World of Advent Chapter Thirteen
First things first, I want to thank Milo DREH Savior for your devotion to the story. Your meaningful reviews have been very helpful in the creation of this story. Also- good insight, but not everything you said was spot on. In time, all will be revealed. So! We've spent the last few weeks with Chaos and Light; why not see what Cipher's up to?
Cipher never had been great with dreams. Now, sitting at the foot of his bed, his mind replayed this latest in a series of nightmares.
"Why doesn't anyone want me?" a little girl asked. Cipher called out to her, but her frame twisted into that of Ciel's.
"We couldn't wait to be rid of you," she sneered. "As if you deserve to be my child. Cero is the only true child of Zero. We don't need you. We don't want you. We never did."
Ciel faded into shadows as Harley shook his head at him, surrounded by a picture of desolation. With a start, Cipher recognized the Resistance Outpost, now in shambles, his beloved city of Neo Arcadia in smoldering ruins. "War is coming Cipher. Figure out whose side you're on."
Now Zero appeared, a look of indifference on his face as he picked up Cipher's blood test. "There must be some mistake," he said coldly. "There is no possible way that you could be my son."
Lastly, Sorra's face appeared. "YOU as my teammate? Preposterous. The likes of you should never have been let in the Resistance."
All at once, their bodies appeared together in shining Templar uniforms. "Monster! Abomination! Fake! Fake! Fake!"
Cipher grimaced as the memory faded from the forefront of his consciousness. With shaking hands, he opened his personal safe, gently taking out the slip of paper that concluded the history of his origins. Zero and Ciel's names appeared in bright red ink, three other names under it.
"Family," Cipher muttered, a desperate prayer to an unknown god. "My family." It was true, he knew. He had found his family, at last. But somehow, knowing who they were made it all the more impossible to act upon it. So what now? Dare he show them the test, and risk it being called a fake? Him being called a fake? Cipher remembered his eldest brother's words concerning his decision to tell his parents or not and groaned. Perhaps that would be for the best. At the very least, it was easiest.
Cipher closed his eyes, oblivious to the alarm that ran next to his bed. Only when the first rays of sun peeked through the window did he at last wake with a start.
"Gah!" Cipher cursed, and threw on his uniform, not even bothering with the hat this time as he bolted across the grey hallway that led to the massive elevator. Tapping his foot impatiently, Cipher hoped he wouldn't be too late, his frustrations only complicated by the slow elevator music playing above.
As soon as the last verse of "Feelin' like you have all the time in the world" finished, the great doors opened, and Cipher dashed to the Command Room, where his teammates were waiting for him beside Colbur.
"You're late," Sorra hissed. Even Skie, normally on better terms with him than his sister gave him a frown.
"Please refrain from future tardiness," Colbur stated. "It might do you well to get more sleep," he noted, having noticed the bags under Cipher's eyes.
"Sorry," Cipher said to the ground, not daring to look him in the eye. "It won't happen again."
"See to it that it won't," Colbur recommended. "Now that you're all here," he said, pointing to the large holographic screen above them, "please give your attention to the board. Several Maverick sightings have been reported in Gosaris, a colony just East of Neo Arcadia. Your job is to report and eliminate any signs of this threat. It should be noted that this mission has some measure of importance, as it is a popular spot for younger Advents. Cero himself has many friends there. For this reason, I ask you handle the mission with delicacy."
"Sir," Skie asked, "if it is of such priority, why is a rookie team being tasked to handle it?"
"The reason is simple," Colbur said grimly. "We are stretched thin enough as it is. The mavericks reported were not of a high caliber, so you should not face too much danger. Such a task is well within your capability, team Three."
"I see," Sorra said. "Will we be taking a transfer or will we go by air?"
"Air," Colbur informed her. "Our servers are being used at the current moment. If you feel the need for an emergency transfer, do not hesitate to give us a call."
Shortly after the briefing reached its conclusion, Colbur sent the three of them to the top of the Resistance, where a helicraft was waiting for them.
Sorra was first aboard, soon helping Skie climb on. Cipher noticed, with some element of bitterness, that such a courtesy was not offered to him.
As the aircraft took off with a gentle hum, Cipher took the opportunity to look outside, watching the Resistance Base shrink as they pulled further away from it. As he did, Cipher wondered what kind of lives the Colonists lived, away from both Neo Arcadia and the Resistance.
