9/19 - Mountainside road - morning
The sun is beaming down on me as I’m driving with my goggles on. It’s hitting my face as I’m moving down this desolate road on a mountainside. The air is a bit thin but I’m still able to breathe. I’m slowly driving with Roadburner. I thought driving on a mountainside would be dangerous. To my surprise, however, it’s not all that bad. There were some curves that the bus had to be precise about as to not fall off, but I was able to help it turn properly. The rest of the way should be a breeze for it.
I’m acting as a scout for the Starbus; that’s the name for the vehicle. Since my bike is fast, if I have to, I can check something out and get back to everyone about it in a heartbeat. Chip is driving on Marie’s bike behind the bus as the rear lookout. The road is big enough for the bus to drive and turn on.
Naturally, I had my doubts about going this way. Marie said we had to go this way. There’s another route, but it involves going near the Kingdom, and that wouldn’t end well if we did. So, this was the next best route. Man, if this is the best, then I don’t want to see the worst. More importantly…
“I’m so bored! We’ve been driving all day! I wanna fight or something, damnit.”
At first, I thought I’d be able to drive for a long time, with no sweat. That changed 2 hours in. Can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I’m tired of driving. If we don’t stop soon, then I’m going to explode!
“Huh?” Below the mountain road, I spot something that resembles a building. Sweet, we can stop when we get there, and there isn’t much road left to cover, so we’re almost there! I stop to wait for the bus to catch up. It stops in its tracks...
“Proxy, why have you stopped?” Nunnalé, who’s on the roof of the bus, asks me.
She’s the lookout for anything Chip and I miss while we’re covering the bus.
“Tell Alex and Marie I saw a village at the bottom of the mountain. I’m gonna go check it out.”
“Please hold for a moment.” She jumps back into the bus from the sky window. A few seconds pass before she comes back from where she entered. “...You have their permission to investigate the area.”
“Just what I wanted to hear. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
I set off for the building at the same speed I was already going at. This is great! I can’t wait to put my feet on the ground!
…
Nunnalé went back up on the bus after talking with Marie and Alexander. She should take a break from lookout for a little. These seats are comfortable than any other bus I been on. The atmosphere of the bus gives off this riding in luxury feel to it. The interior's colors are vanilla white with black, complementing each other to come off as a cool design. There are lights on the roof of the bus, brightening the inside. However, I have noticed that there are blue lights under the seats.
But back onto Marie and Alexander. I couldn’t hear them talking with Nunnalé since I’m sitting away from them. Curious to learn what’s going on, I get up from my seat to head over to the siblings.
“Richard,” Alexander calls as he sees me approaching.
“Um, sorry to ask this, but what did you and Nunnalé talk about?”
“She told us Proxy found a village at the bottom of the mountain, so we gave him the okay to go scout ahead,” Marie explains.
“I wonder if he’s sure? I mean, it could’ve been anything.”
“If that’s what he says he saw, then he should see if it’s true..”
“What if bandits are there?”
“Then he’ll warn us before we get there and we’ll go and fight them. We can’t turn back now. This route is the best for the bus since we’re avoiding routes that are being watched by bandits. Yesterday, I had Proxy drive through the first half of this road to see if this road is stable and big enough for the bus.”
“What if it wasn’t?”
“Then we would’ve gone down the route that has us drive near the kingdom. Thankfully, we didn’t have to.”
“Would it be that bad?”
“The last thing I want is the kingdom coming after us because we have this thing, so I think we made a great decision. Besides, we didn’t encounter any Fire Wraiths. Speaking of which, Elizabeth: we’re going now, drive carefully.”
“Got it, ma’am. I’ll show ya how slow this girl can go!”
Yesterday, we fought a small group of bandits. They were remnants that remained in the South. Our destination is north, but we need to head east first to get on the proper path to our destination.
Now that I think of it, are they going to attack the south while we’re gone? Since our last battle, we've proven to be a force to be reckoned with, so I doubt they’ll mount another one so soon. But this is only a theory, I might be wrong…
“You seem concerned over something,” Alexander points out.
