Laguna - Anti-bandit army campsite - midnight - Alexander

Here I stand, outside of the tent Marie inhabits. Her condition has worsened. Now, she stares off into space, tuning out the voices of others, and even my own. Moral has decreased since the attack this morning. The bandits guard the only way forward and if something is not done soon; I fear our luck shall turn sour.

“Alexander.”

Sir Garrick enters my view. His stoic expression manages to calm my nerves a bit.

“Sir Garrick. Do require anything?” I ask with the utmost respect.

“No, I just wanted to see how you were holding up.”

I hide my worry behind a smile. “I am fine, thank you! For the time being, we are safe from the bandits and the other faction in the city. But come morning, we should try to move toward the north point. It may seem constrained now, but all will be well, I promise…”

As much as I wish for that to be true, I am unsure. A few of our allies died, Marie has closed herself off, and the bandits are blocking us from proceeding. Without Marie’s mind to illuminate the path, I am unsure of my own abilities in leading us.

“Sigurd always twitched his eyebrows when he was lying. Looks as if you share that commonality.”

He noticed!?

“No, no, it’s just–”

“...Are you scared?” My tongue gets caught in my throat. “...Can’t blame you. Your back is against the wall and members of your army look exhausted. If things continue like this, you might all die here.”

“No!”

A cold sweat rolls down my face. My body shakes as the idea runs through my head. I cannot imagine such a thing. I refuse to imagine it!

“You’re trying to come off as fearless. A leader who everyone can look to in a time of crisis.”

“That is… I just assumed that is what made Sigurd great.”

“It did.” Sir Garrick leans against the remains of a wall, staring at the ground. “...Sigurd was the best leader the Kingdom knights ever had. A tactical genius, a worthy warrior, and a man who was able to inspire his men. Most importantly, he knew he had to be better than all his men. He separated himself from the men. We all followed behind him, and all we could do was watch his back. In essence, he was the perfect leader.”

“Wow, he sounds amazing.”

My father, the man I aspire to be every day of my life. A shining beacon of a true knight, a brave man, and a leader everyone looks to. It was my dream to be that leader, to be that knight, to be that man. However, do I even have the talent, or even the charisma, let alone, the intelligence to be him? It seems as if, that dream has been slipping away from my grasp as of late. Why did I ever imagine I could be as fantastic of a man as he was?

“Everyone!” A scout rushes through camp with a disturbed demeanor to himself. “A large number of children were spotted marching through the farther south-side of the city. There was…one of them… I never felt such dread from being near someone before…”

Are they going off to battle the bandits at the north end of the city? They’ll be killed!

“We should appeal to them! If they go, then they will die!”

Sir Garrick halts me with a hand on my shoulder. “This is the perfect opportunity for us.”

“What?”

“If they do battle with the bandits, and even if they lose, we can use the opening they create for us to defeat the remaining forces in one fell swoop. And even if the children win, we can still follow behind them.”

“But that is–”

“I understand your apprehension, but there is no other way through.”

“We can fight through ourselves.”

“Are you sure? With morals becoming a problem, you can’t be picky about your options. And there is the likelihood hood of our forces being annihilated if we go ourselves. ”

He’s right. Perhaps I can’t be, but it still does not sit well with me. Using others so we could advance. No, I do not like it at all… But, what other choice do we have? I just do not know what to do.

…/Proxy

Finally pulled up back at the camp. We made it out of that shitshow somehow, and no one even puked when we went riding up a wall. That’s an A+ in my book. Richard healed himself on the way here and Nunnalé, having her auto-heal, is doing alright, but a few of her ribs are still cracked, so it’s gonna take time for that to heal.

“Just to summarize, that guy with the chainsaw, Jed, wants Cade to lose himself to his rage and kill the bandits, correct?” Richard summarized the gist of the situation.

“Pretty much. Since we know he’s an evil son of a bitch, I thought about going back there and cracking his skull open. But with Cade the way he is now, I don’t think it’s safe.”

“I’m not leaving Cade like that,” Puck strongly objects.

“Neither am I, but we need a plan of action. Like some way to sneak in undetected.” She shoots down my idea shaking her head no. “Well, I’m out of ideas.”

This was seriously easier when I was all motivated to go and help him. Come on, brain, think.

“Come on, kid, didn’t I tell you to start usin’ your brain?”

“Yeah, I know, but–”

Wait, that voice, and how he’s trying to sound cool! It’s…

“Looks like you guys are–”

“Old man!? What are you doing here?”

