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We continued onward, without anything eventful happening. We stopped to rest around three or so, and since I’d fallen asleep, and Cloud had decided to be a gentlemen/jackass (jackass in my eyes at least) he let me sleep and we picked back up around five.
We continued onward, without anything eventful happening. We stopped to rest around three or so, and since I’d fallen asleep, and Cloud had decided to be a gentlemen/jackass (jackass in my eyes at least) he let me sleep and we picked back up around five.
We walked to entire day, and we were so high it didn’t matter what time we traveled. It was 12:43 AM, and I had my laptop resting on a rock that conveniently jutted out that was fairly flat and large enough for a sixteen-inch laptop.
Cloud was fast asleep, although I was restless and trying to contact the others. Broadband by satellite was too common; I needed to download the Exodus network. Their satellites would be made to connect beside everywhere… I did manage to sing on for a few seconds; only to be booted. I was trying to hack the Exodus database, since I couldn’t find the disc Maaya gave me to download. I bent down and started rooting around in my abyss pack, mumbling curses under my breath. It was a simple CD-R in the conventional CD box, that said in capital letters “Exodus”. She told me to open it up and download it right away…but I’d procrastinated and was now paying for it.
“Lena…” Cloud muttered.
I looked up about to say something sarcastic, even though I realized he was talking in his sleep. I waited a second, listening but quickly grew board and returned to attempting to find the basting disc in the twenty-odd pockets of the red, silver, and black backpack. For being my favorite colors, it was one helluva wiseass backpack. Ahem, abyss-pack.
Who the hell is Lena? I wondered. Maybe he does have a girlfriend. He’s such a bad liar if I asked I could at least know if he did or didn’t even if I couldn’t get any facts.
He muttered something unintelligible, and I reached out to shake him awake and pick on him for talking in his sleep and try to get him to tell me who or what Lena was or is. I leaned forward and the second my hand brushed his shoulder, I froze as my mind filled with images. I saw one familiar person, Zeev grabbing a young and injured woman by her long hair and pulling her to her knees before firing one shot through her forehead through the handgun he held. I jerked away, landing with a thud on my ass as Cloud jerked awake. He looked tense and disoriented a second before looking over at me asking,
“Akhy?”
I decided quickly not to let him know I dream-dropped and gave him one of my usual irritable looks asking,
“You were talking in your sleep, did my Nohinog lessons freak you out that much?”
He relaxed saying,
“They didn’t bother me. What time is it?”
“One-ish, obviously AM. I’m trying to download the Exodus database so I can access their satellites, but I lost the disc. Who’s Lena?”
“Nobody.” He lied defensively.
“You’re the worst liar I’ve ever met. And I’ve confronted a lot of bad liars. So, who is the Lena, an old girlfriend?” I asked idly pulling the same line he did when asking how I knew Ryuu.
“Never want to mind your own business, do you?”
“No.”
“Do you remember what pocket you stuffed that disc in?”
“Did you remember my attentions span may be extremely short with some things, but painfully long with others?”
“Did Maaya tell you to wait to download it, or did she tell you to do it ASAP and you procrastinated?”
“Does she have anything to do with your brother? You muttered his name too.”
“Even if you do find the disc, would it be deactivated since it’s Exodus information that’s pretty much top-secret?”
“Are you going to keep asking me stupid questions about the disc so you start to annoy me and I pour a bottle of cold water on your head in this charmingly chilly fifty degree Fahrenheit temperature, or are you going to answer my questions?”
“Do you ever just leave something you’re interested alone if the person you’re interrogating wants you to butt out?”
“Never accrued to me, who’s Lena?”
He sighed and stood up saying,
“Let’s head onward, no point in dwelling here if you’re not going to look for your disc.”
I turned off my laptop and replaced in in its bullet proof case and shoves it in my backpack, and I only stopped picking on him when it started to rain, and I got irritable and lost interest though it still hovered in the back of my mind. We were standing under a rock ledge, waiting for the rain to stop. My abyss pack was at my feet, and I inwardly noticed how much bigger and stuffed-looking it was compared to Cloud’s which sat beside it.
I looked out at the city of Neivila that spanned out for miles before us, and in the distance the forest and the giant hill that guarded Neivila. The forest also circled around Neivila, as did the hill. I couldn’t see or hear the water falls that hid the entrance, since they were at least ten miles or more. Even though we got through the forest quickly, it was at least ten miles long. The fact that we got through it in less than a day made it obvious there was something “unstable” about it.
“Just think;” I said randomly looking out, “We’re the first people to stand here in a few thousand years.”
