Chapter 22 - Every Day

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2nd of Stronus, 3002

2967 days to the Cataclysm

"Sia, where's Elric," asked Gerard, pacing along the Eirinian shore where the rest of the squad waited for their departure.

"Shirozou Elric is on his way, Gerard," she replied.

"You don't have to say my name at the end of every sentence, you know?"

"I promise to do better, Gerard."

"I ju- whatever! Anyways, link yourself to earpieces of the entire squad. Let them hear everything you say and listen to their requests."

A few seconds passed, and everyone heard a voice in their earpieces that said;

"Hello, good friends of Gerard. I am an AI assistant. Gerard has graciously named me 'Sia.' As per his request, you will hear everything I say, but he also requested me to respond to your commands. I'm afraid I am unable to do that."

"Good friend?" asked Zeke with his eyebrow raised.

"Wait, why can't you listen to us too?" asked Vanessa.

"Yeah, why can't you?" chimed in Gerard.

"My programming only allows me to take commands from two people, Kurokami Gerard and Kurokami Alberich."

"Who the fu-" Zeke tried to say before Vanessa cupped his mouth shut.

"For once in your life, don't be a bitch," she whispered. "It's his brother who died as an infant."

Zeke tried to free himself from Vanessa's grip, but she proved to be too strong for him. A few seconds in of struggling, he gave up and silently nodded. Vanessa let him go and walked away, but not before he gave her an angry glare and scoffed to which Vanessa responded with a smirk.

"Abby? How? Why?" asked the confused Gerard with a shaky voice.

"I do not know, that's just how I was programmed."

"Don't worry, guys," said Isaac. "I'll fix that, anyways, for now, I want to show you guys your new gear, so everyone gather around."

"Yeah, sure," said Gerard, still wanting to know why Sia was programmed for only him and his late brother.

The squad gathered around Isaac, who stood next to a large metal box with an excited smile that ran across his face.

"I think I really outdid myself this time," he said as he opened the box.

"I'm sure you did, now show us already!" squealed Vanessa. "Hey, Lex, aren't you excited too?"

"Uhh, yeah, I guess," replied Alexa.

"Yeah, you're part of the black ops now, you can never technically 'outdo' yourself," scoffed Zeke, rolling his eyes.

Ignoring Zeke's remark, Isaac proceeded to take out seven small capsules and looked. "So there's one for each of you. Hold on, where's Carleton?" he asked, looking around.

"Yeah, exactly! Where's Richards? I still have a score to settle with that disrespectful brat for talking about my family that way!" exclaimed Zeke.

"That's probably why he isn't here," said Alexandria shaking her head.

"That fucking pussy," scoffed Zeke. "Hey, Kurokami, ask Sia where that loser is now."

"Actually, I was gonna ask her, but now that you specifically want to know... I'd rather not."

"I'll deal with you later. Hey you, Guy-Chase," replied Zeke, turning towards Alexander. "Do your personality judging shit and tell me where he could be hiding."

"Hold your horses there," said Alexandria angrily. "My brother's name is Alexander, and you don't order him around!"

"I don't give a shit what your names are. You're Girl-Chase, and he's Guy-Chase. And yes, I 'do' order you around, deal with it."

"You despicable piece of shit!" growled Alexandria, advancing towards Zeke before she was stopped by Alexander.

"It is okay, sister," he said in a calm voice. "Such behavior is a sign of acknowledgment."

"There's no way it is!" retorted Alexandria.

"Yeah, she's right, it isn't. I just need you to tell me where Richards is, and you two can go back to being non-existent," chimed in Zeke.

Alexandria wanted to say something more, but the look in her brother's eyes told her not to. She loosened her stance and stepped back.

"Well, if you say so," said Alexander. "Carleton is scared of you, but he also wants to be included in the squad's activities. So I am assuming he is somewhere around here, listening to us."

"Okay, listen up, Zeke," said Vanessa, grabbing his attention. "I'll tell you where he is, but only if you promise to keep your ego under control, deal?"

"Why would I listen to you, Vanessa?" mocked Zeke.

"Because if you don't do it willingly, I'll make you do it."

"You really, do want to save that loser, eh?" said Zeke, with a smirk across his face. "Well then, sure thing. Tell him to come out of whatever shit hole he's hiding in, and let's get on with the mission already."

"Now that's a good kitty," teased Vanessa. "Okay, Carleton, you can come now."

"Kitty?" thought Zeke with his eyebrows raised. "Did she just call Xaera a kitty?"

The sand a few feet away from the squad fell in on itself and formed a pit from which Carleton rose with his eyes still fixated on Zeke.

"We cool?" he asked cautiously.

"Ask your guardian," scoffed Zeke. He then shifted his attention towards Isaac, much to Carleton's contentment and said;

"Okay, scientist, what do we do with these capsules?"

"Okay, yeah, that was a really unexpected interruption, but sure," he replied. "Place them in your palms and hold them tightly."

The squad followed his instructions. From their closed palms, thousands of tiny particles burst through the crevices between their fingers and formed black trousers and a jacket made from a leather-like material around them.

"Not saying these aren't cool," said Alexandria, pleased with the results. "But, these are the weapons you were referring to?"

