Six:
Those Who Were Once Dead
Back on the ground after being knocked out of the simulation, Bill glares up at the high ceiling of the room. A silence takes over the room as Bill thinks over the scene he had just witnessed. Aeron had said it was fake, but it hurt nonetheless. The memory of his son’s death had tortured him, but the sight of it again was harsher than death. Aeron is standing with his arms crossed, focusing on the tiles of the floor in front of him. J.J. and Emmitt are vigorously typing away at their computers. Bill remains motionless on the ground.
“Interesting. So he’s not the one?” J.J. murmurs whilst blasting on his keyboard.
“They all failed the first time,” Emmitt remarks without looking over at the other man.
“True, but he thought this time would be different,” J.J. says, peeling his face away from the computer to glance at Aeron. Both men stop their work and stare at the disappointed man.
“Yep,” Emmitt merely says.
“Chances of mission success based on test: 43%,” sounds the mechanical voice from the computer. Aeron slowly walks over to Bill and hovers over him. He holds out his hand, but Bill lifts himself up from the ground, ignoring another kindly gesture from the future man.
“You don’t have to lose the same battles,” Aeron calmly states. Bill eyes the man up and down dangerously, and pushes Aeron’s arm away.
“I’ve already lost. I was alive to kill Nat, and to get my son back. I was supposed to kill Nat Dalton!” Bill looks off into the nothingness of the room that was not long ago a series of tall buildings and busy streets. There is only a faint, disappearing light in the distance, evaporating from existence.
“Wasn’t I?”
Aeron snaps Bill out of his trance.
“If you were to have killed him, then what? What was the big plan? Drink yourself into oblivion? Your son would be proud.” Bill grabs Aeron and slams him into the nearby wall. Again, J.J. and Emmitt cease their typing and gaze at the two men.
“He’s working out perfectly,” J.J. smirks. Aeron grabs Bill’s tattered brown shirt, lifting him off of his feet. The future man has an angry look on his face, but he swiftly snaps out of it and releases the man. Bill drops to his feet.
“Don’t you dare talk about my son. I tried. What about you? You can’t even fight your own battles! Attempting to use those freaks to fight off your ghosts!” Bill yells.
Aeron launches a harsh shove at Bill, knocking him to the ground. Bill retaliates by slamming his leg into Aeron’s, tripping the man to the ground as well. Both men are panting heavily out of rage.
“I chose you because we’re the same, Bill!”
“Hardly!”
With a furious face, Aeron slams a button on his wristwatch. Another projection image pops out, lighting the faces of the two men that sit on the cold floor. This time the image shows a young boy running through tight alleyways of a city. It is nighttime, and the city seems dark and murky. There are gunshots flying widely into the night, and, although the projection is silent, Bill can see that the boy is crying out for someone.
The image soon changes to Aeron, albeit a younger version of the man, sprinting hastily through similar alleyways. He doesn’t have the scars on his face that he has now. Bill looks over at the man sitting beside him and notes the differences between the image and the man now. Projection Aeron is sweating and blood is dripping from the top of his head. He darts out into the middle of an open street.
Gunfire disperses from all around, and Aeron eyes the area frivolously. His eyes stop on the figure of the young boy, who is being held at gunpoint by a pale-skinned man in a black cape. His eyes are a dark yellow, and fixed on projection Aeron. The yellow eyes glimmer in the darkness. The figure in the night points the gun to the young boy’s temple. The scene switches to the younger Aeron running at the two, screaming.
The projection shoots back into Aeron’s wristwatch. The future man and the cowboy sit silently for a few moments. Aeron never raises his head from its lowered position.
“You made your own enemy! Mine were chosen for me. My wife and son died, too. I did all I could.”
The voice that spills from Aeron’s mouth is low and full of remorse.
“I did all I could,” repeats Aeron. Bill turns his head away from the future man. He felt like a prick for starting a fight with this man who had also lost so much.
“Don’t tell me I don’t understand what you’re going through. I do. However, there are others like us that have a chance to salvage their families. I thought that you would understand the significance of that. I thought you would be able to save us.”