Grey caught his eye, seemingly understanding what Cipher was thinking. "Colonists live a much different life than we do," he said. "They enjoy a privilege of being freed from many of the safety restrictions placed by Neo Arcadia at the cost of lowered security. Many Colonies do not have soldiers, so they vote for a local militia to protect them from the occasional raid. They're often unprepared for something like this, the Maverick Virus. I doubt if any of them can truly appreciate what's going on."
"I see." Cipher turned his gaze to face his teammates. "Sorry about being so late today- I had some bad dreams that kept me awake for most the night."
"So?" Sorra gave him a pointed glare. "Do you expect us to be sorry for you, Cipher?"
Skie gave Sorra a sharp glance. "It's not his fault you know."
"Of course it is," Sorra said to the ambiguous statement. "It's all of theirs."
"What now?" Cipher asked irritably. "What terrible thing have I done this time?"
"It's none of your business, newcomer," Sorra said. Surprisingly, Skie seemed to agree.
"Fine." Cipher glared at the windows, wondering what he had done to make her hate him so much.
A stony silence permeated the cabin of the vehicle before the pilot spoke up over the intercom. "You three will be rendezvousing with a strike team that has been handling the situation at hand for the past week or so. They will fill you in when you get there. From that point, you will need to make it to Gosaris yourselves."
"You mean we're not flying directly there," Cipher asked in surprise.
"Not necessarily," their pilot said. "Listen, the details are with the strike team below. I'm just here to drop you off."
"Understood," Skie said. "Prepare for descent."
The craft made a slow but steady path down to a patch of grass surrounded by trees of varying size. Nearby, a pavilion stood beside several white tents.
"Drop off successful," the pilot said as the three of them clambered off the vehicle and onto the soft grass. "Good luck out there."
As the craft disappeared beyond the horizon of tree tops, two figures made their way towards Cipher's group.
"You!" Cipher gasped. "I thought they said you weren't allowed a team by yourselves."
A girl with bright green hair, the same girl who raced Cipher back at Evaluations, smirked at him. "We showed them our skills. They couldn't resist long after that."
Her companion, the boy with white hair and an aura of solemnity just nodded. "It was not very hard."
"You can call me Theta," the girl said.
"Gamma," the boy said simply. Cipher doubted that these were their real names, but said nothing.
"Well, it's nice to meet you," Grey said, extending his hand in welcome. "I understand you made quite an impression at Evaluation."
Theta stared at the hand distastefully, neither reaching out to accept it. Not too long after, Grey slowly dropped his hand to his side awkwardly.
"What's your problem," Sorra defended her brother. "He's just trying to be friendly."
"Like your companion no doubt has been," Gamma said. "Spare me the words of hypocrisy. We have heard all too much in our lifetimes."
Much as he tried not to, Cipher felt a vindictive pleasure in seeing Sorra blush, quiet for once.
"If we did something wrong," Skie said, "We apologize. Let's just start over, okay?"
"You humans never gave our kind a chance," Theta said simply. "You took my mother from me."
"We're not Templar, if that's what you're implying," Skie bristled. "We have nothing in common with those extremists."
"So you say." Theta gave then two siblings a cold stare. "Just don't cause any trouble, okay?"
Skie nodded irritably, mumbling none too nice things about their new partners. "Lead the way."
Theta lead them inside where a large map was spread across a table. "First things first. We need to secure the border. Check up on any tags and traps placed within the forest. Terminate any Maverick you meet and send a blood sample my way so that we can analyze it. Clear?"
"Crystal," Skie said shortly.
"Good. I'll be your Operator while Gamma makes sure you don't get yourselves killed. He knows the specifics of your objective. Follow him and do as he says, understood?"
"I suppose so," Sorra said. "No need to be so bossy. This isn't our first rodeo."
"Just making sure it won't be your last one," Theta said cheekily.
Gamma handed Sorra and Skie a rifle before asking Cipher what his preference was.
"I can use my oversol if necessary," Cipher said. Truth be told, he still wasn't completely used to firing a gun yet.
