Hey guys I'm back! I had to take a hiatus from this suddenly as work was getting in the way...and to a point where I was getting sick a lot. It was bad like...really bad. So I gave myself a short period of recuperation. But now I'm back and this story is going to be back in full swing. This chapter is probably the shortest I've written so far in this series, but it had to be split into two parts or it'd have ended up stupidly long. There's a lot of scene transitions in this chapter as we head further north exploring the continent of Paragon more.
Enjoy! :D
The Present meets the Past
"Roman!"
What ever trance I was in hearing my name shouted broke me out. I stood there frozen I could feel the pads of my fingertip grazing over the taut skin of Seth's neck. Had Daniel been a second slower I could have easily snapped my younger brother's neck. We both remained there silently like this. My mind trying to catch me up on what it was I was about to do. I watched the Merian gently place his hands over mine and gently lowering away from him while I stood breathing heavily. "Whatever it was Ro...it was just a dream." he said calmly.
I had nearly killed Seth, that was all my mind seemed to be focused on. Seeing as how I remained silent he continued trying to defuse the situation. "Dean is at the pharmacy refilling our supplies. Daniel suggested we see about hitching a ride to Wyndmere." I remained silent with the younger's hands just sitting on my shoulders waiting for my breathing to come to a slower pace. "It'll be okay." he said again and again, like a slow mantra. He repeated the words until I finally pulled my hands away.
I took a deep breath to get take back control of my actions. I thought about the dream, I just didn't understand why my mind would repeat the sequence of events that transpired in Ursa Minor? It was like there were powers to be that wanted to remind me that I wasn't as strong as I thought. I admit that it was a moment of weakness and I thought that there was a chance I couldn't protect my brothers. But I couldn't be thinking that way, Seth was incredible in hand-to-hand combat and Dean is a survivor from Atlas. They were more than capable of handling themselves in any situation, so why was my subconscious reminding me of that one time.
"Ro?" questioned Seth breaking me out of my thoughts. I had to mentally slap myself and try not to show it to my youngest brother that I was generally concerned about our situation...more so theirs if anything else. I could care less about myself at this point.
I rubbed my eyes to try and get all the mundane thoughts from out of my head and only focus on Seth who was right in front of me. I took a few more deep breaths before I could find my complete composure and could actually think straight. I gave my eyes one last rub to try and remove the confliction off my face. "Since you know the area the best, I take it you have a plan?"
Seth's smile never faded. He was trying to be as calm as possible since I was moments from snapping his neck. "I'm the architect of the group, remember? I always have a plan." he said reassuring me. A part of me was quite fascinated that we were about to have a look at where Seth grew up as Tyler Black. The other part of me however, was worried about what other sides of our younger brother we've not seen yet. Maybe that's what my dream was reminding me of. Even though on the surface right now he was smiling, he still had a killer instinct within. It was one of the deadliest of predators, waiting for it's moment to strike. My dream was reminding me just how dangerous of a man Seth Rollins truly was and I had this sick feeling in my gut that what we saw was only the beginning.
We had seen so many unforeseen pages of Dean's story when we went to Atlas, would Seth be the same? We knew almost nothing about the Radiance Providence as it was, aside from the small tidbits of information that he had given us. I'd never seen a whole providence run by a theocracy before. My own people believed in the holy mother, but it didn't fuel our existence.
With Dean already out and about once Seth and I were fully awake we too headed out. We walked down the flattened dirt road that ran through the middle of the town towards what Seth explained to be the local bakery. According to the youngest this bakery actually delivered to Wyndmere and was the only vehicle from the Alliance that has permissions to enter the country.
"The owner of the place, is how I ended up here. He found me wandering the winding road starving. Turns out I wasn't very good at hunting the wildlife around the area." I couldn't help but notice Seth's mood shifting. He seemed to be comfortable since we got to this town. He spoke like he was finally lifting some of that weight off his shoulders. I hadn't seen the Mereian look this relaxed since a few days before his friend Curtis died. There was just something about him I couldn't put my mind on. I stayed silent and let him continue.