“Some holy ground though, Twi-LIGHT came right in. Evidently the ‘holly barriers’ were just part of the legends.”
“Trenxi is bullshitting with divine powers though, he might have been able to use Skyevi’s power to create something that let them in.”
“Still doesn’t make much sense though.”
“I never said it made sense. Just like you.”
He sighed saying,
“When I first joined the military, I was posted as a guard at a refugee base on the southern west cost. Obviously, since refugee bases are the last to be targeted it’s where they send all the newbies or failures. Lena was a refugee from Vilnora.”
“I remember that.” I cut in, “The raid in Vilnora that was supposedly launched from the country north of Nohin, Mazar. The only proof they had that it was Mazar was the crest of two crossed swords inside a circle of roses that was cut into the back of a young girl. Mazar would have a helluva time getting to Vilnora though, there on the east side of Geosprit, so it’d be hard for them to attack the west coast unless they were after something like Skyevi who had been there the week before.”
“Anyway, her family had been killed and since the government was backed up with enforcing protection for Skyevi, establishing Twi-LIGHT, and rebuilding the east coast of the south after Hurricane Ash, they had the Vilnora citizens stay at the camp for awhile. The camp started getting targeted, even though nobody knew who since they didn’t have any identification. Saying it was Mazar was easy, since as you know, Ragnarok had been warring with Mazar only fourteen years ago then, so in those fourteen years when your parents were elected, Ragnarok was in really bad shape since the capital and all the large cities were destroyed.”
“And when Trenxi devised a way to store Skyevi’s energy and use it to power huge cities when Akiko and him first got together, that only made things better for the government.”
“But once Twi-LIGHT was formed Mazar started attacking again fourteen years later, most people speculated Twi-LIGHT paid Mazar to attack again, and leaked information on Skyevi just the Ragnarok government could steal their relic. The point is, that Lena was only a refugee that I got to know.”
“And obviously had an affair with, you’re really a bad liar. So why did Zeev kill her?”
“As you remember, the raid titled Liberation against the Mazar capital required soldiers to be taken from all guard posts and positions for the attack. I also had to take part in it, but I was sent back after the initial attack because Mazar attacked the west coast again. It was only then that Ragnarok realized Mazar had an alliance with Niveldon, which is on the continent Zibelna near on Geosprit’s west and Ragnarok’s west. Since Mazar was using Niveldon’s land to launch attacks, it explained why they were targeting the west coast. They managed to get the pendant that was said to belong to Skyevi from Mazar, so half the military power was sent back to Ragnarok. Last I’d heard Zeev, he was heading to Geosprit. Didn’t say where, but I knew he was going to Mazar. He’d been getting letters from there before he left. I enlisted in the army and lied about my age when they lowered the entry age to fifteen. I was only thirteen then, but I just want to get away from my father and Lylia.”
“So you were sent over to Mazar when you were fifteen, if my calculations are correct, got back shortly there after and when you got back Zeev, apparently with Mazar forces, killed Lena because he learned you loved her, right?”
“Basically.” He replied. “You dream-dropped, didn’t you?”
“I’ve found I have a talent for eavesdropping on people’s dreams, so yes.”
“So, do you believe me or not?”
“You’re such a bad liar it’s easy to tell when you’re finally telling the truth.”
“I’ll take that as a ‘yes, I believe you’ then.”
“You could. Just one question; did Zeev double-cross Mazar and join Twi-LIGHT?”
“Maybe, last I saw him was on the night the capital building was burned down in Nioglow.” He didn’t think anything of saying that, but it must of clicked in his mind that the night the capital building burned down in Nioglow was a hellish one for me since he said, “Uh, sorry. Stupid thing to say.”
“It doesn’t bother me, it was five years ago after all.”
“To you it was only a year ago.”
“Anyway, I take it you don’t know what happened to your brother after that, right?”
“He was being chased by Mazar soldiers, so he did double-cross them someway or another. I don’t know any details though, why?”
“When I saw the Zeev from six years ago, I think I kinda recognized him. I didn’t notice it when I saw him the first time in your memories, but I think he was the one of the thugs that attacked me the night Nioglow burned.”
“That’s impossible. He was in Negalnam near the refugee base. I heard him being shot at after we separated.”
“Yeah, I know. That’s why I didn’t say at first since it didn’t make any sense. Is he your full or half brother?”
“Half.”
“How many floozies did your father pick up?”
“I decided awhile back not to try counting.”
“That’s disturbing. Anyway, if he lived he’d look pretty much the same a year later, right?”
“Probably.”
