Chapter 11

Everyone around Aaron began clapping their hands in joy as the fruit grew from the open cavities in the young man's hands. The purple, drape-like fruit looked more like the hem of elegant robes than any packet of plant flesh and seeds but compared to the other things he had seen these last two days. He supposed it wasn't that strange. After growing it to the point that it reached from his hand to the ground, he smiled as children ran up and plucked it from his body. Every inhabitant of the Remnant Village picked piles of food Aaron had grown from his body. They carried the mounds of produce to their manus houses.

"This was very kind of you, Aaron," Helena said. "There's no understanding how happy you've made these people."

"Thanks," Aaron replied. "For once, I feel glad I gained this suit. I mean, a doctor can only do so much. To think I'd be able to create food for people literally. I'm so glad for all the people whose futures you've made brighter."

He gave a faint smile.

"You think so?" he asked. "If that's true, it gives me hope. Hope that even as dark as I'm in, I can climb out and help others with me do so."

"These people wouldn't be in such a detestable state if they never rebelled against Fulir's," Owen said.

After they were gone, Aaron began planting new fruit trees for the village. From the cavities in his arm, he produced seeds that he forced a good way into the patches of dark soil to the village's sides. While planting his last seed, he felt a hand placed on his shoulder. Aaron turned around to find Thomas standing behind him and smiling. Behind him were Luis and Akemi giving him bright expressions.

"I knew that having the Absorption Armor would be an invaluable asset," Thomas said. "The ability to repossess and genetically alter organic matter is needed for growing food. From what my father told me of the legendary Armor, Fulir likes to use it to feed their people."

"It's good to have someone who does it for free, too," Luis added. "Most anyone else would demand a big reward for such a thing. But you haven't asked for anything that makes you the best."

"It's a great relief that you don't want anything as payment," Akemi said.

Thomas turned to the two of them.

"That's because we haven't asked him what he wants," Thomas said. He then turned back to Aaron. "Aaron, is there anything you want in return?"

He shook his head.

"No," he answered. "I'm merely grateful you invited me into your village with open arms."

"Are you sure?" Thomas asked. "Because if it's within our means, we'd be happy to provide it for you."

He smiled beneath the wooden scales covering his mouth. Just as he was about to assure him of the same thing, he heard the chilling voice of one from his soul chamber. Gregor's wicked laughter emitted from his smiling face caused Aaron to feel like the dark floor of his soul chamber was shaking like a ripple in the ocean. The evil cackling took away his smile as Aaron could feel the room fill with a grim yet fast-paced melody and a significant amount of anxiety.

"Elizabeth," his mouth whispered. The words rolled over him as a strong wind blew his jet-black hair back. Gregor's breath smelled putrid, like a wind blowing past a landfill or manure patch. The music flowing from Gregor's soul began to fill Aaron with an incredible amount of anxious energy, like an itching within his body. "It's her you want. If so, ask these people to help you go find her."

The itching feeling...Aaron recognized it.

It was the feeling that he was desperately missing something. Something was wrong. Something was off. There was a missing piece in the puzzle of his being that Gregor wasn't creating it. He was merely reawakening the sensation. That sensation was something Aaron had been desperately trying to suppress ever since his friends and family were out of his life.

They did say anything. Aaron thought. And I DID help them.

Maybe I do deserve a reward…

"Aaron, don't listen to him!" Helena said. "That would only jeopardize these peoples' safety! Anytime they go to the surface or even move further into the bowels of Seren, Fulir could catch them! More than a hundred people live here! You can't usurp their way of life just on the chance they could find Elizabeth!"

He paused, unsure of what to say. Concern etched into Helena's expression.

"So," Aaron said. "What you're saying is... there's a chance they could help get her back?"

"Aaron, that's not the point!" Helena shouted. "That will-!"

"It's true."

Aaron looked up to see Owen shaking his head.

"They can help you find Elizabeth," he said. "Considering that the underground fugitives have massive amounts of information passed down from generation to generation of where Fulir headquarters are, where each tunnel within Seren leads, and how to avoid detection from Fulir, they could very much help track down your friend."

A spark of hope resonated within Aaron.

