When he was ripped from his home yet again, Gailardia Galan Gardios found himself taking the name 'Guy Cecil' for the second time in his life.
Revenge was a concept he thought he was able to leave behind, but apparently, it was one that would forever haunt him. There was no denying the emotion he felt as he found himself toiling on Kimlascan soil once more-that of repressed rage, all hidden underneath a bright, unassuming smile.
He tried to convince himself that it was not as bad as it was when he first came to Duke Fabre's mansion, when avenging his dead family was the only emotion that fueled the course of his life. After all, as with before, he was supposed to be dead, if not in prison. Yet, he was alive and physically well, tinkering with the fon machines at Sheridan, the esteemed city of craftsmen. Noelle and Ginji were staking their lives by keeping him under their wing, as did General Cecille, who put in a good word for him when the Kimlascan military discovered his presence under their care. Heck, he even got to keep the Jewel of Gardios instead of having it confiscated by the military.
Yet, the sense of loss lingered over him, and so did his frustration at being helpless to save those around him once more. Jade. Emperor Peony. The servants entrusted to him in the name of House Gardios. He clenched his fist tightly, mouth taut in a thin line. All dead, all because of some dumb declaration that Natalia was killed during one of her trips as an ambassador of peace. He did not believe a word of it. Not a single word of it. Natalia would not be taken down that easily, given the strength she gained thanks to their journey. Moreover, it was utterly absurd for Emperor Peony to issue such an order in the first place, given how he got along with the former in the first place. Not to mention, there was Jade's resourcefulness to consider with regard to his survival and the emperor's, but if they were alive, certainly, the military would have issued some sort of order to capture them for some sort of reward.
The question was, who was responsible for this mess? While he knew that complete harmony was in the realm of impossibility, tolerance was something he expected, especially after defeating Van. Apparently, such thoughts were stuff of dreams, given his current predicament.
"Guy, are you okay?" Noelle looked up from the engine she was repairing, a concerned expression on her face.
"Yeah, I'll live," he said, giving her a reassuring smile.
His smile probably did not come across that way, since Noelle continued to eye him worriedly. "You should call it an early day. You've been working hard for the past days; you should take the time to rest, Guy."
"Yeah, I'm sure Aston will agree," Ginji said, tearing his eyes away from the wing that he was working on. "If he doesn't, I'll find a way to make the old man see things our way!"
Realizing that his protests would most likely fall on deaf ears in the light of their unity, he broke into a sheepish grin and excused himself as they requested. Muttering a word of thanks, he proceeded to exit the place.
Stepping out of the storehouse, Guy stretched his arms and let out a yawn. Perhaps they were right. He had been working long hours in the factory as an effort to keep himself occupied. At least, when he was assembling machines, he did not have to think about what happened several months ago.
Climbing up the lighthouse tower—Aston would probably shout at him, but he badly needed a distraction—he made his way up one of his favorite spots, the highest part overlooking the sea and the outskirts of Sheridan. Leaning over the railing, he took a lungful of the sea-salt air, feeling a wave of calm wash over him as he stared at the blue expanse before him, listening to the waves crash against the shore. However, his calm was only short-lived, as anxiety bubbled up his chest none too soon. His thoughts settled on the similar view he saw out at Hod, out at Baticul, and out at Grand Chokmah, along with the reminder of people who would never get to see that view again.
He balled his fist once more, silently cursing his powerlessness as the wind whipped against his hair. He thought that after Hod and Eldrant, the losses would stop. Thought that people finally had the time to heal. Still, why was it that he was the only one left alive? Always left behind, perpetuating his now pointless existence.
Turning his attention to the highlands, he then caught sight of what seemed like two people engaged in combat with three Eggrudas. Quite unfortunate, considering how close the two were to the town. Was his bad luck that contagious? No matter, the soldiers patrolling should catch sight of them soon and assist.
