2nd Revolution: Jayd! Protector of the Unseen World!
Late one night, the rain poured down over the Hart's family home as a twelve year old Trey stood at the front door. The door was open, his mother standing on the doorstep in a long red coat with her hood up. The woman, with tears in eyes and a shaking unsteady gaze, stared back at the child from over her shoulder.
"Mom?" the young Trey yawned, rubbing his eyes, "Where are you going?"
The grown woman's lip quivered, kneeling down to her child and wrapping her arms around him, "Trey… that's not something I can tell you," she said, patting her son on the head, "but there's something I need to do."
The young Trey blinked, looking to his mother before nuzzling into her and yawning some more, "Can't I.. go with you?"
Trey's mother shook her head, "I need you to stay here Trey." She pulled away from him, then reached for a silver heart shaped pendant that was tethered to a similar silver chain. "However, when the time comes you may find me if you'd like," she took the necklace off of herself the slipped it onto Trey.
Trey held the necklace, then slowly looked down to it. "Two hearts become one…" he read off, "Darkness is undone."
Trey's mother kissed him on the head, "Be strong for me," she cooed, a faint ringing becoming audible in Trey's ear, "okay Trey?"
Suddenly, Trey's eyes shot open. The boy found himself in his bed, still dressed from the night before only lacking his sweater. His hand clung tightly to the necklace from his dream which he wore around his neck. The ringing he heard before was even louder and now clearly coming from behind him.
In a daze, he rolled over to his cell phone buzzing like crazy. With a wince, he reached for it and answered it.
"Hello?" He yawned, bringing the phone to his ear.
"Trey?" Mike's voice echoed from the other end of the line, "Its Mike, you gotta minute?"
Trey sat right up, his heart going into a flutter. "Yeah! Totally!" He blushed, "There's actually something I was meaning to tell you yesterday but.. I never got the chance before Zack and his goons showed up."
"Huh… I see," Mike muttered, "Well, I got something to talk to you about too. You wanna go first?"
"Oh no, you first," Trey laughed nervously, "please."
"Well, okay… here goes," Mike let out a heavy breath, "Zack asked me to tell you… not to come to game night anymore."
Trey's heart sunk, "... What?"
"Dude, look I don't wanna do this," Mike pleaded, "but my hands are tied here. Zack told me it was either you stop going or all three of them walk."
"AND YOU'RE ON THEIR SIDE!" Trey snapped at him, tightening the grip on his phone.
"What?!" Mike shot back, "No! I just-"
"JUST FUCK OFF!" roared Trey. He didn't end the call as he whipped his phone at the wall, the device shattering to pieces upon impact. Trey then fell over onto his back as his eyes began to turn a light shade of red, tears forming in the corners of his eyes, "My life just sucks."
{Insert Opening Theme: "Rinbu Revolution" by Chihara Minori}
Grak'nar huddled in a cave made of blood stained cables, the floors and walls of which were covered in scattered bones and rotting flesh.
"I'll kill them!" He snarled while biting into the remains of a human arm, the gashed in his arm repairing the more he are. "Next time I see that Network Rider! I'll kill them!"
"If you are so sure there will be a next time," Selias' voice echoed from over his shoulder.
Grak'nar gasped, turning around to see the dog based Jester standing behind him with Selias' amber flame in the palm of her right hand.
"Lord Selias…" Grak'nar swallowed the meat in his maw, "what brings you here?"
"You allowed the network rider to sever the fledgling's tie to our domain," Selias told him, "this failure, I hope you know, is unacceptable."
"He was… a potent one…" Grak'nar muttered. He hung his head, them bowed before the amber flame in the Jester's hand, "I accept whatever punishment you deem fit."
The amber flame loomed over Grak'nar's head in silence for a moment, then Selias spoke through it, "Very well… you punishment shall be-"
"Not necessary," Maestro's voice chimed in, Grak'nar and the amber flame turning to the jester's left hand to see it was now being held up and open with a black flame burning in the center of it.
"What to mean by that brother?" Selias asked.
"The network rider may have performed her ritual, but a fledgling the boy remains," Maestro explained, "and your window to add him to your pack of beasts my darling sister, is closing quickly."
"How? Selias snarled.
"He holds great anger, sure," Maestro said, "but the void of loneliness is spreading within him."
Selias laughed, "So you suspect he'll become one of your dolls then? A mere plaything?"
"They're called mimics, my darling sister," Maestro scoffed, "do not discredit them with such juvenile language."
"Mimic, doll, whatever you call them," amber flame turned to their servant, "Grak'nar the Hungerer.. you know what to do."
Grak'nar snarled, a smirk appearing on his face as he bowed before the amber flame held in the jester's hand, "Of course.. my lord."
Back in Trey's room, the boy lay asleep curled up in covers. As he slept, a pale hand inched its way from the end of his bed. Like a spider, the hand crept its way from where it first landed up the length of Trey's blankets before finally reaching his face. Flaring out its fingers, the hand lunged forward and grabbed hold of Trey's blanket cocoon before violently ripping it off his body.
