Chapter 10--Weapons Production
Yuugi padded down the corridor after Whir, the two slaves making almost no sound with their bare feet. Yuugi wasn't sure why the Chaos Army would want slaves, especially children, to produce weapons; why would the Overlord let slaves have potentially dangerous materials? As he thought about it, however, it occurred to him that he himself had no weapons training, and it was unlikely that the other child slaves would either.
The Overlord really had an ingenious scheme. People without identities had little willpower, and thus would not rebel. Of course, the Chaos Army never expected the slaves to give themselves names; they severely underestimated their captives.
"This is where they actually make the weapons; they don't have us do that," Whir whispered as they passed a pair of large steel doors, reinforced and set with heavy hinges and bolts. Yuugi could hear banging and the sounds of machinery coming from behind it, as well as many voices shouting back forth to each other.
"The Army actually manufactures the weapons themselves...I guess they don't trust the slaves to do it. But we assemble the weapons," Whir added. She continued down the hall until they reached a smaller door. Above it was a small sign reading "weapons production." Yuugi supposed the sign was for the Chaos Army troops; the slaves wouldn't be able to read it.
Whir put her hand on the touchpad beside the door, and it slid open. The room inside was fairly spacious, the walls lined with shelves full of various half-completed weapons and materials. There were bins filled with metal and wood components, and diagrams on the wall that showed how to assemble everything. Yuugi noticed the diagrams had no words; they were explained entirely in pictures.
At one end of the room were several small tables, around which were seated the slaves of division 19, assembling weapons for the armies that destroyed their lives. Some glanced up when Whir and Yuugi entered before going back to their work; as a rule, the slaves had few close friends. They were too shattered by their miserable existence to be close to many people.
One boy, however, smiled and waved to Whir, gesturing her to his table. He had the sort of face that would have been pleasantly round if not for the near-starvation diet of the slaves, and looked almost bizarrely peaceful and content in such a miserable place.
Whir walked over to the table, pulling Yuugi along with her. The boy who had waved to Whir pushed his sandy-brown bangs out of his eyes and looked curiously at Yuugi, taking in this new arrival with bright green eyes.
"Who's that, Whir? He can't be new--his hair's all grown out."
The other person seated at the table glanced up. Matted black hair hung into his eyes slightly and covered his ears; he had obviously been here for some time. Yuugi shivered slightly as two ice-blue eyes locked onto his, coldly assessing him. Apparently seeing nothing of particular interest, the boy looked down again. His pale, slender hands reached out for a steel-tipped arrow and began adding the feathers to it.
Whir sat down at the table and started working with the ease of long practice. "This is Yuugi. He actually is new...with 24."
Yuugi sat down next to Whir, looking uncomfortably at the dark-haired boy next to him. He stared fixedly at the table, not needing to watch his work. There was something oddly familiar about him...Yuugi didn't think he had ever met this strange person before, but they reminded him of something, something he couldn't quite place.
"I'm Brent," the brown-haired boy commented lightly. "And this here is Fletch," he added, gesturing across the table. Fletch didn't even look up. He continued to mechanically assemble arrows; that seemed to be his specialty.
"He never talks," Brent said, lowering his voice slightly. "We call him Fletch because he's the best at fletching the arrows--that's when you add flights to them," he added, seeing Yuugi's blank look. Since this didn't help, Brent sighed and said, "The feathers...they're called flights. When you put them on, you're fletching the arrow. The wood part is the shaft, the head is the part on the tip--an arrowhead, get it?--and the whole thing is the arrow. Got it?"
"I think..." Yuugi said uncertainly. He had never tried to assemble a weapon of any sort before. Yuugi picked up one of the long, heavy arrow shafts, examining it. Watching Fletch, he saw that adding flights was something he probably shouldn't try until he had more practice...Yuugi turned his attention to the arrowhead.
The arrowheads were made of sharp-edged steel, and bound to the shaft with thick twine. Yuugi watched Brent lash the base of an arrowhead to the end of the shaft, then tried to copy the pattern. Sadly, he ended up with a knotted mess of twine and a stubbornly detached arrowhead.
