Radiata Stories: The Reign of Quasar
AzureKate
Chapter One
16 Years Later
The legendary Jack Dragonheart could hear one of his guild members endlessly complaining in a squad room he was passing. "Why do I have to do it? That's not a mission…that's a chore…"
His deputy chief Gerald was quick to shoot him down with his booming, authoritative voice. "We all must do our share of chores, David. Even I've gone out to hang up fliers."
"Make Jarvis do it," David complained.
"Jarvis is going to do it. The two of you are going together."
Jack heard an exasperated sigh.
"Don't you sigh at me, boy."
"Sorry, sir."
"You're going together because it's your squads that we're recruiting for. Have a little responsibility."
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Now get going! Hang up or hand out 50 fliers by sunset. And don't give them to kids."
The door swung open and David came out, holding his helm in his hand. He saw Jack—standing there, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed—and was a little surprised. "Hello, chief."
"Good afternoon, sergeant," he replied. David kept his head down as he went past, pulling on his helm as he began down the stairs with a quiet sigh of annoyance. Gerald stepped out and looked at Jack.
"Sassy lad, there," he said. Jack just nodded. "I had a feeling he'd give me grief when I told him to go hang up the recruitment fliers. It's his squad…you'd think he'd have a sense of responsibility. Remind me why you promoted him to sergeant?"
"He's new," Jack replied. "I'm sure he'll warm up to it. And if he somehow manages to weasel his way out of doing it, then he just won't get any recruits. No recruits, no missions. He's bound to wake up if he's just sitting around not doing anything."
"Yes, that's probably the best way to wake him up. If I hadn't already given them the fliers, I'd go back and change them all to Hecton Squad fliers so he wouldn't get any regardless. He's acting like we're just gonna give him everything he needs."
"That's a little cold," Jack laughed. "I like it."
Gerald laughed as well and then went back into his squad room. Jack went to the stairs and went all the way down to the first floor. Thanos was sitting at the front desk, looking helplessly bored as usual and on the brink of falling asleep. He saw Jack approaching and quickly tried to look like he was busy.
"Good afternoon, Thanos," Jack said, ignoring that Thanos had been about to fall asleep on the job. Thanos cleared his throat.
"Mm, nice day today," he choked out, straightening papers. Jack walked over and leaned on the desk. Alicia was at the desk beside him, flipping through the requests that Thanos had placed out that morning. She smiled at Jack and resumed her browsing.
"Been getting a good amount of requests recently, Thanos?"
"Yes, sir. Lots. Great for business. A couple in there offering some really good dagol rewards."
Jack nodded approvingly.
"Not a whole lot of new ones today though. People are getting prepared for the new Knight Trainee Selection Trials."
Jack's heart skipped a beat.
The Trials hadn't even crossed his mind. Had it really already been 16 years?
"Something wrong, chief?"
Jack tried to snap out of his trance. "No." Without another word he turned on his heel and went toward the door. He pushed it open and went outside, turning left and walking down the sidewalk in the direction of the castle. He saw David in the distance, walking slowly along the wall and hanging fliers with a noticeable lack of excitement. In fact, he looked quite miserable. But Jack didn't care about him. He walked along the sidewalk past him and didn't even glance at him. David mumbled something about Jarvis being late as he passed, but Jack ignored him. He could see the castle not far ahead of him, and his eyes zoned in on it. He walked faster, faster—up the hill and finally he stood in front of the large front gate. A heavy guardsman was standing on either side, watching him, still as stone as they always were.
And there it was. Nailed on the castle wall beside the door was a flier. A flier advertising the Knight Trainee Selection Trials. Jack walked up to it. He had been so busy immersing himself in his work as chief that he had gone without even so much as hearing about the approaching trials. He had been purposely avoiding the castle in the years before out of fear of seeing her.
His Ridley.
But the time had come for the Trials. She would be selected to become a knight.
And if history repeated itself exactly, he knew that he would need to become a part of her life once again. And soon.
But as he stared at the flier, another realization sank in. These were the Trials that Jack himself had attended during his human life. He, alongside Ridley, had been selected to become a knight trainee in the new squad, simply for the fact that they recognized his last name, Russell.
But Jack was here. Chief of Vancoor. The Faceless Chief, the man now known around the city as Dragonheart because of the episode he had after the slaying of the Water Dragon. His apparent connection to the dragons had given birth to a plethora of rumors about him. Most of which weren't at all true. And of course every soul in the city was unbearably curious about his age. He had been chief for decades. Long enough for any man to be dead. But Jack was always very careful to always wear his helm in public, and keep to himself about such personal things.
