Chapter 13

The Gathering

Ringing.

That was the first thing Meredith could hear as she stirred into consciousness. Her head was ringing, rattling and pounding, like someone had turned the volume up to maximum and let it keep going. Her body ached, groaning with even the most miniscule of movements. Only her fingers didn’t set off whatever was making her groan. Instead, they clutched for whatever she was lying on.

They found no sand, though. Instead, it was a ratty, moth-eaten mattress that was far too thin. The change in location she wasn’t aware of made panic set in. She sat up.

Bang. Her head rebounded off a metal bar, hanging right in front of her face, and she fell back on the mattress. The clang echoed, and some other groans that weren’t hers followed. Feeling returned to her fingers and Meredith grabbed at her head, hoping to stop the ringing as her eyes forced themselves open. The first thing she saw was the shadowy figure in the darkened room, hovering over with a bowl of…something, tipping it towards her lips.

“Hell, no! Not poisoning me today!” Her body became a collection of flailing limbs, flying this way and that to knock the bowl of whatever offending substance it was away. The holder of it backed off, the bowl floating up and out of her reach. Her dramatic reaction stopped as she stared.

“Why would I poison you, Mera? Come on, you can’t hate me that much!” The voice was familiar, but the ringing in her ears drowned it out. “I was just trying to give you some water. You’ve been out for nearly a day.”

“Emil…?” The sound was making more sense, the ringing replaced with a general hubbub outside, filtered through walls. More groans of others waking up joined the cacophony. Meredith sat, slower this time as the room became clearer, as did the dimming sun through the boarded windows. True to her auditory appraisal, Emil was in front of her, levitating the bowl with his gravity. “What are you doing here? Where am I? What happened?”

“One question at a time, Mera. You’re-”

“Eddie! Where’s Eddie?! And Max? And that annoying priss?”

“I’m right here…I could identify both of your annoying voices anywhere,” Vivian’s voice called from above her. Eddie’s groan sounded out, as did Max’s, from a bunk to the side. “Though I’m with her on this. Where are we, what happened and why the hell are you here, Emil?”

“Nice to see you’re as sunny as ever, Viv. Though I never expected to see the two of you together in…ever.”

“Answer the questions,” both girls said. They weren’t alone. From what Meredith could see, Eddie had sat up and joined in. The sunlight coming in moved, this time illuminating Emil’s face. His hair had grown longer, his scarf was rattier, and he looked like he’d been on the road for some time.

“That’s…a bit complicated to answer,” Emil said. He abandoned the bowl of water at this point and began tapping his chin. In the midst of his musings, Eddie looked to find a lamp and lit it, casting light and shadows around the room. “I was just passing by when I saw this big…light. You all were passed out there, and everything, so I got some help.”

“From who?” Meredith received her answer in the form of a door to the building opening, and the person walking through it.

“From us.” Emil stepped aside, allowing even greater amounts of the dying light to illuminate the area. Outside, Meredith could see people in the village beyond, though it looked off. Ramshackle and desolate, as if it matched the grave look on the newcomer’s face, one that was familiar to Meredith.

“Been a while, Rico,” she said, leaning back on her palms.

“Wasn’t aware we were on first-name terms, trial girl,” Rico spoke. The further in he walked, the more his features became evident, from his thin mustache, to his striking black hair. Gone, however, was the clothing he wore in the desert, replaced with other articles from leather jackets to a muscle shirt. At his side was the tube that Meredith knew extended into a spear. Clutched in his hands was a map; one he soon tossed, though his eyes never left Meredith’s. “Your map has been helpful, if outdated by a few years or so.”

“Wait, you stole our map?!” Eddie asked. The indignation caused Meredith’s friend to rise up, but Max, still silent, pulled him back down. Rico ignored the outburst.

“The Renegades had need of it. Consider it payment for us rescuing you from the Gash.”

“Wait, you’re part of that pathetic lot?” Vivian said, recoiling on the bed. Meredith tilted on to her back and kicked at the springs above her head. The blonde up top squeaked with the sudden movement, and appeared to get the message. “Never mind. Thanks for the unneeded rescue, I guess.”

“What’s the Gash?” Meredith asked. Her eyes looked past Rico, to Emil. The dirty-blond wasn’t paying attention, keeping away from Rico as best he could.

“I was hoping you could tell me, trial girl. We found you there, next to that big hole in the ground where the light came from. Would’ve left you alone, but your friend asked us for help. Promised you could probably answer questions, too.” Rico sat with that statement, too close for Meredith’s comfort. She inched away; whether he considered them friends or not, she most certainly didn’t. Matching his gaze was unavoidable, however. His eyes were steel, driven to reach a goal she knew was there, but only had one guess to fathom. “What did you see in those depths?”