“It’s just… What if they attack the south while we’re gone?”
“No need to worry. The people are stronger than you think. Now that we’ve shown them we can fight against the bandits, they will certainly grow more confident to take up arms and defend themselves. You needn’t worry.”
He’s so confident in his words, there isn’t a hint of doubt in them. That’s pretty reassuring.
“By the way, Richard, how are you feeling?” he asks.
“I’m fine. Why?”
“Because you are our healer, so you must be in superb condition.”
“O-oh, right!”
“Brother, don’t make him nervous.”
“Hehe, I do apologize, but I still believe you should take care of yourself.”
Despite my shyness about being in the spotlight, I know what he says is true. I’m the only one who’s capable of healing wounds, so I need to live up to expectations.
“Anyway, thank you for telling me what’s going on.”
“No problem,” Marie says.
“Think nothing of it. You are welcomed to inquire anything from us any time.”
I return to the back of the bus. Quincy is sitting by himself with a pile of books on his seat. Then, there're the twins sitting by themselves, away from everyone else. The tension between them and the army still lingers as everyone looks and talks about them with scorn and disgust. I suppose gaining their trust won’t be easy… Maybe I should say hi? Yeah, why not. I know how it feels to be the odd one out in a new environment. Maybe I can close the gap.
With that in mind, I get up from my seat. “Um, hello,” I greet them.
“Huh, the shit you want!?” the unkept brother sneers at me.
I flinch a bit at his harsh tone.
The other brother bops the who cursed at me on the head. “Zeal, what did I say?”
“S-sorry, bro! I-I-I didn’t mean anything by it!”
He’s showing genuine fear of his brother when he's speaking. I guess I know who’s the big brother between them; at least in terms of hierarchy.
“I’m sorry for my brother’s rude behavior.”
“It’s fine, think nothing of it. Can I take a seat next to you guys?”
“You may.”
I sit in front of them, then I turn to face them.
“My name is Richard. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too. I am Zell.”
“A-and I’m Zeal… Pleasure to meet ya,” he introduces himself in a forced polite manner.
“Pleasure.”
“So what is it you need from us?” Zell asks.
“I only came to talk. I know everyone else, besides Alexander and Marie, is on guard around you guys. So I wanted to see what’s up.”
“That’s very kind, however, you do not need to force yourself to speak to us.”
“It’s okay, I’m not forcing myself. I know how it feels to be an isolate yourself from others, so I thought it would be nice to sit with someone else besides yourselves.”
“Don’t pity us!”
“Zeal,” Zell says with a raised voice.
“It’s okay, he’s right. I don’t want to come off as if I am. I know it can be annoying at times, but I do just wanna talk with you guys.”
Zeal rubs the back of his head. “Yeah, it is annoying… But since you admit that, I guess you ain’t all that annoying.”
“So is it okay if I talk to you guys?”
“Whatever, do what you want.”
“Great.”
Zeal leans back in his seat as he laps his right leg on his lap. “I have a question: You and that Proxy kid, you come from somewhere else, right?”
“Yeah, another world.”
“Ha, just like he said. Frankly, I don’t buy it! How can I believe that? Show me proof.” Wow, that’s the first time no one believed us; I’m stunned... “Well?”
“Now, now, no need to push him. If he says so, I believe him.”
“It’s fine. Here.” I pull out my student I.D. “Over here it says the school I go to and the city and state I live in.”
Zell takes the card as Zeal looks at it.
“Richard: Senior middle schooler, St. Merlin boarding school.”
Zeal raises an eyebrow. “What’s a school? Do you know, brother?”
Stolen story; please report.
Zell shrugs his shoulders. “I am unsure.”
“It’s a facility to learn things, like practical applications towards living society, or just stuff to fill a specific field of work. But it’s also a place where kids around ages 11-14 go.”
Zell’s eyes beam from curiosity. “That sounds amazing. How do you go about learning, though?”
“We just sit in a room and listen to a teacher for about 30 minutes and then go to another classroom to listen to a teacher speak about another subject. Of course, we do paperwork as well and other stuff. We repeat this about six more times, then the day ends.”