"TREEEEEEYYYY!" Yelled Jill as she threw the blankets from off her brothers bed and onto the floor, Trey jumping awake as his sister loomed from above him, "YOU ATE THE REST OF MY HOT FUDGE MARSHMALLOW ICE CREAM! DIDN'T YOU?!"
"No…" Trey winced, holding his ears as he looked up to his sister, "why would I?"
Jill kicked the door open and marched up to Trey, "Liar!"
"UGH!" Trey groaned, sitting up and shoving his sister off his bed, "is this payback for me throwing you off the couch yesterday?"
"What are you talking about?" Jill looked to him and crossed her arms, "This isn't about something that didn't happen, this is about owning up to what you did!"
"Oh my god!" Trey got up from his bed and picked his sister up by the collar of her shirt and dragged her back over to the door, "I don't have time for this right now, just ask Dad to buy you more."
Jill frowned, "But it was a limited time offer!"
"Ugh, they just say that so kids like you will beg their parents to buy it," Trey groaned, "Besides, you eat too much crap as it is."
"You're mean!" Jill pouted beginning to cry.
"And you're annoying, now leave me alone," Trey barked back before slamming the door in his sister's face.
"I'M TELLING DAD!" Jill shouted from the other side of the door.
"I DON'T CARE!" Trey shouted back.
"Kid's today," a female voice called out, "No respect for other people's personal space."
"Tell me about it," Trey groaned. He paused for a moment then looked over to the side to see S.Y.D sitting at the end of his back with a small white bowl in one hand and a silver spoon in the other. She was clearly munching down on something, "GAH!" Trey shouted, jumping back and slamming into the door, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"
S.Y.D. swallowed then looked over to Trey "Eating…" she blinked, "what does it look like I'm doing?"
"I can see that… but why?"
"I was hungry… duh?" S.Y.D. said as she continued to stuff her face.
"I don't have time for this!" Trey shouted as he walked over to the door and swung it open, "Get out!"
"After I'm done eating," S.Y.D. told him.
Trey looked at the bowl she had and raised an eyebrow, "What is that anyway?"
"Ice cream," S.Y.D. returned, "There wasn't much left, but it's pretty good," she licked her lips, "Gotta sat, hot fudge and marshmallow is a pretty odd combination, but I can't argue how tasty it is.
Trey's eyes shot open, "It was YOU! YOU did the THING!" He dashed out the door, "JILL! I KNOW WHO JACKED YOUR ICE CREAM!"
"Teenagers," S.Y.D. rolled her eyes, "so petty."
"You do realize that our mission will be compromised if his family finds out about us right?" Eli called out from the gem on S.Y.D.'s gauntlet.
"Don't you worry," S.Y.D. said, patting the gem, "I've got this."
Trey stormed down the hall until he reached the stairs leading to the ground floor of the house, "I swear I'm gonna kill that girl!" He reached for the rail as he felt a tug at his collar forcing him backward.
"Now now, there is no need for that kind of language," S.Y.D. said as she pulled Trey away from the rail and back into his room before throwing him down on the floor.
"What the hell is with you!" Trey demanded.
"Just give us a moment to explain," Syd pleaded.
"Us?" Trey raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean 'us'?"
"Me and Eli," Syd raised her gauntlet to Trey, "Say hi Eli."
"Greetings," Eli called out from the gauntlet.
"IT CAN TALK!" Trey shouted as he jumped to his feet.
"Shut it!" Syd smacked Trey across his face, "You wouldn't want your little sister to walk in on with some random girl do you?"
"But I'm not…" Trey muttered, then fell silent. After a moment, his eyes shot open. He then ran over to the door to his room, shut it and locked it before pushing his dresser in front of it. He then turned back to S.Y.D with a bow, "You were saying?"
S.Y.D stood there in silence, gawking at him unsure of what to say.
"Perhaps I should start us off," Eli called out. Syd raised her gauntlet so that Eli's gem was face to face with Trey, "Allow me to introduce ourselves. My name is Eli of the Emerald Wind, this my contractor S.Y.D. Together we are Network Rider Jayd, and we were tasked with protecting you from Gate Keeper attacks."
"S.Y.D.?" Trey questioned, looking to red head, "Those your initials or something?"
S.Y.D. shrugged, "More or less."
"Then why not just go by Syd?" Trey suggested.
"Syd?" The girl raised a brow. A faint but noticeable grin then appeared on her face, "I like it, Syd it is."
"Moving on with our previous subject," Eli spoke up, the gaze of both Trey and the newly named Syd looking back to his gem on Syd's wrist. "We apologize for the intrusion, but it seems we still have business with you."
"What kind of business?" Trey asked.
"What do you remember about last night?" Syd asked him.
"You mean before or after those two monsters attacked me?" Trey asked back.