But the matter was, as Guy did a double take, was that the soldiers were not helping out at all. He watched as the patrol paused some distance from the duo, then continue on their route like nothing happened.
Guy's stomach churned at the sight. It could only mean that the two fighting were from Malkuth. Were Kimlascan soldiers really that heartless? Regardless of nationality, they were people all the same!
Clenching his teeth, he climbed on top of the railing. Steeling himself, he climbed down his perch and began to make his way towards the wall, jumping from warehouse roof to warehouse roof. Spotting a broomstick lying around, he grabbed it, considering how he would be needing a weapon if he were to push through with his plans of rescuing the two.
A few roofs later, he was on top of the city walls, with a perfect view of the battlefield. Anger threatened to rise up his chest when he realized that one of the unfortunate travelers was a woman. He wanted to believe that Kimlascan soldiers were not just mindless sister-slaying lugs of meat—and heck, he thought he got over that perception—but seeing the woman on the ground reminded him of how those soldiers burst in his home and felled his sister and her maids one by one.
Indirectly or not, they were going to kill her, just like his sister.
"Enter the amazing Guy!" 'Sword' in hand, he leapt from the wall and landed on a bird's back, bashing its head on impact with the stick he held as well as cushioning his fall with the fall of the said animal.
The other two froze upon his entrance, probably shocked at the unexpected help. However, their pause was doing him no good, as the other two birds turned their attention to him, hoping to avenge their fallen comrade.
"A little—" he barely dodged the swing one bird made, "—help—" another lucky block thanks to his stick, though he felt it slowly giving way against the latter's sharp talons, "—here!"
From the corner of his eye, he could see the other vulture preparing to divebomb again. If none of the two helped him out, he was sure to be ground meat or vulture dinner depending on which claws got to him first. Yulia help these two—
To his surprise, it was not the man that assisted him. The woman quickly dispatched the vulture attempting to dig its claws into his stomach, which left him free to roll out of danger. A quick look at his savior told him that she wielded a spear of sorts—nay, was that a deck brush? He stared in disbelief as the woman swiftly backstepped out of the way as the remaining monster dived towards her, bringing her 'weapon' down the other's head, which crackled with a burst of thunder from the head of the 'spear'. The attack coursed through the bird's body, and with a loud cry, fell lifelessly next to its companions.
It begged the question. He stared in awe at the bespectacled, brown-haired woman. If they—or at least the woman in this case—were this strong, then why—
"Hey, thanks for helping out!" A hand clapped on his shoulder caused him to tense and abandon his train of thought. "These monsters suddenly came out of nowhere and this old hag had a hard time drawing her weapon and—" Whirling around, Guy found himself face to face with an all-too familiar grin. The usual hair ornaments were gone, and the other's hair was shorter than he remembered it last, but his smile shone as brightly as ever. "—Gailardia."
"Y-Your Maj—" Eyes widening in surprise, he was about to compose himself into a practiced bow when Peony gripped his arm tightly, shaking his head as the threw a pointed glance at the soldiers rounding the corner towards them. Situation dawning on him, he nodded numbly. Right, he was presumed dead, after all, and they were in enemy territory. Wait. Speaking of which, that could only mean that the woman before him was—
"—Jade. And the lout over there is my brother, Franz." Three soldiers surrounded Jade, who had his arms folded and was giving them a thoroughly unimpressed look. Guy had to stifle a chuckle at the scene. One or the other should have been amusing, but looking at Jade in women's clothing—and sounding like it fitted him—in addition to seeing how he towered over the Sheridan sentries who looked like they did not know what they were getting into made for an interesting combination. It was not the way he expected to be reunited with him, but it was nonetheless a welcome surprise over not being able to see him again.
"Fighting along the city perimeter is a task left to us soldiers."
"The last time I checked, it wasn't illegal to fight for one's life, especially when the said soldiers were busy running away in fear."
"Tch. How dare you speak that way, wench! Learn your place!" One of the soldiers who was more or less Jade's height swung a fist at his face, which he evaded by the mere expedient of sidestepping to the left.
