A child of two worlds, Opal Crystal never really belonged anywhere. Loved by her heartsick mother, and loathed by her stepfather, she lived her life trapped in a tower of ivory and glass. But when said stepfather betrays her, selling her to the government for experimentation, she must find the strength to carry on...even when all seems lost.
CW: This Generation contains themes of medical torture, false imprisonment, PTSD, and terminal illness.
The next day…
Opal: Still not feeling well?
Dusk: No.
Dusk: Feeling really sick…can I stay home today?
Opal: Of course you can. I’ll bring you some medicine.
Dusk: Thanks, Mama…
Opal: Rest up, baby. *sigh* This better not be you inheriting my bad systems…
Tourmaline: Mama, will Dusk be okay?
Opal: He’ll be fine, baby, but you’re all going to be late if you don’t hurry! Dawn, you’re in charge.
Dawn: Like always. Come on, squirts!
Aurora: I’ll walk you to the bus.
later…
Opal: Well, look who’s awake! How’re you feeling?
Dusk: Fit as a fiddle! I think that medicine really worked!
Opal: It should have! Feeling well enough to go to school?
Dusk: Uh–no? *cough*
Opal: *laugh* That’s what I thought. Come on–I’m making lunch.
Dusk: Hey, Mama? Earlier you said something about bad systems?
Opal: Oh, that. Well, you know how people inherit their eyes and hair from their parents?
Dusk: Yeah?
Opal: My immune system is…kind of messed up. If you inherited that, too, well…
Dusk: Oh. Oh! Mama, it’s just a cold. Really, I’m fine.
Opal: I know, I know, but you know how much I worry about you guys.
Dusk: Yeah, I know.
Opal: …You’re not curious? About why my systems are shot?
Dusk: Well, yeah, but I figure if you wanted to talk about it you would have? It’s okay. You don’t have to explain anything.
Opal: *chuckle* You’re all too good to me, you know that? You and your sisters.
Dusk: I’m still annoyed you didn’t give me a brother, you know.
Opal: I know, I know.
Dusk: Hey, since I’m not going to school today…you wanna play some games with me?
Opal: …you know, I have wanted to see how that story of your ends. What was it, Mass Effect?
Dusk: Density Effect, yeah! I’ll start a new file.
Opal: Let me guess, trusting them bites the crew in the–yep! Yep, I knew it.
Dusk: Don’t worry, we’ll get them back.
Opal: Not quite in the way I was expecting–!!
*door opens*
Dawn: We’re home!
Dawn: So much for being sick.
*phone buzzes*
Dawn: Huh–oh. Oh, this is perfect.
Dawn: Mama! Mama!
Dusk: She’s outside, why’re you screaming?
Dawn: None of your business.
Opal: You two be nice. What is it, Dawn?
Dawn: Can I go to the park in a little?
Opal: Finish your homework and be back by curfew. Dusk, honey, go lay down.
Dawn: Thanks for coming out to meet me.
Frostbite: Like I’d miss a chance to hang out with my best friend. Everything okay?
Dawn: Fine, fine! It’s actually…kind of about that. Frost, how long have we known each other?
Frostbite: Uh…since we were like, six or something? Ten years now.
Dawn: And we’ve been best friends for about that long, yeah?
Frostbite: Yeaah…Dawn, what is it? You’re kinda freaking me out here.
Dawn: Sorry, this is just. It’s harder than I thought it’d be. Look, I…
Frostbite: Hey, you can tell me anything.
Dawn: You’ve gotta promise me you’re not gonna freak.
Frostbite: I won’t freak any more, but you really gotta tell me what’s–
Frostbite: –mm?!
Frostbite: That’s what you were freaking out about?!
Dawn: Yes! Was it–are we–we’re good, right? You don’t mind if I–
Frostbite: Mind? Why the hell would I mind?
Frostbite: Come ‘ere.
later…
Spinel: Mama? Are you okay?
Opal: Fine, baby…just a stomach ache…
Dusk: I didn’t cook this!
Aurora: Very funny, Dusk. Alright, you rascals. Bathtime.
Opal: Your Mom and I are going to the doctor’s tomorrow. Can I trust you to keep things under control, Dawn?
Dawn: Of course. Is…everything okay?
Opal: That’s what we’re going to find out.
Dawn: Okay. I’ll take care of things–come on, squirts. March!
Aurora: …they know something’s up.
Opal: They’re our kids, Ro. They’re too smart for us sometimes.
Aurora: Yeah, they are. Come on–we should get some sleep, too. Busy day tomorrow.
Comet: Dawn, how come Mama had to go to a regular doctor? I thought Aunt Cay handled all her medicines.
Dawn: Aunt Cay and Uncle Forest are still off in Selva, silly. There’s no way they could handle anything that comes up.