Syd's eyes widened, "There was another one?!" She grabbed Trey by the collar of his shirt and looked him in the eye. Gulping sharply, Trey nodded. "Do you remember what the other one looked like?"
"I remember the face of a dog… but not much else," he hung his head, "I'm sorry. It was all too hectic to take notes."
"No, don't be sorry. It makes sense to be honest," Syd said, releasing her hold on Trey. "Unlike why there were two gate keepers in the same place at the same time."
"That's uncommon?" Trey asked.
"Not just uncommon," Eli said with a heavy sigh, "it's practically unheard of."
"Just like a fledgling who remains to be one after the severing ritual," Syd pointed out, giving Trey a look. She then grinned and patted Trey on the head, "You're something special Trey."
"Okay! Back up for second!" Trey demanded, holding his hands up in the air. "Fledgling? Gate Keeper? Network Rider? What does that all mean?"
The pair stared at Trey, Syd eyeing Eli's gem before raising a brow. "Still wanna handle this one?"
"Of course," Eli said, a table and set of chairs forming from his gem on Syd's bracelet. The table placed itself on the floor between the door and Trey's bed, with each chair being placed opposite each other. "Have a seat, Fledgling Trey."
Trey and Syd both sat down, Syd removing her bracelet from her wrist and placing it on the table with Eli's gem facing upward.
"Now then," Eli spoke, a diagram of the human body flaring up from the light of his gem. "This is a human? Correct?"
Trey nodded, "Yeah? Looks like one."
"Except it is not," Eli told him, an egg appearing in the center of the diagram. "It is a fledgling, with unborn potential housed inside."
"So a fledgling is a human…" Trey looked to Syd and pointed to her, "with the potential to become like Syd? A powerful warrior?"
Syd nodded. "Exactly," Eli continued, "however…" a pair of red eyes appeared in the projection above the human diagram. "If a Gate Keeper gets to the fledgling, and forces them to succumb to their negative emotions..."
"Negative emotions?" Trey questioned.
"Unreachable desire," Syd began to list off, "crippling grief or festering loneliness…" she then glanced up and looked Trey dead in the eye as the egg within the human diagram began to shake and crack, "everlasting anger."
The egg shattered, the human diagram transforming into the outline of a beast, "The fledgling will die, and a new Gate Keeper will be born from the remains."
Trey felt a chill run down his spine at the image before him. "How come I'm only hearing about this now?"
"Gate Keeper's are crafty, and never appear on your plane of existence," Eli explained. "Then will stalk their prey, manipulating what they can from their plane, and when they have what they want within their reach-" Eli's projection turned bright red, the light engulfing the whole of Trey's room as a skull shaped moon was projected onto the ceiling, "-they'll drag their prey into their realm."
"Okay…" Trey nodded along, "then how did you guys get in there? Wouldn't the gate keepers have methods if keeping you out?"
"Thankfully our commander won't allow that," Syd smirked. "She's just as crafty as they are, designing weapons that can cut their way into the Gate Keeper's domain. Whenever they've tried to lock us out, our commander adjusts our tools and breaks us back in."
"Sounds like this commander of yours is a pretty big deal…" Trey said, leaning back in his chair to get a good look at Syd and Eli. "What kind of person are they?"
"Sorry Trey, but that's classified," Syd told him as she stood up, picking up Eli's bracelet and putting it back on her wrist. As Eli was removed, the chairs disappeared along with the table. "Can't have anyone outside our group know the one in charge you know."
"WHA!" Trey shouted as he fell to the floor, a loud thud shooting through the whole house. Rubbing his ass, he looked up to Syd and simply nodded, "Yeah… that makes sense I guess."
"Besides, you knowing isn't required for my job," she looked him in the eye and extended a hand to him. "I go where my mission takes me, protect local fledglings, and cut down any Gate Keepers that after them."
Trey took her hand and hoisted himself up, "Didn't you already do that?"
"Afraid not," Eli said with a regretful tone to his voice, Syd hanging her head some. "You remain a fledgling.. And the Gate Keeper that was pursuing you…"
Trey stood there for a moment, then his eyes widened in shock. "THAT THING IS STILL ALIVE!"
Syd nodded, "Unfortunately."
"Great! Just what I needed!" Trey yelled as he pulled his hand away from Syd, turning his back to her as he marched off and crossed his arms, "This is just perfect."
"Trey…" Syd quietly muttered, taking a step towards him, "we're just trying to protect you."
"Then get out," Trey muttered.
"Fledgling Trey!" Eli's voice boomed out from his gem. "You were dragged into the Gate Keeper's domain, a fate rare for your kind to survive! Let us help you-"
"I SAID GET OUT!" Trey roared, looking back to the pair behind him with anger in his eyes and a snarl to his voice.
Syd let out a small sigh, "Alright," she bowed, "as you wish." She went to the window and climbed out, lowering the blinds before shutting the window behind her and perching herself on top of Trey's roof.
She let out a small huff, then held her head, "Man.. I just don't get people."
