Ch 36: We Will Meet Again

Despite Reaper's defeat, Serius is badly injured. Returning to Mautau in his ethereal form to heal, he implores Alexander to move on from his past. Yet Alexander's scars may run too deep...

            As Reaper vanished, the room glowed and sparkling bits of light, which Alexander could only assume were the trapped spirits, began seeping out of the ice covered walls only to vanish soon after. Having noticed Serius was wounded, Alexander quickly rushed over to support him as he struggled to walk, saying, “How did you get such a severe injury? I would have thought your Basilisk Armor would have protected you…” Leaning on him, Serius muttered, “I’m not beyond making mistakes. When I formed my Basilisk Armor, it had a structural weakness this time, and he hit it with a powerful energy attack. My physical form is also weak because I’ve struggled to maintain it without having to drain more of your power.” With a frustrated sigh, Alexander said, “Why would you do something like that?” Breaking free of Alexander, Serius staggered to the frozen wall. Taking a seat against it, Serius said, “Because it is more important that we have you back at your full strength. You are one of the strongest and most resourceful allies we have.” With a slight laugh, Alexander replied, “And you aren’t?” Walking over to sit beside him, Alexander continued, “Whatever the case, hurry and get some rest. You know your body cannot be healed by our healing abilities. It’s made up of your ethereal essence. You can’t leave it like that. I’m sure we’ll be perfectly fine with you and the others to rely on.” Shaking his head, Serius said, “There’s always another way to restore my strength, but unfortunately this injury will take a bit longer. I will have to return to Mautau for a while. If I go there, I can recover much faster.” In a greatly concerned tone, Alexander said, “But Serius…!” Serius cut him off, saying, “We will meet again, I promise you. I have one request before I go however. I did not approve of what you did after Amelia died, and I only looked the other way because I feared losing you. Yet I can think of nothing sadder than for you to go on as you are. It’s not what she would have wanted. I ask you now, Alexander Bastille. Step out of the shadows of the past and live for the future again.” As Serius’ body began evaporating, Alexander muttered, “What right do I have after what I’ve done? It’s my fault that Amelia is gone, my fault that both Alastor and Grey are alone now. If anything, I should be more careful to make sure Grey never learns the truth…” Becoming a mass of ethereal energy, as Serius disappeared, his voice rang out, “We cannot change our past. We can only protect the future and treasure the times we’re together with those we love as we live on in the present…” For a long time Alexander simply sat there alone in the dining hall of the citadel, lost in thought. The walls stopped glowing after a while, and Alexander thought he heard a voice call out, “Thank you…” As the hours passed, he grew tired and soon fell asleep there against the wall.

            “Hey Alex, can you tell me what Mom and Dad were like again?” Alastor said, lying beside his brother upon a grassy hill outside the small town where they lived. It was night, and looking up at the stars, Alexander said, “Well like I always say when you ask that, I was still young too, so I don’t remember much. Mom was always very kind, and she really cared about us a lot. This one time, we weren’t able to afford enough food, so she gave us her own food and said, ‘It’s more important you have enough to eat, you’re growing boys after all.’ She always put on a strong face for us, but thinking back I get the feeling she felt guilty that she couldn’t give us a nicer home and better meals…” His stomach grumbling, Alastor muttered, “Had to mention food again, didn’t you? You always tell that same story. Come on, tell me something about Dad, and don’t make it that story about the talking mushrooms!” Laughing, Alexander looked over at him with a grin and said, “Oh come on Al, you thought that was hilarious the first time.” With a sigh, Alastor replied, “Well it gets old after the fifth time Alex…” Turning back to the stars, Alexander said, “All right, all right, let me think a moment.” There was silence between them for a moment, broken by the howl of a duskwolf somewhere off in the distance. Finally, Alexander said, “Well not a lot really comes to mind. He really wasn’t around a whole lot, always working really hard to try and better provide for us. I think he worked at that mill south of town or something, and he always came back late. Mom made sure we went to bed early like good kids, so it wasn’t often we had a lot of time to spend together. It’s kind of why he’s not here anymore…” With a sad tone, Alexander continued, “He just pushed himself so hard he made himself sick. Then when he passed away, Mom got really depressed and…” Sitting up, Alastor said, “Yeah I know… I don’t really feel like talking about it anymore.” Sitting up as well, Alexander said, “Sorry Al.” Shaking his head, Alastor said, “You don’t have to apologize. More than anything, I’ve always wished I could’ve known my parents, but because of how the normal humans look down on us, Dad worked himself to death and now we live in poverty anyway. Just like you’ve always said, the blame lies with the way this messed up world is, and that’s why we have to change it! So no one has to suffer like this anymore, right?” Alastor raised his hand, and Alexander took the cue and gave him a high five, saying, “Right! It’s a promise!” Then, Alastor said, “Oh one more thing Alex, could you wake up?” Confused, Alexander said, “What?” Alastor kept repeating, “Wake up, wake up, wake up…”

