He was walking through darkness. With each step, his arm and leg seemed to be tingling with electricity, but that didn't absolutely mean that his limbs ached-actually, they seemed to be healing, at last. Just like when he had fainted last time, he didn't know where he was headed to, nor where he already was in. But his feet just told him to go on. So he went on. Along the way, he thought of his memories. The last thing he had seen and felt had been Lyra's face, and if, somehow, he was in the world of the dead and was now heading to the River Styx, he wasn't too disappointed with what he had felt at the last seconds of life. However, a split second later, it occurred to him that if he had really died, Lyra would be extremely heart-broken, and all of a sudden, he didn't want to think that he was, after all, in the world of the dead, nor headed to the River Styx. Suddenly, his eyes saw a perfectly round patch of clear light, as if it was being shot onto the floor from some stage beam or projector. His feet and legs became excited and they ran to the circle. Somehow, he was now convinced that there was something major about that beam of light and he was destined to reach it. A bit faster, a bit more... Finally, like a child running for the base during a baseball round, he hopped into the circle with finality, waiting for something. He felt his arm and leg twitch and eyes feel lighter and fresher. He couldn't explain what the white beam of light was doing to him, but since he had experienced so many unexplainable things till then, he didn't try to explain further. Afterall, I am alive, he thought, before he broke through the surface.
He opened his eyes straight into a flashlight that was after all, shining the beam of white light into his eyeballs and eyelids, which had been peeled away softly by a rough, big hand. The first thing he realized after waking up was the thought that his eyelids were aching like hell. "Ow," He said, and as his ears started to reboot and funnel in the sounds around him to his brain, the hand let go of his eyelids, then suddenly moved to his cheek, and the next second, his cheeks were the ones being pinched and aching.
"Omigod, man! Omigod," He heard a familiar voice whisper. Mars recognized it as some voice he knew, but couldn't make out from whom it had come from... "Alex Mars! You finally awake?" Now, he had a firm idea of who it was, because the guy had suddenly lapsed into a deep, long sigh and laugh of relief that never seemed to end, and there was only one person he knew who could do that: the local Martyr, or, Michael Chris. "Come on, reply," The man sobbed, and finally, Alex let his eyelids rise on their own, and as soon as they lifted, his eyes saw the man: still bearded, tall and everything, but a bit more emaciated. "Good grief. I am not in the world of the dead nor on my way to the River Styx," Those were the first words he said. Immediately, Chris did his signature bellylaugh once more before leaning down and clutching Alex's hand. "I knew you would do it, kid. I knew. You're now a kind of a martyr yourself. Actually, you deserve the title more than I do," Michael said, before eyeing him. "Well, you're healed enough. All your displaced bones and nerves are connected one more. However, the doctor said that your hand would be disobeying your brains orders a tiny bit during the first week. Also, it's important that you don't get too angered,"
Now, the man pulled up Mars from the bed he was on, and strangely, the boy felt no headache, but a sense of relief and security as he sat up straight. "I have questions. A whole barrel of them," Alex said in a voice that didn't crack at all. "I know. And before you can ask, I will answer them. First, your parents are safe. I kind of hid with them in their car and drove them to some forest. We were wondering if we should get back to the city when we heard your speech. Like, it was a tiny droning sound in the background, but your parents noticed it as soon as you started talking through the megaphone. So, I drove them to the Military base and we joined in with the fighting after your speech. Actually, I led the civilians' fight. Anyway. All's fine now. Your parents are now at their home-Sarah's with them. They want the Cannes to live with them and you. Second-" "Wait. Can you first tell me where Lyra is? Do you know who she is?" Mars was impatient, and after he rejoiced at the safety of his parents, now had to be ensured the safety of Lyra first. Why isn't she here already? He wondered, concerned.
The Martyr nodded. "-was just about to tell you that. She's fine. She was by your side from the day you were underwater all the time, sleeping with her head on you and everything here. Now, she has gone to get herself a checkup. Um, to be exact, a mental checkup," Mars hopped onto his feet that instant. At least she was safe and sound! He yelped mentally.
"Got it. I need to see her right now. Where's she?"
The Martyr didn't let him go, though, by extending a hand that gripped Mars' wrist. "Not so fast! The doctor said that he needs a quiet and personal examination of your girl. She'll be back here soon, I promise. She left us an hour ago. Anyway, I kind of became friends with her, I think. And I'm glad you've finally found your mate," Well, since Mars couldn't refute the last part, he could only nod, then he grabbed the steel bars of his hospital bed and stared at a steel door on the far side of a wall, waiting it to open.
