EPISODE 7 - PART 1

- BLADE’S WHITE SIDE -

[WHITE]

.

Missing since the day they got separated, and most importantly, with that strange man.

Besides the report for a sketch of the man’s face, that’s all Zack could do. No one else had any information about Vincent, just them, the last ones that saw him.

Zack couldn’t bear it, he is feeling so powerless right now that he needs to try something by himself, and so, instead of studying at home, he dressed a casual shirt and got out, his steps are firm and hurried, until he goes to a stop, back to the street where everything happened.

People are walking in and out, the street divides itself in two, making a shape of a “Y”, it’s possible to see some kids running around and people talking to each other, but the strange man isn’t there, and why a kidnapper would be here anyway, four days after his crime.

The feeling of dread overcomes Zack, he could have done something at the time if he knew what would happen, but instead, he just got angry, and now Vincent could be dead. As Zack closes his fists in anger, but his eyes lock on someone seated at the open coffee shop in the distance, recognizing who it is, frowning in doubt.

“Isn’t that Fenik?” He thinks aloud.

Without even thinking he made the first step towards the entrance of the small shop. It’s a small establishment with a lot of open windows and half a dozen tables at the front porch. And without even knowing what to say, he was already at Fenik’s table where he was reading a book named “The Accel of Evolution” with a strange red eye in the cover.

Fenik notices the strange silhouette in his peripheral vision, lowering his book slightly and staring with cold eyes at Zack.

“What is it?” Fenik says with some annoyance.

“I-It’s about Vincent…”

“The one that’s missing?” Fenik continues to read his book.

“You were talking with that man before, right? Do you know him? Or maybe where did he have gone to?”

Fenik calmly flips a page before responding. “What man?”

“Are you listening to me?!” Zack yells. “That guy was the one that kidnapped Vincent! So do you know him or not?”

A moment of silence remains before Fenik looks at Zack in the eyes again.

“If you don’t mind, stop yelling.” Then he continues to read and starts mumbling, “I can’t have a peaceful place to be…”

Zack glances to another two occupied tables, as the people start whispering.

“Sorry…” He seats. “It’s just that… Fuck, I don’t know.” He calms himself. “The guy that was buying academy’s uniforms, that guy said anything to you? I think he was the one responsible for Vincent's disappearance.”

“That guy, huh? Do you mean that big one with the strange hair and broken glasses?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

Fenik sighs, and after a couple of seconds, he calmly turns another page.

“Do you know anything, or not?”

“Did he followed that guy?” Feniks says methodically.

“Yes, he did. The guy offered him a job, then they walked out.”

“Then he’s missing for two days?”

“Four.”

“Four?” Fenik stops reading his book, needing a moment to remember it was that amount of time since that happened. “Then he’s probably dead by now.”

“He’s what?”

“If it was one or two, I would guess he could be in training or something, but four…”

“Training? What training?” Zack asks, noticing he’s being ignored by Fenik’s loud thinking.

Fenik looks to Zack. “Training to be a terrorist.”

“Terrorist?! Do you mean-?”

“So that guy was a recruiter,” Fenik continues to think aloud. “I did though he was some kind of gatherer of some sort, but to be recruiter… I never imagined this kind of thing happened in broad daylight.” Fenik flips another page.

“Wait, what? You saying Vincent is with terrorists?!” Zack gets up from his chair. “How can you be so calm about it?!”

The whispers in the background continue with tension.

“It’s not like I care, that’s work for the WCSG.”

“The secret guard? What that has to do with it? Vincent is your classmate, you should care.”

Fenik looks to Zack with a disgusted expression, just like he was in the academy before, as if he was ready to fight. “My ‘classmate’? What do you want me to do, go and rescue him?”

“You can try helping, did you even reported about that guy buying uniforms?”

Fenik continues reading his book. “Not really, but I did report about you four following me around.”

“T-That was to know more about you.”

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“And following me was the best option you could think about?”

“You did tell us that we were weak and already dead, it’s not like talking would do much good.”

“To me, you are making excuses, I did answer your friendship request, it’s a no. So why are you still here?”

“You don’t want to team up with anyone? Why are you even on the platoon then?”

“To kill SAE and only that. I don’t care about ‘classmates’.”

A silence remains until Fenik flips another page, his eyes are as if he was searching for something, not really reading it. Zack seats, calming himself as that red eye in the book cover stares back.

“But why is that? SAE missions are extremely rare, and generally, it’s just to get some samples from outside, why is so important for you to fight them?”

The silence comes again until a point where you would think Fenik simply wouldn’t respond, but he does, in a cold striking voice.

“That’s why you’re weak,” he glares from up his book, “and that’s why you’re going to die. You all study at the academy like it was some kind of fun school, thinking to become military for money, power, or any type of pathetic childish dream as if the world outside wasn’t infested by those pests.”

He continues reading his book, continuing at a slow speed.

“Do you ‘classmates’ even think about defeating a single SAE?... No, right? Then I don’t care about teaming with you.”

‘So that’s what he meant with beating him shouldn’t be my objective, but still…’

Zack hesitates, opening a smirk, noticing a window to convince him, finally understanding who’s ‘Fenik’.

“You said we are weak,” Zack says diplomatically, “but you are worse than us.”

With that, Fenik rests his book on the table, with somewhat of a curious look, staring his cold eyes at Zack.

“And how’s that?”

