Only Human

Only Human

“I found you, I can't believe I actually found you.”

The man murmurs into Oliver's hair, grip still tight around his shoulders. The man–no, his brother, finally loosens his hold enough for Oliver to get a first clear look at his face. And it's familiar, but only just enough that he knows not to panic.

“Lucas.” Oliver whispers.

His older brother nods in confirmation, eyes shining from unshed tears.

“Yeah, Ollie.” He says with a smile.

The nickname sparks something in Oliver, a sense of familiarity, a memory that disappears just as quickly as it had manifested.

“It's been so long, I was afraid…” Lucas trails off, hands falling to Oliver's shoulders.

“I remember.” Oliver reassures him. “Not everything. Flashes, phrases…feelings.” His chest hurts, a jolt of guilt hitting him as he watches the small smile that had been on his brother's face fall.

“I'm sorry.” He feels like he needs to apologize.

“Don't apologize, never. It's not your fault, Ollie.” Lucas reassures him firmly. “It's been eight years, you were only four. It's a miracle you’re able to remember anything from then.”

He's not wrong, but Oliver isn't the bright eyed carefree toddler he had been when his brother last saw him. Alarms begin to blare loudly.

“Time to go.” Lucas mutters as he stands up, taking his plasma gun out from the holster around his hip.

Oliver feels his brother's hand grip his shoulder lightly before he guides the both of them out the small metal cell and into the hallway. Several destroyed humanoids lie on the ground. Oliver hadn't seen an actual human in what he could only estimate had been at least over a month.

“No humans?” Oliver voices over the alarms. Lucas shakes his head.

“I haven't seen one, except for you.” His brother replies with a squeeze to his shoulder.

He was the only prisoner then. There were others, he could have sworn there were. Kids, around his age. A memory, barely a snapshot flashes through his mind. Him and a group of kids laughing. He shakes his head and wills himself to focus.

“We've missed you, we never stopped looking for you, Ollie. I need you to know that.” Lucas says as they enter another hallway littered with metallic limbs.

We?

Right, the rest of his family. Two more older brothers? Oliver has to think for a few moments to recall their names.

“Miles, and Noah?” Why couldn't Oliver remember their faces?

Lucas stops, hand still on his shoulder as he looks at Oliver in concern.

“Yeah…you okay, Ollie? You look pale, like you've seen a ghost.” Lucas asks.

“I'm fine.” Oliver murmers in response. “Head just hurts a bit.” And it's not an outright lie.

Lucas tries to give him a reassuring smile.

“Well these alarms certainly aren't helping. I'd call Miles, but comms don't work in this building. Something’s blocking them.” He points to his ear.

Oliver nods, trying to shake away a wave of anxiety. The hallway seems never-ending, until it makes a sharp turn down an equally long one. Where were they? Not a ship. A base then. But where? Oliver holds back from asking, he can find out later, when they're out of this place and home…wherever that is.

“This isn't right.” Lucas mutters to himself after a few minutes of walking down another hallway.

“What's wrong?” Oliver asks, glancing up at his brother.

“I haven't been down this one before.”

“Did we make a wrong turn?”

Lucas shakes his head.

“Impossible, there is no alternate route to or from the cells.”

Oliver frowns, looking down the long corridor. The long, clean corridor.

“No humanoids in this one?” Oliver asks hesitantly.

“Yes.” Lucas says, fists clenching. “There were.”

Oliver could see why this was a problem now. The alarms stop blaring, silence filling the empty hall.

“Stay here.” Lucas commands as he readjusts his hold on the plasma gun before turning around to face the corner they had just rounded. “There was a control room just down that last hall, I can probably-”

“Shut down the system? Perhaps you could. But it would only prolong the inevitable.”

Lucas grips his gun, bringing it up and aiming it at the owner of the voice. A humanoid steps into view from around the corner, the same silver and gold metal making up its lifeless features as all the rest. Red eyes glow bright as they adjust their gaze on the two brothers. A shot rings out from the plasma gun, Lucas not hesitating to end the conversation before it even has a chance to begin. Another one takes its place, appearing from the same hallway as the previous.