“Man, that sounds boring as shit.” Yep, it’s almost as if I’m talking to Proxy. “You get to fight?”
“No, it’s against the rules to do so.”
“Seriously, then why the hell would anyone wanna go?”
Yep, it feels like I am talking to him… Hang on; I got a way to break the ice.
“...But there are kids in my building, as well as the ones from the high school building that do fight.”
“Really? How do they fight?”
“Depends, but their fights are pretty big and out of control.”
“Yeah?”
“Proxy told me that one time, he saw two rival gangs duking it out. He said that there was a lot of blood coming from everyone there. At least, that’s what he says. Oh, he also said at one point, he saw the leader of the St. Merlin gang beat about 12 rival gang members and didn’t get hit once.”
Zeal jumps from his seat, his fist pumped. “Too awesome, just too awesome! If that’s how these school kids go down, then consider me impressed. No wonder Proxy is so ballsy!” That’s not too far off the mark. “So, do you fight?”
“Not really. I can’t fight at all.”
“Heh, what a weakling. You probably piss yourself in the first sign of trouble.”
That sets me off more than it should’ve because I can feel a vein in my forehead pop. I know what he’s saying is true, but it’s irritating the way he said it, and I’d never piss myself!
“As a matter of fact, I broke a guy’s arm.”
He shoots me a weirded-out expression that screams, ‘you’re kidding, right?’ “You, breaking a guy’s arm? How did ya, huh?”
“Well, it’s sort of unbelievable. I can harden parts of my body and I can also heal people. When the guy tried to attack my head, I hardened it to be stronger than he can handle.”
The two of them freeze from my explanation, their eyes widened. I knew it would sound too unbelievable.
“...You have the same abilities as me then?” Zell replies.
“Yeah, I know, it’s-- What did you say!?”
I jump forward at Zell, who leans back from me.
“I have the same abilities,” Zell restates what he said.
“Re-really? How did you learn Source?”
“I was taught by the Phantom Flame himself.”
“Phantom Flame?”
“Yes, that is the leader of the bandits.”
The leader of the bandits knows how to teach Source, then he must be able to use it as well. If that’s the case, then I need to learn more.
“Has he ever used his Source in front of you?”
“No, he hasn’t. He’s cautious about how he acts around us, showing very little of his abilities.”
“What if someone tries to fight him?”
“Nah, that ain’t gonna happen. The first captain, Scar, is a loyal dog to him, so he wouldn’t let anyone get close. That dude can use fire, so anyone who messes with him gets turned to ashes.”
That means the first captain is an Elemental Prime user.
“What about the other captains?”
“We don’t know. They’re careful bastards about their abilities. Honestly, that shit made me hate them even more. Why the shit do they know what my brother can do but we can’t learn what they can do. Shit pissed me off!”
It makes sense to keep their abilities secret from one another; that way, they can’t use that against them. We have to be careful about how we fight the bandits from now on.
“Enough about that. Tell me more about these gangs in your world,” Zeal leans forward with an excited look.
“And tell me about where you come from.”
They give off this child-like sense of enthusiasm. Both of them are looking at me with expressions of curiosity and wonder that mirror the other. I know they’re twins, but it still amazes me, nonetheless.
“Okay, I’ll try to do my best."
Abandoned village - morning
I finally made it off the mountain road, now I can go at my usual speed. The area I saw is just up ahead. Hopefully, I wasn’t just seeing things... Arriving; I spot the building I saw from the road. There are houses here that I didn’t see from up top; they’re smaller compared to the building I saw. I slow down to take a look around.
“No one seems to be around, and the road here is big enough for the bus to park. Maybe we can--”
A feminine scream echoes throughout the area, cutting me off.
“Someone’s here!?”
I speed off to where the scream came off from. It was at the big house, so I'll go there! A few seconds is all it takes for me to reach my goal. I see a girl surrounded by 4 bandits. Good, now I got some practice dummies.
“Speed up, RoadBurner!”