"As true as that might be, we have other matters to attend to," Eli called out from the gem on Syd's wrist, "We should focus our attention on finding the Gate Keeper we failed to kill last night."
"True," Syd said with a grin turning her attention to Eli, "have you by any chance been able to pick up a signal yet?"
"Yes," Eli returned, "It's faint but I'm picking up Gate Keeper activity not too far from here. Estimate distance, three kilometers and moving."
Syd smirked, "Alright, then let's get a move on."
Syd pulled out a deep purple die and hit a small switch on her belt buckle.
"GAME START!" Her belt roared as she slammed her die into the slot on her buckle and pulled her hood over her head before giving the dial on her belt a hard spin, "CLASS ROLL! STALKER!" Her coat turned the same deep purple as the die, her light armor forming around her as her hood darkened to allow only a simple silver face mask and vibrant yellow eyes, "Deadly Daggers! Strike the Night!"
Within the network of cables, Grak'nar sat against one wall while glaring angrily at the opposite wall. Against that wall was a rusty cage with a pair of adult sized skeletons inside it, the bones of which had been picked clean.
"Mommy!" Whimpered a child's voice in the back of his mind, "Please, let me eat!"
Grak'nar snarled, balling his claw into a fist as he stood up and headed over to the cage. He trembled, tears running down his face as he reached for the skull of one of the skeletons and picked it up.
"I.. I just wanted to eat, mommy…" he muttered under his breath.
"You're choosing now to get sentimental my child?" The voice of Selias echoed through the tunnels like the coo of a dove.
Grak'nar jumped, looking beside him to see Selias right in front of him with her hand on the top of the cage. "No my lord," he shook his head, "just uneasy."
Selias' harsh gaze softened upon her subject, "You're scared to face that network rider again… aren't you?"
Grak'nar nodded, "Yes… my lord."
Suddenly, Selias flexed the hand she had atop the cage, causing it to catch fire. Grak'nar gasped, stepping backwards before looking to Selias with a shaken gaze, "W-Why would you do that?!"
"To show you my resolve," Selias smirked as she cupped Grak'nar's cheek, "the same resolve I sensed in you the day I freed you from this cage." She guided the windigo's gaze back to the burning hunk of metal, "Don't tell me that resolve is gone because of one small hurtle."
Grak'nar watched as the bones inside the cage cracked and withered to ash under the heat of the fire they were engulfed. The beast then snarled, narrowing his gaze upon the remains,
"Of course not…" he said, balling up his claws, "my lord."
{End of Part A}
{Start of Part B}
Later that night Trey lazily waltzed down stairs and into the living room. He paused, looking at Jill who was laying bellyside down on the couch while gaming on her hand. Her feet were up in the air while a bag of chips and a bottle of soda sat beside her. Trey stares at her for a long while, his hands burning and heart sinking as he recalled him throwing his sister from the couch the other day.
He swallowed deeply then stepped forward towards Jill, only for Jill to look up from her game mid chip and stare back at Trey. The two just stood there for a moment, Trey feeling himself begin to sweat as Jill ate her chip then slowly raised a brow at him. He opened his jaw ever so slightly as if he was about to speak, but before he said so much as a single word, he swerved on his heel and darted right into the kitchen.
"Kaaaaaaaayyyyy?" Jill muttered to herself as she watched her brother's journey to the kitchen, only to shrug and shove many more chips into her mouth.
Once in the Kitchen, Trey let out a loud yawn before opening up the fridge looking for something.
He sighed, "Jill! Did you drink that last of my orange soda again!"
"Why the hell would I?!" Jill shouted back, "You probably drank it and forgot!"
"Ha ha, very funny!" Trey groaned slamming the fridge. He pulled out his wallet, opening it up to find a five dollar bill alongside three dollars in change and a folded up scrap of photo paper. "Hmm?" He raised a brow, fishing out the photo paper.
He unfolded it, gasping ever so slightly as he now saw the photo in his hand. Pictured was Jill, only two months ago, sitting at a table and surrounded by balloons with a happy grin on her face while throwing her arms in the air. In front of her on the table was a torn up pile of wrapping paper and in her hands, tightly gripped, was a video game marked "Saber's Quest" with a red haired warrior in black armor swinging a sword pictured on the cover.
Trey's heart swelled at the sight of this image, sniffling ever so slightly as a tear rolled out from his eye and down his cheek. He wiped his eye, sniffling some more as he did so.
"Trey?" Jill called out from the other room, "Are you okay?"
Trey clenched the photo. Then, after turning on his heel, he dragged his feet as he made his way back into the living room and walked up to Jill on the couch.
"Do you.. remember when this was taken?" Trey asked Jill, holding the photo up to her.
Jill looked to the photo, raising a brow, "My birthday last year…when you got me Saber's Quest," she looked to her brother, "why?"
"Do you… like it?" Trey asked, starting to blush as he dodged Jill's gaze. "The game I mean."
