Chapter 11: Tension

Our ragtag trio have stayed in Sanjo for a few days and are now ready to head out again on their mission...but not before some confrontations with some familiar faces.

17 Ecedbrem, Cycle 1973: 25 years before the Taplican Raid

              

As the years passed, the bond between Jayven and Pheo strengthened. After each school day, Jayven would meet his friend in the downtown sector of Taplica. The two of them would share a treat from Jayven’s lunch that day and sit on the sidewalk, watching the flow of people pass them and staring up at the clock tower to monitor the time. The young boy shared what he had learned in class with the homeless man. Pheo always looked forward to hearing how excited Jayven was about his lessons, especially the science classes he started taking at the age of eleven. His young companion eventually met another boy and became friends with him, which Pheo and Jayven celebrated by going to the Dareve Bistro across the street and splitting a large milkshake. It was those moments which made Pheo happy. He was glad to see Jayven grow as a person.

              Pheo was sitting on top of a box in the snow. A blizzard hit the city a few days earlier and the snow remained, chilling the man. He had the blue coat that Jayven lent him the other day over his shoulders in an attempt to keep himself warm. The crunch of ice crystals under the passing pedestrian’s boots overpowered the constant mumbling in the streets, with the occasional strike of a metal coin hitting another if someone put change into the poor man’s hat. As he looked up at the clock tower’s face, he heard footsteps slow down and stop beside him. He looked over and saw Jayven holding a thermos in his hand. A torn-off portion of curtain was wrapped around his neck to act as a scarf. His hair was much longer than when they first met, his bangs constantly having to be brushed to the side. His blue eyes seemed to get more intense in colour as he got older.

“Pretty chilly out, huh?” Jayven opened the thermos and handed it to Pheo. His voice was deeper, but it still had a squeak to it.

“Just a bit,” Pheo chuckled as he took hold of the thermos. The metal container instantly warmed his hand. He took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the tomato soup.

“I haven’t forgotten your favourite soup just yet,” Jayven replied, leaning against the building behind him.

              Pheo began drinking some of the liquid, causing his body to heat up. The snow blanketing the city glistened in the small amount of sunlight peeking through the clouds. Jayven fiddled with his makeshift scarf as he watched people do their routines. He started to memorize what people did if they made the same trek past him a few days in a row. He took note of the man with the briefcase who boarded the 3:45 bus to the suburban sector every Monday, Wednesday, and on that day, Friday. Walking down the street towards Jayven was a woman with darker skin on her phone, gossiping to her friend Wendy about what Joshua did at her work that day. If it wasn’t Joshua, it had something to do with Albert or Gertrude, and how they don’t do their jobs properly. It was a little game he played by himself. Beside him, Jayven heard Pheo sigh.

“So what happened at school today?” Pheo held the thermos towards Jayven so he could hold it while the man rubbed the small of his back.

“Nothing too exciting,” Jayven said as he took a sip of the soup. “Daniel and I hung out during lunch but that’s about the only highlight for today.”

“And how’s he doing, that Daniel boy?”

“He’s good. It’s nice having him around, even if he is a couple years younger. Actually, he asked if he could help with my Science Fair entry today.”

“Will you let him?” Pheo stroked his beard.

“I told him he could, yeah. I don’t know what he could do but I suppose it’d be nice to have someone organizing the equation papers.”

“You still haven’t told me what you’re doing for the Sceince Fair, you know.” Pheo leaned back, looking up at Jayven.

“I’ll show you once I get first prize. I want to keep it a secret until the fair.”

“Ah, I see. You sound pretty confident about it.”

“For good reason. I can change this city with what I’m doing.” Jayven looked to Pheo, staring at the pinned-up sleeve under the man’s jacket. “And with a cash prize at stake, I can’t lose.”

“With Daniel by your side, I’m sure you’ll do great,” Pheo grinned, holding his left hand out for the thermos. “Just make sure not to get too cocky. That’s been the downfall of man for ages.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

              The sun was shining over Sanjo at the 09:00 position as Nova tried to fit the pillow she used during her stay into David’s pack. She attempted to fold it but this only made the object larger, causing her to try and stuff it in with no real strategy. David was sitting on his bed, examining Lobo intensively. Carthy was looking at the drawings that were made the other night before picking up the one the three of them made together and handed it to Nova. The photo of her family was tucked into her back pocket. 

“I think this will fit easier than the pillow,” Carthy said as she exchanged objects with Nova. “You’ll have to leave it behind this time.”

              Nova groaned as she neatly placed the drawing in the pack’s outer pocket. She looked over to David, who sighed as he removed and reloaded an empty magazine from Scout repeatedly.

