Beside the young man in a white shirt was another man of similar age, dressed in a stylized black jumpsuit. Half of his hair was shaved, while the longer hair was dyed into different colors like a glass of cocktail frozen mid-spill. His ear was covered in gleaming metal rings. His mask was an abstracted, gloomy goethe face.

By the floor-to-ceiling window stood a tall, slim man in technical camouflage. His right hand gripped a shortsword that pulsed with scintillating light. His mask showed a hissing viper, marred by an ugly knife scar.

Viewing his five visitors upside down, Gao Yang felt neither fear nor joy. All was as expected.

Yet tears welled in his eyes, unbidden.

“Oh boy!” The girl in a jumper took a dramatic step back. “Uncle Bear! He, hehehehe’s going to cry!”

“Seriously? Such a chicken?” The burly man with a bottle of beer came up laughing. “Why would Captain take in such a wuss?”

“Brother Snake!” The girl panicked. “Captain told us to get along well with him, but you had to tie him up!”

“This is me getting along with him.” The man in the snake mask scoffed. His wrist flicked, launching the shortsword. It sliced through the rope before returning to his grip.

Gao Yang plummeted. The burly man caught him, then tossed him onto the sofa like discarded laundry. The two young men scrambled aside to make room.

Thud. Gao Yang landed heavily on the cushions.

“You alright?” The young man in white shirt hurriedly helped him up. “Brother Snake meant no harm. He was just worried that you would be out for too long.”

“Many Jupiter Travelers, sleep, and don’t wake up,” the young man with colorful hair added.

“Newbie.” The girl bounced over in excitement. “Captain said you have a special superpower that lets you call the name of those you meet for the first time.”

Gao Yang adjusted his position and said tiredly, “Yeah.”

The burly man came up to him as well. “Hm, then let me test you. What’s my name?”

“Gray Bear.”

“Lithe Snake.”

“Xiran.”

“Ronnie.”

“Can.”

Gao Yang looked at them in turn, calling out their names.

Stunned silence fell over the group.

“Although this is all fake, I’m still glad to see you.” Gao Yang smiled faintly, a teardrop falling down his face silently. “I’ve missed you, a lot.”

The bustling room went still. Despite knowing about the young man's condition, none of them could ignore the raw emotion beneath his calm words.

“Ha, haha.” Can broke first, her holographic mask dissolving to reveal the lovely face of a girl next door. As the team's designated moodmaker, she took it upon herself to dispel even a moment's awkwardness. ŖÃꞐȎ₿Еȿ

“Captain’s right. You can see the future, newbie!” Can said. “Then you can tell fortune as well, right? Tell me, when am I going to find a guy…”

Gray Bear knocked her on the head. “You should be getting stronger, not looking for a hot guy.”

“So you aren’t completely useless.” Lithe Snake’s mask disappeared, revealing a stoic face. The long scar cutting across his brows, his cold gaze, and his thin pale lips rivaled each other in sharpness.

“When has Captain ever made a mistake in this?” Gray Bear’s mask was gone, too, revealing a bushy beard.

Xiran deactivated his mask, offering Gao Yang a hand with a pure, gentle smile. “Hello, I’m Xiran. Xi as in “west”, and ran as in “burning”. This is Ronnie. He speaks in a weird cadence. You’ll get used to it.”

“I’m Ro-nnie.” Ronnie extended his hand as well.

Gao Yang kept his hands at his sides. He missed all this so intensely that he didn't dare accept their welcome.

Whoosh. The floor in the entryway opened, and a capsule elevator rose. Vermilion Bird stepped out carrying two large bags of fresh ingredients and groceries.

“You’re back, Captain!” Can ran up to her happily and took the bags. “Let me see what you got.”

“All food you like.” Vermilion Bird ruffled Can’s hair. “Make breakfast. We’ll talk as we eat.”

1. A reference to her go-to game character, Xiao Qiao. ☜

Houseau3's Thoughts

Real or not I do miss this bunch. A little weird to see them call Vermilion Bird captain, though.

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