During the last year, Romeo Ballester’s life felt like a roller coaster. He went from being the chairman of the guild to losing his left leg and right eye. Only to be shunned and branded as a traitor of humankind afterward. Not officially, of course, there were no charges placed against him. But in the court of public opinion, the fact he was against the war being waged on the non humans turned him into a heretic. Yet, he truly did not care about what people said about him. For the first time in years, decades, he was sure of his actions. His eyes were open and all the lies had been laid bare. He was finally true to himself, and finally able to be proud of what he was doing. Not just because of what it meant, but because it was his decision. An attempt to correct mistakes that were caused by him.
“Romeo? Are you ok?” a feminine voice called.
The ex chairman turned to the side, seeing a woman with short blond hair and golden eyes wearing a set of pitch black armor, “I am ok. Just thinking about things. How everything got so messed up. How I let things get to this point.”
The woman shook her head, “We both have some blame on that. Don’t beat yourself up too much. Not now, at least. When this is over, then you are free to wallow in your own guilt.”
Romeo chuckled, “Your disposition is much bleaker than your name suggests, Blade of Dawn.”
“Call me Blade,” the woman replied.
“I guess I really am awful. Since you don’t even want me using your name,” Romeo sighed, looking outside the small cave they were in. It was high in the air, in a room filled with various mountains and very few structures to be found.
Blade rolled her eyes, “Ok. Stop. I’m not saying anything like that. But we are talking about the guild, and the New Dawn. One organization gave me that name, and the other shares part of the name. I was talking with other people and everyone found it confusing to call me Dawn while also talking about the New Dawn. So, call me Blade. I’m not trying to say you don’t deserve to say my name or anything. I’m just being pragmatic.”
“But you are still asking me to refer to you as part of your given title, not your actual name. Despite you knowing mine.”
“My real name is Dawn.”
Romeo blinked slowly, “And the guild decided to call you Blade of Dawn?”
“Yes.”
“Damn. I knew they would sometimes get lazy with those pseudonyms, but that one feels rough.”
“Oh, tell me about it. I used to just be a fighter that used light. Only when they gave me that name I started leaning into golden light or sunlight. I won’t say I never learned how to enjoy it, but it was annoying in the beginning.”
“Here is hoping that we can give you a new name after all of this is over,” Romeo raised his bottle of water.
“Sure,” Blade did the same with a shrug. She didn’t like Romeo, not just because of his part in the current situation. He was the one who let the New Dawn get so intertwined with the guild that they were practically one and the same. Which also meant that the values of the company became the values of the guild. With a quiet sigh, the fighter looked beyond the opening of the cave.
They had set up an illusion in front of them so that if anyone were to look in their direction, they wouldn’t be able to see anyone inside. Yet, there was a worry that someone would figure out their location. About 2 kilometers in front of them, there was another mountain, one that was currently being used by the guild, and the New Dawn for something. Something big. Becca found out this information and passed along for them. The initial plan was to wait for backup before storming the facility, whatever it might be. However, they intercepted a message talking about guards, and how in a couple of days a battalion of 500 people would be coming here to protect the place. If they had any hopes of seeing what was inside, they had to act before the reinforcements arrived. Dealing with 50 odd guards would be much easier than hundreds. The only two people who were stupid, or resentful enough to attempt something like that, were the two watching from this cave 2 kilometers away. But it wasn’t time to move. Not yet. They spent a day observing the pattern of the guards on the outside, and the best moment to act was just after dusk. The evening guards were much more lax than the ones taking care of the morning shift. Their shift would change before sundown, and only a few hours into the evening, they would be actually alert for some reason.
The problem was that there were still a few hours before sundown. Which meant the two fighters had to be in that awkward position of keeping each other company while not wanting to be there or not particularly caring about each other.
After almost an hour of silence, Blade was the one who spoke first, “Why did you do it? Why did you sell out the guild like that? Was it money? Greed? Did you want power?”
“Would you believe if I said none of the above?” Romeo turned to Blade, his red hair was now longer, almost reaching his shoulders. And one of his big green doe eyes had been replaced by a completely blue mechanical eye.
Blade just stared at him, raising one eyebrow.
Romeo turned back to the outside, “But that is the truth. I believed that I was doing good. Genuinely. The guild, being ancient, is very set in their ways. I thought that I was helping it reach the future. I thought that all the actions I was taking would make the guild better.”
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“Seriously? Are you trying to tell me you didn’t know the messed up shit that was happening? The people being arrested, the people dying after that already short and basic training became even more crappy? The countless new explorers who basically sold their souls in order to enter the MAZE? Being tossed in mountains of debt that either forced them to reach level 80 to pay back or spend their entire lives under the guild’s thumb?” Blade snapped.
Romeo shook his head, “No. My sin wasn’t ignorance or shortsightedness. My sin was naivety. I saw what was happening, I saw the sings that the guild was going in a dangerous direction. But when I asked, when I questioned. I accepted the first answer that was given to me. If I flagged a problem with the training, and someone told me it was just the growing pains, I would take that answer as the truth,” he stopped for a moment before shaking his head, “No. Even that is a lie. I knew that there was something wrong. Yet, I wanted to believe in those lies. I wanted to believe that I was doing something good, and that everything would turn out fine.”