"Where are my friends? The rest of 'em, I mean," He finally tried to divert his attention from Lyra, who seemed to be taking some minutes to return. "5 died. And the rest is all alive and in better condition than you. The three boys and a tall girl are in one big room together on the same floor. They got minor burns and cuts, that's all. And they're goddam worried for you,"
Now, Alex started to pace.
"Just one more question. I don't know if you heard of him, but do you know where the Martian went? If you don't know, you can just frankly say that I seem to be speaking alien," Michael's eyes shot up to the ceiling of the room before they widened and descended back to Mars' face. "Well, actually, I have heard of him. I also met the leader of your new pack, Lewis. The guy said that the Martian had gone to space after muttering words as if he knew that you'd win, then that he would come back after the victory. Lewis also added that the Martian had disappeared the next day. By the way, in what shitty way did you get yourself acquainted with a martian?" For a second, Mars let his mind wander from his worries and let a tiny smile break out and play on his lips. "It was by chance, Mike. But we're not exactly close friends. I still have tons of questions to ask that fella. Like, he seems to be the one who made the Muter. And, also from the way he started the Martian civilization in so little time, it seems like he will be the king of Prods-maybe, even smarter than all Prods," "I see. I'm going to make sure that i meet him as soon as he comes back. Anyway, it fits your name well-'Alex Mars meets the first Martian'," Suddenly, Alex heard a pair of feet making their way to the door, and he launched himself up into a standing position on the floor once more, then threw the Martyr an urgent glance.
"Do I have to... get out?" The Martyr asked, giving him a look that said 'that kid has changed a lot lately'.
"Yes, you have to get the hell out of the room. I'll let you know when you have to come back in," The feet had now stopped at the front of the door and were hesitating.
"Now," Mars hissed and that did it. The Martyr gave him a peculiar glare before walking in Prod-speed to the door and opening it.
And there stood her.
Her pair of brown eyes widened for a second before tiptoeing to the bed, climbing it, then finding nothing there. They quickly shuffled around the room in confusion until they discovered Mars, standing and fine. They widened once more.
"Your boyfriend's awake. Don't forget to pressure or anger him too much," The Martyr said in a monotone to her, before passing by her. Behind her back, however, he raised both eyebrows high, and though others would have interpreted it as mocking, for Alex, who was the only one to see it, he knew that those meant a rare blessing of good luck from his old lad.
Then the door shut close.
Now, they stared at each other, not moving even a tiny bit-yes, not even breathing. However, their minds still were working well, and they observed each other, trying to figure out if any feature of the person they had known for months had changed even a tiny bit.
  He saw her brown hair that wavered down her shoulders and clear eyes that were also brown, but were deep and thinking. However, he didn't find the usual calculative glance of her, and this pleased him. Also, the fact that the Revolution was over and all was fine made his feelings for her a bit more intense, somehow.
She saw his bronze hair that had always been neat and curved up in its own peculair way without its owner meaning it to, and his still, blue eyes, which were both amused and seemed pleased. But, he didn't have any glint of even the tiniest sadness or tears in them, and this exhilarated her. In addition, the fact that he was finally awake after days made her feel an urge, the urge that she had felt from that moment they had first met, grow even more.
Now, they both knew it was time to speak, and Alex wanted to speak to her first, which was quite unusual, for Lyra had always the one to speak first in such awkward situations.
"Hey," And thank goodness, his voice just sounded right, with the right amount of trembling and anticipation.
"Hey. Do you remember?" She gave him a questioning look, and though it was superficially amused, her eyes were shaking in their sockets, for she feared that he might not remember, after all.
But those worries turned out to be quite unnecessary.
"The last moment? Actually, yes. I kissed you," -Only a near-death experience could have helped that word come through his mouth so easily, as if on oil.
"Did you? I think I kissed you,"
That launched both of themselves into a kind of melting state and they laughed freely like honest, flirting teens who were used to going to high-school, and were used to having a normal life.
Now, Alex walked towards her and held out a hand.
And Lyra held it and squeezed it softly, as if to test his honesty.
"Well, I held out my hand, and you took it. Thus, there are no disbalances. We both kissed at the same time. Period,"
"Period, indeed,"
And the next moment, Alex had brought her close into the circle of his arms, and a million thoughts popped into his head after that. Things are strange. She's strange-in a good way. I am strange. Jesus. Thoughts subtly zapped in and out as they simply stood like that, holding each other in a way they had never imagined the other would permit in the past. Hell, I had been wanting this somehow from the past, Mars added as he breathed in deep. He could never have felt so... normal and human. And he loved the sensation.
-And when Lyra got on her toes and they touched lips once more, it was as if he had just been transported to paradise with only her with him, at his side.
