Episode III: Crossroads of Fate
Chapter 4-6:
An Exercise in Futility
Under a myriad of stars, the pale moonlight guided the untrodden forest pathway. The crackle and crunch of dry leaves being crushed underfoot was dimly heard coming from the distance. Two pairs of footsteps were made out, one consistent and firm and the other clumsy and straggling. Struggling desperately to keep her balance, Elizabeth failed time and time again as she tripped over a tree root or the occasional rock that was expertly hidden almost out of spite by the forest's orange foliage. Upon the third fall, she noticed a there a nick on her right arm; the first real victory by the local flora. Alert but not attentive, her captor paid no mind to her spasms, save for seldom slack in his pace so that she wouldn't lag too far behind. As if the trail wasn't rough enough; a sporadic cloud would eclipse the moon and darken the already hard-to-see road. Something new revealed itself as she smacked into the dirt face first, falling for what felt like the hundredth time. With faint bioluminescence, a light blue herb jutted out between the amber leaves and mossy rocks. A most unexpected treasure, she peered up from the ground to see if he was watching. Determined, she grasped the herb from the base and swiftly uprooted it whilst she picked herself up from the ground. Brushing off the dirt and leaf particles that covered her hair and face, she balled up the plant in her fist so that he couldn't take notice.
"Alright" a word that came so suddenly that it caused her to fall back down on her rear in fright. "Now is good of a time as any. There is a clearing just around the bend here; we'll make camp for the night there." True to his word, there was a clearing just a few feet away, popping out like magic from the dense woodland. The only reason it seemed that he kept a Nano Transformer was for camping supplies, the rest of his equipment he always concealed under his cloak. Remaining reticent, she watched as usual as he assembled two tents and rounded up rocks for sitting and for the base of the campfire. The last and only time she attempted to help, she nearly broke her hands when she tried to secure one of the pitching poles into the ground, a task that would have been a small feat with her stability units. Needless to say, the incident irritated him greatly so; he refused her help since and wouldn't allow her to do so any more anyway. Once he lit the fire, she went to sit down on one of the boulders that was closest to it, her back straightened and her feet perched on her toes, as if she was ready to spring back up if necessary. After he took off his helmet and placed it next to his "chair", he put a pot on the fire and poured some water into it.
"…I…Umm…"
"What is it Elizabeth?"
"…C-C-Could I p-p-possibly make d-dinner tonight?"
"Hmm, I don't see why not. It's not like you really need to use your strength to do that." He took out of his blades and began inspecting it. "…You aren't planning anything are you?"
[There is no way he saw me yet…I always hide my hands behind me when I sit…He can't be that intuitive…No one is that sharp…]
"N-No! Of c-c-course n-n-not…"
"It's been quite some time now. I don't see why you still have to fear me so much. Go ahead."
"Okay…I c-can use the meat we got earlier t-today." Grabbing a pestle and mortar from a table that was made by just placing a sheet over another stone, she placed it on the rock she was sitting on. She opened her enclosed fist to reveal once hidden bright blue herb.
"What do you have there? Is that some sort of herb?"
"Y-Yesss…" It was quite obvious that she was shaking more than the leaves in the night's intermittent winds.
"I've never seen that kind of herb around here. How odd."
"It's q-quite good. My muh-muh-mom taught me a recipe for making s-soup with it."
"I see. It smells quite fragrant. I hope it tastes good." She turned back to her hand, staring blankly at the plant. She couldn't take her eyes off it as she began to breathe heavily. She did learn about this plant from her mother, but not in a instance for cooking. The last time she saw this plant was in the hospital her mom worked at. The plant was displayed in a jar next to an official's desk. The official was a renowned biologist and an expert gastroenterologist. Her mom told her about it when she asked why he had the plant in a jar on his desk. She explained that he was the one who found out the effects and cure for the plant when it was ingested. If this very plant was ingested, it would induce a number of symptoms. For organic species, the deadly neurotoxin contained inside it, which also gave off its vivid blue color, would cause permanent paralysis, a paralysis that would usually result in mortality among Humans and Newmans. Beasts were affected on a lesser scale but the end result was still life-altering. However, in CASTs, the herb somehow has a sedative effect, forcing them into stasis. Now that she held this same herb in her hand, she could possibly be able to make her escape. Her captor was becoming impatient as he looked up from his blade. "Is something wrong? You look even more distressed."
