The Light Wand and the Ice Blade Chapter 8
The Rebel
By Silveran
"Find the rebel and you shall also find the sword," Gurdijeff said as he
pointed a claw at Rudy. "Be wary for the sword picks who is worthy of wielding
it, not the other way around."
They were on an isolated platform that was all too familiar to Rudy. The
Guardians of Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water surrounded them. "But how do we
know who this rebel is?" protested Rudy. He looked up at the image of the
Guardian of Earth, spread his arms in front of him, and asked,
"How?"
"He has fought alongside you already," roared Gurdijeff. "He has 'rebeled'
against his master, his leader. I know no more."
"I see," Rudy nodded in thought. "Not even Anje could help me with that one
even when she asked about it. This might take some time."
"Do you sense their leader, Gurdijeff?" Jill asked innocently. "How powerful
is he?"
"More powerful than the Mother could ever hope to be," Stoldark replied softly.
"And his companions are more powerful than her as well but less powerful
than their leader. They are certainly a threat to Filgaia."
"Our only hope lies in you, Light Wand and Ice Blade," Fengalon growled.
"You, who can release our true power."
"True. . ." Cecil began.
"Power?" Jill finished for him.
"You will see once you understand what resides within each of you," Fengalon
said and the twins knew that he wouldn't say more on the matter.
"I thank you for the guidance Guardians," Rudy said gratefully. "I wish you
could tell us more."
Moa Gualt spread his wings and flew above them. They looked up at him as
he spoke. "Twenty years we have been restored to part of our power. Now it
seems we must lend you our powers once again. Wear us as your armor and call
us when you need our aid. We shall respond to your call." With that he screeched
and disappeared in a flash of red. A rune floated down from where he disappeared
and landed in Rudy's open palm. Rudy closed his hand around the rune, feeling
the Guardian's power flowing through him.
"The batt! le of Filgaia begins again," the water turtle declared sagely
as he disappeared in a flash of blue. A rune also floated down and Jill took
hold of it. I shall guide you in the fight for life, Jill heard the
Guardian's thoughts.
The wind tiger now roared. "Let me help you carry you to your destiny!" he
exclaimed as he disappeared in a flash of white. As with the others, his
rune floated down but this time Cecil acquired it. It pulsed a radiant glow
in his hand.
Gurdijeff was alone having to give one more piece of advice. "Find the rest
of our brothers to aid you in your quest," he bellowed as he started to fade.
"We shall fight together once again!" With a roar befitting that of a dragon,
he disappeared but no rune appeared. Instead, the trio felt their bodies
becoming lighter.
"Oh no," Rudy groaned, remembering the familiar sensation of teleporting.
"Here we go!" He saw the twins disappear before his eyes. He then saw the
room fading, replaced by brown landscape and an orange sky.
They landed roughly by the Gullwing with Rudy landing atop the twins. "Rudy!"
Jill cried as she tried to crawl out from under his weight.
"Sorry," the knight apologized as he tried to disentangle himself from the
twins. He stood up and shook his head. "I hate it when that happens," he
growled. He bent down and helped Jill up.
Cecil slowly stood up afterwards, stretching his limbs. He gazed up at the
orange sky. Birds were flying back to their homes and he sensed the wind
picking up a bit. Nights were cooler on Filgaia than the day. "It took us
a whole day to converse with the Guardians," he muttered as he stared at
the setting sun. "We might as well rest for the night." He then remembered
his closed fist. He unclenched his fist and saw that he still held the Wind
Rune. "Fengalon," he whispered the Guardian's name.
Rudy saw him looking at the rune and remembered that he still held his. He
didn't have to look at it to know that he possesses it. He felt the power
of the Fire Gu! ardian flowing through him as he placed the rune in one of
the many pockets of his coat. "Jill," he called to the princess, "are you
all right? You haven't said anything since teleporting out of the shrine."
He could tell that she was deep in thought. "Jill?" he called again when
she didn't answer.
"Hmm?" Jill said as she looked up. "Oh! Sorry Rudy. I guess I was thinking
too hard."
"About what?" the knight queried.
"About what the Guardians told us," replied the princess. "About all that's
happening." She looked at the two runes she held, the Earth Rune and Water
Rune. "These demons must be a bigger threat than the others before them,"
she sighed, "seeing that we are the only ones that has the power to release
the Guardians' full potential." She sighed again as she placed the runes
in one of the pockets of her dress.
Rudy nodded grimly as he said, "I know. Come. We can think this over a nice
meal in Milama Village. We need time to sort things out and also find out
who the rebel is. We may be spending some time in the village before moving
ahead."
Jill and Cecil agreed. Stars began to dot the sky as they walked towards
the oasis town of Milama.