Jill blinked, "Um… duh?" Jill said, pausing her game as she sat herself up and just stared at him. "Its my favorite game of all time ya dolt."
Suddenly, Trey threw his arms around Jill and pulled her close into a tight and warm hug. "I'm sorry…" he muttered, patting her on the head as he sniffled a bit, "I've been an awful big brother to you, and you didn't deserve any of it. Do you hear me?"
"O-oh…" Jill stuttered, blushing herself as she hugged her brother. "Well, to be fair.. I sorta deserved it for picking on ya."
It was then that the front door opened and Owen walked in. "Oh my," he grinned as he eyed his two kids, "isn't this a sight."
"DADDY!" Jill cheered, grinning ear to ear as she rushed over to Owen and clung to his leg.
"They just announced a new game based on Saber's Quest! Can I get it! Please! Please!"
Owen raised a brow, then grinned himself, "Maybe…" he said, patting Jill on the head, "If Lady Saber remembers her bed time."
Jill stood there for a moment in silence, then gasped. "I was helping Trey with something!" She yelled as she bolted up the stairs to the second floor of the house, "Just so you know!"
Trey simply laughed quietly as Owen let out a yawn. "So, mind telling me how you managed that one?" Owen asked as he removed his coat and hung it on a hook on the wall.
Trey held up the photo from his wallet, "We just had a talk."
"I see," Owen raised a brow at his son, "and how did the game shop go?" He nudged him a bit, "By how I didn't see you come home last night, I'm guessing…"
"He ditched me," Trey let out a heavy sigh, his head hanging to the floor. "Told me he didn't want me coming around anymore."
"Oh Trey…" Owen gulped, reaching out to his son and hugging him tight, "I'm sorry."
"It's alright," Trey managed a grin as he hugged his father back, "I was out of his league anyway."
"That's the spirit.. I think," Owen patted Trey on his back then pulled away from him and looked him in the eye. "But then, what did keep you out all night?"
"Oh..uh…" Trey dodged his father's gaze and gulped, "you're gonna think its crazy."
Owen smirked, crossing his arms, "We won't know that until you say it."
"Okay then… Dad?" Trey looked his father in the eye, "Do you think… that… heroes and demons are real?"
Owen starred his son, his eyes zeroing in on the necklace Trey wore around his neck before sighing once again.
"I had a feeling this day would come," Owen said, fishing out his wallet and handing his credit card from it to Trey. "Go to the Halsey's down the road, tell her you want the good stuff okay?" He told his son before giving him a firm pat on the shoulder, "We'll talk when you get back, okay?"
Trey gasped, then stood there puzzled, "You aren't just gonna tell me right now?"
"No way," he shook his head, "cause I still need to figure out just how to put this.." he said, looking up the stairs, "and, this isn't a conversation I want to risk your sister over hearing."
"Oh…" Trey muttered under his breath.
Owen smirked, patting the boy on the shoulder, "Now get going, alright?"
Trey smirked, then nodded, "Right."
Within the network of cables, Selias hung from her ring staring at a brightly burning flame that hung above the pit of the damned. The jester stood at the maw of the pit, a black flame in her hand as she stared at the same flame.
"Any minute now," Selias muttered, crossing her arms, "we'll have our result.
Within the flame was the image of Trey, hours later and walking down the dimly lit night streets. With two large and very full fabric bags in hand, the boy had finished his shopping trip and was already heading home. On his journey, Trey found himself at the entrance to a park which he crossed without hesitation.
The moment he stepped through the gate however, the air changed as a red skull shaped moon appeared overhead. The moment this happened, Trey stopped dead in his tracks.
"So.. you really were following me after all," Trey spoke, shooting a glare over his shoulder to the beast that now stood behind him. "Gate Keeper."
"Hello again, boy" Grak'nar snarled as he stared down at Trey. "You gonna to tell me how you knew I was here?"
"Rather simple really," Trey tapped his nose, backing away ever so slightly. "You stink of rotting flesh. It wouldn't kill you to bathe more often you know."
Grak'nar let out a roar, then darted at Trey. The beast swung its claws at Trey, the young man being just fast enough to evade each swing of the windego's claws even with the bags he carried.
Trey kept this up until he was backed into a tree, staring Grak'nar in the eye as the beast thrusted his claw at him in a stabbing motion. Trey, at the last second, ducked down just as Grak'nar's claw plunged itself into the wood of the tree in place of Trey's gut. Trey panted like mad, staring up at the beast above him as Grak'nar glared down at him.
"Do you know what I am Fledgling?" Grak'nar asked him.
Trey nodded, "And I know why I'm the only one who can see you."
Grak'nar laughed, licking his lips as he ripped his claw from the tree, "Then you should know full well how dead you will be!" Grak'nar roared, bringing his claw down upon Trey only for the gate keeper to feel a sharp pain erupt from the center of his chest.
