Uncertainty

Knock, knock. Cloto looked up from her novel. For a moment, she debated asking someone else to get it, but soon realized that that was an argument waiting to happen. She got up off of her recliner and headed for the hallway. "Hey, you two, that must be the champions coming back," she called out to her sisters. She peered through the peephole, confirming her suspicions. "Resda looks pretty beat up," she added, before opening the door and letting them in.

"I'll grab a potion," Lakelis said, getting up off of the leather couch and walking towards the medicine cabinet in the restroom.

"Don't bother with that nasty artificial stuff," Nella scolded her, as she walked to the kitchen. "I'll bet they want some real food."

"Do they now," Lakelis muttered quietly. The echo carried Lakelis's voice all the way to Nella's ears.

"Yes, they do," Nella glared at her sister.

"Well if you want to waste their time when they obviously have other places to go, then fine!" Lakelis called after her.

"They're young boys and girls, they'll appreciate a quick snack," Nella argued.

Cloto and the others were just out of earshot, and could not make out the conversation, but Cloto groaned just the same. "Gods, not again," she sighed, leading the five back into the living room. The buzzing of the two voices got clearer and louder the closer they got to the sitting area. Immediately upon entering, Resda and Omega smirked at each other and raced for the couch, arguably the single most comfortable space in the entire suite. The others were content to stand and listen for a moment before sitting down.

"What are they arguing about?" Judith asked.

"Probably nothing important," Cloto replied. "They get like this around, you know, that time of the month." Kai and Judith nodded knowingly, while Twilight cleared his throat and pretended not to hear.

The five of them quickly settled in. For a moment, a titter of laughter started when Judith plopped down on the couch next to Resda, but two steely glares silenced that notion quickly.

Simultaneously, Lakelis brought out a potion bottle and some bandages and Cloto came out of the kitchen with some hastily prepared sandwiches. Both were accepted with gratitude, and everyone sat down peacefully. Resda reached for the potion and drank it, sighing contentedly as the soothing liquid closed his wounds and healed his body. Lakelis winked at Nella, who stuck out her tongue.

"So, how was the duel?" Cloto asked.

"You won, of course," Lakelis chuckled to herself. I mean, of course the champion would win, she figured, that much is obv-

"Actually, I surrendered," Resda explained, without missing a beat.

"What?" Nella asked, surprised. "But why?"

Resda smiled wearily. "It's a long story."

One long story later, Kai stood up to stretch. "So, guys, should we get going?"

"I'm for it," Omega answered. "The sooner we get to Sleepywood, the better."

"The fastest way would be to go through the marsh," Twilight calculated. "It's an almost straight shot to Sleepywood from there."

Judith sighed, disappointed. "Well, I can at least see you off, Resda," Resda nodded in agreement. "And write me once in a while, okay?" she added.

"What are you guys talking about?" Twilight asked. Everyone else in the room looked just as confused as he was.

Resda explained. "She's heading back to Henesys," he said. "We figured that it would be best if we went our separate ways, for the time being."

"I half-expected her to tag along," said Cloto. "But it's your lives."

"Thanks for letting us stay here so long," Kai smiled.

"Oh, it was no problem, really," Lakelis replied politely.

"Give us a ring the next time you're in Kerning," Nella added.

A few minutes later, the five made their way out the door, after a last minute check of everyone's belongings. They then headed down the elevator and out the door, into the waiting streets of Kerning. "The marsh entrance is this way," Twilight said, taking the lead. To everyone's relief, the sidewalks were practically empty, so there was no need to rush. They walked down the street, hearing the occasional sounds of construction and feeling the wind as a car rushed by.

There was a benefit to taking the lead, it seems. By walking in front, it is easy to think to yourself without people nagging you or asking what's wrong. You have the time to let your mind wander. And Twilight really needed that time after an ordeal like his. These last few days have been very… interesting, he decided, settling on the word when nothing else seemed to fit. I saved a man from almost certain death, and then nearly killed my own teammate… He paused for a moment to mull that last bit over, before continuing. …I pushed myself to the limit fighting Gheren, and still would have failed had it not been for the others. And let's not forget Dark Lord, he added, a bad taste forming in his mouth. The feeling passed after a moment.

