Chapter 14 - Closing In to The Final Fight

It feels like I have been working here for a long time. I am lost in time already. It is even worse than losing your life, when you have lost your sense of time. I can't seem to know what date is today and forgot it instantly when I read today's date. I asked my colleagues what day it is today, all I got was asked to read my own calendar, or they tell me the date, which I forgot seconds later. I could still count in seconds, just no longer aware how long I have been here. Perhaps it is a side effect or Fate Changer tweaks me to a certain extent. Currently the office is busy, some agents are focused on other threats, while others are doing paperwork. For now, I just need to wait for the tech team to finish their research on Arcadia's lair.

"Uhh, Rilles. General would like to see you for a while. Perhaps you are free now?"

One of my colleagues called out to me.Usually it is not a good thing when the general wants to have a one on one talk. Without any further ado, I abide by what needs to be done. As I entered the office, I could see Raz looking outside of the window while enjoying the morning breeze.

"I believe you are here to see me, General?"

"Yes. I need to askl you something."

I took a seat in front of Raz's desk to prepare myself to hear everything he had to say.

"James and the tech team are on 90 percent progress. I need to know whether you are aware of Arcadia's power and ability."

"Arcadia has some sort of a premonition where he is able to see the future. There had to be a counter to that. His shockwave gadget generates a strong power that could be his barrier. And the Elita..."

"That is what I want to know, Rilles. I believe you know about the Elita. Hence your fight yesterday. I heard from James, you planned the fight as if you know everything. How did you even know it?"

Telling General would only expose my identity, making things even worse for me. Not telling the General about the sword would mean everyone not knowing it's full potential, hence putting everyone in danger. What needs to be done?

"With whatever I told you, I believe you know what had to be done because you could see the future. Tell me Rilles, what is your Metavoid actually?"

I went silent. I don't respond to this kind of thing usually.

"Gene.....No....Raz. Do you doubt me? Do you think I had affiliations with Arcadia?"

"I was suspecting that you intentionally leaked his plans so that we would fall into his traps. Which kinda makes you the mastermind here?"

He even went this far to suspect me? What the hell is he on? I will never ever betray Base Zero to fulfil my selfish wish. I only use this organisation to attain the two weapons.

"Well I don't. Never in my life I would partner with Arcadia."

"Then answer my question, Rilles. What is your Metavoid?"

"Are you threatening me?"

"I am sorry, I am not asking. I am telling you to tell me your Metavoid. Otherwise you are in deep trouble with the law."

"Why did you even need to know my ability? What advantage can you make use from my ability? Even if I tell you about it, you won't get it. Is that good of an answer? For the record I never treat my friends this way."

Raz looks at me while clenching his fist. He knows I am evading his question. From the looks of his eye he is trying to get rid of me. One thing for sure, he is not trying to be nice here.

"Whatever the hell you are on, Raz. Mark my words. I would never EVER betray Base Zero and my own allies. You suspecting me here implying that you don't trust me."

"Get out of my office."

As he ordered me silently, I made my way out of this mess and got back to my desk. Hopefully, Kyro and Vulcan don't suspect me for anything. As I returned to my desk, I received a note from someone that I was about to meet. The message told me to go to his room, unfollowed. Not sure what he means here, but I proceed as follows. As the line is clear I gave a knock and I was accepted immediately.

"Hey kid, what's up? You got something to know?"

"Not much, I got some hints from our recent fight with Arcadia. You told me that he could see the future so I came up with these pods."

On the table in his room, there appears to be four cylindrical shaped containers perhaps containing some chemical. Surprisingly it is light and it is palm sized, making it totally portable. On the top it appears to be some sort of a red coloured button.

"So what is all of this?"

"These are teleporting pods. Sadly you could only try it once and it is fully utilised. This allows you to teleport at a maximum distance of 3 kilometres, to a certain coordinate. I also made this coordinate gadget which allows you to program the coordinate you want to teleport to."

Based on what this kid wanted to explain, Arcadia's main weakness is confusion. If he reads too many movements at once, he will be confused. While he is confused one needs to teleport behind him and kill him at that point.

"Kid, I appreciate the idea. But I doubt it is going to be that easy to just dive behind while he is confused. He could just shockwave everyone."

"I actually have a counter for that."

He then went to his bedside and took out what looked like an engine thruster. I began to wonder if this kid was a genius. He invented all sorts of things that require complex and deep understanding of a certain topic.

"These are boosters. You could use this to evade his attacks in case you failed. Since the teleporting is only once, this could be a backup option, it just requires precise timing to strike from behind."

"Nice backup. It could work, but there is just one problem. Raz."

