Chapter 3
The Mission
Meredith settled into an easy rhythm following the arrival of Conrad and Summer.
In the mornings she would wake up and join Vivian for breakfast, offering a brief conversation with Eddie. Then the two would report to the prison. The catcalling and jeering had died down by their third day, only resurging when some other Guardians paid a visit. Occasionally, members of other squads would take over their night shifts, but largely they remained on duty. This did mean a few visits to Caleb and Gaius, but unlike the first day, they rarely spoke a word, unless one counted the Beastmaster’s mutterings. Gaius was far more relaxed, as if meditating.
The two girls would sometimes take lunch in the cafeteria if they could afford it, but more often than not, they’d only meet up with the others over dinner. Those times spent with Conrad and Summer, who were attached to a magical education unit from the castle library, switched between cheerful and tense, depending on how Summer and Vivian wanted to interact that day. Or if Conrad hit on either one of them.
The only thing breaking up what others would see as monotony was their training, being pushed together with newly christened Guardians, some of whom weren’t as happy to see them. Meredith thought it made things interesting, at least, and even if she wished to be going on adventures with Tempest Squad, she threw herself wholeheartedly into the work Amelia had tasked them with. It helped that her brother’s squad appeared grounded, running various errands in the castle, or teaching the newer recruits.
Plus, Meredith reasoned when she found Jay, Bruce and Trent sitting at a table with them one afternoon, hearing the stories of her brother’s adventures always made her feel just a little closer to home.
“You wouldn’t believe it, I’m serious!” Jay said, his hands wildly gesticulating to some invisible model. Summer was snorting in her potatoes, while Conrad pushed his glasses up to listen more intently. “Em is bar none, the best magic user in our group, attended your academy and all. So, she likes to experiment and stuff, especially since her magic is a relatively dull healing spell.”
“Saved our bacon, though,” Bruce commented, his head nodding sagely.
“Speaking of bacon…”
“Shut it, Trent,” Jay said, running his hands through his white hair before continuing on with the story. Meredith didn’t catch his notice, and the two girls joined the group at the table, digging into their lunch with the time they had. “So, anyway…one day, we’re all bored, right, because there are no missions or whatnot. The captain, of course, went for some training and Em joined him, because she has a thing for him, which led to some injuries. Then she got the brilliant idea of testing her magic by inflicting numerous wounds and seeing which healed faster. I haven’t heard the captain shriek so loud as when he was tearing down the halls that day! Ever since then, she’s been known as a menace. The masses flee when she arrives!”
“Do they, Jay? Thank you for the epithet.” Emily’s footsteps were so quiet, Meredith hadn’t even detected her, much less Jay, who found his face smushed into his lunch.
“Wash jusht a joke…” One that Summer and Conrad found hilarious. “Shorry, Em.”
“Yes, I’d expect so.” The redhead left it at that, walking to where Meredith saw her brother sitting, hands folded and alone. Bruce and Trent, putting an end to their guffawing, addressed the situation together.
“You deserved that.”
“Thanks for the ringing endorsement, guys…”
“Man, you guys are great! How come Lacardia and the Corps weren’t this tight before?” Conrad asked. He winked at Meredith, but she preferred eating. “I’ve learned a lot about combat applications of my magic when I’m not working the library.”
“As have I…I don’t want to lose to you again, Mera.” Meredith paid attention to this comment, blinking. She wasn’t aware that Summer had been so focused on her, but thinking back to their battle on the fourth day of the Alliance Games, she supposed there should’ve been no surprise. “Eddie’ll start thinking A-Class is falling behind.”
Vivian snorted, and the two quickly glared at each other. Conrad found the whole thing ridiculous, leaning across the table to the distracted Meredith.
“Eddie’s a lucky guy, huh? Two cute girls fighting over him, especially when there’s so much Conrad to go around.” Meredith didn’t react to that, staring at her brother and Emily. The redhead was primly eating her lunch, but Raymond was unmoving, pensive in his every waking moment. Much as she didn’t want to admit it, he’d been far too distracted the last week. “Hey, Conrad to Mera. You read me?”
“Huh? Sorry,” she voiced, her brain scrambling to remember what he’d said.
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“Sorry, Conrad. What’re you up to this afternoon?”