Grak'nar's forward momentum was halted, the beast staring down to see Jayd standing beneath his claw in a violet coat with a dagger in one hand holding up his claw and another dagger in her other hand which was driven into his chest.
"My my, you sure are a loud one Fledgling Trey," Eli sighed as Jayd ripped her dagger from Grak'nar's chest and shoved him back.
"You talking about me or the Gate Keeper?" Trey asked as he picked himself up off the ground.
Eli didn't answer, with Jayd looking over her shoulder to Trey. "You knew we were following you?"
Trey grinned and shrugged, "Lucky guess."
Jayd smirked under her mask, spinning her daggers in her hands as she looked back to Grak'nar, "Looks like your luck has finally paid off young man."
"Syd," Eli called to his contractor from his gem, "his skin is far too thick for our daggers to cut. I recommend a class change."
"Already on it," Jayd told him, pulling out a green die as she popped the violet one from her buckle.
"RE:ROLL!" her buckle shouted as Jayd slammed the green die into it and spun the dia, her coat changing from deep violet to green and two swords formed on her back, "STRIKER! Piercing Sabers! Carve the Path!"
"Grak'nar the Hungerer!" Jayd and Eli called out in unison, "The crimes you have committed cannot be forgiven, your soul is forfeit and thus we have come claim it!" She pulled both her swords off her back and aimed one at the beast, "Now… repent foul beast!"
Before Jayd could so much as blink, Grak'nar thrashed his claws down upon the network rider and threw her away from Trey.
"SYD!" Trey gasped, reaching his arm out only for that same arm to be violently grabbed by the beast that now loomed above him.
"Repent?!" Grak'nar laughed, as Jayd regained her footing, "You must be joking!" He grabbed Trey by his arm and swung him over his back, "I'm dead either way if I don't bring back this worthless fledgling!"
The beast clawed at the air creating a tear in reality, opening a rift to the network of cables.
"He's opening up a rift to the network!" Eli called out.
"I know that!" Jayd barked back, gritting her teeth.
Grak'nar wrapped his claws around Trey's neck, "Make one move and I will end him, are we clear?" Syd lowered her sword slightly and gritted her teeth tighter together, "Catch you later failure rider," Grak'nar said with a wave as he stepped through the rift and closed it behind him.
Jayd pulled one of the vials off her belt and threw it into the rift, preventing it from closing completely, "Eli!"
"On it!" Eli called out as Syd held her arm out in front of her. On Eli's command, a bright green ethereal griffon materialized in front of her. Jayd then hopped onto the griffon, looking it in the eye, "You solid there?"
"Enough as I need to be," the griffon spoke in Eli's voice, "though it's been awhile since I've last manifested myself."
"Then let's hurry," Jayd said back.
Eli took off, charging forward into the rift and entering the tunnel made up of blood red wires and cables.
Grak'nar crawled along the roof of the tunnel, still keeping a tight grasp on Trey. His ear twitched as the sound of Eli's wings flapping began to echo through the cables of his network. The beast snarled as Trey looked up, a grin of relief coming to his face.
"That girl just doesn't know when to quit does she?" Trey muttered to himself
"KEEP IT DOWN BACK THERE!" Grak'nar roared at his captive, continuing to dart down the tunnel that seemingly had no end to it, "OR I WILL END YOU HERE AND NOW!"
"We're losing them," Eli called out as he continued to soar through the tunnel, "and it's becoming hard to breath faster than I expected."
"Then its only a matter of time before Trey suffocates in here," Jayd returned as she ejected her Striker die from her belt replacing it with her Hunter die, "We'll need a little more fire power," she said while giving her belt a good spin.
"REROLL!" Jayd's belt shouted as her coat changed from green to orange and her swords were switched for a crossbow, a quiver forming on her back in the place of her sheaths, "HUNTER! Burning Arrow! Fly Free!"
Jayd held her crossbow up in front of her and fired off blind into the darkness of the tunnel. Grak'nar was shook when a few came close to hitting him.
"So that's how she wants to play is it?" Grak'nar growled before jumping down to the ground and slamming Trey to the ground.
Jayd road on Eli's back up to Grak'nar and brought the griffin to a halt. "Still alive kid?" She asked as she dismounted, Eli's griffon form dematerializing and returning to the gem on Jayd's gauntlet.
Trey winced, then managed a laugh, "I've had worse."
"If its a fight you crave Network Rider, it's a fight you'll get!" Grak'nar snarled as he released Trey from his grasp. "But I should warn you, it won't be-" Jayd aimed her bow at the beast then fired off a single shot, striking Grak'nar deep in his shoulder, "-GAH!" the beast roar grabbing onto his shoulder as the arrow burned into his flesh, "YOU BITCH!"
"You talk too much," Jayd said bluntly, resting her crossbow on her shoulder, "Honestly, why must you monsters also try and go out on some grand speech? It's just pointless padding."
"So you like to cut to the chase I see," Grak'nar sneered barring his claws at the warrior in front of him, "Fine by me. Though you aren't going to do much with such a tedious weapon."
