Page 5 of Chrono-Crossed

  Eight:

  Roboticized

  Hurriedly, Otaku slams Bill on the Roboticizor. Blood is dripping off of the sides of the metal bed. The Roboticizor is hovering off of the floor with a whirling sound. Jean darts over to assist and pushes a virtual button that is above the bed. The bed unleashes a clinking noise, and metal sides rapidly encapsulate around Bill, who remains unconscious and bleeding profusely.

  A blast of light emits from inside of the machine, and the light is piercing out of the crevices of the bed. It is giving off a loud, mechanical racket. Aeron slowly approaches the Roboticizor bed, and then glances back at an unconscious Kara.

  “What have I done? Maybe, Malinfar is right.”

  “She’s fine. Just got hit pretty hard. Always a hothead, that one. Few minutes in the Medipad will fix her right up,” Jean whispers, “Bill, on the other hand…”

  “I know,” Aeron looks up at the cockpit of the ship, “Chrono-Cross Pilot Enabled… Take us home.” Worriedly, Aeron plants his hand softly on the Roboticizor. It continues its loud process inside.

  “Tell me it’s not enough to take over his mind,” Aeron quietly says.

  “Well, you saw it. His arm is gone. It shouldn’t replace enough of his body to be taken over by the AI, though. I think he’ll be fine,” Jean responds in an uncharacteristically sympathetic voice.

  “As fine a man could be in his position,” Otaku adds. Aeron kicks over a chunk of mechanical equipment, and walks a few yards away from the men.

  “I did this,” he speaks to himself.

  “Aeron, what happened out there?” Otaku asks.

  “Not sure. Wish I knew,” Aeron mutters. He walks over to a closed case with an embroidered ‘A’ on it. He gently places his palm on the case, and it glows a magnificent purple. The case emits a mechanical voice.

  “Aeron Phoeni recognized. Access granted.”

  The glowing case unfolds open with a clunk. There are three orbs sitting in open slots inside of the case, each a different color, filling three of the seven openings in the case. They give off a harmonious crackling noise, almost in tandem. Aeron lays his hand over a green orb, which slightly lights his arm.

  “So small… for so much trouble.”

  “He’s almost done!” Jean shrieks.

  Aeron turns to look at the others peering over the Roboticizor. He slams the case shut, which latches itself closed, and races to them.

  “Come on, Bill. You can survive this,” murmurs Otaku. The light from the machine dims, and the clinking begins to subside. The sides open with a surge of smoke and sparks. Otaku, Jean, and Aeron peer over the exposed opening of the peculiar machine.

  Bill is lying with a newly-placed, robotic arm where his missing left one was once placed. The steel-colored arm is adjusting and fastening itself, as if trying to become one with Bill. The cowboy slowly opens his eyelids to see the three staring down at him. The sides of the Roboticizor are retracting, and Bill jolts up, startling the three men, all of which jerk back.

  “How are you feeling, Bill?” Otaku asks gently.

  A ratcheting noise catches Bill’s attention, and he gazes down at his newfound atrocity. The robotic arm twitches and clenches. Bill screams at the sight of his arm, and knocks Aeron back many yards with it. The mechanical arm waves and whips around recklessly, bashing the Roboticizor and the sides of the ship’s walls. He eyes the arm with confusion and shock, and it gradually calms to a still-state.

  “What have you done to me?!” Bill yells.

  “Take it easy, cowboy. We saved your life,” Jean says. Aeron lifts himself from the floor, shaking off the strong impact of Bill’s robot arm.

  “This is saving my life?!”

  “Malinfar blasted you. Your arm was fried. I’m sorry,” Aeron says in a melancholy tone.

  “I thought I saw…”

  “You saw a lie,” Aeron interrupts Bill. Avoiding Bill’s eyesight, Aeron turns and walks towards the front of the ship. Otaku holds out his arm to assist Bill off of the contraption, but Bill simply pushes it aside and slowly limps away. Jean shrugs.

  “Poor guy,” the pirate says. Many minutes pass. The crew goes separate ways within the giant ship.

  Otaku is caring for Kara in a fatherly manner, dabbing dirt and blood off of her forehead. Jean is propped up against a wall, polishing his wrist cannon with a dirty towel. Aeron is pacing back and forth, lost in thought. Bill is sitting and gazing out of the window. His own reflection in the glass distracts him from the speeding view outside.

  “She’ll be fine. A few gashes and bruises, but she’s just stunned.” Otaku waves a metal rod over Kara that emits a bright green light. Her gashes are slightly recovering from this action.

  “Kind of funny, ay cowboy?” Jean says, still polishing his WristCannon. The pirate glances over to Bill, who reciprocates the eye contact. “If we’re the world’s last hope, the world is shit out of luck.”

  Jean’s battered face twists an unnatural smile, but Bill doesn’t return the gesture. Bill turns his head and peers out of the window again. His arm releases a strange, mechanical noise – the sound of clinkering of gears. Bill gazes at it with hatred. The arm wasn’t heavy, in fact, it felt strangely light despite its hardened exterior. There was a strangle feeling coming from the monstrous arm, somewhat uncomfortable -- a cold feeling that sent chills up through Bill’s body.

  His head was racing and pounding again. He could hear Aeron muttering things to himself, pacing in a confused state. That boy looked remarkably liked Buck. That Malinfar fellow was right - this was a childhood dream. Perhaps, Aeron was a lost soul, no wiser or better than Bill. He was using Bill and the others to ignite hope in others. They were mere toys to Aeron, he thought.

  It was as if Aeron knew Bill was pondering this, because he ceased his pacing and glanced up at Bill. The men are locked in an awkward staring match. Jean’s head darts swiftly to something outside of the window.

  “Aeron!” Jean yells. He drops his towel and points toward the window. Aeron walks over to see a giant burst of flames emitting from the Azure Facility. Bill peers out to see the disturbance.

  “What is it?” Bill asks in a low voice. Aeron squints, the flames reflecting off of his eyes.

  “That’s impossible,” he mutters.

  “What is?” Bill asks.

  “They’ve infiltrated us.”

  “Can’t be. No one can break that protection,” Otaku walks up behind them.

  “No one except one of us,” Aeron whispers. The four men all exchange worried glances.

  “We have a traitor.”

  Nine:

  The Traitorous Bastard

  Aeron and Bill kick through the door to find the majority of the facility destroyed. The two race through the halls, and Aeron slams into a door, busting it open. He thrusts himself inside, and stops as Bill turns the corner as well. Aeron stands frozen in front of Bill, blocking the cowboy’s view. He peers around Aeron to get a good look.

  There is a puddle of blood on the ground, and a dark, tall figure is lying in the middle of it. It was Emmitt. His throat was slit, and his body was paler than usual. Jean races in, spotting Emmitt, and his mouth drops open. Otaku enters with Kara in his arms, still unconscious.

  “Where is everyone?” Jean asks.

  “Looks like someone authorized a distress call,” Aeron says. Jean slides to one of the computers and keys random information.

  “Looks like you did. Whoever did it… authorized with your passcodes.”

  “Impossible. Computer, report number of soldiers sent on distress call,” Aeron says.

  “Number of soldiers sent to authorized distress call: Seventy-eight.”

  “Computer, number of casualties from mission…” Aeron asks. The computer hesitates, calculating the numbers.

  “Number of fatalities from distress call: Seventy-six. Correction: Seventy-seven. Seventy-seven soldiers offline.”

  “Who autho
rized the call?”

  “Aeron Phoeni authorized distress call. Hazard level: red.”

  “Repeat.”

  “Aeron Phoeni authorized distress call. Hazard level: red.”

  Electricity sparks from the ravaged computers in the room. Someone had trashed the room, or most of it, sparing a few random gadgets and gizmos. Aeron spots the space where many devices had been taken. He shakes his head in disgust.

  “J.J.” he mutters to himself, “Son of a bitch sent them on a suicide mission. They thought they were coming to our rescue. It was a staged massacre.”

  “No,” Otaku chimes in. Aeron angles his head back at the others standing in the archway of the door.

  “He betrayed us. He took the Chrono-R, the machine we used to transport you all here. Emmitt must have had his suspicions. That’s why he installed these,” Aeron says. He points to his wrist. Bill glances down at his own right arm to see a small, blinking blue light flickering on and off inside of his skin. He had noticed it before. It was almost part of him. Seamlessly transfixed within his own skin.

  “The Backtrackers.” Jean says.

  “That’s correct. To solidify our place in time. Prevent us from being grabbed in the past. We thought him foolish for such precautions,” Aeron says.

  “But, he was one of us,” Otaku says with a confused look plastered on his face.

  “Face it, Otaku. The world isn’t as honorable as you’d like to paint it out to be,” Jean says.