“Er…” Meredith twisted her lips, sensing the others’ eyes on her. “Not sure. Just screaming…lots of screaming. And the desert…”

“Yes, we saw that,” Rico said, his voice a sigh. Meredith felt a ball forming in her throat, not wanting to give any more away. The longer she sat, the more it came back to her: the wails of a dying world. “Though that doesn’t help us determine what that Gash is. Passed by it a while back on our journey here, but none of us can make any sense of it; especially without the magical research tools.”

“Why not go to Lacardia and ask them for help, then?” Emil asked. He was done staring off into space, but Rico gave him an amused glance.

“I have far better things to pursue than study of the Gash. Whether it be the source of all desertification, or just a new threat to contend with, I neither know nor care,” Rico stressed. He stood once more as the lights outside were in their last phase of sunset. “I haven’t called the factions together for mere research. There’s a greater quarry at hand.”

“Let me guess: the Beastmaster?” Meredith asked. Rico’s lips were upturned, un-telling but obvious. “You’re still after him, then. Wasn’t your battle with him in the Metropolis enough?”

“Enough?” Rico’s face changed, dropping whatever cordial greetings he had for her to get close. He was so fast; Eddie and Emil barely even had the time to start moving before he was there. “There will never be enough until the Beastmaster is in the ground. Or did you think me a beaten man?”

“N-no…” Meredith said, scrambling back. The longer she looked, the more Rico resembled a feral beast, so determined in his goal he would shred anyone along the way. “But…the Corps is looking for the Beastmaster, too. They’ll take care of it, so just-”

“Of course…the Corps.” Rico pulled back and he jerked his head in the direction of the darkened streets. “Let me show you something about your precious Corps and their pursuit of the Beastmaster. Hurry up!”

Rico kicked the closing door back open, and stormed out into the streets. Those that remained were silent while the last of the sunlight faded, dousing the area in darkness save for the lamp in their room. Meredith turned to Emil.

“Nice friends, Emil. This what you been up to?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Emil answered. He threw his hands behind his head, looking bored. “Just traveling around, trying to stay as far away from Lacardia as I can. How’d you find it?”

“It was great. We learned a lot,” Eddie said. He was standing now, carrying the lamp towards the center of the room. Meredith moved to join him but Vivian dropped down in front of her, cutting her path off. A cheeky grin and shin-kick later, and both girls were gathered with Eddie and Emil. “Didn’t expect to find you here.”

“What luck, huh? What brings you this far out?”

“Where is this far out?” Eddie put to him. Emil raised a finger but lowered it, shrugging his shoulders to indicate he didn’t know the answer. “Well, we’re heading for the alchemic settlement.”

“Oh. That’s pretty nearby. Maybe a half a day south? You can see it from the edge of the city here.” Meredith peered at Emil suspiciously, but the boy looked rather nonchalant about everything. Like a hard nut to crack, Meredith knew she was getting nothing out of him and departed from the building as an alternative.

She knew she shouldn’t have been surprised, yet she was.

Stepping out of the building was stepping into a more desolate world. Emptier than a desert, more ruined than the frozen village she and Eddie had stumbled across. Walking forward, Meredith’s feet crunched upon broken glass and wood. Ash encroached in the air, causing a cough to rise from her lungs. Torches were lit, because the lampposts around town were broken, some at weird angles and others knocked off their foundations altogether.

Whatever city they’d found themselves in had been wiped off the map, the only clue as to who had done it being the thin, black mist that hovered like an oppressive cloud.

“What the hell happened here?” Vivian’s voice emanated around the block.

“The Beastmaster, no doubt. There were reports of the same black mist in Eltin,” Meredith said. “But…Ray was supposed to track him down…” She found her fist clenching, eyes locking on to Rico’s back. His own feet were carrying him towards the center of the city, unfettered by the horrific sight of destruction around them. Setting a twisted frown on her face, Meredith stomped after the man, quickly catching up to him. “When did this happen? Where are all the people?”

“This? It happened just yesterday.” Meredith would have stopped, but her companions were right behind her. Their continued movement kept pushing her onward, through the destroyed city. The more they walked, the more upturned vehicles and broken storefronts became visible. Ahead, in the torchlight, the center of the city was most visible. “The Beastmaster has been on a spree. He remained silent for some time, but since he resumed his usual activities, he’s been hitting a town every few days. Slower, I’ll admit, but fast enough to vanish into the darkness.”