“Maybe, you were wrong.”
“Maybe, I was.”
A loud siren sounds and the room begins to flash. Aeron leaps to his feet, and runs past J.J. and Emmitt to stare at a computer screen. Bill lifts himself and follows the man.
“No. It can’t be.”
“What? What is it?” Bill inquires. Aeron is fixated on the screen and lifts his head to Bill.
“It’s them. They’ve sent a team of bounty hunters into the city. I think they’ve found an orb.”
Suddenly, Jean and Otaku run into the room, Jean pushing Otaku out of the doorway.
“Move it, Landlubber. What’s with the noise?”
“It’s happening. They’re moving.” Jean eyes the computer screen, also making some sense of the gibberish onscreen.
“Impossible. We’d have seen it,” Jean claims intent on the screen in front of him.
“Now? Why now?” Otaku chimes in.
“They must have found out that we have acquired three of the orbs. They know we have Bill,” Aeron looks back at Bill, who has been spectating all of this in confusion. Jean and Otaku also turn to glance at the cowboy, and Kara runs in the room with a horrified look at the siren. She turns to face Bill.
“They know,” she quietly says, “but how?”
“I don’t understand,” Bill states.
“Every individual we acquire, heightens our chances to combat them. They know we have you.” Aeron sprints to a locker on the wall of the room and swings it open. He pulls out a gun and puts it in his holster behind him. He tosses small, black wristwatches to Jean, Otaku, and Kara. Kara whips out her grapple and harnesses it to her waist.
“We have to go. I wasn’t prepared for this, but if they have found an orb, we must intercept it. Suit up,” Aeron says. He launches one of the black watches at Bill. The badge contains a blue ‘X’ on it. Kara, Jean, and Otaku all press the button in, and streams of black-something are shot from the wristwatch. The black streams begin to ravel around them, and the individuals are soon encapsulated in sleek, black armor. Jean gets a specialized, armored pirate hat, whilst Otaku gets his own samurai equivalent.
“Press the button. It’ll let you take some hits out there without biting it,” Aeron says. He hits his button, the watch clasps itself to Bill’s left wrist, and the black suit encapsulates him in what looks like a dance of shadows. Bill hesitantly presses his own button as his eyes close, and he feels something thin coiling around him. He opens his eyes to see the black outfit spiraling around him and closing in on his body. The suit fixes itself onto Bill’s clothes firmly, but strangely, feels light as a feather. He touches the outside of the outfit while it revolves around him. It is thin and flexible, but somehow harder than diamond.
His suit finalizes its transformation, the black cowboy hat flops onto Bill’s head. Aeron nods his head at Otaku, Jean, and Kara, who then sprint out the of the room. Bill sees Emmitt and J.J. looking concerned over the alarm. He overhears Emmitt whispering something to J.J.
“This doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t seem right.”
“It isn’t.”
“Bill, I know you’re skeptical,” Aeron interrupts Bill’s concentration on the two scientists. “I’m sorry it happened this fast, I thought we’d have more time. I just need you to trust me.”
“I hope you’re sure,” Bill snickers.
“The future hasn’t yet been written. The world needs us. They need you. To hell with what that computer says. Let’s go.” With that, Aeron races out of the room and into the hall.
“Con-poot-er?” The cowboy darts after the man from the future.
Seven:
The Scythe 4
The cowboy stands alongside of a window aboard a massive airship. The ship is ripping through the clouds many, many miles from the Earth’s surface. Otaku and Jean are sit across from him, also peering out of the windows, looking down at the ground that they are soaring over.
“My son would love this. He always dreamt of flying.”
Bill stares down at the world zooming along below them: the streets, the commotion, and the occasional explosion or blast of fire. He spots what looks to be people moving in the streets below.
“Strange. Looks like they’re cleaning up. The Scythes. Looks like they’re dragging off dead bodies. That’s odd even for them,” Otaku mutters to Jean.
Bill softly plants his left hand on the glass while staring down into the drastically different world. The window was ice cold. He wasn’t sure if his churning stomach was the result of their high altitude, the strangeness of this situation, or having to see Nat and Buck again. Perhaps, it was a mix of all of these terrible occurrences.
