Chapter XXIV:
Consequences
Saturday morning the children all got home from the "party" at Faul's house.
Six in the morning Niel entered the Aires' household with careful steps. He slowly put down his jacket and wiped the snow off his shoes before tiptoeing into the living room. As he slipped past his brothers' bed and entered his room the sour stench of manure hit his nose. He took a step back from the gut-twisting smell and hastily searched for the light switch. He flicked the switch to find a wheelbarrow full of pig-excrement in the middle of his room.
"What the fuck?" He raised his voice making all the stealthy action before useless. He turned around to see whether his exclamation was loud enough to wake up his family, and his fears were confirmed by his parents and standing behind him with arms crossed. "What is this?" He looked at them questioning the disgusting prank.
"What I warned you about! If you don't get to work, the work will get to you!" His father said with a stern look clearly visible by his bushy eyebrow being squished. Hercule Aires was a man of short stature, but with the physique of a working man. He showed more bulk than lean muscle, his broad shoulders, and veiny arms his presence demanded respect. With skin that was singed by the Sun for decades and nails that dirt darkened and damaged every day since he took up a tool to work, he was the epitome of what hard work does to our body.
"We did the house chores for three days straight, covering your ass! It was time for revenge!" His older little brother, Alex stepped forward furious.
"I'll give you revenge!" Niel approached his brother with his fists clenched.
"Niel Aires!" His father raised his voice halting Niel’s steps. "You have a lot of work to do. I think you should conserve your energy. And take the wheelbarrow out already. I don't suppose you want to sleep with it in your room." As Hercule ordered his son, the youngest of the bunch, Hyll chuckled in the back. For a second Niel looked at him and the giggling boy ran back to his mother for protection.
Niel sighed and grabbed the wheelbarrow. Everyone in the house went back to their business and let Niel work. "What a jolly fucking welcome."
"Wait son! I'll open it for you." Meg, the chubby, short woman wore a knitted beige sweater, she grabbed the doorknob with one shaking hand, but she needed the other hand to turn it completely.
"Thanks mom! There is something I want to ask of you!" Niel said as he finally pushed the source of the smell out the house.
"What is it?" Meg looked up at his son surprised.
"I wouldn't come home from school on Wednesday. The class will hang out together. I'd be home by ten." Niel said trying to be quiet, in hopes that his father wouldn't hear.
"About that..." Meg shifted her eyes to the side clearly holding back something.
A couple of minutes later Ren's phone rang. It was a group video-call with all his classmates, instigated by Niel.
"Is everybody home already?" Niel screamed into the phone.
"I'm still on my way!" Ren answered.
"What do you want Aires? My mom almost woke up because of your yelling." Ken shouted back into his phone with complete disregard for his own concern.
"When she wakes up get ready for an upset conversation! All of us are grounded for the entire week!" Niel declared to the group.
"What?" Everyone asked in disbelief.
Niel spent the next minutes explaining what his mother told him:
> At six am, after the children asked for permission for a 'sleepover' at Faul's house, one of the parents had enough of all the secrecy their children engaged in. Luna and Sun's mother, Halley went to the Pisces residence to inquire about this sleepover from Faul's mother, but to her surprise no child was there. Faul's mother, Ruhi could not endure the pressure put on her by Halley and spilled the beans about the sleepover being a hoax. Halley was understandably furious and called every parent to a meeting at the Pisces house much to Ruhi's chagrin. They all gathered in the living room. Maria stood a bit farther from the others leaning on the doorframe observing them. Meg was admiring a painting hung on the wall while Ruhi brought a teapot full of steaming green tea. She did not have enough mugs for every parent, but she substituted with glass.
>
> "This should loosen the tense mood. Nothing makes me relax like a nice cup of tea." Ruhi poured for herself, letting the scent into her nose. She looked around to see eleven pairs of angry and concerned eyes looking at her.
>
> "What do you know Ruhi! Where are the kids?" Halley paced the room, the wooden floor creaking under her steps.
>
> "My Faul did not tell me where they are. He just told me to lie." She fiddled with her fingers around the mug.
