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It was in an empty dark alleyway that Dan Heng met him. He was like a reflection of someone he knew, bits and pieces that were the same as her like the colour of his hair and eyes as well as the torn jacket he wore, and at the same time there were so many that were different like the structure of his face and the way he carried himself.
It was not the first time Dan Heng had seen him. They met when the Stellaron Hunter Silver Wolf hacked into the Astral Express to drop a message.
“Someone wants to talk to you,” she said to Stelle before vanishing and leaving a man in her place. The man was heavily bandaged, sitting and not standing, but even from the hologram, Dan Heng could tell the warmth in his eyes when he saw Stelle alive and well.
Yet, Stelle did not know him and the hologram disappeared before anyone could question him. Everyone thought that would be the last time they would see the stranger again, but here he was with his back turned in where he should not be.
“Who are you?” he demanded the doppelganger, ignoring the way the man flinched at the sound of his cold voice and the way he turned around with eyes wide in surprise.
“You…” the doppelganger said before turning around and sprinting away.
Without thinking, Dan Heng sprinted after him like a predator who had caught sight of its prey. They tore down the empty streets of Belobog’s underworld, uncaring of the people who cried out as they were shoved to the side when they stood in the way. They ran even when they left the safety of the town, even when they drew the attention of hostile robots and monsters living in the Fragmentum. It was only when the doppelganger came to a stop, having reached a dead end, that Dan Heng slowed down. His weapon was drawn, a precaution in case his prey chose to fight back, and he asked the doppelganger again, “Who are you?”
The doppelganger was silent, his eyes darting from side to side as if to find another way out of this predicament.
“Answer the question,” Dan Heng said as he took a step forward.
The doppelganger swallowed as he met the predator’s stare. “Did Stelle remember?”
Remember? Was he unaware? “She has no memories of her past,” he answered, noting the unchanged sad expression on the doppelganger’s face. Perhaps he already knew but was clinging onto the hope that Stelle remembered something. “Now answer my question, who are you?”
“I am Caelus, her brother… or copy if you want to be accurate.”
Stelle had a brother? Dan Heng frowned at the information. Was it possible for someone to have a really bad amnesia to forget something like that? But the other word in that sentence, what did he mean by a ‘copy’? Before he could ask, he heard the sound of whirring gears. Turning around, he found three rogue robots, hostile from the way it immediately tried to charge towards them.
He turned his weapon towards them, lunging forward to strike one of them. The blade easily went through the hull, the metal screeching as the components within were destroyed. Dan Heng pulled his weapon out, flinging the broken robot to the side before turning to destroy the next one. There was a flash of grey and Dan Heng’s eyes instinctively chased after it.
Caelus punched one of them, the metal groaning and crumpling from the impact before it was sent flying and over the cliff’s edge. The last robot charged towards Caelus, only to be struck down from the side by Dan Heng.
“Thanks,” Caelus said as Dan Heng flung the broken robot away.
Dan Heng nodded his head before his eyes fell upon Caelus’ bloodied knuckles. “Your hand…”
Caelus looked down at them and huffed. “Yeah, shouldn’t have punched it I guess.”
“Don’t have a weapon?” he asked, grabbing the wounded limb to inspect it before Caelus could drop it back down to his side.
“Not yet. Wasn’t planning on fighting today anyway. Wouldn’t be as bad if I still had my old gloves.”
Dan Heng hummed as he pulled out his first aid kit. He led Caelus over to the rockwall and pulled him down until they both sat on the dusty ground. The wounded hand was placed on his lap and the first aid kit on the floor. As he treated the injury, he could feel Caelus watching him. Yet, the latter stayed silent, only watching as his hand was bandaged up.
“Why?” Caelus asked when his hand was released.
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you help me?”
“Do you not want me to?”
“It’s not that… whatever, forget it. Thanks for the help.”
They fell into an awkward silence, neither of them knowing what to say next or if there was anything they needed to say. Dan Heng had questions but he did not know if they were too personal or too intrusive to ask. Would Caelus flee again if he demanded to know? His burning curiosity demanded to know the answers.