"Really?" he asked.

"He's just tricking you!" Helena said. "Owen doesn't want to help you! He wants you to go to the surface so Fulir can take back the last of their rebels and the five Access Armors! It's a trap that-!"

"Elizabeth is likely in one of the Fulir headquarters not far from Elm City," Owen said. "There's a big one in Orange Grove where technicians turn captured humans into changeling soldiers. The chances they sent her there are very high."

Aaron couldn't help but think that the possibility of getting Elizabeth back was enticing. If he took her back, he could prove that everything about these aliens and them secretly controlling the world would be irrefutable if he transformed in front of her. Heck, it could even work for his other friends and family.

For a moment, Aaron thought the erasing of memories Fulir could do would keep them apart forever, but he then realized those memories weren't completely gone. Old memories from their former lives resurfaced as dreams, as evidenced by Aaron's Dream last night. If he could get them to remember those old dreams…

"That place is heavily guarded!" Helena said. "Don't go there! It's a minefield if you attempt to set foot anywhere NEAR it! And the idea of pieces of their old lives reappearing as dreams is too far-fetched a plan! No guarantee could work! Aaron, listen to me. I know you feel sad about your family and friends, and anyone would be! But I also know you're a good person and would never want anything bad to happen to innocents! You need to-!"

"Aaron," Owen said. "Remember what I showed you. You put your friends and family above everyone else. THAT is your true nature. Not that of a protector of humankind. It is who you are to choose your loved ones above strangers."

"YES," Gregor said. "It is in your true nature to do the selfish thing. You cannot choose otherwise. It's who you REALLY are."

"That's not true," Helena said. "That's what separates sentient beings from animals. The former CAN choose."

"Enough talk," Gregor said. "Let us witness the boy's decision without further prompting. I like to view my entertainment with minimal interference."

"You tempt your entertainment," Helena said. "That is great interference."

"Hmm," Gregor said. "Maybe so."

Aaron hung his head in shame.

"It's..." Aaron asked. "Who am I? To be selfish?"

Their words disturbed him. It was irrefutable that Owen had shown him at least partially truthful knowledge about a side of himself Aaron would not like to know about. It was no longer a question of whether or not he would sacrifice others for his loved ones. The fact that he seriously considered asking Thomas to help him get Elizabeth was proof enough. But did that mean Aaron couldn't go against that nature?

Am I doomed to fall prey to my nature? He wondered. Or can I break free just enough to do the right thing?

He shook his head.

What am I saying?! Aaron asked. These people are practically begging me to take advantage of them! They're asking me to get a reward! I can't live without at least one of my friends or family! I HAVE to get Elizabeth back! She can't become a soldier. She's far too delicate for it.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

No. Aaron thought. If Thomas or the others go after my friends with me, it will only draw attention to them. They could get killed, and the remnant village could be left without a leader and lose their best warriors. And all because I chose to be selfish.

Pain erupted in his stomach. It was as though someone had stuck a sharp fork into his chest and twisted it slowly. Anxiety continued to rush him as the thought of never seeing Elizabeth again gave him physical agony. As this sensation plagued his soul, the music he could feel reverberated from the ground upward into his body and grew in intensity.

I have made my decision. Aaron thought. The people here have suffered enough. I will not subject them to anything worse.

"Good. Aaron," Helena said. "Very good. You made the right decision."

"You're going to let her get away?" Gregor asked. "The girl was SO close to being yours. You didn't even have a year to wait before she was of legal age, and you'll let her slip through your fingers?"

Aaron scowled as he laughed.

"Yes," he said. "This IS savory. Like well-seasoned meat. Your agony, your despair, it's quite a work of art. It's so human. So authentic."

The itching began filling him. The music started to intensify, making it feel like worms were crawling beneath his skin. Any thought he had of Elizabeth made the sensation worse.

"Shut up!" Aaron yelled.

"Aaron," Gregor said. "Feel honored. Most human beings will not go through such a rollercoaster of emotions. They will never know the pleasure of being a good story. All they will know is the entertainment of WATCHING human characters in stories. But YOU...you will be honored to be one of those stories they will like to watch. And that drama is precisely what we humans like to see in others. We want authentic experiences but don't want to go through them for fear of our safety. And you will-"

"Shut up!" Aaron yelled.

