Book III: Stolen Valor

Chapter XX

Canaan opened the door to his humble little abode. It was a small, mostly wooden house out in a wooded area outside of New Torna. Canaan had always preferred to stay outside of the big city, but he still worked inside the city. It was the easiest way to make money, after all, especially in his line of work.

"Everything work ok?" Zane asked, appearing out of the other room.

"Yeah, nothing to report. I don't know why you don't design tech for a living. You'd make a killing," Canaan laughed.

"I do," Zane replied. "I just happen to give it all to some assassin who refuses to patch up his bleeding heart. Speaking of which, who'd you give a free job to this time?"

"Ah, you knew?" Canaan said.

"We're brothers, I have an idea when you're hiding something."

Canaan sighed. "Little girl, maybe eight. She threw twenty gold coins in my hand and asked me to help. It was her dad, he was mercilessly beating his wife. She was half-dead when I got there."

"Titan's foot..., and?"

"I brought her with me and shot him with a pistol. I used a water ether bullet to heal the woman's wounds."

"You made the girl watch?! Why?"

"She asked me to take someone's life. If I had done it without her watching, there's a chance she'll assume that that's how she should solve all of her problems. By doing it in front of her, she saw him die. His eyes turned to glass, his body hit the floor, the sounds, the smells..., and then I explained it to her. By asking me to do this, he'd never walk, talk, breathe... Any good moment she may have ever had with him would never happen again, but she'd never get hurt by him again, and then I left."

Zane looked uneasy.

Canaan chuckled empathetically. "That's why I do the dirty work, besides, you're way too good at this tech stuff. How does nobody see me when I'm riding that hoverboard? The streets are always packed!"

Zane perked up at the mention of his tech. "I made the bottom project an image at the bottom matching it to the sky. It also uses a fire-electric ether fusion to produce a completely inaudible engine! Ether fusion hasn't ever been successfully tried before, but I figured out if you..."

Zane kept going with his geek out, but Canaan was no longer listening. As he became lost in thought, Zane became aware and once again, caught Canaan's attention.

"There's something else, isn't there?" he interrogated.

"Nothing gets past you...," Canaan sighed. "I found Finch."

"Finch...," Zane recognized. "I... understand what she meant to you. Do whatever you must."

"I will, but I will need to be equipped, getting her back won't be easy..."

"If you'd like me to give you this core crystal, I need you to take out two targets. The first, Zeke von Genbu of Tantal," General Adonis told Canaan.

"And if I refuse?" Canaan eyed.

"You can either earn a reward or receive a punishment for disobedience. I suggest not picking that latter, but we may do this however you please," he replied simply.

Canaan soon realized he had no way out of this situation, and agreed.

"Fine, but nothing is out of pocket, understand?"

"Make a list of expenses, I will compensate."

"Hey... do you really think that was a good idea?" Sarah asked me from within my dreams.

I stared at her black eyes blankly. "What was?"

She sighed. "Letting Acacia resonate with Malos. He hasn't been known for his good deeds in the past, and if someone fills his head with negative information, he will aim to kill you all."

"I trust her, she wouldn't have come all this way if she didn't really want to do the right thing."

Sarah began laughing hysterically.

I gave her a questioning look.

"You Mythra drivers are all the same. Good luck, Silas."

https/youtu.be/x_sD0W867XE

I shot awake, only to find myself in one of Theoscaldia's guest rooms. I rose from my bed before wandering around the palace. I had no clear destination in mind, I just wanted to think.

I had resonated with Sheba, and Acacia had resonated with Malos. When Malos went to fight Pyra, she, Lieutenant Uzuki, and their soldiers evacuated and took the Binoceros from us. Mythra was able to power one Siren shot and hit KOS-MOS directly, this forced KOS-MOS back into her core crystal. Pyra didn't seem very happy, in fact, she seemed almost scared... but I didn't know why I thought so, or why she would be. Defeat usually brings anger, she had no reason to really be afraid. But there was one other thing that didn't sit right with me about that fight...