  “The Scythe got to him. Probably promised to spare his life or give him some sort of reprieve for his dedication,” Aeron says, “It was right under my nose, and I missed it.” Bill glances down at the lifeless body. This triggers the painful memories of his son’s own death. A rush of emotions hit Bill all at once.

  “Bastard. And the orbs?” Bill questions.

  “They’re solidified in our airship. I never keep them too far from me. Only I can remove them from their case, and the Scythes want them, so it makes our airship a safe haven,” Aeron explains. Bill lifts his foot to find that it’s resting in a puddle of Emmitt’s blood. Trickles of red drip from Bill’s boot.

  “He was killed behind his back. It takes a coward to kill an innocent person,” Bill speaks in a soft voice, “I would know.”

  “Bill, search the remainder of the facility to make sure we don’t have any visitors lingering around! Try not to get lost alone. Jean, change the master codes for entry, report back to us with the revised codes! Lock this place down! Barriers up and at full strength! Otaku, stay with Kara. Get her to an emergency Medipad. A few minutes should heal her right up,” Aeron commands.

  Otaku races out of the room, as Jean and Bill rush out going in separate directions. Aeron notices that Bill’s shoes leave footprints of blood in his wake, which he finds strangely ominous. Aeron hesitates a second to ensure he’s the only one in the room, staring intently on the footprints on the steel floor, and he plants down in front of one of the few remaining working computers. He begins typing vigorously and staring intently at the information suspended in midair. Many minutes of typing and pondering pass.

  “It can’t be. J.J., you bastard. I trusted you,” Aeron whispers to himself. He stares at the strange markings for minutes and minutes on end, lost in thought. Bill slowly walks up behind him and notices the man sitting motionless as he reads some indistinct text.

  “It’s clear… I think,” Bill asks. His voice startles Aeron, who quickly clicks off of the text, not that Bill could make heads or tails of it anyway. “Doing a little bedtime reading?”

  “I have just made a devastating revelation,” Aeron admits in a different voice. It didn’t sound like Aeron’s voice at all, but of that of a much weaker man. This weakness made the cowboy feel uneasy. Bill suddenly felt a jump in his heartbeat, and the question that followed had come from this vulnerability.

  “Why did I see my son? And, what does this mean now that they have the orb and the blue, time door thingy?” Bill asks, realizing how insane and/or stupid he must have sound. Aeron rises from his seat and slinks away from the computer without making any eye contact with Bill.

  “I really don’t know how to tell you this. I’m having trouble processing all of this myself,” regretfully says Aeron. Jean walks in during Aeron’s proclamation.

  “Fixed. I’ll update you on the codes. We’re locked down, for now, but we can’t stay here forever. It’s only a matter of time,” Jean says, “I’ve noticed bits and pieces missing here and there. Looks to me like the Scythes have some big plans.”

  “Jean, transport Emmitt’s body to Otaku in the Medipad. He’ll know what to do with it. I want him to be properly sent off,” Aeron says, leaning down over Emmitt’s lifeless body, “I’m sorry,” he whispers to the corpse, stroking blood-soaked hands through his lifeless, unkempt hair. Emmitt’s eyes are wide open, gazing back at the man hovering over him.

  Jean nods, apparently expecting this, and whips out a tiny capsule. He taps it and it expands slightly. Emmitt’s body is lifting off of the ground, and his blood is aspirating back into his body. The body turns into a lighted-smoke substance and is beamed into the handheld capsule. Jean is knocked back by the recoil of this process.

  “Always sad when a mate swims with the fishes. Death never has good timing, does it?” Jean shakes his cranium, softly exiting the room. Aeron lifts his head and glances up with Bill with dewy eyes that clashed with the man’s rugged face.

  “Emmitt was a good man. You’re positive you saw Buck on the highway?”

  “I saw my son. Maybe all of this is taking a toll on me. I’m going mad,” Bill responds.

  “Maybe not,” Aeron slugs over to a damaged computer on the ground and kicks it with extreme force. It flies across the room and smashes into the wall into a million pieces that shower down onto the steel floor.

  “Forgive me, Bill. I wasn’t aware,” Aeron says, his voice breaking midway.

  “What the hell are you talking about,” Bill asks, “What do you know?” Aeron looks up at Bill, but still manages to avoid eye contact. Both men’s faces are twisted in a puzzled expression.

  “I have unknowingly put you in an impossible situation that raises many questions. Forgive me,” Aeron pleas.

  “I’ll ask you again. Who the hell was that boy? Why does he look like Buck?!” Bill shouts. He steadily, cautiously treads over to Aeron.

  “Don’t pretend to be a fool. You’re not. I think that was Buck,” Aeron says. Bill’s eyes grow wide, and he grabs Aeron’s arm, ceasing the man’s back-and-forth pacing.

  “What do you mean that was Buck? My son is dead. You said so yourself,” Bill says.

  “Death never has good timing,” Aeron muttering madly to himself, lost in thought yet again. A red-hot furiousness fills Bill as his confusion grows.

  “You’re talking like a crazy person! Tell me what you know!” Bill shouts. Finally, the two men make eye contact. A look of guilt smears Aeron’s face.

  “The Scythes have at least two orbs. Do you remember when I told you that only we could grab people from the past? Well, I think J.J. has just cut off our upper hand. He’s been assisting them for a while, underneath my very watch,” Aeron reveals, “I believe this last hour or so, while we were away trying to snag that orb before the Scythe 4 did, was a very eventful one. I believe that this was all a trick. Malinfar had that orb long before tonight, and they used it to lure us away from the Chrono-R. It worked.”

  “I’m not understanding what this has to do with my son.”

  “Think, Bill. I think they took Buck right before he died in 1888. Think hard. Think! You saw your son die?” Aeron asks frantically.

  “Nat shot him. My son was dead,” Bill snaps.

  “I don’t think so. In the river. As he was floating away. That’s when they grabbed him. He wasn’t dead. I was so absorbed on you that I failed to ensure that your son was actually dead. I never thought they would, or could, use him as a bargaining
chip. It was a fool’s mistake on my part. So meticulously planned. Within 30 minutes or so of us being gone.”

  “He was dead!”

  “Dying! Bleeding out. A few seconds makes all the difference! Did you find his body?”

  “He can’t-!”

  “He IS!”

  “…alive? My son?” Bill saw in his hazy memory Nat throwing Buck into the river. The trail of blood that followed his son had to be confirmation that his son was truly dead.

  Then, he remembered the loud boom before he blacked out that day. The one he was sure came from his head. He remembered Nat turning to the water at the sound, as well. Nat had seen something that day. It was true. It had happened. Bill was contemplating the blurring of past, present, and future as Aeron interrupts.

  “I’m sure of it. I just have this bad feeling.”

  “You think they’ll kill him to get to us?” Bill asks.

  “No, they won’t harm a hair on his head. They don’t want him.”

  “Why me? Why attack me when I’m no threat?” Bill asks.

  “But you are. When we ran the tests to find you, you gave us the highest percentage of success in this war. Your results produced the best of all of our potential candidates, significantly. I think the situation is playing out on its own.”

  All of this makes Bill stumble backwards into a wall, and his cowboy hat falls to the ground. He wipes the sweat from his forehead, and stares intently at an empty spot on the floor. A tear involuntarily rolls down his face.

  “The Scythe believe you to be a threat, but I think they are unknowingly making you into that threat,” Aeron rants, “By giving you a motive, they are making you a more dangerous adversary. They could have chosen any of us. They think, however, that they can use Buck against you.”

  “It’s workin’. If my son’s alive, I’m gonna get ‘im. Even if I got ta alone.” Noticing the change in his speech, Bill grabs his hat from the ground and places it firmly on his head. He yanks out his gun, gripping it dangerously tight, swings it around, and holsters it swiftly.

  “Where is he? Where is my son?”

  “Can’t you see that’s what they want? They know you’ll rush to him. You’ll play right into their plan. It’s another trick.”

  “This is my chance to get back Buck. He needs me. He’s alive. Surely, you must understand that. Wouldn’t you?” Bill says.

  “Did you ever stop to wonder why I didn’t bring my own son back? I could have used your orb to bring back my son, Erux.”

  “I have no idea. What father wouldn’t?”

  “I didn’t want to bring him back into a world of chaos and death. What for? So he could die all over again? So that murderer could take him twice? Buck wasn’t brought back to give you a second chance. He was brought back because they are confused and terrified. Because they don’t understand you. They don’t understand how you, a simple man, could be such a turning point in this war. That’s why Malinfar didn’t kill you. They want to use you. As soon as you attempt to rescue Buck, they will kill him and do God knows what to you,” Aeron explains.

  “So I sit idly by? Gamble my son’s life?” Bill snaps.