“What do you mean by copy?” he asked, watching as Caelus bit his lip.
“It’s exactly what I said,” Caelus finally said after a long silence. “We were made together but I was empty. Something happened and whatever was placed in Stelle was copied to me — the memories of the Stellaron being placed into her, the Stellaron itself, Kafka’s words to both of us before she abandoned us… Everything that Stelle had at the time, it was given to me as well. I don’t know why Stelle doesn’t remember… I… I don’t know why she forgot about me…”
The last sentence was said with a sob and Dan Heng immediately pulled Caelus into a hug, ignoring the way he felt his clothes got wet as Caelus cried into his shoulder. He gently shushed him and told him that it was going to be okay, that everything would be fine now.
“Come to the Astral Express with me. You need to tell Stelle everything,” Dan Heng said when he could no longer hear the heartbroken sobs.
“I can’t,” Caelus mumbled, his head still lying on Dan Heng’s shoulder. “Even if I tell her everything, I’m still a stranger to her. I… I don’t want to be reminded everyday that I’m forgotten. If she remembers… and she wants me by her side, then I’ll go to her but until then… I’ll watch from afar… I’ll support her from afar.”
“You’re not forgotten, I remember you.”
Caelus laughed even as he choked on renewed tears. “We literally just met in-person a few hours ago.”
“And I will remember you from now on.”
“Why? You don’t even know me!”
“You don’t want me to?”
“It’s not-! I’m just a copy…”
“No,” Dan Heng said as pulled Caelus off his shoulder and held him in front so their eyes met. “You’re Caelus. You’re Stelle’s brother. You’re not just a copy. I will never forget you, I will always remember you.”
“We literally just met,” Caelus said with a whisper in disbelief. “We literally just met.”
“Do you trust me?”
“...We literally just met… so why?”
“Do you trust me?” Dan Heng repeated the question, not once breaking eye contact with the man in front of him. Caelus nodded his head, an answer even if it was not a verbal one. “Then trust in my promise to you.”
They stayed by each other’s side for hours even when their limbs went numb. It was only when Dan Heng’s phone rang with a message from March and Stelle demanding to know where he was that he realised he should return.
“We should go back,” Dan Heng said but Caelus shook his head.
“You need to go back. I can’t go back with you.”
“Are you returning to the Stellaron Hunters?”
“Not yet, I came here to keep a watch on Stelle. I’m worried for her. She might not remember me but I’m still her brother.”
“You’re a good brother.”
Caelus turned away, a faint blush dusting his cheeks. “Shut up.”
They both stood up despite their unwillingness. Caelus dusted away the dirt stuck onto his torn jacket while Dan Heng kept his first aid kit. Before they split up, Dan Heng held his phone out to Caelus.
“Your number,” he ordered, making Caelus laugh even as he obeyed. The phone was returned not a moment later and Dan Heng hummed, pleased at the sight of the newly added contact.
“Well… I guess I’ll see you another time?” Caelus said, drawing Dan Heng’s attention back to him.
“Stay safe.”
Caelus smiled warmly and Dan Heng felt his heart skip a beat. “You too and uh, don’t tell Stelle about me.”
“I won’t”
After Caelus left, Dan Heng slowly made his way back to where March and Stelle were waiting for him outside of the hotel.
“Dan Heng!” March called out the moment she caught sight of him. “Where did you go?”
“Patrolling,” he said. Not a lie but not the truth either. He had been patrolling before he met Caelus but after that, it was anything but.
“Honestly! Would it kill you to take a break?” March said, making Stelle giggle.
An idea sprung to mind and Dan Heng took out his phone before he could reconsider it. In an instant, he took a picture of both March and Stelle and quickly sent it to Caelus before turning his phone screen off.
March spluttered at the strange behaviour and demanded to know what he was doing while Stelle tried to calm her down but Dan Heng walked away without answering her. He felt his phone vibrate in his hand and he smiled at the reply from Caelus before returning his phone back into his pocket.
‘Thank you, this means a lot to me.’
One day, he would help reunite Caelus with his sister but until then, he would just have to keep sending pictures of these happy moments to him because even Caelus deserved to experience these moments as well.