            Ruins of Alcedonia. Sunday June 10, 520NA. “D****t wake up!” shouted Grey, shaking Alexander from his dream. Stirring at last, Alexander took off his shades and rubbed his eyes as he said, “Sorry, I guess the fight really tired me out.” Finished rubbing the sleep from his eyes, as Alexander donned his shades again, he noticed Grey was there alone, and said, “Where are the others? Did something happen?” Nodding, Grey said, “Scott’s strength gave out while we were going through the dungeon. He made us go on without him. I came back for you guys after I destroyed the door of the ruins with EDE Dissipation so Amy and Catherine could escape. I got completely lost and I still haven’t found him. I stumbled onto a dead end passage and sensed you beyond it, so I used EDE Dissipation to get through that wall sealing up the passage. What the hell happened in here, and where’s Serius?” Standing up, Alexander said, “Reaper is dead, for good this time. And Serius is… Well, he’s gone back to Mautau for a while. He said he’ll catch up with us at some point.” Surprised, Grey said, “Ok… Why?” With a quiet laugh, Alexander said, “It’s rather complicated. Anyways, we still need to find Scott don’t we?” Following Alexander as he made his way to the door leading back down into the dungeons, Grey said, “Right.” The two made their way down the stairway, through the broken wall, and into the halls of the dungeons. Walking through the dark halls using a small orb of EDE as a light, Grey said, “I don’t even know where to start looking though. Where would he go?” Somewhat confident he knew just the place, Alexander said, “It’s unlikely we’ll be able to sense him with the EDE reactor, but I’d wager we’ll find him in there with it. He probably went back there to try and rescue us.” Looking over at him in confusion, Grey said, “EDE reactor?” Pausing at an intersection in the hallways, Alexander turned down the left hallway as he replied, “Yes, it’s the device in that room where we found the Cruciamentum. He likely figured out that he could get there by sensing out the large amount of EDE it’s siphoning. If my senses are correct it should be this way.” Moving on, rats scurrying away from the light, Grey followed him saying, “You really think he tried to go back and help you two? He looked like he was really worn out, but I guess it’s worth a look.” Grinning to himself, Alexander said, “You’d be surprised how stubborn he can be sometimes, it’s one of the traits that make you two somewhat similar. I’ll never forget the argument over that incident when you both played soccer with some of the other children in town. Despite how soundly you disproved his opinion that you couldn’t compete against energists, he never stopped pestering you to be careful.”

            Arriving in the reactor room, they quickly spotted Scott asleep against the wall. Shaking him awake, Grey said, “Wake up. How do you people sleep in a place like this?” Opening his eyes, Scott muttered, “Grey? Alexander? Where am…” Trailing off as he started to remember, Scott exclaimed, “Oh right! What happened?! Is that thing dead?!” Motioning for him to calm down, Alexander said, “Relax, it’s over. Are you feeling any better?” Getting to his feet, Scott was unable to look them in the eye as he said, “Yeah, I’m really sorry guys. I messed up. I should have told you from the start, but I just thought if I told you it’d just hold us up for another week or something, and then when Mythra and Jack… No, that’s not it… I just wanted to be like…” Interrupting, Grey said, “Ok, ok! It would have been better if you had told us, but everything worked out so it’s all good.” Standing over by the railing and staring down the chasm in which the reactor was suspended, Alexander said, “Yes. As long as you understand your mistake, it’s fine Scott. Anyways, we’re short on time. Let’s go.” As they all moved to leave, Alexander thought to himself, “With the amount of EDE still coming out of the seal, I can only assume it’s still functional, but I just don’t have time to confirm it. We have to hurry back and take care of Mythra and Richter now.” Walking through the halls of the dungeon, Scott said, “So what happened with Reaper, and where’d Serius go?”