But this was a point in history that Jack should be there.
How could he be there?
Jack dwelled on that question. Who would be there in his place? Had he been reborn, just like everyone else, and now was coexisting with himself? Was someone new born in his place? Had he been replaced? Would Ridley fall in love with this replacement instead of him?
Or was no one there at all?
If someone new had been born to take his place and was destined to fall in love with Ridley as he had…what would he do? Would he be able to stand idly by while some new man took his Ridley? Would he be able to handle it? He feared not. He couldn't bear to see her with anyone else. She was his Ridley, the love of his life. It had been centuries since she had died, but still he never forgot her, or loved her any less. She was always in his thoughts, and especially always in his dreams. Even though he was no longer a part of human history, he couldn't watch her be with anyone else, even if it was a different Ridley in a different life.
"Is something the matter, sir?"
Jack turned to look at the one who had addressed him. It was the guardsman closest to him, standing beside the gate. Jack couldn't see his face through his bucket-shaped helmet, but his voice alone showed that for whatever reason, the man was concerned, if only a little.
Jack realized he must have been standing there for a while, staring uncomfortably at the flier. He offered the guardsman a smile, since his own helm left his mouth exposed. "Yes. Sorry. I was just lost in thought. When are the Trials for the new brigade?"
"They're tomorrow, sir. Aren't you Chief Dragonheart? Surely you knew already when they were."
"Actually no…I haven't heard about them until now. I've been busy."
He gave a slight nod to the guardsmen and turned, heading back into the city toward Vancoor. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he would have to watch for…himself. Or someone like him, arriving from the distant village to participate in the trials. Jack recalled arriving early in the morning on the day of the trials, lugging around his father's legendary Arbitrator sword, and probably standing out in the city like a sore thumb. Surely if there was someone anything like him journeying to the city in the morning, Jack would notice him.
David hadn't progressed very far, and there were four fliers all within sight. Too close together.
When Jack was beside him, he stopped. David looked at him. "Chief?"
"Don't put them so close together," he said, frowning. One would think it would be obvious that the fliers should be spread out. David stared at him, clearly unenthused. "I know that this is a difficult task for you, David, but spread them out around the city. Or have you gotten fat and lazy from sitting around all day arguing with Gerald? Maybe I made a mistake promoting you."
There was an extremely defined look of anger and fury in David's eyes through the slits in his helm. Jack could clearly see it. He looked very insulted.
"No, sir! You did not make a mistake!" he shouted, straightening up. "I will prove that your choice was well-made as soon as I am given a mission that will allow me to prove myself!"
Jack was almost annoyed. "You won't get any missions until you have a squad. Hence the point of hanging up the damn fliers."
Jack turned and continued along the sidewalk before David could shoot back any overconfident replies. He could hear David grumbling behind him and the sound of paper being torn off the wall, but Jack was fed up with him and more than finished with speaking to him. He was prone to easily getting annoyed with his guild members in recent times. Of course, he was automatically expecting them to be the amazing warriors that they were when he met them as a human in his past life. Of course, that was when Jack was new to being a warrior and looked up to everyone.
Now he felt like he was just constantly looking down at everyone. Why had he admired them all so much as a human?
He reached the front door of Vancoor and went inside, going straight toward the stairs without acknowledging anyone. Thanos glanced his way, again trying to make himself look busy. Rolec was standing by the board, looking just as unconfident and pathetic as always. Another thought popped into Jack's mind.
Regarding all the people that Jack had helped during his short human life, what would happen to them now that he wasn't there in that position to help them? Jack had become a well-known and respected warrior, one full of pride. He was the leader of the guild, most powerful warrior in Radiata, especially with Elwen out of the picture. He wasn't the same as he was back when he was only 16 years old, the newest member of the old guild looking to make friends with everyone. He was far past the point of journeying into the Path the Spider to find a missing contact lens. Why Carlos would ever reuse a contact lens that he dropped into the sewer was so far beyond Jack. No amount of money could convince him to use a contact that had been in the sewer. Jack was also too concerned with his personal problems than to watch Rolec for a day, wait for him to go into the bathroom, and give him a good kick to make him feel better about himself.