I still haven't gotten the answers I want, he concluded. What am I supposed to do with myself? If there is such a thing as destiny, is this it for me? Is this the defining experience of my entire life? What will happen once it's all over? How do you go back to regular life after something like that? The thought unnerved him somewhat, so he looked to the alternative. If it turns out that destiny doesn't exist, why are we doing what we're doing? What drives us forward? And will we like the outcome? His thoughts were a hopeless jumble, and any attempts to make sense of it resulted in nothing more than wasted energy. He humphed to himself.

Do the others know the answer? Omega? Resda? Kai? Twilight paused a moment, as he tended to do nowadays, whenever he happened to think about Kai. As usual, his mind was quick to associate her with Manji's poisoning.

Kai… my friend or my enemy. What do I make of you? He sighed, eyes turning skyward. The gods never seem to be around when you need them, he thought, smirking. I guess time will tell. She'll get the benefit of the doubt… for now.

In that instant, Kai finally decided to catch up with Twilight, tired of hesitating. The fire mage quickened her pace to match his. "Hey," she said, nonchalantly.

"Hey," Twilight answered back. He kept his eyes forward, avoiding eye contact.

Kai was silent for a while, before she spoke again. "You know, I haven't thanked you."

Twilight continued to face forward, but she had his attention. "For what?"

"Even after all that's happened you're still helping me. I really appreciate it," she added.

"Well, I have as much to gain from this as you," Twilight explained. "Besides," he added, turning to face her, "we're teammates. We'd better stick together, you know?"

Kai smirked. "Some lone wolf you turn out to be."

"Don't blame me," Twilight joked back, "you said it first."

Kai and Twilight continued their conversation as they walked. Kai spoke freely and energetically, while Twilight was content to listen and respond every once in a while, the corners of his mouth upturned in an almost imperceptible smile. Yeah. Time will tell.

Judith and Resda were engrossed in each other's company, talking about days gone by or whatever just happened to cross their minds. This left Omega, once again, to his own devices. I am the champion, he thought to himself, Perion's representative in the ancient prophecies. But the word is simply a title. What makes me the champion? Without anyone else to interrupt, Omega's mind was free to travel backwards in time, back to the fateful day Sitting Bull called him into his chambers.

"Sir?" Omega asked. Sitting Bull's room was, as usual, filled with the pungent odor of incense. But the smoke did nothing to calm his nerves this time around. "You wanted to see me?"

"Omega." Sitting Bull looked up from his meditative pose on the floor, and smiled warmly. He brought himself up to his full height – an imposing figure well above six feet. "It is good to see you, my student. Please, sit a moment." He walked to a shelf on the far wall, retrieving a long, thin package from it. "How is your training?"

Omega sat cross-legged on the floor. "Fine, sir. I should be ready to take the test for the second job within the month." Omega beamed.

"Don't rush yourself, Omega." He joined Omega on the floor. "There is… another matter which takes precedence." He placed the package on the floor before him. It was poorly wrapped and bound with simple twine, leaving no mystery as to what it was.

Omega immediately noticed the gleaming golden tip on one end, exposed to plain view.

Sitting Bull, however, had his eyes trained on Omega. A very solemn expression was on his face, a contrast to his usually sunny disposition. He spoke plainly.

"What I'm about to tell you is very important."

Omega frowned, as he retrieved the golden spear from his back, examining it carefully. He gave me the Glorious. As the champion, I am its keeper, and it in turn is a manifestation of my destiny. But does the weapon make the man? Sitting Bull wouldn't think so. Already doubts were filling his head.

His mind wandered again, returning, as it usually did nowadays, to his own unfortunate loss. The swordsman, as Omega had begun to call him, filled his thoughts. That man... he showed me my own weakness. His stomach began to ache, mimicking the pain the swordsman had inflicted with his last strike. I was not able to summon the strength that I am supposed to possess.

Omega's mind wandered back to Resda's duel. Specifically, Hawk's reason for fighting came to the forefront.

The champion must be strong, he recited in his head, looking down at his hands. But my strength has failed me many times. What do I do? How can I convince the world that I am the champion? How can I convince myself? His final decision was absolute. I must become stronger. It is all I can do.

