Linux kept his gaze on them. He refused to show signs of cowardice or regret right after giving out his suggestion. He stood straight and clenched his fists, tapping into confidence that was buried inside of a well deep within his soul. His feet were glued to the ground and he dared for them to refuse him.

Kauss had no clue what to say. The proposal had blindsided him, making him speechless. Helona and Killian were the same as him, not knowing how to even answer that. So instead, they tried to come up with theories as to why he would throw his own life away. But before they could come up with anything, they heard the cabinet slide at the top of the stairs. Startled, everyone looked at the door. The sound of footsteps could be heard on the other side.

“Linux!” A kid yelled. “You here.”

The kid sounded like he was on the verge of tears, but holding everything together from a single thread. Kauss and the others looked everywhere, trying to find a place to hide. Linux, thinking quickly, grabbed some Gaxtex from a table nearby. He gave one to each of them and explained what they did. They nodded and went to hide as Linux approached the door.

He opened it, and saw the kid, Zavin Herrowt, the grandson of the dead man he brought back home. His eyes were red and showed signs of excessive crying. Why he was here, Linux had no clue, but he had to get him out as quickly as possible. Before he could, the boy had already ran past him and into the lab.

“Wow,” Zavin said. “The place looks just as cool since when I got my Gaxtex.”

“That was only a month ago.” He had just turned ten recently, and kids were required to get their Gaxtex shields when on their birthday. However, they weren’t allowed to have a Gaxtex weapon until they became adults.

“What are you doing here?” Linux asked, looking around the room.

There was no sign of Kauss or the others, so it looked like his plan worked. He just had to keep Zavin on a leash, then everything will be fine. Zavin looked under a table and saw a loose piece of metal on the ground. He picked it up and put it back on the table, hoping to be seen as responsible.

Zavin looked at Linux, and with the best puppy dog eyes he could conjure, he got on his knees and begged. “Can I be your apprentice!”

Linux sighed and looked at the boy. He had begun crying again, pleading for him to accept the offer. Just moments ago, he was pleading for someone else. Now he was having to deal with this.

“Didn’t you just see what happened to your grandpa.” Linux said. “Why don’t you head back and prepare for the funeral.”

“You don’t understand. I want to kill the thing that killed him. Why won’t you let me?”

“Easy. You’re ten years old and Tetsons eat kids like you as a snack. I know you’re angry, but this isn’t the time for childish antics.”

Zavin didn’t calm down an inch. He pleaded even more and louder than the last time. He began repeating himself, saying please over and over, driving his ears insane. There had to be a way to shut him up somehow, and that’s when he looked at the egg-shaped Gaxtex sitting by its lonesome. An idea popped into his head.

“I got something for you.” Linux said.

Zavin quieted and looked at Linux, eyes still watering. Linux motioned him to follow, and he got off his knees as they approached the Gaxtex. The hum grew louder as they approached, and the lightning cast enough light to make their faces glow green. Zavin couldn’t look away from the strange Gaxtex since he’s never seen one like it before.

“What is this?” Zavin asked with wonder in his voice.

“It’s a Gaxtex weapon.” Linux explained. He grabbed the top of the Gaxtex and leaned it down so they could see the top. He opened the top and inside of it were plenty of daggers that were made up of green, glowing metal. “The weapon uses the properties of Io-Grade and Po-Grade to make the daggers. As long as there are energy capsules in the device, it can infinitely make new daggers.”

“Thats so cool.” Zavin grabbed a dagger from the Gaxtex and examined it. Suddenly, the knife blew up in a wave of green electricity. He dropped it as the metal turned back to a normal silver.

“There is one problem with it.” Linux said. “It overheats way too frequently. If it overheats too much, it’ll blow and be unusable.” He looked down at Zavin. “I want you to go around town and find anything that can help with cooling it off.”

Zavin grinned and laughed as he was given a chance to prove himself. If he could figure out how to cool it off, then he’d be taken in as an apprentice and can avenge his grandpa. With gusto, he ran off to find the thing he needed. He didn’t know what he needed to look for, but if it’s out there, then he will find it.