“Do you have everything, David?” Nova got to her feet, stretching as she did so.

“Yeah,” David replied mindlessly. He was too deep in his thoughts to concentrate on what Nova was telling him.

“You sure? We can’t forget something important here.”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, is everything okay”

“Yeah.”

“If you’re an idiot,” Carthy spoke up. “Say ‘yeah’.”

“Yeah.”

              Carthy stood next to David and hit her blades together next to his ear. He jumped, his hand over his chest as he landed back on the mattress. His eyes were wide and he panted quickly.

“Hey sunshine,” Carthy raised her voice. “Snap out of it!”

“Was that really necessary?”

“Yeah.” Carthy smiled smugly, sheathing her weapons.

“What were you thinking about?” Nova leaned over the foot of the bed towards David.

“Olive,” David said quietly. “I think I’m going to tell her today…”

“Tell her what?” Carthy placed both her hands behind her head.

“That I’m a Mercenary. She deserves to know, but…” David paused. “…I don’t know what she’ll think.”

              Nova sat on the bed next to David, twirling the brown strand of her bangs around her index finger.

“After last night,” Nova said. “I think she’ll be fine with it.”

“What makes you say that?” David let his head fall onto the collection of pillows at the head of the bed.

“Well, she seems to really care for you and I know you care about her too. Maybe she’ll understand.”

“I don’t know…she really doesn’t like Mercenaries, Nova. They killed her dad and I can only imagine what that’d do to someone.”

“We aren’t like those Mercenaries, David. We only hunt Artificial, you know that.”

“What are we doing now, though?” David stood up on the bed, the pillows collapsing into a pile around his feet. The two women looked up at him. “We’re literally on a mission to kill someone. And this isn’t just some stranger, this is the Lord we’re talking about. Do you think she’s really going to support that?”

“Let me put it this way,” Carthy said, her arms crossed as she stared at David. “If she can’t accept who you are, leave her behind and forget about her. You don’t need someone like that around.”

“She’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, though. I can’t just forget about her!”

“What if she tries to get you arrested, or even kill you, because you came clean? Would you still think of her the same?”

              David slowly sat back down on the bed. Carthy put her right hand on his shoulder once he sat down.

“I know you care about her, perhaps you even love her. But here’s the thing: what those Mercenaries did and what you’ve been asked to do are vastly different. If she can’t understand that, you’ll have to let her go. You don’t need 

or deserve to have a toxic person around you.” Carthy’s grip tightened briefly before she pulled away, brushing the hair out of her eye. “I definitely recommend telling her today and no matter what happens, just know that it’s for the better. Nova will " “ She cleared her throat, scratching her head as she looked over to Nova. “Nova and I will be proud of you for telling the truth.”

              David nodded, grinning alongside Nova. The young Mercenary got up and put his weapons in his pack before putting it around his shoulders.

“Thanks, that means a lot. I’ll be right back; I need to talk to Olive.”

“We’ll meet you at the fountain in the square. Take all the time you need.”

              David gave Carthy a thumbs-up as he left the room, walking quickly down the hallway. Carthy paced the room one last time to make sure that nothing was left behind. Nova checked the bathroom and under the beds for her.

“That was really big of you back there,” Nova said as she fixed the pillows on her bed. “I think David needed to hear that.”

“Well, we’re a team,” Carthy replied, wiping the surface of the desk clean. She then placed the rest of the drawings neatly in a circle. “And whether I like it or not, that’s how it’s going to be for a long time. It’s like you said yesterday, we need to try and be kind to each other, right?”

“Right,” Nova smiled as she straightened her cloak. She watched Carthy open the window.

“Do you think the housekeepers are going to need this?” Carthy looked over to Nova as she placed a few Dertics next to the drawings. Nova’s face went red.

The two women then left the room, happy that they didn’t leave anything behind. They went down the stairs and to the lobby, where a slim young female with black hair was standing behind the front desk. Nova ran ahead of Carthy so she could play with the bobble head one last time. Carthy rolled her eye upon seeing this, but the employee laughed, seemingly enjoying Nova’s antics. Nova stared intensively at the nick-knack as Carthy placed the room key onto the desk.

“Room 323 checking out,” she said. The employee smiled and nodded as she went to the opposite side of the desk to look through a portfolio.

“Did you enjoy your stay?” The worker laughed a bit more as Nova continued to fiddle with the bobble head.

“I guess you could say that, yeah,” Carthy replied.

“The beds were so comfy,” Nova stated. “I just wanted to lay in them all day!”