He pokes my forehead with his sheathe. “‘Looks like you guys are in a pickle and need a little help’. I was gonna say it all cool-like, and you ruined it, brat!”

“Shut up, like anything you say is cool!”

“I’ll show you a cool ass kickin’, ya brat!”

“Right back at ya, old bastard!”’

Right before anything could happen, Puck comes stomping up to me. “We don’t have time for this! We need to go back and–”

“Proxy, there you are.” Alex, with the other old fart, walks up from behind us. He brings his attention to Puck. “Isn’t she with Cade?” he asks, staring at her like a deer being blinded by headlights.

“Yeah, she is. Listen, right now, things are about to get out of hand.”

“I know,” he replies, bearing a grim tone. “We got a report of a band of children marching from further south.”

Puck curses under her breath. “He’s already going toward them!”

“Come to think of it,” Richard says. “We did notice everyone in that camp getting ready for battle, but I didn’t think it was to wipe out the bandits north up. This probably won’t end well.”

“It won’t,” Ocean opens, crossing his arms with his eyes closed. “That kid is already deep in his bloodlust. Any more of it, and I don’t think he’ll be comin’ back from it, ever. His Source is definitely reflectin’ this, and he isn’t too far away now.”

“Proxy, if he fights them, he’ll kill them all,” Richard voices his concern. “He thought me and Nunnalé were bandits. If this goes on, then he might hurt innocent people!”

Damnit, this is moving too fast! If we don’t act quickly, then we’ll lose him for good.

“Alexander and I talked about the situation already,” Garrick, the old fart, brings up. “We think it’s best if we don’t interfere.”

All of us, except for Ocean and Nunnalé, express our collective shock.

“No, I never said we–”

“Alexander, it’s the only way.”

“Shut up, you bastard,” Puck raises her voice, practically ready to tear his head off.

“Yeah! Who the hell made you in charge?” I back up Puck’s complaint with my own.

“Alexander and I think it's best for the men if we follow behind the carnage that will ensue. If you think this ‘Cade’ child can clear a path, then we have to take it.”

I wanna punch this goddamn bastard's lights out so badly! But it’s taking all my willpower to not beat the shit out of him.

“Alex,” I mutter. “You don’t agree with him, right?”

“I…do not know?”

“What!?”

“I said I do not know!” My heart leaps inside my chest at his sudden outburst. “I do not know what to do! I do not…I do not want to use Cade as a means to an end, but I cannot bear to lose any more men. Even if we decide to help him, won’t more of us get killed?” He drops to his knees, slumped on the ground in defeat. “I am…not a leader. Without Marie, without any of you, I am a nobody who is good for nothing. So, please, do not make me lose any more of you.”

Garrick and Puck’s voices continue to go on, and Richard joins in on the conversation. Their voices fade into the background as I stare at Alex. If I was the old me, I would’ve been furious with him, but I’m not. Fact is, I understand where he’s coming from. Seeing the people you care about get hurt, it’s too painful, so I get why he wants to avoid another fight.

“Alex.” I get down on my knee to face him. “No one is going to die.” His eyes meet mine. He’s uncertain, but there’s a glimmer of curiosity in those eyeballs of his. “I know, it sounds naïve, but that’s what I decided, so I ain’t running away. I’m not smart, and I can’t lead people, but I know I can fight. So put your faith in me!”

Garrick comes marching up to me. “You’re being reckless. Words like that don’t mean–”

“Then watch me! I’ll show you I ain’t talking bullshit!” Richard and Nunnalé get in between me and Garrick. Thanks, guys. “Alex, I don’t know what makes a good leader or whatever, but I know you’re the type of guy wanna fight alongside. Not just me, but Nunnalé, Richard, and everyone else. Including Marie. So get back up one more time.” I put out my hand. “Let’s go and do this, the way we know how.”

There’s a moment of hesitation when he reaches out his hand. But, spooking the hell out of me, he slams his hand on his cheek. The impact alone sent a shiver through my body. An audible “ow” came out of him

Regardless, he grips my hand. “I tried to carry the burden all by myself, and even almost gave up and allowed others to pave the road for us, even if it was layered in blood. But that is not what I want.” He lifts us to our feet, sporting a bright smile. “My desire is to defeat the bandits the best way I know how, without forsaking who I am. In my mind, I thought a leader was someone who pulled everyone forward. Maybe it is true, perhaps that is what a perfect leader is, but that is not how I am supposed to be! Fighting alongside all of you, as equals, is what I want! Once more, fight by my side, Proxy, everyone!”

“Damn straight! You don’t gotta be all high and mighty, just be the Alex we all know, ‘kay?”