Jayd smirked under her masked and pulled out a pale blue six sided die, "Good thing I've been wanting to give this a field test."
Jayd ejected her hunter die from her belt and replaced it with the pale blue one, giving her belt a spin as she cast aside her crossbow.
"REROLL!" Her belt shouted as her coat changed from burning orange to a dazzling cyan, her quiver fading into the either as a tall mage staff with a crescent moon shaped blade at the end of it adorned by a large blue crystal formed in her hand, "CASTER! Take the staff! Fight with magic!"
Trey's eyes widened in awe, "... whoa."
Jayd spun the crystal at the top of her staff as sparks began to erupt from it quicking igniting in a roaring fire of arcane magic. She swung her staff at Grak'nar firing off several balls of sparking mana at the beast, each one hitting their mark.
Grak'nar fell to the ground.
Trey climbed to his feet, "Nice shot!" He managed to comment before coughing a bit from the air in the tunnel
"Not really shocking, is it?" Jayd joked, despite gritting her teeth at Trey's current state.
"You dare mock me?!" Grak'nar growled, panting as he clawed at the walls of the cave as he attempted to recover from the hit.
Jayd nodded, "Yeah, I'd say that sounds about right," she ejected the blue die from her belt and replaced it with her blood red finisher die, "however now, I'm finishing this."
"FINAL ROLL!" her belt shouted as a charge up noise erupted from her staff. She spun the dial on her belt spinning the die before it came to a halt as a white four appeared on it, "FOUR! FULL STRIKE!"
She swung her staff at Grak'nar as four massive sparking mana balls hurled towards him. In a last ditch effort, Grak'nar grabbed Trey and used him as a human shield against the blaze, Trey braced for the impact as the flames made contact with him.
"Hey dad… my life sucked," Trey thought to himself as he was engulfed by the attack, feeling time slow around him. "I know you yelled at me a lot, for fighting with Jill and all that…" he felt himself grow lighter, a tear coming to his eye as everything around him turned into a white void. "But in the end, I'm glad I was able to help Syd in all this… truly, I am." He closed his eyes, and felt himself slip away.
"Trey? Trey!" A voice called out to him, bringing the boy back to reality.
His eyes slowly opened as he was welcomed back to life with the sight of Syd, who had reverted back to her civilian form, hovering over him desperately shaking him by his shoulders.
"Oh…" Trey laughed a bit, wincing a second later, "hey Syd."
Syd frowned, "What kind of response is that?" she punched him in the arm, "Idiot, I thought you were dead."
"Uh… sorry?" Trey returned rubbing his arm.
Syd smiled back at him, "Well anyways I'm glad you're alright."
"The boy should count himself lucky that the magic used by network rider is only effective against Gate Keepers and not humans," Eli called out from the gem on Syd's gauntlet.
"You might want to inform me of the details on stuff like that in advance next time," Syd chuckled, "next time we might not be so lucky."
"So… what now?" Trey asked.
Syd turned to Trey and raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
"Well, you destroyed the Gate Keeper right? So… what do you do now?"
"There are more Gate Keepers in other parts of the world," Syd explained, dusting herself off as she stood herself up. "Now that our business here is done, we'll be heading out as soon as we can to other parts of the world."
"Oh… I see," Trey said with sorrow in his voice, "Then you're leaving?"
"Yup," Syd said giving Trey her hand, "come on Trey, let's get you home."
Trey took her hand, pulling himself up by her grasp as the pale hand of Grak'nar fell off from his belt. "UGH!" Trey jumped at the sight of it.
"Mommy…." The hand whimpered in a softer child-like voice as it grasped the air around it, "hungry… please… feed me…"
Trey felt his heart sink as he watched this. The young man then eyed the bags by his side and reached into one of them before pulling out a small fruit cup.
"Here…" Trey muttered, placing the cup in Grak'nar's hand, "it isn't much, but its what I can spare."
The hand stopped moving for a moment, then slowly closed around the fruit cup. "Thank you…" Grak'nar whimpered, the hand that remained of him dissolving to ash in the wind along with the fruit cup.
"He was just a child…" Trey muttered, looking over his shoulder to Syd, "wasn't he?"
"Whatever he was, there was nothing we could do," Eli informed him, Syd gently placing her hand on his shoulder. "Once a fledgling becomes a Gate Keeper, there is no going back."
Within the network, the Jester hovered above a stage with a pair of wooden crosses in her hands that connected to the stage below her by strings.
"Once there was a poor child locked in a cage," Maestro's voice echoed through the network as Jester moved the crosses, a cage raising up with a puppet of a small boy in rags housed within it. "His parents well fed-" a table raised up on the stage, a pair of puppets that resembled a posh man and woman feasting at it "-and his eyes filled with rage." The child puppet glared at them, his eyes turning red.