“I know I saw him at Nioglow Twi-LIGHT, if not that night.”
“Who knows.” He said coldly, “I’d rather believe he’s dead.”
“If you did ever see him again though, would you kill him?”
He was silent, and I was going to let the topic drop but he said,
“I don’t know what I’d do if I ever saw him again. A few years ago I would definitely of killed him, but I don’t really know now. I’d lump him up pretty bad, but I don’t know if I’d kill him.”
I smirked a little ironically saying,
“Looks like both our lives went to hell in a hand basket eight years ago.”
“I don’t really remember being a child, I got Evi poisoning when I was eight and my mother died then too. I hardly have any memories from then until I was thirteen, was forced to live with my father and Lylia for less than a year, than joined the military.”
“I suppose I had it pretty easy when I was eight then.”
“You didn’t have it great when you were fifteen though.” He smiled weakly at me saying, “You had it a thousand times worse than me then.”
My eyes were fixed on his, and even though every part of my mind was either silent or telling me to look away I ignored it. I stepped toward him, and he pulled me against him. I looked up, my chin about level with his shoulders. Our faces were as close as they were over a week ago, and getting closer when I heard a loud call of,
“Akhy! Cloud!” We both jumped as Rei, Maaya, and company turned the corner. The rain had stopped, although they were all soaked.
I tried to act normal although my mind was buzzing in the same, “did that really happen?” monotone.
“Hey!” I called back. They stopped, Maaya panting and Rei scowled at me saying,
“Do you have any idea how stupid you two are? Traveling during the day was suicide if you’re any lower than this! The only reason we caught up was because we saw you up here from Neivila!”
I sighed saying,
“The Twi-LIGHT solders’ guns all had a mechanical glitch, and we were way too far away from the hills to be fired at and have the bullets reach.”
“They’d of reached if they used pulse rifles.”
“Very true.” I relied. She was about to continue picking me out but Maaya interrupted, saying,
“Exodus is waiting for us above the storms. They picked up pulses from your computer, and they’re directly above this mountain. We have to hurry though, it’s a battlefield out there. Twi-LIGHT ambushed us with an army of over one hundred thousand, almost triple what we had. We got in contact with the copter briefly, they said they can only stay there another twenty-four hours and that if we keep going onward, we’ll be at the top. They’ll be able to break through the storms, apparently they’re weaker when Neivila gets a small amount of the weather.”
I blinked a second, my mind returning to the present as I said,
“Alright then, we’d better hurry.”
Maaya nodded, although she looked unhappy.
“What’s wrong?” I asked scanning their group. Celes was gone.
“Celes was captured by the enemy, she distracted them so we could get away and follow you. Phyress says she’s still alive,” Rei added quietly, “but spiritual connections don’t mean that much.”
“After we get back to civilization, we’ll have to organize a counterattack and ambush to save her and get the scum out of Neivila.”
Maaya and Rei nodded, although Phyress who was hanging behind was silent. Niketa strolled forward and looked examined both of us, even though I’d refocus Cloud still looked a little flustered and she said rather mockingly,
“You two have been alone together for quite a while, I suppose things are as they were?”
I scowled and pulled my backpack on saying,
“What are you imploring? I’d of gladly been alone over having an idiot like him tag along.”
“As cheerful as ever.” He said, acting as impassive as always when others were around. Why did he only act human what it was just us? How many times have I asked myself that?
Niketa looked from the two of us again slyly and she said in a dismissive tone,
“I’m not going to believe that forever, you know.”
We continued onward, a few random and un-serious disputes between Niketa and me or Rei and me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Cloud hanging back as always, Phyress not far ahead of him. The air continued to get cooler, and mist was forming.
More of this damn mist… I thought irritable.
The revolutions were getting extremely small, I started running when I saw a turn and staircase upward.
“Hey! Wait up!” Rei called.
I didn’t pay any attention to her though, I was already up the staircase and into a solid cloud of mist. I could hardly see in front of me, but I didn’t slow down. I suddenly felt like I ran through a waterfall, but I didn’t get wet and I looked around and saw I was in a shrine. The mist was gone, although I saw it swirling outside glass walls. I looked behind me and saw a glass wall. I turned around a reached out and when I though it my fingers went though and the panel of “glass” rippled. It acted like water, but it wasn’t wet. I removed my hand and looked to the wall on the far side of the temple. I smiled triumphantly when I saw the hilt of a sword in a stone scabbard held in the hands of a statue of a young woman. Not Skyevi, Sora, or any other significant beings I knew of. She looked like a priestess, with long hair and the Nohinog priestess attire. I couldn’t imagine why Nohinog, but I walked forward and hesitantly reached out for the hilt of the blade.