***
"Here's two plates of rice, chicken, and mushrooms and a bowl of vegetable
soup for the young lady," the waitress announced as she placed their food
in front of them. "And also a pitcher of wine made from the breweries in
Adlehyde. Their wine is one of the best."
"Thank you," Rudy said gratefully to the red-headed waitress. The waitress
nodded and smiled as she walked away. Rudy continued to stare at her retreating
form before turning back to the matter at hand.
"You seem to know her," Cecil noticed Rudy's close observation of the
waitress.
"You may say that," the blue-haired man acknowledged Cecil's comment. "Did
your father tell about his first love?"
"About a fellow knight named Elmina?" Jill replied. Rudy nodded. "Well, I
remember father saying about her being a demon herself and how he had told
the Guardian of the Rings of Timespace to erase her memory of becoming a
demon. She's now working as a waitress in Milama. . ." Her voice trailed
off as she realized who the waitress was.
Rudy nodded as he saw recognition dawn on both of their faces. "Yes, that's
Elmina or should I say Lydia. She still has amnesia but the bartender was
kind enough to give her that name. She doesn't like it but she got use
to it for the last twenty years." He smirked as he leaned back on his chair.
"Amazingly enough, she's not only a waitress but a bouncer as well. The barkeep
saw that she was good with a sword and with her bare hands too. Her reputation
has spread throughout this village and there's hardly any fights here." He
leaned forward and took knife and fork in hand. "Enough chattering," he said
as he started to cut his food into pieces. "Let's eat and start planning
our next move."
Cecil nodded as he took a bite of his chicken. He swallowed before speaking.
"The rebel is the key to our next move. When we find him or her, then we
should be able to find the location of the Guardian Blade with their
help."
"Doesn't the book Anje gave you any help at all?"! Jill added as she poured
herself a cup of wine.
"Now that you mention it," Rudy said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin,
"I never really got to read it from cover to cover. Studying texts isn't
my specialty."
"Then let me study it," Jill offered. "We read texts everyday in the abbey.
Maybe I could interpret it a bit."
"Sure," Rudy agreed wholeheartedly. "I'll give it to you once we're lodged
in the inn. You can study it there."
The trio suddenly turned at the sound of a drunken man hounding a young
blonde-haired lady. "Hey there, sweetheart!" the rotund man replied with
a wide grin. "Come here and pour me another cup of ale!" The young waitress
did as she was bid to do a little hesitantly. The man looked at his fellows
and winked, his grin plastered on his face. As the waitress refilled their
cups with ale, the man did a bold move.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. "Why don't you stay here a bit
longer? We're mighty lonely and could use some company!" He bellowed out
loud and his fellows joined in the laughter.
Rudy saw that the girl was frightened out of her mind. Her eyes were wide
and she tried pulling herself away from the man. "Please sir," she begged,
"I have some other customers to attend to."
"Well, you can attend to me," the man replied with a grin. He pulled the
girl closer.
"This has to stop," Rudy murmured to the twins. He stood up and was about
to give the man a few pointers when Lydia came up to the man's table to stop
it herself. It was her job afterall.
"Stop this at once!" Lydia shouted as she stood over the man.
The man looked at her plainly. "Why?" he asked innocently. "Are you jealous
or something?" Again the man laughed.
"I see that you are new around here," Lydia said calmly as she cracked her
knuckles. "Well, I guess it's time for me to tell you the rules of this here
establishment." She freed the girl from the clutches of the man and said,
"Rule number one: No fights." She then grabbed the man fr! om his collar
and pulled him up, glaring at him with eyes that burned with an inner fire.
"And rule number two," she whispered dangerously as she dragged the man to
the door.
"NO HUSTLING OF WAITRESSES!!!" she yelled as she flung the man out the door
of the pub. She turned to the others watching in the pub especially to the
table where the man had occupied. The fellows there were awed by this woman's
strength and yet afraid. "Let's get out of here!" they murmured as they hastily
exited the building, careful to not bump into the warrior
waitress.
"Serves him right!" Lydia shouted after them. She clapped her hands together
and smiled before returning to her duties as a waitress.
Rudy sat back down seeing that the situation was under control. "Well, I
guess that finishes dinner," he said as he placed his utensils down. He poured
himself some of the wine and drank it slowly. He placed the cup down watching
the wine swish back and forth within it. "I guess we have our own thoughts
on the matter," he whispered before finishing his drink. He suddenly stood
up and stretched. The twins looked at him. "I'll meet you in the inn later.
Leave a tip for Lydia before you go." With that he left the twins and went
out of the pub to wander the streets for a while.
Jill and Cecil ate quietly for awhile after Rudy left them. Cecil stifled
a yawn when done eating. "I guess it's time to get some rest. I need to rest
my mind for a bit," he said as he stood up. He picked up his cup and drained
the rest of the liquid. "Are you coming?" he asked Jill who was still
sitting.
