Tides Of Protomis XXIX-
The Floating City
Nighttime over the Caribbean, the moonlight reflected over the Crisp blue waters. Though, overpowering that, and the sound of the waves. Were the hum of jet engines, and the light from the front of two vessels that flew overhead. Kazimir’s ship, and the Soryu moved in tandem over the sea. As it normally would be, Kazimir sat within the pilot’s seat. Not trusting anyone else to pilot his creation, understandably, considering that nobody there knew how to operate it. Alarick sat in the co-pilot’s seat, looking outside through the window. Zhao sat at the back of the ship, his sheathed sword laying on his shoulder. Jirou sat on the left bench, his hands in his pockets, and eyes closed. Alarick looked over his shoulder, his gaze moving between them all.
“So… I’m guessing we’ll keep hunting after we get back to Yamato.”
Arctaius turned to him, nodding.
“Yeah… It’s best for us to get to their bases as quickly as possible, Never know what they’ll try to pull next.”
Asami perked up, looking directly at him... She wasn’t too happy about that stunt, nor that whole situation, yet, here he was once more, ready to throw himself at some enemies he didn’t know anything about?! She’d seen the results of that three times over now… Perhaps pushing so hard after forming a chasm between them wasn’t the best idea, but, even so, at this point, there was a question that ran through her head quite a bit. And it had returned once again.
“Why can’t we just go back to how it used to be…”
She remembered it like yesterday. 2012, their first year of middle school. It was your average day in Shima. Arctaius was his normal self, rather than sitting in class, standing in an alleyway between two restaurants, which had been his normal place to linger around for years now. His arms crossed, and eyes closed. Unbeknownst to him, however, Asami began a quick approach, a bright smile on her face. It was only as he heard her shoes clamor on the concrete sidewalk, that he opened his eyes, taking note of her.
“Taius… I wanted to ask you something.”
Arctaius stood up straight, as he focused his gaze on her. It wasn’t uncommon to see her like this, but he took note of her fidgeting, much to his confusion, given his raised eyebrow.
“Look, this new movie came out. I was gonna go with Kasumi and Megumi, but they couldn’t make it. Would you… Come see it with me?” She questioned.
Thinking nothing of it, the boy shrugged, simply responding with a nod. That much made her feel giddy on the inside, even if it didn’t show all that much, at the least.
Though he was still his withdrawn self, he always made time for her and vice versa. If he wasn’t alone, or with the other’s, he was with her… These memories were a far cry from the situation they found themselves in now. Even before the inferno. The abrasive act she’d begun to adopt was never something she liked very much. She wanted, no, she NEEDED to reconnect with him. And that wasn’t something she could do if he... Her thoughts stopped there, the possibility of THAT was something she didn’t even want to think about. She would nip this in the bud now. She began scooting closer to him.
“Oh no, They might be able to go hunting for them, You aren’t... I’ve had to cover for you all this time!”
Arctaius’ gaze shot toward her as he heard that.
“It's not like I asked for you to cover for me. It wouldn't have been a surprise that I wasn't here. You honestly could have just left it at that.”
Asami leaned forward.
“The fact that you know that isn't a good thing!!”
As Arctaius opened his mouth to speak, he was interrupted by a ringing sound. Something Arctaius realized was his holo-phone. He grabbed it from his pocket, and, the display popped up. The name “Tsumotsu Koeda” Was Displayed. Arctaius tapped the display, accepting the call.
“What is it…”
For a moment, it was silence, as Tsumotsu leaned back into his seat.
“I talked to Premier green… The Kaemerge have moved out of their former bases, they were all abandoned…”
Arctaius’ eyes widened in surprise as he heard these words.
“What?!”
Zhao’s gaze fell to the floor below him.
“That can’t be.” He mumbled.
Alarick gritted his teeth, balling his fists. His eyes narrowed as he slammed his fist onto the dashboard in his rage. Though the ship shook, the dashboard, luckily, did not break.
“Dammit!! Back to square one!” Alarick yelled.
Jirou Shook his head.
“And here I was thinking that we could end this quickly… “
Elsewhere, Zhao put his hand on his chin.
“I suppose after what happened in Niopolis and Kingston, they decided it was time to get moving.” He offered.
“Exactly. We don't have any specifics, we just know that they're gone. Other than this fact, they've been able to move undetected for a while now, as you all know... Meaning that some officials in the world's governments may be collaborating with them.“
Arctaius was silent. He said nothing for quite a bit. Even so, one could sense that his mood had changed. Calm on the surface, but seething just under that... Eventually, Tsumotsu broke the silence, as he spoke once more.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“This may not be something you all are happy with, that much, I understand… We’ll be stopping in Shuishi so I can resupply the Soryu. Try to cool down while we’re there.”