“I’m very glad to hear that,” the employee chimed in, pulling out a sheet of paper with a receipt stapled to it. “Alright, so I got your registration card right here and…wait, Von Ethoros? It says ‘Carthy Von Ethoros’ here. You must be related to Professor Jayven Von Ethoros then, right?”

              Carthy blushed, tapping her fingers on the desk as she stared at its surface.

“Yeah,” she said quietly.

“My aunt can walk on her own because of him, you know. She was bound to a wheelchair after a horrible accident in the capital. Had it not been for him and the PHEO Program, she would still have to use one. I can’t thank you and your family enough for helping her!”

“It’s no trouble,” Carthy told her, smiling briefly. “It’s just good to hear that your aunt is doing better now.”

“Yeah! So your total for your stay will be one hundred and sixty-eight Dertics and fifty Ormins.”

              Carthy reached into her pocket and took out two hundred Dertics and placed them onto the counter. Nova watched for a few moments then flicked the bobble head again, following each movement with her eyes.

“Alright, two hundred Dertics? Let me just get you some change.”

“It’s fine,” Carthy said as she looked over to Nova, with whom she locked eyes with. “Something tells me you’ll need all of that.”

“Oh,” the employee was shocked. “Well, we at the Ganleo Inn thank you for your generosity!”

“It’s our pleasure,” Carthy assured the worker as she crossed her arms. “Isn’t that right, Nova?”

“Right,” Nova laughed a little and the worker joined in.

“If you’d like,” the employee told Nova. “You can keep that bobble head. They’re pretty easy to find around here.”

              Nova lit up as a wide smile stretched across her face. Carthy sighed and knocked her right thumb against her forehead.

“Really? No way, that’s so awesome! Thank you!” Nova picked up the bobble head and held it in her hand, hopping in place. She giggled as she started to spin around.

“Yeah, thanks a bunch,” Carthy told the employee, raising an eyebrow as she focused on the nametag the worker was wearing. “In any case, have a good rest of your day…Natalia.”

“Thank you,” Natalia smiled and waved to the two women leaving the lobby. “Have a great day, Carthy! You too, Nova!”

              As Nova walked towards the square of the town, she held the seagull bobble head delicately in her hands, smiling wide. Carthy smirked, sighing. She looked towards the bakery as they past it from the opposite side of the sidewalk, seeing David open the front door and walk in. A bell rung as it opened.

“Be right there!” Olive called out from the back. David breathed in and out slowly as he waited anxiously. Olive came out from the back, wiping flour onto her apron. She was thrilled to see it was David, walking around the counter to embrace him. She kissed him gently.

“Hey you,” she said. “What are you up to today?”

“Hey,” David replied softly. “I’m actually heading out of town…we need to keep travelling.”

“Oh, I see…that’s right, I remember you saying something about that.”

“Yeah. I wish I could stay longer but…”

“No, it’s fine, I understand. When do you have to leave?”

“Whenever I’m done here. I’m not in a rush.”

              David pulled Olive in for another hug, sighing. His heart pounded as he tried to think of the proper way to bring up the subject of Mercenaries. As his mind raced, Nova and Carthy sat on the edge of the large fountain in the center of the square. People walked past them from all directions. Nova and her bobble head stared into the water, intrigued by the Ormins at the bottom of the fountain. She had been scolded by Carthy already for trying to take some out and was instead told to try making shapes out of the coins, much like clouds. Carthy traced lines connecting one coin to the other with her right hand, being careful not to submerge her hand by accident.

“So if you look at those Ormins like that,” Carthy said to Nova. “They kind of look like a face. Do you see it?”

“I do,” Nova replied. She then traced her own shape, skidding her finger across the chilly water. “And this…looks like the front desk at the inn.”

“That’s just a rectangle.”

“But if you think about it, it’s actually the front desk. See?”

              Nova began tracing the lines again to demonstrate her point. As she did so, a shadow loomed over the pair. Carthy and Nova turned around to see the man in the trench coat behind them, watching what they were doing. Carthy’s face twisted as she put a hand on her weapons, ready to draw them. The man pulled out a Dertic and flipped it, catching it in the air.

“Excuse me, ladies,” the man said. Carthy and Nova got off the fountain’s edge so the man could toss his coin into the water. He watched as it sunk to the bottom. “Did you know that there is a superstition where if you wish for something as you toss a coin into a fountain, it will come true?”

“I didn’t,” Nova replied. She was interested by this idea. “What did you wish for?”

“At the risk of it not coming true, I suppose I can tell you.” He looked over to Carthy. “I wished for some forgiveness for yesterday. We seemed to have gotten on the wrong foot.”