“And you’re still tracking him but haven’t found him all this time. If the Corps couldn’t do it, what makes you think you could?”

“Because we’re unified, and we may have an idea of which direction he’ll be moving in, just not when.” His words acted as a curtain, pulling aside to let the light shine on his greatest masterpiece. Their group reached the center of the city, a once beautiful fountain that served as its centerpiece now broken. Of greater note, however, was the sheer population of the square. None of them looked like citizens of a fair-weather city, but held a grizzled, ragged look. Rico’s next statement confirmed what Meredith already thought. “These are the Renegades, and we’re here to eradicate the Beastmaster.”

They certainly seemed impressive, and they were far more numerous than Meredith had thought possible. From her encounter in the desert, she had imagined the Renegades to be a small, tightly-knit group, yet here, it was as if a small army had occupied the city. Some stood atop cars, giving rallying war cries. Others answered those calls, while still others offered relief to those who looked like surviving citizens.

“Quite the army, but it doesn’t seem you’ve done anything with them. Just as useless as you were in the Metropolis, huh?” Vivian asked. Rico chuckled, giving the blonde reason to recoil right into Emil’s annoyed expression.

“Not quite. This time we’re more prepared. I won’t let our quarry get away.”

“Then offer words to our troubled souls, Rico.” It was another familiar voice, and Meredith peered into the crowd. The source of the voice was evident, as the woman with brown hair and jangling earrings approached. She flicked her hair back and slung her arm around Rico’s shoulder. “You called a meeting of the factions, no?”

“Maria…”

“The leaders are waiting. Only some of the groups to the south of the mountains didn’t make it in time to answer your call, but you still have the northern and western factions here. Let’s not delay.” Maria extricated herself and blew Rico a kiss. Meredith watched the woman, a small, confident smirk making her face seem wider than it was. Of course, now that they were up close, it was obvious how attractive the woman was, turning heads of even the rest of the Renegades. More surprising was that she wasn’t alone. Rico wasn’t alone.

“Factions?” Max squeaked out. His question was one they all asked, and Rico saw fit to answer.

“Surely you didn’t believe those of us in the desert were the only ones abandoned?” As he asked his question, Rico’s eyes lingered on Meredith’s, a short-lived connection springing between them. “Not at all. There are many of us, all over the known world, and we are united in a single purpose: bringing down what destroyed our lives.”

The teens could say nothing, but Rico was a man obsessed.

His figure, now parting his way through the crowds, was like a luminary being. He was a man with a vision and the drive to achieve it. Meredith didn’t know his story; couldn’t know his story. Yet the familiarity they had felt in the desert wasn’t a lie, and she could see in his soul just how driven he was. Her feet carried her into the quieting circle of Renegades, getting within observation distance of Rico, Maria and another man that looked more content to sleep than pay attention. All were staring raptly at the leader that had called them together.

“Brothers and sisters, it is here! The day we obliterate the Beastmaster that took many of our homes! Many of our lives!” Meredith’s eyes narrowed while murmuring turned to cheers. Vivian sidled next to her, frowning and folding her arms across her chest. “Look around you! Look at this city: once beautiful, now ashes! All because of the Beastmaster! Because of the Corps’ failures!”

“He’s kidding, right?” Vivian scoffed. “The Corps can’t be responsible for everything.”

“They are supposed to be protectors,” Emil said, now on Meredith’s other side. “Don’t think it’s the worst point in the world.”

“Don’t be an idiot.”

“Too long have we hidden from such a malevolent force. Too long have we cowered in the shadows. No more can we stand idly by!” Rico’s cries garnered further enthusiastic responses, each person in the ramshackle square cheering with gusto. Meredith kept her eyes trained on him, watching his motivational rage build. “The Beastmaster will strike again, and we’ll be waiting to bring him down. No more lost life!”

“And the Corps, brother?” asked a voice from the crowd. Rico scanned over them, while Maria’s smirk became all the more evident. The other man on the stage cracked an eye open, listening to Rico’s response.

“The Corps will be made aware of their errors when we do what they should have done long ago.”

“Is that going to be enough, Rico?” Maria asked now. She cocked her hips to the side and gestured around the crowd of Renegades. This time, Meredith followed her sweeping motions, garnering just as much attention and fascination. “The Corps put us here. We failed their trials! Weren’t even considered paying attention to! Shouldn’t we strike back?!”

“Y-yeah! We can do it, right?!”

“The Corps is nothing against an army our size! We have more skills than any of them!”