Jill's eyes were beginning to droop as she tried to finish her soup. She
drained the bowl of soup and wiped her mouth with her napkin before following
Cecil's example. "We have to leave a tip, remember?" Jill said as she dug
in her pockets for some gella.
Before coming up with anything, Cecil placed a hundred gella on the table.
"There," Cecil said as soon as he placed the gella on the table. "Let's go
to the inn. I could! use some rest right about now." Jill nodded and they
left the pub together heading towards the inn near the entrance of town.
***
Rudy walked around the town, taking in the sights. It's been awhile since
he last saw the town. Everything was the same. He heard water trickling around
the town as it should be. Milama Village is known for its abundant supply
of water. He stopped under a tree and looked up at the stars in the sky and
wondered if the new moon, Malduke, still floated among the Star Ocean waiting
for someone to control it once more. "Ka Dingel is destroyed," Rudy mused
with a smirk. "No one can go up there now."
He began to walk again among the buildings of the small town. Most of the
people have gone to their homes seeing that it was getting late. Rudy yawned
and stretched as he continued to walk. "Might as well go to the inn," he
muttered as he made his way there.
When he entered the building, he was surprised that the twins were kind enough
to lodge him in as well. "You're Rudy Roughnight?" the elderly innkeeper
asked as she looked at the guestbook. Rudy nodded. "Here you are," the innkeeper
said as she saw his name written in the book. She smiled as she gave Rudy
the keys to his room. "Room Six, the last room to your left." She pointed
to the hallway leading from the lobby.
"Thank you," Rudy said gratefully as he took the keys.
"Good-night."
"Good-night to you sir," the elderly woman replied with a smile.
Rudy nodded again to the innkeeper before heading to his room. He was surprised
at how the inn had improved over the years. Twenty years ago, it was only
a small building that accomodated only three guests at one time. Now it had
elongated itself doubling its vacancy to six.
The building was fairly the same, only adding three more rooms on the left
side of the entrance. There were separate rooms now instead of the three
beds being seen from the entrance. Plants were placed at certain intervals
in the hallways.
The hallway's lights were dim as he approached his room. "Room Six," Rudy
read the number on the door. "This is it." He placed the key in the ke! yhole
and turned, hearing the familiar click of door unlocking. He was about to
enter when he suddenly remembered to give Jill the book. "I wonder if she's
in Room Five."
He went to the next room down and tried the doorknob. Surprisingly, the door
easily swung open. Rudy peeked from the doorway to make sure if it was really
the princess's room. He could dimly make out the sleeping form of Jill. He
saw the Tear Drop around her neck glint off the moonlight casting from her
window. He sneaked into the room and quietly placed the book on the drawer
near the bed. He then walked back the way he came and carefully shut the
door.
Yawning again, he dragged himself to his room. Upon entering the small chamber,
he unbuckled his sword belt and unholstered his ARM, letting them hang on
the bedpost. He stretched as he fell unto the bed. As soon as his head hit
the pillow, he was fast asleep.
***
Cecil's eyes were clenched tight and beads of sweat were pouring down his
face. He twisted and turned in bed from the troubled dream he was having.
"Who are you?" he murmured out loud. "What do you mean?"
He was standing in darkness with a voice calling out to him. A black figure
lined in blue light appeared before him, beckoning him. "Come to me and I
shall see if you are worthy of the blade," the figure said.
"Where?" Cecil asked as he moved closer to the figure. "Where can I find
you?"
"The survivor knows how to find me. Seek him. Then we shall see if you are
worthy of the blade." The figure was fast fading into
darkness.
"Wait!" Cecil yelled as he tried to run to the mysterious stranger.
"Wait!"
"Wait!" Cecil mumbled as his head turned from side to side. "Wait!" He
bolted straight up, his hand outstretched towards nothing. He panted heavily,
his hair plastered to his face, and sweat seemed to pour in rivulets down
his face and chest. "A dream?" he said uncertain.
He looked towards the window and saw that it was morning. "But what does
it mean?" he asked himself as he got up from bed and walked towards the window.
He could see that the town was beginnning to awake from its slumber. People
were setting up shop while others were heading towards the pub for breakfast.
Those who were out on a walk wished those they pass by a good morning with
a smile and a wave of their hand.
Cecil turned when he heard a knock on the door. "Cecil, are you awake?" Jill
asked through the door. "We're going to the pub for breakfast."
"I'll be right there!" Cecil shouted as he put on his plain white shirt.
He then put on his black boots and buckled his sword belt. Seeing that
he was properly dressed, he went to the door and opened it. Jill and Rudy
were waiting in the hall. "Shall we go?" Cecil asked as he closed the
door.
He began walking towards the inn's exit without waiting for their answer.