“I agree,” Carthy said bitterly. “As for the forgiveness, you said it yourself. That wish isn’t going to come true. Now turn around, walk away, and don’t talk to us again. I won’t waste my time talking to people like you.”

“Come now,” the man said as he took off his hat. Blue hair fell just above his shoulders and his red eyes stared at Carthy. “Is that a proper way to speak to your uncle?”

              Carthy drew her weapons and pointed the tip of her right blade towards the man’s chest. He smirked as the pedestrians looked on in fear.

“I should’ve recognized you from the stupid way you talk,” Carthy whispered harshly. “What do you want from me, Keith?”

“It is quite simple,” Keith raised a hand to brush his hair. Carthy leaned in closer, her blade inching towards his chest. “I am asking you to return to the Lord. He does not stop talking about you. He misses you dearly.”

“What do I have to do for the message to break through your damn skulls? I’m not going to see that psychopath again, got it? And if you don’t leave in five seconds, neither will you.”

              Nova looked on in concern, holding her bobble head tighter. Keith began to laugh, stepping back as Carthy 

followed his movements with her weapons.

“What’s so funny?” Carthy was becoming impatient.

“It is the fact you believe that you have a choice to come back,” Keith cackled as the faint sound of heli-carrier propellers spinning filled the air. “That is what I find amusing.”

              Olive looked out the front window from the counter as the sound of propellers grew louder. David walked towards it and looked up into the sky, seeing a few small objects approaching the town.

“What’s that sound?” David tried to sound calm.

“Those are heli-carriers,” Olive said with a sense of dread in her voice. “They haven’t made any rounds around here 

for a few years now. I wonder what brings them back.”

“Them?”

“The Taplicans.”

              David’s heart skipped a beat. His body started to shake slightly as he took a deep breath.

“Who sends the heli-carriers…?”

“The Lord, they’re part of his fleet.”

“The Lord?” David swallowed hard. “Olive, I need to tell you something really important and if I don’t tell you now, I’m never going to tell you.”

              Olive’s eyes widened. She walked towards David and grabbed his hands, looking up into his eyes.

“You can tell me anything, David. What is it?”

              David smiled weakly as he tried to gather his thoughts. He remained silent for a few moments until he had enough courage.

“I never told you this, Olive…but...I’m a M" “

              A loud, high pitched noise pierced the tranquility of the quiet street outside as the pair flinched where they stood. Olive stared out the window and David turned around in time to watch Carthy’s body tumble down the middle of the road, her screams of agony and dry gasping audible from inside the bakery. Nova ran towards Carthy’s fidgeting body and she knelt down to check on her. She quickly turned around to block a beam of blue energy with her sickle but the force of it sent her backwards, tripping over Carthy and falling onto the ground. David froze as he saw Strathonox approach his friends until he stopped to look over his targets from a short distance. David quickly brought Olive towards the counter and hid behind it, making her do the same.

“What’s going on?!” Olive was frantic. “Who is that? David, what’s happening?!”

“I know that guy…” David couldn’t hide the panic in his voice. “…he’s not normal. He’s part robot, you need to hide and stay out of sight.”

“You know him? David, what are you talking about?”

“I need to help Carthy and Nova. They need me.”

“What? You can’t go out there, you’ll get killed.”

              Another high pitched noise rose over Carthy’s various noises. David peeked out from behind the counter to see Strathonox charging blue energy in his left hand. Nova attempted to attack him but she was quickly knocked down. She landed face first onto the pavement next to Carthy.

“I have to go out there…I don’t have any other options, Olive.”

“But David…” Tears formed from Olive’e eyes, her grip on David’s left hand tightened. “You don’t stand a chance…please don’t go out there. You don’t have any way of hurting that guy…so just stay here…please.”

              David took his pack off and reached into it. He let go of Olive’s hands and frowned as he pulled out his dagger and pistol and showed them to Olive. Her mouth fell open, her hands dropping onto her lap.

“I’m sorry…” David whispered as he got up and ran out the front door. He raised Scout and shot several bullets at Strathonox, breaking the cyborg’s focus on the two fallen women. Carthy’s yelling quieted to loud grunts, her body continuing to squirm unnaturally. Her breathing was erratic and Nova started to get up slowly. David gripped Lobo tight and ran at his enemy, ready to swing from the right side. Strathonox met the strike with his left hand, raising his knee into David’s gut, winding the boy. As David gasped for air, the cyborg kicked him across the face. David groaned as he hit the ground.

“Good, good,” Keith laughed as he walked towards Strathonox. General Ebecade was next to the professor as a squadron of officers stood at attention behind them. “Hold your assault. Allow them to get up.”