And there were tons of others who would be looking for a young, inexperienced Jack to help them. The Jack who didn't exist anymore. The Jack who may have been replaced or reborn anyway…but also may not have. Jack didn't have time to trek out to the Septem Region to get the Book of Fairies for Aldo. He would never be in a party with Clive, one of his oldest friends. Running around for soup recipes was out of the question, especially since it would require him to go to his hometown, where his sister would be living, no doubt. What would he say if he saw her? She wouldn't remember him—and he would look like a fool if he made it obvious that he knew her.
And Jack sure as hell wasn't delivering some phony love letter for David. That kid could go fall into Borgandiazo for all Jack cared.
He bounded up the stairs and went into his office, closing the door behind him. He sighed and walked to his desk, pulling off his helm and running his armored hands through his thick brown hair. He just needed to be alone. Which was a strange thing for him to be craving, since he was alone much more than he was with company. He sat down and dwelled on everything, which he knew probably wasn't a good idea, but what was there that he could really do now? Talking to someone about it was obviously out of the question. Hi, I bet you didn't know this but I'm Jack Russell, son of Cairn the Dragonslayer, and I'm actually the vessel of Quasar. I'm a bit stressed out right now. Pretty soon all the humans are gonna die. What do you think I should do?
Jack chuckled. Yeah, that was out of the question.
He couldn't help but wonder if Aphelion had all of these same problems and concerns. Did Aphelion sit in some chair dwelling over the future before he decided to do what he did? Before he realized what his wish was, and what to do to make it real? Of course Aphelion was a bit more efficient than Jack was proving to be. By this point, Aphelion would have already been in Radiata Castle for over 16 years, already putting his plan into motion to save the human race. He failed…but would Jack end up with the same choice? Let the cycle continue, or try to stop it?
He realized his biggest mistake was avoiding the question for so long, and now it was so close. He had such little time left to make such a hard decision. He really should have been considering his options much sooner, and now it might even be too late to really make a difference, especially one on the scale that Aphelion had. Aphelion betrayed his fellow dragons in favor of saving the humans…and even helped to orchestrate their deaths. Jack wasn't sure he could do that, if only for the fear of feeling the pain of a brother being slain again.
But someone else was behind the plans to kill the dragons now. Perhaps it was Lucian, reborn again but only this time as a human, instead of Aphelion.
And as Jack traced a knot in his wooden desk, he asked himself…where was Elwen? He had thrown off the repeating history by taking her place as chief. He had yet to see her anywhere in Radiata. Surely she was somewhere. It wasn't like he had taken her place in history…he had merely taken her job.
There was a knock at the door, and Jack sighed. He didn't say anything; he reached for his helm and pulled it on, knowing that it was probably Gerald knocking and that Gerald usually had no intention of waiting for permission after knocking.
And Jack was right, Gerald soon opened the door and walked inside.
"Hey, Chief. I saw you storming up the stairs. You looked pretty disturbed."
Understatement of the century.
"I was just wondering if there was anything I can do to help. I know that you're not big on violence, so just thought I'd let you know that if there's anyone giving you trouble, I'd be more than happy to pound their face in."
Jack smiled. "Thank you, Gerald, but I'm fine. And more than capable of taking care of myself. I appreciate your concern."
"Is there anything I can do to help you out? I mean, you've been good to me all these years. I'd like to return the favor."
Jack had just decided that talking to someone about his personal problem was out of the question.
"Again, I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine."
"If you say so." He turned to leave.
"Do me a favor, though," Jack began. Gerald turned around, waiting to hear his request. "I ran into David outside. He was hanging up fliers every three feet. Make sure he's not still doing that, would you?"
Gerald sighed. "That boy is hopeless."
(The Next Morning)
The sun had just barely risen into the sky, but Jack was wide awake. He was sitting on the ground in the Blue Town, leaning against the Vareth Institute sign and staring at the Echidna Gate. He was sure he looked goofy, but he didn't really care. There weren't many people out so early, but he could see a few in the distance. Everyone still followed their same schedules just as they had in the previous life. Jack was sure that he would know where to find anyone he wanted at any time of the day, since he had spent a good chunk of his short human life memorizing everyone's schedules. It had been a few centuries, and sure, Jack was a bit rusty. But he was positive that if need be, he could probably still find anyone.
He had prepared an excuse for anyone curious enough to ask why he was sitting on the ground against the sign so early in the morning, probably looking concerned. He planned to say that he couldn't sleep, and was just enjoying the air. He had been taking a walk and sat down to catch his breath. Which wasn't a lie. It wasn't really a good reason for why he was sitting in the Blue Town on the ground staring at the gate.