"Hey, Omega?" Resda tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to face him. "You cool?"

"Yeah," Omega replied. Resda's comment had shaken him out of his existential crisis. "Just have a lot on my mind."

"Can we help?" Judith asked. Omega couldn't help but admire how much the pair of archers was in tune with each other.

He waved a hand. "This is my problem. I'll tell you what's going on soon. Just not now."

"Fair enough," said Resda. He moved to change the subject. "So… Sleepywood. Haven't been there in a while."

"Me either," Omega replied. "It's a little too far off the beaten path for my tastes."

Judith sounded disappointed. "But think of the adventure! Sleepywood is where civilization began in Victoria. The ruins there are awe-inspiring."

"It's just not my thing," Omega shrugged.

"Oh well," Resda said. "To each his own, I guess."

"What are you going to do when you get back to Henesys?" Omega asked the girl.

She shrugged. "Probably get back to training," she replied. "I want to become the greatest bow master in Victoria."

"A humble goal," Resda added sarcastically.

"We can't all be champions," Judith teased back. Omega joined the two archers in laughter.

"There's the entrance, up ahead," Twilight called back to the three lagging behind. He turned around to get their attention. "There's nothing to stand in our way now."

"Except a barricade, yellow caution tape, and a guy in a hard hat," Kai added, looking ahead.

"What?" Twilight and the others ran forward to get a view. Indeed, a man in a hard hat was wrapping yellow tape across the gate framing the entrance, while three wooden barricades stood to block the entrance, amber lights flashing. Twilight walked up to the man with an incredulous look on his face. "What is all this?"

"Sorry, kid," the man said, in a brusque Boston accent. "We're closin' up the marsh. Gonna do some groundwork in there. Big construction project."

"Construction? Constructing what?" Omega asked, honestly curious.

"None of your business. Now get outta here," the man said, waving them off.

"Bullshit," Twilight muttered once out of earshot. "They haven't built anything new around here for years."

"Then what would they be doing?" Resda said. "That guy looked pretty convincing."

"Heck if I know," answered the thief.

"Perhaps we're forgetting the task at hand," Kai said. "We have to get to Sleepywood." She unrolled her map and held it for everyone else to see.

Twilight pointed to Perion on the map. "We could head back north," he suggested, "then descend the mountain on the south side to get to the jungle zone."

"The path through Henesys is shorter," Omega pointed out. "And with Lith Harbor on the way the journey should be easier on our supplies."

"That takes us through the L Forest," Twilight countered. "It'll be hell trying to navigate through. Going back to Perion will save us the hassle."

"The L Forest won't be so bad," Judith interrupted. "I know it like the back of my hand."

"That derails my argument," Twilight replied. "Resda? You're in favor of going south, I'd assume."

Resda thought a moment. "Well, I haven't been back in Henesys since this whole thing started. And I'm running low on arrows… maybe Vicious can craft me some."

"You sure you don't have another reason?" Kai asked, suspiciously. A sigh and a roll of eyes quickly ended that train of thought.

"That's three against one," Twilight said. "Let's go, then." With that, they were off.

Soon the five were beyond the gates of Kerning. Before them lay the L Forest – a stark contrast to the city they left behind. Judith immediately took the lead, preparing herself to guide the group through the forest. "Are you guys ready?"

"Any time," Resda replied.

"Come on, people! I want this ship in working order yesterday!" Jack barked orders at his workers through a megaphone as Deianira, Ozeku, and Isrim watched. The sounds of furious hammering, sawing, welding, and all other manner of noises filled the air.

"I had my doubts earlier," Ozeku began, "but the ship looks to be in fine condition now."

"I'm impressed that they repaired that broken engine," Deianira said. "It looked like it was ready to fall off."

Jack joined the trio after barking a few more orders to his subordinates. "Everything's ahead of schedule," he announced. "We can have the ship in the air in a few hours."

"That's great," Isrim said. As Jack left, Isrim suddenly had a brilliant idea, and ran after him. "You know, there is one matter left to discuss." Ozeku chuckled softly, and Deianira heaved a big sigh, muttering curses under her breath.