>
> "And how did you agree to that? You are the parent! You should be the responsible one!" Aughust the broad shouldered, tall man who was the father of Ginna slammed his fist on the desk making Ruhi startle and spill some of the tea. "Now we don't know if they're dead or alive!" He held back tears as his daughter's face flashed into his mind.
>
> "It's okay we don't need to go that far!" Vhiz's mother a blond woman who was even taller than Aughust comforted him pulling him back from the others.
>
> "If it's any help, Terry just got home!" Terry's father a balding, short, slender man said while he put his phone away. "He just sent me a text that he got home, and he was worried that I was kidnapped, or killed. Maybe your kids will be home soon too."
>
> "Kidnapped? Killed?" Maria tilted her head confused.
>
> "Perfectly reasonable assumption in this day and age." The slender man named Para, explained as his eyes widened. "You don't know when the arms of death squeeze you in a tight hug."
>
> "Let's not talk about death! We could try grilling Terry for information." Halley advised.
>
> "Nobody will grill my son for anything! He has very high blood pressure, he could have a heart attack from stress!" Para declared, shaking from the mere idea.
>
> "What's the big deal anyway? They are kids!" Ken's mother, Kana a curly purple-haired woman sit so loosely in a couch that she almost slid down to the ground. "When I was a kid, I ran away from home and I was hit by a car. And I turned out fine!" She shrugged.
>
> "You're not making a point for yourself. Rosa is too fragile to be away from home!" The blond-haired woman bit her nail as the stress weighed on her.
>
> "It's okay Saoirse! My son will protect your daughter at all costs!" Marco's father a chubby man, similar to his son's build rubbed Saoirse's arm trying to comfort her.
>
> "Now I need to find her even more!" She stepped away from him.
>
> Kana sat up from her relaxed position, demanding some attention. "All I'm saying is we should let the kids be kids! Let them fall off bikes, lick the weird goo coming out of a tree, smoke some cigarettes here and there, otherwise they'll never grow up!"
>
> "How did you survive into adulthood?" Halley looked at her dumbfounded.
>
> "By the way..." Kana pulled out a lighter and a cigarette. "Can I smoke in here?" Kana asked turning to Ruhi.
>
> "I'd prefer you not." Ruhi smiled at her, politely forbidding it.
>
> "Oh. Okay." Kana stood up, walked into the neighboring room, snapping the lighter in her hand.
>
> Ruhi quickly followed her. "I should convince her to do that outside... or at least open a window."
>
> "I wouldn't be this worried without a good reason." Halley continued the conversation without them. "Sun came home with a massive scar on his face and I played along with their exploding tree story! Not to mention, they regularly come home late and they are all tired and dirty! It's like they are training or fighting."
>
> "My Iiwa has a scar on her shoulder. Yesterday she wore a shirt that had her shoulder exposed and when I questioned her about it, she just brushed it off and went back to her room to change clothes. They are hiding something from us." Iiwa's father, a short man with messy black hair wheezed as he voiced his concern.
>
> "I cannot fathom what his could be! Drugs? Are they in a gang of some kind?" Meg pondered aloud while sipping some tea.
>
> "First of all, we should find them, after that we should discourage this behavior in the future!" Halley suggested in a commanding tone.
>
> "And how should we find them? They could be anywhere!" Aughust cried out. "You don't think they left the village?"
>
> "That is the only thing I'm sure of! The only one allowed to leave the village is the sheriff." Halley declared then she turned her attention to Maria. " Speaking of... Maria! Can't you ask Atla to come home? He could help them find it."
>
> "I'm afraid not. He is buried in work. He probably wouldn't even answer his phone." Maria said leaning on a wall far from the others.
>
> "Great!" Everyone looked hopeless after Maria's statement, but she tried to give back some of that hope they had lost.
>
> "But I wouldn't advise going into the forest like headless chickens. That would only result in one of us getting lost in the forest as well. I think we should wait until the morning. The kids called us to buy an alibi for until then, so whatever they are doing they should be back by then. And if they're not I can make some calls and get a colleague of Atla to come and search the woods." Maria explained. That's all I can do for the kids. Benu keeps an eye on them, but their reckless behavior ever since they got their power led to this point.