But the real reason why he was sitting there, staring intently at the west gate of the city, was because he was waiting to see if someone would walk in through the gates for the trials. Maybe someone that looked exactly like him. Or maybe some stranger, walking by carrying the all-too-familiar Arbitrator in his place. Jack didn't care which. But if he saw someone coming in, he was sure he'd realize that it was the person who had replaced him in history.
And while he sat there on the dusty ground, he again began to dwell on his unanswered questions; a new one that began to bother him was: if someone had been born to replace him in history, then what would happen to him when the cycle restarted and he died? Quasar itself would live on, of course…but Jack would not. But if he had been replaced in history, then how would he be reborn in the new cycle? Would he be reborn in different place…or would he cease to exist forever after his death? It was a concept that made Jack uneasy. Ever since he had thought about it, he had been searching around almost desperately to see a reincarnated Lucian. If he could find him, then that would answer his question. And though he hadn't been looking long, his inability to find him was making him more and more uneasy about his impending fate.
He refused to give up hope, however. If Lucian had been reborn into the same place as before, then he was probably holed up in the castle. In his previous life as a human, Jack never saw Lucian outside of the castle, and in this life he wasn't exactly wandering around in the castle now.
Jack sat there running unanswered questions through his mind over and over, straining his mind to come up with possible answers. The sun rose higher and higher into the sky; he saw Vareth students in the distance hurrying to the institute for classes, and some of them gave Jack confused looks, especially when a few of them came back the other way after what must have been an hour or so. Then they looked especially confused. The light guardsmen by the gate was staring at him curiously the longer he sat there. Jack began to fiddle with his armor rather than acknowledge all of the stares he was obviously getting. Not that he cared about the staring, but he preferred to avoid any conversation with curious people. Though he did fear someone was bound to come up to him sooner or later, wondering why he, Chief Dragonheart, was sitting on the ground in the Blue Town.
He glanced at the sun every once in a while until it was finally high in the sky. He had been sitting there for hours, long enough for it to be midday. It was another con of being the vessel of Quasar…the flow of time seemed a bit distorted to Jack, who was rather disconnected from the world around him. He could sit somewhere for hours and feel like he'd only been there for twenty minutes.
But it was midday now, and no one had come in through Echidna Gate that he didn't recognize as regular citizens of Radiata, people who had been walking their schedules for years. The Trials, he remembered, started around midday. No newly-born Jack had come through the gate, and no dweebish-looking replacement had either. If someone was coming to take his place in the Trials, they would have been there by now.
Unless they had come in through a different gate.
He heard someone walk up to him from behind, and he dreaded the conversation to come: why are you sitting on the ground by Vareth? But when he looked up to see who had come to speak with him, he didn't see a curious Vareth student; he saw Daniel, the short, chubby, baby-faced Vancoor member that Jack had been in a squad with during his human life.
"Hi, Chief!" he said with the same exact exuberance that Jack remembered. He would never ever regret letting him into the reborn guild; Jack loved Daniel almost to death. He was so pleasant to be around, and even though he wasn't the best or most confident fighter, he was the person who kept the entire guild in a good mood. Daniel was a major factor in Jack's decision to have his new Vancoor be made up of all the same people as Elwen's old Vancoor from the last life.
"Gerald sent me to find you," Daniel explained. "People have been wondering where you are! Today's the day of the Trials, remember? We're probably going to get a bunch of new recruits after the Trials who didn't make the cut to be a knight. We always do! Also, Alicia keeps talking about how there's someone who wants to meet you, but she won't tell anyone who."
Jack sighed and adjusted his helm, which was making his left ear sore. "All right, I'm coming."
He stood and started toward the path of Insanity and Fanaticism to head back to Vancoor. Daniel walked alongside him, smiling at nothing in particular. "What were you doing sitting on the ground in Blue Town, anyway? Have you been there all morning?"
"Yes," Jack responded. He decided to go with the honest truth, since Daniel was pretty easy to talk to. "I heard someone was considering entering the Trials, and if they did decide to, they would have come in through the Echidna Gate. But they never showed up. So…they either changed their mind, or maybe came in through another gate."
"Who?"
"Someone I knew from a long time ago."
"An old friend?"
Jack offered him a kind smile. "I guess you could say that."