  “No, we get him back, but we do it logically. Carefully.”

  “When?! After he’s tortured?!” Bill interrupts. Aeron staggers over to the archway of the door.

  “Give me two days. He won’t be tortured. Two days to train, prepare, and understand the situation. You don’t understand the magnitude of tackling the Scythes head on. I think we can devise a plan that will benefit us all. If we play this right, we can claim the two orbs and get Buck back safely,” Aeron says.

  “Leave my son with them for two days?!” Bill screams. The anger was boiling inside of him. Every minute was a minute that felt like a lifetime. Every second was painful and meant the world of difference. Every breath was a test of self-restraint.

  “He was already dead, Bill. They did you a bittersweet favor. They’re scared. They wouldn’t dare harm a hair on his head until they have you,” Aeron says. There is a moment of silence between the two tragic men. Bill kicks a piece of equipment as well, and it explodes against the wall. His mechanical arm emits a fluxing noise, and Bill squints down at it. The motorized fist clenches by Bill’s command.

  “Two days, Aeron. Two days. Not a second more. Not one,” Bill mutters. He pushes his way out of the door and out of the room. His metallic fist slams into the threshold, denting the archway of the door frame. Aeron stumbles back and glances back at the damaged room. A hovering computer falls from its airborne state, and shatters into multiple shards on the floor. Aeron exits the room.

  Ten:

  The Last Chance to be Normal

  Around a large, oval table, Otaku, Kara, and Aeron are sitting in an open dining room. Empty bowls and glasses litter the table. Aeron in slouched in his chair in a feeble attempt to hide his self from the world. Jean struts in carrying a large pot and donning an apron that reads ‘Kiss the Hook’.

  “It’s not much, but it’s got a helluva kick,” Jean says. He places the large pot on the center of the table. “Then again, so does this.”

  Jean pulls out a bulky bottle of bluish alcohol from the back of his apron. Kara slams her fist on the table.

  “Now that’s more like it, sea man,” Kara says with a smirk. Jean glances over at Otaku.

  “Was she making a joke? Was that a joke? Kara, being funny? You must have been hit hard,” Jean laughs as he pops the cork towards Kara, hitting her in a forehead. Her smile turns into a straight face.

  “You son of a b-”

  “-eautiful ladies don’t spout obscenities,” Jean interrupts her burst of profanity. She smiles.

  “Just trying to keep you in line, ya scoundrel,” she says as Jean pours her a glass of the blue alcohol. The syrupy liquid glows within its slim bottle. Otaku is laughing at the exchange as Jean moves to fill the samurai’s cup. Jean purposely pours the alcohol on Otaku’s lap, shooting Kara a grin and a wink. She laughs.

  “Sampling the beverages before dinner, have you?” Otaku says. Jean walks over and pours Aeron a glass. Aeron immediately chugs it, and motions for another. Jean looks back at Otaku, who nods, and Jean reluctantly pours him another glass.

  “The fallen,” Otaku raises his glass. They all drink to their lost ones. Aeron slams his glass down. Kara places her hand on Aeron’s, and he slowly looks down at the gesture.

  “Aeron, don’t let this eat you alive. You couldn’t have known.”

  “I’ve just put that man through hell all over again. He was meant to die and be done with it, and I’ve prolonged his misery,” Aeron states as he tosses back his glass to devour the alcohol again. He tosses his glass across the room, and the glass shatters, startling Jean.

  “Yes. Let’s just break everything. Good idea,” Jean snickers.

  “You saved his life. You gave him another shot. This is a blessing,” Kara says.

  “Did I?! Is it Kara?! You know the hell we went through! Imagine watching the one you loved murdered twice! It’s inhuman. He lost his wife, his son, and his arm. Now this!” Aeron shouts.

  “His son is back. He has the chance to right a wrong. We can help him,” Kara says.

  “And bring his child into this world? This shitty wasteland?! So he can die again!” Aeron’s yells echo in the open room. Kara dips her head, and Aeron yanks the bottle from Jean, who slowly walks over to his seat and sits down.

  “I think we’re all underestimating the situation. The Scythes defeated us, sure. But I believe in Bill. All of us being here in this time - it isn’t coincidence,” Otaku says in his usual calm voice. A slow clapping erupts from the doorway, as Bill stumbles in the dining room.

  “Well said, ‘Taku!” Bill continues to clap his metal hand with his human one. He’s obviously already drunk, and the crew turns to gaze at him. His metal hand clenches the top of his chair, crushing it, and pulling it out from underneath the table. He takes a seat with the others.
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  “Great. Now everyone knows where I stash my alcohol,” Jean mutters to himself.

  “Only thing is… we’re woefully under-trained, and we’d rather wallow in self-pity around a hearty meal while my son is out there with them. The Scythes!” Bill screams the last word, as his metal finger points outward, and his face is burning red.

  “Alone,” Bill continues. He yanks the bottle from Aeron and props his feet up on the table. Otaku turns to Bill with a remorseful look.

  “We must not lose what makes us human. What separates us from our enemies,” Otaku says. Bill takes a swig from the bottle, ignoring Otaku entirely.

  “This may be our last supper, the last chance we have to be normal,” Kara says. Bill nearly spits his drink out.

  “Normal?! You call this normal, sweetheart?! You’ve got a hell of a way of looking at things. I’m sitting beside a damn pirate and a… ninja, was it?” Bill laughs aloud, and nudges Aeron in the arm, who is silently staring Bill down.

  “Samurai,” Otaku quietly remarks.

  “My mistake, ‘Taku,” Bill spits. Aeron slams his fist on the table, startling everyone except for Bill.

  “I know you’re angry with me, but don’t take it out on them! This is the right way to go about this! We train first thing in the morning! I know you’ve been through hell! We all have! I’m sorry, ok?! I’m sorry to all of you! To my son!” Aeron shouts, his face growing red as well.

  This causes a few minutes of silence amongst the damaged individuals. They all sit around in silence around the table, casually taking sips from their glasses. Aeron’s voice calms.

  “It is the reason I chose you all of you.” Another moment of silence follows. Jean glances toward Bill.

  “I lost a dear friend, ya know. My first mate, Bart. He stowed along after my crew raided his hometown. He was a young boy at that time, and he just wanted to be a swashbuckling pirate! Hunting treasures and seducing women!” Jean says with a laugh. The laugh is soon replaced by a saddened face. His skin turns a shade whiter.

  “His family could care less about whether he was there or not. Probably didn’t even notice that he was gone. Was a real shame, though, cause the kid was something else. Stayed with me on my ship for many years. I watched him grow into a fine, young man. Made a great pirate out of him, I did. He was like a son to me.” He shifts his focus from Bill onto the empty bowl that sits in front of him, and twirls his finger around its rim. Bill slowly and unconsciously pulls his feet down from the table, staring curiously at the pirate.

  “I got greedy that last time and lingered longer than I should have. We were stealing from a hideout. I got caught, but the others were free. He wouldn’t let them leave me, to hell with the pirate code. Because he had stayed for me, the entire crew was slaughtered. He was slain. All of that blood on my hands. All because of me.”

  Jean and Otaku sip from their glasses, and Kara soon follows their action. Bill swigs from the bottle and pours himself a glass. He then slides the bottle to Aeron, who nods and takes a drink himself. Jean forces a half-smile, barely revealing his gritty teeth.

  “Suddenly, gold and jewels didn’t seem so damn important. I was hunting for the wrong treasure – the whole damn time,” Jean downs his entire drink and stares at his empty glass as if he is pondering heavily. Otaku clears his throat.

  “My wife, Momoko, was poisoned in an assassin’s attempt to take my life. He succeeded, just not as he had planned,” Otaku stares off into the room and memories of his late wife plant a smile on his face.

  “She was an innocent flower. So delicate. If there was ever a more beautiful woman, I have never seen her. My apologies, Kara, but I am blinded by love, my dear,” Otaku says in his usual soft voice. Kara counters this with a grin.

  “Completely understood, ‘Taku.” Otaku shifts his head from Kara to Bill.

  “Now you have them calling me ‘Taku,” Otaku says with a laugh but quickly diverts back to his story, “She was the entire reason that I kept moving – kept fighting. When I lost her, I lost a huge part of what made me flourish. I could fight off a hundred swords!” Otaku throws up his fist with dignity, but it soon comes crashing back down to the table.

  “I was not ready, however, to take on the world alone. For the first time in my life, I was scared. Alone. It took a toll on me emotionally and physically. Right before Kimotsuki took my life with his sword, I saw the blue flash of heaven. The same blue flash that carried us all to this time – to this very table,” he raises his glass to the sky and takes a sip from it. Bill slowly takes another drink. His eyes never leave Otaku.