They caught up to him as they mad! e their way to the pub. Jill could tell
that her brother was troubled but she kept silent. She would ask him later
when her brother will be in a better mood.
Cecil was unaware of his surroundings and his companions as his feet carried
him through town. His mind was preoccupied with the dream he had last night.
Survivor? Who's the survivor? Is it another name for the rebel?, he
thought. They passed over a bridge that led to the east side of town and
turned north towards the pub.
It was situated on a little peninsula in the northeast corner of the town.
The sound of water flowing surrounded the little establishment. They crossed
another bridge to reach the little peninsula and entered the
tavern.
There were hardly anyone in the building, some preferring the night than
the day. The trio occupied the same table as the night before. Jill noticed
that Lydia was not in today and told Rudy.
Rudy nodded. "She works at night only," he replied. "There's hardly any trouble
during the day. It's at night when things start getting rowdy."
"That makes sense," Jill agreed.
A young lady suddenly skipped up to their table, her auburn curly hair bouncing
up and down with the movement. She greeted them cheerfully with a wide smile
that stretched from ear to ear. "Hi! What will you guys be having?" She took
out a small notepad and a pen and waited for the trio's orders.
"I guess I'll have a bacon, egg, and rice platter," Rudy ordered. The young
lady wrote the order down and waited for the twins to order.
"I'll have toast," Jill said. "What will you be having, Cecil?" Seeing that
her brother was still preoccupied, she lightly nudged him in the ribs.
"Cecil?"
"Oh, yes," he said a little slowly. "I'll just have tea. I'm not really
hungry."
The waitress nodded and repeated the order. "Do you want anything to drink?"
she asked Rudy and Jill. When both of them said their drinks, the lady smiled
and turned about to take care of their order.
As soon as ! she left, Rudy and Jill stared intently at Cecil. "What's the
matter with you this morning?" the knight captain asked in concern for the
prince.
Cecil sighed. "I've been thinking about a dream I had last night. It might
lend us clues to who the rebel is." He conveyed to them the
dream.
When Cecil was done, they sat in thoughtful silence. "It's not for us to
discuss it in here," Rudy said as he saw the young woman returning with their
meal.
The trio sat in awkward silence as the woman placed their meal atop the table.
"There you go!" the waitress exclaimed as she finished her task. "You need
anything else?"
"No thanks," replied Rudy. "We're fine as is."
The young woman nodded and with a smile, left the trio. "Let's hurry and
finish our meal," Rudy urged the twins. "I feel that we may have stumbled
upon something. Besides, Jill needs to study the book."
"We can all talk about this in the inn," Jill added as she munched on her
toast.
Cecil muttered in agreement. He continued to stare at his tea, trying to
recall the shadowy figure in his dream. Who was the figure and how did it
know about the Guardian Blade? For some unknown reason, he knew that the
answer lied within the medallion his father had given. But without the
translation of the ancient script, they had to find the answer somewhere
else. Does this rebel or survivor hold the answer?, the prince thought.
He sipped his tea. We'll get to the bottom of this sooner or later.
***
The next two days the trio remained in the inn, only leaving the building
for their meals in the tavern, trying to solve the riddle of the rebel. It
was after Rudy and Cecil went to sleep on the night of the second day that
Jill finally solved it.
"Rudy!" Jill shouted as she pounded on his door. "Rudy, Rudy! Open up! Come
on!"
She stepped back as she heard a click as a lock unlocking. It was followed
by the door opening a crack and a disheveled head sticking out from that
crack. "What is it?" Rudy asked drowsily. His eyes were half open seeming
to not focus on the princess and his head was throbbing. "Can it wait until
morning?"
Jill shook her head vigorously. "No it can't. I've finally solved it!" She
smiled at him waiting to see his reaction.
Rudy didn't understand what she was happy about, still half asleep. "Wha.
. .?" He passed out in front of Jill.
"Rudy!" Jill exclaimed as she caught him. He was snoring softly in her arms.
"I think you had too much drink," the princess muttered. "Wake up!" She shook
him gently. "I know. I'll get Cecil."
She gently laid him down, half of him sprawled in the hall and the other
half in his room. Jill then ran to her brother's room and softly knocked
on his door. "Cecil?" she called. "Cecil, wake up!"
She heard him grumbling as he came closer to the door. A moment later, his
head was sticking out the same way Rudy was awhile ago. "What is it?" he
asked a bit angry about his sleep being interrupted.
"I need you to help me with Rudy," she answered him calmly as she pointed
at the knight captain's sleeping form.
"All right," Cecil sighed as he stepped out into the hallway and closed his
door.
The twins went to Rudy. Cecil bent down and wrapped Rudy's arm around his
shoulders and hoisted him up. "What a perfect night to drink," Cecil muttered
as he dragged Rudy into the room. "Where do you want me to put him?" the
prince asked his sister.
