World of Advent Chapter Five
Author's Note: Thank you all for reviewing! These reviews mean more to me than you know, and help me sculpt the story to be the best of what it can be. CrystalRei- you stated that Chaos is too powerful. I hope to address the shortcomings of his power in this chapter. Also, Advents can activate a further oversol, effectively resembling their reploid parent, but doing so takes far more energy. Again, thank you for reviewing; these short snippets about my story help me keep writing with full vigor.
It's okay, the girl said. We don't have to be scared anymore. So long as we're together, we'll stay safe. We're a family now.
Back at Cara's house, Chaos lay in a nearby bed, cocooned in lime green covers, sweating profusely and muttering in his sleeep.
"What happened?" The first thing Cara had been greeted with when she opened her door had been Light, an unconscious Chaos draped over his back. Sirens wailed in the background, mingling with the frenzied cries of civilians.
"I don't know," Light responded. "He just used one of his techniques, then slumped to the floor. He's been like this ever since."
Cara frowned. "It's not like Chaos to just drop to the floor. What was the attack he used?"
Light frowned. "I'm not really familiar with the names of the techniques you can do. It was huge though. It covered an entire building."
Cara's frown deepened. "How many times did he use this?"
"Twice. Once inside the building and once outside."
Cara made her way over to Chaos, gently lifting one of his eyelids. The pupil was ragged, giving him an even sicklier appearance than before. "Thought so. He must have used Darkness Overload."
"What's that?" Light asked. "I've heard Chaos say something about it before, but I wasn't really paying attention."
"It is the last and greatest weapon in ourt arsenal," Cara explained. "Though being immensely powerful, it comes with several drawbacks. First, very few have the power to summon it among my siblings, and second, the chaotic nature of the power we wield threatens to consume the user if itoo much is unleashed."
Light looked at his friend in alarm. "He'll be okay though, won't he?"
Cara gave a small, helpless shake of the head. "I don't know. Many of my siblings have died after being driven to using just one. That he did two... What was he thinking?"
The bed nearby gave a small shake, and a small, feeble voice could be heard.
"Wasn't thinking," Chaos croaked. "Had to react. Too many Templars."
Cara forced Chaos back down in the bed. "Lie down," she commanded. "You're in no condition to talk." She shook her head wearily. "You're lucky it didn't consume you entirely."
Chaos nodded sleepily before slumping back into the bedspread, dead to the world.
Over the next few days, Cara acted a mix between a sister and surrogate mother for the two of them, feeding and housing them while Chaos recovered. It was during that time that Cara seized the opportunity to learn more about her brother's escapades with Light.
The two of them sat down for dinner, a meal having already prepared earlier that day by Cara. Chaos, still quite unconcious, was unable to join. Amongst the mumbling, a single audible word escaped his lips. A name.
Cara looked over towards her brother. "He really loves her, doesn't he?"
Light nodded. "It's kind of obvious, isn't it?"
Cara smiled. "Sometimes love isn't always so subtle. Sometimes only those who are in its grasp can fail to see it."
"I wonder if she knows," Light pondered. "I always thought that they would end up together someday. She broke Chaos' heart when she left."
"What kind of person was she like," Cara asked. "She must have been special to catch my brother's eye."
Light thought for a moment. "For one," he said, "she was strong. As strong as he was. For another, she was exceptionally beautiful. I'll admit, I envied Chaos at one point in time. The two were always so close, they had been together for as long as they could remember."
"I see." Cara looked into the distance. "She sounds like quite an interesting person."
"She is," Light assured her. "She was very caring and always stood up for the people who had it even worse than we did. But boy did she have a temper!"
"What of your parents," Cara inquired. "Weren't they there at all?"
"Not really," Light said. "I never knew who I was until much later. When I escaped the experimentation in Umera's labs, I was surrounded by sand. That's all I can remember, walking across endless mounds of sand, telling myself that I would find someone, anyone over the next hill."
"And you found them."
Light laughed. "No, they found me. I was half dead when they dragged me to their oasis. When I first saw her, I thought she was a mirage."
"So what of their parents," Cara pushed. "I know Bass never stuck around long for any of us, but our mothers usually kept us long enough until we could fend for ourselves."
"Chaos didn't want his family getting hurt. You have to understand, this was at the peak of the Templar's power, unhindered by the laws of the desert. Anyone caught with an Advent was liable to be killed. He left before they could get hurt."
"I see. And what about the girl? Where were her parents in all of this?"
Light thought for a moment. "She never really told me. All she would ever say is that her mother died in childbirth and her father was once a great hero."
"Once a great hero?" Cara raised her eyebrows. "What does that mean?"
"Beats me," Light said, digging into his food. "She never said."
"So what kind of dangers did you have to face? Surely someone was there to take care of you."
"Just us," Light said. "But we usually didn't come across anything dangerous. Mostly bandits, cutthroats, those kind of people. Every now and then though, we'd come across something nasty, generally a remnant from the Elf Wars. We nearly died several times fighting those things off."
