FF Chapter 24

Future arrives on the scene, but the fighting isn't over yet.

Chapter 24

      “Well that was fun while it lasted. “ Evil smiled, sensing his favourite brother rapidly approaching. He turned to his sister “You should probably go.”

      “What makes you say that?” she smiled

      “Well, Sanel is trashed, Future will be mad, he’ll go for you first, and you can’t take both of us?”

      “But,” She smiled, “If we joined forces an angry Future would be a reckless one; we could even depose that worthless ‘King’ Gaius.”

      Evil mused over the idea for a tense moment, before shaking his head disappointedly. “As fun as that would be, it wouldn’t benefit me enough to risk it.” Evil turned around, and noticed that both their forces had moved to investigate the loud explosion, and were now between the ruined outskirts of Sanel and Yanus Academy. Evil smiled at his forces before turning back to his sister.  “So…your move.”

      Luck glanced towards where Alex and his friends were huddled, safe behind the barrier, and smirked at Evil. “I’ll be in touch.” With that she rounded up her forces and fled east, taking a long and secretive way back to The Capital.

 

      With one problem gone, Evil surveyed the situation. A few homes in Sanel were completely wrecked, and an angry Future was on his way with Gaius and a small army. He shrugged. Despite the small force in Sanel being winded from the fight with Luck’s rebels and their beast marked fighters, he was confident he was in no danger. Future wouldn’t do anything to him, and Whar alone could wipe out any of the weaklings Gaius had managed to round up.

      As the dust cloud that heralded the impending riders approached, Evil sat down and leaned against the invisible barrier that separated him from Alex. The boy was being tended to, and bandages were wrapped around his back.

      His forces kept at a distance as Gaius rode up with Captain Johnathan and a few hundred men to investigate what happened to the city; the Captain gave Whar a spiteful glare on the ride by. Meanwhile, Future led Erald and Lo towards Yanus Academy.

      Evil clutched his side dramatically, feigning injury, before whispering to Alex. “How did you make that explosion?”

     “I didn’t, Indol did.” He panted.

     He looked at the Octasect, but the instant their eyes met she turned away; not an unusual reaction to meeting one of the most powerful men in the world. Regardless, he asked her “ever thought of joining the army? We have great benefits; lots of parties, lots of beast marks to go around.” Indol shook her head, too scared to speak. “Too bad, that explosion was amazing…can I at least get the blueprints off you?”

      Indol looked him in the eye. It was then he realized she wasn’t scared of him; she was scared of herself, and what she’d just done. “Your name is ‘EVIL’.” She seethed.

      The Hand shrugged. “So? Did you get to pick your name? What we do defines us, not our name.”

      Before the conversation could continue, Future approached the group and angrily remarked “But your actions defined your name. Now stop playing dead. Get up!” He kicked Evil’s leg, and the man rose up, all trace of injury gone. Whar, Erald, and Lo approached the two hands, but they were unable to enter the barrier around Yanus Academy either.

      Future turned to Evil’s general. “Whar.” He greeted the old soldier.

      He bowed. “Lord Future, how is Winchester?”

      “He’s doing well. The solitude of the library suits him, but he gets out every now and then.”

      “Good to hear.” Whar muttered, already bored of the small talk. He turned to Evil “Commander, what now?” He eyed Gaius and his royal army suspiciously.

      While his general saw a possible threat, Evil saw an opportunity to ingratiate himself with Gaius, and humiliate Future. He stood proudly and announced “Now we repair the town!”

      Gaius and his knights approached while Future scoffed, “Really? Right after you destroyed it?”
      Evil feigned insult. “I did no such thing! My men and I were just defending an important rest stop on our way to the western wastelands, where we routinely slaughter hordes of Dan’darun that would otherwise threaten the city. It was our sister who disturbed the peace, and your son and his friend that caused the explosion.”

      Future turned to Alex. “Is this true?” Alex couldn’t look him in the eye, and just silently nodded. He sighed. “Very well then, how exactly do you plan to rebuild it?”

      Evil smiled “Well if someone would be so kind as to supply wood…” He smiled at Future and extended a hand, but Future swatted it away. The action confused many. It wasn’t like Future to be so rude.

      Evil didn’t miss a beat, and shrugged. “Whether you like it or not, I can help repair Sanel faster than anyone else. My men have more than enough tools, skill, and hands to get the job done; I even have a talented mason. Malent, come here!” He called toward his crowd of men.

      “Malent?” Alex whispered. Many students called her evil, sure, but she was actually working for the man?

      The girl cautiously stepped towards him. He placed his hands on her shoulders, ignoring that she flinched at his touch, and continued. “See brother, you’re not the only one with a child; although, while yours destroys, mine can build. Go on; show him what you can do.” He ordered.

      Malent walked towards one of the houses and activated her beast gift. Summoning a column of stone, she reinforced one that looked seconds away from crumbling, and gave rescuers safe passage to evacuate the building.

      Seeing that his brother was serious, Future relented. He summoned a forest of tall, strong trees, before commanding the roots to rot away. They fell, and were set upon by soldiers and farmers with swords and axes.

 

      As both armies worked to repair the damage done to Sanel, Future turned to where Alex was being tended to. Through the barrier, he looked straight at Alex. From his eyes Alex could tell his Uncle wasn’t angry, just disappointed. “Alexander…Why did you go to Sanel? I specifically told you not to!”

      “Everyone kept talking about my destiny, and talking about things I haven’t done yet…I-I wanted to see if I could choose for myself.”

      Future was exasperated. “Yes you can choose, you could always choose, but you were supposed to make the RIGHT choices!”

      Gaius, having finished his inspection of the town, butted in “And now, because of your choices, the northern part of Sanel is in ruins, and much of the city is a mess. Be thankful no fatalities have been reported, or else you would be in even more trouble!”