“Right!”

He steers toward Puck. His hands grasp hers. “I swear, I will not allow your friends to die!”

“Same here,” I join in.

“Now that we know what Cade is capable of, we should be able to handle him,” Richards says, pushing his glasses up.

Puck glances at all of us. Her face is beaming with gratitude as tears flow out of her eyes. “Thank you…all of you. We…we don’t deserve such kindness after what we did to you all, but thank you!”

“Friends don’t need to be thanked,” I tell her. “We just do it 'cause we can.”

Right now I’m definitely getting back into the groove of things. We’re gonna stop this all-out war before it gets out of hand.

“Um, excuse me.” Holy crap! I forgot Ocean was even here. “So what’s your plan of action, kid? You don’t just think everything is gonna turn out a-okay just cause you…” I don’t utter a word. If he can’t see my determination with his own eyes, then I don’t need to say anything else to him. “...Okay, I gotcha. So you gotta a plan, right?”

“Yeah, and I’m gonna need your help.”

“Me?”

“I know this has nothing to do with you and all, but even if it doesn’t, can you just stand by with your knowledge of the situation?”

He puts his hand under his chin, brushing it gently. “Well, as a swordsman, I can’t just get involved with stuff that doesn’t involve me.”

“Figures.”

“...But, ya know, I ain’t what you would call a prim-proper swordsman. So screw it, count me in!”

Alright! With that, I feel like we can really pull this off.

“Richard, buddy, you’re the man with the plan. Give me something.”

“Well…seeing how things are going, and what we want to accomplish, this is going to be a tight plan.” He crouches to the ground, putting his finger in the dust on the ground, using it to illustrate his plan. “Right now, Cade is going to the north to deal with the bandits, right? I can’t exactly sense where he is, but I feel his presence.”

“Yep, he’s almost to where we’re at,” Ocean confirms Richard’s statement.

“Anyway, we’re away from the streets, so we should be safe. Now, if we’re going to avoid an overall bloodbath, we’ll have to act fast. We have to warn the bandits about the attack.”

“Warn them,” Puck recoils, nerved by what she heard.

“I know, but if we can keep Cade away from them and vice versa away from us while we deal with Cade, then all the better.”

“Just pray that it’ll keep that brat from goin’ ape crazy,” Ocean says, teetering on the edge of pessimism.

“Okay, then I’ll go and warn them,” I volunteer.

“I will as well,” Alex gives me a thumbs up.

“Ocean, I want you to handle the children. Keep them out of the fight.”

“Come on, really? Why do I gotta deal with that many brats?”

“What? Is it too hard for you, old man?”

Once again, he pokes me with his sheathe, prodding me like a kid poking their pet with a stick. “Fine! I gotcha. But wouldn’t you want me to handle that Cade brat?”’

“Well, I figured since we have Puck, we can snap him back to his senses,” Richard replies, sounding uncertain about his own answer.

“And if that doesn’t work?” Ocean throws back his question with another.

“Then we fight him,” I answer bluntly. “If he wants to be big-headed, then we beat the crap out of him until he listens.”

“Um, Proxy, I think you mean ‘hard-headed’,” Richard corrects me, giving me a pitied smile.

“Your vocabulary skills are a sight to behold,” Nunnalé sharply replies.

“Hey, shut up! Who asked you two smarty pants?”

“Man, kid. Just ‘cause you ain’t in school doesn’t mean you should skimp your learnin’. Am I right?”

Everyone shakes their heads like this is some damn comedy skit or something. You goddamn bastards…!

“Wha-whatever! Just get on with the plan!”

“Right,” Richard says. “Last, I’ll lure in Cade to you guys.”

“Forgettin’ who’ll signal you to do that?” Ocean once again pokes at Richard's plan.

“I was thinking you can. I heard you can use water. Can you create something that’ll catch my attention?”

“Oh, then sure thing. But you better be watchin’ the sky. I’m not gonna do it twice.”

“Okay. Other than that, I think we’re good.”

Not a bad plan. Sure, it’s not foolproof, but this is the best we got.

“Alright, let’s get everyone else, and…”

What do I see when I turned around? Everyone seems ready, or at least they seem like they’re all ready to get prepared and head out.

“We heard you guys talking,” Gil, in front of the rest, speaks up, grinning from head to toe. “If we’re gonna do this, then let’s do this.”

The crowd behind him goes into an uproar of encouraging words, spurring us on.

“Everyone… Are you sure? We will be warning our enemies to evacuate,” Alex stresses. “Are you all sure about this?”