"Just put him on the bed," Jill answered a little imp! atiently. "Hurry!
I have some news that will please you." She walked over to the bed. "But
first I need to wake him up." Sorry Rudy, she apologized silently
as she casted the Awake spell.
A bright green alarm clock appeared out of thin air and landed besides Rudy's
head. As soon as it landed, it started to ring so loud that the twins had
to cover their ears and hope that the sound had not awaken the other patrons
of the inn.
Rudy rolled off the bed and onto the floor. "What? What?" he said fully awake
now. "What's happening? What's going on?"
Jill couldn't help but laugh. Rudy just stared at her. "Finally you're awake
and hopefully sober enough to hear what I'm about to say." Cecil and Rudy
sat quietly with Cecil occassionally hitting his head, still trying to stop
the ringing in his ears. "It's about the rebel," Jill continued as she took
out the book. "I think I found a passage that could help us in identifying
this stranger." She opened it to the passage and began
reading.
Thought to be one of the elite, he was rejected by his kind. He tried
to prove himself many times to no avail. One day his life turned around after
his trip through the void. In the town of the 'sacred beast' , he met one
who cannot see the world of men but could see their hearts. This one had
seen his heart, seen his loneliness and rejection. This is when the rebel
was truly born. He rebeled against the teachings of his kind to be replaced
by the concept of love and protection that his kind does not possess. The
evil within his heart vanished, the light of good beginning to shine in his
heart.
"There's more to it but this is the main one," Jill finished. She looked
up and asked, "Any idea on who it is?"
"Well, if we don't know who it is," Cecil began, "we can at least go to this
town of the 'sacred beast'. The rebel is bound to be there." He then turned
when he heard Rudy chuckling to himself. "What's wrong with you?" the prince
asked. "Still drunk?"
"No, no," Rudy repli! ed through a chuckle trying to stop himself. "I'm such
a fool to not see it. It makes perfect sense!"
"Who?" Jill asked impatiently. "Who is it? We have a right to
know."
Rudy looked at them still smiling at his foolishness. "I'll introduce you
to him. We'll leave early tomorrow morning on our journey to Saint Centour,
the town of the 'sacred beast'." He yawned and winced as the throbbing in
his head returned. "I for one can use the rest," he muttered through clenched
teeth as he placed a hand on his head to ease the pain. "Too much
drink."
The twins nodded in much agreement with the knight captain's advice to sleep
as well as his remark to his liquor consumption that night. They said their
good-nights and wished him a well deserved rest.
At last, they were one step closer to their destiny.
***
In the morning, the trio got ready to leave. Rudy paid the innkeeper and
they left the inn and the town altogether, flying high above the clouds in
the Gullwing. They flew in a northeasterly direction, Curan Abbey passing
below. They continued onward, Adlehyde Castle coming into view. Rudy then
saw something at the edge of his peripheral vision that made him stop the
aircraft and hover for a moment. He turned the metal bird in a more easterly
direction and began flying towards there. "Where are we going?" Cecil asked
in alarm. "Saint Centour is that way."
Rudy didn't hear the prince's remarks. His eyes were focused on the object
that was floating above the Inner Sea becoming larger as he flew closer to
it. Something about the way it looked troubled him.
The twins stared at the object, not in fright like Rudy, but in curiousity.
"What is that?" Jill inquired. Both twins studied the object.
It was a floating round sphere, water still dripping down its sides from
its rise out of the sea. Seaweed clung to rusted metal like vines clinging
on the sides of a building. The sphere seemed to pulse with an inner light
as if it had a life of its own.
Jill looked at Rudy and asked again. She saw that he held the control stick
tightly, his knuckles white from lack of blood circulation. His expression
was that of surprise but it suddenly turned to pure hatred. "No, it can't
be!" Rudy growled through clenched teeth. He slowed the Gullwing to a halt
just a few miles away from the sphere and hovered for a while. "Damn it!"
Rudy cursed aloud. "It sunk to the bottom of the sea! How could it rise?
Unless. . ."
"What?" Cecil demanded Rudy. "What is it? What is it about this thing that
frightens you so?"
"This," the knight captain replied softly, "is the Photosphere that had
supposedly crashed into the sea twenty years ago. The Metal Demons used it
as their headquarters before acquiring the secret of Ka Dingel. I thought
it was gone for good but it seems that these demons can brea! the underwater
as well. How much more power do they have that we don't know of?"
He cautiously flew the Gullwing towards the flying fortress and wondered
if the demons could see them. The answer to that, he knew, would be revealed
soon.
***
Seth looked at the Gullwing approaching from his screen within the Photosphere's
bridge. Lights blipped and beeped within the control room of the fortress.