              Strathonox stepped backwards until he was beside Keith.

“We can kill them now,” Ebecade’s voice crackled through his helmet. “Why can’t we take care of business immediately?”

“You do not understand the psychology of warfare, general, so allow me to explain. If we allow them to build their vigor once again, they will be much easier to play with. Ms. Ethoros is to remain alive, do not forget our mission. I would hate to see you be punished for your disobedience.”

              Ebecade grunted and followed Keith’s directions. He watched  as Nova groggily got to her knees. She looked over to see David and Carthy on the ground as well. Panic flowed through her as she went to David. She wiped the blood from his nose and got him to sit up. He rubbed his face as he looked over at Carthy, whose spastic movements had started to gradually stop. The two Mercenaries huddled over their partner.

“Carthy,” Nova called out. “Carthy! Are you okay?”

“A sh-shock pulse,” Carthy’s voice was raspy, her breathing irregular. “I-it stuns human targ-g-gets and messes wi-with electric cur-currents.” She looked at her right hand, its digits shaking. She tensed her arm and was able to slowly stop its movements, gaining control of her hand. She then started taking deep breaths as her friends helped her sit up. When she had control of her breathing, she glared up at her opponents. She stood up, wobbling slightly, and readied her blades. David and Nova did the same as Keith laughed and raised his left hand.

“You always had such determination in battle,” Keith shouted. “You never did understand the concept of choosing your battles, did you?”

“I just don’t understand the idea of quitting,” Carthy lashed out. “Especially a-against weasels who use dirty strategies like you.”

“It is merely clever warfare. Knowing your opponent’s weaknesses will always give you an advantage. Isn’t that right…Strathonox?”

              Carthy gasped as she looked at the cyborg. Her teeth grinded together.

“Yes, professor,” Strathonox replied in a deep, distorted voice. “Weakness has no place on the battlefield. Combat protocols are online, ready to engage on your command.”

              Carthy’s grip on her weapons tightened as Nova and David watched her with concern.

“Step back…” Carthy muttered. Nova and David backed away as Carthy fired a fireball from each bell towards the ground, launching herself towards the cyborg. While airborne, she ignited the bells and the flames hardened to create stone blades. Keith smiled devilishly as he watched the brash girl descend.

“Now,” Keith commanded.

              Strathonox raised his arms to block Carthy’s opening assault, He pushed her back to take a few swipes at her with his claws, which were stopped by Carthy’s own barrage of strikes.

“Your turn, General,” Keith said.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Ebecade told the professor. “Forward march, men! Attack!”

              The large squad of Taplican officers began charging towards Nova and David as they activated their holo-blades. Nova got into her battle stance and David followed suit, looking into the bakery to see if Olive was still hiding. He couldn’t see her and he hoped she was alright.

“These officers are just like Artificial, David,” Nova called out. “Don’t think of them as anything else. We have to protect the city.”

“Right,” David replied, tensing his body in preparation for the oncoming battle. As the Taplican officers approached, Nova began running towards them once they were ten metres away. David followed her, reloading his pistol and aiming at his targets.

“You take the stragglers,” Nova said as she ran. “I can handle the crowd. Make sure the civilians are okay.”

“Okay,” David replied as he slowed down, pointing his pistol towards the crowd to pick off unsuspecting officers. As he watched Nova confront the pack of enemies, Carthy was locked in a stalemate with Strathonox to David’s right. She swung with all her might against the cyborg’s arms but she was unable to get a clean strike on anything vulnerable. Strathonox grabbed the two blades before they came down at his head. He glared at Carthy who pushed all her weight into her attack.

“The professor has told me much about your abilities,” Strathonox taunted. His eye dilated as he noticed Carthy struggle to lower her blades any further. “Your augmentations were never completed, were they? Breaking you will be easy.”

“I didn’t need them,” Carthy replied as she kicked her aggressor back. “What I do need is to know why you have his name!”

“His Greatness gave it to me upon my initial boot-up. It is the name of deceased Taplican nobility.”

“So that’s what they’re going with? You’re just a shadow of what he was, you have no right to use his name.”

“We shall see.”

              Strathonox wound up a punch for her chest. Reacting quickly, Carthy used her right blade to block the incoming attack and launched the stone blade from her left to piece her enemy through his abdomen. The cyborg moved her arm away from his body, reflecting her stone pillar towards the crowd of officers. Nova saw this from the corner of her eye and ducked, dodging the incoming object and watching it collide with a few of her opponents. She turned around with her right leg out, tripping an officer from behind her. As she rose from her crouched position, she slashed the officer up his head, creating a long, deep cut under his helmet. In a fluid motion, she continued her attack to the officer to her right, swiping him across the chest and down to his side.