"Can't sleep either, chum?" a voice interrupted my thoughts.

I turned to see Zeke sitting over the edge of one of the palace walls, staring out into the open snowy field.

"Yeah," I replied. "I've got too much on my mind."

"I feel ya. Any questions so far?"

"Why didn't you help fight back?" I asked.

"I'm sorry?" Zeke asked, taken aback.

I stayed on. "From what I've heard, you're one hell of a fighter, and your blade is extremely powerful. However, your blade is nowhere to be seen, but I know you have more than one. There's a reason you chose not to fight."

He laughed. "Nothing gets passed you, eh? Suppose I should suspect nothing less from her driver..."

He sighed before continuing. "My blade, Pandoria, is out on an errand, she'll be back tomorrow, however her absence isn't the reason I chose not to fight."

He pulled down his short, revealing something embedded into his chest.

"What is that?" I questioned.

"It's part of Pandoria's core crystal. I... almost died once and someone surgically implanted it into me. It's the reason I've been alive for so long. I am a blade eater."

"What does that mean?"

"Pandoria and I have a shared strength, and her life force becomes mine. However, there is no such thing as a perfect blade eater. While her core crystal keeps me alive, my body ages. Albeit, at a much slower rate, but right now, I could kick the bucket in my old age in any of these next few months, and Pandy would die with me."

"Oh... is that what Granny is?" I pondered aloud.

"Granny?" Zeke questioned.

"Oh right, her name is Nia. She sent us over here."

"Ah, I thought that might be the case. How is the old girl? Haven't heard that Welsh sass in centuries!" he laughed.

As he talked, I saw her face in my mind and heard her voice. "Is this why I was left here?" I'd hear her say at night, as if she was talking to an old friend. A friend that never spoke back.

"She's good. Kinda lonely, she's been waiting for something a long time, but I don't know what. She always seems like she questions herself, but last time, when Mythra and I talked to her, she seemed like she was happier for some reason. I didn't quite get it."

Zeke laughed. "It was Waylon who told her to stay in Leftheria, to guard Mythra's core crystal, and Poppi."

"He did?"

"Aye," he nodded. "She never understood why, but she obeyed. In the last moments we saw him, it seemed as if he knew everything that was to come..."

"Do you think Waylon really did though?" I questioned.

Zeke shook his head. "I don't think he did. Whenever the boy talked, he gave his all. He didn't hold back information, every now and then he was cryptic, a total enigma that one... But when he wanted us to know something, he did his best to make sure we knew what was on his mind."

Zeke looked up at the sky. "But on that day, I suspect the Aegis he was with gave him foresight of the next five hundred years. Just predictions, and nothing concrete. So he simply told us how we could prepare."

I sighed. "He sounds like he was a much better driver than I could ever be..."

Zeke laughed again. "You have it much easier than he did, you could easily learn to master her in this calm before the storm."

"Easier? How?! I only did chores and menial tasks before this, I wasn't prepared for this, and now I'm taking on an entire military power with a sword I can't use!"

"Waylon wasn't even from this period of time. He got thrown in prison on arrival, resonated with a blade of pure evil, accidentally resonated with Mythra, taking her from Rex, and then she beat him to a pulp until he learned to fight."

I was a bit taken aback. "She doesn't seem to be the type to do that."

"She's grown up a lot, hasn't she?" Zeke pondered. "She acts so much more like that Aegis Waylon was with. Calm, gentle, and only fighting for a clear cause, it's phenomenal, really."

I didn't care to question about the other Aegis, but I was curious about something else he'd said. "He... took her from Rex?"

"Yup! Touched her core crystal and all of a sudden she was no longer Rex's blade. Bugger never explained how he did it... Not that I think he even knew."

"Hey Zeke... am I... am I like him?"

Zeke took a minute to ponder. "Waylon? Well... you look a lot like him."

"I'm in over my head, I know I am! But I can't stop from pushing forward, even if it's against my better judgement..."