“Yeah, we know it's downright crazy,” Elizabeth says, folding her arms behind her head. “But we’re packed full of damn crazy people, so who cares?”

“Yeah, I ain’t crazy,” Chip raises his voice from within the crowd of people. “And I do think this is an insane plan.”

“But?” I pause, leading him on to finish his sentence.

“But, I guess I have nothing better to do, so let’s go with it.”

Zell stands in front of the crowd, coughing into his hands. “However, we should exercise caution. They might not be so welcoming to the idea.”

Zeal comes up next to his brother, smacking his fist into the palm of his hand. “That’s why we’ll bust some damn heads!”

“Zeal…”

Zell shoots him one of those ominous glares that says, “you better watch it”.

“Wha-what I meant was ‘if’ they try anything.”

For a tough guy, he turns into a wet noodle the moment his brother gets him in line.

Now that I look, we came a long way since Richard and I came to this world. Before, I never knew this many people I would call friends, but these guys won me over with how reliable they are, and I bet Alex feels the same.

“Everyone…thank you!” He bows to them. Pride swells inside him, brimming from that smile of his.

I would know since I have the same one on my face.

Ocean claps his hands. “Alright, folks, no time to lose! Let’s roll out!”

Instead of doing that, everyone just lets out a collective, “who are you”.

The old man chuckles to himself like some sorta crazy person. “Well, if you wanna know, I am–”

“His name is Old Man. Please say hello.”

Playing into my joke, everyone greets him by calling him “old man”. Needless to say, I drop to my knees, busting the loudest gut to date. I can’t eve…I can’t even breathe!

Ocean, on the other hand, is livid, staring me down with the angriest eyes I’ve ever seen. “I am so gonna kill you, kid.”

Dude, his veins are popping from his forehead. That is so freaking hilarious!

“I…I am sorry for his rudeness,” Alex apologized on my behalf.

Ocean just groans, patting his sword on his shoulder. “Whatever. It’s fine. If it's for a good laugh, then I guess it’s fine if I’m the clown for a bit.”

“That’s very noble of you. Thank you, mr. old man.”

I bust an even louder gut after that. Does he actually think that’s his name!?

Ocean roars into the sky, venting anger while shaking his arms into the air. “MY NAME IS GREY OCEAN, DAMNIIIIIIIIT!”

…/Proxy

Everyone is ready. Richard and Nunnalé are going to go distract Cade for as long as they can. Meanwhile, Alex, me, and everyone else are going to go meet with the bandits. If things go right, then we might be able to pull this off, but if Cade doesn’t see reason, or if the bandits don’t listen, then we might have a bloodbath on our hands.

“Proxy.”

Puck sneaks up next to me like a ninja. I leap from my spot but quickly recompose myself. My sense only kicks in with attacks, so it’s still possible to get the one up on me.

She has that “did that really happen” face. “Did I scare you?”

“Hey, what’s up?”

“I know this might seem sudden, but I want to stay here.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Call it a bad feeling, but I don’t feel right having Wedge staying here alone.”

“You think something could happen?”

“Maybe. I wouldn’t put it past Jed if he follow us.”

“No way. RoadBurner is too damn fast for him to keep up.”

“Does it leave tire tracks?” Umm, I did not think of that. “Thought so. If he shows up, he’ll kill Wedge.”

“But Jed isn’t a joke. If he shows up, I don’t know if you’ll fend him off.”

“What other choice do we have? I’ll think of something. Just leave it to me.”

Can she really beat him, or does she have some other idea in mind?

“Alright, then–”

“I shall stay, too.” Nunnalé comes up to us. “Marie will be vulnerable if an enemy were to attack.”

“Is Richard okay with that?”

“He is the one who ordered me to stay.” Guess he was thinking a step ahead of me. “Although my mission priority is to protect my Master, I… I wish to protect her, too.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“I was designed to protect my chosen master and just them. However, now I find myself wanting to protect another. Am I defective?”

Geez, this girl. She really makes simple things seem so complicated.

“Nunnalé, you ain’t defective. We all got people we want to protect. Sometimes, it grows from one to two. You understand?”

She turns her face to the ground, tracing her chin with her index finger. “Is this the reason you wish to save Cade, despite the fact he wishes to kill Marie and you?”

“Yeah.”

“I do not see the logic.”

“So?”

“Hm?”

“I’m not about being logical. If I feel like it, I do it. Even if Cade was my enemy, I still think he’s worth saving. So I don’t care if it makes no sense, I’m gonna do it.”

These feelings are more important than what’s smart or not. As long as I act on them, then I can act without regret.

