Ever since the Violent Gale Reavers started raiding ships, they’d thought of themselves as invincible. They had a perfect streak of stealing airships and escaping with all of the riches and valuables that the passengers had in their possession. Today was the end of that perfect streak.
A Fenger who turned out to be a Caster easily beat them up with his fighting skills and shadow magic. And to make the defeat more devastating, he easily defeated Lady Vera, their leader, by sending her flying into their airship with a powerful shadow spell.
The crowd of Vera's Reavers stood in shock and awe seeing their captain get blown out figuratively and literally.
“This must be a dream,” one of the henchmen spoke, rubbing his head. “That Fenger must have given me a concussion when he punched me in the face. There is no way that this happened.”
“But it happened,” another henchman corrected him. “That shadow magic that he used on us was real. He’s a Shadow Caster!”
“He...he took out Vera in a single hit...!” a third henchman stammered.
“This guy is too strong!” a fourth henchman was despairing.
“We need to go after him!” a black cat henchman dressed in green pointed at the Fenger who was standing on top of the airship, yelling at something at Vera as he pointed at the hole that was made into their Reaver airship. “He’s going to finish off our Lady Vera if he uses another shadow spell on her.”
The Violent Gale Reavers overcame their fear of the Fenger. Their loyalty to Lady Vera superseded their survival instinct.
“Attention to the Reavers who are in our ship,” the cat henchman spoke in his communication device. “Lady Vera has been defeated! A Fenger defeated her. He is a Shadow Caster and he may shoot our ship down if we let him use his shadow magic again. Retrieve Lady Vera before he comes after her. I think that her body landed on her quarters.”
Having given the orders, the black cat Reaver led his comrades back into their ship. In the background, a Florian was staring at the events, determined to see the outcome of this encounter.
A few hours ago, Trixta expected her journey to Heartland to be a breeze. She had a valuable mirror to sell and she had enough money to enjoy a first-class room. All that she needed to do was relax for one and a half hours before she arrived to her destination.
She didn’t expect the airship to be raided by Reavers. But she made the most of the circumstances by infiltrating their airship so that she could steal the safe from the captain. She found the safe a minute ago, but then she was surprised to see the body of the puta responsible for this raid crashing through a window and into a wall next to her.
And to make things weirder, there was a Fenger named Kay Crossroad who claimed to be a Reaver standing on top of the skydrome airship to yell at the hole where Vera crashed. From the looks of it, the Fenger somehow managed to defeat-no, he annihilated- Lady Vera in a fight.
The Fox Korkin was stuck in a trance. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? She knew nothing about this Fenger. For all she knew, there was a chance that he was a thief like Lady Vera and her crew.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Her ears recognized the sound of footsteps on metal. Reinforcements were coming, and they were approaching the room.
Mierda! Trixta snapped out of her stupor and ran back to the safe, trying to unlock it.
“I need to hurry up and crack this before they get back!” Trixta pressed her face into the safe and used her ears to figure out the lock combination while her fingers were spinning the dial.
“Stay the hell away from our ship and our boss!” Trixta turned around, removing her whip from her holster to fight.
The door didn’t open. The sound was coming from the opposite airship.
Trixta stuck her head into the hole to see that the Reavers were surrounding Kay at the tower where he was standing.
No mames! Trixta thought as she noticed all of the Reavers were beat up. How big of a badass is this Fenger if a crew of Reavers is needed to fight him?
A part of her wanted to see the incoming fight, but she was on a time limit. She needed to open the safe and escape before the rest of the Reavers in the airship came for her. She grabbed a desk, shoving it in front of the door to prevent the Reavers from opening it. She then focused her attention back to the safe.
Trixta placed her ears back on the safe, using her sense of hearing to detect the right combination while her fingers were spinning the dial left and right.
CLICK!
“Lo tengo!” Trixta squealed as she opened the door of the safe and put the contents of it inside her bag.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
“Open the door!” one Reaver shouted. “Someone’s inside with Lady Vera.”
“Ay canijo!” Trixta used one arm to hold the bag of treasure that she stole and then used the other hand to retrieve her whip.
The red fox sprinted to the window and jumped, using her whip to swing around the skydrome airship until she was back on top of it.
At the same time she escaped, the door was kicked open to reveal a crew of Reavers pointing their guns at the room but found nobody there.
“Freeze!” a dog ordered, gasping as they realized that there was nobody in the room.
“Lady Vera is here!” another Reaver shouted, pointing at their defeated leader.
The Reavers froze as they saw the proud figure of Lady Vera covered in bruises and burn marks. Their beautiful and invincible leader had been bested so brutally by this mysterious Fenger who fought her at the airship that they were raiding. As angry as they were for what he did to Lady Vera, they didn’t have the courage to fight back against him. They needed to retreat fast.
“We found Lady Vera,” one of them spoke to the Reavers at the skydrome airship. “We need to take her far away from here.”
The black cat dressed in green was the one who received the call. Though he led the Reavers to fight against the Fenger, their second meeting with him was not going as planned.
“So…” Kay took a fighting stance that would allow him to pivot on his foot so that he was pointing at every Reaver surrounding him with a twist of his waist. He cracked his knuckles as he faced Vera’s subordinates. “Anybody else wanna have a go?”
“Don’t fight him!” the black cat ordered. “This guy is stronger than all of us combined. We gotta take Lady Vera away and get her medical attention.”
Kay crossed his arms. “Oh, and can ya fellas give back the things that you stole from those folks who paid for their tickets?”
To his surprise, the cat had the rest of the Reavers gather all of the belongings in a bag. He then kicked it across the floor so that it rested on Kay’s feet. The Fenger opened the bag to make sure that the belongings had been properly returned.
“That best be all of ‘em, really don’t wanna come find yer asses,” Kay threatened as he hoisted the bag under his back and gestured the Reavers to leave the airship.
The black cat was the first one to move out. The rest of the Reavers stared at Kay. The Fenger shrugged and took a fighting stance. He smiled cockily as the Reavers trembled and retreated in fear.
With the Reavers returning to their airship, Kay used his agility to jump all the way to the top deck of the airship. Once the energy anchors were removed, the skydrome airship was able to move. The Fenger nodded in satisfaction as the skydrome airship moved forward and the Violent Gale airship moved in the opposite direction.