Brent rolled his eyes. "You gotta practice, or they'll prob'ly whip you. The Chaos Army only keeps productive slaves. Here--let me show you."
Luckily for Yuugi, Brent was an extremely patient person, and Yuugi got the hang of it after a few tries. Whir took to assembling the mechanical weapons, since the other three were working on simple weapons, and easily clicked together what looked like gun parts. Brent left the bow-and-arrow making to Yuugi and Fletch, moving on to binding sword and ax hilts.
"So what's up with you anyway?" Brent said amicably. He hadn't heard Yuugi's story yet, and he was sure there must be one.
Yuugi paused for a moment, thinking about the mess he had gotten himself into. What was up with him? No matter where he and his friends went, an evil maniac followed...Yuugi smiled, remembering Pegasus and the Big Five. Then he sighed. Things had certainly gotten more complicated.
"They got me when they recaptured Scat...I tried to stop them, but I didn't stand a chance. Then when they tried to take my name, something really weird happened, and it kind of...backfired, I guess. So, now I'm here. Of course, I'm still not exactly sure where here is...are we in Dark World? Scat thought we might be."
Brent nodded. "Yeah, we're in Dark World. 'Course, Whir'd know more about the place than me."
Whir put down a finished sniper rifle, picking up more parts from a bin. "I do a lot of outside jobs...they know I can't run away with my leg, so it's no danger for them. The sky is always so dark, even when the sun is out--it looks like it's covered with a veil, almost. It's pretty creepy..."
Yuugi was now positive that he was in Dark World; that description matched the eerie sky of the dying Akarana perfectly. He wondered what Worlds Brent and Fletch had come from...and what, if anything, they remembered of them.
"Brent...do you remember anything about where you came from? You know--the place you were before they captured you and brought you here." Yuugi watched him eagerly, wondering if Brent would know more about his past than Whir.
Brent's face contorted with the effort of 'remembering.' "Well...I don't really know. It's just that I think...I think I was never anywhere else than here, actually. Being here is the first thing I can remember. But...I have an idea about a different place--not a place I've been, mind you, but just one I might have heard of somewhere..."
Brent's story-
A boy with sandy-brown hair sat perched on the roof of a small house at the edge of town. He closed his eyes, tilting his face to the sun and smiling. Today was a perfect, beautiful day. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
He leaned forward, opening his eyes and gazing around him. The little town was bustling with activity. His own home was just down the street from the market square, where buyers and sellers alike roamed about, picking over selections and finding everything they needed, from farm tools to spell components.
The boy slid down from the roof and ran off down the street, eager to go visit the botanist. The rambling building was perched on a hill just past the border of town, looking somewhere between a laboratory and a well-loved, if slightly run-down, house. Plants grew over every available inch of space, bursting from the walls and running along the fences with unbridled enthusiasm for life.
The boy was at home among the plants, considering himself a friend rather than a master to them. As an apprentice earth elementalist, all that grew was an ally to him, and all that opposed life was his enemy. He delighted in raising the garden he had planted outside his house, practicing his magic to increase the size and endurance of weeds, flowers, and vegetables alike. His best friend and school mate, a water elementalist, also helped him. Yes, life was good.
The boy stopped on his way to the lab to greet all his neighbors; the wind elementalist who lived next door and owned far too many cats, the fire elementalist who lived two blocks down and was no longer allowed in the library after the tragic book-burning incident, the fellow earth elementalist who worked at the grocery store, the water elementalist who had built a pond in his backyard. They were all his friends, his allies, fellow elementalists struggling to eek out a living in their often hostile world.
The boy stopped suddenly, feeling a tug at the inner flame of his magic. He looked around, frowning, and saw that the other elementalists were doing the same. Something was disrupting the balance of nature, and nature was not happy about it. The elementalists were duty-bound to defend their World from any and all threats, and this one was feeling more dangerous every second.