Comet: Still? It’s been over three years! I thought they’d have been back by now…
Dawn: Those two have earned a vacation. Besides, the doctors in Waffle Creek are good at what they do. Unlike you at chess!
Comet: What?! Oh, come on, I closed that!
Dawn: Sure you did.
Comet: Urgh, fine–how about this one.
Dawn: Nope. Check.
Comet: What–oh, that is so not cool.
Comet: Okay…how about this?
Dawn: You sure you wanna?
Comet: Hm…yep!
Dawn: Well, too bad, so sad, you’re out.
Comet: What? Oh, darnit!! Beaten again!
Waffle Creek General..
-
Robin: So, the good news is you’re responding well to the medications. The bad news is that there’s been no improvement. We’re at a stalemate here, I’m afraid.
Opal: but that means it’s not getting worse, doesn’t it?
Robin: Yes, which is a good thing, but by now…
Aurora: By now you should have a way to fix this.
Opal: Ro, there’s no fixing this. There’s just living with it.
Aurora: Top of the line medical’s supposed to fix everything!
Robin: That depends on your definition of fix, Mrs. Crystal.
Aurora: That’s a load of–
Opal: Ro. It’s okay. What happens happens, and…well, we’ll deal with it.
Robin: Medicine is changing rapidly, Mrs. Crystal. We might find a solution, we just need time. What we have now is giving Opal that time.
Robin: It’s no guarantee, but I’ve also passed your files along to some colleagues in Sixam. They have access to technologies and medicines we don’t. If anything comes up, I’ll call you the second I know about it.
Opal: Thank you, Doctor. We appreciate it.
Aurora: Screw this we’re getting on a damn flight to Sixam right this second–
Opal: Whoa whoa whoa–slow down. Hey–hey, come here. Come on, there’s a beach over here.
Aurora: …can’t even see it from here…
Opal: We’re on the wrong side of the sun in summer. We’ll see it again once winter comes around.
Aurora: Opal, I really did mean what I said. We’re going. If there’s any chance to fix this–
Opal: We’re not going.
Aurora: What?! But–
Opal: Hear me out: We can fight this thing with all we’ve got, exhaust everything we have and ourselves, the kids, our parents…or we take it slow, one day at a time, and just live. If something goes wrong, then…
Aurora: Then you die.
Opal: Ro, I should have died twenty five years ago. I got those years, five wonderful kids, and a life with you. If I die tomorrow, I can be okay with that.
Aurora: Well I’m not. And neither are the kids. We need you, Opal, we want you around for another thirty years! You can’t give up…
Opal: I’m not. But I would rather spend the next ten years here with you, present and okay, than thirty in some drug addled stupor. It’s enough, Ro.
Opal: This is enough.
Opal: When the time’s right, that’s where Sixam is supposed to be. …You know, I always did want to go…
Aurora: We still can.
Opal: Ro. …it’s okay. I’m not scared.
Aurora: I know. But we’re not giving up yet. It’s not over. Not yet.
Opal: Not yet.
Dusk: Wait, what? What do you mean there’s no treatment?
Opal: Exactly that.
Comet: But–Mama…there’s gotta be something!
Comet: What about Sixam? Could they help?
Opal: It’s too expensive, baby.
Dawn: We can get jobs–
Aurora: Honey, this isn’t about money. It’s…it’s about doing what’s right for us as a family.
Spinel: But that’s about keeping Mama with us, isn’t it?
Opal: Spi, I’m not going anywhere, I promise.
Spinel: But you’re sick. People die when they get really sick…
Dawn: That takes a long time, Spi, Mama’s gonna be fine.
Dusk: Is there anything we can do?
Aurora: You can pack. Some contractors are coming by to do some work on the house tomorrow, so.
Dusk: What does packing have to do with that?
Opal: Well, we’re…kind of getting rid of the second floor?
All: What?!
Dawn: Mama must have really gotten worse for them to do another remodel…
Dusk: Remember that file we saw? Did it say anything about, like, joints or muscles? Maybe she’s having trouble with the stairs.
Dawn: Or maybe they hate them as much as I do.
Dawn: But seriously, we’ve gotta think of something. Maybe…find some way to help?
Dusk: Like what? If Aunt Cay and Waffle Creek’s docs couldn’t do anything, what can we do?
Dawn: I don’t know, but there’s gotta be something.
Dusk: Dawn, there’s some problems we can’t fix.
Dawn: I don’t believe that. Every problem has a solution, we just have to find it.
Dusk: This isn’t one of your training lessons, Dawn.
Dawn: Well, I’m gonna make it be. All expeditions need a medic, so. I’ll figure this out. Somehow.
Dusk: *sigh* Dawn….sometimes I wonder if you’re just too stubborn.
*some time later…*
Aurora: I swear I’m still pulling sawdust out of my hair…
Opal: I don’t miss the stairs.
