Tales of Mysterra
Chapter 12-Past Tense
About 30 minutes afterward, Victor and Tails had returned with their catches, laying down a small pile of fruits and some slain animals. Shuurai folded his arms, passing the meal by without a second glance. "Mm. Very good. The winner of this test is Victor."
A confident smirk found its way onto the dragon's snout as Shuurai glanced at him. "So, I suppose you figured out the idea behind this test? As well as all of the others?"
Victor nodded, Tails glancing at Victor again. "Looking back...I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't figure it out before...well, I'm more surprised Victor of all people found it out."
The dragon suppressed a glare at the fox, Shuurai waving a paw towards Victor. "Care to explain then?"
Don Patch glanced at Victor as he folded his arms. "Gladly. The tests you've been giving us...weren't all they seemed to be, was it?" He glanced at Shuurai slightly. "The order's been messed up. That last test you gave us wasn't a test of endurance at all, it was a matter of knowing that it was pointless to go chasing after Chopper. In essence, that was a test of brainpower...even though that was the last test."
A smile began creeping onto Shuurai's mouth. "And let's not forget that Don Patch won the first round; you say it was because he showed the best usage of power..." Victor glanced at the orange blob with a frown. "...when in actuality is was because of his persistence. A show of his endurance...even if that was the NEXT test."
The dragon turned back to Shuurai. "Which means...this one was really a test of our teamwork skills." He smirked once again. "And since a certain SOMEONE hadn't had any rest at all since the test began...I made Don Patch sit out so he didn't get any more exhausted than he already was."
"OBJECTION!" Don Patch abruptly shouted, pointing at Victor. "You only wanted me out of the way so I wouldn't get another point!"
"Overruled," Shuurai responded, Chopper whacking Don Patch with a leek spawned seemingly from nowhere. "Victor wins the next test."
"And now that we know the real ordering..." Tails murmured, looking up at Shuurai. "We only have one test left...Leadership..."
Shuurai nodded, sitting down and prompting the others to do the same. The furry dragon motioned his hand towards a pile of gathered firewood, suddenly causing it to spark to life with a sizeable fire. Everyone was startled at the sudden display, Shuurai murmuring, "This test doesn't require any action or physical exertion. It's just a simple question."
Everyone glanced at Shuurai as he folded his hands together with a serious question. "Assume that you're on a mission. You end up in a near unsolveable situation, and the only way you can escape and finish, is if one of you stays behind to face certain death. The question...which one of you stays behind?"
The trio fell silent, casting a slight glance at each other. "The answer isn't as simple as giving me a name," the furry dragon responded, narrowing his gaze slightly. "I want reasons, explanations...whoever gives me the best reasoning will win this test and become the new lieutenant."
A few more moments passed with the only sound being that of the fire crackling. All three looked down slightly, Chopper looking between them while chewing on an apple. "I expect your answers by the end of the meal," Shuurai responded, picking up one of the birds that Victor and Tails had brought.
The rest of the meal passed in silence, all three of the recruits deep in silence. Chopper would continuously look at the recruits, then back at Shuurai; who didn't even bother to cook whatever meat it was he had, occasionally picking bits of bone out of his mouth after each bite. Finally, almost an hour had passed, and the meal had been finished. "And now that our meal is done, tell me." Shuurai leaned forward slightly, lowering his gaze. "Your choices. Victor, you may go first."
The dragon nodded. "It doesn't even need to be said who I think...no, who SHOULD be left behind if that situation ever occurs." He cast a glare at Don Patch. "Say what you will, his victory in the first test was a fluke. Not to mention he's a coward; he hid behind someone else the first time the opportunity arose in a conflict..." Tails pursed his lips and glanced at Don Patch, who had been gritting his teeth in anger. "...he can't take anything seriously, and is one of THE most vain people on the planet. Hell if it weren't for the fact that we NEED three people on a team I'd ask to kick him out right now."
Victor finally folded his arms, closing his eyes in silence. Shuurai furrowed his brow slightly, then turned around. "I see. Don Patch, what do you have to say in return?"
The orange blob stood up at this, then waved a hand around. "Like Victor has any room to talk! He's the truly selfish one here! He may say he had my best intentions when he made me sit out that last test..." He cast a condescending glare at the dragon. "I bet he secretly rejoiced once I was taken out of the picture and he knew he didn't have to worry about me getting a point over him."