"No, it's just cold is all."
[If I remember correctly, his ship shouldn't be that far away. We mainly walked a big circle around the mountain through the forest. I should be able to make it around the other side in time if I hurry.]
She shuddered as other darker thoughts ran through her head.
[What if it doesn't work? I'll be stuck with him for the foreseeable future…He comes from a different time and place…or so he claims…But he eats like us…Maybe it will work on him?]
Despite that, she made her decision. Placing the herb into the mortar, she began grinding it up into bits with the pestle. Pouring the powdered herb into the water, the bubbles frothed and emitted a pleasant, flowery smell. She took the strips of meat from the table and placed them on a skillet and held it over the fire. Once the meat was cooked, she cut it up along with a few other vegetables and placed them in the boiling soup stock.
"It's r-ready…"
"Excellent. I'm starved." Grabbing two bowels, he poured some soup into both, handing the other back to Elizabeth. Slowly, she placed the bowel onto her lap and fervently observed him as he put the spoon into the blue-tinted liquid. He paused just before placing it his mouth and took whiff of the broth. "It smells heavenly." Her breathing ceased as time seemed to stop until he finally put his spoonful inside and swallowed. "It tastes just as good as well. I had no idea you were such a good cook."
[Now I have to wait and see if it will work.]
"…T-Thanks…By the way…Z…Is it alright if I call you that?"
"Yes, it's quite alright. You don't have to be so tense with me."
"…Right…When we were fighting before…In the temple."
"You mean when you shot me?" He knew what she was going to make a point off before she could even say something along those lines. "Relax, I don't resent you for it. To be honest, I was asking for it, I was hoping you would do something. I'm glad you did. Proved to me you weren't as spineless as I originally thought…That came out wrong…You'll have to forgive me, my lack of interaction with people as dulled my manners."
"…No, it's okay. I would have to agree with you on that. I do feel spineless quite often. Downright helpless really…My question is though…Didn't it hurt? Other than falling to the ground, you got right back up as if it didn't even faze you."
"Of course it hurt. A lot really. But I've suffered countless wounds in my life. I guess I've trained my body to just handle that sort of abuse over the years without complaint. I suppose I should also apologize for my actions even earlier than that."
"You mean for near-mortally wounding my brother?"
"Oh…That…Yes…I guess I should apologize for that too…I have a reason for that…But I rather not explain that now. No, I wanted to apologize to what I did to you personally."
"You mean when you were strangling me and you stabbed me?"
[Seeing how he actually has empathy, this feels pretty good to take the moral high-ground. Maybe I should lay off before he gets mad though.]
"Yes…That. I had to demonstrate to, what was it you called him?"
"…Q-Quagmire."
"Yes, him. I had to demonstrate to him that I meant business. Quagmire is very special…He doesn't really know what he is truly capable of just yet. I plan to…accelerate…that process so that he may realize his own strengths for the better."
"…You are referring to the Evolutionary Emotion Device?"
"What? How…Ahem… Now is not the time to discuss that…" Following an awkward silence, he coughed and looked around before having more soup.
"…What about what I said before about the Endrum Collective…and that man…What was his name again…Renvolt Magashi?"
"Oh that. You needn't worry about him. He's dead. He was a chief officer of the Endrum Collective but he died alongside the destruction of the HIVE. The Endrum Collective has since been disbanded following the incident. They were nothing more than a false facet of the AMF, made by the Illuminus to control them so they could have unrestricted access to Relics sites…Say, let's change the subject to something less serious…hmm…Oh I know, you're a smart girl…I haven't really had anyone to ask about this either."
"…What is it?"
"How come CASTs need to do things like sleep and eat? We aren't born like the other races are…we aren't organic either. It never really made sense for me."
"Oh…umm…W-Well…I think the reason for it was to help them better fit inside society…Rather than do something else for energy and maintenance, it made sense to have us act more like the other races."
"Well, if that is the case…How come…" His eyes were starting to droop. "Man, I'm tired all of a sudden. How come we don't reproduce then like other races? Wouldn't it be possible to have us reproduce the same way seeing we can eat the same food?"