  “They could have chosen any one of us, so why you? They chose to bring your son back. I believe that by saving your son, we can all mend the dark wounds buried within ourselves. We can save ourselves. I think Aeron unknowingly brought us to our fates – brought us to this circumstance. It can’t be coincidence. This was meant to be.”

  There is a brief moment of silence as the recluses pondered amongst themselves. Aeron stares down at his bottle and laughs.

  “I miss the birthdays. Erux wanted a BlastArm 3000XP for his 6th birthday. Of course, his mother didn’t approve of such gifts. She told him that he was too young, but I secretly bought it for him anyway. She was pissed, but he lit up! It really made his birthday. I will never forget his face. He told me he loved it. Loved me. That day triggers in my mind every morning when I wake up, and every night before I go to bed,” Aeron’s face reveals a huge smile, but when he turns to Bill, it changes.

  “If I was in your position, I would feel the same. Fuming because you’re sitting idly by while your chance for hope lies elsewhere. However, I agree with Otaku. We need to think this through and plan accordingly. If I were in your shoes, I would hope you would hold me from myself, Bill. You’re a far stronger man that I am,” Aeron says.

  The realization set in as Bill took another sip of the strange alcohol. He shoots glances at the various members of this broken crew. These people were not freaks, but lost individuals, struggling to cope with this absurdity called life.

  “I’m not strong. Them having Buck makes me feel weaker than I’ve ever felt in my life,” Bill says, the words spilling from his mouth were both sobering and true. He pulls his hat over his eyes and props his feet up on the table once more.

  “I’m weak. I can’t do this alone. I know it. You know it. I couldn’t do it before. For some reason, you people believe in me. But, I need you guys. I know the truth that you don’t. I know I’m just a regular prick.”

  “Yes, you’re a regular man. One that loves his son immensely. A man that has travelled a thousand years to reclaim your son. Your love for your son… your drive to stop at nothing is what makes you different… makes you something more than regular.”

  “I saw you out there, cowboy. I saw that look in your eyes. That fire built up inside you will burn you alive if you let it,” Jean says. Bill downs his drink.

  “You know what really burns me? It’s that all of this is my fault. Buck died because of me,” Bill says.

  “Your son’s death is not your fault. Nat Dalton murdered your boy,” Aeron adds. Bill slaps his glass off of the table with his metal arm, and it shatters against the wall.

  “Nat Dalton was a good man! That’s what kills me inside! I took everything from him! It was an accident, but it was my fault. He simply got his revenge. He believed that he was righting a wrong. I changed his life. I ruined a good man!”

  “Revenge will kill you many times before you finally die. Revenge will always win,” Otaku says.

  “Remember that, Bill. History has a damnable way of repeating itself,” Aeron says. Bill lifts his head to catch eyes with Aeron, whose eyes widen as if he has just made an incredible discovery.

  “What did you say?” Bill stares at Aeron with intensity. Aeron rises from the table.

  “I need rest. There are things that I need to think over. Goodnight,” Aeron says as he drunkenly stumbles out of the ro
om.

  “Not like him to need rest,” Kara says.

  “He’s not resting. He knows something. He always knows more than he lets on. I’ve just met the guy, and I know that much,” Bill says. Otaku glares at Kara and Bill. He realizes that Kara is eying the cowboy with extreme curiosity. Otaku gets up from his chair.

  “Rest, I think, would do us all good,” Otaku taps Jean on the shoulder and motions for them to exit the room. Jean does not take the hint and remains in his seat.

  “We haven’t even tried my stew!” Jean says.

  “It’s for the best, you dirty scoundrel. Let’s go,” Otaku pulls on Jean’s arm. Jean looks at Bill and Kara, finally making the connection.

  “Ah! Har har! Aeron’s not going to like this!” Jean and Otaku exit the room, but Jean runs back in and tosses a glass against the wall, which shatters. “Hell, it looked like fun.”

  Bill and Kara are sitting across from each other, and Bill lifts his hat to see Kara staring him down.

  “Aren’t you even a little curious?” Kara asks.

  “Oh hell, about what?” Bill asks.

  “Why I’m here. What my reasoning is. We all have one, that’s why we’re here. ‘Cause we’re all screwed up,” Kara snickers, but Bill remains stone-faced.

  “I’m no genius, but I can read people fairly well. I know that the others won’t mention your past because it eats you up. It’s killing you because you bottle it up. The others find peace in talking about their pains, but not you. So my question is…” Bill places his hands on the table and stares at Kara’s face, “Why bury it when you see the rest of us going through hell?” Bill asks. Kara gets out of her chair and walks to the door, strutting flirtatiously.

  “Women don’t shoot their mouths off like men do. Just because I brought it up, doesn’t mean I have to tell you. Night cowboy,” Kara blows Bill a kiss and swiftly darts out of the room.

  Kara is walking down the hallway, but her flirtatious walk is now a hurried, speedier dash.

  “You’re a coward,” Bill’s voice echoes throughout the thin hallway. Kara stops in the dim light, and turns her head to see Bill leaning in the doorway’s threshold. She hesitates for a second.

  “Fuck you,” Kara says. Bill stops leaning and stands up straight.

  “Jean’s right, you do have a dirty mouth,” Bill says. He takes a few steps into the darkened stretch of the hallway.

  “But, we both know what that is. You’re just covering up because you’re terrified. It’s all just a show, isn’t it? You’re scared,” Bill says. Kara stands motionless while locked in Bill’s gaze. A single tear rolls down her face.

  “Don’t push your problems on me, Bill,” she mutters.

  “You wouldn’t have brought it up if you didn’t have something to say. I’m damaged,” Bill looks down at his robotic arm, and the fist clenches. “I’ll listen to whatever it is you need to unleash.” Bill takes a few more steps towards Kara. “What’s killing you?”

  “Don’t.” Bill takes a few more steps.

  “Who are you dying for? Inside.” Another teardrop falls from Kara’s face.

  “Don’t,” she repeats.

  “I need this, Kara,” Bill whispers. He stands close to her, and props up against the wall opposite her. He bends his leg and plants his foot against the wall. Kara’s face is hidden in shadow, the tears from her face reflecting the small bit of light. “I need to know I’m not alone.”

  “Rigel killed my sister in cold blood. It was all a game to him. He could have killed me too, but my screams and tears seemed to fuel a more malicious need. It pleased him more to see my pain than to see me dead. Sometimes, I wish he would have finished the job,” Kara says.

  “So you want to kill him?” Bill asks.

  “I’m not sure what I’m after anymore. Part of me wants that son of a bitch dead. The other half of me just wants him to finish what he started. Dying seems like an easy escape from this shit, doesn’t it?,” Kara says.

  “You are a coward,” Bill says.

  “How dare you,” Kara responds, “It’s hard to keep going. I’m exhausted from trying to hold myself together. I feel like one day, I might not be able to.”

  “She dies in vain if you kill yourself,” Bill snaps, “That’s a very cowardly attitude to have. You don’t strike me as a coward or a fool.”

  “You’re gonna be the one to save me, Cowboy?”

  “I can’t even save myself, Doll-face. But, I do know that I’m still fighting. It hurts like hell. All of it. But I’m still fighting. Still battling with life.”

  Kara’s face is drenched with tears. She slowly leans in and lays against Bill’s body. He realized how long it’s been since he had been this close to another human being in such an emotional state. He looks down at the top of her head. She buries her head into his chest.

  “Please, don’t let me quit. I’m not strong enough. Promise me. Promise me,” she cries.

  “You are strong. The strongest of all of us. But, I promise. I’m not giving up. Just don’t give up on me, either.”

  Kara lifts her head up and gazes into Bill’s eyes. She puts her hand on Bill’s rugged face and pushes in for a kiss. Her lips smash into Bill’s, and with closed eyes, they hold the lip-lock. It is a quiet, but intense act as the two longing individuals cling to each other. Bill jerks his head from hers and gently pushes her away. One last tear drips from Kara’s face.

  “We’re going to have a hell of a time making this work. You’re over a thousand years old now. Then again, I always did have a thing for older guys,” Kara smiles and wipes her face.

  “You don’t even know me.”

  “On the contrary, I know all about you. Maybe, I’m just in love with the idea.”

  “That’s a dangerous way to go about love. So no. We can’t. The people I get close to always get hurt, and I won’t be responsible for any more deaths. I’m sorry,” Bill says. Kara’s face goes lifeless, and she wipes her face one last time.

  “Good night… Bill.” Kara walks into the dark hall and disappears. Bill stands there, staring into the darkness. He brings his hand to his face and smears Kara’s tears from his face. He stares down at his wet hand and sighs, somewhat regretting pushing her away.