Victor almost stood up at this, but was brought back down by Shuurai holding his blade in front of him. "Not to mention he's extremely violent! Some people can attest, that all he cares about is beating the living shit out of someone should the opportunity arise!" Once again, eyes travelled to Tails, who shivered; they were attempting to outdo the other using him as testimony? "If we were to leave him behind this team would work a whole lot better...not to mention..." Don Patch lifted a finger into the air. "I wouldn't have any other minor characters trying to outshine me!"
A few moments passed in silence once again, Don Patch sitting back down to signify that he was done. He glanced at Victor with a confident smirk, the dragon gritting his teeth in annoyance. Shuurai let out a near inaudible sigh. "Fine...Miles, your turn."
Tails glanced at Shuurai for a moment, then slowly got to his feet. "Um...for future reference, I'd prefer if you called me Tails, sir..."
"As you wish," he responded, nodding slightly.
The fox cleared his throat, then looked at the group. "First off...I'd like to say that Victor and Don Patch both posed very good points. Yes, Don Patch tried to hide behind me, use me to avoid getting himself hurt once we confronted Victor. But he himself also posed a really good point; Victor is prone to excessive violence." The fox was brought back to Don Patch's claims that he could help him, alongside Victor actually drawing his blade during their battle, as if he had the intent to kill.
"I can't exactly vouch for their bits about the test, but..." Tails looked down. "They were right, kinda. Don Patch is a nonsensical coward, and Victor's a violent warmonger. That's not to say I have my own flaws too." He looked up only slightly, a seemingly sad expression on his face. "I'm cowardly...have next to no confidence in my abilities...gullible..."
The fox looked up again. "Before I came to the Lunar Guild, I worked alongside a few others who were just as problematic as them. Arrogant and hasty...gullible and workaholic...borderline insane and obsessive..." He shooked his head slightly. "My point is that no one's perfect. We all have a set of flaws that puts us at a disadvantage in one area or another. But that's the entire point of teaming up, isn't it?"
Shuurai managed a slight smile as Tails motioned to Victor. "Sure Victor's overly violent, but he's extremely powerful, and that's more than I can say for myself or Don Patch." Victor furrowed his brow slightly and looked down as Tails glanced at Don Patch. "And honestly, we can't take everything so seriously all the time. The fact that Don Patch is so laidback means he can't let pressure get to him THAT easily, and that can be an asset in some situations."
The orange blob simply folded his hands behind his head with a slight smirk. "And as we've all seen, I've got quite a brain on me." Tails blushed slightly and tapped the side of his head. "Honestly, that's something that neither Victor or Don Patch can claim to have." Victor frowned slightly as Don Patch fell over. "If we spent all of our time focusing on the negatives each other has, then we'd be too preoccupied to focus on the better aspects."
He managed a small smile and looked up. "The group I worked with prior managed to make things work by focusing on their own specialties, we can do the same with this one. I realize I may've strayed far from the question, but..." He folded his hands together and looked down. "My point is that this team wouldn't be able to function without each other. I say...there isn't a situation where we HAVE to leave someone behind. It just can't happen." He shook his head, then sat down, head bowed.
A few more moments passed in silence, Chopper slowly glancing at Shuurai, who looked down slightly. "Hmm...interesting..." He stood up at this. "I'll leave you be for a moment."
Everyone looked up at the furry dragon as he walked off, momentarily disapparing into the woods. The group stared after him for a moment, Chopper finally opting to speak up. "Tails, that was really...cool."
The fox looked up at him with a bright blush. "I-it was nothing..."
"You know I'm not the type to throw around compliments..." Victor suddenly responded, glancing at Tails with a slight frown. "...but, hell, that was impressive."
Tails blushed even brighter and looked down. "W-well...it was all true..." He looked up slightly. "T-to be honest...there's someone...I want to impress..."
The trio blinked slightly. "Oh? Who is it? A loooooove interest?" Don Patch asked, adopting a sinister smirk.
Tails looked up, his face flushed crimson. "I-it's a guy, just so you know!"
"I always thought you flew that way," Don Patch remarked, putting his hand to his chin with a confident expression, only for Victor to smack the orange blob back into the ground in annoyance.
"Thank you, Victor," Tails mumbled, before sighing and continuing. "He's my best friend...not to mention a true hero...he's everything I want to be..." Tails shook his head slightly. "I've been living in his shadow for as long as I can remember. He was tops in just about everything he did..." Tails looked down deeper, closing his eyes. "Y-you could say...I was a tad...j-jealous..."