“Library stuff! Because, you know, that’s what we think of when we think of the Corps,” the boy said. Meredith managed a giggle from that before she was jostled to the side from some war taking place between Vivian and Summer under the table. “Joking…kinda. But yeah, since the whole thing of the exchange program going on is for us to learn all facets of the Corps, we have some time spent working in the library.”
“Sounds like a playground for Eddie…I’ll pass.” Conrad gave a chuckle of agreement, but already Meredith found her mind drifting back to her brother. His thoughtful gaze was unlike him, and before she knew it, she was excusing herself and going over to him.
“Oh, Meredith. In the cafeteria today? Did you want to join us?” Emily asked the second after she saw her there. They exchanged smiles, prompting Meredith to pull up a chair and face her brother.
“How long as he been like this?” she asked of the lieutenant. Emily gazed at her captain and shook her head, frowning the whole while.
“Long enough. I think something’s on his mind. Ever since the Games, he’s prone to just slip into thought. Just usually not in so public a place.” Meredith didn’t know what to take from that, especially when her brother didn’t even react to her snapping in front of his face.
She was forced to take measures by grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. “Hey, Ray! Snap out of it!”
There were a few seconds where his eyes cleared, and then he looked at his sister and subordinate. He was confused, but Raymond sat back once that haze cleared. “Oh, Mera. Didn’t see you there. What’s up?”
“What’s up with you?” she asked, louder than she’d intended before continuing on quietly. “You’re spacing, bro. You know what mom and dad would say if they saw that.”
“They’d give me an earful…” His bitter chuckle told her that not all was well within her brother’s mind. Yet he plastered a smile, and pretended that it was just fine. “Just thinking. About the Corps…and all these criminals. It’s starting to feel like we can’t make a dent. Even after our successes, more and more squads are sent out or called back every day. Has the Corps really become so ineffectual?”
“Now, now, captain. That kind of talk isn’t helpful,” Emily said, dabbing at the corner of her lips with a napkin. “If you’re worried about the Corps, we need only correct them. That’s what training is for.”
“Ooh, speaking of training!” Meredith’s note of the time on the clock made her spring from her chair. Raymond watched her, and she smiled. “Hey, no worries, Ray. The Corps isn’t through yet! We’ll make it even better!”
“Mm…we’ll see…enjoy your training.” Her brother’s dismissiveness was unsettling.
Still, Meredith wasted no time in giving a consoling pat on the back and then tearing over to Vivian and dragging her away from her yet unfinished lunch. She complained, but her own look at the clock put a stop to it. The two girls bade farewell to their friends, racing along the corridors towards one of the training rooms, and the fresh new recruits therein.
“I see Childs and Lacroix have deigned to join us. You’re nearly late,” the captain in the room said. It was met with sniggers from those there, each of the youthful Guardians caught in a mix between sneering and mocking laughter.
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“But we’re not late,” Vivian pointed out, sidling into line right with Meredith.
“Hmph, of course not. But don’t expect special treatment because of family; this is the second time in a week you’ve nearly been late. Be like your other recruits and be here on time, internship or no.”
When the captain’s back was turned, Vivian stuck her tongue out at him. Meredith did no such childish thing, even if she wished to, disgruntled by the scorn with which the newest recruits treated them. The captain, once he turned back, thankfully issued them to divide into pairs and warm-up for the day. Given the looks of disgust from the others, Meredith and Vivian found themselves teamed up with each other, as always, listening to the annoyed whispers.
“…always so haughty, just ‘cause they saved the Metropolis.”
“We’re the ones who have passed our trials. That’s worth way more.”
“Ugh, training again…when do we get a break? This is ridiculous! Definitely not what I signed up for!”
“Stop flapping your gums and get some work done!” The captain’s orders put a kibosh on any further grumbling.
“Just ignore them. They’re just like the cowards that ran,” Vivian said, drawing her bow and pulling on it, strengthening her body. Meredith followed suit, whipping the Earth-Splitter out, her face reflected off its gleaming surface.
The reason you chose me…inhabiting all the qualities of a Guardian…Meredith’s memories of Terrill’s first true words spoken to her stood in contrast to the complaining and moaning from the Guardians. It was an odd juxtaposition; one she couldn’t reconcile in her head. How were they so different? What made her different from them?
Raymond’s doubt rested there, too.
