The turtle tank was a rather old specimen. The metal shell was beaten with craters, bombarded all over. Even the barrel that jutted out above its head was slightly crooked, askew to one side. Much of the paint had faded away, eaten over time by rust and rain. Every move was punctuated with a long, hoary groan; a veteran of life and its many misfortunes. And yet the entity that dwelled within it was as vibrant as ever.

The leathery hide, though saggy and crinkled with age, was a lustrous azure blue creased in veins of gleaming gold, sculpted from shining rock almost. Its whole posture exuded dignity. Statuesque in a way, tall and strong, like the entire world was as light as a feather upon its back. Except it was anything but. And KD should know. Turtle tanks were the choice of sport among Void Entities, a favourite prey to hunt by far. Despite its clumsy, oafish appearance, those creatures knew how to fight with a fire in their belly: roaring, stomping, thrashing, biting, anything and everything to walk away alive. On a particular hunting party, KD took a barrel-swing to the chest and flew through a building like a rock through paper. Truly, a rollicking good time. If they remembered correctly, that turtle tank managed to get away. Hopefully this was not the same one they battled long ago.

The turtle tank blinked, still bleary with sleep. Not a hint of recognition lurked in its large droopy eyes. With an easy sigh, KD relaxed and let go of their fists. That was when Haru finally joined them, her hands on her knees, huffing like a weakling.

“Oh hi, Haru,” the turtle tank said, delighted as a flower in the presence of the sun.

“Hey… Herald…” She was catching her breath.

“You know this old hunk of flesh and metal?” KD asked.

“Yup. We go way way back. He used to give me rides down the river all over time to get downtown.”

“Do you bring me fishy jerky?”

“Sorry, not this time. I’m on a job.” She gestured to Action Kid. “We’re looking for his older brother.”

Herald moved through the fountain with seismic steps, rippling the waters and shaking the earth, then carefully climbed over to dry land. It was as tall as KD, its breathing laboured and nasally. The tank on its back shifted forward as it leaned in to inspect the boy. Action Kid stood his ground, his cap billowing gently each time that it exhaled.

“So Officer Akton is your brother.” Herald squinted its eyes, and at that the boy beamed with a smile. “I suppose I can see the resemblance.”

“Where did you last see my brother?” Action Kid asked.

“His last location…”

“Yeah! Try to remember.”

Herald titled its head from side to side, thinking carefully, or at least they thought so until it started to nod into slumber.

“Herald!” The boy whacked the turtle tank on the snout.

Its head snapped back up. “Wha- yes?”

“My brother?”

“Ah yes, Officer Akton. I remember. I know where he was last.”

KD and Haru exchanged another knowing glance, fully aware of the axe hanging above their heads. Meanwhile Action Kid was hyper with elation, a machine about to shake apart with joy, unaware of the blade about to fall.

“You have to show me. Do you know how he’s doing?”

“He’s resting now.”

“I want to meet him though!”

Herald glanced at KD and Haru, every wrinkle on its face a line of worry. It has to be telepathy. KD feared the turtle tank had ripped off their mask and peered into their inky black pool of essence, reading every thought and feeling like one those sedative tomes on the bookshelf back at the bunker. The power was uncanny. Supernatural even. Though then again, it could simply be intuition. Posture was important for a warrior. It projected strength, an iron spine, unbent to any force that stood in their way. Except KD was quiet this time, far from boisterous and bold. The turtle tank must have seen it as a mark of weakness, of a waning backbone close to atrophy. In a clamber of panic, KD started flexing in an attempt to display their capacious muscles.

“The heck are you doing, yo?” Haru was studying them as though a third arm had sprouted on their head.

“Establishing dominance.” They struck another power pose, arms curled and tensed, the pinnacle of brawn. Herald scrunched its brow and reclined its head, clearly a gesture of submission. With the balance of power restored, they demanded, “Take us to this Officer Atkon, turtle tank.”

“O…kay…” Herald knelt with unsteady knees. “He’s inside.”

Action Kid staggered back, mortified. “You ate him?!”

“What? No! He’s inside my shell… the tank.”

“Oh, in the tank. Can he come out?”

“No he can’t, my boy. He’s resting.”

“...Resting?” He thoughtfully looked at the tank.