“Quiet…” This time, the burly man atop the stage had spoken. He stood, feet shuddering the earth. “Army or no, our aim is the Beastmaster; the one who desecrated our lives. Surely you all remember that fear. Would you have us distract the Corps or bring their attention on us instead? Don’t be fools.”

“They already are fools,” Vivian said. She was huffing now, and turning away from the building words and rhetoric. “Picking a fight with the Beastmaster and the Corps. That man has enough to handle an entire army, and the Corps would cut them down in seconds if they interfered.”

“The Corps isn’t like that. They’re not some ruthless monsters,” Meredith said, her voice low. Vivian scoffed again, beginning to leave the crowd. “Not that I disagree…they’re being foolish. Thinking with their emotions over their heads.”

“Basic human instinct, Mera. Isn’t that what you did in the Metropolis?” Emil asked.

“I don’t think it’s the same,” Eddie said in response. Emil wanted to argue back, but all their voices were drowned by the now rising tide of the argument that had continued on. Sides were split, but Meredith kept watching the stage, waiting for one of the three up there to drop their foot.

“Come on, Rico! We’re the Renegades! To hell with morals! Let’s make the Corps rue their mistake! We’ll tag the Beastmaster to their front door!” Maria said. Half the crowd was in agreement, while the rest were more reticent.

“Is this not a course of discussion for later?”

“Carlton would be correct. Our only objective is the Beastmaster,” Rico said. He was close to Maria now, enough to make her back up, earrings jingling through the open space. “I didn’t gather you here, call the different groups of us, lost and scattered, to see us all bicker. We need to be together! If they cast us aside…if we were made as meaningless, then let us not use that to bicker, but instead to come together. If I must, I will do this alone, but I don’t wish to. We are the Renegades, and we will not stand by to let the Beastmaster wreak havoc. Now, will you work with me? Shall we work together?!”

In emphasis, Rico grabbed the weapon at his waist. He twirled it in the open air, extending it to be that of a mighty spear, glimmering golden, before he pierced the ground he was standing on. His words triggered light to flood the city, the few lamps that remained coming to shine while a television screen, though cracked, lit up. It displayed a location, which was unknown by sight, but all too familiar by ear.

“Now, brothers, sisters, let us make for the alchemic settlement to the south, where the Beastmaster will no doubt lay his foul presence, and put an end to this!”

“Max, time to go.”

“Y-Yes, Lady Vivian.”

Meredith wanted to pursue them; she knew where they were going. It was where she wanted to go, as well. Her body didn’t let her, staring ahead at the charismatic Rico that had driven his people into a frenzy of excitement. He was no longer looking at her, but she tried to peer into the contents of his soul. All she could see was naked rage consuming the area and the Renegades, everything else blocked off from her view.

“Mera…you heard him, right?” Eddie said, tugging on her sleeve. She kept staring at the chants that were rising. The Renegades were preparing for a war, all for the sake of taking down a single man. “Mera!”

“I know…” The alchemic settlement. Destination of the Beastmaster and the Renegades alike…and there was no doubt there would also be… “Ray…”

Her fingers began to tremble again, even if the Reaper was nowhere near by. This was a different kind. A fear of being unable to stop things. The Metropolis flashed before her eyes, but with it was a man drowning in anger and misfortune. A man willing to do anything for his family. A man consumed by vengeance.

All it would take was the slightest spark to cause everything to burn up, including her chance for answers.

What do I do? What can I do? Her fingers curled together, but her legs wouldn’t move. Not until the shout pierced the air.

“Rico! Magical signatures incoming! Moving fast!”

“Which direction, Lovelia?”

Answer came from the sky. There was a faint rumbling, different from the one that had caused them all to pass out. It wasn’t the earth screaming, but the nighttime above them. Meredith wrenched her gaze up, her feet finally taking tiny steps backwards, back into the ruined streets. Little lights, brighter and closer than the stars, came near at a fast speed, moving south.

The insignia that soon became illuminated by the repaired lights was the real reason Meredith’s heart clenched, though. On the underside of the three skyships that zipped over the broken city, casting a shadow on it, was the symbol of the Corps.

“Eddie, please tell me the next thing south of us,” she finally found her voice to ask. It was tremulous, indicating urgency. Eddie respected that urgency, holding his map up to the light. It took just one look for both of their eyes to widen.

“There’s…just the settlement. Nothing else before then. No cities or towns. Nothing in the way.”

“Then Vivian’s right; time to go.” At long last, Meredith could move her legs. No eyes were on her, except for Rico’s. She knew that he was watching her departure, and her breath hitched with fear; a fear of what that man could become. As if the ghost of the Reaper rose before her, it became like a whip that drove her to head for the border. Vivian and Max were slightly ahead. Another, however, got in Meredith’s path, though his obstruction was from the air.