"What stopped you from it," Cara asked with rapt attention. "Did my brother have anything to do with it?"
Light shook his head. "The two of them both were exceptionally strong. I was the weak link in the group; my brain was my biggest contribution. I could detect long forgotten traps left behind in the sand when no one else could. No, it was something else that kept us from dying. It may have been a mirage... It appeared when we needed a place to rest, away from all the dangers of the desert. It was blue, and flickered. The only thing stopping us from disregarding it entirely was the fact that all three of us could see it. It told us not to worry, and that it would not let its neice die, nor the son of his closest friend. I was sure we were hallucinating at that point."
"What happened?" Cara asked curiously.
"It showed us where we would be safe. There were pods everywhere- mowst of them smashed. It was underground, a bunker long forgotten since the Elf Wars began. We traveled to its center, where we found something."
"What was it?" Cara was at the edge of her seat now.
"I can't say." Light gave her an apologetic look. "It's not my secret alone to keep. All I can say is that we found what kept the bunker protected and powered by."
Cara leaned back, disappointed. "Surely after all these years you can tell."
Light shook his head once more. "It's a secret that doesn't go away with age. That kind of information could be damning in the wrong hands."
Cara nodded in acceptance. "I think I get it. Still, part of me really wants to know what it is." She paused. "I can't believe you three went through so much together. You must be very close."
"We were. Chaos and I still are. Light looked outside as he heard more sirens. "I should go lead them on a false trail. We don't want Arcadia to find out that Chaos is here. You'd be at risk as well."
"It's too dangerous." Cara turned on the news. Where the building once stood, reporters swarmed around it, the words TERORIST ATTACK flashing across the screen. In the background, Light noticed four figures with a sinking feeling in his stomach.
"They've dispatched the Royal Advents," Cara said with finality. "The chosen, hand-picked Advents to serve each sect of the Arcadian army, each trained by a Guardian. Do you really think you can take them?"
"I don't intend on fighting them," Light explained. "I just need to throw them off our scent."
Cara stopped to listen to the news report.
"Reports indicate that the initial attack was done inside," a spokesperson said. "We have reason to believe that the Children of Darkness may be involved."
The report switched to a different person, who was then questioned someone of oriental descent, harsh features on his face, someone who wouldn't look out of place in a martial arts seminar.
"Here we have Zazhong, Royal Advent of the Rekku Gundan army. Have you found any leads yet, Zazhong?"
Zazhong's stare was a hard one. "Not yet," he said. "Eyewitnesses indicate that six or seven Advents of varying ages fled the scene. If anyone has any information concerning any of these individuals, we urge them to come forward immediately."
The reporter took back the mic. "There you have it. If anyone has any information, plase come forward now. The hotline number is..."
Light turned off the broadcast. "I think that's my que as an 'eyewitness acount'."
"You can't possibly be thinking of going," Cara said. "What if someone recognizes you?"
"They were probably focused on Chaos," Light said. "Besides, I'll just play dumb if I have to. It's not like Chaos left something large enough to leave prints on."
Cara looked slightly mollified, but concerned all the same. "Just be careful, okay? You and Chaos are the closest thing I can call a functional family."
"I'll be fine," Light assured her. He was touched that she regarded him as a brother, even after the short amount of time having known each other. "This isn't my first rodeo."
Light left on foot, not wanting to attract unnecessary attention on a Slider, blending in with the tide of people, he made his way to the area of the incident.
Despite it being several days after the initial destruction of the Templar HQ, people still flocked around it, curious to know what had caused such a large building to vanish in an instant.
Light scanned the people around him, careful to make himself one of the crowd. Light bought a camera from a nearby store to complete his 'civilian' getup. Throught he lense of the cameral, Light focused on the Royal Advents in the distance.
Venti, Specter, Flare, and Mist were the original Royal Advents, the true children of the 4 Guardians. Now that Venti and Specter were gone, however, their lieutenants took their place. For Venti, Zazhong stood the proud leader of the Rekku Gundan army. Specter left, leaving an unnamed Advent, always garbed in armor to take his place. Some speculated that this unknown Advent was always in oversol, never letting its guard down.
Zazhong's infamous temper could be seen even now as he ordered troops in the air to keep a perimeter. Flare, Fefnir's hot blooded son commanded the troops on the ground. Mist and the unnamed Advent stood to the side.
Light turned his head to see who Zazhong was talking to now. With a feeling of dread, he reckonized Neige among the reporters conversing with Zazhong. He began to rethink his opting not to wear a disguise. While Neige may not know him personally, he looked very much like someone she did know and was in no hurry to find out what dots she would connect were she to see him.
Light made a small advance towards Zazhong once Neige left to discuss things with her news crew.
"Sir," he addressed the black haired Advent. "I may have information on the incident that occurred here."
Zazhong whirled around to face him. "Why have you not come sooner? This investigation's integrity is dependent on eyewitness accounts. If you have something to say, spit it out now."