“I know this is earlier than planned, but the Scythe 4 are in pursuit of a power orb,” Aeron states, breaking the team’s concentration. Aeron and Kara are standing up near the front of the large airship. There are blinking lights, and clinking noises, but Bill notices that no one is driving this monstrous contraption.
“Scythe 4?” Bill asks with a puzzled look slapped on his face.
“The 4 are a group of mercenaries, bounty hunters, and thieves that seek out the orbs. They’ll be unapologetic and armed to the teeth,” Kara answers. With this, Otaku unsheathes his Anti-BeamBlade, and Bill stares at the sword wide-eyed. It looked as if Otaku were wielding a shadow in his very hands.
“It’s important that you understand the severity of them, Bill. Each of you were chosen to counter the 4. They are currently our biggest threat. The female is Spica Ashen. She’s slithery, yet nimble. The tall, lanky bastard is Rigel Nemesi. Snake-like in appearance and demeanor,” Aeron speaks directly to Bill, who acknowledges Kara’s scowl upon the name “Rigel.”
“Antares Hawnt is a hefty one, and dangerously defensive. And, then there’s Malinfar Morne.”
The last name shocks Jean and Otaku, as both exchange a look of terror. Bill turns around, overwhelmed with the weight of everything, and walks to the furthest window from the front of the ship. Once again, he plants his hand on the glass, seeing a slight reflection of his self in it, melded with the strange visuals of this new world. It was quite striking to see himself in the glass, hating the man looking back at him.
“This is happening… too fast. You expect me to kill these people? I have no idea what I’m up against, and yet, you want me to go out there guns blazing?” Bill calmly asks. His mind is stirring, and his headache remains. A hand rests on Bill’s shoulder, and he turns to find Aeron behind him.
“I just want you to do your best. Please. These people need you,” Aeron whispers in response to Bill’s uncertain face. Bill looks over at Jean and Otaku, who are now standing. Otaku has both of his swords drawn, both made completely of a solidified anti-light. Jean attaches a strange cannon to his right wrist, and it latches on in a strong snap. Bill’s vision shifts to Kara, who has her grapple wrapped around her arm. Aeron stands silently, fixed on Bill’s face.
“I’m not one of you freaks,” Bill says. His head darts from each oddity to another. Too wrapped up in trying to make sense of everything, he doesn’t take much consideration in whether the comment offended or not.
“Watch it, Cowboy,” Jean chimes in, loading the cannon on his arm with small, spherical ammo.
“You may not like it, but you’re one of us,” Otaku says. Otaku’s voice is extremely gentle for a man of his muscular build, Bill thinks. The man nods his head to Bill, in a silent moment of reassurance. Kara merely locks sight with Bill. He feels a desperate plea for help in that quiet exchange. Otaku is right. He is as screwed up as the rest of them, if not more so.
The ship rumbles, lowering itself onto a fully-destroyed highway. The rumbling continues to grow stronger, and the team exchange looks with one another. Bill notices the uncomfortable, uneasy glance between Kara and Aeron.
“It’s time,” Kara says.
One-by-one, the members of the team exit the landed airship. Bill steps out after Jean and Otaku, taking notice of the highway’s immense damage. Cars are overturned, buildings are crumbled, and the asphalt is ripped from the road. The most jarring sight sends a shrill through Bill’s veins. Motionless bodies line the grounds of the streets. Some of which are child-sized.
“Look at this place. What have they done?” Otaku asks. Jean’s wrist watch lights up. The pirate presses a button, and eyes the area in search of something.
“There is an orb here. Hopefully, we’ll find it first,” Jean says. Kara motions towards a car that is lodged into the side of a building high over their heads.
“Rigel,” she mutters to herself. Almost simultaneous, a loud screeching noise blasts from seemingly nowhere. A tall, armored soldier bursts out of the top of the building. His skin is a pale grey, and Bill notices the harshness of his yellow eyes. Rigel hovers in the air for a second, then hits a button on his helmet.