Kay watched on, waving goodbye tauntingly as the Violent Gale airship left to the skies. The airship vanished in about a minute, allowing Kay to relax a bit. He and the Florian that he rescued looked onward, feeling that the worst was over.
“Seeya! Don’t be stealin’ stuff anymore! Welp, glad that worked out good, hehe,” Kay chuckled in triumph.
“That…that was amazing!” the Florian shouted, feeling all of the fear that he contained turn into excitement.
“Oh hey,” Kay smiled as he decided to properly acquaintance himself with the Florian that he rescued earlier. “You’re that…uhh….plant guy from earlier”
“Yes, I am the Florian you saved,” the Florian nodded his head. “Thank you for taking down those Reavers. I thought that I was a goner.”
“Yeah, if those were Reavers, then I’m a King!” Kay boasted at him. “But now that that’s settled, I’m gonna…”
GROWL!
Kay and the Florian stepped away from each other. The Fenger looked down at his stomach, noticing that it was grumbling loudly.
“Ugghhhh,” Kay groaned in dismay and embarrassment. “I forgot that I didn’t eat all day. I can’t give back these belongings back to the passengers like this.”
“Oh!” the Florian got an idea on how to repay his gratitude to Kay. “Well, I think that I can fix that.”
“Huh?” Kay raised an eyebrow.
“Follow me,” the Florian gestured Kay to follow him. “I know a good place where we can eat. It will be my treat. Consider this a way to repay my rescuer.”
I could use a meal after this rumble, Kay thought, licking his lips as he walked behind the Florian. After the eventful day that he had, he really wanted something to eat right now.
As the pair walked down to the lower deck, Trixta was watching them from behind.
“Hard to believe that guy took them out,” Trixta muttered to herself as she put all of the treasure that she stole inside her bag. “Hhhmmm…if so, I can use this.” Trixta thought with a smile.
She silently followed the pair, feeling that she could get something out of them, or at least from the Fenger. Trixta smirked, feeling that she was going to make a good investment with this handsome Fenger who rescued her.
With the departure of the Violent Gale Reavers from the skydrome airship, things were starting to settle down. The first thing that Kay did was give the belongings to an officer. He wisely decided to avoid telling him the truth about him being the one who defeated Lady Vera to prevent a background check from being made.
Fortunately, Wilt made sure to help him cover his identity by claiming that a mysterious being wrapped in shadows was the one who did the saving, omitting that it was Kay who did all of the hard job with his Shadow Caster magic to protect his identity.
The passengers were still a bit shaken up from the raiding. However, Kay watched how their fear and trauma disappeared once their belongings were returned to them by the stewards and stewardesses of the airship.
The skydrome airship was a bit damaged because of the anchors that had been impaled into its side. As such, the airship was going to remain frozen in the air for an hour until the engineers could be able to fix all of the damages. Fortunately, Heartland was only half an hour of distance before the raid, so the whole attack was nothing more than a small delay.
It took about half an hour before things started to settle down and people resumed their normal business.
Kay and Wilt were sitting at the Lunch area, with Kay eating a fair deal of food from sandwiches, hotdogs, and steak, much to Wilt's surprise.
“Do all Casters have big appetites?” Wilt asked Kay.
“Hmmm…dunno,” Kay finished eating a sandwich to stare at the Florian, answering his question with his mouth still full. “I only know one other Caster, who’s a friend of mine. Can’t really say. Thanks for the food by the way.”
“Considering this my way of paying a life debt to you,” Wilt smiled at Kay. “But still, there’s another reason why I brought you here.”
“Hmm, yeah? What’s that?” Kay took a sip of soda before staring at Wilt, feeling curious at the Florian’s intentions.
“Well, the reason I brought you here is because I want to make a deal with you,” Wilt admitted, trying to sound friendly yet professional.
“Mmm…deal huh?” Kay asked while still eating his food. He was more focused on cutting his steak with a knife and fork than listening to Wilt’s words, mostly because he was too hungry to listen unless it was something that made him forget his desire to eat.
“Yes,” Wilt smiled as he interlocked his fingers to make a tent. “And it will be a deal that I think will benefit us both. See, I need to hire a capable Reaver to help me on a specific…quest. One that will gain us a great amount of Moolah.”
“Didja say quest?” Kay stopped eating to stare at Wilt with a beaming smile. “That means an adventure, right? Well, ya got my attention!” He finished his meal, looking at Wilt with bright eyes. “Tell me everything about this quest!”
“Haha!” Wilt laughed in joy, appreciating the sudden good luck that he received. “I knew you would be interested. By the way, my name is Wilt Lilister, genius inventor.”
“Whoa, you must be some kinda egghead then,” Kay remarked, surprised at the Florian being an inventor at such a young age.
“Ahem, I’ll take that as a compliment as it’s very much true,” Wilt coughed into his fist, trying to not get mad at Kay’s statement since the Fenger sounded more awed than mocking at his intelligence. “Now then, where were we? Ah, right! In another hour, we’ll be entering Heartland. That’s where we’ll do business.”
“What kind of business?” Kay asked, refusing to touch his food until Wilt elaborated on the adventure.
“Well,” Wilt looked down on the table as he spoke shyly. “You see, I need some parts for my own airship that I am working on. That way, we’ll be able to enter a Domain to do some treasure hunting and make a lot of money.”
“M’kay,” Kay crossed his arms confidently. “Sounds simple, I guess. But it’ll be a hoot to see your airship and do some treasure hunting. Classic Reaver adventure.”
“Great!” Wilt stood up and stretched his arm for a handshake. “If that’s the case, then it’s a de…ah!”
Wilt stepped back when he noticed the Fox Korkin that he met earlier that day. She was grinning at him, which somehow unnerved him because of the way her eyes sparkled when she showed up.
“Hola, boys…” she smiled at them. “I overheard your little conversation and I want in.”
“Huh?” Wilt asked, tilting his head in confusion. “Wh-who are you?”
“Don’t you remember me?” she rolled her eyes. “We met twice in a single day.”
“Wait, I know you!” Wilt pointed at her. “You’re the Fox Korkin I bumped into a while ago. And you were with me when those Reavers started raiding the ship.”