He smirked as he took a closer look at the flying object and the passengers
inside of it. "Time for you to die Rudy Roughnight," he smiled, "and the
others that are with you."
He typed a few commands on the control panel. "Initiating weapons system,"
a mechanical voice informed. "Target locked. Ready to fire."
"Fire." Seth pushed a red button and he felt the fortress shudder as the
cannons discharged. He watched the screen anticipating the fall of his enemy.
***
Two beams of light headed towards the plane. "Rudy look!" Cecil pointed to
the beams.
"Oh no!" he exclaimed. "Hang on!" He dove out of the way but had to veer
to the left when he saw two more beams of light heading their way. He continued
to dodge the projectiles from the Photosphere.
"I'll try to get out of range," Rudy suggested as he dove towards the sea
and made a tight turn towards land. He could see Ship Graveyard ahead.
The beams were becoming more accurate. Then he suddenly realized that he
would endanger the people of Ship Graveyard if he continued to head towards
it. He cursed under his breath as he turned the plane around.
"Rudy, what are you doing?!" Jill screamed. "You're going to get us
killed!"
"Better us than the town," he whispered as he maintained his hold on the
control stick. "If we had continued towards Ship Graveyard, the beams might
have hit the town. I can't take that chance."
The metal bird rocked as the beams became closer. I can't dodge
forever!, Rudy thought desperately. He continued to dodge as best he
could but there were too many of them. The Gullwing had no weapons to retaliate
and worse, it had no type of defense shield. "Remind me to tell Emma
about adding weapons and defensive systems to the Gullwing," he said trying
to keep the situation light. It didn't have the desired effect as he started
cursing under his breath.
"Genso Shield!" a loud voice boomed. A sword flashed before the plane and
glowed brightly. It surrounded the plane in a white aura that shielded them
from the beams. Then the sword disappeared in a flash replaced by a figure
holding the sword.
"Who's that?" Cecil asked in wonder and suspicion. He saw the green hair
that indicated that it was a demon. "Is he the one that shielded
us?"
Rudy nodded, not believing it himself. "Zed," he said, "how did you do that?"
The twins heard him and looked at him strangely.
"So you know him?" Jill asked. She looked from Rudy to the fig! ure with
the orange scarf out in the air.
Again Rudy nodded. "I'll explain later when we have the time to talk to
him."
The Photosphere had ceased to fire its weapons. An eerie silence ensued.
Only the howling of the wind and the roar of the engine of the Gullwing pervaded
the silence. All waited, their breath held as the minutes ticked
by.
Then the weapons flared into life once more as beams headed toward the plane
and Zed. Rudy moved the plane out of the way but Zed stayed where he was.
Rudy whirled the plane around, seeing that the beams were being aimed directly
at Zed.
Zed stood calmly as he watched the approaching beams. Then he moved his sword
in two quick movements as he deflected them. He then countered with his own
attack. "Garyu Ichimongiri!" He brought his sword back and swung it with
all his might at the floating castle.
A crescent-shaped beam shot itself forward from his sword. It flew towards
two cannons and blew them to pieces upon impact. The trio saw the small explosion
on the surface of the Photosphere.
"How did he get stronger?" Rudy asked himself in disbelief.
***
Seth cursed as he steadied himself from the impact. "Curse him," he swore.
"How did he do that?" He glared at the figure on the screen. "Traitor!" he
spat. "So, you have finally reached your full potential. I've always wanted
to test my strength on a worthy opponent. The question is, are you that
opponent?" He laughed as he hefted his axe onto his shoulder and vanished
only to reappear outside the Photosphere.
The wind whipped around his face and the sun reflected off his metallic skin.
He twirled his axe in a sign of boredom. "I can see that you have mastered
the art of flying. Only some demons could master it. You are very fortunate."
He stopped twirling his axe and held it in front of him. "But are you capable
of flying and fighting at the same time?"
Zed cocked his head to one side and grinned. "I don't know. I haven't tried
it out yet."
"Then let me show you how it is done!" Seth shouted as he flew towards
Zed.
Zed calmly hovered waiting for the right moment to strike back. Seth did
an overhead swing with his axe planning on splitting Zed's head in two. Zed
calmly moved to the side and brought his sword under Seth's swing, managing
to cut his torso.
Black blood caked Zed's sword. He coolly turned around and waited for the
next move. Seth was paralyzed with shock. He looked down at the wound and
saw the blood oozing out. "H-How did he manage to do that?" he stammered.
He covered his wound and murmured a few words. The wound began to
close.
He looked at his work and smirked. He had learned a few tricks while staying
at this planet. He turned around and glared at the traitor. "That was a nice
swing. Pity that it failed."