“You’re not seriously leaving for the settlement, are you?” Emil asked. His voice was pleading. Neither of the Lumarina pair answered him. “Mera! Don’t do it! You heard them! Battle is about to break out! You’d be in danger! More than just the Metropolis.”

“So, what?” Meredith snapped. Vivian tossed her hair back, eyes locking with Meredith. For their mutual animosity, they both appeared on the same page. “I want to be a Guardian. That means protecting people.”

“The Beastmaster is enough of a threat. If we just stay out of their way-”

“And what happens to those who do get in their way?” Emil dropped to the ground at her question. He landed between her and Vivian, blocking her progress until she jabbed a finger into the boy’s chest. “Before you forget, my brother is part of the Corps. What happens when they come into contact with the Renegades? I’d at least like them on an even playing field.”

“I don’t think he-they, would allow that. They wouldn’t harm people. They rescued you.”

Emil stepped back in tandem with her own steps. An annoyed frown splashed across Meredith’s face. “Maybe not, but what’ll be left? I can’t afford not going there. I can’t afford getting there after two sides have clashed and left nothing in between.”

“But…Mera!”

“Let her do what she wants!” Vivian shouted back. “Not everyone’s a coward like you. She might be trash, but at least she has some sense. This is a settlement and trial combined. We can’t let these fools destroy it.”

“We know you’re just worried, but Mera has never been one to do nothing, and neither can I,” Eddie said. He got between Meredith and Emil, pushing them both away. In the chanting light behind, the sound of movement was growing. The Renegades were beginning to move out. Emil bit his lip and chewed at his cheek before his body sagged.

“You shouldn’t get involved.” His voice was one of lament, though his eyes conveyed worry. Meredith watched him, and then he asked, “What’s so important for you to get there? What do you hope to find?”

Meredith didn’t answer right away. Max and Vivian got further ahead, and Eddie remained between herself and Emil, but the two teens were at a standoff. It was a pointed question, and one she couldn’t just escape from. Up until now, she just jumped first. The Beastmaster would threaten the Metropolis, she was ready to fight. Her Soul Magic was revealed, she was ready to learn. Now, her own personal goal and a greater complication were about to connect, and she had to ask herself: why did she want to go there?

In the end, it was easy, because they were connected.

“Answers. Answers that will help me become a great Guardian. I won’t let someone like Rico get in the way of that with his stupid vendetta.”

Pushing the rising fear down, overcoming it, Meredith breathed in and pushed her way past Emil. Eddie held his position until she was past and then joined her. She had no time for Emil to struggle with whatever was on his mind. Not when answers lay just ahead.

Please…give me answers…Please tell me I saw the right thing…Meredith begged of the broken blade. It would still take a little more time, but she wasn’t going to let go. She had to do this, both for herself and to keep her promise.

“You guys are all unbelievable!” Emil said, his voice nearly swallowed by the marching Renegades. “Jumping into danger, with no concern for yourselves. I’m starting to feel like Guardians teach people to be reckless and stupid. So, if you insist on going, you’re gonna need all the help you can get. No way am I letting you walk into danger when we actually know it’s coming.”

“Care for us too much, Emil?” Eddie said, grinning at the boy now floating overhead.

Emil rolled his eyes and touched down, just as they reached the end of the road leading out of the city. Meredith never stopped. The pavement was soon to turn to grass, but the night stretched on. In that darkness, however, Meredith could see shadowy structures, some with a glow that identified them as something of significance.

“Well, I’d like to think we’re friends.”

“Allies of convenience. I’d rather like to clear the Trial of Enlightenment before those idiots mess things up.”

“And alert the Corps, Lady Vivian. Though I wouldn’t mind paying witness to that re-forging.”

“If you’re all done talking, lets get a move on. That army’s not stopping. We’re in a race against time!” Meredith slammed a fist into her palm. “Let’s just hope we find everything okay when we get there.”

It was different than before, Meredith knew. There was no uncertainty of what was to come. No possibility of peace on the other end. There was a clash coming, one which both answers and ruin could arise from.

And fear.

Meredith was once more afraid of the forces converging where they were headed. It was a fear she pushed away, pretended to overcome, but lingered in her all the same.

So, as the long night continued on, and their flight went uninterrupted towards the glowing structures and away from the army, Meredith knew her fears would not be unjustified. Battle and destruction were waiting on the other side of the endless night, heralded in by the smoke and skyships that appeared around the settlement. Just one conclusion awaited: the Beastmaster had made his next move.