With all his will, he pushed against the music beneath him. At first, it didn't work until he felt another choice aiding him. He turned back to find the wall of water Helena's face was atop was rippling wildly across the surface, indicating she was exerting her will.

"You will not fight this battle alone," she said. "I promise."

They began to subdue the fiendish former wielder with their combined wills. The sound stopped, and he turned around to glare at Gregor. The man with holes in his face smiled while his red eyes were awash in pleasure. He mentally forced the wall connected to Gregor's face to recede. His face slowly drew back into the darkness, his cackling lips and a sickening smile never leaving his face.

"You may have avoided showing your true nature now," he said. "But this only confirms what I believed about you. Just as you barely managed to cover up the eruption of your anger, frustration, and desire this time, its constant repeat will wear you down."

His last laugh could be heard as his mouth finally disappeared within the wall of pure blackness.

"I've seen it all before," he finished.

After forcibly removing Gregor from his presence, Thomas, Luis, and Akemi still looked at him with gratitude while the young man himself was on the brink of collapse. He was glad to help these desperate people but hid his eyes from them. Aaron's face would be little more than a mask of pain.

Goodbye Elizabeth. He thought. I love you. I hope wherever you are, you're happy.

The otherwise mostly quiet atmosphere around them broke out into screams. Aaron and the other armor wielders turned to the right to find the yelling in fear was confirmed. It also wasn't just one person who was screaming but many. Sounds of yelling and fighting broke out soon afterward. They all exchanged worried glances before rushing to the left, where the yelling was coming from. Once they arrived at the village's west side, a sight of horror had swept over much of it.

Changelings were snatching the people of the remnant village up left and right. Most of the changelings shoved humans into weird metallic boxes. The changelings held the silvery, gray crates by curved indentions carved into their outer frame, and, despite looking heavy, none of the creatures seemed to have trouble carrying them.

No matter how many people the changelings threw inside, the boxes never seemed full. The monsters would take hold of a human being that ran past them and quickly throw them into the opening in the box that was as big as a small apartment building. For some reason that Aaron couldn't decipher, he saw none attempting to escape. The closer he looked, Aaron could find NOTHING inside the boxes. The changelings of the remnant village were fighting back, but it was obvious that there were more enemy soldiers than the town's defenders.

And changelings were not the only things capturing people. A man in a familiar suit of Armor that looked like it consisted of silver reptile scales was clamping down on people with his dragon heads for hands. The mouths of the vicious creature would bite down on a person's shoulder before being unceremoniously thrown into a box. The eyepiece of transparent material hid his piercing gaze, but Aaron still shrunk back in fear.

"Sir Kyle!" Owen said. "To think I thought he'd never find you!"

"The Dragon Armor!" Akemi yelled. "Why-Why-?"

"That traitor," Thomas seethed. "Come back to finish the job, I see."

But he wasn't the only one with Access Armor. Another three wielders were grabbing people left and right. A person coated in yellow sword-like edges that ran along their arms and legs and layered their chest conjured swords from their palms that reached to the people around them and speared them through. However, these blades didn't inhibit or injure them, as the victims didn't shout or hunch over in pain. The wielder of the bladed Armor then tossed the victim inside a metal box.

Another two armor users were fighting Kaitlyn in her Volcanic Armor. One was decked out in gemstones of many colors, occasionally separating those gems from their body as projectiles for them to melt when touching the lava that circulated her body. Rows of human teeth encased another armor user, giving her more trouble. The enamel did not melt when the user punched and kicked the river of magma surrounding Kaitlyn.

"Aaron, this is bad!" Helena said. "It appears they followed you here."

"How is that even possible?!" Aaron yelled. "Seren recognized me as its own body, so it didn't sense any foreign object within it! If they knew where I was, why didn't the changelings attack me while I was within Seren?!"

"They may not have known where you were," Helena said. "But they could have investigated the area thoroughly enough to determine WHERE exactly you might have gone. You couldn't have gone far since you don't have access to the transports and stumbled upon this village by accident."