"The owner of the bakery isn't the original owner though. His best friend was the owner, but illness took him. When he took over he changed the name of the place after a joke the two of them used to make all the time. Kevin took me to Daniel, he's more or less the head of the town...and well you know the rest." finished Seth as we came up on the bakery. The building was bigger than the rest of the ones we'd seen on Cygnus so far, but looked equally run down. It too looked like it was hanging on the thread as the cream colored paint looked like it was peeling from the walls. The front had two large windows looking in, showing the two display cases full of pastries and bread of all sorts. One of the windows displayed the name of the place in red lettering reading "Generico's Bakery".
I raised my eyebrow at the name, I bet the owner has had to explain the story of the name of the place to many customers. It was an interesting name but if this was the brought some revenue to Cygnus I wasn't going to question it. I was still in amazement on just how much this small town was hanging on a thread. I'd talk to Daniel later about possible military support and get this place running. The two of us approached the door, it was glass and stood on a steel frame. On the other side hanging on a thin chain was a black sign that read open in orange letters.
Seth pushed the door open ringing the silver bell hanging above. Alerting the owner he had some customers. A dark haired, rotund man wearing a white chef's coat came out from the door in the back, "Welcome to-" he seemed to stop and look at Seth jaw hung open. "Tyler." was all he seemed to be able to say. It just seemed like everyone was shocked to see the youngest of our group. It made me think about the impact he had left on these people. Was his influence the same as the one he's had on Dean and I? There was so much to think about when it came to the mystery that surrounded the Mereian.
"Hello, Kevin. I know it's been a while." he said sheepishly scratching the back of his neck.
"You look great. The military has done something to you, because you hold yourself a lot higher than the day I found you. It's like you're whole different person now." explained Kevin. I began to see the similarities between our visits here and the visit to Atlas. Both Dean and Seth's friends all said the same thing. They were different people now. I had never stopped to think about how they began to hold themselves to higher standards just by a name change, or is it from being a survivor of the project? It could have been our experiences as well. The Shield has seen so much in the near year we have been together.
I watched as Seth turned away from Kevin hiding the obvious conflict in his gaze. On one hand he was happy that everyone didn't forget about him, and yet...there was the other side hoped they forgot. I'm sure being called Tyler Black so much reminds him of his moment of weakness, a constant reminder of his blood stained past. "It's because I-" started Seth seemingly unable to find the words.
The hesitation in Kevin wasn't lost on him as he raised his eyebrow waiting for the younger to speak. I knew it had to be me to break the awkward silence. "A-anyway Seth believes that you can provide us with a ride to Wyndmere."
"I'm not assisting the military." he responded rather quickly without a second thought. That seemed to snap whatever thoughts Seth was trying to gather. Whatever it was it seemed like Kevin had some sort of grudge against the military. It was just like being in Atlas again. If you weren't in the military, you didn't trust them. If I was being honest with myself...I didn't blame them either. Since Lorken's detainment and the interrogations with Mizanin there was a lot that didn't add up. "The military doesn't help us out here...so why should I have to offer my services. Where was the Alliance when people got sick?!"
I couldn't face the man after that comment. He wasn't wrong either. If he's talking about the same illness that plagued the entire Celestial Providence then I didn't blame him for the venom that dripped from his words. Seth said that the owner died of illness, and if the dates matched up then it might have been the same one that took Dean's mother as well. The doctors in Atlas barely managed to find a cure before it took some of their best. Being so far away from both Astros and Atlas, it must have hit this town harder than I could ever imagine. Seeing the rest of the Alliance from different angles was putting my mind in a new perspective.
Who knew that the edge of Death could help someone see a different light.
But Seth didn't seem affected by the baker's words. He knew the entire story that happened between Kevin and the original owner. He looked steadfast, and didn't look like he was going to back down. Was it his desire to return home that badly or was it because he's heard it all before? Our youngest was both intuitive and brilliant, if his heist on the museum has anything to say on that, and finally has seen both the flourished side and the ugly side of the Alliance. Seeing both sides might have been setting his mind in motion. "Kevin...they did come. I'm sorry it was just too late for Sami."
"And how do you know this?" asked the baker still acting quite aggressive, as he gripped the edge of his counter. "It all happened before you showed up here."