Nova then blocked the strike from the officer to her left, pushing against it as the blade came closer to her face. An image of a Luuxion flashed in her mind. She tried to shake it out of her head as she started to slide backwards. She kicked the officer’s shin with her left boot, bringing him to the ground. She landed another kick on the front of his helmet, sending him onto his back. Suddenly, Nova was grabbed from behind and lifted into the air. Her arms were restrained by the bear hug one of the Taplican officers had her in. She thrashed around to free herself but it wasn’t doing much. The officer moved with her, matching her jerky movements to keep her in place easier.

“Someone kill her!” The officer holding Nova shouted to the others.

Another image went through Nova’s thoughts as she saw the incoming officer and the streets around them as the Artificial and city in her dreams. She cried out, closing her eyes as she slammed the back of her head against the helmet of the officer holding her. He flinched and loosened his grip on her slightly. As the holo-blade of the other officer came towards her stomach, Nova used the instep of her boots to take hold of his wrist, stopping his attack. She then violently turned her feet to the left, twisting the man’s wrist and causing him to drop his weapon. Using the extra weight from her steel-toed boots, Nova kicked both her legs to the left, causing her and the officer restraining her to start spinning. She continued to do this until the officer fell to the ground a few moments later. His grip on Nova released, allowing her to slide the teeth of her sickle across his throat as he lay on the ground.     

Nova then heard a holo-blade behind her start to descend. Without turning around, she rolled to the right and narrowly missed the attack. She slashed the officer across stomach and he fell to his knees, holding his midsection. Two gunshots rang out and the officer dropped, along with the officer who had the hilt of his inactive holo-blade pressed against Nova’s back. She turned to the source and saw David reload his pistol, nodding at Nova as he began fighting two officers. Nova continued her assault in the crowd as David shot one of his enemies. The second officer slashed at David’s left hand but the boy pulled away in time, dropping the gun to react fast enough. The officer then kicked the weapon across the street, far out of David’s reach.

“Not so tough without your stolen artillery, huh?” The officer taunted David as he pointed the tip of his holo-blade at the Mercenary’s forehead. David stepped back and readied his dagger for battle. “I’ll bet…fifteen seconds. That’s how long you’ll last, boy.”

“That’s encouraging,” David said. “Could we possibly make it twenty?”

              The officer swung his blade down towards David’s shoulder. He quickly moved to the right and went for a thrust into the officer’s side, which was dodged. The holo-blade was then swung horizontally towards David’s midsection. He raised Lobo instinctively to block the attack. His metal collided with the officer’s weapon, sparks flying as David’s blade heated up.

“Just as I thought,” the officer stated as he grinded his blade against Lobo. “Your pathetic blade is made of regular iron. There’s no way it can withstand the temperature of Taplican holo-blades.”

              David hopped back, checking the side of his dagger that blocked the officer’s attack. It had become bright red and he could feel the heat coming up from it on his face. He looked at the officer who approached him, laughing as he raised his holo-blade to the left. Thinking quickly, David met the officer halfway and locked blades with him. He watched the sparks begin flying as he counted down from five in his head.

“You fool,” the officer cackled. “Trying the same thing twice…you’re finished!”

              David remained calm as he continued to count down until he reached zero. The moment he did, he tilted his blade down and stepped to the side. Before the officer had time to counterattack, David thrusted his dagger into his opponent’s back, the searing hot metal burning through the flesh. The officer wailed in pain and dropped to his hands and knees. David removed his blade from his enemy, walking towards his gun to pick it up before returning to the officer.

“For the record,” David said, shrugging his shoulders. “That was eighteen seconds.”

              David turned his attention to the sound of metal clashing to the right of him. He watched Carthy unleash a flurry of strikes upon Strathonox before preparing to take on the other officers around Nova. Strathonox blocked each of Carthy’s attacks but the force of the hits knocked him back slightly. He quickly grabbed her right wrist as she swung down, stopping her from striking his helmet. His blue eye narrowed from under his red mask, squeezing her wrist tighter. Carthy grunted as the pressure grew, swinging her left blade in retaliation. She was swiftly disarmed by the cyborg, flinging her weapon away.

“You fight well for an obsolete and treasonous model,” Strathonox hissed. “But your resistance will only get you so far, Ms. Ethoros.”

“I’m just full of surprises,” Carthy said, grinding her teeth as her wrist was being held tighter with each passing second. “You’re not that bad either, for a walking pile of scrap and lies.”

