Ch 10: Good Intentions

Learning the truth behind Grey's situation, Scott is torn between friendship and duty. Less than pleased with Alexander's actions though, he parts ways with everyone, and a sleepless night begins.

            “Very good. Now then, what is it you’d like to talk about Scott?” said Alexander. For a moment Scott thought about what he wanted to ask them. He had already had several of the things he wanted to know explained, and finally he said, “You’ve already cleared up so many things that I didn’t understand, but for one I’d like to know what your objective is. Are you fighting Altera Veritas? You showed up first in the Celestis storage district, then the Imperial Library… Do you have some kind of lead on them?” Grey leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling as he said, “Yeah. That day one year ago, I swore I’d take revenge on Altera Veritas for everything they made me do. When I first arrived in Celestis, I was following a tip that they had someone on the inside helping them steal shipments from the Imperial Research Laboratory that contained stuff related to the development of EDE weaponry. I was about to search the storage district for crates that contained the stuff and get their serials to match up in the library’s computer, but I wound up stepping in to save Amy when Altera Veritas tried to kidnap her.” Scott looked over at Amy, who waved nervously and said, “Nice to meet you…” Then Grey went on, “Without any serial numbers to go by I just checked all the shipments within the last three years. I found a suspicious shipment that had been sent to Abnoct, and well… here we are…”

Scott was staring at Amy, and getting unnerved, she said, “Wh-what?” Scott realized he was being rude and said, “I’m sorry, it’s just that… When I saw you before back at the school, I could tell you were an energist, but to be targeted by Altera Veritas… I must have been greatly mistaken about your abilities.” Amy’s face went red and she quietly said, “Actually I don’t understand why they’d want me at all now that you mention it. I’m not really able to do anything…” Sorry he’d brought it up, Scott said, “Oh…” However something else was bugging him about Amy, so Scott decided to just ask her outright, saying, “Amy, forgive me if I’m wrong but… have we ever met at all before that time at your school? For some reason I feel like…” Before Amy could answer and before Scott even finished, Grey said “Hey Matthews I, um…” Alexander bailed him out saying, “I’m sorry Scott, but can we talk about that later? We have something important we want to talk to you about.” Taking his lead, Grey added, “Yeah, what Alexander said.” Scott was a bit confused, but said, “Sure. What is it?” Alexander thought for a moment, and then said, “Well Scott, the fact is you’re still a member of the Special Forces. We are grateful for how you helped us in Celestis. I assume it was also your work sabotaging the wanted posters.” Scott nodded, feeling he already knew what Alexander was going to say. Staring at Scott with a serious look on his face, Alexander continued, “Still, it seems to me you’re putting your entire career at risk, as well as your work towards bettering our society as well. Do you truly intend to throw this away for an old friend, or is this talk here a way of settling some lingering feelings that have been keeping you from performing your duty? Forgive me if you take offense to such a question, but we have already explained our objective. It seems only fair we hear yours…” Scott had a feeling the question would come up, and he honestly did not know the answer himself. After taking a moment to think, he said, “I don’t know… It’s not important to me if I lose my career or status, but the work I’ve done to make the lives of others better, to end the discrimination people like us suffer, I’d be throwing that away too. I’ve always hated how The Guild has turned people like us into their private army, not to mention the system they set up with the Sanctuaries. Enforcing those very laws as a member of the Special Forces isn’t something I wanted, but I put my feelings aside so I could accomplish two things…” Staring at his reflection on the tabletop, Scott said, “To realize the dream my friend and I swore we would pursue together, and to take revenge against Altera Veritas for killing him…”