Her hand encircled the hilt tighter. Guardian…What did it mean to be a Guardian? Guess that’s what the trials are for…
But if the trials were to help teach someone what being a Guardian meant…why was she considered different in Terrill’s eyes?
“Mera!” Like a shot, Meredith intercepted Vivian’s bonk to her head, just as the door clanged open behind them, interrupting the training session with an all-too familiar face.
“Commander Chavez, to what do we owe the pleasure?” the captain said, now in rigid salute. The other Guardians fell in line, and Meredith followed suit, her questions dashed at the sight of the unflappable commander.
“Just picking up two of your students here. Childs, Lacroix, you’re needed.”
“Them two again…?”
“Quiet!” Amelia snapped. The harsh wind blew over them and the room settled down. “Now.”
A shared look and a cleared throat later, and the two girls exited the training room behind their commander. She said nothing in the halls beyond, even when the door slammed shut. Both stowed their weapons away, wordlessly letting the commander lead to a stairway that ascended to an unfamiliar part of the castle. They stopped outside a paneled set of double doors, which Amelia pushed open, revealing a conference room beyond. Three people were yet seated there, with a fourth in the corner of the room, holding to a broom.
“As requested, Chief Commander,” Amelia said, tapping both girls into the room. They took a seat without being prompted, right across from Marcus, Raymond and the ever-genial Royston Masters. Amelia flopped in a chair soon after. “So, we getting this meeting started or what?”
“Calm down, Amelia, there’s a method to these sorts of things,” Masters said, scratching at his growing beard. Raymond stared down the table, confused about why he was here as well, and in the corner, Emil was puzzled, sweeping at the stone floor. With a narrowing of her eyes, Meredith was sure he was here at Amelia’s request, but she couldn’t know what that was. Marcus cleared his throat.
“Right, well, as Amelia so often reminds me, I won’t beat around the bush…” the chief commander spoke. “The Corps is officially beginning a search for the Legendary Weapons.”
Terrill’s reaction was instant. Suspicion. Worry. Secrecy. Meredith kept her face steady at his ambivalent emotions flooding her soul. It was Raymond who took on the yoke of asking.
“Why?”
It was a question shared in sentiment, the clatter of Emil’s broom expressing his own surprise. Though Marcus was the one asked, Masters was the one that answered. “Because of the threat they pose. It’s not lightly that we commanders have come to this conclusion.”
“Rico’s statement to the world a month ago was more than a bolstering cry against the Corps, it was also a statement for arms to be taken up…particularly those of legendary means.” Amelia leaned back in her chair. She looked lazy, but Meredith knew she was anything but. “He used a Legendary Weapon against the both of you girls, and that alone was proof of the kind of power they could contain. It’s sent people looking for them. The developments at the mining facility proved that.”
Meredith bowed her head, craning it just enough to look at Vivian. The blonde’s lips were pursed, questioning what was going on. Masters, ever the one to assuage the public, addressed their concern.
“Not for use, you understand,” he said, sweeping his gaze to meet each and every one of them. “With the spear in custody, and two others held by such fine ladies as yourselves, we have no need to use them. Just keep them out of criminal elements.”
“The Order has one of them, though. We know this, commander,” Raymond said. Marcus was nodding, but Masters was nothing if not informed.
“Certainly, and that makes it two birds with one stone should we find the Lightbringer Axe. But given what you found, we can’t assume that the Order is sitting still, not now they have a smokescreen,” Masters said. He didn’t stand, but he may as well have done with how certain every statement was. Emil had picked his broom back up again, sweeping with agitation. “You yourself said the Reaper was interested in the fake Abyssal Blade. That may be the very Weapon they search for, and should they gain it before we do, it could spell disaster. Three weapons clashing rocked the Communications Tower in the Metropolis. Imagine what more than one could do unhindered.”
“It’s a tricky situation,” Marcus conceded. His eyes were closed, and he looked to be meditating. The room hushed for him, eager for his opinions or clarification on the matter. “However, I do believe this is the best course of action we can take as the Corps. Finding the Legendary Weapons that remain, now that we’re more than aware they surpass legend itself, is tantamount to putting a stop to the Order’s plans. We can put them beyond their reach.”
“And…how do we factor in…sir?” Vivian asked. Her voice was quiet, her hands knotted together while she waited. The commanders stared pointedly at both of the girls.