Shisui, a name meaning water city. While a bit basic, the name got the point across. A floating city created by use of an artificial island, founded some time ago. Self Governing, with a unique mix of cultures. Along with architecture that differed from the norm. In normal circumstances, perhaps they’d have been a bit excited, but. This elicited little response from them all. Arctaius the only one speaking out. “Thanks for the update. We'll use this information as best as we can.”
Arctaius than tapped the display, closing it out. His eyes fell to the floor, as the anger continued to flow through him… For a few moments, he sat immoble, until, his brows furrowed, and his face turned into a grimace. He slammed his fist on the wall- the ship shook as a result... He was pissed, that was for sure… How could he have not seen this coming?!
“Bastards… Who the hell would work with the Kaemerge... Just what is their end goal?! If they're that involved with them, there's no possible way they wouldn't know of their deeds by now!!”
Just beside him, Asami snapped out of her stupor, inching closer to Arctaius once more... She eyed Arctaius’ arm, before wrapping hers around his.
“Corde… Calm down- I get that your angered but- that's no reason to-”
Her statement was left unfinished, as Arctaius yanked his arm away, as his head shot over to her. Something that made her recoil.
“Calm Down, Calm down?! Who are you to tell me to calm down… You didn't have your family ripped from you by those bastards…”
Now, the ship was dead silent. Apparently, it was not something they exactly disagreed with. Asami pulled back, as her eyes went to the ground. It was then that she remembered her father’s words.
“I'm not the best at things like this… but this is my own suggestion- if you really want him to be safe that much… Just make sure he knows it. He's a bit of a wild spirit, to say the least, so he will resist quite a bit. But I suppose that's what you'd expect from somebody like him. He's been like that since you all were kids after all.”
Asami looked back at the scowling man, keeping her gaze on him. Seemingly unbeknownst to him, as he said nothing about it.
“This was what dad was talking about.” She thought.
She closed the distance once more, placing her arms around his once more, something that made him gaze at her once more. Now, the two sat there for a few seconds, continuing this exchange, until Arctaius' expression seemed to soften, as he simply allowed this to continue, before moving his gaze elsewhere.
“In a way, he's right… But that doesn't mean I can't try to help him…”Asami thought.
The silence returned… Kazimir looked over his shoulder. Until he finally decided to break it.
“Well, with that out of the way. We still have the Kaemerge to worry about, you know…”
Beside him, Alarick nodded, leaning back into his seat.
“Let’s get this business in Shisui done quickly. I’d rather not waste more time than we have to. “
Independent City Of Shisui- 8 PM JST.
Underneath the urban sprawl visible to most, was the underbelly of Shisui. Within this area, there lay a number of rooms. Most were dedicated to upkeep of its various systems. Though most would have thought these were located in the large tower that served as the capital building, that only belonged to the city’s bureaucracy. There was a simple reason for that, the possibility of an enemy attack. After all, remaining independent as a single city wasn’t easy. There was one room, however, that differed from all the others. One with a high ceiling, supported by steel beams, that had lines upon lines of flags, depicting an eye. A number of wooden benches, lined with people, stood in front of a podium, placed above. In front of the Podium, was a dark-skinned woman, with a head of sea green hair. Her body was covered by white robes, with a necklace on her neck, with a pendant resembling the eye on the flags. Her presence was mostly unknown to those in the city, save for those who were in this room. And among those few, no, even beyond that, she held a large amount of influence on the city as a whole. This much was given by the looks of adoration on their faces, how their eyes followed her. As well as the chatters that came from some in the crowd. That was, until she waved her hand, causing those within to go silent.
“Millenia ago, Our lord, and his supporters, the great internal circle, came to this planet, came to save humanity from itself. To cleanse it of its sins…”
Now, she began pacing around, as she spoke out once more.
“Even so, they tried to strike him down! Because they could not handle the truth. We see that today, with the villains at the head of the world’s nations. Those demons we call the 4 tides!”
This much gained mummers of agreement from the crowd.. Good, that was a start, now to address their other concerns.
“I know you all may wonder… Why the rest of our people have fled, why must we remain here?”
She paused, throwing her arm out.
“We remain where we are, because Ardam ordained it! We remain where we are, to create the coffers that will arm Ardam’s warriors, as ordered by Uparmiya! Our nation needs us to remain, and for them, we shall do so!” She shouted, throwing her arm out, and making her robes flow behind her, as if they were in the wind.
Her flair for the dramatic clearly worked well, given the cheers that resounded through the room… Aside from her status as a member of a noble family, it was this that kept her in the position of Cleric, and the puller of the strings in the city. The woman known as Nia Okpara. As she found that the service was finished, it did not take long for the occupants to begin filing out. And, with that, she began to descend down the stairs that lead to the podium, ready to make her way home. She faced a dimly lit hallway, which led to her personal study. The bright lights of the previous room began to fade, as she made her way further in…
This continued, until she found herself alone. Or at least, that’s how it seemed. Soon enough, the woman began to take note of another source of light, two yellow orbs… The source was somebody she recognized, no doubt. As she got closer, she saw his features. A head of straight white hair that reached his shoulders, which were draped in a rather extravagant coat. Though she knew him, the woman began walking past him. The man soon followed.