Gamma nodded approvingly and made his way towards the closest section of the forest. "Theta will inform us of any suspicious activity," he told them, "but make sure you're on alert as well. Technology isn't foolproof."
Birds chirped around them as a thick buzzing of insects could be heard. The air was thick and humid, and it wasn't long before Cipher started to sweat. Wiping the bands of moisture from his face, he barely caught sight of Gamma as he stiffened. Over the Comm. Link. Theta's voice could be heard. "Contamination levels high," she reported. "Be on guard."
A split second later, a roar could be heard from above as a maverick descended from a thick branch. Sorra and Skie raised their weapons, only to see the maverick pinned to the tree it jumped from, plasma kunai pinning its hands and knees to the bark.
Gamma nonchalantly walked over to the beast, and gave it a small cut, catching the infected blood that dripped down into a vial. Putting a stopper on it, he planted coordinates in a launch pad, and sent it away, all the while the beast thrashed and screamed. Gamma walked away, tossing another kunai in the center of its forehead as he did so. With one last moan, it stopped moving.
"Keep moving," Gamma told the shocked crowd. "We have more to quarantine."
As they made their way to the deeper areas of the forest, signs of Maverick activity were becoming more and more apparent. Carcasses of dead animals were seen ripped apart needlessly, their meat wasted to the worms below.
"This one's fresh," Skie said, kneeling down, feeling the corpse of a young wolf.
Gamma nodded. "We're getting close."
Gamma walked past them, completely at ease. Cipher wondered how he did it, his nerves so high struck he dared not speak for sounding like a soprano.
Gamma held out his fist in the universal "Stop" motion. Cipher looked past him and saw a massive golem, the carcasses of several deer around its bloody armor.
"Scatter," Gamma ordered them as the Golem took notice of them. Cipher, Sorra, and Skie quickly took refuge behind a massive tree as the air around them became riddled with bullets.
"On three," Skie said, "we come out and attack it. Together."
Cipher and Sorra nodded in understanding, and as soon as the fire slowed, jumped out from behind the tree, only to see Gamma pulling a kunai out from the massive maverick's forehead. From the wound, he collected its grey matter and was soon sending it as well to Theta.
"You'll need to be quicker than that if you are to be of any use to me," Gamma said. "Hasn't the Resistance taught you how to fight?"
Grey took this personally, throwing his gun down to the floor as he marched to where Gamma stood. "Just who the hell do you think you are? Where did you learn how to do that?" he said, pointing to the corpse of the maverick. "Only Neo Arcadia's elite are capable of such accuracy."
"Please pick up your gun," Gamma said calmly. "You are of even less use to me without it."
"Don't you dare look down on us," Sorra shouted.
"It' not your fault," Gamma said. "You are human. Fragile and foolish. Even Cipher here will always possess a level of prowess you simply are not capable of."
Seething, Skie bent down to pick up his rifle. "Arrogant Advent," he spat. "Humans aren't as weak as you think we are."
Gamma shrugged. "Then by all means, prove it. If anything is like what I have seen today, however, I weep for your kind."
"That'll do," Theta said over the Comm. Link. "We're almost done. Just set down the trip mines and we're done here."
Gamma nodded. "Let us finish this before nightfall."
After placing the trip mines around the forest, Theta waved them over to a tent where a large group of people in Hazmat suits sprayed them down. "Clear," they said afterwards, and disappeared into the pavilion.
"Our living quarters for the night have been arranged," Theta said. "Cipher, would you like to sleep near your own kind? If you want, I can have it prepared."
"No thanks," Cipher awkwardly, yet firmly refused. "They're my team mates."
"Suit yourself," Theta shrugged."
Theta and Gamma soon disappeared behind a set of doors leading the opposite direction of Team Three's assigned quarters.
"Well that was something," Skie said.
"Understatement of the year," Sorra said with disgust. "Hey," she said to Cipher. "Thanks for sticking with us. I er, appreciate it."
Cipher raised his eyebrows. "I'm sorry," Sorra said at last. "If I had known that was how I was acting, I would have quit a while ago. You're not like the others, I guess."
"You can make it up to me by explaining why you hate me so much," Cipher said pointedly.
"It's a long story," Skie said, "but I suppose we have time. Come, we'll fill you in before we hit the sack."
Cipher nodded, feeling for the first time like a part of the team.