He looked down before his fists began clenching up out of anger.

So I'm the reason Fulir discovered these people. Aaron thought. And brought along a small army to take me down.

"Yes," Gregor said. "Anger. That's right. You have a right to feel mad. Now's your time to lash out."

"Aaron," Owen said. "You need to understand that they're not hurting these people. Fulir created your species for this. Everything you are serves a higher purpose-"

"Shut up!" Aaron cried.

All he could see for a moment was red, his rage blinding him. Everything in him wanted to do nothing more than bash into a bloody paste everything in sight. The idea that HE was the cause of this already suffering people's misfortune was too much for him, and the only solution he could think of was killing these invaders.

But then I'll give in to Gregor's wants. He thought. He'll get what he wanted out of me. I will fight for others, but I still refuse to kill.

"Aaron," Helena said. "Don't be afraid to maim or cut off limbs. Changelings grow them back once they return to their status as humans."

"Understood," he replied.

That helped Aaron calm down as he decided to fight with the resolve not to kill anybody. Just as he decided to rush forward, he saw Thomas standing beside him begin to transform. Yellow skin tissue began to grow along his body before golden fur wrapped around his body. His hands and feet sprouted silver claws before a mane of hair appeared from around his head. Behind his head sprung up a lion's jaw before his face became covered by transparent feline fangs. When Thomas fully put on his Access Armor, it reminded Aaron of the skinned carcass of the mighty lion Hercules wore in Greek myth.

"The Lion Armor," Owen said. "It was an Access Armor stolen from Fulir soon after they created Earth and humanity. I heard rumors that the Seshi clan fugitives owned it."

Akemi and Luis transformed as well. Akemi's beautiful assortment of pink feathers wrapped around her body, and four wings that spanned twenty feet in length sprouted from her body. A large, golden beak grew over her mouth. Her hands and feet morphed into golden talons while feathers encased her face except for her eyes.

Blue strips of what looked like sky-colored linen wrapped around Luis's body. Unlike most other Access Armors with places where eyes could be visible, Luis had no such thing making Aaron wonder how he could see. When his transformation was complete, he looked exactly like an Egyptian mummy spray painted light blue.

"The Feather Armor and the Suffocation Armor," Owen said.

"Those Armor have also been missing. To think you fugitives have leeched off us for so long."

"Go!" Thomas ordered. "If you destroy the capture crates, you'll set those inside free! Fight to your last breath! This is the last Remnant Village, so we cannot let it fall!"

The four of them rushed forward. While Akemi and Thomas ran toward the enemy armor wielders, Aaron and Luis headed toward the Changelings, who were capturing most human beings.

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The person in the Enamel Armor was giving Kaitlyn a run for her money. For some reason, the teeth that surrounded the person were so heat resistant that when punching into her current of lava, they were only slightly burnt. Before Akemi stepped in, Kaitlyn was on her knees, clearly weakened by the blows.

"Aim your feathers between the teeth that compose it," Derick said in her soul chamber. The dark-skinned man's face pressed against a wall of red flames that were tall enough to form a wall of her room. "The Enamel Armor may be amongst the densest Access Armors in existence, but the gaps between the teeth are enough that your feathers will slip right through."

"As always, you've been a big help," Akemi said.

"I hate them more than you could ever know," Derick said.

Akemi willed some pink feathers along her arm to stick straight up before launching them at the Enamel Armor user. Accurately honed from countless battles, the stiffened projectiles slipped between the narrow spaces of each tooth that formed the Armor. They mostly hit the right rib cage and arm of the wielder.

After striking them with the arrow-like down, they slumped over with red blood gushing from their body. With their movement slowed, Akemi took the chance to grow new feathers to replace the ones she separated from her body. Afterward, Akemi flapped the four wings with a great deal of force. The resulting wind was strong enough and concentrated enough to blow the Enamel Armor user back and further drive the pink feathers protruding from their skin deeper into them.

After crashing into a manus house, they were dead with blood running from their body and lying still against the crumpled building.