“Trixta, master thi-treasure hunter,” the red fox announced proudly, ignoring Wilt’s mention of their first meetings. “And it just so happens that I have an item that will help you with your quest.”
“Is that right?” Wilt asked skeptically. It was a little too convenient that a treasure hunter would try to barge in on his conversation with Kay as soon as he mentioned a deal. Was she spying on them? Or was he being paranoid? He could only find out by observing her carefully and see if there was a fact that would prove her trustworthiness.
“Si,” Trixta smirked. “And if it is the place you’re talking about, I have an item that could help you get access throughout the Domain.”
“Huh?” Kay asked, feeling that there was something that Wilt and Trixta knew but he didn’t. He paid extra attention to the conversation between the two to figure out what was going on.
“You don’t mean…Gigatopolis?!” Wilt asked in shock
“The very same, si!” Trixta boasted.
“Gigaga-who?” Kay asked, not understanding what the two were talking about. He looked at them with a confused yet curious expression, silently asking them for an explanation.
“Gigatopolis is a collection of ruins that lie in this Domain we’re going to explore,” Wilt explained to his savior. “It’s said that it was one of the cities where the Magisters once lived before they vanished. Now, it’s just empty. It only appeared two months ago, but no one has managed to get far inside it.”
“Whoa,” Kay sounded amazed. “Sounds so cool! So, a Domain’s like a dungeon, right?”
“Kind of,” Wilt shrugged his shoulders and then returned to the explanation. “Domains are basically areas separated by dimensions that are only accessed by gateways. I don’t know how it happens, and the only ones who seem to know are the Government and the Information Brokers.”
“And they are?” Kay raised his eyebrow.
“Call ‘em buyers and sellers of information,” Trixta summarized for him. “The juicer the info, the bigger the payout.”
Trixta put her hand on her cleavage. Wilt respectfully turned his face away while Kay was looking with a curious expression, wondering what she was reaching for, as she retrieved something from her personal private space.
“That’s how I have this bad boy,” Trixta revealed an item that resembled a silver card, but looked more archaic in design. “It’s an artifact from Gigatopolis, apparently it’s a key-card that gives the users deeper access into the city.”
“You’re kidding?!” Wilt asked in shock.
“Haha,” Trixta laughed mirthfully. “And it wasn’t easy to buy off of the guy who got it. He even told me what it does. So, what do you say?”
“Hold on!” Wilt stood up from the chair to stare at her. “What exactly do you want out of this? Because I have yet to discuss the terms.”
“Look,” Trixta crossed her arms, showing how serious she was being. “All I want is whatever they have there. I’ll make sure that we won’t get in each other’s way. We take how much we can carry. That sounds fair to you?”
It was a good compromise. Trixta got to use her silver card to go to Gigatopolis for some treasure. And she got Kay to be her bodyguard on the way. It was a reasonable offer given how the Fenger and the Florian couldn’t find anything suspicious about her motives.
“Yeah, sure!” Kay answered quickly with barely any hesitation. “Got no problems with that deal!”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Well…I suppose?” Wilt replied. The inflection in the sentence made his doubts about the team-up apparent to Trixta. But she had nothing to worry about. As long as she got what she wanted, everything was going to be fine.
“Vaya!” Trixta clapped her hands and gave them a cheeky smile. “Then it’s a deal!”
Kay got up and offered his arms to Trixta and Wilt so that they could both give him a handshake to cement the deal.
“Oh yeah,” Kay smiled at them as he prepared to make an introduction. “My name is Kay Crossroad. Nice to meet both of ya!”
“Ah, how could I forget?” Wilt playfully chastised himself for not giving a proper introduction to the Fenger and the Fox Korkin. He shook Kay’s arm and then offered his other arm to the female. “Wilt Lilister.”
“You can call me Trixta, handsome,” she winked as she shook Kay’s hand and then shook Wilt’s hand without looking at him.
“You wanna eat with us?” Kay asked Trixta.
“What?” Wilt asked.
“She’s gonna be our new partner,” Kay shrugged his shoulders. “Besides, she’s giving us her silver card thingy. We might as well treat her to our meal.”
But I’m the one who’s going to pay for her meal, Wilt thought with a frown, knowing that he needed to pay extra since he was the one who accepted the deal.
“Perfect,” Trixta sat between the two males. “Mesero, can you give me the menu to see what I can eat?”
I hope this quest is worth the hassle, Wilt thought with annoyance as he focused on his meal. In a matter of time, him and his new team were going to be on Heartland. And that was when their quest was going to start.
It was midday when the skydrome airship flew towards the city of Heartland. In a few minutes, the airship would park on the city and everyone could continue with their own agenda, putting the incident with the Violent Gale Reavers behind.
Kay rushed towards the large windows of the observation deck along with a few other groups of people who were desperate to get out of the airship. Wilt and Trixta were following behind, wanting to ensure that the Fenger wasn’t going to get lost in his excitement.
“Oh, I see something big!” Kay pointed at the city, admiring how tall the buildings were.
He noticed a large tower with large heart shaped monitors on all four sides. The entire exterior of the buildings had a rose shade of pink to them, like a heart. Even the large stadium of the city had a heart shape too.
“Holy pink!” Kay exclaimed. “It’s so huge! And…and pink! I knew this was one of the big cities, but damn…”
“Apparently, it’s what the city’s known for,” Wilt scratched his head in confusion, trying to understand the purpose of the heart shapes and the pink color. “First time seeing it myself.”
“Fitting colors if you ask me,” Trixta smiled, showing a mixture of Kay’s excitement and Wilt’s passivity. “If you’re looking for the lifeblood of Ivor, this is the place. Welcome to the 1st Capital City, Heartland!”
“I always thought that the heart was supposed to be red,” Kay joked. “I’ve seen the butcher take out the hearts of an animal, and they look nothin’ like the ones here.”
“Maybe they wanted to add a bit of romance to the city,” Trixta smirked. “But it’s still a place worth going to. This is where the most important events of Ivor take place.”
Kay stared down at Heartland. He could see people of different races walking around the streets of the city. He noticed how the Skydrome port was far larger than the one at Wester Port Town, even seeing more airships entering and leaving the landing facility.