      Future turned to him “Is it really that bad?” He asked cautiously.

      “Yes, it is.”

      Ms. Jensing made her way through the crowd to investigate. She stood on the bridge to Yanus Academy and spoke to the two men. “What is going on here?”

      “Your students just destroyed a town!” Gaius cried. “If that’s the kind of things you’re teaching at this school, Emilia, then I want no part of it. Consider Eira and Frey officially withdrawn!”

      “Father!” Eira cried.

      “No argument young lady! I will not have you turned into some monster like- like that!” He pointed to Alex accusingly.

      This irked Future. “Be careful Gaius; ‘that’ happens to be very dear to me.”

      “Well he just destroyed most of a town, and I will not have him destroying mine! Take your ‘prince’ and keep him out of my city!”

      “YOUR city?” His rage had completely switched targets now, and no one dared interrupt. “This is Fate’s city; he’s just graciously allowed you to look after it for as long as it suited his purpose. Said purpose also includes Alex living in The Capital!”

      “I can’t have people just go around blowing up cities without punishment. Have him stay at the academy, just keep him away from me.” Gaius justified himself.

     Futures got close and whispered threateningly. “Do not overstep your place Gaius. I may have promised that Alex would only become king after you died, but I can easily speed that up!”

      Gaius refused to be so publicly intimidated, especially in front of his army, his daughter, and his wife. “Was that your plan? Let this child kill me by accident and assume my throne? Forget it! Alexander Abaven is banished!”

      Future got quiet, horrifying quiet. He wasn’t angry, no. A child who’d had their favourite toy taken away might be ‘angry’. He was somewhere at the intersection of ‘seething’ and ‘wrathful’, just down the road from ‘ready to kill’. “You conceited usurper.” He whispered. “I think men like you are in need of perspective.” Without a word a massive beanstalk burst out of the ground underneath the pair, carrying them skyward. It grew so quickly that by the time anyone reacted the two were already out of sight.

 

      Evil watched with glee, absolutely ecstatic “This! This is what I was waiting for. I love this side of him.” He looked at Alex “You’ve never seen it before, have you boy; Future’s anger, his fear.”

      “What does he have to be scared of?” Alex asked, rising to his feet and staring up the beanstalk.

      The Hand looked him in the eye knowingly “Those with anything have two things in common; they’re scared of losing it, and they want more. Life, money, power, friends; doesn’t matter, they’re all the same. Gaius is scared that someone is going to take his kingdom away, while Future’s scared of someone taking his family away. I’m sure you’ve heard that Fate can be crueler than Death; you think his Hand would be any different? Not everyone has as bright a ‘future’ as you kid.” He smiled mockingly.

      Alex looked around at the panicked expressions surrounding him. Eira was yelling up the plant, fearing for her father’s life. He wasn’t perfect, but he was still family. Frey was beside her, trying to console her, while cursing herself for being useless to help her king and her friend’s father. Even Uncle Erald and Aunt Lo had concerned faces. They knew what Future was capable of if pushed too far, and all the solders in the city were ready for a fight.

      Stretching against his new bandages, Alex smiled at his friends, grabbed the side of the beanstalk, and climbed.

 

      At the top of the beanstalk, as Gaius nervously peered over the edge, Future asked him “Tell me, how does your army look from up here? Small? Insignificant? It is! You’re a pawn trying to be a king in a game started before humans walked on this planet. Fate has no role for you; in fact, you’re in his way, so I am free to do what I want with you.”

      As Gaius looked up at him fearfully, another voice spoke up. “Future, stop.” A young boy pleaded.

      “Alex?” Future turned around. The kid was panting, and one of his wounds had reopened, but he’d managed to quickly climb the beanstalk.

      His eyes were watery as he pleaded. “Please stop. He’s Eira’s dad, and she’s my friend. If you hurt him, she’ll hate you, and…I might hate you too…I don’t want that. It’s fine. I’ll stay at the academy, just…please don’t fight.” His smile was so broken it hurt. Future turned away.

      Future locked eyes with Gaius, and relented “Very well. Alex will stay at the academy for winter. After that he’s coming back home.”

      Gaius didn’t argue, and the beanstalk slowly wilted.

 

      When they returned to ground level, Eira and Emelia embraced Gaius, and they explained the arrangement to everyone. Alex would stay at Yanus Academy during the winter, but he would be there alone. Eira, Frey, and Indol were all removed from the campus. There was no excuse that could be made for the genius; Indol purposefully created an explosive that destroyed much of the town, and her laboratory was filled with other prototypes waiting to go off.

      She was taken to collect her things, and Alex begged his family to look after her at the library; they accepted of course, and welcomed the Octasect with open arms. Alex told her all about the library, trying to keep a smile, but even he broke down as all his friends and family hugged him goodbye. He would not see them for months. Ms. Jensing placed a supportive hand on his shoulder, and led him across the bridge. They had to find a dorm for him.

 

      The ride back the Library was a somber one. After Indol was formally introduced to everyone, there was little anyone wanted to say. Future sat in the carriage meditating, his focus distant, and his eyes half-shut. After what they’d just witnessed, no one dared disturb him.

      He startled everyone when his eyes opened wide and he swore under his breath. “Curse that wretched girl!”

      “Who?” Erald dared ask.

      “Luck; Alex was supposed to stay in the library during winter, but now he’s stuck in the academy! Between my sibling’s meddling and Gaius’ decree, the war might have been sped up by months.”

      “Months!” Lo exclaimed.

“Potentially…I’m afraid we can’t afford to be idle this winter. We need to prepare… especially now that we don’t have Alex.” His voice trailed off into sadness.