However, Kaitlyn was still too hurt to move from her position on the ground, and the Gem Armor wielder's attention turned to Akemi. Since the lava burned away many of the gemstones, Akemi felt confident she could win.

However, just as she stiffened more feathers along her arms to prepare to launch them at her new opponent, the Armor wielder did something unexpected. They started detaching gems along their body and throwing them to the squishy floor of blue flesh at their feet. Upon attaching to the ground, they began to sparkle like tiny stars.

There were more than two dozen in total.

When Akemi threw the feathers at her opponent, the Armor jumped onto a gemstone attached to the ground. With a speed that was blinding to witness, they leaped from one stone to another with a quickness Akemi had never seen in another Armor user besides herself. Just as the Armor user jumped onto the gemstone closest to her, she barely flapped her four wings backward to avoid a punch.

"I don't get it!" Akemi said to Derrick. "I've never known a faster Armor user than myself!"

"The Gem Armor has a property to increase both its strength and speed by stepping on gemstones it places on the ground threefold," Derrick explained. "It makes up for its prolonged regenerative ability this way. Considering the Feather Armor is among the weaker Armors regarding strength and durability enhancement, you may not survive. It disgusts me to say this as I wish death upon every Fulir operative."

Akemi dodged another punch from the Armor wielder before finding that she had crashed into a fruit-bearing tree. She cried in frustration before barely avoiding a blow that split the tree in half like a twig. Akemi then flapped her wings to get airborne, the Gem Armor user looking up at her. She flapped her wings to direct a strong gust at the wielder, but they had already countered. They took a gemstone from the stomach and enlarged it to form a purple, spade-shaped crystal that shielded them from the wind. This frustrated Akemi to no end.

I could stay up here and avoid any chance of dying. Akemi thought. But I couldn't fight if I did that.

"Kill them," Derrick said. "Even if you lose your life in the process, don't hesitate to kill them."

Akemi hesitated. She knew Derrick's urge to destroy every last piece of the Fulir army was the most defining aspect of his being, but she wasn't sure if that was best in this situation. After all, why continue if she died without winning this battle?

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While wearing the Suffocation Armor, Luis couldn't "see" in the traditional sense. He had no sight to speak of or hearing, for that matter. His Armor radically altered the way Luis sensed his environment. He could sense the most minute of wind currents and felt the pressure foreign objects exerted on both land and through the air around him. He could "see" even better than a human. Luis could even perceive a broader range of colors through his Armor that normal human perception could never imagine seeing.

The brown-scaled, reptilian changeling ran towards Luis on its muscular legs as he did the same, its lizard-like maw opening and closing and whip-thin tail waving in the air. However, when they crashed into one another, the creature was disturbed to find there was practically nobody to run into. No human form was visible beneath the bandage-like strips. The coat of bandages was a hollow vessel.

This was since after he put on his Armor, the cloth of his Armor held his organic tissue and consciousness as opposed to the way most Armor surrounded their wielder. Upon the two making contact, the blue strips of cloth that contained his mind and body began wrapping around the reptilian changeling to mummify them. After that, Luis started to will the Armor to stab into the changeling until the linen-like material interconnected with the monster's central nervous system.

"Now," Luis said into the changeling's being. "You are my puppet."

On his command, the reptilian changeling turned around and charged at its comrades. One avian changeling taking humans and dumping them into the capture crates was surprised at the sight of his now embalmed ally attacking him. While the winged creature could have flown off at any moment, it was temporarily confused to see a friend attacking it, which allowed Luis to take some of the blue strips of cloth from his mummified victim and attach it to his new target.

As Luis only needed some of the blue cloth to wrap around one of his targets for puppeteering, he willed some of the blue strips to unwrap from the reptile's shoulders and chest and then surround the bird changeling's neck. After wrapping around the neck and part of its head, he dug deep into its skin and connected it to its nervous system. Now it was under his control.

One bony, skeletal changeling approached the changelings that Luis had taken control of, attempting to attack before Luis unwrapped more linen-like strips from the reptile changeling and wrapped them around its lengthy and tall back. The strips of cloth once again penetrated its skin and attached to the monster's nervous system. Luis was at his limit with three changelings at his command, but he was confident in their fighting abilities.