>
> "It's hard to admit, but looking around I have to say that Maria is right! Most of us are not in a condition to go into the forest at night. So, let's wait until the morning. But we still need to punish them somehow when they come back!" Haley agreed. "Maybe we should ground them."
>
> "I agree! Maybe a couple of days should suffice!" Para suggested, feeling it would be severe enough.
>
> A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
>
> "No! Think bigger! One week at least." Aughust proposed looming over the shaking man.
>
> "What do you think Maria?" Halley once again turned to her.
>
> "I don't think it's a good idea..." If only Aughust could know that his daughter's health is at stake... I don't think I can talk them out of doing it, but I could try.
>
> "What do you mean?"
>
> "I do think we should punish them somehow, but I don't know if grounding them will give us the result we are looking for."
>
> "I disagree! Keeping them from meeting each other can show us what their reason is for gathering so often. If it is some drug, then they'll have signs of withdrawal. If they are part of a gang maybe we can help them escape that environment. And if after school they spend every minute of every day at home, maybe one of us can break a weaker link. So, unless you have a better idea, I think we should try it."
>
> "I cannot argue with that." Maria gave in, but Halley looked at her suspiciously for her initial disagreement.
>
> "We'll need everyone's cooperation on this if we want to get results. So, every parent present here should promise to drive their child from school straight home and check on them every hour!"
>
> "Now hold on a minute! I don't have a car to drive around, let alone being sober at four in the afternoon!" Kana re-entered the conversation throwing the end of the cigarette into a vase.
>
> "I'll pick Ken up from school when I go for Luna and Sun. I'll drop him down at your house!" Halley declared closing the distance between them. "All I ask of you is to check on him every hour!"
>
> "That's a lot of stuff to do!" While Kana tried to shrug it off Halley grabbed her by the shoulders.
>
> "Kana! Please! Just for this week! Promise me! I'll even call you to remind you." Halley shook Kana and when the drunken woman tried to look away ashamed, she stepped into her view. Kana blushed and let out a deep sigh.
>
> "Alright!"
"So yeah! Now what do we do?" Niel finished telling the story and asked helplessly from his classmates.
"It seems our plans of training are out the window." Luna said defeated.
"No way we're giving up just like that!" Niel resisted the idea.
"What should we do Niel?"
"We can open a gate in our bedrooms." Niel suggested.
"They will monitor us every hour. We couldn't even get to the forest and back, let alone do the trials like that!" Sun explained.
"Maybe it's time to tell them what we are!" Ken proposed looking at his mother sleeping in front of him.
"Yeah because that's a believable story! And even if they'd believe us, would it be worth it? Just one week of being grounded compared to potentially our whole life being ruined?" Terry disagreed with Ken, which signaled how much he was against the idea of outing themselves.
"Even if we can't do the trials again, we still need to meet up with the Mad Carnival on Friday!" Niel reminded everyone that they would still be grounded that day. "And what about our recon mission with Terry? We still don't have enough information on Karma's ability."
"What recon mission? I didn't agree to do anything like that!" Terry jumped back, his voice shaking from fear.
"You've got no choice! We need your power for this!" Niel pressured Terry. The boy went silent for a second waiting for an answer from his classmate, but his restlessness came over him. "Or else!"
"Aw, crap! I'm going to be in so much trouble!" Terry's hand shook almost dropping the phone.
"They cannot keep an eye on us at night too." Luna suggested. "As soon as Hook's group finds where the Mad Carnival set up camp, we can take Terry there and make him snoop around the place."
"How long can we wait?" Niel's voice was increasingly agitated.
"Take it easy Niel. They shouldn’t be far. They'll be back in six days which means they had to camp somewhere nearby." Sun tried to calm him down. "This does complicate things, but we are lucky that we could do the trials at least once and five of us got to level up."
"Maybe that will be enough..." Ren added.
"Or maybe we will fall short because of that."