"Umm…well…That is…"
"…I just…noticed something…you haven't touched your food…"
"Oh…I…I'm n-n-not very hungry…"
"L-Liarrrr…you druggshed me…Don't…even think about runnin…" With a slow and shaky outreach of his left arm, he vainly endeavored to grab her wrist only to miss and hit the pot of soup instead. As it dropped, it doused the fire and drenched the ground surrounding his unconscious body. Hesitant at first, she inched her way over to his body bit by bit until she was within his range again. Through anxiety alone, she felt like she was going to pass out as she knelt down to see if his eyes were still open. Tilting her head to the side, his eyes appeared to be still and shut. Without any further delay, she got up and made for her escape.
Not a second after leaving camp, Elizabeth heard what sounded like the screeches of Tengohgs. Panicked, she tried to sprint away to lengthen the distance from the noise, forgetting just how clumsy she was without her high-tech crutches. Now the reverberations of falling trees were added to the increasing proximity of the screeches. Joining in the cacophony using her own screams of terror and frenzied gasps, she continuously fell and tripped; delving further into the woodlands and away from the mountainside. One of the beasts managed to catch up with her, landing on a set of trees that couldn't have been more than five feet in front of her. Out of instinct, she dove behind a rock and assumed a fetal position, praying it wouldn't detect her. It's growling got closer as it spontaneously flapped its wings in protest, jettisoning small bouts of fire from its mouth. The tip of its left wing was currently looming just above her hairline; all it had to do was take one more step forward to spot her. She cupped her mouth as if for some reason it would stop her urge to scream out of fear, totally aware that no one would come for her even if she did. Then, there was a brief period of silence. Taking a chance to see if the coast was clear, she poked her head out over the rock. Staring right back at her was the Tengohg, mere inches from her face. It lunged towards her with its mouth agape, its aim to take a sizeable chunk out of her. A branch dropped next to it followed by another Tengohg, instigating a squabble. As the two of them contested for right to search the area, she quietly crawled away.
Having wandered the forest for what seemed like hours now, Elizabeth collapsed as she reached a small clearing. Covered in dirt and cuts, she was exhausted and hungry. The only thing she wished to do was sleep, however, the noises of the night kept her level of apprehension at an all-time high. Sounds from the manhunt could still be heard a ways off in the distance alongside the normal chirping of bugs with the activity of other nocturnal critters. Gazing at her feet as she sat there alone, she contemplated her options. The way she saw it, there were only three choices. First, she would have to keep going and hope that someone would find her or at least she would encounter some way to contact someone. Second, could attempt to double-back and try to navigate the mountainside to reach the Landale. Finally and the option she would want the least, she could seek out asylum with the assurance that nothing else would hurt her if she found Z again. Regardless of the decision, she would rough out in the wilderness for the time being. While she sat there thinking, it appeared that the Tengohgs gave up and flew off as their incessant screeching ended, restoring the normal tranquil ambience to the forest. The soothing sounds lulled her woes away and inhibited her thoughts with torpor. Thinking now was a good a time as any; she laid down on her side and closed her eyes. As a chilly wind blew over the forest, she shivered and reopened her eyes. Brief as the squall was, its frigid tendrils had too severe an impact as a wave of extreme homesickness set in. The convenience of having a warm bed and the comfort of knowing that people were nearby to help was dearly missed; as the reflection dawned on her, she sobbed in silence.