"I'm glad you're alive," Lyra said after a minute, looking up at him, maybe a bit blushing(maybe, I am also blushing, Alex thought-and he was correct).
"I'm glad that you're here-for me," He said any word that came to his head, and wasn't ashamed with that.
For the next few minutes, they just got on the bed and talked of everything that came to mind that instant, pulled out facts that they had thought had been fake, but after all, turned out to be real in their hearts.
It was one of the most amazing and revolutionary days, even more impactful than the Revolution itself, for Alex Mars.
-And for a moment, he thought that it would be possible for him to just plunge himself into his truly happy moment... But for humans, especially for Mars, who had just led a Revolution to success, and had recovered completely, that couldn't be the case.
Lyra reminded him-or to be exact, just read the thing straight out of both's heads-that he needed to be updated with everything that had happened after he had gotten bonked out on the field, and they both annoyingly stood up, but still, holding hands. As soon as he knocked on the door from the inside, the Martyr came marching in, real-serious--and, with a man in a doctor's uniform right behind his buttocks.
"It's been an hour, Alex Mars. I waited an hour," The Martyr drawled before pointing at the doctor, who had this goatee that made him look like some professional doctor of old age. A look of recognition and annoyance popped onto Lyra's face before disappearing, but Alex was fast enough to find that.
"What's wrong-"
"Alex, this is Doc Harris-he was the psychiatrist who gave Lyra her mental examination. He has a word to have with you. And it's serious. While you talk with him, I'm gonna call Lewis to this room to update you," As soon as the Marty's words were over, the guy named Harris flashed a pair of glasses onto his nose, which only added the formality of his appearance.
"Follow, Mr. Mars" was the word the guy said as he made his way out of the room with an indifferent expression.
Lyra rigidly let go of Alex's hand and quite confused with what the hell was going on, Mars sped out of the room inevitably to catch up with the doctor.
The man led him to the space in front of an elevator bank with a marble floor that sparkled flawlessly. As the man started to pace, Alx's head started to spew out some crazy questions at the same speed as the man's pacing.
Then, at last, the guy looked up straight into Mars' face. "Lyra Cannes, your friend, has one of the most typical traumas that are common after a very surprising or shocking event, along with her inherent habit of... measuring the value of everything in her world, though the reason hasn't been confirmed. But I think it has resulted from continuous isolation and being alone, or because of the fact that she is simply a Prodigy. Though this can be treated through visiting a mental clinic for a few months and getting professional advice and sessions, it seems quite impossible in this politically-confusing period, and also with her refusal to be paired up with a doctor for months--she has been... quite clear in her opinion with that, Mr. Mars," The man now looked down before speeding down his still-pacing legs. Fuck. Trauma? Months in the clinic...Now, as Mars thought of what the psychiatrist had just told him, an image of Lyra refuting the doctor's advice with her strong, persuasive-witted words popped into his head, and he could immediately understand why she had been so defensive.
"Thus, I need to see that she has a person to do the job of the clinic. Like, a person to stay with her at all costs and talk and ease her symptoms of having little sleep, and too much stress and worry. I don't need a person who would do it systemically, but that doesn't mean any person, Mr. Mars. Maybe an experienced person who wants to apply for the position and-," The doctor was saying in a monotone, eyes pulled together a bit at the center of his forehead. Well, that actually makes problems simple than I thought, Mars thought with delight that had suddenly surged through his veins at the last explanation of the doctor.
"I will do it. I don't plan on living away from her, nor do I also have the mental stability to endure such. We also plan on living together. What will it take me?" The doctor now looked up, quite surprised, though not alarmed-the guy had been expecting it a bit, at least. "I thought you'd be too busy or young for that-" Mars made his eyebrows rise slightly at the last word, and the doctor was quite quick, for a normal human, to rephrase his words. "-or, maybe you're the fit one, my dearest mister. You are a Prodigy, after all. Then, I trust you-it only takes some daily pills and walks and... anything else on your consideration. That's all it takes," The doctor now walked briskly back to Alex's side and gave the boy a firm hand-shake that adults usually share all the time, the first of its kind that Mars had experienced.
"That's all for today, Mr. Mars. I trust you know better than me of what to do," "I do," Mars replied as the doctor started to steer themselves back to his room. He hoped he did, to be exact-but he'd learn.
The room was now filled with Lewis, who had a bulky cast on his leg and was sitting on the bed and looking at the tall figure standing in front of him like a firm brick, whom, was Michael the Martyr. They were both waiting-things that had to be discussed had been discussed.
When Alex finally entered, gave Lyra the most reassuring glance he could muster, then gave a quick beam of a grin at Lewis, they officially launched into their talk.