"Because, as a member of the military now I have full access to the library of Atlas. Roman and I were looking for research notes from a Doctor Kelic Ambrose, an esteemed scientist from the university and the man who was given co-credit for finding the cure. He felt ashamed that the cure couldn't make to Cygnus in time before it took the lives of many. But before it could claim the entire town...that cure was administered by the military. It was brought here by the same man that watches over the town, First Lieutenant Daniel Bryan." I watched as Kevin's grip loosened on the counter. It seemed that Seth had managed to push some sense into the other man's head. Seth smiled seeing that he was getting through, he just continued. "I spoke with Daniel and he explained to me that he keeps a constant low profile contact with the military to make sure Cygnus stays safe. This place is very vulnerable to Leviathan attacks, and it would be a hole in the ground if it wasn't for the military's efforts."
The baker sighed deeply. He didn't say a word and his face showed that Seth's words were sinking in deeply. It seemed like Kevin hated the military but had no idea that they were protecting them in the long run. That must have struck home for him as he finally stood up straight straightening out his coat. "I leave at just after dawn to make my delivery tomorrow. Don't be late." I had to think again about how Seth had a presence that drew people in. He was trained in deception and yet, I had only seen nothing but loyalty from him. Was this all apart of his plan of deceiving us as well? I hope not, I trust Seth.
Luckily for us, Kevin's van wasn't cramped despite that he was not only giving us a ride but making his delivery. He didn't have a huge haul made it easy to stuff three men who were armed to the teeth. I didn't want to take the risk, so I made both Seth and Dean take their tactical gear. If there was a chance we had been followed, it put my mind at ease to know that they were armed. It'd make our enemies think twice before getting the jump on us.
"A broken town, with not so broken people." spoke up Dean catching both mine and Seth's attention. Since arriving in Cygnus I hadn't gotten much time to speak with the Atlean since we had to plan right away for the journey to Wyndmere. Now that he had spoken up, I didn't realize it until now that he had practically just been dragged around here only following not questioning our younger brother's motives. Here he was now as we were almost there finally voicing his thoughts. "These people live in the moment, it's like they always gotta look over their shoulder not sure if that moment is gonna be their last. They survived illness, and a Leviathan attack and they still press on knowing life is just gonna keep going. It's like the further you get from Astros, the more you see the true fighting spirit of the Alliance. It almost feels like the government only cares about Astros, but somehow anything outside of Celestial Providence hasn't been blown to hell."
Seth nor myself couldn't help but smile to what Dean had said. I briefly looked over to see even Kevin had looked a little smug. Leave it to our middle brother of all people to notice a fighting spirit. His observation skills were second to none, and more than likely did some of his own investigating while we were out there. If I had to describe Dean he was like a cat. He went where he pleased, but always knew where to come back to and somehow always aware of what's around him. I hadn't realized that the abilities given to him by Protect: Taladen were almost quite fitting for his personality.
I couldn't help but agree to some of the stuff the Atlean had claimed though. Since joining the military I've always wondered about what it was the government had truly cared about. Was it about keeping the interests of the Alliance and her people or was there something else going on? Heyman's motives still weren't completely clear to me. Every time I got thinking about my brothers my thoughts always seemed to be driven back to Heymen and his monster Lesnar. I pounded the back wall of the truck behind me causing the whole thing to sway.
"Hey easy there!" shouted Kevin who was frantically steering to regain it's balance. Sometimes I forgot my own strength. Once the truck was back under control the baker started again. "How do you guys plan to get back, exactly? I don't have another delivery for another two days." Now that I thought about it, he did have a point. How were we going to get back, we couldn't just spend two days in Wyndmere...not when time wasn't on our side. We had to get back to Astros as soon as possible.
"We're resourceful." I told him, just saying the first thing that came to mind. I didn't want to have yet another worry about us. "Advantages to being Special Ops. We're trained to do so." I watched as Kevin shrugged satisfied enough with my answer. I slowly turned my attentions back to my brothers who were more or less just fidgeting just trying to keep themselves occupied. Dean was tapping away at his knee still and I watched Seth juggle one of his batons back and forth between his hands.
I looked over to one of the side pockets in Seth's pants and noticed he had something hidden away in it. I wanted to ask him about it, but seeing the mind set he was in currently I felt like I shouldn't pressure him. Perhaps it went with why he was fidgeting with his baton. I had those specially made for him as we were supposed to be non-lethal for the most part and yet somehow he still had a mind to bring a knife. Judging by the size of it, it was probably perfect for stabbing someone and knowing his skills it was probably sharp enough too. The last time I saw Seth carry anything lethal was the katana Orton provided him when we investigated Ursa Minor.