BING! BONG! BING!
A jingle caught the attention of the trio. It also caught the attention of the passengers, some of them panicking out of reflex due to still dealing with the trauma of being raided. The recorded voice of a machine addressed the passengers.
“The Skydrome airlines wishes to thank all passengers for their patronage. This ship has now reached Heartland. Once again, please make sure that that no personal belongings are left behind. And be sure to leave in a neat and orderly manner. Thank you and have a nice day.”
“Very nice ship to tell us when we’re landin’ on the port,” Kay smiled appreciatively.
“Do you guys have your belongings ready?” Wilt asked his new comrades. “I already have what I need on my pouch. I made sure to pack light, and I suggest that you do so as well on the journey ahead.”
“I have all my stuff safely hidden away,” Trixta patted her chest, making Wilt turn away. “It’s in my bag, darling. You don’t have to get shy with me.”
“Aside from this sack, I only have the clothes on my back,” Kay bragged. “I am wearin’ everything I have right here.”
It’s going to be an odd working experience, Wilt thought with resignation as he and his comrades faced the exit of the airship.
As the airship named its landing in the Skydrome port, everyone left the ship. Seeing that it was time to get out of the airship, the trio of Kay, Wilt, and Trixta left among the crowd. They moved slowly to fit in with the crowd, only separating once they were out of the port.
“Maaaannnn…” Kay groaned. “I guess I need one of those ID things next time, huh?”
“Those are easy to buy at a Skydrome port,” Wilt pointed out. “We can try to get you one after the deal is over.”
“Ah right, heh…” Kay chuckled at his own ignorance. “So where to next?”
“Well, first we’ll need a place to stay for the time being,” Wilt declared, taking charge of the situation. “Plus, I need to send some materials to my hometown. I have a map of the city so we can take a look at some sights on the way.”
The Florian showed Kay and Trixta a detailed map that showed all of the tourist attractions that Heartland had to offer.
“Awe yeah!” Kay fist pumped the air. “Been wantin’ to do some lookin’ around! You too, Trix?”
“I have some personal errands to run, so I’ll be going downtown,” Trixta played with her hair casually as she spoke to the males. “You two, meet me at the Hotel Lamont in the residential district,” she looked directly at Wilt. “You know where that is, niñito?”
“O-of course!” Wilt replied, somehow losing his leadership role to Trixta. He frowned a bit at the red fox, knowing that she called him a little boy in her native language. “And after that, we can plan on what to do next.”
“Good, good!” Trixta clapped her hands sarcastically. “Seeya boys later!”
She walked off outside of the Skydrome. Wilt stared at the red fox with a suspicious look.
“Hmm…” Wilt rubbed his chin with his fingers, feeling like there was something off with the red fox. From the way she took charge, he inferred that she’d been to Heartland before to do some sort of secret business. It was as if she was hiding something from him and Kay. But he couldn’t figure out what she was planning.
I better keep my eye on her, Wilt thought as he closed his map and stored it on his pocket. She could be a thief for all we know. The last thing I need is to get robbed blind.
“Well, what are we waitin’ for?!” Kay grabbed Wilt by the arm, interrupting his inner monologue. “We got a city to check out!”
The Fenger ran outside the Skydrome, dragging a protesting Florian with him.
“Wha!” Wilt exclaimed in shock. “Easy! I’m delicate!”
The Fenger ignored his protests. He just kept running with Wilt behind him, already lost in his wanderlust. With the prospect of seeing the largest city in Ivor in front of him, Kay’s body moved without thinking, admiring the sights that appeared in front of his eyes.
Kay and Wilt walked down a busy street full of markets and store fronts. The pair made sure to converse along the way to forge a bond. Though Wilt was the youngest of the two, he was the most knowledgeable of the world as Kay was easily amazed by what he saw.
The Fenger’s head was constantly twisting and turning, seeing all the towering buildings. It was nothing like his home where the buildings were small and quaint. The experience was more than he expected as a child.
“Jeez,” Kay remarked happily. “I know this is nothing like Mundall, but damn!”
“That was my reaction the first time I came here,” Wilt smiled fondly. “Heartland has a lot to offer, so the tourists tend to get overwhelmed.”
“I don’t know where I should go next,” Kay was excited. Every corner was a promising adventure or discovery. He didn’t know what he could find in the city beyond what his eyes could see.
It’s my chance to take the lead, Wilt thought, wanting to use Kay’s confusion to guide him to their main destination. He had nothing against exploring Heartland, but he wanted to prepare for his journey as fast as he could.
“Alright,” Wilt spoke confidently and with authority in an attempt to catch Kay’s attention. “The shipping center should be in this area. Alright, Kay, let’s head to…”
Wilt turned around to see Kay was wandering alone, seeing the stores and various people with awe and enthusiasm.
The Florian groaned at the moment being ruined by Kay separating from him. Grunting with annoyance, he went after the Fenger.
“Whoa,” Kay smiled happily, still absorbed in sightseeing.
“Hey,” Wilt called out to Kay as he caught up with him. “Try and stay focused,” he said, attempting to drag Kay away.
The Florian couldn’t move the Fenger an inch. Kay was physically stronger than him and Wilt didn’t have much upper body strength. If Wilt wanted Kay to follow him, he needed to use his words to convince him.
He didn’t need to say anything. Kay snapped out of his interest to stare at Wilt.
“Is there something wrong, Wilt?” Kay asked the Florian.
“I want to go to the shipping center,” Wilt was panting from trying to move Kay. “I’m kind of in a rush, so I need you to go with me now.”
“Sorry, partner,” Kay chuckled sheepishly. “I got carried away. How about we talk to keep me busy? I always found talkin’ to be a good distraction from other distractions.”
“As long as you stay by my side until we’re done,” Wilt muttered as he led the way.
The Fenger and the Florian started talking with each other. They just exchanged trivial facts about each other. Though Kay was curious about Wilt’s airship and Wilt was curious about Kay’s shadow magic, both of them preferred to go for normal questions.
Wilt started the conversation by asking Kay about Mundall. The Fenger talked fondly about his home, explaining his childhood to the Florian. It was an uneventful life for Kay, but it was still a pleasant one. Seeing that the Fenger was receptive about questions, Wilt decided to ask more about him. In this case, he wanted to know Kay’s reactions to Heartland.