            Grey was absolutely stunned, thinking, “He put aside his hate for The Guild for me? He became their agent to avenge me?” As Grey recalled what he had said to him in Celestis, how he had struck him without holding back, he said, “You… I would never have asked you to do that! Why…?” Scott simply smiled as he said, “I knew you wouldn’t have wanted me to, but at the same time I also knew you’d do the same for me.” Scott turned to Alexander and said, “It may be a slight violation of condition number one, but can I say one thing?” Reading the atmosphere, Alexander nodded reluctantly and said, “Very well…” Slowly, Scott turned back to Grey and said, “Ma- err I mean Grey… You wouldn’t remember I guess, but a long time ago we made a promise, a promise to always have each other’s backs no matter what. All this time, my biggest regret was that I didn’t keep my promise…” With a sad look on his face, Scott said, “I’m sorry…” It was too much. Grey felt his as though his mind would explode if Scott said one more word. As images of the past he could not recall began flashing through his mind, Grey jumped up out of his chair, turned, and ran from the table. Amy shouted after him, “Grey?!” Quickly she got up and ran after him. Scott got up to chase after him as well, but Alexander stopped him, saying, “Leave him alone for a bit. I needed to talk to you alone for a second anyway.” Scott turned back him and said, “But…” Alexander just motioned him to sit, and begrudgingly he did. Reassuringly, Alexander said, “He’ll be fine Scott, just let Amy handle it. To be honest you’d be making things worse if you followed him.” Scott sighed, and after a moment he asked, “Does he really hate me that much?” Alexander laughed and said, “Is that what you think? Well, I did hear about that punch he gave you in Celestis. No Scott, I’m afraid his behavior is much more serious. His partial amnesia is possibly the one thing that’s kept him sane this last year. His kidnapping, specifically the death of his parents, is a memory that would destroy him. I have a feeling that may have been what they used to break him during his brainwashing…” Alexander took a sip of his drink before continuing, “When you called out to him during your battle in Luminosa, he remembered everything. You saw a little of what happened before he put you in a coma. He lost all reason, all sanity… He unleashed an absurd amount of power using his Void Energy ability, completely destroying everything in his path. The amount of EDE he used went beyond the limits of his body, and it nearly killed him. After I rescued him and discovered he had lost his memories, I decided it was for the best. I have done everything I can to keep him from remembering. I’ve let slip a few details, nothing related to the night three years ago, just minor things, to pacify him from time to time, but…” Scott couldn’t take it. He stood and slammed his fist on the table, shouting, “You honestly mean to tell me you’ve been purposely keeping him from regaining his lost memory?! What kind of friend are you?!” Angered, Alexander used a commanding tone as he said, “Sit down Scott! I am aware of the moral implications of my actions, thank you.” Still rather upset with him, Scott seated himself back into his chair as Alexander continued, “I hope that someday he will be able to properly deal with what has happened, however the fact is he’s an eighteen year old boy who cannot even deal with what he does remember very well. He refuses to even use his own name! I am doing what I must both because I am his friend and because without him we may stand no chance against Altera Veritas…”

            Scott still could not accept this, and shaking his head with a sigh, he said, “Alexander I just don’t agree with you. He has to face it eventually, he’ll remember sooner or later! As for how he takes it, whether he falls into despair, whether he loses touch with reality, he’ll have friends by his side as he grieves and he’ll get through it! Even if we need him against Altera Veritas, he’s a person not a weapon! He deserves respect, and if you are his friend, you’ll understand that…” Alexander rose to leave, saying, “I won’t argue this further. If you do decide to leave your position in the Special Forces to help us, you will refrain from revealing anything to him. If you don’t adhere to that rule, the consequences may affect all of Teramis. Neither I nor Serius have the strength to stop him again…” As he walked off, Scott sat there for a moment wondering who Serius was. Then, realizing it wasn’t important at the moment, he got up to go after him. Having paid the check, Alexander stepped out of the restaurant to find Grey leaning against the hover car, Amy beside him. Cheerily, Alexander asked Grey, “Are you feeling better?” Grey nodded, saying, “Sorry…” Amy looked towards the diner and said, “Where’s Scott? Did you just walk off and leave him the bill?” At that moment, Scott walked out the door. Walking up to the others, he and Alexander exchanged stares for a moment, and then Scott said, “Thank you for your time everyone. I need to take a while to think about all this and decide what I’m going to do. Good luck with your business in the city…” Once he’d finished, he walked off before they could say a word, and Grey looked at Alexander and shouted, “Just what the hell did you say to him in there?!” Alexander merely adjusted his tie and said, “Nothing really…” Suspicious, Amy said, “Well it sure seemed like something from the way he reacted.” Alexander simply got into the hover car without another word and started the engine. Before Grey and Amy also got into the hover car, he said to Serius, “Serius… is what I’ve done wrong?” Serius simply replied, “You must do whatever you have to. If Grey were to lose control of himself again or fall back into Altera Veritas’ control, we would have to destroy him or die trying.” Alexander let out a sigh and muttered, “I know. I made a promise, after all…”

            Lost in the city and lost in his thoughts as well, Scott just kept walking. It was dark out now, but the street lights illuminated his path. Looking around at the various people walking the streets as well, Scott could see the stories about Abnoct were true. In this city, day or night, there’s always a bustling of activity. Heaving a sigh, Scott thought to himself, “I just can’t be a part of it! Alexander was always one of the kindest, most unbelievably wise people I had ever known. How did it come to this?!” He couldn’t bring himself to say anything after he caught up with him outside the diner. He felt sure what Alexander was doing wasn’t right, but Alexander had been watching over Grey for a year. Before today, Scott hadn’t really spoken with him for three years. Finding the answer to what he wanted to do was getting harder by the second. Then a police hover car suddenly stopped at the curb beside him and the voice of Colonel Richter called out from it, saying, “Matthews, where the hell have you been?!” Scott hesitated as he tried to think of a cover story, and quickly said, “Err, um… What do you mean Jack? Didn’t you tell me to take a stroll and think about things?” Richter looked rather irritated as he said, “For heaven’s sake Matthews, I didn’t mean you should go on a two hour marathon! What did you do, walk through half the city? We need to start searching for the criminals, get in!”