"A little patience please," said Isaac proudly. "These are just your attires; the real weapons are here," he said, pointing towards the metal crate resting on the sand. "Go ahead, your names are engraved on them."

The squad proceeded to collect their weapons and stood over the crate, peering inside.

"Aren't these just regular gauntlets, but thinner?" asked Alexa, picking her's up and wearing it.

"Yes, they are, but they come with a catch," replied Isaac. "Activate them."

The squad activated their gauntlets, and it remolded itself in an exoskeleton that was hidden underneath their clothing.

"These are the gauntlet's used by most full-time soldiers. They don't offer as much protection but are far greater in terms of mobility."

"Okay, so the catch is that they're thinner?" asked Alexandria unimpressed.

"No, no. Patience, patience."

"Bitch, you've been saying that since you got your ass here, are you going to show what's special about these or not?!" blurted out Zeke in frustration.

"Woah, chill," replied Isaac. "Okay, now this time, I'm actually going to show what's so cool about these. Fun fact, this is my invention, it's not the usual gear. Anyway, now the sapiocytes of the squad told me what they wanted their Skotono's to look like; Elric wanted a sword, Alexa wanted a scythe, Vanessa wanted 'A double-sided blade in the shape of a circle,' and Carleton wanted a staff. Now you already have those on you, so hold them in your hands and watch the magic happen."

Vanessa, Carleton, and Alexa did what they were told to do and wielded their Skotono's. The moment they did that, their Skotonos melted into a shiny liquid and disappeared underneath their clothing.

"Woah! Where did they go?" exclaimed Vanessa.

"Your Skotonos are now part of your gauntlet!" said Isaac, with an almost palpable tone of pride in his voice.

"That's actually pretty neat!" said Alexandria, lightly patting Isaac so as to not hurt him. "What about us Xenocytes, though?"

"Well, you can still make any weapon you want out of your gauntlet."

"So, basically, you're ripping off my abilities, eh?" scoffed Zeke.

"Well, you're not the only Xenocyte with a silver ability," retaliated Isaac.

"Blah, Blah, Blah," mocked Zeke, imitating a moving mouth with his hand.

"Be a little appreciative," mumbled Isaac before he turned away. He noticed Elric walking towards them from a distance.

"Shirozou Elric has arrived," said Sia.

"Hey Kurokami," said Zeke, turning towards him. "Sia is a true piece of art," he mocked.

Gerard scoffed and asked Elric who just caught up with the squad;

"What took you so long? Isaac-"

"Here was just showing us our new weapons?" interjected Elric.

"What?" asked Gerard, confused.

"That's what you were going to say, right? You were going to say 'Isaac here was just showing us our new weapons'"

"Yeah, I was. How did you know?"

Elric chuckled a bit before he said;

"It may be hard to believe, but I can see into the future."

"Hey, scientist," said Zeke. "Does the military have provisions for people with mental illnesses? Like somewhere along the lines of a-"

"Delusional disorder?" interjected Elric once again, much to the squad's confusion and Zeke annoyance.

"I know you may think I'm crazy," he continued. "But the commander himself told me I am the next archangel. A god-like guy called Vespa gave me his powers."

"Uhh, yeah, scientist," said Zeke. "Let's revisit our earlier conversation about mental disorders."

The squad chuckled at Zeke's remark, including Alexa and Alexander, who usually keep their emotional displays to a minimum, much to Elric's frustration.

"Well, fuck you people!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms to the side in protest until it landed on something soft. He turned around to see what he hit and was terrified to see Randel standing right behind him.

"Why do you keep assaulting me?" he asked.

"I-I di-didn't mean to."

Randel shook his head, and Elric retreated to the squad.

"DAD!" hollered Vanessa. "You were unreachable for two whole weeks without any warning! What's wrong with you?"

"Aww, did my baby daughter miss me?" he teased.

"OBVIOUSLY!"

Randel was thrown off guard by her reply for a second but swiftly got back to his senses.

"Uhh, yeah, that's sweet," he said, dodging his daughter's genuine concern. "Isaac, you said you planned to go in on the dragon as a distraction or something? Walk me through it once again."

"Yes, sir. Will do," replied Isaac. "We go in at night, riding the dragon. Now since Mazaviroc is huge, all the arcanan defenses will be focused on him. In that moment of distraction, Alexander and Alexandria will cover us in shadows, and we drop unnoticed into an isolated area. That's about it. There's no way we can enter Arcanus normally with all our weapons."

"Yeah, that seems like a good plan, so what are you waiting for?"

"Well, for one, I was showing the squad their new weapons, and I was waiting for Mazaviroc to arrive. Ness said she would call him here soon."

"That seems like a good plan, but you can't travel from Eirini to Arcanus on the dragon. He doesn't like carrying strangers for long journeys. Travel to the small reef near Arcanus and use Mazaviroc from there."

"Yes, sir!" said Isaac.

Seconds later, the squad heard a soft whirring sound and a jet ripping through the clouds from a distance. It landed a few meters away, spraying them with sand. Elric anticipated the jet's arrival and jumped to a safe distance, while the others were left begrudgingly dusting the sand out of their clothes, glaring at Randel while they were at it.