There it was, the glint of the axe. The inevitable fall as Action Kid climbed onto the turtle tank. Haru shifted to intercept the boy, to save him from the truth that laid from within the walking rustic tomb, however, KD restrained the girl from making another step. She twisted her head back, a vision of painful anticipation. Of thunder and lightning. Of an instinct to shelter the boy from the impending storm. Yet still KD remained steadfast with their hold, hands locked around her shoulders, for storms, for rain, were a gloomy but natural part of existence. And to deny Action Kid the grisly truth, this cloudburst of reality… that would rob him of the clear skies and sunshine that laid waiting once the storm clouds had parted.

So they stood by, close yet far enough, as Action Kid strained against the wheel crank of the rusty hatch, face glowing red as a lump of coal. Then, something gave. The wheel crank whined and turned. The hatch was pulled open with a mighty groan, leaving the boy panting, chest heaving like a dog. Then he climbed in.

A memory as vivid as day came to KD, for silence was the wind that borne the revival of memories. That day when Kill Slaughter was vanquished, and disposed of into the primordial ooze. KD could not help but to sob, to wail, to cry, for that was the song of a sorrow-stricken heart. And there was no weakness in crying, in lamenting the loss of a loved one, for morning signified existence. Substance! A difference made indelibly upon the world. A mark left upon those left behind in the wake of entropy. And so there was nothing more bitter, more sweet, such a salve to the soul than to cry.

It first started as a shuddering whimper. A constrained inflection. Then the sky, the clouds, everything came crashing down. The crying was loud, unshackled. It rang out tinny from the confines of the tank.

“Can I go now?” Haru looked ready to tear them apart.

KD relinquished their hold, and the girl bolted like a flash of light, scampering up and down the hatch as fast as a rabbit into a burrow. Slowly the sobbing tapered to a quiet mend.

“He promised to look for me,” Action Kid hiccuped could be heard faintly saing. “He said he would come play with me again. Teach me how to drive a tank. Run over a car together…”

“It may not look like it now, but you’re very fortunate, you know. Not a lot of people have a chance to say goodbye to the ones they lost, let alone know what happened to them. ‘Cause to this day, I still don’t know what happened to my mom,” Haru consoled. “I lost her on the day of the Folding. We got separated in the chaos, and the pendant that she entrusted me with …well… I lost that too. I’ve been looking for her ever since. Hoping that I’ll stumble upon her one day. Maybe get a chance to say goodbye.”

A moment later, Haru and Action Kid emerged from the turtle tank, his eyes in particular red and raw though in better spirits. In his arms was his cape wrapped up in a bundle. A sort of flat, silvery medallion hung loosely around his neck.

“Can you help me bury him?” Action Kid asked KD as he opened up his cape-bundle.

There was nothing much to bury, only bones and rags so the hole was quick to dig. KD padded down the dirt with care. A quiet minute came and went.

“Your brother was a good man,” Herald said. “He acted as rearguard when the Entropic Entity was after the remaining forces. So if it wasn’t for him, the army wouldn’t’ve been able to regroup and take it out.”

Action Kid ran a sleeve over his nose. “Really?”

“Oh yes, kid. He was a bonafide hero.”

A clash of joy and sorrow fought across his face, happy that his brother was a hero though still saddened that he was gone. His jaw worked up and down to utter something, however, his eyes began to water again.

Again with that telepathy, Herald nodded to its side. The entire left flank of the shell was spattered with holes. “Shrapnel,” it said, “from when the Entropic Entity started pitching.”

Action Kid could only manage a nod.

“What is that adorned around your neck?” KD pointed to the silver medallion on Action Kid.

“It’s a dog tag, you know, used to identify you when you pass. So whoever finds you can know your name.”

“Hmm… A rather intriguing concept.”

After a moment of contemplative consideration, he offered Action Man to KD. “Here.”

“I cannot!”

“Yes, you can. It’s okay. I think… I think it’s time to move on. And a deal is a deal. So here. Take it.” The boy insisted the toy into their hands.

“Then it was my pleasure to have assisted you on your quest.” And KD took the plastic effigy.

***

Back at the bunker, on a shelf in their sleeping quarters above the bed, sat the figurine of Action Man, a cherished trophy.