Chapter 17: Rebellion

The faint rustle of the leaves in the forest bought me some solace to what I planned on doing. Despite the breeze masking my almost inaudible footsteps, and even if Lila did promise to cover for me with her peers, I was still a bit worried… worried that I might get caught, worried that the people who were involved with me might get hurt or be in trouble…

If only Wyzen didn’t call, if only I was free to just straight up leave with these ladies…

“Hey… Master, I am a bit worried. What are we doing out here in the woods at night?”

I shot a glance at the lady behind me. Her usual hazel colored hair swayed in the wind as her body shuddered. Even her legs acted as if they were made out of jelly or something, wobbling under the weight of her body.

“Relax… we are meeting a friend tonight, an ally for this operation if you may.”

I gently cupped Debbie’s face in my hand… even if her name may not be Debbie, it’s not like I took time to remember her…. The lady closed her eyes and let out a soft breath. Soon enough, she stopped shuddering as she looked at me with a smile, standing straight and tall.

“T-Thank you… Master.”

I waved my hand in the air dismissively.

“Don’t mention it. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears sharp, Olly might be here soon… I just hope that she disposed that runt before he got stronger…”

That doggone explosion from that nerd blew it out of the water… To think that he can forcefully open a door that only Xion was programmed to be able to open through sheer force… I am afraid that we may not be enough, even the kitsune on our side. Speaking of which… she might already be at the meet-up location.

Let’s just hope that Olly is safe, that was the best that could happen…

The two of us carried through the forest, gently tearing off the vines and foliage that may have blocked our path. Debbie was especially handy with this one. She would normally pace in front of me and chew off low hanging branches and other plant material that prevented our advance. Granted, she would have a spitting fit once she was done chewing it off, but thanks to the power of mints and water, I totally made use of her buck teeth.

The two of us eventually reached a clearing that was bathed with the pale moonlight. At our feet were thin tufts of comfy grass, some flowers and some herbs that sprawled the clearing’s expanse. There were also trees that might have acted as shad but I digress, it was a rather open area for what was supposed to be a forest. In a way, it was poetic…

“Hey Master, this looks like a really beautiful place to hang out, can we go here sometime?”

Debbie was squealing in delight, tugging against my sleeve with a smile on her face. If her eyes could sparkle, it probably would. Well, I suppose going here with Shan and everyone would be good once in a while, but for now we had more pressing matters at hand so setting this woman straight would be my first priority.

I looked at her with a slight frown and let out a grunt.

“Listen… we aren’t here to sightsee…”

Debbie returned the sentiment by showcasing her glassy eyes that brimmed with tears.

“But if you learn how to stay quiet, maybe, just maybe, we can visit this place together another evening…”

I bit my lip after saying those words. Perhaps that was a promise that would never happen. Eh, who knows? I am not a man who is fond of planning ahead, so I will leave that problem for tomorrows’ me. What matters is this evening’s meeting and nothing else. Ah, even Debbie seemed happy about this, let’s just hope we can find those Epico that Wyzen told me about earlier this morning…

Our pair carried on with our land surveillance until we heard a cough from behind us… and it certainly was not Shan.

The two of us turned to see a man with long black hair combed down to resemble a bowl. He was a bit tall and thin for his age, almost as tall as me. The man looked at me with a smile, his hands resting on his hips.

“You two must be the peons Wyzen told me about. You don’t seem too good for combat, but I suppose you two may come in handy for my creations though...”

A P-Peon? Who was he to attempt to lord over me like that!

“What?! How dare you call me with such a lowly remark.”

I hurried over to him, gripping his collar as I raised him in the air. However, he still wore a smirk despite my threat.

“You… Hah, what an impulsive fellow. Tell you what, lower me and we can talk about what we would have to do during the upcoming operation.”

I grit my teeth and let out a snarl, but in the end, I had no choice but to lower him. He may be a punk, but he was still part of Wyzen’s group. I can’t go around doing friendly fire like that.

The man straightened up the black hoodie he wore as well as his jeans. Once he was done, he looked over to me with the same smirk he had earlier, still quite confident despite the fact that I could have torn him limb from limb if I wanted to.

“Well, well, that was easy wasn’t it. Now, shall we start our discussion?”

I shook my head in disproval

“Oh, are there other people we should be waiting for?”

The man said, combing his bowl-cut bangs using his fingers. A scowl had also been painted on his face, coupled by the sound of his feet thumping against the soft grass.

“Are you bored? Also, fancy telling me your name? I have only ever saw you alongside that rainbow hoodie wearing lady.”

My brows were currently knit together, but I did my best to remain patient. We had to pull this off together so that I might gain a chance to be free, or at the very least, live another day. The man looked at me with pursed lips before rolling his eyes.