              Strathonox’s hand gleamed blue, discharging a strong electric current. Carthy began screaming as the electricity coursed through her body, trying her best to stay on her feet. She could feel her breathing becoming erratic once again, fluctuating between shallow and deep breaths. A red light pulsed from under her bandages. She focused her attention on not letting go of her weapon and attempted to eject her stone blade with her free, shaky hand.

“Your tenacity is almost admirable,” Strathonox told his enemy. “I now see why His Greatness holds you in such high regard.”

              The pulsations of the red light grew as Carthy’s entire body began shaking from the electricity. As she let out another cry, she ejected the stone blade from her weapon, launching it into the air. She then put the rest of her strength into turning the bell of Equidistant towards Strathonox, charging a fireball. She grabbed his shoulder with her left hand, using it to help her aim.

“T-th-this…e-e-ends here…” Carthy stuttered as she lowered the bell to be inches away from Strathonox’s face. 

Moments before launching the fireball, the cyborg released his opponent, moving her shot to aim over his shoulder. The fireball was then released towards the fountain in the square. Carthy dropped to her knees, shaking and holding her right wrist, watching her projectile hurl towards its target. The instant it collided, the stones used to make the fountain were sent in multiple directions, a large explosion sending those close to it to the ground. The crowd of officers ducked and Nova covered her eyes as the dust approached her. David fell to the ground as the glass from the windows around him shattered, spewing shards all over the street. Keith and Ebecade watched as the fountain disappeared in the spectacle. Ebecade reached for his blaster but the professor placed his hand in front of the general.

“No,” Keith said calmly. “If we continue to fight, we will only lose more soldiers. I miscalculated their strength, we must fall back.”

“Are you insane?” Ebecade removed the blaster strapped to his back and primed it. “I won’t fail this mission. The Lord requested for Ms. Ethoros and I will bring her to him!”

              The professor thought silently as the remainder of airborne rubble fell onto the pavement in front of him. A stone pillar dropped from the air shortly after into a small collection of officers.

“What is more important, general? Your selfish pride or the security of your men?”

              Ebecade clenched his fists, reaching to the communication piece on his helmet.

“The enemy is too strong, we must retreat. Fall back, men.”

              The conscious soldiers began moving back to where they came from, helping each other to their feet. They moved quickly as the heli-carriers hovered overhead, lowering a large platform from their underbellies. Ebecade started to march towards one of the platforms before noticing that Strathonox was slowly moving towards Carthy, who was still weak from the electric currents.

“Unit XVI,” Ebecade spoke directly to him through his communication piece. “You’ve been ordered to move out. We’re returning back to base.”

“Not until I finish my mission,” Strathonox told his higher-up, cutting off the call. “I must retrieve Ms. Ethoros…”

              As Strathonox reached towards Carthy’s throat, he was struck from behind by a sickle. He turned around and was tackled abruptly by David, who ran at him from the other side of the street. Nova watched as her partner attempted to remove his enemy’s helmet only to be violently flung away by the cyborg. Nova jumped onto her aggressor’s chest, pinning him down by his neck with the teeth of her sickle. Carthy rose to her feet slowly, rubbing her eye. With her blurry vision, she saw Ebecade aim his blaster towards Nova. Without hesitation, she pushed Nova off of Strathonox and held her weapon in the gauntlet position. The gunshot rang out, followed by another from behind the two women. Carthy had just blocked the incoming shot in time and David had fired his own round at Ebecade moments after. He frowned when he saw that Keith had stepped in front of the general and used a large silver scythe to deflect the bullet. The professor sneered as he snapped his fingers together, causing the scythe to fold into a canister one foot in length, which he placed in his coat’s inner pocket. He, Ebecade, and Strathonox then started to glow blue and vanished shortly after.

“I am afraid that we will have to cut this reunion short,” Keith’s voice echoed throughout the town from a heli-carrier. “But I can assure you that we will see much more of each other.”

              The large aircrafts turned and began flying away from Sanjo. Carthy exhaled heavily, dropping to one knee. Nova sheathed her weapon and examined the town. The explosion from the fountain caused water to flow into the square and some of the debris caused minor damage the surrounding buildings. Bodies of Taplican officers were scattered around the street. The civilians stared at the trio, confused and afraid from the confrontation that happened in their quiet town. David helped Carthy to her feet, grunting from the pain in his chest. Nova got under Carthy’s other arm, keeping the injured woman balanced.

“I guess that was our cue to leave,” Carthy snickered, breathing heavily.

“Are you going to be okay to start hiking?” Nova turned her head to look at her friend.