  One hour, three minutes, and 26 seconds later…

  “Can’t sleep? This is your third lap,” Otaku says, noticing Bill walk past the door. Bill peers in to see Jean and Otaku sitting in an open lounge. Otaku has a scope over his right eye, and he’s repairing some strange piece of equipment. Jean is playing a video game of some sort. The pirate turns his head to glance at Bill, and the holographic screen makes a noise. He jerks his head back and scoffs.

  “Stupid old game. I’m done with this!” Jean jams on the controller, but continues to play.

  “I’ve got a lot on my mind, actually,” Bill says, standing in the doorway.

  “Does it hurt?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I meant your arm,” Otaku says, removing the scope from his eye. Bill rubs his silver limb.

  “Oh, it’s a bit uncomfortable,” he replies.

  “I could take a look at it if you wish,” Otaku suggests.

  “Yeah. Ok,” Bill slowly walks over to the table where Otaku is working. Otaku pushes aside his project, and plants Bill’s arm on the table.

  “It was a rush job, but you’re lucky to be alive. I may be able to give it a few upgrades.” Otaku uses an electrical drill to zap some pieces together. He spins around and rolls the hover chair over to a cabinet, where he pulls out a few, small pieces. He returns to continue tinkering with the arm. Sparks fly and metal clinks.

  Bill looks at the top of Otaku’s helmet while the man meddles with the robotic arm. A feeling of guilt passes over Bill as his asinine remarks over dinner replay in his mind. His arm slowly becomes more tolerable, sparking a sense of gratitude towards the man who he had just insulted not long ago.

  “Listen, about what I said
…” Bill says.

  “Think nothing of it. We’ve all been in your shoes,” Otaku interrupts, never lifting his head.

  “That doesn’t make it right,” Bill mutters. Otaku hammers a piece into Bill’s arm.

  “How does that feel?” Otaku asks, but grabs another piece from behind him and affixes it to the appendage.

  “Much better actually.” The arm felt a bit lighter, and much more comfortable.

  “I’m attaching a few bonus apps that don’t normally come standard in the Roboticizor. They may prove useful.”

  “Um… Go for it,” Bill glances over at Jean, who continues to jam on the video game. His tongue is sticking out in a childish fashion. “He’s quite a character.”

  “Aren’t we all?” Otaku says. “Hold up your arm.” Bill holds his arm up from the table. More sparks fly from Otaku’s tool.

  “I couldn’t help but notice that it’s always dark outside,” Bill says, “Always looks like nighttime. Strange, isn’t it?”

  “This world is stuck. Plunged into darkness and timelessness. The normal rules that we knew are no more,” Otaku clears his throat. The samurai stops for a fraction of a second, something catching his attention, but he awkwardly, and immediately, goes right back to work. Bill stares at the silent man hard at work and hard at avoiding eye contact. It was almost as if Otaku had realized something that he hadn’t before.

  “Something’s on your mind. Just say it.”

  “What? Oh… about Kara... H… he…” Otaku continues with a stutter. His eyes never shift from his work.

  “I know he cares for her. I can see it on his face. Listen, you’re probably the most sensible of all of us. Can I ask you a question?” Bill says.

  “Of course,” Otaku responds. Bill hesitates. He is lost in thought.

  “Can the future… what I mean to say is… can our fates be changed? Is my son going to die?” Bill asks quietly, trying to avoid Jean from hearing for some inexplicable reason.

  “Eventually.”

  “You know what I meant. Can I prevent this?” Bill asks. Otaku continues his work, without lifting his head. A few seconds pass before he answers.

  “At the risk of sounding cheesy, I will let you in on a little secret. The future doesn’t scare me. The past doesn’t scare me. The present, however, frightens me. It is in the present in which we must make the most difficult of decisions.”

  “Which means?”

  “Which means I have no idea. I’m just as lost as you,” Otaku says.

  “Yet, you fight for them. You feel that we can stop the Scythes.”

  “The world needs good people. People who can stall wicked forces and put a halt in their maliciousness. Evil will never cease, but that’s why it’s so damn important to fight against it. That’s the definition of balance.”

  “What if you don’t know which side you’re on?,” Bill questions.

  “We’re a complex dichotomy of dark and light. It’s merely our own decision of whether we choose to prowl in the shadows or venture into the brightness. I’d be dishonest if I said that the virtuous path was the easier one, but it is, in my own humble opinion, the more worthwhile choice. Alas, only you are in control of your past, present, and future. Your fate lies in your own hands. No one else’s.”

  “God, how is it that you always make so much and so little sense at the same time?”

  “It’s a curse. And, I’m ranting,” Otaku smiles. “I think it’s done. Check it out,” the samurai lifts Bill’s arm and taps it. A hoverdisk zips into the room and hovers parallel with Bill’s metallic hand.

  “What does it do?”

  “Move your hand,” Otaku responds. Bill moves his hand up and the disk tilts upward. He moves his hand down, and the disk moves downward.

  “So… what does it do?” Bills say. Otaku chuckles.

  “I noticed your affinity for the hoverdisks earlier. You’re wired to summon a nearby hoverdisk at will. You need only think about it, and your brain will trigger a quick signal to your arm, which in turn will activate a pulse which summons the nearest hover device. It may come in handy, should you need a lift.”

  Bill holds his arm parallel to the wall, and the disk follows it, hovering mid-air vertically. He spins his arm around in a circle around his body, and the disk rotates around him.

  “I wouldn’t call it an affinity, but it’s cool,” Bill says, “Thanks.”

  “Damn it!” Jean tosses his game controller. He stands up and turns to Bill and Otaku. He notices the floating hoverdisk. “What’d I miss?”

  Forty-two minutes and 7 seconds later…

  Aeron is hovering over a main computer in the otherwise black room. A blue glow glazes over him. He has been drinking the alcohol from dinner, and the bottle is nearly empty. He his slouched in his chair, drunkenly tapping a button on the computer repeatedly.

  “Chances of mission success based on test: 39%,” the computer emits. Aeron hangs his head low and taps the key again.

  “Chances of mission success based on test: 39%.” Aeron chucks the empty bottle across the room and grunts.

  “39 percent. 39 percent! Best chance we have! 39 percent!” Aeron releases a sad chuckle.

  “Doing a little late night reading, are we?” Bill asks as he walks into the room and over to Aeron. “You’re a mess, Aeron. Let’s get you to bed.”

  Bill takes Aeron’s arm with his metal hand, but Aeron shakes it off. Aeron stares at Bill’s monstrous arm with fear.

  “This is a suicide mission, Bill. It always was! I have failed everyone! EVERYONE!” Aeron can barely keep his head up due to his intoxication.

  “You didn’t. To hell with what that thing says.”

  “You don’t understand. I knew we would die,” Aeron slurs while Bill pulls up a chair. “I’m acting on false hope, Bill. Fading hope. I wanted to… inspire people to do the right thing. I used you. Used them. Look what I’ve done to you.”

  Aeron points to Bill’s robotic arm.

  “I’m already dead. There are others out there, though, who aren’t dead. Others that have the chance that we don’t. To live a normal life,” Bill scoots his chair forward. Aeron looks up at Bill with a malformed facial expression. The blue light of the computer creates large shadows under Aeron’s eyes.

  “I could have murdered Malinfar. I had him! I had him at his weakest. It would have been so damn easy. But, I can’t. Everything matters in the world. Every single thing we do paints the world around us,” Aeron clenches his fist. The two men sit in stillness. Bill scoots his chair slightly forward.

  “After dinner, I started doing some thinking of my own. I’m not sure how this will play out. The future hasn’t been written yet, but I feel different somehow. I feel hope. Hope I haven’t felt in a long while. I want to thank you for that,” Bill calmly says.

  “Ha! You want to thank me?! I screwed you. You’ll be dead soon. Your son is with the Scythes.”

  “And he’s alive, thanks to you! I have the chance that I never thought I would have. I have hope that I will rescue Buck, and help you get those orbs,” Bill says, “But, I can’t do it alone. I need your help. You know so much about this world – this mission – than I do. So, I need you to sober up and get up to speed.”

  “Even with all the odds against us, you feel that we can do this? Why? We’re outnumbered drastically and under-prepared,” Aeron says, “We don’t know where to begin looking, and even if we did, we’d be walking right into Hell.”

  “And, we’ll do so together. As a team. If I die, at least my son will know that I did all that I could. The team convinced me that there are more important things than dying. My son will be proud, and I will have attempted to keep my promise. If I don’t try, I will know. Worse, Buck will know.”

  “People are dying every day out there.”

  “Then, let’s stop it.”

  “You don’t understand. I was wrong,” Aeron says.