I felt the pendant on the chain Kuraudo had given me start to get hot. Kuraudo was the nickname I started referring to Cloud’s replica as, “Kuraudo” was Nohinog for “cloud” so I found it to be fitting. I inwardly wondered when I’d been given the pendant, since I think I was a little kid at the time, but I wasn’t positive. I paused before closing my hand around the hilt, and when I did I felt a red hot pain shoot through my body, I went to let it go but my hand was welded to it. I cursed, and I felt like wind was tearing around my body. Despite the pain that was in no hurry to recede, I managed to focus enough to pull on the blade. It came out easily, and apparently I used unnecessary force for I landed on my ass with a thud as the sensations stopped. I looked at the katana in my hand, positive it had the hilt of a double-edged blade. There was a big difference.
The blade was a clean silver, so silver it nearly glowed. It was some weight to it, so I guessed it was made out of high-quality steel. The statue dropped the scabbard, which was no longer stone, but silver with rubies and other colorful jewels down its edges. I reached out and hesitantly picked it up, and aside from a tingly sensation in my hand I felt nothing. I slid the blade into its scabbard and slid it into my belt on the right side.
My katana was on the left, since I was right handed it needed to be on that side for easy drawing. I placed Skyevi’s Sword on the right because I had no intention of using it as a simple blade. I looked at the scabbard again, it was a little longer than my katana, since mine was three feet long. I guessed this one was four, since the tip of the scabbard was level with my heels. I turned around and mist filled the shrine and the others stood waiting for me.
“Glad to see you got it, the shrine wouldn’t let us in. Bad news too, we have guests.” Rei said hooking her thumb over to the Twi-LIGHT soldiers pouring through Neivila.
“Things lit up when you grabbed the blade, we think and they saw the light and are now coming, just like ants and peanut butter.”
I nearly said, “Or spongy circus peanuts” but I decided not to be a wiseass and I looked up saying,
“What about the helicopter?”
“We can’t contact it.” Maaya replied.
I cursed and glanced down at the Twi-LIGHT soldiers.
“Damn…” I muttered as a bright torrent of light from the statue rose into the air. Suddenly, I felt my cell phone beep in my pocket. It had picked up cell towers. Maaya reacted before any of us, and summoned the helicopter down the hole in the storms. We waited a few agonizing minutes before we heard the pounding propeller of the helicopter and a rope ladder was lowered down. Maaya went first, followed by Phyress, Niketa, Rei, than Cloud, and me last. I cursed scrabbling up the rope ladder as the helicopter rose us out of Neivila. I saw storms and lighting flashing all around me, as I clawed my way up.
We rose above Neivila when I was half way up, and I finally saw what had been going on outside of Neivila: pure destruction. The huge Exodus camp was burning to the ground, most of the soldiers with it. Platoons of Twi-LIGHT soldiers marched around the mountain range, setting up camps and killing Exodus hostages. There were also plains fighting above us, and once I caught site of those I started upward again. The wind was tearing at me and the later was moving freely, and a stray bullet cut one of the main lines on the rope ladder. I grabbed on quick to the other instantly, and tried reaching up the next rung futilely. I hung there in the middle of aerial battle ground by a rope ladder, bullets flying everywhere.
I felt the ladder being pulled up, and I smiled to see Cloud and Rei both pulling me up. Once I was foot below the helicopter, Cloud grabbed my hand and pulled me inside.
“Thanks.” I said looking out at Neivila. Things were rather cramped, although I was happy to be out of Neivila.
“We’re heading back to Scixen to re-group, we’re going to spend the week there and organize a counterattack before heading to Nohin.” Maaya yelled over the noise of the helicopter. I pulled the door closed, so we could hear each other better. I nodded and got to my feet and said,
“We’ve got a helluva lot of work to do.”
It was twilight when we left Neivila, and midnight when we got back to Scixen. I trudged up to my room feeling exhausted, Skyevi’s Sword was down in the research labs. I patted my pockets looking for my wallet and cursed remembering it was in my abyss-pack. I turned around and Cloud was exiting the elevator and he toss me something saying,
“Forget this?”
I caught my wallet saying,
“Yeah. Thanks.”
I’d already showered and changed my clothes, as had we all upon getting back.
“Fun day we had, eh?”
“Eh.” I grumbled.
“Last I checked ‘eh’ wasn’t a real answer. Though I suppose that’s a yes coming from you.”