“So, what made you want to come to Heartland in the first place?” Wilt asked carefully. “I mean, I know you want to be a Reaver and all, but still…”
“Oh yeah!” Kay laughed a bit. “Almost forgot about it. I was planning on meetin’ a friend of mine who lives here before I really started my journey.”
“Well, you know where he lives?” Wilt asked, wanting to know more about Kay’s friend.
“Uhhh…Urmmm….” Kay crossed his arms, frowning as he tried to remember where his friend was in Heartland. “I think some kinda school for Sentinel guys…”
“Wait, you mean the Sentinel Military Academy?” Wilt asked, surprised that Kay’s friend had high ambitions like he did.
“Yeah, that’s it!” Kay nodded his head.
“That’s the last place a Reaver would hang around at,” Wilt remarked with shock. “It’d be suicide for you to set foot there.”
“Well, no one knows about me yet,” Kay smiled at Wilt cheekily. “I could go and ask for him.”
“Like they would just accept that!” Wilt shouted with exasperation. “Look, we can check for him later. For now, the material shipment goes first.”
“Yeah, alright,” Kay rolled his eyes.
As the duo walked across Heartland, they decided to keep introducing themselves. It was a good way to bond, and an excellent way to prevent Kay from sneaking off. So they did just that. They just decided to talk and walk until they reached the shipment.
Trixta walked out of the bank, stretching her body to get rid of the stiffness. Visits to the bank were paradoxical to her. The waiting period was dull and boring. But finishing her business reinvigorated her and relaxed her.
“And now that’s been settled, I need to find the boys,” Trixta scanned her surroundings to see if she could find the Fenger and the Florian. Though she told them to meet at Hotel Lamont, a part of her suspected that they were touring across Heartland based on the wanderlust that Kay was showing earlier.
She used her eyes and ears to find her partners among the crowd. If she didn’t find them in ten minutes, then she was going to Hotel Lamont and wait for them there.
“Hmm?” Trixta frowned when she saw something strange. “Ahh!”
The Fox Korkin gasped when she saw a group of intimidating boars in fancy suits walking across the city. Previous experience gave her a sense of danger that allowed her to know when a person was a threat. She made sure to hide from them while still keeping her ears hearing what they had to say.
“Damn,” one of the men complained. “You sure that the punk is here.”
“Yeah,” another man nodded his head. “Vera’s crew said that he was on his way here. He’s just one Florian, can’t be that hard to come by. Just keep looking.”
As the men walked off, Trixta came out of hiding, looking nervous.
“Damn!” Trixta complained. “Why are these pendejos here? Wait…Florian? No, no, it can’t be… I should go find ‘em quick!”
Trixta immediately headed towards where Wilt and Kay were heading towards. If her intuition was right, then they were going for a shipment, remembering Wilt voicing his desire to get materials for their journey.
As the Fox Korkin ran among the crowd, she passed by a reptile-like Korkin. As the vixen retreated, the reptile stopped walking to see what was going on.
He was a large male with green scales covering his body and some red scales sticking out of his arms and legs. He wore a beige headband with blue lines on his forehead, which made his yellow eyes look scary because it made his face look like he was frowning at someone. He wore a brown shirt with the sleeves rolled up to show his muscular arms. He also wore a beige vest on top of the shirt. Hanging from his neck was a gray collar.
He had a red robe wrapped around his waist and strapped by a couple of brown belts. On his hips, he had a couple of regular blades.
He wore green shorts with pockets designed to store supplies in there. For footwear, he wore brown leather sandals, exposing his four-toed clawed feet. His large tail moved lazily with every step that he took. Even as he stopped, it was still waving with the most minute movements that he made.
“Hhmm,” the stranger studied his surroundings, wondering if he missed something.
His name was Xan, and he felt something weird. He looked around seemingly not knowing where he was going. With a shrug, he moved forward, moving at his own course.
Kay and Wilt were at a kebab stand with Kay getting several dogs in his hands. At his side, Wilt was shaking his coin pouch. The Florian managed to buy the shipment parts that he desired. But then he had to buy a bunch of food for Kay since the Fenger got hungry. Needless to say, he had to spend a lot of money just to keep Kay properly fed.
I’ll have to upgrade the amount of money in my money pouch, Wilt thought with a sigh, realizing that he was going to have to pay large amounts of food every time that Kay got hungry.
“Mmph!” Kay was munching a kebab. “These are pretty good! Who knew food on a stick would be an awesome idea?”
“Well, now that you’re good, can we move on?” Wilt asked with exasperation. “Trixta is probably on her way to the hotel.”
“Granny taught me never to make a lady wait, fer some reason,” Kay nodded his head with a face full of food as he followed the Florian.
“So, what is your friend like anyway?” Wilt asked, feeling curious about how someone who wanted to be a Reaver and someone who wanted to be a Sentinel could be friends given the rivalry between their professions.
“Oh, Tendo?” Kay asked, finally addressing the topic of his Sentinel friend. “That’s his name by the way. He’s a pretty nice guy, maybe too nice. He’s also kinda smart, smarter than me.”
I don’t know if that should be the standard, Wilt thought. He didn’t want to think badly of Kay’s intelligence, but he could see that he hadn’t been taught much about the world due to spending most of his life living at Mundall.
“He’s also pretty strong too,” Kay remarked proudly. “And he was a Caster like me, though he wasn’t good at it for some reason.”
“Is the that other Caster that you mentioned about?” Wilt asked, remembering how Kay mentioned how he only knew one other Caster beside himself back at the Skydrome airship.
“Yes,” Kay frowned thoughtfully. “But he had issues with his Caster magic compared to my shadow magic. Anyway, he was pretty timid when we first met, but now he’s super brave.”
“How so?” Wilt asked, admittedly being a little curious about Tendo. “Seems you guys are very close.”
“Well, I got lots of stories about me and Tendo,” Kay smiled nostalgically. “But my favorite was one that happened in the forest.”
“Tell me,” Wilt asked nicely. “I’m sure that we can reach the hotel by the time you finish your story.”