Just as the elementalists were getting themselves organized to find the threat and eradicate it if possible, something happened...something no one could have expected.
Without warning, everything went terribly wrong.
The sky burst open with a blinding flash of light, and an immense creature shadowed the town with its vast wingspan. It stretched across the sky, covered in pebbly reptilian skin, gazing down at the pitiful creatures who assembled to fight it, fire in its glittering jade eyes. It opened its heavy jaws in a crocodile's grin, dripping yellow teeth imitating a smile that was only the anticipation of a massacre.
The vast wings of long, fragile bones with flaps of leathery hide stretched over them showing every pulse of blood through the veins within flapped idly, knocking the boy off his feet with the sudden rush of wind. The creature swooped lower, hovering about the center of the town; the boy could foresee a fiery death in its brilliant red scales and vast, wet cavern of a mouth. The long, agile tongue flicked out for a moment, snake-like. This creature generated an aura of fear, a panic so complete that everyone was frozen.
And then the worst part came.
Atop the creature's back sat a lone figure, a humanoid in night-blue scale armor wielding a throwing lance. On the mysterious figure's head was a helmet fashioned to look like the scaly head of the beast that had so suddenly appeared. The figure pulled off its helm, and a cascade of pale blond hair fell to the dragon rider's waist. Her face was thin, angular, and cold. She reached into an inner pocket for a moment, then pulled out a new terror, worse than either of the others.
In her hand was a circular jade plate. It was translucent and had a runic design on it that the boy did not recognize. Those around him obviously knew what it meant--there were gasps of fear and shock. The dragon rider smirked, holding the object over her head and speaking a Word of Command. A blinding light flashed out of the seemingly harmless object, and every magic user in the vicinity collapsed in terrible pain.
The object was a magic Seal that blocked all magic users in range from using their power. The Sealing of their auras was extremely painful...now the elementalists would be too weak to fight back.
The dragon soared lower, and its rider slid off its back, landing lightly on the ground. The elementalists were now in dire straights, some writhing on the ground in pain, others passed out. They couldn't understand how this one person had so much power--only a vast amount of magic could cripple so many of the elementalists at once. Even the extra power provided by her dragon couldn't possibly be enough. And then, the answer appeared.
The already disastrous day got worse.
The sky tore open again and more dragons entered their World, ready to attack and decimate the town and the countryside for miles around. They were of various colors, from the electric blue with lightening breath to the more well-known reds breathing fire. The attack itself was a blur; the boy saw people melting in pools of acid, screaming in pain as they burned like torches, trying to run and barely being able to stand. He knelt on the ground and wept helplessly, unable to do anything to help and hating himself for it.
Mercifully, he was struck on the head by falling rubble, and the attack faded into blackness.
the end-
"...and that's all that comes to mind at the moment. But I guess it's not really important. I mean...it's just a story."
Brent finished off the leather binding on the sword hilt in front of him before setting it aside. He sighed, looking down at his hands. "I do wish that I could remember, though...something about me...but I don't think there's anything before coming here to remember." Brent looked at Yuugi thoughtfully. "But you...they couldn't take your name, right?"
Yuugi mutely shook his head, still absorbing Brent's tragic story. Brent frowned, an unusual expression on his normally contented face. "It's certainly good...but why?"
That's what I'm wondering, Yuugi thought to himself. Yuugi had seen many strange things since discovering the Multiverse, but had never encountered someone with a name like his. How had he gotten it, and why did it protect him from the Chaos Army's name-stealing abilities?
Did my parents know about my name? Was that why they gave it to me? I don't see how they could, but...how else could I have gotten my name? I'm sure my grandpa would have told me if it was something important...wouldn't he?
Yuugi's futile questioning was interrupted by the ringing chime of a bell. "That means we're done here...come on," Scat said, pulling Yuugi along behind her as she headed back to division 24's living area. Yuugi was surprised; he'd been so caught up in Brent's story, he hadn't noticed time passing.
"Where are we going now?" Yuugi asked, trotting along after Scat.