I slid the card into the lock and the with a click the look opened and I opened my door. I saw Kairi asleep on my bed, curled up on top of the covers with Megami in her arms. She wore a floppy night shirt, it looked like one of mine.
Cloud poked his head in and said quietly,
“Suppose they told her when they contacted us that you’d be back today.”
“Yeah…” I trailed off, surprised that she’d tried staying up. “I feel the misfortunate person who gets a puppy chasing after them because it thinks the person is it’s mother.”
“I feel sorry for her, the mere idea of you as a mother is unfathomable.”
“That’s for sure.”
“The fact that she’s taken to you in such a way is rather sad, since you’re such a stubborn-”
I elbowed him saying,
“Say ‘itch’ and I will hurt you.”
“Well, I wasn’t going to say ‘itch’ but wouldn’t it be more offensive if I said ‘bitch’ or ‘witch’ over ‘itch’?”
“People used to call me ‘Itchy’ instead of ‘Akhy’.” I growled.
“Oh.” He said and smiled evilly, “Didn’t know, Itchy.”
I elbowed him in the stomach and he cursed holding his stomach saying,
“Alright, got it. Don’t call you the I-name.”
“Memorize it.” I grumbled, “Go harass Niketa, I’m not in the mood.”
“Not in the mood for what?”
I turned around and scowled at him saying as I closed my door,
“Not in the mood to deal with you in a good mood. The only thing you’re worse at than lying is flirting, and flirts really piss me off.”
“So cheerful when tired, aren’t you.”
I scowled, and wished I could brandish my katana at him just for show so he’d leave me alone.
“I’m sure you’ve got something better to do than annoy me, if you recall since we were gone for one hour shy of ten days, I won the bet. You should be polishing my katana. It’s at the armory getting sharpened now, you can polish it after it’s done. I found some really sticky stuff that’s hard to get on and off but makes swords really shiny for you to polish mine with.”
He hooked his arm around my waist saying,
“I can’t wait, although the others are busy should you want to resume what we left off.”
“If you don’t get your arm off of me I’m going to break your nose.” I growled. He stepped away saying,
“I have no doubt you’ll hold to that. Although, perhaps you’d like to explore Scixen a bit tomorrow and maybe get some breakfast? We’re going to be here for the week, so there’s no point in hanging around here.”
“I’d rather find an arcade and kick your ass at air hockey.” I said automatically before my brain did any registering or calculating.
“Alright then, sounds good. I’ll met you out front around ten. ” He said with a smile. “Night.”
“Oyasumi nasai.” I said as he walked out I entered my room and my brain turned back on and I though stupidly,
I just accepted his invitation to go on a date, didn’t I?
I closed the door behind me, and I say Kairi scrabbling away, apparently she’d woken up to eavesdrop.
“You’re already picking up bad habits from me.”
She smiled innocently saying,
“You guys woke me up.”
She hoped on my bed and plopped down beside her saying,
“I’m an idiot.”
I leaded back and closed me eyes. She leaned over me asking,
“Don’t tell me that’s the first time you’ve been asked out on a date. You’re twenty-one! There’s fifteen-years-olds in the slums that aren’t even virgins.”
“You’re the most unsheltered eight-year-old I’ve ever met.” I said sitting up.
She sat cross-legged in front of me saying,
“I may only be eight but there was a boy a little younger me who always asked to the movies when he scrounged up the money. He’d asked me a bunch of times too, you’re thirteen years older than me, and I’ve been on more dates than you.”
“Do you know how wrong that sounds?”
“Very much so, I’d assume.”
I walked over to the dresser and pulled out a huge night shirt for myself, although I was a small I liked extra large T-shirts to sleep in and normal pants, but not sweat pants. I detest sweat pants with a passion. I pulled off my clothes and pulled on my pajamas saying,
“I only excepted so I could kick his ass at air hockey.”
“You say ‘ass’ a lot you, know? Have you even kissed him yet?”
“Hell no.”
“He’s pretty creepy around other people, but he acts human around you. He must really like you.”
“You’re a real trouble-maker, you know?”
“That’s my job. Anyway, what are you going to ware?”
“Some thing as always.” I sighed crawling under the covers, “Jeans and a T-shirt.”
“Can I sleep with you tonight? Megami snores a little, but I don’t like the room the gave me. It’s creepy than your boyfriend.”
I flicked the light off saying,
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
Kairi snuggled under the covers against me saying,
“As of tomorrow he will be.”
“Not now, not ever.” I said fidgeting than getting comfortable.
Why did I accept? I didn’t even think really. I didn’t even say “yes”. I just said I’d rather kick his ass at air hockey…
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