"What's wrong with General? Is he mad about yesterday's incident?"

I had to tell the truth to this Kid. Maybe he has an idea what needs to be done. But he is just a kid. He may be bright, but when it comes to social problems, even the smartest had problems with it.

"The truth is, Raz suspected me for conspiring with Arcadia. He thought that I had affiliations with Arcadia to the extent of luring everybody to a trap. If I go in there and persuade him, he might be pressuring me even more and perhaps exposing my ability."

Vulcan looks at me and glances back to his inventions. After a long thought he finally gave his response.

"Your ability to bend time is indeed intriguing. Exposing yourself just like that would make things even worse, especially to Arcadia. It's best you just give the tiniest detail as possible and as vague as possible. He gets it, but at the same time, he doesn't. Play with your words, maybe he could understand it."

"From what you said, you don't seem to trust Raz?"

"To tell you the truth, the moment I looked at him for the first time, I felt like something was off. Just that feeling of betrayal could happen. Maybe I am overthinking, but it couldn't be as well."

Surprisingly, Vulcan does have the same thought as I do, just a little bit different. Vulcan is unique, and I'd say I trust him to carry my legacy onwards. I may not be around to finish the job after the war, at least he could finish it for me.

"Well, thanks for the advice. I would make use of that."

I left the room and coincidentally I met Kyro who seemed to be approaching here from a distance. I then called out to him and he looked at me. Maybe he is fine with whatever I said. He then asked me to join him for a walk in the park, to which I agreed immediately.

"James and the tech team are on the way. We should know by evening."

"Heard that from Raz, but hey, I am sorry for what I said."

Did I say that yesterday or what? I don't seem to remember, but I did say it.

"You are lucky I didn't kill you on the spot. But it's fine. You woke me up from my greatest regret. Maybe something powerful sent you here to wake me up."

Maybe my entrance to Base Zero is by Fate Changer. This makes it even more interesting.

"Thank you for that, and I hope we are friends. I know you don't really make friends but let me be your friend."

"I don't usually make friends because I might regret it later. Let's just maintain a partner relationship and not something like friends. I might resign if things become worse."

We then found a bench and decided to sit down for a while. Hoping at least something interesting to talk about.

"Hey, Rilles. You better contact your family before the war. Or maybe you should go back home and see them. It might be your last and you never know it"

"I am prepared to be lost. I will contact them soon before evening. I had someone I needed to talk to."

Kyro smiles for the first time. Perhaps he had never seen such connections before. It is understandable that he became like this because of Judy. But for him to suppress his emotions this long is unbelievable.

"You told me to open up right, and become less cold to others. It is what I am trying to practise, but it is hard."

"Well I suggest smiling to everyone you meet. Perhaps something might happen. You might find someone you could attach yourself with. But yeah, just be yourself."

"Thanks for understanding."

Suddenly, Kyro's pager began to ring

"And sometimes when I want advice, my pager just rings. Sorry, bro. But I have to leave."

Bro? Huh? Never expect this guy to call me bro. Since he had left, I have one more person to talk to. My family. Especially Radii. So I immediately went back to my desk and called them on a Base Zero secured line.

"Hey, honey. It may seem to be a while but, uhh. I got something to say."

On the end of the phone is nothing but a sigh. Back when I was in the APD, this situation seemed familiar, especially when I am about to go out for something big.

"I have a feeling this is not going to be good."

"Bingo. You know the drill, so uhhh. I may not be back home for a while. So I am hoping that you can accept it for the time being."

"Rilles, this is not the first time we've been through this. You said that a lot, yet you returned. At least in one piece."

"It is different this time. I swear. You won't believe me, but this is worse than I thought."

"I can't believe that place you are working already forces a huge job on you although it is only, like 3 days?"

Don't know but, it seems that I have been here for eternity. The words of Fate Changer constantly haunt my mind whenever I think about it.

_""Those who met me, will always perish for whatever their decision is. Because their hearts are not binded to make the right choice, but for their beloved Azalea.""_

There is no other choice, but to prove that statement false. I can do it. But my heart constantly feels that whatever Fate Changer said is true and will always be true. He can make the statement come true at his own will.

"Well, honey. That is life. No one cares to be honest, as long as you work for them, you get a price to pay."

"Please. Whatever you are doing, come back. We will wait for you."

"I will try. But I need to speak to our son first."

The phone suddenly went silent as my wife was about to get Radii. To be honest, nobody wants to lose anyone. It is just that feeling, I might lose them today. But I am prepared for whatever I am up to.

"Hey, dad. It's rare for you to call us while working."