Our speed picks up as we aim for one of the bandits. He turns his head just when I did a backflip off the bike. Spinning in the air feels great, especially after jumping off a bike. Of course, I land on my feet without stumbling.
“Ta-da!” A is missing. RoadBurner must’ve gotten him. That only leaves 3. “Quick question, guys: which one of you wants their shit kicked in first?”
Ignoring my threat, they charge at me with their weapons in hand. Bring it, I’ve been dying for a fight! I draw my swords while making my move. The first one goes for a stab, but I knock the blade out of the way, then I hit the side of his head with the back of my blade. The second comes in with the third one. Two blades close in for my chest. Being faster than both of them combined, I evade the attack. One of them follows me with his sword still aimed at my chest. His left palm is pressed up against the butt of the hilt, using it like a knife. Because his form is bad, I’m able to take advantage of it by hitting the blade with one of my swords. Then, using the other one to knock him out cold. The last one quakes as he holds his sword defensively. This moment of weakness leads me to go in for the kill; metaphorically.
He does a horizontal swing that misses me by a few inches between it and my hair. Right before he swung, I slid to avoid it. As he jerks his head below, facing me, my foot zones in for his crotch. A shriveled cry leaves his mouth as he drops his blade. He keels over to the ground, grabbing his balls. As he moans, he stumbles to his feet, running away while leaving his friends behind. Actually, ‘friends’ might be the wrong word.
Either way, I sheath my swords as a chuckle escapes my mouth. That’s right, I’m the man!
“A-ah, thank you... f-for s-saving me,” the girl behind me says.
“Ah, it’s no-- Waah!” She suddenly hugs me from behind. I’m being swung around like a rocking chair. “Easy, easy, easy! I slip out of her hold. "Geez, can you at least warn me before doing that?"
“O-oh! I’m sorry. It’s just, I was so happy when someone saved me, that I...I just couldn’t hold back!”
She once again lunges herself at me. This time, I dodge the attempt. However, she losses her foot, hitting the ground.
“Oh, crap! Are you okay!?”
She turns to me with an undisturbed smile. Her forehead leaking blood. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“No, you’re bleeding, dumbass!”
Getting a good look at the girl, she's wearing a white gown that doesn't cover her shoulders. She has short, navy blue hair that stops a few inches past her shoulder. Her face looks young, maybe around my age. And her body is what I would say is feminine.
Just as I’m about to check her wound, I see the Starbus pulling into the village. The door on the side of the front part of the bus opens. Marie is the first one to come out.
“Proxy, are you here?”
“Over here.”
She runs over to me. “Shit, are you okay? Let me look at that!” She moves the girl’s bangs to get a closer look. “Not too bad, but looks painful. Proxy, go get Richard.”
“Right.”
I book it for the bus. Reaching it, I jump up the steps, stepping inside. “Buddy, we need you outside,” I yell.
“Coming.”
He gets up from the far back row. I exit the bus before he can move toward me.
“Proxy, what’s going on?” Richard asks me as he’s coming out of the bus.
“Someone’s injured.”
“Where at?”
I lead the way to the hug crazy girl. She’s still sitting on the ground with a smile on her face; as if she didn’t do a face-plant on the ground. Richard gets to work on healing her forehead.
“Ah, my wound is gone. Thank you.”
Her smile grew even wider.
“Oh, i-it’s no big deal.”
Yeah right, I can see you blushing.
“So, how did you get that wound?” Marie asks.
“I was going to hug him for saving me, but he moved out of the way and I tripped…”
A sudden chill runs down my spine. This feeling is more than familiar… Oh god, I don’t turn around, don’t turn around, don’t turn around! Even though I say that, I look anyway. Yep, she’s pissed.
“W-wait, how was I s-supposed to know she was gonna trip. Besides, her hugs could snap someone’s neck… Umm, you’re not gonna…?”
“Get over here, you moron!”
“Ah!”
She chases after me with a face that can only be rivaled by the devil himself. We run in circles around the girl and Richard. My heart is going to burst out of my heart with her running after me with that face!
…
“I’d like to thank you for saving me,” the hug crazy girl says.
“No problem, right, Proxy?” Marie says as she passes the buck to me.