  “I kno
w. You were wrong. The Scythes are wrong. About me. I’m not the one you thought I was. I can’t help you finish this war singlehandedly. But, you were wrong about something far more important. You were wrong in thinking that I’m the sole reason that this team will succeed. It isn’t me that will lead this team to victory. It’s you. Them,” Bill points out of the room.

  “Otaku is the most intelligent man I have ever met. Kara, she’s so strong she doesn’t even realize it. Jean’s something else entirely. And you. You care more about others than you do yourself. You postpone your own happiness in order to bring peace to this world. I am privileged to say that I met you. I almost didn’t, ya know?” Bill shoots Aeron a smile.

  “You… you think we can do this? Despite everything?” Aeron asks, a streak of tears roll down his face.

  “Hell, it’s our second chance.”

  Aeron attempts to pick himself up from the chair, but falls. Bill catches him before he hits the ground.

  “Whoa there, cowboy.”

  “Bu… bu…,” Aeron laughs drunkenly.

  “Let’s get you to bed. We have training in a few hours,” Bill says.

 

  Two minutes and 38 seconds later…

  The bedroom is dark and lit only by the light seeping in the open door. Aeron’s arm is thrown over Bill’s shoulder as he stumbles to his bed. Bill assists his walking, and helps him plop into his bed. Bill walks toward the door.

  “Th… thank you, Bill. For everything. Good night… Erux.” Aeron falls quickly asleep, and Bill hears snoring. He is facing the door with his head half turned towards Aeron, and tips his cowboy hat.

  “Good night, friend.” With that, Bill exits the room and quietly closes the door.

  Eleven:

  A Story Untold

  “A boy?! We are gettin’ old,” grunts Nat. Bill and Nat are sitting side by side on a wooden porch on a darkened night with their legs dangling off the edge.

  “That’s all the doc told me. Wouldn’t lemme in ta see Clem yet. Havin’ complications, but she’ll be fine. I’m damn nervous. What if I’m no good? If this kid grows up thinkin’ I’m a failure?” asks the befuddled Bill as he takes off his torn, brown hat and wipes his forehead with a towel. Nat releases a hearty laugh.

  “You’re gonna do fine,” Nat follows Bill in taking off his hat. He gently lays it beside him, and the men stare off into the night sky.

  “Annie n’ me were thinkin’ ‘bout havin’ a kid, ya know? Maybe, a girl. Annie wants a girl.” Bill looks at Nat in disbelief and shoots him a grin.

  “Ya ol’ softy. I don’t picture you as a flowers n’ bows kinda guy,” and Nat reciprocates this friendly jab with a shrug, punching his friend in the shoulder.

  “Ah Hell, I dunno. It’d be fun. Havin’ someone ta raise. Startin’ a family. Annie wants it, Bill. I want it. Ya don’t know how lucky ya are.”

  “I’m a father, Nat. I’m a father.” Bill shifts his head down at his dusty boots. His face is in a state of immense disbelief. “Can you believe it? I’m a father!” Bill yells to the stars.

  “Calm down. Don’t get all sappy on me. ‘Bout this life we’re livin’… maybe it’s time fer a change,” Nat responds. He pats Bill on the back as he puts his hat back on his head and stands up again. He stretches a bit. “It’s late. I should git back ta Annie.”

  Nat slumps over to his black horse, and throws his hefty leg over the steed.

  “Oh, n’ Bill.” Nat slightly turns his head and tosses a tiny gift, wrapped in brown paper, at Bill. The gift falls into Bill’s rough hands, and he eyes the package.

  “Congrats.” With that, Nat races off on his horse into the vast dark of the night, disappearing into the unknown. As Bill begins to open the brown paper, he spots a glimmer of silver. Before he can finish unwrapping his gift, a man with blood on his hand walks out of the house. Bill looks back in horror and drops the package on the wooden porch. A silver pocket watch rolls out and topples off into the high grass.

  Bill is laying in his bed, tossing and turning. Daddy! He awakens with a fright. He stares up at the ceiling of his futuristic cell, and sits up, drenched in an uncomfortable sweat.

  “They have my son. They have my boy.”

  Bill grabs his hat and Stunshot from the side of the bed.

  Aeron yawns as he walks past the door of Bill’s electric cell/bedroom. He’s holding his pounding head in pain. He peeks in to see that Bill is not in his room. He glances to the left, then to the right.

  “What the…?”

  He continues his stumble into the Simulation Training Room, walking in to see Bill in the middle of a training simulation. The cowboy is blasting away at multiple targets and dodging projectiles. Otaku is sitting behind a computer and watching intently. Aeron slugs over to Otaku.

  “How long has he been here?” Aeron asks.

  “All night,” Otaku says with an upward glance, “It’s incredible.”

  “All night?”

  “I don’t think he’s slept at all. I think he’s starting to understand the weight of things,” Otaku smirks.

  “And here I was beginning to think he was a self-centered prick,” Aeron jokes. Kara walks in with her grapple around her arm. Otaku fixes his eyes on her.

  “You’d be surprised at what he’d sacrifice,” Otaku says. Aeron looks confused. “I’d like to talk to you alone when we get a chance. It’s about him.”

  Bill shoots down three machines that are firing projectiles at him. He slides past them and hops over another. There is a determination plastered on his face, oblivious to the others.

  Jean walks in wearing far-too-small cowboy pajamas. Kara is studying Bill’s movements, and then Jean’s attire catches her attention. She stares at his outfit up and down and grins.

  “Something funny, ‘Smoochums’?” Jean walks forward, and Kara’s smirk fades into a straight face. This comment goes unheard by Aeron, who is focused on Bill.

  “Spying on me, damn pirate.” The four stand alongside each other watching the cowboy battle it out with fierce determinism.

  “That’s impressive,” Jean says. Bill shoots down the final two shooting machines and twirls his laser pistols, which he then holsters. His arm begins to cool down from blasting, emitting a slight steam into the air.

  “Very,” Otaku adds.

  “I knew it. The predictions didn’t lie,” Aeron mutters. He breaks from the others and struts toward Bill, who is breathing heavily.

  “Getting a little practice, are we?”

  “Well, a raging drunk kept me up all night,” Bill jokes.

  “And you didn’t sleep?”

  “Couldn’t.”

  “You need rest.”

  “Never said that to us,” Jean leans over to whisper in Otaku’s ear.

  “Quiet,” Otaku snaps, finally noticing Jean’s pajamas. He bursts into a fit of laughter.

  “What?!” Jean barks.

  “Nothing! Nothing,” Otaku continues to laugh.

  “I tried to rest. I kept hearing him. It was as if he was trying to tell me something. It was the weirdest thing,” Bill admits. Aeron picks up a chunk of destroyed machinery.

  “I’ve never been so happy to see all of my belongings demolished. Care to take them into battle?” Aeron drops the chunk.

  “Just as long as Jean changes those damn children’s clothes,” Bill smirks. Jean looks down at his outfit. Kara and Otaku burst out laughing.

  “Children’s clothes?!” Jean shouts with a surprised look on his face.

  Twelve:

  Déjà vu and Réjà vu

  Bill, Otaku, Jean, and Kara are standing in the artificial simulation world. They are all donning their black Chrono-Crossed, armored outfits.

  “Ladies and Gents, you know what to do. Bring back the orb from the last building,” Aeron’s voice booms over the false world’s skies.

  Four soldiers fly up on their hoverdisks and fly towards the team. Bill and K
ara use their lasso and grapple respectively to yank two of the disks from the soldiers. Otaku dives at the two downed soldiers and stabs them with his dual Anti-BeamBlades. Their bodies disintegrate into spiraling smoke around the man.

  Kara and Bill hop on the disks and fly into the air at the other two soldiers. The enemy soldiers are swinging their double-edged swords wildly. Jean blasts one of the soldiers with his WristCannon. The soldier falls off of the roof, and his disk falls. Otaku rolls and scoops it up swiftly.

  “Nice shot!” Otaku shouts.

  “In my day, I was…”

  “Watch it!” Otaku yells as the last soldier flings a sword at Jean. Otaku jumps in front of it and repels it with his quick sword swings. Bill fires a Stunshot at the soldier, dropping him. His hover disk falls, and Otaku catches this one as well. He smugly hands it to Jean.

  “This means nothing,” Jean says.

  All four soar on their hover disks and fly over the second building. The giant robot that guards the second building returns with a crash landing, and launches beams of laser at the four. Otaku reflects the shots before they hit the team.

  Kara flies by and grapples the firing arm, Bill also lassos the same arm. The two fly by and yank the arm so that it’s pointing at the robot’s own head right before it fires off another shot. The shot fires and blasts the robot off into the sky and out of sight, leaving behind only its lifeless head.

  “Good going, Cowboy!” Kara shouts.

  “That wasn’t the part I was worried about.”