Opal: *sigh* …Ro, I’m gonna ask you something and I need you to be honest with me. Are we asking too much of them?
Aurora: What–no. No, of course not, they’re…
Aurora: …okay. Okay, I can see how you’d think that, but…
Opal: I just…I don’t want them to remember me sick and dying. I don’t…
Aurora: Hey…you’re not dying. Not today, not tomorrow, not anytime soon.
Opal: Not soon, but…Ro, you know there’s no cure. There’s…this is going to kill me.
Aurora: Yeah, in thirty or forty years, in your bed, surrounded by your family. Not now. Not yet.
Opal: You don’t know that.
Aurora: …no, but I’m hoping. We fight for every day we can get, okay? Every day.
Opal: …every day.
Honeydew: I still can’t believe it…our parents are splitting up…
Spinel: Isn’t it better than them fighting all the time? Hey, come on–I’ll race you to the swings.
Watermelon: Told you you couldn’t beat me!
Spinel: Watermelon! That’s not fair!
Cantaloupe: Guys! Mom just called–we gotta go. We’ll see you two later, okay?
Tourmaline: Kay!
Tourmaline: Spi…do you think Mama’s gonna be okay?
Spinel: Sure she is! She’s Mama. She’s always okay.
Tourmaline: …I guess.
Spinel: Hey, don’t guess. I know this stuff. Everything’s gonna be fine.
Aurora: Hey, Dad…oh, it’s good to see you again.
Nebula: And you, kiitra. What was so urgent you could not tell me over the phone?
Opal: It’s not really urgent kind of urgent, but I’ve got a project going and I need your help.
Nebula: Oh? Does one of the children need my knowledge of Sixam?
Aurora: Ha, Dawn’s always gonna need that, but no.
Opal: I’m trying to get paintings done of everyone in the family, and I don’t have you or Lemon yet. Or the kids, or Cadence and Forest, so.
Nebula: So you need a place to start. I am touched you considered me first, kiitra.
Nebula: Is there anything special you require?
Opal: Nope! Just get comfy long enough for me to get a sketch.
Opal: Thank you for hanging up the decorations, honey.
Comet: Sure, sure. Tou was a big help.
Tourmaline: I held the ladder!
-
Lemon: *laugh* That was the one time Neb tried the punch!
Aurora: Opal! We’re gonna be late if you don’t get ready!
Opal: Coming!
*music playing*
Dusk: Dawn–
Dawn: Shh!
Dusk: How can you even see enough to paint in this light…
Dawn: Oh, come on. It’s not that dark.
Dusk: So long as it’s not a huge blob in the morning.
Dawn: Oh, very funny! Are the fireworks ready?
Dusk: And the cabs, yeah, we’re good.
*muffled booming*
Opal: Please, let me see them grow up…
Dawn: Help me find a way to fix this.
Dusk: Keep her with us, please.
Comet: See us through this, will you?
Tourmaline: Keep us all safe, please.
Spinel: Please, don’t make me a liar…
Aurora: Please. Please, I’m not ready to lose her.
Aurora: Ready? Three, two, one–
All: Happy new year!!
Juno: Thank you both for coming in on such short notice.
Opal: You got the results back?
Aurora: How’re things looking?
Juno: I’m afraid there’s very little good news.
Juno: The test results show early stages of organ failure. It’s still at a level where we can counteract it with proper medication and habits, but…
Aurora: But?
Juno: I’ve never seen this sort of damage before, not even in the wars. Honestly, Mrs. Crystal, this is beyond the pale. None of my colleagues have ever seen this either.
Aurora: Great, first time for everything. Can we fix it?
Juno: There are some experimental treatments we could try. Transplants, dialysis, supportive care. There is no cure, Mrs. Crystal.
Opal: I’m dying.
Juno: …Yes. You are.
Aurora: Then fix it! You’re supposed to be the best doctor from Sixam!
Opal: Ro.
Juno: Mrs. Crystal, there is no fixing this. The only “fix” is a temporary one, or a bio-mechanical upload, and those are…experimental.
Aurora: There has to be something we can do!
Juno: There is. The experimental treatments have the best chances of success.
Opal: How good a chance?
Juno: According to the simulations, perhaps 70% chance of living for another fifteen years in relative comfort. Without them…I’ll be honest, the prognosis isn’t good. Five years, at most.
Aurora: Then we’ll–
Opal: Need to talk about it.
Aurora: What? What’s there to talk about? We start this right now–
Opal: Aurora. We can’t afford them.
Juno: The treatments are expensive, yes, but isn’t another fifteen years with your children worth that?
Juno: …I can see you need some time. Talk it over with your family, but…I do suggest you make you decision quickly. Things have already progressed further than I’d hoped.
Opal: …thank you. We will.
Aurora: Unbelievable. Who does she think she is–we’re getting a second opinion.
Opal: She was the second opinion.
Aurora: A third one, then!
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