"Back to 24's area...that's it for today. You probably think we've barely done anything, right? Most new ones feel like that...you lose track of time in here."
Yuugi and Scat returned to the dank misery of division 24's living area, which looked more like an overlarge holding cell to Yuugi. The slaves curled up in various spots on the floor, drifting into fitful sleep. Yuugi sat in a back corner, watching all of them. Brell and Fratch sprawled out in the opposite corner, Krin and Datch staked out a spot near the back wall, and Skitter curled up next to Scat, shivering even with her fur. All of them were used to the daily routine of drudgery in the Chaos Army, moving ever closer to their inevitable deaths. The only question was what would kill them.
What kind of life is that? Yuugi wondered sadly. The Chaos Army took away everything from them...this is all they know. How could anyone do this...? Yuugi lay down, trying to get some sleep before he had to go through the same thing the next day. I wonder how everyone is back home...grandpa must be worried. Thinking of his friends and family, Yuugi's eyes closed.
I wonder if I'll ever get home...?
-o-o-o-o-o-
I know it is hard for them.
They want to know where he is--how to find him. They want to aid him. I know they are frustrated, sitting here waiting while their friend is in danger. I know they feel...
I know what is to fear for your friends. I know what it is to weep with rage as you are forced to sit back and watch while they are harmed. I know what it is to hate yourself beyond any other hate you have ever felt because you could not save them. I know what it is to fail in your duty to your friends.
It is like a nightmare for me...a nightmare I can never escape. I will watch them fail their friend as I failed my own friends...I will fail this one as I have failed others. But what can I do?
I cannot aid them. I cannot tell them where he is. How can I know? Why do they think I am keeping this from them? Do they not realize that if I knew I would long since have gone to find him myself?
But they cannot help themselves. They are frightened, they are confused, and they are aware that I know more than them, even if I do not know everything. They cannot help latching on to any last hope. They cannot help believing that there is some way for them to save him.
They have been a team through many an ordeal now; it is hard for them to imagine it otherwise. They are frustrated that this one time, when their friend is truly alone and in need of aid, they are helpless. They do not yet realize...
They have never faced an enemy of this caliber before. All those they have previously fought were nothing compared to this being, this unstoppable force. The man called Pegasus--he was an amateur, a fanatic obsessed with a single, crazed goal. Those they refer to as the "Big Five"--a group of cowards brave only in numbers who had not even the strength to create their own trap, instead stealing it from the one they attacked. Even when they traversed the Multiverse, they faced no one of such unparalleled cunning, such unmatched strength, such callous cruelty. How can they hope to defeat even one of his underlings?
I know they have given everything of themselves, all their strength and all their hearts. I know they have done their best to comprehend the enormity of the situation. But I also know there is simply no hope that they can win. They are not warriors; they are not tacticians. They have no experience, and their foes are masters of their crafts. Resistance to this threat is limited because knowledge of it is almost nonexistent; even where awareness exists, efforts are scattered and vastly outnumbered.
The only hope for them, for anyone, cannot lie in any of us. It must lie in the hope that the Overlord's fears are well-founded. It must lie in the hope that somehow, in some way I cannot fathom, Yuugi holds the power to defeat this menace. It seems impossible, but I can only have faith. It was never specified how Yuugi would be able to defeat the Overlord, so speculation is useless. I can only protect all of them from danger for as long as possible.
But although I have fought all my life for survival, I am a scholar at heart; I have neither a mentality nor a tactical mind. I cannot predict the opponent's moves. I cannot guess at the pools of the heart. I can only protect these few, and now I have failed even in this. Yuugi is missing, and neither his friends nor I can help him.
If the Overlord has found him, there is no hope. We cannot defeat the Overlord; he has only refrained from striking the Shadow World and killing everyone in it up to this point because he is uncertain. He does not know why Yuugi is the one capable of defeating him, so he cannot act for fear of triggering this unknown power. But if he should capture Yuugi...examine him...find out the truth...what then? None of us can help Yuugi now; this time, he must help himself. But if the Overlord has found him...what then?
What do we do then?