Explaining what happened as they made their way through the dark corridors, as he finished his story, Alexander said, “Anyways, I’m sure he’ll meet up with us after he’s rested up like he said. Despite being the rightful Lord of Mautau, there are unfortunately many there who disagree with the way he works. To be frank, he is loathed by his people.” Raising an eyebrow curiously, Grey asked, “Why?” Heaving a sigh, Alexander said, “You see, the mautauians have always portrayed themselves as gods to the other races. Many of them even believe they are gods, but Serius refuses to follow suit. Also, as gods, the mautauians deem it beneath them to personally get involved with matters that threaten the physical world and its people. They simply order their worshipers to fight for them. It was only after much trouble that Serius convinced them that Altera Veritas posed such a threat that they had to join the fight as well.” Thinking this last bit was a little strange, Scott said, “Wasn’t Amanus a mautauian? Why would they be opposed to taking action against Altera Veritas if one of their own was chosen by Origin to fight them? I got the feeling that Origin was some great entity, unquestioningly revered by the people of Gaia and Mautau.” Stopping for a moment to try and get his bearings in the mazelike hallways, Alexander said, “Well, sometimes politics and religion can clash. Origin is the one being believed to be an actual form of God by all the races, but Origin does not simply speak and tell you what it wants you to do. It was a mautauian soothsayer that revealed Amanus as the herald of its will. Many questioned the validity of such a claim, all the more so with the battle for the throne going on at the time. You see, at the time it was still undecided whether Serius or his brother would take their late father’s place as Lord of Mautau, and Amanus was Serius’ son.”

            With a look of awe, Grey said, “Serius was his father?!” Nodding, Alexander said, “Indeed. They didn’t really act like it though. It took quite a while after I met them to figure it out.” Moving along the passageways once more, Alexander continued, “Don’t get me wrong though, Serius cared for his son greatly, just as Amanus cared for him. However, neither of them seemed very good at expressing it. To those who did not know, they simply seemed like friends.” Noticing Grey staring at the ground as he walked, looking lost in thought, Scott asked him, “Hey, what’s up?” Shaken from his thoughts, Grey looked up and said, “Oh nothing. I just… I wish I’d known my real father like that. It’s not like I have any regret about having been raised by my parents, by my foster parents, but… Well, you should understand right Scott? Tabatha was the one who raised you right?” Listening to their conversation, Alexander turned to look back at Grey and slowly said, “Grey… The contents of an unopened strongbox can be anything, but expect too much and you’ll likely only find disappointment…” Bewildered at what he was getting at, Grey looked at him questioningly and said, “What?” Turning away, Alexander adjusted his shades hesitantly and said, “It’s nothing, forget about it…”

            Wandering through the halls of the dungeon, it was becoming apparent they were lost. Coming upon the broken wall at the staircase leading to the dining hall once more, Grey muttered, “This is a total maze! How in the hell did Catherine remember how to get around down here?!” Alexander simply shrugged, and Scott said, “I heard she has a photographic memory actually…” Crossing his arms in front of him, Grey scoffed, “Yeah? Well my memory is telling me this all looks the same no matter how you look at it.” As they started to turn back, Alexander heard something and said, “Wait. I think I hear voices coming from up the stairs, and I think I sense someone up there as well.” Concentrating on his own senses, Grey said, “Now that you mention it, I sense someone as well. Let’s check it out.” As they were making their way up the stairs, Grey recognized Amy’s voice and exclaimed, “Hey, that’s Amy! They must have come looking for us!” Stepping into the dining hall, Grey saw Amy, Schmitt, and Catherine all seeming to be looking at something on the floor, Amy kneeling beside whatever it was. He called out to them, “Hey, what are you guys all doing over there?” Slightly startled, Amy jumped up and exclaimed, “Oh, Grey! Scott and Alexander too! We’ve been looking all over for you!” Walking over to where they were gathered, Alexander said, “Well, without Catherine here, I’m afraid we’ve been somewhat lost. What are you all looking at?” With a hearty laugh, Schmitt said, “Well, nuthin now. There was some crystal thingy on the ground that Amy here spotted, but it just disappeared!” Furrowing his brow, Alexander thought, “Crystal… Isn’t this where Reaper’s body disintegrated?” Turning to Amy, he asked, “Did you touch it Amy?” Nervously, she replied, “Was that a bad thing to do? I tried to pick it up, and it just disappeared…” Studying the ground, Scott said, “Well there’s no trace of any sort of crystalline material.” Staring at the place where the crystal had supposedly been, Alexander thought to himself, “Interesting… Could that have been a memory shard? If so, Amy…” Seeming to see the wheels turning in his head, Grey said, “What’s up Alexander? You got some idea about what it was?” Turning to go, Alexander said, “Only a guess, but it isn’t important right now. We have to hurry back to Mythra and Richter. I daresay I’ll be quite glad to get out of this place…”