“We’ve got company!” he releases the button, “Kara, always a pleasure,” Rigel yells out directly to her. In the corner of his eye, Bill sees her fist clench into a tight ball.
“The pleasure is all yours,” she grits her teeth. Kara’s face is growing redder by the second.
“Rightly so,” the Scythe mutters, staring her down like a piece of meat.
A female Scythe bursts out of a different building, and a hefty Scythe blasts from the road underneath. Spica and Antares fly to Rigel’s side.
“How many times do we have to kill you before you stay out of our way?” Spica said.
“Where’s the orb?” Aeron asks quietly.
“Love to tell ya, but we’ve ripped this place apart. It’s not here,” Antares says.
“Even if we knew, you really think you could just take it from us?” Rigel says. Spica, the female of the Scythe 4, flies towards Bill and gets close to him. She growls.
“Ooh, who’s the new guy?” she asks, “cowboy? You must be Bill. We’ve heard all about you. Much cuter than I imagined.”
Rigel and Antares exchange glances, and then look back at Bill.
“That’s him? That’s the cowboy?!” Antares asks. His mouth is wide open, and Rigel bursts out in laughter.
“He’s the one?! You’re kidding me. This is the guy?!”
The Scythe 4 all break out into a fit of laughter.
“I like that hat!” Rigel says. Aeron draws his energy gun and directs it at Spica, who quickly ceases her laughter. She quickly darts back to Rigel and Antares who whip out a gun and sword respectively.
Bill stands stone-faced. Aeron is fixed on the Scythe 4. Jean is eyeing his watch.
“The orb is here, Aeron. No doubt about it,” Jean says. Rigel touches the side of his helmet and nods to the others.
“He has it.”
The car lodged in the side of the nearby building explodes off in a fiery blast, crash-landing in front of both teams. A ghastly figure floats out from the new gaping hole, hovering in the air. The figure holds a glowing ball in his pale hands. That must be one of the orbs that Aeron had mentioned, thinks Bill. The man wrapped in a black cloak lands on the ground, and the remainder of the Scythe 4 float down to walk alongside of him.
“The tides of war are changing. You hold on to a diminishing hope,” the figure says. Bill tilts his head toward Aeron, who is stern in the face.
“That orb leaves with us, Malinfar. Look what you did here. You’ll kill us all,”
Aeron says.
“For the greater good, old friend,” Malinfar responds. The Scythe 4 inched closer to them. It suddenly hit Bill.
“He killed your son,” Bill mutters under his breath. Malinfar must have heard this. A smirk appears on his grey face. He glances at Bill. Aeron doesn’t shift his sights in the slightest.
“How foolish you are, Aeron. Pitting him in danger. Bringing him straight to us,” Malinfar says.
“What are you?” Bill interrupts.
“They didn’t mention us? How enlightening. Keeping secrets again, are you, Aeron?” Malinfar says.
“I didn’t consider you worth mentioning,” Aeron says. Malinfar holds out his arm to the side. The Scythes stop dead in their tracks.
A rumble follows, and an enemy Scythe ship slowly lowers itself behind the buildings and the Scythe 4. An abrupt shot flies past Bill’s shoulder. Rigel, Spica, and Antares fire energy shots at the team. Bill is nearly hit, but Otaku jumps in front of him and spins his swords at an intense speed. The oncoming shots are deflected off by the samurai’s sword swings.
“Jean! Get to that orb!” Aeron says.
“Aye aye, captain!”
Aeron tosses a bubble shield. Jean whips out a hoverdisk and zips at Malinfar. Kara spins her grapple, and it wraps around Malinfar’s arm. He fires at the grapple, torching it. Jean flies towards the orb, but Rigel shoots his disk, tossing him off of it.
Bill blasts Rigel with his Stunshot, freezing the man in place. Jean throws down a bubble shield to protect himself. Bill lassos a chunk of asphalt and chucks it at Antares, which knocks him down. The nine of them are locked in a chaotic tussle, when Bill notices a hooded figure arise from the Scythe ship in the background. The figure holds out a metallic arm.