"I know where this is going," Jack said sadly. "How much is this going to set me back?"

"Well, it's not really money we're after," Isrim started, his voice dripping with oil. "You know, if all goes well, you'll get your entire fleet back from wherever it went, and you were planning to scrap this ship before you had it recommissioned for today's flight, so…" He trailed off, expecting Jack to fill in the rest.

Jack's eyes widened. "No. There is no way that I am going to just give away a fully functional airship! I can't do that!"

"You can, and you will," Isrim countered, "unless you want to go out there yourself."

Deianira smirked, approving of Isrim's rash action. "You do want our help, right?"

"Vultures, the lot of you," Jack spit.

"Fine," Deianira sighed. "Boys, let's go." She stepped off of the platform and headed for the front gate, Ozeku and Isrim in pursuit.

Not five seconds later, Jack relented. "Alright! Damn, you drive one hell of a bargain."

The deal was struck, and a few hours later, the trio was in the sky. A large crew milled about the ship as it sailed through the clouds. Deianira was busy talking to the captain while Ozeku and Isrim were belowdecks, awaiting her return.

"Where to, lass?" the captain asked her. He was good at hiding his distrust of these three newcomers, who came completely out of the blue yet claimed to know exactly what was going on.

"Just take your normal route. I'm willing to bet that whatever it is out there, it'll find us before long." Deianira bowed politely and excused herself to the cabin, as the captain bit his lip.

Upon Deianira's return, Ozeku asked the basic question. "Is everything all right?"

"The captain is flying the usual route," Deianira answered. "We'll get where we need to go sooner or later."

"So, all that's left to do is wait, eh?" Isrim said, grinning. He reached into his bag, pulling out a deck of cards. "You guys up for a game or two?"

"Why not?" Deianira said, clearing a table. Ozeku sat down to Deianira's right, and Isrim took the last chair.

He prepared to shuffle the deck, when Ozeku reached out and grabbed his arm, wrenching the deck from his hand. He counted the cards carefully, then shook down Isrim's gi until he was satisfied. "I'll deal," Ozeku announced, as he passed out the cards.

"Paranoid, are we?" Isrim said, amused.

"I know you," Ozeku replied.

"You also know that there are no extra cards for me to hide," Isrim shot back. "This is the only deck of its kind in Victoria." He felt the face of each card, feeling for the raised numbers and symbols. "Hmm, an interesting hand," he muttered to himself as he rearranged the cards. "Go ahead and start, Ozeku."

He laid down three cards in front of him. "Six, seven, eight of spades," he recited, saving Isrim the trouble of reading them. "And I'm discarding a king of hearts."

"Just what I needed," Isrim said, taking the card and putting down two kings of his own, forming a set of three. "Here's a queen for you, Deianira," he added, discarding the card.

Another quick glance at her cards told Deianira that the card wouldn't be any use to her. "No thanks." She drew a card from the deck, frowned, and discarded a ten.

The game continued in relative silence for a few rounds, with only the occasional cries of victory or anguish when someone managed to win.

"So," Isrim suddenly said, as he drew a card. "I've been thinking."

"Oh dear," Deianira groaned, "this could spell trouble."

Isrim shot a glare at her before continuing. "We've been around for eons now, trying to establish the Master's will in the cosmos. Unsuccessfully, I might add." He discarded a card from his hand, which Deianira snatched up.

"What are you getting at?" Deianira's eyes narrowed. She put down her hand, watching Isrim carefully.

"It's simple, really… why?" Isrim shrugged his shoulders. "What exactly is stopping us from just living out our lives doing whatever we want?"

Deianira bolt upright, almost knocking over the table. She stamped over to Isrim, looking him dead in the eyes. Isrim couldn't see her face, but he didn't have to see it to know that she meant business.

"Loyalty," she snarled. "Dedication. Respect. Qualities I think you lack, Isrim." She pulled him up by his gi. "How dare you even think to question the Master's plan? His rule will keep this universe alive. We are saving this world."

"Look, I…" Isrim started. Deianira pushed him to the floor. "Does the world really need saving? It seems to be working fine without our help."

"If you dare to think about abandoning the Master when he needs us the most…" Deianira hissed.