"Well," Light said in a very good (and quite possibly accurate) representation of a nervous person. "I don't know much, but I saw the two oldest Advents head in that direction." Light pointed in the area opposite of Cara's neighborhood.
"Sector 5B-87," Zazhong mused. "I don't believe we've looked there yet. Thank you, civilian."
"No problem," Light was beginning to say before he was accosted by a woman in bright orange hair.
Oh no.
"Do you have any information on what happened here?" Neige asked before she got a glimpse of Light's face. "Oh my God," she whispered. "You look just like him."
Light bolted, Neige hot on his trails.
"Wait," Neige called out. "I just want to talk to you!"
"Not right now, thanks," Light called back. "I'll schedule an interview at a later date." Like never.
"Do you know an Advent named Cipher," Neige called out as she reached a dead end, Light having slipped in one of the many branching alleys. She seemed to pause for a moment. "Are you Light?"
Light grimaced as he slunk back to Cara's house. Having given the reporter the slip, he cursed himself now for not wearing a heavier disguise.
He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost overlooked something of crucial detail in Cara's neighborhood. While not always the most active place, there was generally at least one neighbor out with his sprinkler. Now not so much as a cat roamed outside. Curtains would open just a fraction wide while Light would pass, only to shut tightly closed when he looked in its direction.
Odd as it was, Light believed to know the source of this phenomenon. And it wasn't good.
Sure enough, as he opened Cara's door, his fears were confirmed.
A circle of Advents surrounded Chaos and Cara. Each one of them had violet eyes.
"So good of you to join us," their leader spoke. "My name is Kai. You may have heard of me. Please, sit."
"I prefer to stand." Light eyed the Advents warily.
Kai shrugged indifferently. "So be it. Doesn't bother me. I was just being polite, you know."
Light gave Cara a questioning look.
"I'm sorry," she said. "They came before I could do anything about it."
"What's wrong with a little family get together?" Kai asked. "Is it so wrong that I want to see my older siblings?"
"You're here because of Chaos," Light said.
"Bingo," said Kai. "I've come to give you a proposition of sorts. These are troubling times, in which us Advents nee to stick together. Do you want to join the Children of Darkness in our quest for world peace?"
"Hah." From the other side of the room, Light could see Chaos. He was sweating profusely and seemed to be in pain, but otherwisde okay. "Peace, is that what you call it? You're little more than a terrorist group."
Kai shook his head sadly. "It saddens me to have my brother think of me as a terrorist. True, people have gotten hurt, but we were never the ones to have fired first. Always, the humans threw the first stone. It was never my wish to see anyone get hurt, but sometimes fighting is necessary."
"I shudder to think what you call an unnecessary evil," Chaos spat. "I'll never join you."
Kai's eyes narrowed. "Oh is that so? The great Chaos is too noble for the likes of his brothers and sisters, is that it? That demonstration you pulled back at the Templars, was that peace? Are we to have hypocrites like you or fools like Ciel who believe that this world can be saved through nonviolent means?"
"I'd rather be a hypocrite than see myself become what you have, Kai" Chaos said. "Your organization is hardly better than the Templars. Have you sunk so low to have become what you swore to resist?"
Kai took no notice of Chaos' statements, instead opting to allow tiny explosions of arcane energy dance across his fingertips, touching his brother's chest. "I could kill you right now, if I wanted to."
"Then do it," Chaos spat defiantly. "I won't join you in this crusade of yours."
Kai stopped the chaotic energy just before it reached Chaos. "So feisty. Tell me, Chaos, what is it that paves the path to destruction? I'll tell you. Since the world began, it has engaged in a titanic power struggle in which one side overcomes the other. For a while the oppressors oppress the weak unrtil the oppressed stand up and fight. Then it is the oppressors that become the oppressed. The cycle continues. I wish to break that cycle."
"What makes you think you could break that cycle," Chaos asked.
"It's simple," Kai said. "Only when the world is united under one banner can it truly achieve peace. For centuries, the humans have seperated themselves from the mavericks due to one key defining feature- the Maverick Virus. They watched as their creations became warped, their minds distorted as their darkest intentions came to life. But they were never the victims of the Virus. That key seperation has led them to believe themselves falsely superior, above the likes of reploidkind."
"What does this have to do with anything," Chaos asked. "The Maverick Wars are over. They were before our time."
"Patience, brother. I'm getting to it." Kai took a deep breath, a maniacal glint in his eye. "The humans stood by and watches their creations fight for them, die for them. For what? So that the human race could survive? So that the pure, Virus free humans could judge a machine unworthy simply because it could get sick?" He laughed humorlessly. "That time is over. Tell me brother, are you aware of the Templars recent acquisition of a Virus that will make half humans susceptible to the illness?"
Chaos and Light shared a look. "We may have heard of it."
Kai held a syringe to the light, its black liquid foaming with the movement of its container. "We are making modifications to it as we speak. This time, the humans will not be able to hide under a rock and wait it out while their children go to war for them. If the humans want to watch us burn, they can burn with us."