  The four fly over the third and final building. The image of Nat and Buck appears like clockwork. Bill stops, hovering in mid-air, frozen once again. The rest of the team are motionless, awaiting Bill.

  Aeron is sitting in front of a virtual screen watching the simulation take place.

  “Come on, Bill,” he whispers.

  The cowboy remains still in the air. The others are stationary as well.

  “You’re past this, Cowboy,” Jean says. Kara flies back and grabs Bill’s hand. He looks down at her gesture.

  “We made a promise. No quitting. Let’s do this. Together,” she says. Bill nods, but hesitates.

  “This, I have to do alone,” Bill says to her. She affirms, and Bill slowly flies forward. Jean begins to follow, but Otaku tosses up his arm and holds it into Jean’s chest to stop him.

  “Let him go.”

  The flight over to Nat and Buck slows time. Bill’s Stunshot is shaking in his hand. Nat shoots Bill a wicked grin.

  “You never learn, Billy. Your son dies again,” virtual Nat says.

  “That’s not my son. Our time will come. This isn’t it.” Jean, Otaku, and Kara exchange confused glances.

  “What did he say?” Jean asks. Otaku merely shrugs.

  “Look at you. You’re terrified,” Nat chuckles.

  “I’m many things: confused, exhausted, disappointed. But, I’m not scared anymore. I’m not. You don’t scare me.”

  Bill drops his Stunshot and fires a blast of energy from his robotic arm at the image of Nat. The image of Nat and Buck disappears like smoke and particles into the sky. The virtual orb is glowing vigorously on a pedestal. Bill motions to Jean.

  “Would you do the honors?”

  Jean scoops up the orb in his hand.

  “You did it,” Jean says in disbelief. Otaku nods. Kara places a soft hand on Bill’s shoulder.

  The four are thrown out of the simulation and standing in front of Aeron, who is beaming. Everyone is smiling and rejoicing over the victory. Everyone except Bill. Aeron notices this.

  “We will get your boy, Bill,” he says.

  Bill walks back over to the simulation box. His head is hanging low, and he slowly places his hand on the box. He disappears from the room, and back into the simulation. The rest of the crew realize that he has jumped back into the test. Aeron sighs.

  “Let’s run it again.”

  Thirteen:

  The Secret Passageway

  Later that evening…

  Bill is walking down the hallway alone, patting the back of his neck with a towel. He is worn from training. Sweat drips from his forehead, and his black suit is remotely torn. He glances around to notice that he has strayed a bit too far away from the few rooms that he recognizes.

  He takes off his hat for a second, wiping the excess sweat off of the top of his head. Stopping to look around a bit, Bill notices he is in a tiny, jagged hallway with no doors or windows. Suddenly, a loud bang erupts from around the corner. Bill slowly peeks around to find another thin hallway.

  There he was. The traitor. J.J. was standing in the hallway, oblivious to Bill. He is holding some strange equipment, and there is a part of wall slid to the side, creating an opening.

  There is a piece of equipment on the floor. J.J. yanks his head back and forth, Bill pulls his head back quickly to avoid being seen. J.J. tries to scoop up the fallen shard of machinery. Bill pokes his head out again, then swiftly posts up in a cover position. He reaches down at his holster to find an empty spot where his Stungun should be. He opens a hatch on his robotic arm to find no ammo. Bill looks down the hall in which he came, and the training room where he left his gear. He looks to his left side and notices his energy lasso. He plants his hand over it and scoffs.

  “Have to do,” he whispers to himself. He emerges from around the corner, brazenly, and struts towards J.J.

  “So that’s how you snuck out?! After you murdered your friend?!” J.J. jerks his head up to see Bill and is so startled that he drops a few pieces of equipment. He yanks a gun from behind his belt and fires it down the hall. The shot is way off.

  “Right,” Bill says as J.J. dives into the passageway. Bill yanks his lasso from his side and races after him into the dark passage. J.J. is dropping pieces of machinery as they both dart down the thin, jagged path. Bill’s lasso is lighting the way as he treks after the fleeing man.

  J.J. kicks open a random spot in the wall, and bright moonlight blasts in from the outside. J.J. jumps outside, and Bill soon follows. Bill’s eyes squint as his finds himself in a beautifully damaged world. The Azure building is immensely large with a slight blue glow around it. There is an ominous, purple haze in the distance that lights the otherwise black skies.

  J.J. shouts something indistinct, and a hoverbike appears a few yards from him. Bill hastens his sprint. Both men are panting heavily. J.J. approaches the bike, and Bill frantically yanks a clear ball from his belt and tosses it at the bike, which encapsulates it in a bubble shield. This thrusts J.J. backwards, and he spins around, facing Bill. The cowboy stops just a few yards from the pale man.

  “End of the line, pal. Some of those people inside would like a word with you,” Bill says panting. J.J. drops all of the equipment. His facial expression is monstrous and desperate. His skin looks slightly decayed in the moon’s lighting.

  “The Scythes… they’re eating you alive. You murdered someone close to you. You were friends, weren’t you? And all of those people…”

  “Trying to guilt trip me?! You don’t understand what’s coming!” J.J. shouts. He moves his hand to the side, but Bill braces himself, ready to toss the lasso as soon as J.J. moves.

  “Don’t try it,” Bill says, “I’m much faster than you. What’s the price of selling out your allies?”

  “Immortality,” J.J. replies.

  J.J. slaps his wristwatch which swiftly encapsulates him in a large, robotic exoskeleton. Only his pale face is exposed. Bill gazes up at the large, suited J.J.

  “Did not see that coming,” Bill mutters to himself.

  J.J. holds out his robotic arm, and the passage into the Azure facility seals with a slam. Bill turns and eyes J.J. again.

  “He can keep the Scythes out. For a while. But, he overlooks far too much. He’s lost his mind,” J.J. says, his voice echoing from within his tank-like suit.

  Bill tosses his lasso over J.J., but the robot arms grab the lasso. J.J. swings and tosses Bill acros
s the street and into the wall of a nearby building. The cowboy slams into the asphalt hard when he lands. The lasso falls into Bill’s lap. A tiny stream of blood trickles from his head. He slowly lifts himself up as the monstrous J.J. slugs towards him.

  “Care to talk this over?” says Bill.

  J.J. sticks both arms to the ground and two large, saw-like blades zip out towards the cowboy.

  “Guess not.” Bill whips his lasso around a sign hanging above and swings his way up and around it. He lands on a narrow strip on top of the sign. The saw blades slice through the building, spitting up metal and rubble in their wake, and keep going. J.J. looks up at Bill who is struggling to maintain balance.

  Their eyes meet, and Bill shoots a wink at J.J., who once again, holds out his arm. The outer shell of the arm flies off and towards the sign that Bill is standing on. The flying arm grabs the sign and rips it from the building. Bill falls and slams into the ground again. The outer shell of the arm hits the ground as well.

  J.J. holds out his other arm, another shell shooting off at Bill. He quickly rolls out of the way and lassos the flying arm casing. Bill swings the shell around and flings it back at J.J., who is hit by his own weapon and stumbles backwards. Bill rises from the ground and throws his fist up in overconfidence.

  “That’s it?! That’s all you’ve got?!”

  J.J. rips up large chunks of road, and tosses them at Bill who weaves to dodge them. Sticking out his leg, J.J. shoots the outer shell of the leg off towards Bill. The flying leg hits Bill and tosses him through the building where the saws buzzed sliced through.

  Bill is smashed through the wall and lands inside alongside of a staircase. Rubble and hunks of building are falling from the crumbling walls and fragile ceiling. Bill shakes his head to regain his stability. He looks over at one of the downed saw blades. J.J. rips through the wall and looks down at Bill who jumps to his feet.

  The cowboy lassos the saw blade and slings it at J.J.’s head. J.J. deflects the blade to the side with his arm with no harm done. He then slams his robotic fist into the ground, shaking the entire building. A devilish smirk crosses his pale, grey face.

  “You’ll kill us both!” Bill yells. J.J. takes a massive step forward.

  “So be it.”

  “I’m not ready to die yet.”

  “You’re already dead, bitch.”

  “Not yet, bitch.”

  Bill swiftly tosses his lasso at J.J.’s head, which completely wraps around his face. Blinded, J.J.’s robotic arms flail and swing wildly as Bill races up the staircase.

  Ripping the lasso off of his face, J.J. charges after Bill, destroying the staircase in his wake. The entire structure crumbles at the impact of J.J.’s enormous suit. In order to catch Bill, J.J. jumps and latches onto the edge of the rail higher up.

  The entire staircase shifts at an angle. Bill scurries towards a door at the end of the large spiral staircase. The stairs are collapsing underneath their very feet. Bill dives through the door at the top, and J.J. falls as the stairway disintegrates underneath him.