(Later that Day)
Jack sat at his desk, resting his head on the wooden surface. His helm was on the table beside his head, as usual. He let out a long sigh. It was far past sunset, now. The Trials would be over. Even though Daniel had excitedly predicted that the guild would be getting new recruits who failed the Trials, Jack knew from memory that the prediction wasn't true; no failed aspiring knights would be coming to join Vancoor after the trials, except for maybe Ganz in a few days if history followed itself exactly. But the human Jack was the only other recruit, and Jack wasn't in the new cycle, it seemed.
He had asked Daniel to ask around the city that night to find out the results of the Trials. That would answer his real question: had he been reborn? If he had, there would be two new knights: the replacement, and Ridley.
Of course, he knew Ridley would be the one to win the trials. She was an amazing fighter. He smiled to himself as he recalled how Ridley obliterated him during the trials with her Wild Pitch volty. He had despised Ridley then, but now it was one of his most precious memories, because it was of their first meeting.
There was a knock at the door and Daniel's voice drifted in, "Chief?"
He pulled on his helm and called for Daniel to come in. The door creaked open and Daniel came inside. "Hi, Chief. I did what you asked! The Trainee Trials were successful!"
"Did you hear who won?" Jack asked, trying to hold back his feeling that was almost desperation.
"Yep! Paul was in the Trials. He told me that there was one winner, a girl named Ridley Silverlake!"
Jack's heart skipped another beat when Daniel said her name. Ridley Silverlake.
"Only her?" he asked.
"Yep, only her. I guess your friend really did change his mind."
"Yeah, I guess he did. Thank you, Daniel. I appreciate it."
Daniel smiled brightly. "No problem, Chief!" He turned and left the room. Jack slumped back in his chair, pulling off his helm once again and setting it on the table. He closed his eyes. Her name was ringing in his mind endlessly. Ridley. Ridley.
He leaned forward again and buried his face in his arms. She was back. History was following itself almost exactly. Soon, things would turn sour. She would be hurt. Ganz would be fired. The war would start. It was too much for Jack to bear. He hoped there would be some deviation in the new cycle, something that would change history enough for at least Ridley to escape the horrors she suffered in the last life. Maybe Jack's absence in history would do something to change it for the better. Though Jack had been instrumental in the conclusion of the last cycle, he had made more than a few mistakes during his human life. Maybe his absence would correct those mistakes, assuming the mistakes themselves weren't a solid part of history that someone else would make instead.
Jack stood abruptly from his chair, grabbing his helm and making for the door as he pulled it on. He went into the hallway and glided down the staircases to the first floor. Thanos was sitting at his desk as usual, reading over a paper, probably a request. Jack didn't look at him; he walked straight to the door and went outside. He turned left again but instead of going to the castle, he went up the inclined side street to Vancoor Square. It was empty, totally void of people; the fountain was running, spewing its streams into the pool below. This was a place Jack always came to think, to be alone. It was peaceful. Jack loved the sound of the water in the fountain. During his human life, he had the same love; after joining the non-human side, he adored the City of Flowers once he was allowed in. There were beautiful streams there, and it was such a quiet, peaceful, beautiful place. Sometimes he wished he could go back there. But to go there would mean to make an enemy of humankind once again. He wasn't sure he wanted to do that—or at least, he wasn't ready to yet.
He sat down at the edge of the fountain and stared into the water. There were some coins at the bottom; wishes people had made. He reached into the pouch on his belt and pulled out a coin of his own. He held it close and wished with all his heart for guidance; some sign for what he should do. He tossed it in, and watched the ripples on the water's surface.
He turned when he heard the familiar sound of specific armor; Caesar was approaching him. Without a word, Caesar sat beside him, looking into the water as well. Caesar was one who Jack liked to have conversations with, if only to hear Caesar's inspirational words. He sometimes spoke in riddles, but Jack knew from experience as well as memories from his human life that Caesar always meant what he said, and the things he said always had a deeper meaning and were almost always right.
"You're distant, recently," Caesar said after a moment. "Troubled."
"I guess so," Jack replied, not really sure what to say.
"What is weighing so heavily on your mind?"
Jack knew he couldn't speak freely or truthfully, but he so wanted to talk to someone about what he was feeling; he wanted to ask for advice. Caesar was a person that Jack used to go to when he was troubled…but Jack couldn't go to him for this.