Jade smirked. "Is this the kind of training they have at the military academy?" Guy felt Emperor Peony shift beside him and make his way towards Jade, his mouth set into a thin line. "Because it would seem that they need to rehaul the whole system if they have been producing these kinds of graduates."
The other two, incensed, looked like they were about to pounce on Jade. Guy would have followed suit as Emperor Peony and intervened as well, if not for a voice that came up from behind them.
"What's this commotion all about?"
The three soldiers froze in their actions and looked like they were about to turn their fury onto the source of the voice instead, but upon seeing the person in question, they hurriedly straightened up and gave the person a salute.
"Commander Goldberg! These civilians were out of line, Sir! They have failed to abide by the law forbidding battles close to the city, and have also insulted the Kimlascan military on top of that!"
Frowning, Goldberg's gaze steeled themselves on the three soldiers, before falling on Jade, then Emperor Peony, then him. After what seemed to be a tense eternity, he said, "Go back to your posts. I will take care of the situation here."
"Yes, Sir!" With another salute, the three then trooped out of the scene, not without the tallest throwing Jade a smug look.
Once the three soldiers were gone, Goldberg turned to Jade and gave him a rueful smile. "I must apologize in behalf of these new recruits' behavior. They're... a little too enthusiastic, so to speak."
"I figured as much," Jade said, sighing. "Though shouldn't something be done about their power-tripping?"
"Rest assured, I will give them a strict talking-to after this, and will inform their immediate supervisors about this. Now, if I may ask, what actually happened?"
"The two of them were attacked by Eggrudas," Guy said, much to his own surprise, as with the others, who began to observe him with various levels of curiosity. With a level of unperturbedness that felt foreign even to him, he pointed at where the fallen monsters lay. "None of the patrolling soldiers were helping them, so I decided to come to their rescue and we all managed to dispatch the monsters together. However, shortly after we did so, the said soldiers began picking on her."
"I see." Goldberg nodded, then turned to Jade once more, an amused expression on his face as he stroked is moustache. "And you took care of the monsters? Impressive. We could use someone as skilled as you in the army..."
Jade returned the compliment with a serene smile. "As much as that flatters me, I'm afraid that we still have business to attend to." He picked up the bag on the ground and slung it over his shoulder. "If there is nothing else of concern to discuss, may we be excused?"
"Your names. I believe I haven't caught them, except for Guy here."
"My name is Jade," Jade said without missing a beat, his expression impassive as Goldberg's brows shot up at the mention of his name. "And my companion here is Franz."
Tension was palpable in the air as Goldberg's gaze hardened on Jade, who met his gaze with equal intensity. Moments later, Goldberg relaxed and smiled, letting out a hearty chuckle. "Grand! I like your style, Miss Jade! Apologies, for a moment, you reminded me of someone I used to know. You even share the same eye and hair color!"
Jade returned the smile, pushing up his glasses as he did so. "But would I be perhaps more good looking, if I were to dare to venture a comment?"
"Lovely as this exchange is, we have to get going, Sir." Emperor Peony clapped a hand around Jade's shoulders and flashed a grin at Goldberg before he could comment. "Thank you for your help earlier."
Goldberg laughed again. "It's not a problem. Very well, keep going then."
Emperor Peony and Jade started toward the entrance to Sheridan after bowing, with Guy following suit.
"Gailardia."
Guy paused in his tracks, surprise evident on his face at being addressed.
Goldberg's expression was somber as he continued, "Kindly refrain from more foolhardy rescue attempts at this point forward. I know General Cecille vouched for you months back, but her word could only carry you so far. I know it is painful for you to see these things happening, but if you value your life and those who you live with, you'd follow this piece of advice well."
And with that, Goldberg left for the opposite direction, leaving Guy to his thoughts as he hastened to catch up with Emperor Peony and Jade, a multitude of questions lingering at the back of his mind.