Isrim cut her off. "When did I say I was leaving?" He stood up. "I never said I would abandon him. I would die for the cause." He sighed. "I apologize. It wasn't right of me to say what I did."

Deianira's cold stare gave way to a disappointed glance. "Of course," she admitted. "I'm sorry. You are just as loyal as the rest of us." She walked towards him, slowly, taking his hand. "This mission has taken a toll on us all. But we will succeed. It is destiny. I need you to believe that."

Isrim smirked. "Yeah. You're right."

Meanwhile, at the table, Ozeku grumbled. He would have won this round. But the game was moot now. He tossed his cards onto the table in resignation.

Suddenly, the boat rocked uncontrollably, sending everyone tumbling to the floor. Deianira quickly regained her equilibrium and dashed topside, only to see the entire crew in a panic. Within moments, she caught a glimpse of the entity that had caused the ship to fall into complete disorder. A black nebula hovered in the air, occasionally giving off flashes of purple lightning. The ship drew closer to it with each passing second, unresponsive to anything the captain or crew tried to do.

"Full reverse!" the captain yelled. "I want as much distance from that thing as we can muster!" The crew followed his orders, rushing about the ship to ready it for a complete 180.

"That's our target," she thought aloud. "Belay that order!" she yelled at the captain, "We need to fly closer to that thing if we stand any chance of destroying it!"

"Like I'd let you lead this crew to its demise! Turn the ship around!" The captain yelled again.

Ozeku and Isrim, meanwhile, had arrived on the deck and found Deianira with the captain. Ozeku saw the cloud immediately. He drew his blade, expecting the worst.

Isrim shivered. "I can feel the chaos irradiating from it," he breathed as his entire body tensed up. "This is much worse than I had expected."

The ship had not strayed a degree off its present course. The captain was a wreck. "You worthless lot! Why haven't we turned around?" he yelled.

"Sir, the rudder's been disabled!" a crewman reported, yelling over the clamor. "We can't turn the ship!"

His gaze fell on the trio. "This is your doing, isn't it?" he growled,

"I'm glad you trust us so highly," Isrim jeered. "There's a magical force pulling us in. We couldn't get away if we wanted to." He smirked as the captain threw his hat to the floor in frustration.

"So what then?" the captain grumbled, defeated.

"We wait," Deianira said. "When we get closer we'll understand what happened."

"At our current speed," Ozeku estimated, "we should reach the cloud within a few minutes."

"Then we have a moment to prepare," Isrim decided. "But no idea what to prepare for."

"…There is something," the captain sighed. He reached into a drawer, finding a scroll. He opened it and read the inscription. "This is the last transmission from one of the missing ships. Hopefully this will shed some light on things." They gathered around the scroll, ready to glean its secrets, as their destination loomed ominously ahead.

Man this chapter was such a mind trip for me.

This is by far the longest chapter in the story, at about three to four times the length of other chapters. It also happens to be the one which, in my humble opinion, advances the plot the least. Kinda funny how that works out.

I'm playing a bit with character development, as it were. I've had the basic action of the chapter written for quite a while now. But what kept me from putting it up earlier was my decision to expand on the characters. Though fleshing out the main characters is far from a bad thing, I can't help but be extremely critical of my own work. As a result, every day for the last few weeks, I've spent a few hours on this, only to get nowhere and usually fall asleep doing it. (I do all my work late at night, it's when I'm at my most creative.) After my last major edit this week, I realized that I can't just continue to work on this chapter for the rest of my life, so I put it on the site.

Where I worked on it some more.

Even now, the introspection and self-criticism feels forced to me. But I doubt any amount of work that I do will fix that problem.

And that's the mind trip story for you.

For the record, Deianira, Ozeku, and Isrim are playing Tong-Its, a popular card game in the Philippines. Being of that descent myself, it's only natural that I am quite familiar with the game. (Being good at it, sadly, is another story.) I don't know/can't pronounce a lot of the terms that they use in game, so I kinda fudged it a little for the sake of the audience.

Please, please review. If you haven't before, at least review now. I need to know what you guys think of this chapter, so I know what to change and what to keep.

Thanks for reading!

- Resda