The fox closed his eyes to try and remove that thought from his head, then looked up again. "Anyway, soon enough he joined the Solar Faction. The most prestigious power of the Celestial Alliance, and he passed with flying colors...I wanted to follow in his footsteps." The fox blushed brightly again. "Th-though...when I tried out for the Solar Faction, I was turned down...so I instead went to the Lunar Guild. I passed, of course, but..."
He looked down again and shivered. "I get pulled into a feud against my will, taken advantage of behind my back, nearly killed by some mystery wolf...not exactly the best way to kick things off." He looked up again with a frown. "If I can't even get THOSE right...there's no way I could possibly be second in command..."
Victor looked down with a slight frown, a bit of guilt starting to nag at the back of his head for so brashly dragging the fox boy into the conflict. His train of thought was interrupted when Don Patch let out a hysterical cry. "Attention! That's all I ever wanted, was some well-deserved attention!" He hopped to his feet as everyone glanced at him, slightly startled. "I used to work alongside a group of others too...but I never got any respect!"
Don Patch let out a slight growl and waved his hand around. "I was used as a shield...attacked by my own allies...no respect I tell ya, no respect!"
"You don't really have any room to talk there..." Tails mumbled flatly, gingerly touching the knot on his head that had formed from Don Patch using him as an apple launcher.
The orange blob clenched his fist in front of him with a smirk. "So I joined the Lunar Guild to go and change that. I was going to get so powerful, overshadow everyone here, prove my real worth...then no one would even dare try to disrespect me again!"
A few moments passed in silence, Victor forcing Don Patch into a sitting position. "Yeah yeah, save it for when you actually HAVE any respect."
Chopper glanced at Victor slightly, opening his mouth. "And you, Victor?"
Everyone jumped slightly at Shuurai's sudden re-emergence behind the dragon, Victor whirling around to him. "F-FUCK! DON'T DO THAT!"
"I apologize," Shuurai responded, folding his arms slightly. "As I was saying...your two teammates have told us a little bit about themselves, how about you? Care to tell us?"
Victor furrowed his brow slightly. "First you scare the living daylights out of me, then you expect me to pour my heart out for you?"
"Yes," Shuurai responded as-a-matter-of-factly. "I do, as a matter of fact."
A few moments passed, Victor sighing before turning back to everyone. "You see this?" He proceeded to grab at the star-shaped pendant around his neck. "This...belonged to my parents. It's all I have to remember them by...their final memento."
Chopper blinked slightly. "W-wait...do you mean they're...?"
Victor glanced at the reindeer slightly, then went back to his explanation. "I grew up as an orphan with no parents. All I had was my twin sister by my side." Tails and Chopper both pursed their lips and looked down slightly. "I don't know anything about my parents...other than they were both in service to the Twilight Society. Apparently they were killed in a raid, leaving me and my sister to fend for ourselves."
Victor looked up again with a frown. "Honestly...I don't buy any of that for one second." Shuurai blinked slightly. "Say what you will, I think there's something more to the story than that. And I vow that I'm going to find out. That's why I originally tried to join the Twilight Society..." He looked down slightly. "...I failed, to say the least...but I haven't given up yet. I'm going to find my folks if it's the last thing I do." He gripped at the pendant around his neck once again. "And even if they are dead...I'm going to find out who did it, and make them wish they were never born."
Don Patch and Tails blinked slightly, Chopper casting a seemingly worried glance at Shuurai, who remained stoic. "I see." He closed his eyes, then looked down. "I suppose you wish to know who the new lieutenant is now."
All three remained silent, staring up at Shuurai as he looked up again. "The promotion goes to..." The furry dragon seemed to contemplate for a moment longer. "...Tails."
Don Patch let out a groan and fell onto his back, the fox staring up at Shuurai incredulously. After what had happened, Victor seemed a little more indifferent and looked down with a slight sigh. "Tomorrow, you'll begin to pay off your debt to the Lunar Guild for destroying the courtyard."
With this comment, the furry dragon prepared to walk off, Chopper hopping up and stepping after him. Before Shuurai could completely re-enter the forest, Chopper had stepped next to him. "C-commander...V-Victor..."
"If he finds out...then he finds out." Shuurai glanced at Chopper slightly, speaking barely above a whisper. "We can't do anything about it. We'll have to roll with the punches."
Chopper looked down slightly, Shuurai turning back to the forest. "We can't...but HE could..."