“Yeah…I’ll be fine. Just a bit banged up. It’s not every day that I get electrocuted.”

              David looked around the town and was relieved that everyone was safe. His eyes scanned the streets and glanced into the bakery. He saw Olive staring at him, her arms crossed. She then wiped her eyes and walked away from the front window. David removed Carthy’s arm from around his shoulder and jogged into the bakery. He entered and went into the back where Olive was sitting on one of the beds. She held a magazine of bullets in her hand. David’s pack lay open on the floor next to her feet.

“Olive,” David said. “I can explain…”

“Explain what?” Olive stood up, her eyes welling up as she gripped the magazine tighter. “That you were a Mercenary the whole time? That you lied straight to my face, knowing full well how I felt?”

              David fell silent, his heart sinking. He looked down at the floor.

“I can’t believe you would do something like that, David.”

“I know…” David’s voice was quiet. “I-I was going to tell you today but then " “

“But then your job caught up to you. Didn’t it?”

“Look, I’m sorry. I know I should’ve told you sooner.”

“If you knew that you should have, why didn’t you?”

              David didn’t know how to respond.

“I told you exactly how I felt,” Olive continued, walking closer to David. “I poured my heart out into your hands last night and this is what I get for it. I really thought you were different, David.” She stopped a few inches from David, shoving the clip of ammunition into his chest. “If you were honest with me last night, maybe things would be different now.”

“What do you mean?” David took hold of the magazine, resting his hands at his side.

“It doesn’t matter to me whether you’re a Mercenary or not. Love is all about accepting one another’s flaws and I was willing to do that for you. But I can’t…I can’t do that for a liar. Especially for something this significant.”

“Olive,” David put his hands on the girl’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, I really am. Can we please just talk this out?”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Olive brushed David’s hands off of her and walked towards the pack on the ground. 

“I went through the rest of your pack while you were out there, you know. I know all about the mission you’re on. Maybe…maybe I’ll visit your grave next time I go to Taplica.” She turned to David, lifting his pack from the floor. 

“You’re going to get killed, David. Is this what you really want? Is it? Tell me!”

              David stood in place, trying to think of what to say. He saw a tear roll down Olive’s face as she tried to hold back her tears. His vision began to get blurry, his eyes beginning to water as well.

“I don’t,” he said, clenching his fists.

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“I am telling you the truth! Why can’t you just listen so I can explain my side of the story?”

“I’ve seen more than enough to know your side of the story.” Olive’s voice was weak. She closed David’s pack. “Before you came in…I was planning on asking you to choose between me or being a Mercenary. But I think I’ve made a decision…for both of us.” She walked to David again and dropped his pack at his feet. “Get out…and don’t come back. I-I just can’t…” She reached for David’s face but pulled back, bursting into tears as she went back to her bed, crying into her hands. David swallowed as he tried not to do the same.

“Olive…” David took a step towards her. She looked up at him, her face red and glistening from her tears.

“No, David,” Olive put a hand out towards David. “I don’t want to hear it...just leave.”

              David stared at Olive for a few moments before sighing and putting his pack around his shoulders. He turned around to leave, his gut wrenching as he heard Olive continue to cry. He closed his eyes as he leaned against the doorframe. Slowly, he opened the front door and left the bakery, wiping his eyes as he approached his partners. Nova was taking the bobble head out of her shorts’ pocket to show Carthy, who was sheathing her blades and putting them on her shoulder.

“Are you ready to go?” Nova said, turning to face David as she stroked the back of her plaything.

“Yeah,” David replied quietly, tapping the straps of his pack.

“How’d it go with Olive?” Carthy was rubbing her right wrist as she asked.

Without saying a word, David turned to the forest and began walking towards it. Carthy and Nova looked at each other as the boy continued to go on his own. They caught up and walked next to him as they left the town. As they marched into the forest, Carthy looked over at David frequently, noticing the tears forming around his eyes. She slowly made her way beside him and put her arm around the boy, patting his shoulder. In silence, the team of misfits hiked for the rest of the day towards the next town, the cloudless sky leading the way.

Author's Note

More fight scenes, as long last! Sorry if this one seems a bit short, Other ones will be longer ^^' As always, let me know what you think of dialogue and fight scene imagery, as these are main components of this story.

Reviews

[Autonomous]

Sorry, it took so long for me to review your story but there was a lot I had to do in between school and writing. I looked through most of your work and it seems good so far. I've seen some improvements in fight scenes as well. I'll be the first to admit that books bound on quest aren't exactly my forte but you did a good job of keeping me interested in the story.