“Sure,” Kay grinned, happy to share a childhood story of his. He closed his eyes and flashed back to his youth.
It was a nice day at Mundall. The people were hard at work, earning their living. For their part, the children were having fun after finishing their chores.
In Kay’s case, he loved to explore the forest near Mundall. He was jumping around on rocks and trees, showcasing his high agility despite his young age. As he explored the forest, another person was following him.
He was a young canine Korkin with white hair and red fur. The canine Korkin slipped and fell off a rock, and lost into the river, until Kay caught him by the hand.
“Gotcha!” Kay yelled confidently.
He pulled up Tendo as they both sat on a rock.
“Thanks,” Tendon was breathing hard, not having the stamina that his friend had. “You’re so fast! It’s hard to keep up!”
“Yeah, but you’re always right behind me!” Kay grinned at Tendo. “I’d say you’re gettin’ better!”
Tendo looked down, feeling disappointed at his inability to keep up with Kay. He didn’t want to run behind Kay. He wanted to run beside him, like an equal.
“Yeah,” Tendo sighed. “I’m always behind.”
Kay looked at his friend with a confused expression. After processing Tendo’s words, Kay bonked him on the head.
“Ow!” Tendo covered his head with his hands. “Why did you do that for?”
“Tryin’ to beat some sense in ya!” Kay crossed his arms angrily. “At least, that’s what uncle keeps doing to me,” Kay took a pause, wondering if what he said was encouraging. Seeing the confused frown on Tendo’s face, he decided to continue with his rant. “Look! You keep feeling crummy, you ain’t never gonna get stronger!”
“Oh,” Tendo muttered, somehow seeing the wisdom behind Kay’s words of advice. “I guess you’re right. Sorry.”
Kay got up and stared down at Tendo.
“You really wanna apologize?” Kay asked Tendo. “Do it by trying to be better than me!”
Tendo looked up at his friend with a smile and nodded his head.
“I’ll try,” Tendo promised. “I mean, I will. To be strong! Strong enough to be a hero! Someday…”
“That’s the spirit!” Kay patted Tendo in the back. “Now, c’mon. Otherwise, Jecht will beat us by a long shot!”
“Okay!” Tendo stood up.
The two of them started running and jumping off, continuing their trek across the forest.
By the time that Kay had finished his story about Tendo, him and Wilt were already at the front door of Hotel Lamont.
“Well, he seems like a decent person at least,” Wilt complimented, trusting in Kay’s judgment about Tendo.
“Yeah,” Kay chuckled. “He always wanted to be a superhero and stuff. Probably why he decided to join as a Sentinel. Hope to see him before I go.”
The Fenger and the Florian were standing at the front door of the hotel. They were waiting for Trixta so that they could talk about their mission. After waiting for several minutes, Wilt checked his watch in frustration.
“What is taking her so long?” Wilt asked, annoyed at Trixta’s impunctuality. “I figured that she knows this city more than us!”
“Maybe she went to eat something first?” Kay proposed as he scratched his head.
“I don’t think that she has an appetite like yours,” Wilt deadpanned, remembering how Trixta ate far less than Kay did when he paid for her meal at the Skydrome airship.
Kay chuckled at Wilt’s statement, more amused than offended. His laughter was cut short when he noticed several boars in suits showing up in front of him and Wilt.
“Hey!” one of the boars called out, pointing at Wilt. “There he is! I found the little shit!”
“Wh-What?!” Wilt shouted in confusion.
“So you think you could just sneak out of paying back Mr. Girasol?” a boar with a broken tusk came out and taunted Wilt. “Dead fucking wrong!”
“No!” Wilt groaned in dismay. “How did they find me so soon?”
“Yo, who are these guys?” Kay asked Wilt, wondering why these strange men in suits were going after him. “What’s goin’ on Wilt?”
Kay stared at his surroundings. He noticed more suited men from every direction, staring at them with threatening looks.
“They’re with Girasol’s gang,” Wilt informed Kay, knowing that he couldn’t keep his secret any longer. “They run half of Ivor’s crime underworld with an iron fist. And I…might have owed him some money.”
“How much money do ya owe these pricks for them to hunt you down like an animal?” Kay took a fighting stance, trying to do his best to guard Wilt.
“Some money?” the broken-tusked boar laughed sarcastically. “More like 100,000 Moolah!”
“Jeez!” Kay winced, staring at Wilt incredulously. “That’s a lotta money!”
“And this fuckwit is gonna pay us back one way or another!” the smallest boar of the group approached the pair. “So, unless you’re gonna help pay for him, piss off!”
“How about no?” Kay crossed his arms in refusal.
“The fuck you say…” the gang member growled.
“Look, I don’t know the full story, but I ain’t gonna let you take my buddy away,” Kay pointed at Wilt, who gasped at being acknowledged as a friend despite their current predicament. “We got some business of our own, so can’t we just talk this out or somethin’?”
“We can talk it out,” the broken-tusked boar glared at Kay. “With your head on the fucking pavement!”
At his signal, one of the gang members charged at Kay, throwing a punch at him. To everyone’s surprise, his attack was casually blocked by the Fenger with one hand.
“The hell?” the puncher asked in surprise. “This scrawny punk blocked my punch with one hand?”
Kay growled angrily as he punched his attacker in the stomach with his free hand. As the man bent down from the gut shot, Kay grabbed him by the shirt and threw him at the feet of his comrades.
“Is that all?” Kay asked tauntingly.
“Fucking prick!” the smaller boar shouted as he produced a baseball bat to attack Kay.
The bat-wielding criminal tried to hit Kay, but the Fenger dodged it easily. Then the gang members started swinging several times, but Kay kept dodging every swing. He then went for an overhead strike to smash Kay’s head.
“Block this!” the bat-wielding boar shouted as he brought down the bat on Kay.
BOOM!
Kay sidestepped, letting the gang member’s bat collide with the floor. As the Fenger moved in for an attack, the gang member moved with surprising agility by ducking and sweeping Kay’s legs. The Fenger yelped as he was knocked flat on his back.
“Kay!” Wilt shouted, surprised at seeing Kay knocked on his back.
“Ha!” the bat-wielding boar stood up and started tapping the tip of his bat on his palm. “Got ya, ya little shit!”