            “Wow, all these skyscrapers… The Star Palace back in Celestis is probably the only building that comes close to being that tall.” said Amy, who was staring out the window at all the buildings as they drove along through the streets. Alexander chuckled and said, “Would you like to stay in one? The Skyscraper Hotel is something of a tourist attraction in Abnoct. I was thinking we’d stay there.” Amy felt rather excited at this, but Grey quickly said, “Isn’t that dangerous? A tourist attraction probably has a lot of security, and there’s been plenty of time for the Special Forces to get their picture issue straightened out. They could have aired them on TV by now.” Alexander just grinned and said, “I wouldn’t worry about it. After all, what wanted criminals would be stupid enough to stay at a tourist attraction? It’d be the last place they’d expect.” Grey looked rather unconvinced, so Alexander added, “Also, I happen to know the owner. He’s an old friend of the Greyson family, and I’ve already called ahead to let him know to ensure that we bypass any of the normal procedures that might lead to someone on the staff recognizing us. We head straight for our rooms and blend in. If we can manage that, it’s about the safest place we can stay.”

            Alexander had reserved two rooms, one for Grey and himself, and the other for Amy. Given the keys by the manager as he came to greet them discreetly, they made it to the forty-second floor without issue. Inside their room, Grey sat on the floor with a city map of Abnoct, as Alexander looked out the enormous glass window at the city, illuminated against the night sky. Staring at the map, Grey said, “If I remember the address correctly, that shipment was delivered to this warehouse on the other side of town from here, near the West Gate where we came in. Tomorrow we should head there and check it out.” Getting up off the floor, Grey folded up the map and flopped onto his bed. Rolling over to look at the ceiling, Grey asked, “Alexander, did Scott run off like that because of how I reacted?” Alexander didn’t seem to be listening, so Grey looked over at him and said, “Hey you in there? You’ve been acting pretty strange… Did something happen between you and Scott?” Alexander still remained silent. After a moment, Grey said in an irritated tone, “Hello?!” Alexander slowly turned around to look at him as he said, “Sorry, Serius is rather chatty at the moment, can we discuss this later? He’s been telling me something important.” Grey had a strong suspicion he was lying, but did not pursue it, simply replying, “Yea, whatever.” Suddenly the lights went out. Grey sat back up and said, “Huh? What’s going on, a blackout?” Alexander returned his attention to his surroundings quickly, saying, “Perhaps…” Then there was a knock on the door. Grey jumped to his feet as Alexander rushed to the door. Very cautiously, he opened it, Grey beside him ready to strike. Standing there in the faint glow of the hallway’s emergency lights was none other than Amy, who blinked in surprise at their reception as she said, “Um, hi…” Grey and Alexander both let out a sigh. As Amy entered the room, she went on to say, “Sorry, but the lights went out and I got kind of a bad feeling. Do you guys always answer doors like that?” Grey sat down on the bed, saying, “We’re just being careful. We thought maybe with the lights and all somebody might try and jump us in the dark.” Alexander, locking the door, turned to Amy. Something she said bothered him, and in a serious voice he asked, “Amy, what kind of bad feeling did you get?” Suddenly they all heard a strange noise. It seemed to be coming from outside the window. All looking out the window, they were shocked as suddenly a person clad in black, high tech looking armor rose up alongside the window, propelled through the air by a repulsion pack. Looking like he’d seen a ghost, Grey stood with eyes wide, staring at the armor clad assailant as he said, “That’s…” Then Alexander yelled, “GET DOWN!” and tackled him to the floor just as the armored assassin fired several spheres of volatile energy from his hand.

Reviews

[Ryan Henderson]

I love this chapter! My favourite part was when Grey and Alexander bailed Amy out when Scott was asking her is they met before, that shows that they care for her, and having loyalty between your characters is always a good thing! Overall, nice flow (caused by no spelling/grammar mistakes) great originality, which I told you is a rarity on this site, and great character building! I also love the world that this is set in! It is very atmospheric and gives a futuristic feel to things, given the hover cars and whatnot. Very nice story so far!

[KeithKVH]

Thank you for the review! Glad you like the world building, Teramis is indeed somewhat futuristic in setting. At the same time the world is largely undeveloped, cities spaced out between the wilderness and with walls erected around them to protect against monsters. You'll begin to see later on that technology and convenience are really limited to the larger cities like the capitals or Abnoct.