“Cowboy! Look familiar?!” Malinfar says.
The hooded figure pulls out a small child from the inside of the Scythes’ ship.
“DAD!”
“The hell?” Bill stops all movement. The boy looks remarkable like Buck. Aeron also ceases his attacks to gaze up at the sight. It is short-lived. The hooded figure shoves the boy back into the Scythe ship. Bill drops his Stunshot and his electric whip. His face is in extreme awe.
Malinfar aims his gun directly at Bill, who is distracted by the opening of the ship. The shifting hatch of the ship lowers, and Malinfar tosses the orb at the hooded figure who catches it in his metal hand. The figure disappears into the darkness of the ship, and the door slams shut.
“It can’t be,” Bill whispers. A shot from Malinfar’s gun blasts, and Aeron shoves Bill out of the way. The two roll behind a low piece of uplifted asphalt.
“Don’t listen to him, Bill! It’s a deception!” Aeron says.
“My son. Can’t be. My son’s dead,” Bill mutters to himself. The men are panting furiously.
“They are trying to get to you and succeeding!” Aeron says. They hear Kara yell out. She speeds towards Rigel in a reckless run. Her eyes are narrowed and deranged. Spica blasts the road beside of Kara, and the explosion slams her body into the side of a building. She falls to the ground, and a chunk of building crashes onto her. Kara’s body is still.
Aeron sees this, prepared to sprint to her aid, but remembers Bill is beside him.
“We can’t do this. We’re not ready,” Aeron whispers to himself, “Jean! Otaku!”
Jean is hiding behind the bubble shield as Malinfar unleashes multiple gun blasts at the pirate. Otaku is feverishly spinning his swords to deflect Spica’s gunfire.
“I’m a little busy here! How can I be of assistance?!” Jean yells out.
“Get Kara to the ship!” Aeron screams.
“What?! Without the orb?!”
“It’s too late! We’re too late!”
“I can get it!”
“No! Kara’s hurt!”
“Hurt? Alright! Otaku, on the count of three! Start it off!” Jean says.
“Got it! One!” Otaku says as he continues his spin. Jean hesitates for a split second.
“Three!” Jean yells.
“Bastard!” Otaku retorts. He stops swinging his swords and tosses them at Spica who spins wildly out of control to avoid them. Jean kicks the bubble shield towards Malinfar, who is knocked down from it. Jean and Otaku break into a sprint towards Kara.
Otaku scoops Kara up, and they dart towards the Chrono-Cross ship. Aeron tries to pick up Bill while Malinfar and Spica are lifting from their blows.
Bill pushes Aeron’s arm off of him. Aeron stares at the man in disbelief. The cowboy lifts himself up and struggles toward the Scythe ship, but Aeron latches onto his leg and yanks him back.
“Bill, No! You didn’t see what you thought you did!” Aeron says.
“The boy in the training, that was fake! This feels different!” Bill says, “That’s my son! Buck!”
“You will die if you go out there!”
“I’m already dead!” Bill looks at Aeron with a saddened, yet hateful look on his grisly face. “I’m not afraid of dying. Isn’t that why you chose me? Everything was taken from me!”
“Bill, I would not lie to you on this one! Listen to me! I know you want your son back, but he’s gone! Trust me! This is not the right way to go about this!”
Bill looks back at the Scythe ship, and Malinfar and Spica begin to shoot at the men’s cover. Bill slams his left fist into the asphalt, ripping chunks of skin from his knuckle.
“You’re wrong.” Bill pushes Aeron and leaps from cover. He rushes wildly into open fire. Aeron dives out and chases after Bill. Spica jets in front of Aeron, and blocks the man’s path.
“Not so fast,” Spica says holding a gun at Aeron’s forehead. He reciprocates the gesture. The two are locked on to each other.
“He’ll be killed. What have you done?” Aeron says.
“We upped the ante, Aeron. Alypse wants those orbs. You let your guard down,” Spica spits. She smiles her wicked smile. “You have no idea what’s waiting for you.”