"I know I won't be the most popular with my idea, but what if we just don't go?" Faul's statement left everyone speechless. "They want something from us, so they won’t leave with Ginna’s voice. What if we just postpone the training till next week and fight them when we are at our best?"
"Faul you coward! Just say you don't care about your friends!" Niel's offended screams were cut short by Ren.
"I considered it for a second too, but it's too risky." Niel looked at his phone in disbelief. "They could just attack us in the human reality. Their strengths would be one percent of what they could use, but so would be ours."
"They can do that?" Niel asked shocked by the information.
"Yeah! Don't you remember? Rosa told us the first day we entered the second reality." Ren reminded him.
"Not to mention, we would take a fight that only affects us into the village where they could hurt our family." Sun continued with Ren’s idea, and this statement was enough to discourage everyone from postponing it.
"If it helps you feel at ease Sun, and I have the outlines for a plan already. If my assumptions about Karma are confirmed, we'll have a trap ready for them when they arrive."
"Okay Ren. I trust you, but I'll be the one escorting Terry."
"Though we should keep the number of people sneaking out to a minimum I think we need a third person to go. Terry's power is the key, Niel is the brawn, but we need a brain too, if anything were to go awry and you to think quickly." Ren suggested, thinking out loud.
"I'll go!" Luna quickly answered.
"I don't want to insult you sis, but I think I should go. This requires a bit more subtlety." Sun discouraged his sister.
"I can be subtle." Luna disagreed with her cheeks turning a bit red.
"When you are calm. But you won't be for long if you see the ribbon girl."
"I hate that you are right... but will you be okay? Luna looked at her brother concerned.
"Don't worry! I can protect myself." Sun confidently smiled at her sister with the skin around his scar staying stationary. Sun turned back to the phone to make a declaration. "Alright if it's settled, everyone keep your cool around your parents and do not confess to anything! Don't let them suspect a thing!"
When the children finished the conversation Ren finally entered the house. His arrival with crossed arms and a fed-up look on her face. Ren's initial momentum was slowed by the stern gaze that met him.
"I know..." He sighed, taking off his shoes. "Niel already told me about our punishment."
"I have to ask, Ren!" She approached her son. "Where were you?"
"I am not going to be the one to snitch."
"I know... but I am happy you came home in one piece."
"Mom... do you know something about dad?" Ren raised the question suddenly.
"What do you mean?" Maria was taken aback by the query but tried to remain calm.
"Like, how he's doing? When is he coming home?" Ren was too tired to notice the second of hesitation in her answer, thus Maria could calm down and give an answer.
"No honey... he is in the middle of something important."
"I bet he is." He said cynically as he went to his room.
"Did you at least sleep at night?"
"Yeah. We did." Ren sighed rubbing his eyes.
"Good. Then you can help me in the kitchen! I'm making brownies." Maria made her way to the kitchen, glancing back at her son for his reaction.
"Great!" Ren smiled and ran towards her.
"But only the kids who don't lie can eat it." Maria's answer stopped Ren in his tracks.
Meanwhile Niel was outside cleaning the pigsty. He shoveled the manure into the wheelbarrow then pushed it to the pile where the rest of the waste was. He then put in fresh hay, scattered it on the ground and let the pigs get comfortable in their clean pen. One of the pigs was so excited it almost pushed Niel into the wheelbarrow. "You're welcome, dickhead!" He groaned as he walked out of there. Next, he cleaned the chicken coop in a similar fashion, fighting with the rooster for the right to be in there. As he left the coop, he saw his father hop on his bicycle with two shopping bags filled to the brim.
"Dad! Where are you going?" Niel asked suspicious of the two bags.
Hercule stopped and circled back to their house. As he stopped in front of Niel, he saw the meat in the bags neatly packed.
"Don't tell me! You are going to give that all away?" Niel asked in disbelief.
"For a second I thought you finally made up your mind and you want to come with your old man to do some charity." Hercule chuckled.
"You do this like we can afford it! We live in a tiny house and all the chicken parts you leave us are the bones and the feet!"