As Linux heard the cabinet close back in on itself, he sighed. With that, he should have at least a few days of privacy. Hopefully enough time for him to already be off this floor. He took out three buttons from his pocket and pressed them. As if by magic, three brown electrical traps appeared under the tables. The lightning grew smaller and smaller until the people inside were completely visible.

“How was it?” Linux asked.

“Tingly.” Killian said.

He could still feel the pinpricks of electricity hit his skin. It wasn’t painful, but it made him want to itch like crazy. Now that he was free, he obliged his instincts and began scratching the side of his neck, leaving red scratch marks behind.

“So,” Helona spoke up. “If you want to complete that, why do you want to come with us?”

Linux sighed and decided now was the best time to spill the beans on what he’s been planning ever since he introduced himself. It didn’t matter if they knew now.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

“I just want to finish what my Dad started.” He explained. “He started that when I was ten. It was nearly complete; all he needed to do was solve the overheating problem. However, the solution wasn’t easy to get.”

“And why is that?” Kauss asked.

“He needed an organ from a Tetson. The organ was just above its throat, and it would release a gas that helped ignite its fire, and cool its throat afterward. He needed the coolent part of the organ, so he tried to get the council to help him with his efforts.”

Linux approached the Gaxtex, lost in thought. He was too far gone to stop talking now. He’s kept all his feelings about those few days to himself so long that it built up in him like water in a pot. As he talked, he boiled over, knocking the lid off his inhibitions.

“They denied his request. The Tetson’s weren’t getting enough food to sustain themselves anymore and were dying out slowly and they wanted to keep it that way. Better to let them kill themselves off rather than waste people’s lives to get a useless, fucking organ. Well, if you just fucking went, then Dad didn’t have to do it himself and get chopped in half!”

Linux’s voice rose as he began to get more agitated from his recounting of the event. In a fit of unrelenting anger, he kicked a nearby table leg, pouring metal and Gaxtex onto the floor. They crashed, and the noise echoed around the room. He didn’t stop just from that, however. In fact, it seemed he was getting even angrier.

“Fuck that!” Linux yelled, losing the last of his composure. “Didn’t they see that if Dad completed this, and we killed enough Tetsons then we could have infinite energy? We wouldn’t even need to leave the towns anymore. But now there are, like what, three of the bastards left! Thats barely enough to power a single house!”

He kicked the table again, breaking it this time. As the parts came down, he finally got back under control. He groaned and sat himself on the floor, dumbfounded that he would let himself get that angry. He always tried to keep himself as composed as possible, but there were times when he broke, and he always hated those moments. Covering his face, he sat staring at the floor as Kauss and the others looked down on him in pity.

They looked at each other, wondering what they were going to do. Kauss pointed upstairs, and they nodded. They headed up the stairs as Linux let out all his feelings on the floor. They could hear him talking to himself angrily again, as if he were in a battle with a character in his head. When they returned to the bedroom, they looked at each other, wondering how to start the discussion.

“I don’t think he should come.” Helona said plainly.

“Why?” Kauss asked.

“Because he’d just be in the way. Yeah, he knows a lot, but we can learn all that stuff on the way up. Killian?”

Killian looked over at them, shrugging his shoulders. “Why not. I think it’ll be cool.”

Helona sighed and looked toward Kauss. He was the deciding factor in whether or not they let him come with them. He went over the events that had just transpired. Linux wanted them to help him before leaving all together. If it was with anything else, he might’ve considered, but he wanted to tackle the Tetson. That beast broke Linux’s spine with a simple flick of its tail. Fighting that thing wasn’t going to end pretty.

In any other circumstance, he would’ve said no straight off the bat. However, there was one thing that made him reconsider. Linux knew things about his Mom. It may be secondhand, but he had information on her. What did she say when she was here? Did she ever speak about him? He weighed those options in his mind as carefully as possible.