“We are not just one, but all. We are a never-ending life-force-”

“You're not alive.” Oliver doesn't know why he blurts out the fact.

The humanoid turns its attention to him.

“Aren't you though? Oliver?” It’s monotone question echoes.

“Don't talk to him.” Lucas snaps angrily before Oliver can even ponder the statement. “We’re leaving, I don't care if I have to go through a thousand of you to do so.”

“You don't belong with them, child.” It collapses, shot clean through the head. “And he knows it.” Another shot, another metal body hits the ground, the loud sound echoing around them.

What does he mean? Is he talking about Oliver?

Four more appear, and Oliver wonders to himself how many of them are in the hallway, and how much more can Lucas take down?

The answer is ‘a lot’. Lucas doesn't look away for a second, shots steady and even as he shoots every one clean through the head. He doesn't even falter as he grabs Oliver by the back of the shirt, pulling him along as they both back slowly down the hallway. It's a simple plan, and a successful one for a while as they make decent progress. Until the humanoids finally decide to fire back.

Oliver doesn't hesitate for a second before he jumps in front of Lucas, forgetting the fact that he's at least a head and half shorter than his older brother. He doesn't think, not even for a moment, his body seems to move on instinct alone. He feels the blasts hit his back, body jolting with the force of them. He feels his right arm get struck numerous times. Above all the gunshots and commotion he hears Lucas scream out, not in pain though, but undeniable anger.

Oliver doesn't know exactly when they finally make it to the end of the hall, it could have been minutes or mere seconds. Dozens more humanoids are taken down before then, Lucas unrelenting in his fury-fueled retaliation. His brother kneels in front of him now, Oliver feels his hand brush his hair back from his face.

“You’re okay, buddy.” Lucas assures him.

And…he's right. Oliver shouldn't be standing right now, let alone breathing. He should have bled out seconds after the first shot hit his back. But he's not, he's standing here, alive.

“A marvel, he is. The first of many who will follow.”

Lucas stands again, turning around to face the one humanoid who ‘survived’ the shootout.

“I told you we're leaving.” Lucas says, raising his gun with a shaky arm.

Oliver turns his head to look behind him, spotting the large door at the end of the hall they're now standing in. The exit.

“You are not prepared to care for him, you are not equipped for his upkeep.”

Oliver's breathing quickens. Upkeep? He brings a hand up to grab at his chest, to try and slow his breathing. He freezes as the glint of metal shows where his skin should be.

“Shut up.” Lucas warns it.

“The others weren't successful, this one though was strong. We still have so much left to discover-” One last shot silences it.

The others, the other kids, the ones he had once shared a cell with. Oliver feels sick, then panics at why he does when he doesn't even have a stomach.

“Ollie,” Lucas is kneeling, eyes level with Oliver's. “Ollie, we need to go.”

Oliver doesn't have a chance to reply before he's being dragged by the hand and out the door, the dark star-lit sky shining above. He doesn't know how long it takes for them to get to the small transport ship. Lucas straps him in at some point, and Oliver feels the ship lift up as he stares blankly at his metal arm. He rotates it slowly, observing how the wires move seamlessly with the action. The ship lands, tearing Oliver's attention away from his robotic arm. Lucas walks over, unbuckling him from the seat and helping him out of it before opening the unloading ramp and leading the two of them out.

They stand next to each other on the sandy cliff, the base Oliver had been kept in shining in the distance. Lucas mutters something into the commlink that now works. A series of small explosions sound in the distance, fire and smoke billowing from the building.

“Should have left me in there.” Oliver finally speaks up for the first time since they escaped.

“Stop that.” Lucas stares a head at the burning base before turning to look at Oliver. “We looked for you for eight years.”

“And I'm not that kid anymore! I'm not even human.” Oliver whispers the last word.

He feels his brother's hands on his face. So this body could feel, just not pain apparently. That was at least a little comforting.

“You're my brother.” Lucas says firmly, meeting his eyes. He pulls Oliver into an embrace. “If you remember one thing, remember that.”

He would.