"Perfect for a chicken soup!" Hercule smiled at his son, who was not amused. Seeing his anger, Hercule softened his voice. "Listen Niel! We don't need this! We Aries, we..."
"Don't even say it! It makes me nauseous! I won't waste my energy on animals I can't even eat!" Niel threw the pitchfork on the ground furious.
"Then go and help your mother in the kitchen! Or you can come with me and help the people in need!" Hercule raised his voice a bit.
"I already have a helping hand!" Meg shouted through the window with Alex waving to his brother. Niel sighed and sat on his bike, taking one of the bags from his father. "We could at least save some for us!"
"When we need it, we will."
As they biked Niel was a bit behind his father with his eyes glued to the burn mark creeping up on his father's nape. He tried to compose himself and get rid of the guilty look on his face as he sped up to be next to him. They rode around the village stopping at run-down houses, some more livable than others. Niel knocked on the wooden door of a half-collapsed house. The withered hands of an old man opened the door. He slowly stumbled out and when the morning light hit his face he smiled at the rough boy. "Oh Hercule! How nice of you to visit!" The wrinkly skin made the old man look like his face was melting. With the skin on his forehead pushing his eyebrows down, and his ears almost reaching his chin, no one knew how old he was, but everyone assumed he was the oldest man in the village.
"I'm not Hercule! I'm his son, Niel." Niel groaned, trying to look away from the old man.
"How kind of you, young man! I'm happy to see you have the same warm heart your father has!" The old man radiated glee and he tried to squint his eyes for a better look at Niel.
"Whatever, just take it!" Nile pushed the bag onto the man.
"Could you bring it inside? It looks like a heavy bag." The elder looked down at the meat, then stepped aside to let him in. Niel rolled his eyes and entered the home. The kitchen was somewhat in order with a few dirty plates in the sink. But to his right, where the living room once was, the roof collapsed, making it unlivable. A tacky work of carpentry was done in there to keep the cold outside. Some bookshelves were moved there to cover the hole and they were nailed together with scrap wood and covered in tarp to seal the nooks and crannies.
"Please put it in the fridge and take a can of fizzy drink as your prize!" While the old man asked kindly, Niel's eyes fixed on the nasty living conditions, contemplating how he could live in a place like this.
"I don't need one, thanks..." Niel muttered.
"Oh don't be shy! Entertain an old man with your company for a while. Please tell me! What do you want to be when you grow up?" He sat down in a rickety old chair and leaned on the radiator to warm up.
"I don't know. Lately it has been even harder to think about that." Niel recalled how long it had been since he had time to think about his future.
"Well, what are you good at?"
"Fighting. Or at least I thought I was. Now I'm starting to question that."
"Fighting? It is a noble thing to fight for others! You could be a police man! Atla will need a successor!" The old man chuckled which led to coughing.
"I didn't say I'd fight for others. I just enjoy brawling."
"But that is what you are. That's what an Aegis does."
"My last name is Aires, not Aegis! My father always tells me the same shit! 'We are Aires, we are destined to put everyone else before us.' But if you put everyone else before you, you will be nothing but a tool to be used. I won't be a slave to such destiny." Niel stood up done with the conversation.
"You've got it all wrong young man. It is true that everyone has a destiny, but it is not something to be enslaved by. Destiny is never a straight shooter. It is your choice how it is fulfilled, that is the freedom you have in your hands. Remember this Hercule Aegis!"
"I said my name was Niel..." Niel sighed and opened the door. "I have to go! I have other deliveries."
"Be sure to close the door! I don't want the warmth to go out!" The elder chuckled to himself.
Niel shut the door tightly and went to deliver the rest. After that he met up with his father and they rode back home. On their way back they passed the ruined home of the old man. Niel took a glance at it, then to his father's scar, before speaking. "That old man should have his house fixed." Nie muttered.
"I agree. Do you know of anyone who could help him?" Hercule said with a coy smile forming on his face.
"I guess if no one else is available, we could. Even though it is annoying." Niel could not look at his father while saying it, but he knew what his face looked like.
Hercule smiled at his son. "Alright. We'll come visit him tomorrow."