Killian stood up and walked over to the cabinet. “I’m going down. Just come down here when you decide.” Killian went down the stairs, leaving them the task of deciding the future of one sad man.

----------------------------------------

Killian entered the lab and closed the door. Linux was recomposed, piling the Gaxtex to one side of the room. When Killian shut the door, Linux looked over and called him in. He went up to the weapons table and touched the gauntlets. They were rough under his finger and he could feel the power that could be unleashed if used by the right person.

“What did you decide?” Linux asked.

Killian shrugged. “Don’t know yet. If it makes you feel better, I think you’re okay to climb with us.”

Linux laughed under his breath. “But it doesn’t matter what you think if they both say no, right?”

“Pretty much.” Killian picked up one of the gauntlets and unsnapped the latches on the straps so he could fit his hand through. Surprisingly, Linux did nothing to stop him.

“So, are you going to force us to help you? You have all the power in your hands. Not only could you actually stand a chance against us, but you can rile the civilians onto us.”

“Depends. Will you kill some while trying to escape?”

Killian didn’t answer that question. If they needed to kill in order to leave, they would, but they wouldn’t do it just because. Killing because someone felt like it was truly the definition of evil. Everyone should need a reason to kill, whether it be self gain, or selfless sacrifice. There had to be a reason, cause then they’ll truly be monsters without one.

Linux sighed and leaned against the wall. He was tired. He was by himself against this world. Ever since he gained his Dad’s title, he tried figuring out alternative solutions to cool the Gaxtex. Each one failed miserably, and he realized he really did need a Tetson. But without council aid, there was no way to do it. He’d even ask townspeople to help him, but that just made them stop coming to him for volunteer work for nearly a year.

He thought he could just force them to do it for him, but now that his back was against the wall, he realized that was impossible. They were good people, and he couldn’t harm someone just for his own gain. He would have done it when they first met, but back then he didn’t know whether they would attack or not. Now, knowing that they were just good people put in an unfortunate situation, he couldn’t bring himself to force them to do anything.

“You want to know something.” Killian said. “You kind of remind me of me.”

“Oh, really.” Linux smiled. “How is that?”

“My Dad died and passed down his responsibilities to me.” Killian put on the final gauntlet on his arm. “The only difference is that you actually want to fulfill it, but that want keeps you trapped.”

He didn’t need to hit the nail even deeper, Linux thought. It was true, though. He saw Killian walk up to him, hand raised. For a second, he thought he was about to be punched until he realized he was just waiting for a handshake. Linux looked at it, not knowing what to do. Hoping he wouldn’t squeeze his hand too hard, he shook it, putting in little effort.

“Even if they refuse, I’ll quickly kill a Tetson for you.”

Linux couldn’t help but scoff. A single man killing a Tetson was impossible. The Gaxtex shields were strong, but they wouldn’t stand against the might of that beast. It wasn’t until he looked at Killian’s serious expression when he realized he wasn’t joking.

“You’re serious?” Linux asked, stupefied. “You think you can take one on your own.”

“You don’t know much about me.” Killian said. Strangely enough, despite his voice being fairly quiet, it seemed like he was so loud his eardrums burst. “Once I get angry, there isn’t anything alive that can stop me.”

His voice rocked Linux’s feet. He didn’t know if he could trust Killian having his hand for the brief moment they were together. Fear washed over him, and Killian’s voice was filled with pure anger. But even though he sounded like he wanted to rip the world in half, there was still some type of sadness and desperation in his tone, as if he never wanted to speak that loud. It didn’t sound natural, almost as if both sides of him were fake.

The door to the lab opened, and the oppressive atmosphere dropped. Killian returned to normal and let go of his hand. Linux didn’t realize it, but his hand was damp with sweat. He was so afraid of whatever Killlian had done that he could see his own reflection in the palm of his hand.

Kauss and Helona walked into the lab. Helona was scratching at her head, while Kauss looked at him with a hopeful determination. Linux already knew what their decision was before they even said it.

“You can climb with us.”