"I just…" he began, trying to find the right thing to say, and the proper wording. "I have a choice to make. A choice that's going affect everyone, no matter what my choice is in the end. A friend of mine had the same choice to make a long time ago, but…it didn't end so well. I don't know what to do." It was the truth, and saying it out loud to someone made Jack feel much better, even if he was being vague about it. And while he wasn't exactly sure if he could call Aphelion his friend, he had no better way to word it…and it seemed only right. They were in the exact same situation now. Jack had killed Aphelion, but…maybe he shouldn't have. While he didn't entirely regret his decision, he certainly wished he could speak to him now. He liked to think they would have been friends. Aphelion had been so sure in his choices, in his wishes, and in his actions…Jack envied him.
He was grateful for the brief moment of silence from Caesar. He was even more grateful when Caesar didn't try to ask for more details; Caesar was always one to respect Jack's privacy. "You need to look inside for what you seek. Follow your heart, and do what you think is right. Is your friend still around, to offer you council?"
"…No. He died a long time ago."
Caesar just nodded. "Think back on what he did, what he chose. You said that his choice didn't end well. Try to realize any mistakes he may have made…and correct them yourself."
He crossed his arms and fell silent. Jack sat there, even quieter, and let his words sink in. Correct Aphelion's mistakes. He didn't really know Aphelion, so pinpointing his mistakes wouldn't necessarily be too easy. He knew the general idea Aphelion had… he wanted to allow the humans to continue on. He wanted to kill Quasar and the other dragons, to spare the humans from their wrath. Maybe the way he wanted to go about it was his big mistake.
Jack wasn't sure.
"I'm confident you will make the right choice," Caesar said with a nod. Without another word, he smiled at Jack, stood, and left the square.
Jack smiled to himself. He was always grateful for Caesar.
He sat there, staring into the fountain. When he looked up after a long while, he saw the sun rising. He had been there all night, again. He didn't feel tired, but wasn't expecting, or planning, to stay by the fountain all night. He stood and stretched, and then left the square. He made his way back to the front of Vancoor. He climbed the stairs, and reached for the doorknob.
But as he went to reach for it, it stopped.
The Rose Cochon brigade would be passing by soon on its first mission to Earth Valley. He turned slowly, and sat down on the stairs. He stared at the sun as it rose; it wasn't quite bright enough to hurt his eyes yet. As it creeped higher in the sky, the more anxious he became. Ridley was coming. She was coming.
He was going to see her again. After so many centuries of being alone.
Then, he heard clunking armor approaching. He looked over his shoulder.
Surely enough, Ganz was approaching.
The short, chubby, waddling Ganz, wearing his round and shining blue armor. His big round eyes were full of determination and pride, the pride of a newly-captained knight. He walked past Vancoor, and glanced at Jack. He stopped when he saw him, and stared for a moment, as though unsure of something. Jack felt uneasy under his gaze.
"Good morning, sir," Ganz finally said, smiling. He seemed to be over his brief episode.
"Good morning, Captain," Jack said. Shit! Why did he call him captain? He wasn't his captain now. That was in the past. Jack cursed himself angrily in silence. But Ganz wasn't confused or taken aback.
"Yes, I am a captain now," he said proudly, not even caring for or realizing the real reason Jack had addressed him as so. "New! My brigade will be going on its first mission today. I'm sorry, sir, but I'm not entirely too sure I know your name…You're Chief Dragonheart, correct?"
"Yes."
"Ah! I haven't seen you. I've heard descriptions of your armor, but I've never seen it myself. It is quite a fascinating suit, I must say! So majestic looking. The things I've heard don't quite do it justice."
"Thank you, sir. I like it a lot myself."
"I would imagine, since I've heard you wear it every day, and have for decades! I hear some fascinating things about you in the castle from time to time. You are quite an interesting topic."
Jack smiled. "It's not always for the best. I prefer to keep to myself. But then again, my silence seems to feed the unbelievable amount of rumors there are about me."
"Are any of them true?" Ganz asked, almost eagerly.
"Most of them aren't." He smiled when Ganz looked a little disappointed. Surely Ganz was among the hundreds who believed Jack to have golden dragon eyes. One of the many untrue rumors, unfortunately.
Jack looked as another familiar face appeared around the corner. Clive of the Olacion Order, walking along with the same dumb smile that Jack remembered. He had only seen Clive in the city once before, a few years earlier. But now he was just as Jack remembered him. Ganz waved to Clive, who waved clumsily back.
She would be coming soon.