"Mommy! Feed me! He grobbled and pleaded," Maestro's voice continued, Jester making the boy puppet reach out to the man and woman puppet. The man and woman puppet turned to the boy puppet and moved as if they were laughing. "Be fortunate we give you anything! she laughed as they feasted. It's more than you deserve."
At the back of the stage, a pair of dark blue disembodied eyes that matched those of Selias appeared. "Little did they know," Maestro continued, "in their cruel filled joy, that another set of eyes fell upon the boy."
Selias' eyes turned to the boy, growing smaller until they were just over his shoulder. "Kill them, muttered a voice in his head. Eat them! She wanted them dead."
The eyes faded from the stage, the table falling from view as the parent puppets got up and exited stage right. "And so, once the couple was all fed and in bed," the boy puppet grew pale, it's head falling back to allow a puppet of Grak'nar the Hunderer to erupt from his mouth and rip through the cage "the boy was freed from his cage and sought to answer his belly's rage."
"The boy now a beast," the Grak'nar puppet marched off the stage in the same direction as the parent puppets, an overly cartoonish but still very real pair of screams echoed from behind the curtain, "tied them both up and cut them to bits. All while enjoying their screams and their fits, making them his first feast."
The Jester bowed, the stage bursting into flames before scattering into a flock of spectral bats as a tall pale man closed a book from where he watched the performance atop Selias' skeletal ring. He had long flowing black hair and was dressed in a regal suit with a long dark collared cloak lightly draped over top it. The book he held read simply "Tome of the Gate Keepers."
"Be at peace Grak'nar," he said with a heavy sigh, "may you hunger no more."
"Mark my words Maestro," Selias muttered from beside the pale muttered, now sitting upright and tightly gripping the skull of her skeletal ring, "Grak'nar shall be avenged."
Back in the human realm, Syd and Trey had made it back to the boy's home. Trey took in a nervous gulp while Syd looked up to the house with a grin on her face.
"Well, we got you back home." Syd said, patting Trey on the back. "Once you head inside we'll split okay?"
"Okay… but," Trey looked to Syd, "you're sure that no more Gate Keepers are going to come after me, right?"
"Unlikely," Eli told him, "but should one get on your tail, another Network Rider is sure to answer the call."
"You're sure about that?" Trey asked.
"It's what we do Trey," Syd boasted with a smirk, placing her closed fists on her hips in a confident stance, "we extended a helping hand to Fledglings everywhere."
"I see…" Trey thought for a moment, then got a grin of his own on his face. "Then, how about I extend one to you?"
Syd blinked, raising a brow, "How do you mean?"
"Well… I was thinking that maybe-" before Trey could finish his sentence, the front door to the house swung open and Owen came out.
"Trey!" He pulled him into a hug, "About time you got back-" He paused, taking a step back as he noticed Syd. "Are... what I think you are?"
"Dad," Trey motioned to the red haired girl, "this is Syd… She's a-"
"A Network Rider," Owen cut him off again, a serious tone coming to his voice as he glared at Syd. "I already know." He crossed his arms, his gaze sharpening upon Syd, "You didn't let him get dinged up too much I hope?
Syd shook her head, then raised her arm to present the bracelet that held Eli's gem.
"Do heed my word sir," Eli said, "my contractor and I ensured no harm came to your son."
"Alright, then let me ask you one more question," Owen's tone softened as did his gaze and stance. "Jewel Hart… Does that name ring a bell?
"Sorry sir," Syd closed her eyes then raised her free hand to Owen. "Yes, that name is familiar to me… but I am unable to disclose any information concerning my associates."
"I figured as much…" Owen let out a heavy sigh before hanging his head, "still, I had to ask."
Silence filled the air for a moment, only for Eli to break it moments later by speaking up.
"Sir," the navigator said, "Owen, that is your name correct?" Owen simply nodded, Eli continuing to speak. "Would you be offended if I asked you a question now?
Own nodded again, "Shoot."
"It is clear this Jewel you speak of means a lot to you, and I wish there was more we could tell you," Eli informed him. "It is simply because you are not in a position to be given such information... your son, Trey however, might be."
Owen and Trey both gave Eli a look.
Eli.." Syd raised a brow, "you aren't asking what I think you are, are you?"
"I am," Eli told her, "we attempted to sever his ties to the gate keeper realm but a fledgling he remains. He might have a role yet to play among the Network Riders."
"Oh, I get it now," Syd smirked, looking over to the boy that stood next to her, "So then Trey, how about it? Wanna come with us?"
Trey's eyes widened, a small gasp escaping his lips, "I... I don't know…" he muttered. He eyed Owen, "Dad-"
"You are your mother's son Trey, I knew that the day you were born," Owen grinned, placing his hand firmly on Trey's head. "As much as I can try and stop you, at the end of the day it's your choice to make."
"You heard him, the choice is yours," Syd said, nudging him in the arm with her elbow. "So, what's it gonna be?"
A grin came to Trey's face, turning to both Syd and Eli, "I'm in."
To be continued
{Insert Ending Theme: "Again" by Beverly}