"What?" he said. "You should have known to jump away. It's not my fault you've got sand in your clothes."

"Precognition bitches!" exclaimed Elric.

"He's back at that shit again," remarked Zeke.

"Wait, did Elric actually get the ability to see into the future by the Archangel Vespa?" asked Alexa.

"Yes, he did," replied Randel.

"So, the Requiem of creation is real?"

"I've been over this shit with Shirozou, he'll brief you about it on the jet."

Randel walked towards the metal box that had Isaac's equipment in it and picked it up. The entrance to the jet opened, and he tossed the box in.

"You guys, go ahead. I need to have a word with my daughter here," he said.

"You're so going to love the new stuff I made!" said Isaac to Elric as the squad made it's way to the jet.

"Really? I'm dying to see!" replied Elric.

"First, you tell us all about the requiem of creation," said Alexandria.

"It doesn't matter what Randel says, there's no way that fairy tale is true," laughed Zeke.

The squad's banter was masked by the closing of the jet's entrance, and it's subsequent takeoff, leaving Randel alone with his daughter. Mazaviroc crossed the jet at a tremendous pace and landed on the soft sands, giving out a massive roar before he settled down.

The sudden silence that followed, accompanied by the waves crashing against the shore underneath the howling wind, somehow gave Vanessa a sense of bleakness. She looked over to her father, who stared into the horizon with eyes that almost held no expression.

"Dad?" she asked slowly.

"Yes," replied Randel, looking at his daughter with an unadulterated expression of love that Vanessa had never seen before.

"What's on your mind?"

Randel took a long pause before he replied. He had been thinking about this for quite some time now, and he believes he's closer to a decision than he ever was, but still wasn't there yet. Nonetheless, he chose to tell his daughter what was really going on.

"I don't want to be an emperor anymore," he said.

"WHAT!" exclaimed Vanessa. "Why?"

"Because I don't care about the empire any more. I care about myself and the people I love."

"What does that mean?"

"It means... aghh. It's hard for me to say this. I feel like I'm betraying my empire to even think about this but if I don't think about it, I feel like I'm betraying myself."

"Dad, it's just me. You don't need any filters. Just say what's on your mind."

Randel let out a short sigh and looked away. His daughter was right. There's no point putting on a facade in front of family. That just defeats the purpose of family after all. "Okay, Ness, look. For the past few decades, every day I am becoming more of an emperor, but I'm also becoming less of a father. I feel like... I'm walking away from you."

Vanessa was taken aback by her father's statement. She had always seen her father as a powerful emperor that was unaffected by anything. A sudden wave of an inexplicable emotion swept over her and she wrapped her arms around her father to hug him. She held him tight for a couple of minutes until she loosened her grip and looked right into his eyes.

"Dad, you never have to worry about that. You're an amazing father and don't ever doubt it. About the whole emperor thing, I need you to know this, okay. You ready?

Randel nodded and Vanessa continued,

"You can take a million steps away from me, but it will always take only one to come back."

Tears rolled down Randel's eyes on hearing his daughter's remark. At that moment, he wanted to believe that he was a good man and was deserving of a daughter like Vanessa, but only he knew of the sins he had committed.

"You don't understand," he said, with a shaky voice. "I'm not as noble as you think. I've done things to people that would make you sick,"

"Does that have something to do with why you disappeared for two weeks?"

Randel was hesitant to reply. If his daughter knew the details of what happened that day, will she still love him the same? Or was it better to get this load off his chest that has plagued him for almost his entire adult life? Either way, before his thoughts could reach a conclusion, Vanessa interrupted them.

"You don't have to tell me, dad," she said. "Nothing you do will change how we feel about you? Isn't that right, Maz?"

Mazaviroc let a sound similar to a whimpering dog and softly brushed his head against Randel. Vanessa unwrapped her arms and smiled at him.

"See? You don't have to worry about a thing, okay? You will always have people in your life that love you."

Randel gave his daughter a weak smile. 'Weak' because he knew it wasn't that simple. After all, she had no idea what kind of man her father was. Mazaviroc knew, but he's just a dragon, their loyalty is of the purest kind and indiscriminating of nobility.

He placed his hand on Vanessa's cheek and stroked it lightly with his thumb.

"Thank you, Ness," he said. Instantly, Randel broke into a soft chuckle. "Look at me, all soft and corny!"

They both shared a heartfelt laugh until Vanessa said;

"That's what I thought. It's not like you're gonna to take down Zark by being corny, right?"

The very mention of that name was like a blow to the chest. Hell had descended on his world once again, and everything he felt that day two weeks ago came back to haunt him. As he felt his heart beating in his throat, it was excruciating for him to speak, but somehow, he managed to find his words.

"Yeah!" he said hastily. "Anyways, I have to go, best of luck on your mission."

With that, he burst into sparks and found himself in an empty room. He took out a black box from his robe with trembling hands. Without a moment's worth of hesitation, he grabbed a syringe from it and proceeded to inject it into his arm.

He let his demons out two weeks ago, and now he would rediscover the agony it would take to bury them back.

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