“Perhaps I finally understand why master trusts you.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you are a loyal friend.” Taken aback, my heart skips a beat. That is the first time she called me a friend, let alone any of us. I can’t help but feel glad she sees me that way. “...However, I do think a logical thread of thought is preferable.”

And you ruined it. But, I think that’s just how she is, so no harm no foul. She’s someone I can trust, too.

“I’m gonna say goodbye to Marie. Let her know we’ll be gone for a bit.”

“Very well.”

Waving her goodbye, I set off for Marie’s tent. Alex is standing outside of it, staring at the outside of it with a fierce determination about him.

“Yo, Marie,” I call out to her. “We’re gonna go now. Not to kick bandit ass, but to go make sure there isn’t a bloodbath.” A deafening silence fills the air, but that isn’t gonna turn me away. “Marie, I don’t blame you for what happened, but I get you blame yourself. Maybe my words aren’t gonna help you, but you know what, I’m not worried. Cause I know you’re tough; hell, you almost broke my nose once, so you’re damn tough. But I’ll never forget your kindness when you gave me and Richard a place to stay. No matter what, I’ll always be grateful to you.”

Stepping back, Alex steps forward.

“Marie, my sister… I always wanted to be like father, no matter what. If I had become like him, perhaps I would be able to rid the bandits of this land. In my desperate attempt to emulate him, I took the burden of leadership onto myself. I wanted to lead others to victory and become the man he was. However, I now realize I can never be like him.” He rests his hand on his chest. “...He was a symbol of victory to those that served under him and was a man who was willing to fight apart from his allies rather than as equals. However, that is not what I want. Having you all by my side, and me being by yours, is what I desire. Marie, when I failed to save you, I blamed myself for your suffering. I promised I would always protect you, but I had failed to save you myself. In that, I pushed myself away from you...”

He beats his chest. “I was a fool! A fool who was too damn proud to face you out of the shame of his failure! What kind of idiotic brother am I!? That is why I will not run from you, or my failings! You are my sister, and I could have not been any prouder of you! So when we return, I will face you!”

Alex and I bump fists, keeping our eyes on the tent.

“We’re all gonna come back alive. We swear it!”

Like that, we take our leave. There’s nothing else left to do but go on with this. A raging fire dances in my heart, hardening my determination. Alex’s wearing his game face too, doing away with the smile and putting up a serious expression. We made a heavy promise, one that seems too naïve. Even so, we made that promise. We aren’t gonna break it!

“Bus is ready to go, boys,” Elizabeth yells from the driver's seat.

“I’ll be there in a sec.”

“What is it?” Alex asks.

“Just gotta check up on someone. I’ll meet you on the bus.”

“Okay. Be quick.”

“Okay.”

Alright, I’m just gonna check up on Richard. Ocean should be on board with the rest. After he sends the signal, he’s gonna head off to where Cade and Richard will be. Richard said he’ll try to stay near Cade’s troops. When he gets there, he’ll keep the kids at bay while Richard lures Cade to us. I’ll tell him the truth; about Jed, and that Wedge and Puck are alive. If that doesn’t work, then I’ll have to bust open his head until he listens.

“Buddy, are you ready to go?” I ask him.

“Yeah, I am.”

There’s a bit of apprehension biting at the back of my throat. I know we can’t just change the plan, but if something goes wrong, then Richard could be killed, or–

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” he suddenly tells me. Right now, he’s displaying confidence unlike I’ve seen before him. “...As long as I keep my cool, I should be fine. Nunnalé will be allowing me to use all our Source, so it’ll be fine.” He reaches out his hand. “When I get the signal, it’ll be your turn!”

Is this really the same Richard from a couple of months ago? He’s become so damn reliable… No, he’s always been like that. I guess it just took me a moment to really let it sink in.

“You really did become a badass.”

I clap his hand. The sound reverberates across the sky. Speaking of, it has a hint of blue up there. The sun must be coming up soon.

“I just don’t want to be the only one left behind is all.”

“No problem there! Let’s show everyone what we’re made of!”

“Right!”

This is it. Nothing else needs to be said. All I can do is put my trust in Richard to get the job done, and he expects the same of me. If we’re gonna do this shit, we’re gonna do this right!

…/Jed

The tire tracks are…difficult to track. However, once you throw common sense on how his bike works, it becomes easier to track its movements. If I continue to follow this path, then I should arrive at their camp shortly.

“Wait for me, Puck and Wedge. I’ll be sure to finish the job properly.”

Such a shame they have to die, but their deaths will lead to greater things, that much I can promise.