Bill is running towards the Scythes’ ship when Malinfar jets towards the cowboy and clenches his throat. He lifts Bill from the ground and off of his feet. As the two float up a few yards, Malinfar clenches tighter on Bill’s throat, holding him skyward. Bill struggles to take a breath. Malinfar clenches the watch on Bill’s wrist and crunches it into small pieces. Bill’s black suit evaporates into tiny, airborne strings of smoke. The watch hits the ground, leaving Bill in his normal attire and completely vulnerable.
“How can that be my son?” Bill squeezes out of his mouth, “he’s dead.”
Malinfar eyes Bill from head to toe.
“You’re the one that Alypse and Aeron are fighting over? You’re the one to end all of this? But, you’re weak. Just flesh and bone. You can’t be the one. You don’t even believe it yourself,” Malinfar says. Grinning, he points his gun at Bill’s chest.
“Is it true? Is he alive?” Bill coughs. Malinfar ignores this.
“This team Aeron has assembled… it is a childish dream. He’s always had a thing for theatrics. Clinging to endangered caricatures such as yourself. He has delusions of grandeur, and yet, he is merely a child playing with toys, refusing to let go of these boyish beliefs that the world will flock to conventional heroes. Look at your ridiculous get-up. Even you must acknowledge how foolish this is. He’s insane. You see, he expects you to die. To inspire others.”
The gun slides from Bill’s chest to his left arm – the very arm Nat had shot him in a few years back.
“Regrettably, the queen wants you alive for now. Don’t ask me why. Even I do not understand her intent,” Malinfar says.
“My… boy,” Bill grunts. Malinfar leans in to speak directly into Bill’s ear.
“If you want him, convince Aeron to give up those orbs. She may even spare you. Until then, your comeuppances…”
A thin bullet blasts from Malinfar’s gun into Bill’s arm. A horrendous sound and blinding flash releases from the impact. Bill is shot into
the air, and a spiral of blood trails from his flailing body.
Aeron and Spica glare up at the wildly airborne body of Bill. Aeron kicks the distracted Spica in the chest, and she flies backwards. Malinfar redirects his cannon at Aeron, firing a shot.
“I got ya!” Otaku jumps in front of Aeron, spinning his Anti-BeamBlades and reflecting shots back at Malinfar and Spica. A reflected shot hits Spica’s gun. Smoking, she drops it and hisses at Otaku.
“Go! Get Bill!” Otaku yells. Aeron nods and runs after Bill’s soaring body. Bill crash lands near the Chrono-Cross ship with a thud. Aeron darts over to the downed body and slides to his knees. He pushes Bill to turn him face-up, his other hand falls into a puddle of blood. Bill is unconscious. His left arm is completely gone. Blood gushes from his wound.
“Bill. No. What have I done?”
Jean pops out of the ship’s door.
“Help me get him inside. We’ll run him through the Roboticizor. It’s our only shot, but we must act fast. He’s quickly dying,” Jean says.
Otaku runs up, sheathes his Anti-BeamBlades, and lifts Bill into his bulky arms and leaps onto the ship.
“I’ll take him. Let’s go!” Otaku screams.
“What happened?” Jean asks.
“Just get him inside!” Aeron looks back to see Spica and Malinfar drag their two teammates towards the Scythe ship. The gigantic grey ship elevates into the sky. As Malinfar drags Rigel behind him by the leg, he looks up to meet eyes with Aeron. The two have a distanced moment of realization. The Scythe merely grins, noticing the befuddled look plastered on Aeron’s face. Malinfar chucks Rigel inside, mercilessly, and slowly enters the ship, never breaking the eye contact with Aeron. The Scythe ship flies upward, with Malinfar standing in the open doorway. He points his finger at Aeron in a shooting gesture, and the ship flies off into the distance of the night sky.
“Aeron, he needs us,” Jean says in a low voice.
Aeron stares intensely at the ship flying off in the distance. His concentration never breaks.
“I have to be right. It can’t be,” he mutters to himself.
Jean grabs Aeron’s arm and pulls him towards the ship. Aeron stands in the doorway, staring off as the door closes.