"Uhh yeah..... I want to tell you something if that is fine."

"You don't sound happy. And definitely you feel that there might be something is about to happen. But, what is it you want to tell me?"

Here goes nothing.

"Radii. I am sorry, for not being there with you all the time. You know me. I can't just leave my job for my family. But, working here makes me realise that family is number one. Maybe this is the last time you would here my voice. And I am sorry for that. Something came up, and maybe I won't be home. I guess this is punishment."

Sounds of sniffing could be heard on the other end. He is only 10 and what can I expect myself to say. Should I not tell him? But then if I were to not return home, how does he know what is going on? I told him to let him know as a standby.

"Dad... don't say anything like that. You are the greatest detective in Azalea. And I am his son. My friends all know about it and they looked up to you. They aspired to become like you. If I never see you again, we would all be sad. Mom will feel sad. My friends will feel sad. I will feel sad. This is not punishment. So don't call yourself being punished."

That's it. I am losing myself to my own son. I can't take it anymore and just let my tears fall.

"Radii, I am sorry for everything. I am sorry for being a perfect father. I really am. It's just.....I can't abandon you guys. But this mission may not bring me back to you guys."

Radii went speechless for a while. But soon he talks. He talks as if he wants me back to the place we call home.

"Dad. I have something to show you. I made it myself. And I need you to see it and shower me with praises. I need you home. We need you home."

How could I say no to that? At least I have a reason to not die. I have a son. I have a wife. I have a family. They need me and I need them. Whatever it is, I need to return to them.

"Ok, son. I can't wait to see it. And Radii. Take care of your mom and tell mom that I need to speak with her."

The phone is then passed to my wife.

"How is your session with Radii?"

"Honey. If he feels like crying, hug him tight. And I mean really tight. You will know if I am not back, if there is a letter sent to you both. But for now, I will try to come back home and possibly find a new job."

Suddenly my wife burst into tears. This is the first time telling her all these things made her cry. I don't mean to sound like this, but it all had to be said. Because I owe them both a lot.

"Take care, Rilles Gregory."

"See you...honey"

We both then disconnected our phone calls. Surprisingly the sun is already setting, and there is still no news on Arcadia's whereabouts. A sudden presence was felt from behind and it turns out, Kyro stood behind me as if he heard everything.

"When you said talking to your family, I never thought it would be this sad."

"So you heard everything?"

"Not the beginning. But I am sorry."

"Don't be. I owe them a lot. This time I need to return them the favour."

Kyro then took a nearby chair and decided to sit close to me.

"You just got here and being forced into this job. What a life you had?"

"I thought I volunteered myself for this mission?"

"No. General handpicked you after he explained the Case File 401. Did you not remember?"

I could have sworn I volunteered. I just came back from the dead to an absolutely different timeline.

"Whatever, so is there any progress about Arcadia's lair?"

"98 percent is as far as we are going. But, Base Zero satellite detected an unknown radiation level coming from a forest. Based on what I know, this could be Arcadia but..."

Radiation level could only mean two things. An unstable metal is found somewhere near or....

"Is there any base there whatsoever? Is there lighting? Or is there any electricity source?"

"Don't know. You want me to bring you to the satellite lab?"

"Please do."

I just don't feel right about this. We then make our way to the satellite lab to find out what that is all about. As we enter, the gigantic monitor is currently displaying the image of what appears to be a cave not far from the city.

"Whoever is responsible, please zoom in the image."

As the image zoomed the image got clearer, but nothing out of ordinary caught my attention until....

"Check for any source of heat waves using thermal imaging."

As it is expected, there is a heat wave, but it is commonly suspected as a hot or radioactive substance. There are a lot of heat waves which simply could be dismissed as wildlife, but inside the cave contains heat? There is no other way then there is electricity.

"Base Zero never conducts a search in this area. Just so it happens, that intern decided to play around and found out about this."

"Thank that intern. That is the base. Arcadia's base is in that area."

"Are you sure, Rilles. Don't rush your decisions."

"Do you doubt the greatest detective in Azalea? I am certain. Alert James and Raz. They..."

Suddenly the satellite imaging just when distorted. There simply becomes no image.

"We lost contact on that satellite sir. What now?"

"Attain the last coordinates. Run a scan on the latest coordinates on that satellite and send it to the meeting room"

"You know you stuff well Rilles."

I take that as a compliment. The final showdown is about to begin. And there is no turning back anymore. Our satellite is destroyed, implying that Arcadia knew about our activity and is preparing his final plans. I have a promise to make, a villain to take down and a sword to return. Give back the Elita, Arcadia.