Zeke laughed. "If I told you right now that I was terrified that my people may reject me for choices my family made, and that I didn't know whether I could face them or not, what would you say?"

I thought for a moment. "I... I guess I'd say not to assume. Let them make that choice!"

Zeke smiled the warmest smile I had ever seen on a person. "That's exactly what he said, you're gonna do great, chum."

I nodded.

He patted my shoulder before standing up. "Come with me to Anastatia's I'll get you something to drink."

"Alcohol? At this hour?" I asked.

"Nah, never been much of a drinker, but Tantal has some killer fizz juice that I know you'll love."

I definitely didn't say no. As we walked through the town, the few people that were still awake, blissfully unaware of any of the fighting that had taken place, and greeted him as "King Zeke".

"I didn't think Alrest had any monarchies," I commented.

"Still doesn't," Zeke replied. "Centuries ago, Tantal and Uraya were both monarchies. And while we all became one nation, each nation still ran just as they used to, except we held the interests of other provinces in mind as well as our own. It's one of the most beautiful representations of unity I've ever seen."

"Really? Even though everyone's always arguing with each other?"

"What do ya mean?"

"I mean all over the TV! 'BCC and BAP bump heads again!', 'Blades should be controlled!', these headlines are so anger-filled," I pointed out.

"True, we all are entitled to our opinions. And there's no such thing as a family that always sees eye-to-eye."

We sat down at a wooden booth in the corner and Zeke bought two fuzz juices. We began drinking them immediately, as the cool bubbles of the carbonation quickly quenched our thirst.

"What about you Zeke?" I asked. "What do you believe? ...I'm reference to blades, of course."

"Me?" he laughed. "Well, blades aren't just like any sword or gun, and yet they are. One time, two common criminals used two blades to steal from people. However, eventually one of the blades saw truth when Rex showed her what being a responsible driver should look like. This blade murdered her driver, in full knowledge that she'd return to her core crystal and lose all memory."

I continued listening as I drank the juice.

"I met the Architect before he died. The man responsible for creating this entire world. He said that blades were simply data processing units, and time and time again, this is prove true. However, a blade's first instinct is always to serve their driver, until the decide they should be feeling differently. This is why it's important that you and your blade understand each other on the deepest of levels."

He looked at me sternly. "Waylon and Mythra shared a connection more powerful than anything I can ever hope to comprehend, and at the same time I connect deeply to Pandoria. My wife, Mòrag, used to be so perfectly in sync with Brighid and Rex with Pyra, Nia and Dromarch. You need to have a deep connection with any blade you should have. In some ways, the BCC is correct. Blades that are rejected or not treated well are a dangerous weapon, but any sword or gun not treated well is doomed to break or go off unexpectedly. But when you truly care for your weapon, it will protect you when you need it. But when a man's fires a gun, the gun protects him, but it's not the gun that is responsible for firing. Your job as a driver is to know when to fire, and when to show mercy. Please, for her sake, never forget that."

I had wanted to ask more questions, but we were interrupted by the sound of a table cracking.

We turned suddenly to see Acacia getting into one hell of a fight with a drunk. I immediately jumped to her aid but was blocked off by KOS-MOS.

"Oh, KOS-MOS," I greeted. "Are you alright?"

"I am fine. The resonating process worked perfectly, I am Acacia's blade," she responded.

"So you don't remember anything before you were resonated?"

"That is how blade's work, now if you'll excuse me, it seems Acacia has gotten drunk," she said.

"Bring it on KOS-MOS. I won't lose like last time!" Acacia challenged.

"Command received, challenge excepted," KOS-MOS answered before knocking her across the face, knocking her out.

Zeke and I both winced as she hit the floor. KOS-MOS threw Acacia over her shoulder and walked away.

"You need to have a talk with her when she wakes up chum," Zeke advised.

"I... don't want to sound like her parent or something," I responded.

"She's Malos' driver now. If she teaches him to do whatever he wants, he'll end up just like he was last time," Zeke warned.

"Yeah, I'll have a word with her."

Word Count: 2,731

Character Count: 15,241