He rose his bat for another overhead strike. Before he could hit Kay with his bat, the Fenger pulled up his legs and blocked the bat with his feet. There was a brief power struggle between both fighters, but Kay eventually pushed the bat and the gang member’s arms up in the air.
“What the fu-wah!”
The bat-wielding boar was interrupted when Kay pulled a breakdancing motion spin twice. The first kick was used to deliver a sweeping kick to the knee that forced the gang member to hobble over. The second spin was a powerful upper kick that lifted the gang member’s head in the air from the impact. As Kay flipped back on his feet, he delivered a heavy punch to the stomach that blew the gang member across the plaza for the audience and other gang members to see.
“What the hell?” the fattest of the boars stared at Kay’s defeated enemy and the previous one as well. Disbelief was present on his face and voice. “Both of ‘em got beaten so easily!”
“Heh…haha!” Wilt laughed with more confidence than ever. “Kay isn’t some run of the mill guy! He’s my partner! He’s the muscle of our group! So I suggest you lot call it quits and take your leave.”
“Muscle?” Kay asked with a raised eyebrow.
The gang members started backing down.
“What do we do?” another gang member asked with desperation. “Girasol will have our heads if we don’t get the green runt. Where the hell is that bounty hunter that we hired. He should’ve been here by now!”
“Keep your damn panties on! I’m here!”
Everyone turned around to see the surprise visitor. A reptilian Korkin suddenly showed up among the crowd.
“You finally show up,” the broken-tusked boar noticed angrily. “The fuck have you been, Xan? You better have a good excuse!”
“Went to get something to eat and got lost,” Xan shrugged his shoulders dismissively.
“WHAT KIND OF EXCUSE IS THAT?!” all members of the Girasol Gang complained at the same time with anger and disbelief.
“Now who’s this guy?” Kay asked, making his fighting stance firmer.
“No way…” Wilt was frozen in fear. “That’s the Desert Scale. He’s a well-known bounty hunter in Ivor. Why is he here?”
“Hehe, now you’re in for it!” the broken-tusked boar bragged. “We got some muscle of our own, Xan the Desert Scale! Both of you don’t stand a chance! Alright, take care of that punk, but keep the Florian alive!”
“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Xan rolled his eyes, looking bored at seeing his opponent. “So long as I get what I asked for.”
“So long as you do what you’re told, you’ll get whatever you want,” the gang member promised Xan.
“Sorry, buddy, it’s nothing personal,” Xan cracked his neck and knuckles as he approached Kay threateningly. “But I need you gone. So, you really wanna do this or you gonna stand aside.”
The Desert Scale pulled out two swords, one red and one blue, holding them both in a dual-wielding fighting stance.
“Yeah, well, I’m not gonna just let ya do what ya want,” Kay took a fighting stance and got serious, feeling that Xan was a lot stronger than the previous enemies that he fought.
“So be it,” Xan pointed at Kay with one of his swords. “I gave you an out. Now that you made your choice, it’s time to own up to it!”
He charged at Kay with his swords ready as the Fenger adopted a fighting stance.
“Bring it!” Kay yelled as he charged back. Their fight was about to begin.
Trixta ran through a crowd of onlookers, reaching through the source of commotion. She hoped that the commotion was a street fight between two strangers rather than her new partners being found by those strange men. Once she reached the sight, she was dismayed at what she found.
“Aww…mierda!” Trixta lamented. “I’m too late!”
She could only watch in disappointed as Kay was fighting against a reptilian Korkin with two blades begun their combat.
“Watch out for Xan, Kay!” Wilt shouted, letting Trixta know the name of Kay’s assailant. Even among the crowd, Trixta could feel an aura of strength emanating from Xan.
I need to stay in the background, Trixta thought as she stepped back, mingling in the crowd. If I want to escape with Kay and Wilt in one piece, I need to find the perfect opportunity.
As the Fox Korkin was hiding from view, the fight between Kay and Xan was starting strong.
Xan was slashing at Kay with his swords, which Kay immediately dodged with his superior reflexes. Undeterred by his rival’s reaction speed, Xan continuously tried and missed. But the longer the he attacked, the more accurate his slashes turned. It was as if he was getting used to Kay’s movements, even nicking him a few times on the arms.
“Shit!” Kay backstepped away from Xan as he felt the blade cutting his arms. “Those fancy knives of yours sting a lot, pal!”
“They do more than sting!” Xan increased the speed and tempo of his slashes, approaching Kay to prevent him from dodging.
Kay tried to backflip way from him, but Xan reacted quickly and charged forward as was landing on the ground.
“I got you!” Xan was about to perform a wide horizontal slash.
His attack missed when Kay arched back, dodging the attack. The Fenger followed immediately by kicking Xan upward, launching him into the air.
“Whoa!” Wilt beamed at Kay’s counterattack. “Nice!”
Xan was unaffected by the kick despite being sent flying. He flipped in the air and landed with ease. He rubbed his chin with a smirk on his face.
“Heh…not bad,” Xan reassumed his stance and begun running at Kay, preparing to attack again.
Man, can’t keep dodgin’! Kay thought angrily as he was once again forced on the evasive by Xan’s blade. It’s like he’s getting used to my moves.
Kay kept dodging Xan’s slashes by smaller margins, as each attack almost hit him.
“Guess dodging is all you can do,” Xan taunted as he was getting closer to landing a definite blow on Kay. “Can’t block me with your fists!”
“Why use my fists when I got…” Kay jumped back, generating shadows from his hands. He then immediately swiped his hand across with shadows trailing behind, forming three blades of shadow magic that resembled a giant claw swipe. The magic clashed against Xan’s slashing blades, blocking them.
“BLACK CLAW!” Kay shouted as he finished his attack.
Everybody who saw Kay’s attack was left stunned at his technique.
“Que?” Trixta asked, muffled by the surprised gasps of the people around her. “What was that?”
“Whoa, was that magic?” one of the citizens asked.
“Yeah!” a second one confirmed. “He’s gotta be a Caster!”
“Caster,” Trixta repeated thoughtfully. “So that’s how he beat Vera so easily.”