"That was only a practice swing," Zed laughed. "The real battle is just
beginning." He clenched his hands into fists and concentrated into gathering
his energy. He screamed and his whole body flared with chaotic energy. He
swung his sword out and above him. The black energy surrounding his body
channeled into the sword. "Chaotic swo! rd!" He swung his sword down, a beam
of black energy shooting out from it.
Seth twirled his axe in a makeshift shield in front of him. The black beam
struck but went no further as he continued to twirl his axe. Zed continued
to fire his beam unrelenting. Seth twirled his axe faster preparing to counter.
He brought his axe up, still twirling it and shouted, "Icewind Blast!" He
brought his axe down and a blue beam of ice crashed onto the black beam of
chaos.
***
The trio in the Gullwing watched in awe at the clashing of powers. "How did
he get stronger?" Rudy repeated staring in disbelief. "This battle is way
out of our league."
"Let's go to Saint Centour while they're busy," Cecil suggested and Rudy
nodded in agreement. He flew the Gullwing north towards the deserted city
leaving the battle behind them.
***
The two beams continued to clash as the battlers grunted under the force
of their own beams. None of them is planning to relent. Seth's pride flamed
his attack while Zed had a purpose to continue this fight.
Zed could see that Seth was faltering under the pressure of his attack. He
could feel Seth's beam getting weaker. "This is my only chance," he grunted.
He gave another shout and more energy flowed out, widening his
beam.
Seth grunted from the added pressure and knew he couldn't keep his beam up
much longer. He could see that Zed's beam was overtaking his; soon it would
hit him. He stared in horror as the beam came closer and it eventually struck
him. He plummeted to the earth stunned by the attack.
Zed sheathed his sword and quickly flew towards the falling demon. He passed
the demon and dove below him. He then flew upwards, both of his arms raised
above his head. He growled as he punched Seth on the back. Seth howled in
pain but Zed wasn't done yet.
He then took ahold of one of Seth's arms and started to swing him around.
"How does it feel like to be defeated by a lesser demon, by a traitor?" Zed
asked as he continued to swing. The only reply he got was a groan. "Tell
Bram to leave this planet or else he would end up like you." He let go of
his arm and Seth flew towards the Photosphere.
Seth opened his eyes and saw the Photosphere looming towards him. He crashed
into it, the velocity so strong that he crashed through the surface of the
spherical ship, landing inside the Photosphere. He looked out at the hole
and saw Zed flying away. He moaned as he struggled to get up but fell back
down. "I'll get you after I get that weakling, Jack," he whispered as his
mind drifted on the waves of blackness.
***
.
Rudy landed the Gullwing in front of the entrance to the ghost town. The
sounds of the battle could not reach the town so far to the north. The twins
did not worry about it though, intent on finding the rebel.
The trio disembarked the metal bird. Before heading into town, they looked
to the south where they had left the battle. All they could see was the open
sea, gulls flying freely in the air, and nothing more. No Photosphere and
no signs of a battle waging. "Let's go find this rebel," Cecil said after
a moment's pause. He started walking towards the lonely town. Jill followed
his example.
Rudy continued to stare at the sea, his hair swaying in the breeze. The smell
of the salt sea air entered his nostrils but he also sensed something in
the breeze. The smell of power being unleashed. Being able to sense it was
one of his abilities as the last Holmcross. He thought about what he had
witnessed back there with Zed and Seth, confused about Zed's sudden surge
in power. Twenty years ago, he hardly could defeat one of them and now he
is making a sport out of Seth. How did he get stronger?, he wondered.
It doesn't make any sense.
Jill stopped when she noticed that Rudy wasn't following them and told her
brother to do the same. "Rudy," she called to the knight captain.
Rudy didn't hear Jill, so engrossed was he in his thoughts. The princess
called a second time and a third before the knight captain noticed that he
was being called. He turned and saw the twins impatiently waiting for him.
"Sorry," he apologized as he went to them. "I was merely thinking," he added
quickly when he saw Jill about to say something.
"About what?" Jill huffed as they resumed their walk to the
town.
"It's nothing," Rudy shook his head in answer.
They continued the walk towards the city in silence. Soon they had wandered
into the city, past the rows of statues and into the gate. They stood in
front of the inn, the little parrot still sitting on its perch, bobbing!
its head from side to side. "Where to?" Cecil questioned Rudy. "Where is
this rebel?" He looked around the town from their vantage point.
The wind seemed to moan like haunting ghosts as it blew through the town.
Cecil shivered as he felt the wind brush against his skin as if one of those
ghosts had touched him. Nothing thrived in this town, not even the trees
or the small plants. They were wilting and their leaves were brown and crinkly
from either lack of water or lack of life around it. He could see some of
the buildings in disrepair. Doors were hanging from their hinges, paint was
peeling off, and spiders had spun their webs on the corners of the windows.
This whole town was a mystery to him.