“Don’t you remember Kearney’s class? It doesn’t matter how strong you are, if you don’t have territory you die, and the best way to have territory is with numbers and supply.”

“I see where you are going for, you think brute force by numbers can resolve all your problems? Let me tell you a secret, SAE is way more numerous than us.”

“Sure they are, but…” He lifts his index finger, with a smile on his face. “One person isn’t going to solve everything. It doesn’t matter if you use us as bait, but together we will have more chances. You said if we never thought about killing any SAE, my answer is: we do, and do you know why? Vincent was the one to bring it into the conversation.”

(“Killing SAE?” Zack asks back in a serious tone, back on the first days at the empty classroom.)

(Larry laughs. “That’s ridiculous, why would we?”)

(“It’s not like we will, right?” Oskar says afraid.)

(“The thing is…” Vincent lowers his head. “The reason why I’m in the academy…”)

“Is to protect it from SAE,” Zack ends. “That’s his childish dream, but now he won’t do it, not if he dies by terrorists.”

Fenik looks to the side with a tired snort.

“He was one of the most serious in the first day’s duels…” Fenik thinks aloud. “Well… if his objective is to fight SAE…”

He closes his book. “… Then I’ll help him.”

Zack opens a grin. “That’s what I’m talking about!” He gets up from the chair, hitting the table with his palm. “Let’s do it! Let’s save Vincent!”

Zack starts to walk off the coffee shop.

“Hold up, where are you going?” Fenik says coldly as he keeps the book on a side bag.

“To find him, of course!”

“You don’t plan on walking through the streets hoping to find him, do you?”

“… Isn’t that it?”

For a moment, the chair where Fenik was seemed a better idea than to go, but he builds up the patience to talk.

“I have a better idea… even so I don’t like it that much.”

Fenik walks out to the street. “Follow me.”

As he led the way, Zack could sense the certainty on Fenik’s steps, as if he was the one with the answer to a question he didn’t even know he had. His deep feeling of being powerless suddenly faded away, even so Fenik always had an emotionless face, this time, is almost like a tiny shine illuminated his eyes, and with it hope.

After about twenty minutes they arrive at their destination.

They stand to a giant white gate with a tall wall with iron spikes on top of it, the place is worth a couple dozens of houses in space, so it’s quite big, a rare sight in the fortress.

Fenik goes ahead and clicks a button, which does nothing but to turn a faint red light in the console.

“This is it?” Zack asks uncomfortably. “This place is so big-”

Suddenly, the console sizzles and starts speaking with a radio static effect.

“Young master Blade, so much time has passed since you last visited.” An older polite voice says with tiredness.

“I’m here to see… Aston.” Fenik says it with some difficulty.

“Oh! That’s wonderful.” The voice says with enthusiasm. “Young master Elliott is going to be so happy. I’ll be there immediately.” The console sizzles, cutting to silence.

Fenik sighs, looking down. Who would know that he was the one going to visit, this must be worth it.

“How did he know it was you? It’s just a button.” Zack says taking a closer look at the console.

“Look up there,” Fenik points to a pole on the side of the gate, “a camera, he can see us from there.”

“A camera? They are filthy rich then?”

“This condominium is part of the military elite, so it’s expected to have this level of security.”

At the same moment, a dark-skinned old man with a blue cap and a guard-type uniform come in, he almost trips on each step, trying to move his body quickly to the entrance.

“This level of security, uh?” Zack mumbles.

“It was more restrict a few years ago.” Fenik complements.

“I hope I didn’t make you wait too long, young master.” He goes to a cabin next to the gate, putting a silver small key to the control panel and twisting it, making the gate to open. “Do you want me to call Aston? I’m sure he’s going to attend you.”

“That’s not necessary, just tell me where he is,” Fenik says trying to be less cold and more polite, but it doesn’t work.

“Of course, he’s in his room, it’s the same as always, the on further left following the walkway on the right side.”

“Thanks, Antonio, don’t work too hard,” Fenik says it, and Zack feels it weird, like it was out of his character to say something like that, at least the cold tone persisted.

The old man waved with a smile for them as they kept going and the gate closed. Inside the walls, there are normal houses, all of them being two-story buildings but one at the center which was three-story and larger. All of them were the same greyish color, a wooden door and square windows with curtains inside.

“That’s real grass?” Zack points to a kind of small park with two long stone benches at the end of the walkway they are walking in.

“Artificial.”

“I see,” Zack grins. “They wouldn’t be that rich.”

“It’s not that. It’s just better this way.”

They get in front of the last house’s door, and just like before, Fenik presses a single button on the side of the door, which made a strange trembling whizzing sound from inside, then again, and again.

“I’m coming, alright, I’m coming.” Someone yells from inside. “What’s is it?”

As the door opens, Aston appears in his pajamas, a thin clean light-blue shirt and pants. He brushes his eyes in tiredness, opening his mouth to yawn, but then he stops it middle way when he realizes Fenik is right in front of him, he opens his eyes wider, a mix of surprise, fear and mostly happiness comes to him, making his grin to shine.

“Fenik!”

He opens the door faster, seeing now Zack to his side, and his expression changes completely to a hidden anger.

“Who’s that?”

“I’m Zack.” He grins, but Aston's eyes poke him for more. “I’m his… friend?” He points to Fenik. “… Classmate?”

“Friend, Huh?” Aston looks back at Fenik. “Why’s he here?”

“We have something to talk about. WCSG related,” Fenik says.

“Oh…” Aston nods. “What?”