"Waiting on your squad? There's only one other person, right?" Jack asked, hoping to make conversation to keep his mind off of Ridley.
Ganz nodded. "Yes, the young Ridley Silverlake. She was the victor of the trials by a landslide! She has so much potential. I'm proud to be her captain."
Jack realized he had made a mistake asking specifically about her. How would asking about her keep his mind off of her? He wanted to slap himself for his stupidity. His heart began to ache more and more as he thought more about her.
"Something wrong, sir?" Ganz asked. "You seem so sad all of a sudden."
Of course Ganz would pick up on his heartache. "I'm fine." He tried to smile but was sure it wasn't at all convincing. Ganz didn't say anything.
And then he heard it. Someone approaching. His whole body froze in place, all of his muscles tense. He could feel his heart thumping against his chest plate at a pace he never thought possible. He squeezed his eyes shut. He slowly stood up, and then turned toward the approaching footsteps. Then, he opened his eyes.
And there she was.
Ridley Silverlake.
She was exactly as he remembered her. Her long hair was tied into pigtails with the long red ribbon, and she was wearing the thick tunic, skirt, and high boots of the female trainee uniform. Her big green eyes looked bored, unenthused about her first mission with Ganz, exactly as he remembered. She looked at Clive and almost rolled her eyes.
And then she looked right at Jack, and froze.
She seemed more disturbed than Ganz had. She stared at Jack, and Jack stared at her. Jack's heart was beating so hard, so fast, and so loudly, that Jack could hear it pounding in his ears. All of his memories rushed back at once. His beloved Ridley was right in front of him. So easily, he could run up to her and embrace her, and cry that she was finally back after who knows how many centuries. Jack had been alone for so long with nothing but memories of her that all he wanted was to hold her and kiss her and forget everything.
But he needed to stop himself. He forced himself to stay where he was. She finally unfroze and resumed her approach toward Ganz and Clive.
She tore her gaze from Jack, and Jack felt his heart crack… just a little.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
"Ridley!" Ganz exclaimed. "This is Dragonheart, chief of Theater Vancoor, the warrior guild!"
She was silent for a moment. "Nice to meet you."
"My real name is Jack," he said, almost too quietly for any of them to ear. He was still staring at Ridley through the pitch black eyes of his helm. He couldn't look away. He briefly was self-conscious about his staring, but then remembered that they couldn't see his eyes. "Call me Jack." It was almost surreal to be looking at her. Time was moving strangely. Everything else was dim in comparison.
"Nice to meet you…" she said. "I'm…Ridley Silverlake."
She was staring back at him again.
Ganz patted her on the back. "All right! We have a mission! A long journey to the dwarf lands awaits us. Ridley, Jack, stop fooling around. Let's go!"
Ganz turned and began walking toward the gate. Jack was staring at him in awe.
"What?" Jack asked, meaning to think it, but accidentally saying it out loud.
Ganz froze, and turned around slowly. He looked confused.
"Uh…forgive me, sir. I don't know what came over me. Let's go, Ridley!"
He turned and resumed his march toward the gate, flanked by Clive. Jack stared at him for a moment, and then looked back at Ridley. She was staring at him again, looking confused. She looked like she was searching for something, and searching hard.
Ganz called for her again, and she tore her gaze from him once again and took off in a jog to catch up with the two men. As she drew further and further away, the more Jack wanted to cry. He didn't want her to go. He almost let himself chase after her.
But once she was almost out of sight, he forced himself to turn around and go into Vancoor. He went quickly for the stairs. Thanos was at the desk, talking to Gerald, and both looked at him in shock as he stormed through the lobby. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.
It took all he had to stop the tears from bursting forth.
But she wasn't the only thing disturbing him.
Ganz had just proven to him…that the two of them still had some memory of him.
They knew something was missing.
A/N: Sorry for the long, long wait for this update. I was on my iPod shuffle and the song Those With and Without Humanity from the game popped up. Made me remember this fic, haha!
There's a lot of internal conflict in this chapter, I realize that. I promise there won't be as much in the future chapters. We're getting to more action. Everyone who has played the game knows that pretty soon, a certain orc is going to try and attack Jack's precious, beautiful Ridley.
I mean…he's got to do something about that, right?
Hmmmmmm.
(also, I'm trying really hard to stay accurate to the games. I have the game turned on and the strategy guide out to write this, to make sure I have all of the locations, people, schedules, and the game storyline down perfectly. I hope that's paying off! :D)