Sitting back up and wiping the tears away, she sniffed and looked around. Something was wrong. Everything was dead quiet, save for the increasing tempest of wind. Nothing was out of the ordinary around her until the clearing turned to pitch-black darkness. Beyond the sky, the moon had birthed a monstrous shadow that shot towards the ground like a bullet. The beast fired off an ear-splitting cry that she was all too familiar with; something out of her darkest nightmares. It was a Zoal Goug, a dragon native to Neudaiz; it was relatively blind, operating mainly on hearing and smell. Unlike the ones on Parum, this dragon was covered with sepia tinted and segmented armor with orange spikes covering its face. In addition, instead of breathing fire, this flying reptile was capable of storing and discharging electricity from its mouth. After digging its amber claws into the earth and once the dust settled, there was only a few feet spacing it and Elizabeth. It took broad, thunderous steps forward as she clambered backwards on the backs of her palms and the edge of her heels. Able to gain more ground than she could, it placed its massive forelimb on her body, exerting more than enough pressure to cut out her ability to breathe. Hopelessly pinned, she still struggled about to try and push it off, choking and gasping for air while doing so. Tipping one of its digits downwards, it created a large gash in her shoulder which caused her expend a decent amount of what little air left into an anguishing cry. The noise seemed to intrigue it as it lowered its head, cocking it from side to side. Its heavy breath frizzled her dingy hair, forcing it to stand on end. When she began whimpering, it screamed into her face, as if ordering to shut up; demanding its toy shouldn't produce sound. Removing its grip, she scrunched into a ball as her abdomen was now in considerable agony. Suddenly, it lowered its head and opened its mouth, sinking its teeth into her ankle. Before she could cry out again, it shook her violently to and fro, silencing her for good as it tossed her into a nearby tree. Satisfied and hungry, the moonlight beast approached its hapless prey once more. Only able to open one of her eyes as the other was buried in the dirt, she winced as its maw reached for her again. As she drifted in and out of consciousness, there were cracks of lightning and traded roars from what sounded like a man and the beast. The scuffle drifted into her field of vision as it was Z who was battling the dragon. His movements were sluggish and convulsive compared to what she remembered of his capabilities. When her eyes reopened, the beast was lying on the ground with an object protruding from its skull. She blinked and then saw Z's face.
"Stupid girl…I…told you…you aren't…to…leave…my…cap…tiv…ity…"
He fell down next her, appearing to have passed out. Unable to remain conscious any longer, she gave into the darkness. She awoke again thanks to the throbbing pain in her stomach and shoulder. There were even more bandages than there was when she first woke up in the man's captivity. It would appear that she ended up right back where she had started: inside one of his tents. Her left arm was in a sling that was attached to the wounded shoulder. As she tried to sit up, she found it rather difficult to bend at her sides. Running her right arm across her belly, she felt two hard objects on each side of her abdomen; probably something that was supposed to be splints. A pointless gesture towards the healing process for a CAST, but at least he tried. Lacking the strength and finesse to remove the bandages in her current position, she had to use her only good arm to push up off the ground. A few minutes of deliberation resulted in her finally succeeding in sitting up right. From this new angle, she could see what was going on outside the tent. There was a campfire going but this time it was in the vicinity of the Landale; its stairs could be seen adjacent to his tent. Surprisingly, the rest of the ship was also visible. Feeling sorry for herself and for her pathetic and failed attempt at escape, her next objective was to stand up to emerge and apologize. Once she put weight on her leg, a sharp pain shot up through its entirety as it gave straightaway. She moaned and coughed as she now struggled to sit up again. "I suppose some good did come of this exercise in futility. I was unfortunately unable mend your ankle…I can play field medic only so much. I managed to secure a sturdy stick that should suffice as a crutch." He entered the tent to witness the pitiable mess of a girl for himself.
"…S-Sorry…"
"Oh come now, you think I'll accept that apology? It's amazing that can even function correctly on a day to day basis. I can't fathom how someone as smart as you can be so stupid at times. What the hell were you planning?" Utterly defeated by the hard truth, she turned away and wept. He sighed and shook his head before loosening a brief chuckle. He bent over and extended out to her. As she felt him place his arm underneath hers she gasped and turned to him wide-eyed. He had a sickeningly comfortable grin on his face, indiscernible in its intention. She found that she couldn't draw breath, half from fear and half from surprise. She winced in preparation for pain. Gingerly, he raised her up, placing his right arm under her legs and shifting his left to support her back. Carrying her out of the tent, he placed her on a familiar boulder next to the fire. Next to his, he retrieved the earlier mentioned stick and placed it next to her. Taking his seat, he turned and stared at her. "Now, tell me. What exactly was your plan? I won't chastise you…I just want to know what ideas you were scheming."
Rubbing her eyes, she snorted and coughed. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "I…Uhh…I was g-going to t-take your ship and fly home."