Ursa Minor…
Now that I thought about it...all these detours were a hindrance to our goal of saving the Prime Minister. The trip to Atlas was needed because we needed to get the new appendage for Dean less he wanted to be permanently with one arm. Seth on the other hand, he needed to ease his mind. So much was riding on him being able to move forward with his life. He looked so sure this was what he needed to do. I sighed as yet again my thoughts came full circle. Never in my life had I met individuals that made me question my entire life. Dean and Seth were doing something to me that I couldn't quite put my mind on. Not even Colonel Styles, nor Jericho, nor Bryan could make me question. With them I questioned my training, the Alliance, and Project: Taladen...it had me thrown for a loop.
I felt the truck come to a halt and listen to Kevin greet someone quite charmingly. Must only be the military he's hostile towards. Once the baker's conversation was over the truck began moving again for just a few more minutes and stopped again.
I watched Seth pulled a backpack from the floor pulling out a long winding piece of black cloth. He threw over his shoulders and pulled the silver clasp together before handing one to myself and Dean. "Hide who you are while you're here. We can't let them know we're with the Alliance. Last I heard from here, they think it was the Alliance that assassinated our king all those years ago. But between us we know the truth. Don't let anyone know who we are, we must stay hidden." It was like being here was another mission. Staying hidden was what we were trained to do.
"Coast is clear." said Kevin opening the door to his truck and stepping out. That was our queue as well. Once Dean and I had the cloaks around our shoulders we stepped out and headed in whichever direction Seth was walking. He put his hood up causing Dean and I to do the same.
Seth had motioned for us to follow him quickly into the town. The street we walked on was cobblestone and the buildings were old and rickety made of wood. Most of the buildings weren't even painted and the ones that were had the paint peeling off. They had definitely looked like they had weathered a few storms. It was strange to see a place look so run down, and yet prosper so well. These people truly lived on their own terms which explained many things on why Seth acted the way he did.
We followed the youngest at a brisk pace. He remained quiet most likely formulating his plans. At this point I probably thought the further we were the better. Even Dean was still oddly silent, probably just taking everything in. He had grown up in Atlas and surrounded by Gale's technology. The look on his face showed deep curiosity probably wondering how a place can still prosper on such low grade technology.
"Seth where are we headed?" whined Dean who sounded like he was getting antsy, and an antsy Dean was never good. That was when he liked to push buttons on people extra hard, just to see what makes them tick. Now that I thought about it, how was Dean not dead yet was beyond me. The only answer he got from Seth was an annoyed gruff. It seemed like the youngest was dead set on his task at the moment. I said and did nothing as Dean reached out and grabbed a hold of the Mereian's wrist stopping him in his tracked. "Look here Seth. The three of us together have killed plenty of men to protect the people. But as a doctor and a medic I don't think I can condone the killing of someone in cold blood. You're going to tell me right now, what your plan is. Are you executing a guilty man? Or is your goal a personal vendetta?"
I watched Seth turn around and rip his wrist out of Dean's grip. "Stop trying to act like you understand me, Dean! What if it's a vendetta? Are you really going to stop me from doing the one thing in my whole life I was trained for?" I looked back and forth between my brothers ready to step in but this also seemed like something Dean had been biting his tongue on for a while but never said anything. It probably explained why he had been so quiet.
"Did you ever stop to think that myself nor Roman don't want to see you hurt? We go on missions all the time but we have each other's backs all the time. I know for a fact this is something you want and must do on your own, and to be honest Seth...that scares me. That scares the hell out of me, because I can't save every life...and it pains me to say that. But what if I can't save yours...I'd rather die a thousand times over than to lose you or Roman." I watched as Seth's gaze shifted to the floor. Dean had a point. He spoke for even myself. The one thing I never wanted to do was lose my brothers.
Suddenly, Seth launched himself at Dean wrapping his arms around his neck and holding him close and tight hug. It was just like back at Atlas. Our younger brother looked almost grateful. "Even if you never forgive me Dean, this is something I have to do. But please have faith in me, I can't guarantee that I'll come out unscathed however, I will win. I won't die. I'm not ready to lose or Ro yet either." Satisfied with the answer our middle brother said nothing else, and just held Seth close and equally as tightly. It was quite the sight to behold to see how our small family was coming together.