"He lives with the last survivor of this town," Rudy explained. "They live
in the southwest corner of town." He had begun leading them towards the small
house when a small voice halted them.
"Don't take one step closer," it threatened. The trio looked around to locate
the voice. Rudy signaled for the others to split up.
The small boy that spoke watched from atop the city's wall. He saw them split
up. "I said don't move," he threatened again.
They stopped and backed up, forming a tight circle. They took out their weapons
and searched for the figure to whom the voice belonged to. "Who are you?"
Rudy demanded. "Are you here to hurt Rosa? I swear that if you laid a finger
on her, you'll regret it." He gazed from side to side, figuring out where
the voice was originating from.
He saw a shadow fly over them. He looked up to see a small boy of about five
years of age, flying towards him with his sword held high. He brought his
ARM up in time to deflect the kid's swing. The boy back-flipped a couple
of times before facing the trio. "Do you think this is our rebel?" Cecil
whispered to Jill, who only shrugged in answer. "It seems like it to me,"
Cecil muttered his answer to his own question.
The boy seemed to be the rebellious sort, glaring at them with eyes gleaming
in antic! ipation of a battle. He panted softly as if that first attack took
a lot from him. His turquoise hair was all spiked up and a yellow bandana
went about his head. He wore a dark blue tunic with matching pants held together
by a white sash and small black shoes that seemed more fitting for casual
wear than for fighting. He held his tiny sword with ease as if he was born
with it.
"Where's your parents?" Cecil asked the rambunctious boy.
"My parents aren't here," he growled in answer. "Besides, I'm strong enough
to take care of myself."
"Truly?" a voice asked from above.
The boy's face paled as he recognized the voice. He knew then that he was
in trouble.
All of them looked up to see Zed floating down towards them. "Really, Zex,
you should be more hospitable to guests," he scolded the child when he
landed.
"Dad," he whined, "I was just having a little fun." He sheathed his sword
and looked down, ashamed to look his father in the eye.
"Dad? You mean he's your son?!" Rudy exclaimed when he heard the conversation.
"Now that I think about it, you two look kind of alike. Is the mother who
I think she is?"
Zed nodded, temporarily forgetting about his son. "Does Rosa know?" Rudy
was referring to the fact that Zed was a demon.
Again Zed nodded. "When Rosa heard that Jack and Cecilia had children, she
wanted to have a child too. I didn't consider ourselves husband and wife
but she was devoted to me and I to her, which to me is the same as being
married. Before we did anything, I told her about my past and my heritage.
She took the news hard, saying that I had betrayed her and such and bade
me to leave her, to leave Saint Centour. I tried to make it up to her but
she would not have me around her anymore so I left. I always came back year
after year to apologize but she would always bid me to leave and to never
come back. Well, we reconciled after a few years of silence for Rosa and
wandering for me. Then Zex here," he patted the boy, "showed up." H! e let
out a slow whistle. "I don't want to ever go through that again. It's hard
living alone."
Rudy nodded, understanding how the demon felt about loneliness. He, too,
was lonely for a long while, after his adopted grandfather's death and before
he ever met Jack or Cecilia. The memories of wandering the land were unpleasant
at times but he often brushed them aside, happy to be with friends and to
have a place to belong to. Then he looked at the boy and wondered how he
would fit in this world. "So he's half-demon, half-human," Rudy mused. "I
never knew such a bond could exist."
"Well, we couldn't be sure unless we tried, right?" Zed said.
"Right," Rudy nodded happy that his friend has finally found a place for
himself in this world. Then his thoughts went to Zex. The timeline Zed had
described in his explanation troubled him. Zex looked to be the age of five
but in consideration with Zed's timeline, the boy would have been half the
age of the twins. "Zed," he said and the green-haired demon looked at him,
"how old is your boy? He looks to be about five but by the way you described
his story, he's suppose to be around seven or eight."
"Demon blood," Zed answered matter-of-factly. "Demons age slower than humans.
He is seven years old by the way."
Rudy nodded again, always the observant one. "I have one more question to
ask you," Rudy continued. "How did---" His question was drowned out by a
soft growl very much akin to a purr of a cat. He looked curiously at
Zed.
Zed looked at him in surprise. "What?" he asked oblivious to the sound. He
then felt a tugging at his side. He looked down at his son and asked, "What
is it, Zex?"
"Daddy, I'm hungry," the boy pouted.
Zed looked up at the sky for the sun. It was almost noon. "I guess we should
get something to eat." He picked up the boy and placed him on his shoulder
and looked at the trio. "Sorry guys but I gotta give this guy here something
to eat or else he'll go ballistic. You're welcome to join
us."
"Rudy," Jill whispered as she got close to him. "What about our 'rebel'?
Remember?"
Rudy chuckled. "Haven't you figured it out, Jill?" he smiled. "Zed is our
'rebel'."