The Fox Korkin focused her attention on the fight. To her shock, Xan wasn’t scared at facing a Caster. On the contrary, he looked excited.
“So you’re a Caster,” Xan noted with an amused smile. “No wonder you’re confident. Don’t matter. Target’s a target. But now I’m going all out!”
He and Kay started clashing attacks again. This time, Kay was matching Xan’s slashes by using his Black Claw technique. Both seemed to be evenly matched. It made Trixta wonder if she should get involved or not. She got her answer when Xan stepped back and crossed his arms, charging at Kay as he prepared his own attack.
“Tatsugaryu: Kosatenga (Dragon Fang Style: Crossing Fang)!”
“Black Claw!”
Kay tried to use his technique to block Xan’s attack again, but Xan crossed his blades, cutting into the Black Claw with an X pattern. A blueish aura trailed behind Xan and his blades as he destroyed the Caster magic with his slash. The force of the blow pushed Kay back, making the Fenger receive some cuts.
“Gah!” Kay grunted in pain as Xan’s technique managed to injure him.
“Kay!” Trixta and Wilt shouted at the same time, neither of them being able to hear the other because of the people’s exclamations and the sounds of battle.
“Yeah!” one of the Girasol Gang members shouted. “That’s right! Finish that little punk!”
Xan then dashed forward as Kay was still hurt. He looked a bit frustrated at his technique not able to finish off Kay.
“Damn,” Xan remarked as he realized that one of his best moves was partially blocked by Kay’s Black Claw. “Managed to block that? Try blocking it aga-huh?”
Xan suddenly stopped as he noticed that his swords were breaking apart.
“Huh?” Kay repeated, just as flabbergasted as Xan was.
The Girasol Gang members were left speechless as Xan looked at his blades.
“Tch!” Xan hissed angrily. “Damn…I slashed too hard…”
“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING?” all of the members of the Girasol Gang shouted angrily, disappointed at Xan for destroying his blades with his own technique.
Xan then stared at the gang members with a quizzical and shameless look on his face.
“Hey,” he addressed them casually. “You guys got any spares?”
“DO YOU NOT?!” the Girasol Gang members shouted angrily, frustrated at Xan not having a spare despite being a professional bounty hunter.
“Uhhh…” Kay mouthed off, unsure of what was transpiring in front of him. “His swords broke so easily.”
“I forgot to mention that Xan is also called The Blade Breaker,” Wilt chimed in, just as surprised as Kay. “I’m sure that you can figure out why.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Kay nodded his head, impressed that Xan was so strong that he destroyed his own blades with his own special move. Despite having the upper hand, Kay frowned at the idea of fighting Xan at his weakest, something that he made apparent when he addressed his enemy. “So, you wanna go get some new ones and continue, or do you wanna do somethin’ else?”
“Don’t help them!” Wilt shouted angrily at Kay for throwing away his only advantage against Xan.
Suddenly, three black grenade-looking devices were thrown in the air and into the battlefield. Everyone who was present stared at the devices, which exploded into black smoke. Everyone covered their eyes and snouts to prevent themselves from inhaling the smoke.
“Gah!” one of the Girasol Gang members shouted as he didn’t cover his eyes fast enough to prevent the smoke from stinging him. “What the fuck?”
“More like who the fuck!” another member had the foresight to cover his snout with the collar of his shirt while he used the rim of his hat to protect his eyes.
“Crap!” Xan complained as he tried to use his broken blades to dispel the smoke. “Can’t see…”
“What’s going on?” Kay took a fighting pose, trying to see who got in the middle of his fight.
“Those were Smoke Bomb Magus Gear,” Wilt pointed out as he tried and failed to approach Kay with so much smoke limiting his visibility. “But who could use them and why?”
He got his answer a few seconds later when Trixta emerged from the shadows to grab Kay by the wrist, pulling him up and leading him past Wilt.
“Trixta?” Wilt asked, shocked at the Fox Korkin for rescuing them.
“You can be thankful for my daring rescue later,” Trixta sounded hurried and scared. “For now, get moving! Follow me! We won’t be seen in the smoke.”
I have no other choice, Wilt thought as he followed the two as they ran off into the smoke, unseen by the crowd. As the smoke dissipated, Xan saw that his opponent was gone.
“Managed to escape,” Xan hissed in disappointment at the anticlimactic way that his fight with Kay ended. “Well, swords are broken, so I can’t do anything now.”
He casually walked past the gang members, who were not satisfied with the services that he provided to them.
“Fuck that!” a fat member complained. “Go after them! We are paying you good money for this, so I suggest that you go do your job, or we’ll tell Mr. Gira…”
Xan interrupted him when he turned around, spinning his half-broken blade so that the sharp edges were against the gang member’s throat. He followed his threat with an intimidating glare that froze the blood of the man who tried to blackmail and boss him around.
“Tell him what?” Xan asked sarcastically. “That the bounty hunter that you jackasses hired couldn’t do the job that he told you to do? You’re not my damn boss, so don’t even try pulling that shit with me. This blade may not be good for slicing heads clean off anymore, but it can still slit your fat neck.”
The fat boar trembled in fear as the other members tried to calm Xan down.
“Easy Desert Scale,” one of the smallest members tried to placate him. “We don’t want any problems. We’ll get ya some new swords. Just go after the Fenger and the Florian when you get ‘em, okay? For now, let’s get out of here before the authorities show up. We may have special warrants, but I rather not have to deal with those Sentinel pricks.”
Xan looked at the other members, who nodded fearfully at him. With a sigh, Xan pulled his broken blades away, making the fat gang member that he threatened exhale in relief.
“Fine,” Xan crossed his arms. “Gonna get something to eat. Contact me when you get some new swords done. And don’t worry, I’m sure they won’t leave town so soon. They’ll most likely leave via airship, and there’s only one Skydrome station in this city. We’ll run into ‘em soon. So you guys keep a lookout in that area. If you see ‘em, don’t bother attacking. Just let me know and I’ll take care of the rest.”
Having finished giving his orders, Xan walked away from the gang, thinking about what transpired a few minutes ago.
“That Caster,” Xan murmured with a grin as he stared at his broken swords again. “Heh, gonna need a lot of swords to deal with him.”
Chapter 2 Act-A: End