“Everyone in this room has experience with either the Order or the Weapons,” Marcus said. “Miss Childs, you forged the great Earth-Splitter. Miss Lacroix, your family has passed down the Bow of Torrents as an heirloom for generations. Raymond, you were close to the Abyssal Blade and have fought the Order multiple times.”
“And I’m from Lacardia, right?” Emil’s interruption didn’t go unremarked. The commanders tossed him a glance as he leaned on his broom. There was a set look to his eyes, but not one that emanated anger, like he would have shown towards his home in the past. “Home of the Violent Staff.”
“Well, that was the general idea…”
Meredith leaned back. It was obvious now.
“You want us to look for them, don’t you?”
“Don’t put your heads so far in the clouds, Childs,” Amelia snapped. Her chair legs came back down, rattling on the stone floor. Her withering look made Meredith withdraw, swallowing loudly. “You can leave the full-on searching to the professionals, interns. What we want is information.”
“And from all I’ve heard, you’re the best for it,” Masters concluded.
Meredith twisted her lips, biting down on one. Information. The goal was all too clear. Seven Legendary Weapons. Two were in their position. One in the hands of the Order. One stored in the vaults of the Corps. One rested in Lacardia. As did the man who researched them with fervor.
“Lacardia. You want us to go to…Lacardia?”
“You win the guessing game, Childs. Congrats.” Amelia’s sardonic remark, combined with her hollow clapping, resulted in eye-rolling from Masters. Marcus picked up the thread.
“Yes,” he stated simply. “The longer we wait, the more likely the Order inches closer. I know full well that your teacher in Lacardia has researched the Weapons. He may provide a clue, not only on where they are, but what the Order wants them for.”
“And Tempest Squad, sir?” Raymond took a vested interest now. His body said he was ready for the next mission, tired of stewing in his own doubt. There was also a vicious eagerness that went beyond that. He was craving answers. He wanted another clash with the Order. Marcus saw it, but didn’t remonstrate him as Amelia addressed the issue.
“Who else do you think will be taking point, Raymond?” she put forth. “We can hardly let interns lead the most important operation. You’ll be escorting them. Meanwhile, Quake Squad has boots on the ground in the Metropolis, looking into where that message was sent. I’m sure with such a pronged strike, we’ll be successful.”
“Oh, I get it!” Emil chirped unexpectedly. Everyone there tried to look at him, shifting their bodies as necessary. “Is this part of my apology tour, commander?”
“Damn straight, Baroné. If we’re collecting Weapons for safety, you either need to have your parents put a lockdown on the Violent Staff, or convince them to hand it over. Think of it as reparations, spending time with them. You’ll be going with. Montgomery as well. More people that know Lacardia, the better.”
“Yeah, all right.” Meredith let her Soul Vision turn on to see the state of Emil’s soul. It had been weeks since he’d mentioned his parents beyond the passing remark that he was making phone calls to them. Resentment still lingered, but the fact he was willingly ready to return to Lacardia spoke volumes.
Terrill was a different story. He was downright brooding.
You don’t like this…
He remained staunchly silent, but relented after moments. No, I don’t. It’s not good to gather all of us in one place. There’s a reason we’ve been scattered through history.
Then…shouldn’t we know what that reason is? Terrill contemplated that notion for a while, with Meredith looking around the room to ascertain if she seemed strange or not. Only Marcus was looking at her, hands folded, like he was waiting for her acceptance of the new orders. His eyes would flit to the Earth-Splitter, like he knew the answer was coming from it, rather than Meredith. To speed it up, Meredith spoke to Terrill again, her mind’s voice hurried. If it’s too much trouble, I can always just track them down with my magic and we can put protection on-
No. That was firmer than the rest, and she could sense Terrill uncoiling, resignation with him, as if facing a reckoning that was long coming. You’ve waited long enough, Meredith. Perhaps it would behoove you to at least guess at the reasons why. Why we haven’t been found for centuries as one. Why my blade broke.
It’s time you know the reason the Legendary Weapons were created, so that they remain safe from harm.
His permission given, Meredith stared Marcus in the eyes. They were piercing, yet likewise stormy and unreadable. He was urging her to step forward, trusting in her and the blade at her side. There was an implicit want for her to take that leap, like it would push her closer to the answers of her own questions.
After much time, she nodded.
“When do we leave, commander?”