Blade pinched the bridge of her nose, “Ok. Fine, you were a hopeful dumbass. Who thought he was doing good, despite all the signs saying the opposite. Fuck it. Hell is full of good intentions. What I don’t get is where the New Dawn gets in the mix. Why them? I know there were other companies. Bigger companies, at the time at least, that also were trying to get the guild’s business.”
Romeo smiled, “Hell? I never imagined you to be a woman of faith.”
“My mother raised me like that, but don’t change the subject. Why them?” Blade pressed.
Romeo sighed, “Do you know Morgan Waaberi?”
“Isn’t he the owner of New Dawn?”
“That’s the one. When I was use starting college, Morgan gave a lecture. It was just a single class, and honestly, I don’t even remember what the lecture was about. All I know is that the man was charming, still is. And his words, the way he spoke it was just… Enthralling..”
“You were in love with him?” Blade asked.
“Not romantically. I don’t see men like that. But I did fell in love with him. His dreams, his hopes, his aspirations. It suddenly became everything for me. After that lecture, I tried to ask him if I could reach out with some questions. Just to get council from someone with experience. Instead, he offered to be my mentor. Said he saw something in me that reminded him of himself. He took me under his wing, taught me everything about businesses, personal relations, finance and, well, life. He even offered to pay my tuition. I refused, of course, but later, when my mother got sick and she required some very expensive medication, Morgan came and paid for everything. He even bought her house, which was rented, and put it on my name. The man was my idol. And from my point of view. I was his apprentice. When he suggested for me to join the board of the guild, I worked my ass off to fulfill his expectation. Hoping to make great things together. I suppose I just didn’t want to break the illusion I created in my mind. But after the attack in Union City. They cast me out simply because I saved some leaders of the other species. To be honest, that wasn’t intentional. I was protecting myself and they were there. But that was enough to disturb Morgan’s plans and for me to be tossed in the trash like a filthy rag.”
“So you are not doing this to make right on your mistakes, but for revenge for being betrayed?” Blade crossed her arms.
“I don’t see how those are mutually exclusive. I can be trying to do the right thing and also getting my revenge at the same time.”
“Fair.”
“How about you? What’s you stake in all of this?”
“The guild tried to arrest me. But I escaped and went on the run for a long time until I found people who believed my story. Are you telling me this is not enough?” Blade squinted her eyes.
“I’m not saying that. But from the little I’ve seen you, you don’t seem to be doing this just out of a sense of justice. It feels personal.”
“They tried to toss me in jail! How is that not personal?” Blade got up and almost yelled, her voice echoing through the chamber.
“This is exactly the reason I’m asking. Yes, it’s personal, but not that personal. You are acting like the guild, or the New Dawn killed someone close to you. Or, well, betrayed you like Morgan did me. It doesn’t feel like this is just because you were almost kidnapped,” Romeo replied in a calm voice. He wasn’t about to start a fight with the only person who would have his back in this situation.
“That… is not entirely wrong,” Blade sighed and slumped back on the floor, “The guild betrayed me too. Sort of…” she paused, trying to find the words.
“If you don’t want to share, that’s ok,” Romeo replied.
“We don’t have anything else to do for a while, and if I don’t say it, it will feel like I’m cheating. You shared your tragic back story. Might as well share mine,” Blade took a deep breath, “I always had a strong sense of justice, always tried to help the little guys and to protect those weaker than myself. While at the same time, I always gave people a second chance. I never met anyone who didn’t deserve one. Or that is what I thought. About a week before the centaur attack on Dzviery, someone killed a friend of mine. The culprit was a criminal that I had captured just a few months back. Someone who I could, and should, have killed. People told me that if I didn’t kill him, he would be back on the streets in just a few days, but I tried to believe in the system. And that no one would let a murderer roam free. Then there was the attack. I had more friends there. A few got injured, others died. One in particular was affected by that madness spell or whatever the centaur used. He ended up killing a few other people and then himself once he realized what he had done. Not long after that, the guild came to me talking about the centaur homeland and what they were doing with the envoys. I felt like I couldn’t just fight for justice anymore. I had to make sure that people who were that dangerous wouldn’t harm anyone else. Only to be subsequently thrown under the bus. That made me rethink what we did. Maybe the centaurs were not that bad. Maybe we could’ve found a way to make peace. In the end, the guild just preyed on my emotions. Found me in my darkest moment and pushed me to kill innocents. And I didn’t like how that made me feel.”
“I see… I supposed we were both betrayed by those we trusted,” Romeo looked out of the cave again, seeing the sun approaching the horizon, “But no matter what we do now. Our previous actions won’t change. All the hurt, all the pain, and all the problems we cause will still exist. The best we can do is try to fix those things. It doesn’t matter how long it takes.”
“I know. And I’m not deluding myself into thinking that this will make my wrongs right. But I know that beating the crap of the assholes who are responsible for all of this will make me feel a bit better,” Blade glanced outside, to the entrance of the facility they were about to strike.
Romeo smiled, still staring at the same place as his temporary partner, his eyes burning with rage, “With that, I wholeheartedly agree.”