“Resol Lavarit… Why are you here?” Nia questioned.
“Straight to business, Huh… You’re of a high status as well, aren’t you? Ever heard of decorum, Okpara?”
This much gained a lukewarm response, her expression unchanged.
“Fine, Fine… Point is, I came to inform you. The four tides have apparently docked their ship in the city, that one built by the russian… Kazimir Rhuskov, I think his name was?”
This made her eyes widen, as her gaze shot over her shoulder, her feet stopping where they were. This certainly wasn’t good, especially with how unprepared they were.
“What?! Have they come for an attack?”
“Don’t think so… They don’t even know that we’re here. Sides’, all we have to do is observe them. Orders from up top, His excellency's orders.”
That much was a relief. Hopefully they didn’t poke around too much… Though, to that end, there was only one thing to do.
“I’ll be helping with the observation. Make sure all our personnel are on the job… I’m well aware that some of us like to goof off…” As she trailed off, she eyed the Lavarit for emphasis. He waved his hands dismissively.
“Alright, Alright.. I can get serious too, You know.” The man responded, turning on his heel, and beginning to move in the other direction. The clamor of his boots on the tiled floors became more and more distant, until Nia was sure she was alone. She let out a sigh, as she brought her hands to her neck, clasping them over the pendant on her necklace.
“Protect us, Ardam…” She mumbled.
In the meanwhile, the subjects of their conversation found themselves above the city, the bright lights of the metropolis, the only sign of civilization for miles. The spires that sprung up from the Honeycombed sections were more organic, and rounded. Along with that, they were more densely packed, located only in the very center of the structure. Eventually, they would land on a helipad that lay on the outskirts of the city. The hum of the engines of the Soryu, and Kazimir’s ship alike began to become quieter as they touched down. The cargo bay doors at the back of Kazimir’s ship opened, with the same happening to those at the bottom of the Soryu.
Eventually, the Tides, Jirou, and Asami, met with Shinto, Akashi, and Yudei. All the while, a certain man seemed to fade into the shadows, as per usual, off to confirm the orders he’d made. Leaving the group of youths alone. As they stared off into the distance, Yudei broke the silence between them.
“Man, it’s a shame we aren’t gonna stay that long… I think we could have some fun here.”
Have some fun, huh… That was a thought that truly hadn’t crossed their minds. Especially given how much had happened just shy of a week. Eventually,Shinto nodded, stepping in front of them.
“Indeed. It certainly is profound how such a small entity manages to have so much economic power, is it not? I only hope that I can study it more.”
“Talking like that again? I’m not even sure that words means what you think it does…” Akashi responded.
Arctaius glanced at Akashi as he spoke, before returning his comment.
“I’m surprised you would know that…”
“Huh?! Just what is that supposed to mean?!” He yelled, pointing at the youth.
“It seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it?” A feminine voice cut in… Surprisingly, from Asami herself. Considering she barely got involved in their antics, after all. As Ketamura tried to defend his honor, Arctaius simply cracked a smile at this as he observed. The same being said for the rest of their group. Eventually, however, Jirou stepped forward, putting his hand on Arctaius’ shoulder.
“This is a cool city, in all, I’ll give you that… But, we have more important things to worry about. So let’s start talking about our next fight…” Jirou commented with a smirk. Arctaius glanced over his shoulder before speaking out once again.
“Alright then… After we get back to Yamato, let’s head to the dome.” Arctaius agreed.
Asami sputtered as she heard this exchange take place.
“Do you all love fighting that much?! You just raided a base! how much more do you need?” She questioned. Arctaius simply shrugged at this. Something that gained a sigh from Asami. She found herself questioning why she was surprised. Eventually, Arctaius turned on his heel, beginning to walk away from the group.
“Not like I’m only gonna fight Hashimoto. I’ve been waiting to get home so I could-...” Arctaius began to trail off as he remembered an important fact. One that could easily destroy his plans. Something that was soon followed by his smile disappearing. Zhao looked up, focusing his gaze on the youth, with a raised eyebrow.
“ Get home so you could what?”
Arctaius placed his hand on his forehead.
“I Just remembered… My apartment building was destroyed when I fought that Yuutaro guy…So I can't go home- or do what I planned…” Though he didn’t vocalize it, his expression said more than enough.
To Be Continued
Uparmiya- Member Of Ardam’s Inner circle, who, within the Ardamite religion, serves as a bringer of Prosperity.
(Not sure about this one. Even after rewriting and adding more. I still feel as if that scene with Arctaius was a bit too Angsty.. I don't know though, Give me your opinions.)