            Stepping into a candle lit room decorated with various pieces of exotic looking golden furniture, Alastor took a seat upon a gold couch in the middle of the room. Sitting in front of him on the floor in a meditative pose was a woman with dark skin and blonde hair that was short with long bangs. Looking to be maybe in her middle twenties, she wore glittering gold pants, a white and gold top that left her stomach exposed, and golden shoulder pads and shoes. She also had a long tan scarf with specks of gold sown into it draped around her body. Addressing her, Alastor said, “You’ve made yourself quite at home Gisette. I daresay this décor suits you.” Gisette opened her eyelids and fixed her golden eyes upon Alastor, and with a smile she replied, “Flattery will get you nowhere with me Alastor. What favor have you come to me for now? Like I’ve said before, I only do something if it interests me.” Crossing his hands in his lap, Alastor said, “Must you be so difficult? We are both assisting each other in our goals after all. It would be much easier for us to achieve those goals if you would be more cooperative…” With a smug look, Gisette said, “Does the great Alastor Bastille truly fear that boy so greatly? Well, I suppose it’s not without good reason. You still have not gathered enough essence to revive Shadow, and with the majority of your powers sealed, things aren’t looking too good for you, are they? How sad…” Seemingly unfazed by her attitude, Alastor replied, “I think you underestimate me, Gisette. I must say though, you seem rather unconcerned considering your investment in this matter.” Gisette simply said, “You’d be a fool to think I don’t have a backup plan…” Staring at her with his empty gaze, Alastor said, “Can I assume by that statement that you feel I am no longer of ‘interest’ to you?” Smirking, Gisette waved a finger in the air and said, “Uh-uh, you can’t get rid of me that easily, dear Alastor. I just want you to remember that while I am working together with you, I am not at your beck and call as your Revenants are. I have already kept my end of the bargain by lending you Giselle’s aid and divining the locations of the Sages of Light as well as their corresponding seals.” Then seeming to think for a moment, Gisette said, “However, things have been rather boring of late, and as interesting as it would be to see how this will all turn out… it might just be more interesting to take part in the fun…”

Reviews

[Ryan Henderson]

I love this chapter! The drama with Alexander is very intriguing. The vocabulary from this chapter was pretty good, too! You are very good at making your dialogue fit your characters as I have said in some of my other reviews. One thing that I noticed throughout the book and in this chapter in particular is that Alexander really, REALLY likes to wear his shades XD great work, this helps define his character and makes him unique.

I also liked how you wrote from Alastor's perspective in the last paragraph, it was a very nice touch! I sometimes write from the villain's perspective in my book, too and it gives the reader great incentive on how the villain is doing.

Some of my favorite parts:

“You’d be a fool to think I don’t have a backup plan…” This gives Gisette the impression of the 'all business and damn good at her job' air.

“Wake up. How do you people sleep in a place like this?” I like how you gave this line to Grey, it adds to his 'tough guy' aura.

As usual, great chapter! I have had lots of homework the past few days and haven't been able to read as much of your book as I would have liked, hopefully the workload will lighten!

~Ryan

[KeithKVH]

Sounds like you've got it rough lately, glad you could still take a look. ^^

As I told you before, this is the chapter I edited. I'm not overly sure you don't have your guesses as you addressed it partly, but considering you don't seem to convey you realize all of it, I'd say I succeeded in fixing my issue. xD

Glad you enjoyed it, and as far as Gisette, look forward to more of her rather soon. She is one of my favorites among my villains.

[Ryan Henderson]

Yeah, Gisette seems pretty interesting so far...