"Alex. Some good and bad news. Which first?" Lewis inquired as the opening sentence. "Bad,"
"Good choice. The... erm, a few Military bitches managed to escape. I think they escaped through the sewers. I actually led the squad that chased them. We confirmed that, among the survivors of the Military, both generals of the base-Hale and Fawkes-had managed to escape. They must have flocked their chicken-butts into the desert. Let them get fried up and die there-they won't even have much preparation, provisions, nor any Prod abilities," Now, after rapping out the bad, Lewis looked up in tight tension to see the reaction of the boy who had led the Revolution, fearing for the worst...
-But instead, his face was just indifferent.
"It's fine. They would also experience how it feels like to be banished and live without relying on others. Next-the good information, Lewis?" This reaction obviously astonished Lewis, who shot the Martyr and Lyra a puzzled glance before reporting the next. "All the people we-I mean, the Rebels I led before meeting with you and combining each others' forces-managed to kill, including Lyra's mother, have been gathered up. None missing. We are ready to have a mass funeral in a big park. Erm, this was supposed to be the good news compared to the previous one, but... I suppose it isn't that pleasing afterall," The man was now biting his nails like a nervous child, and by now, the others were also showing their individual reactions to the news. The Martyr was staring dead at the crack of light at the bottom of the door, though the man had no relatives to grieve over the deaths about, while Lyra had frozen, probably thinking of her dead mother(her traumatic symptoms are coming..., Mars groaned mentally). Alex himself was also imitating his lifelong mentor by staring dead-at Lyra, however. After a solid 2 minutes of absolute silence, Lyra looked up, met Alex's eyes, then nodded two times, eyes trembling.
"We shall go, Lewis. Thank you. Just tell me when Ryan Marvick is returning to Earth as soon as possible," Alex finally told Lewis, and that kind of melted Lewis into a shower of apology and gloominess, since he had been the one to order the Rebels to kill in the first place, afterall. The Martyr also looked up. "We're leaving, for now, Lewis," Alex now looked up straight at Lewis once more, his bald, apologetic, and burnt(the effects of the desert sun had been inevitable on him, also) face.
The two shared a handshake that was much more friendlier and softer than the one Alex had shared with the doctor, then Lewis pushed them out of the room. "See you all there," Alex heard the man say in a gloomy tone before the door shut on itself.
Sighing about how much negative effects the Revolution had had on his life and otehrs' lives, Alex Mars reached out for Lyra Cannes' hand and grasped it tight,as if her hand was his personal comfort squeezer.

The Martyr drove them in his car to Alex's house, which had brightly-lit windows and lights on display. Sarah greeted the three on the front porch, though she barely knew the Martyr, and babbled, without knowing anything about the mass funeral coming up in a few days, about how Alex's parents had treated her. It seemed as if the Martyr has sent Sarah, who had no injuries to heal of, straight to the house after both her and Lyra's agreement. It also seemed to Alex Mars that his parents had treated Sarah in the most affectionate way possible, maybe trying to put the affection they had always been capable of and the affection that they hadn't been able to use since Alex was a single son and always so Prodigious and non-childish. Reunion was quite warming and it let Alex forget the gloomy mood from being reminded of the death of Lyra's mother-his parents were quite in good shape, and they were flowing of all kinds of liquid-tears and snot-even before they hugged into one hell of a group-hug.
"I actually learned how to make a personal blog and be active against the gov-for the first time. Also, it was a great speech, son," Rick Carves said when the third hug was finally over. "Oh, it was the first time I had ever heard you present yourself to such a huge crowd, Alex-remember how you had fervently made us stay out of all those days when parents were supposed to go to school and watch their kids speak? So, this was like... a huge Christmas gift!" And of course, Stephnie Marks hadn't changed an inch, except the fact that she had grown bigger smiles somehow over the past few days after the Revolution.
However, Alex Mars wasn't the only one greeted-his parents hugged both Sarah and Lyra before man-hugging the giant Martyr. As soon as those were over, Alex, Lyra, and Sarah were finally led to their rooms. With his ears, Mars found his parents already arguing over whether to let their son sleep alone or with Lyra and obviously, Stephenie was on the side where they should. As usual, the mother won, and Alex ended up moving into a bigger room then his previous bedroom with Lyra. However, his parents' previous argument proved ineffective, for Sarah was quick to gather every one of her things and move into his and Lyra's room.
Soon, they were all tucked into the single room, their hearts, afraid of losing sight of each other, finally comforted.
-And though Stephenie hated messy things, she found herself unable to say 'chicken coop' at the room, for she found no reason to depress her son, whom had returned after so many months.