“Yeah...sure,” I mutter.
There’s a sore spot on the back of my head from her Amazon-like strikes. Why the hell did she even hit me; I did nothing wrong.
“What are you doing out here? Is there anyone else here?” Richard asks her.
“There is are people here, they’re not up here, though.”
“Up here?” I repeat.
“Yes, down there.”
The girl points to the ground. So they’re underground?
“Why are you up here, then?”
“I kind of snuck out.” Can she not come out whenever she wants? “I’m going to head back down since it is not safe... Why don’t you all come with me?”
“Can we?”
“Of course, you saved me, so I’m sure the elder will allow you to come in.”
Hmm, I wonder what this underground place is like? Last time I was underground, it was a hellhole.
“If you’re sure, but we have a large group, so we don’t want to be trouble if we don’t have to be,” Marie informs.
“It is fine!” Alex comes from behind, slinging his arms around me and Marie. “We accept your offer. But will there be room for all of us?”
“Don’t worry, it’s big enough for all of you.”
“Excellent, then we shall hopefully be your guests.”
Man, this is moving a bit too fast. Whatever, at least I can finally get off my bike for a bit.
“Proxy, go get everyone else from the bus and tell Elizabeth to park the bus somewhere appropriate.”
“Since when am I the errand boy?”
“Such stamina and yet you can’t do something so simple?”
Oh, damnit, now she just triggered it! “Fine, I’ll show you how easy I make this!”
Screaming my lungs out, I run towards the bus like a madman. In hindsight, I should’ve known that Marie was using reverse psychology, yet I’m still falling for it.
Tunnel connecting underground and up-ground - morning
The entire army entered a tunnel that leads underground. It’s a bit cramped and clumping together isn’t helping. I’m not claustrophobic, but this is a bit much...
“How far does this go, I’m not good with closed spaces like this,” Chip asks the girl.
“We’re almost there.”
“Funny, never heard you complain about that in prison,” I tell him.
“Cause I never got thrown in solitary. Also, I could see things other than stone."
“My room had windows of the outside of the prison, but it was of the rock walls surrounding the prison,” Gil comments.
“Shit, man, I remember that room. Good times.”
“They sure were.”
“Wait, y’all were in prison at BlackRock?” Elizabeth asks us.
“Yeah, and we broke out,” Chip answers.
“Shit, really!? Wait, so that’s how Alex got out?”
“Pretty much. I was only there for a couple of days, but I broke the dude out. Of course, Chip helped, and we took Gil as a bonus.”
Alex laughs, his voice reverberates inside the tunnel. “That was truly a wild time.”
“Hell yeah, it was. A lot of it was pretty wild when me and Richard were new to this place, but it’s nothing now. I’ve adjusted to this world.”
“Yet, oddly enough, you still suck with a bow,” Marie remarks.
“Shut up! Bows just ain’t my thing. Right, Alex?”
“I agree, we’re simply better with swords.”
“Yep, we are…”
Remembering those past events feels like a lifetime ago. All the hardship that we experienced, trials and tribulations, even some of my worst mistakes, feel like distant memories. Actually, distant is not the right word; I would say fresh is the proper term. However, now I’m here, walking with all these guys, with a purpose and a reason to get stronger. There’s no going back and I don’t intend to, so I’ll fight and get stronger!
“We’re here,” the girl announces.
We pass through the exit of the tunnel. We’re standing on a wide platform that has stone tiles that are neatly and obviously painstakingly put together, so they would all line up perfectly. This attention to detail is familiar, but I can’t put my finger on it…
Alex is at the edge of the platform. “This is marvelous!”
I move to him with Richard and Nunnalé behind me. “What’s so…” My voice goes dead as I gaze at what he’s looking at. Down here, there are many small buildings. It’s like a small town down here. All the way in the back is a gigantic building that’s shaped like a tower. There are lights down there brightening the streets…
“Proxy… This looks like.”
“...The Hell Mine.”
We turn our heads to the girl. “What is this place,” Richard beats me to the punch of asking the same question.
“This is our village, welcome.”