We had continued walking until he had taken us to a dark wood colored building. On the sides of the rickety entrance were two four square looking windows with one of the sections on the left looking cracked. I took a peek inside the windows seeing light colored wood tables with a small candle in the center of each table, and a bench to complement each one that looked like a whole log cut in half. The lighting inside wasn't very bright, however it wasn't dim either. It seemed to have an ambient glow as if it wanted to welcome any customer that stepped inside. It seemed similar to the girls' diner, reminding me that Seth was the one who was drawn to it first. Many of the pieces of Seth's personality beginning to fit together.
The youngest placed a hand on the door eyeing both of us. "Follow my lead, and don't say anything pertaining to the Alliance or even the Eye of Taladen. The owner doesn't have hesitation when it comes to throwing people out." He looked back and forth between us, waiting to get the nod okay before pushing the dark colored door open revealing the charming inn.
The first thing I noticed was the at the very back wall was a wall of wooden kegs behind a polished oak counter. The man behind the counter seemed to be quite focused on cleaning the crystal clear glass in his hands and seemed quite content on doing so. Some of the patrons eyed us warily probably not understanding why three men in long black cloaks were walking into such a place. But I still wasn't quite sure myself, Dean and I were still just blindly following Seth and exploring the word he grew up in.
We quietly approached the cleanly polished bar, with Seth's gaze never averting from what's in front of us. He seemed so determined it was eerie, I had never seen our little brother's posture so stern. Normally he always looked ready to strike, his body always relaxed ready for anything at any moment. But this time, he was like a snake coiled and ready to strike. He was waiting on something...I'm sure this barkeep had something to do with it.
Seth sat in one of the stools in front of the keep staring him down. "Give me your strongest."
The bar keep finally looked up to eye Seth up and down. To say he was surprised was an understatement, his gray eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost. Nervously the barkeep had put down the glass he was cleaning and scratched his thick beard, but well groomed beard. The man was a bit smaller than us with dark buzzed cut hair and piercing gray eyes. "I'm afraid I'm fresh out," he replied hesitantly.
The Merian leaned forward with a smirk on his face and elbows planted firmly on the counter resting one hand under his chin. "Perhaps you have more in the back then."
The barkeep could only respond with a boisterous laughter. He took the glass off the counter and slid it under the counter proceeding then to pull out a smaller glass and bottle pouring an amber liquid. Seth picked up the glass and downed the entire thing in one gulp taking joy in it's burning taste. "It's been a while Aries. Too long."
The bar keep, Aries, did the same pouring himself a glass of the same amber liquid and taking a drink. Must have been a greeting between the two of them. "I thought I saw a ghost, turns out it's just Tyler Black...a man who should be dead." Aries looked up to see the two of us taking a seat on both sides of our younger brother. He gave us the same eye he was giving Seth. "The company you keep is lacking." I looked over to see that Seth was holding back a laugh at his comment.
"Where is everyone?" asked Seth holding up his hand declining another drink just as Aries was going to pour him another. From everything I've gotten so far, this Aries was no ordinary barkeep. He knew things, probably things he's heard from his patrons. No doubt probably gets paid for the information he gathers, and judging by the coded message passed onto one another it may be a part of a bigger ring.
"The count has them on lock down. Ever since the king was killed, the Grand Bishop came and decided to split Wyndmere into four all ruled by the head noble houses. This whole section is now ruled by your father. Some people can barely afford to live, while his coffers remain full. I'm surprised I can keep this place afloat." Aries ended his last sentence with a sigh. I turned to Seth who had that look on his face when he was thinking about something serious. I swallowed the lump in my throat. I knew what he was thinking. He knew what he felt he needed to do.
Seth's posture slumped and his hair fell over his shoulders shielding his eyes. In between the strands though I could see that dark look on his face. The one that made men fear his arts. "I'll take care of it. After all, it's why I came back." His mouth turned into a sneer, the snake was coiled when we got here…
And now it was baring its fangs.
The darker side of Seth shows itself more. Thank you for those who showed patience waiting for this chapter, you guys are the best. Hopefully the next chapter won't take me that long.
~CrisisExceed