"I see. How did you plan to get there?"
"…I thought that w-we mainly circled around the mountain…All I had to d-do was follow the side of the m-mountain and I would eventually reach it."
"And what was it that you put into the soup? There aren't many things I know of that can affect CASTs the way that herb did."
"It was a paralytic…It normally kills the other races…but it induces stasis in CASTs…"
"Very clever. I had no idea such an herb existed around here. I'll be sure to not use it in the future. Now, how were you going to operate my ship? You do know that it only operates for me correct?"
"…No, I didn't…"
"And did you know that the trek around the mountain would have taken two hours and you would have had to go through a den of Tengohgs?"
"…N-No…"
"What would have been your plan if you couldn't operate the ship?"
"…I…I…"
"Focus."
"…I would have kept going until someone came for me…Or until I found some way to contact someone…"
"How would you defend yourself if something attacked you?"
"…I…I'm sorry…"
"Stop apologizing! If you are going to plan something you have to think of all possible options and expect everything to go wrong. You have to make sure you have a contingency for all options before you do something so drastic. I wouldn't doubt that your final option would have been to return to me for assistance."
"…It was…" He sighed again and shook his head.
"You see, this is exactly why I don't want you running off on your own. My point in the matter is that if you have no one else to rely on, you'll have to use everything your arsenal to survive in a dangerous situation…Well, thanks to your injury, I essentially have you on a leash and at least this way I won't have to stow you away in my ship. However, if you do manage to pull something like this again, I will have to do so. I'd prefer that I didn't have to do that and I'd imagine you would as well. Use this time to reflect on what I said to you…" He stood up and stepped over to her, bending down so that they made direct eye contact before he continued; "I'll say it again, you aren't to run away and you aren't going to leave my captivity until I say so. I think we can both agree that we would favor your departure to be a peaceful and comfortable one…Do we have an understanding?"
"…Y-Yes…"
"I'm not convinced. I want you to repeat after me and I want you to say like you mean it. "I will not try to run away or leave Z's company until he decides that I can." Go on. Say it."
"…I…will not try to r-run away or leave Z's c-c-company…until…he decides that I can…"
[It's not like I can if I wanted to anymore anyway. I'm not that good at using Resta on myself yet and the way I'm injured, I'm not sure I can use it at all.]
"That's better…In any case; my quarry has no doubt gotten away thanks to your little escapade. We are going to go to Parum next. But before we do, I have a job for you."
"…W-What is it?"
"I'd imagine you're wondering why the ship is currently not in stealth…Your brother…he no doubt has some way to track my ship. I'd imagine there is a tracking device on it but the ships systems can't detect it and I wouldn't know what to look for. I've purposefully taken precautions to make us leave the ship farther away to prevent him from finding us. If he did, he would most certainly bring Quagmire with him, and I know he isn't ready yet. I want you find this device and destroy it."
"…Okay…It's not like I have a ch-ch-choice in the matter." In quiet submission, she took the crude support and spastically moved towards the ship. Cock-sure she wouldn't dare attempt to escape again; he already started packing up camp as she got on her knees and crawled underneath the ship. "I found it…"
"Good! Remove it and destroy it if you can." Punching the device caused it to open up the console that was hidden inside. After a few seconds of interfacing with it, it detached from the ship. Taking the bug in her hand, she slid back out from under the ship and grasped her crutch and lifted herself off the ground. Using the blunt, bottom of the pole, she crushed it.
"It's gone."
"Excellent. Get on the ship, we leave immediately." Entering the top floor and the cockpit, she took her usual seat which was right behind the pilot's chair. As they left the atmosphere, Z suddenly turned around. "Oh and one more thing. If we encounter Quagmire, you are not to engage him in any way. In fact, if you see him, I want you to make sure that he won't see you; if anything, nothing more than a glimpse. I'd like to keep him at "arm's length". Otherwise…I might have to act more…drastically to contain him."
"Please don't hurt him!"
"That's not for you to decide. Remember, I'm the conductor who is orchestrating these events."
"…You're a monster."
"If that I what I must become to save this world, then so be it. When fighting against an evil like the Illuminus and Dark Falz, one can't be afraid of bleeding nor be afraid of shedding blood."