“Alright, I suppose my name is Robert, a mechanic if you may… How about you, tall guy?”

He followed that statement up with a signature smirk which sent a shudder down my spine. I really hope he would stop doing that.

“Geon, just a regular Epico who wants to break out of these two societies.”

Hearing those words, Robert’s mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. But his eyes didn’t show fear, they showed admiration, as if they had a weird twinkle to them.

“My god, I totally get you! So, any plans post leaving this dump?”

He flashed me a confident grin, one eye closed in a wink. Robert was awfully chummy, but eh, I suppose it isn’t all that bad to tell each other what motivates us, right?

“Perhaps you should tell yours first. Then maybe I can tell you mine.”

Robert’s grin faded when I said those words. He took a pause and scratched his head, his mouth contorting uncontrollably, as if he was unsure of what he wanted to say.

“I… I’m probably the one with the most common goal though. I just want my family to be safe against Wyzen and to actually be able to defend them on my own… That or I just obliterate both bases with an orbital cannon, both are equally valid an option as the last. Now, your turn.”

I guess promises are promises.

“Simple, I want to make my own faction alongside these beautiful girls. Freedom is my desire, for all of us at least.”

The man covered his mouth, and from the cracks came a soft giggle. His eyes started to water as if trying his hardest not to laugh. Clenching my fist, I let out a soft exhale, trying to calm the nerve I felt popping out my forehead. Cooperation was key.

“And I take the lady behind you is someone you hold dear is she not? A part of that society? Can I know her name?”

My mouth turned into a grim line, almost hesitating to let Debbie interact, but before I could say another word, she jumped in front of me and let out a loud cheer.

So much for stealth.

“Yahoo! the name is Debbie, Geon’s lovely lady!”

She shot him a wink, which made the guy chuckle again. The mood was getting a bit obnoxious, at least for my tastes.

“I see, quite lovely, do you have any dreams yourself, lady?”

In response to this, Debbie tackled my arm in a hug, giggling softly as she raised her head with a smile. I swear, this evening just keeps on getting worse and worse for me. Letting out a groan, I got her off me and while she frowned a lot after that, she had t understand that this was a formal meeting between “Allies”. If you can at least call them that.

Our short conversation was soon cut short by the sound of flapping wings as two entities emerged from the forest. One of them came from the sky and the other one emerged from the undergrowth. The one in the sky had jet black skin, sinister red eyes, and a long grotesque tongue that drooped from her broken mouth.

The other one was a fox girl, her tail wagging in the air as she ran towards our group. She wore what seemed to be a blue school uniform.

“Geon!”

The fox girl shouted, running swiftly before leaping into my arms with a happy giggle.

“Shan, how are you doing?”

I patted her on the end to which her ears responded with a soft twitch, almost as if she was happy to see me.

“It was an okay day, but I missed you a lot. Almost no one was at class and I can’t even train with Xion since he was busy training you guys.”

She gave me a swift peck on the cheek, but it felt incredibly hollow, almost as if I knew that I never deserved it… However, my thoughts were soon interrupted by another figure who weakly lumbered towards me.

She still had her pale complexion, although one can notice the bright red mark on the right side of her face, like it was singed. Her jaw was also a bit contorted, but t seemed to heal by itself… unlike the scar on her face.

“Olly…”

“G-Geon…?”

I walked over to her, leaving Shan in Debbie’s care. My friend approached me slowly, her eyes glassy and ready to cry, her body shuddering ever so slightly as soft whimpers escaped her lips.

“S-Sorry… Unable to kill…. Everything…”

I didn’t let her utter another word. Pulling Olly into a warm embrace, I felt my clothes immediately soak up with warm tears that came from her face.

“Who…”

The woman’s voice shook and trembled, her whimpers became a cry…

“Pyre… fire… hurt…”

In that moment, the guy decided to cut in. Smiling gently as if he had a plan. He raised his hand to get my attention, which had already been hooked to begin with.

“What? Can you not see we were having a bit of a moment here?”

In response, the man just licked his lips, he then pulled on a string that seemed to be hidden from underneath the clothes he wore, revealing a steel bolt, inscribed with various symbols.

The bolt glowed brightly as he raised it in the air, but no one could ever prepare us for what we saw next…

Robert was now wearing a steel suit, similar to a space ranger or something similar…

“Sorry to break it up, but can you allow me to have my kicks on this Pyre dude as well? He seems a bit too much for your group to handle after all.”

It was my turn to let out a scoff. Smiling like this were some sick joke…

However, without even blinking, I felt an impact against my face before I was sent careening to the soft grass of the clearing.

“And to reintroduce myself… My name is Robert, the ancestor of Daedalus.”