  Bill bursts out of the door and runs to the building’s edge. He looks down to find that he is many, many stories up. He surveys the area for an escape route, to no prevail. J.J. breaks through the door, shattering it, and stands across from Bill, preparing an energetic rush.

  J.J. soars at him, a trail of fire and energy follows him. Bill once again reaches down to both empty sides of his belt, remembering that he is completely out of weapons. His eyes slam shut.

  “Bill! Don’t move!” a familiar voice shouts. Bill jerks his head upwards, eyes open. Aeron rises up on a hoverdisk and tosses a bubble shield at the cowboy, encasing him with protection. J.J. slams into the durable bubble, slightly cracking it, and ricochets off to the side.

  Aeron touches a button on his belt, and a large discharge of pulsing, plasma energy emits from it. The beam is so fierce that the recoil pushes Aeron backwards. The blast hits the robotic suit, ripping J.J.’s charred body out of it, and hurls the man off of the roof in a stream of smoke. The suit disintegrates into ashes. Aeron flies over and touches the bubble shield, which disappears, and grabs Bill’s mechanical arm. The two glide off of the rooftop.

  Aeron lowers Bill to the ground and gracefully lands himself. He sticks out his arm, and the hoverdisk flies up underneath his hand. It folds and shrinks, attaching itself to the bottom of his watch. J.J.’s well-cooked body is laying still on the ground a few yards away from the two men.

  “Shame. I was saving this for someone else.” Aeron unclicks his belt and tosses it off to the side.

  “He was sneaking in and out through a panel in the wall.”

  “Must have been at it for months. Carefully weaving and plotting around us. The building has protective measures that keep out the Scythes or destroying the building. Wisely, they hit us from within.”

  “How did you know to find me?” Bill asks.

  “I knew something was up when you weren’t killing something in the training room. Looks like the bastard left us a gift.” Aeron walks up to J.J.’s burnt corpse and pushes it with his foot. As the body flips, Aeron opens up the jacket and picks up a small, black, L-shaped device. Bill walks up behind Aeron and stares down at it. Aeron vigorously hits and presses multiple buttons, turning it sideways to display a hologram with strange symbols and markings.

  “What is it?” Bill asks. A smile curls up on Aeron’s face. The panel in the side of the building opens wide, and Kara pops out.

  “You rang? When did this get put here?” she says, motioning to the hidden passage. She looks down at J.J.’s body.

  “Great timing,” Aeron scoffs, as he pushes towards the passageway, staring at the device. He disappears inside.

  “What’d I miss?” Kara asks.

  Fourteen:

  In the Lateness of Night

 

  Bill walks into the room where he was first transported to. He stares at the spot where J.J. and Emmitt were primarily stationed upon his arrival. His mind wanders as he acknowledges the exchange between J.J. and his self. He couldn’t help but associate the parallel between the two scientists and the complications of the struggle with Nat.

  “Poor bastards,” he mutters to himself. He scoots a chair in the center of the room and plants himself down, looking the place over.

  “Could it be that you feel bad for them? Even J.J. who betray us?” Aeron sneaks in behind Bill, and plants a chair next to him. The two sit alongside each other for a few quiet moments.

  “I feel that this world made him that way. The world gives us impossible, unfair choices. We just act accordingly, with no real sense of right or wrong,” Bill says, “Merely people pitted against each other by an impartial world.” Both men shift their heads simultaneously to the spot where Bill was first transported. Aeron pulls the L-shaped device from his pocket and hands it to Bill.

  “Like Nat Dalton?” Aeron asks. Bill looks at every side of the device, toying with it in his hands.

  “Exactly like that. What is this thing?” Bill asks.

  “That, my friend, is an advanced communication device used to provide Intel to the Scythes,” Aeron responds.

  “Shouldn’t it be scorched?”

  “Ironically, J.J.’s corpse shielded it from the blast. Fate perhaps.”

  “Why keep it?” Bill asks.

  “It’s a map of sorts, showing the exact location of a once-hidden, mobile Scythe base. I’d be willing to bet that Buck and the orbs are there. Almost too certain of it,” Aeron says. He takes the device from Bill’s hand and presses a button. The device lights up.

  “And Nat Dalton?” Bill turns his head from Aeron, who is shocked at Bill’s suggestion. A few slow seconds pass.

  “How did you-”

  “You slipped up before. Said that the Scythes had two orbs. I knew from that moment Nat was alive. You confirmed my suspicions at dinner,” Bill says. He stands up from his chair, anticipating the question that followed.

  ??
?Given another chance, would you try to kill him? You confessed that he was a good man,” Aeron asks. Bill glances down at Aeron.

  “He was a good man. Damn good. But, he killed my son, and you said it best. You know everything about me. I’m a killer,” Bill says.

  “Nat Dalton kills you. You can’t change that. That’s how that scenario plays out, Bill.”

  “We’ll see.” Bill clenches the metal fingers on his robotic arm.

  “That changes nothing. Strong as you are, you’re not too bright,” Aeron says. Bill looks at Aeron in disbelief.

  “Pardon?” Bill questions with one eye brow lifted.

  “You have this need for revenge, feeling that the world owes you something. If you succumb to that need…”

  Bill staggers to the very spot in which he first arrived in 2888.

  “I know he’s waiting for me. To finish the events of the past,” the cowboy mumbles.

  “There’s always another way.”

  “I don’t see one,” Bill responds. The man from the future slinks over to Bill, and the two stand sharing a few moments of silence. Aeron pats the cowboy’s shoulder and strides out of the room. Bill stands there for a pondering minute, and soon races after Aeron.

  Slugging through the dark stretch of hallway, Aeron scratches the stubble on the bottom of his defined chin.

  “It’s time,” a voice declares from behind him. He stops dead in the middle of the hall, and his eyes close as if he were expected these very words. Bill walks up to him from the blackness of the hallway. Aeron doesn’t turn around.

  “You’re acting on impulse,” Aeron says lowly, “We need more time.”

  “Don’t you see? They expect us to wait!” Bill says, “We hit them tonight, we’ll catch them off guard.”

  “Maybe, but this is bigger than just you and Buck. These aren’t just our lives we’re risking.” Aeron finally turns to face the cowboy.

  “I can’t explain it, but something hit me. Hard. We can get those orbs, and I can get my son back. But, we act tonight,” Bill says.

  The two men stand silently in the hallway. Aeron ponders about the results of the tests that they ran before bringing the cowboy here, while Bill questions his own promptness in his mind. Aeron merely shakes his head.

  “No.” Aeron whirls around and calmly moseys away from Bill, who is standing still in his spot.

  “Aeron, please,” Bill whispers, but the voice echoes in the hall. “Trust me.” Aeron stops in place. He shakes his head yet again and sighs.

  “I do, Cowboy. I knew you’d piece it all together. I’ll tell the others.”

  “Regardless of how this ends, I’m glad we met,” Bill says. Aeron turns his head again to find the cowboy behind him holding out his hand. He shakes it, and glances up at the man from the past. There was a different, indescribable look in his eyes.

  “Me too, Bill. We have much to do. Get your suit.”

  Later…

  Loading his robotic arm, Bill strolls down a familiar hallway outside of the dining area. He stops and stares at the spot where Kara had kissed him earlier. A cheesy smile appears on his otherwise rough face.

  “Reminiscing, Cowboy?”

  Bill spins to see Kara leaning in the well-lit doorway. Looking sleek in her black and blue Chrono-Cross outfit, grapple at her hip, she props her foot up against the wall behind her back.

  “Just a bit, Dollface.”

  “You do smile! I owe Jean a drink,” she says while remaining otherwise motionless. Bill merely grins.

  “I haven’t for so long, I almost forgot what it felt like,” Bill says. He latches his arm hatch shut.

  “Aeron says you want to head out tonight. Why tonight? You know we aren’t ready,” Kara asks curiously.

  “Would you call me crazy if I simply said it just feels right?” Bill says, barely lifting his head.

  “Yes. Crazy.”

  “It’s true. It feels right. I don’t believe in myself, but I believe in you – in them.” Bill gestures to the outside of the room where the others are readying themselves. Kara walks over to Bill and takes his human hand. She tugs his arm, pulling him out of the shadows of the darkened hallway.

  “Let’s get you out of the dark, Cowboy… err… Crazy?.” Kara stops and whispers in Bill’s ear, “If things get bad down there… if we die… I just want you to know that I believe in you… even if you don’t.”

  The two stare at each other for a few quiet seconds. Bill merely nods in the satisfaction that there was finally someone to share his thoughts and feelings with. The slight grin on his face never fades as Kara gives him a quick hug.

  Fifteen:

  Descending

  “And, you didn’t call in your hover disk when he had you pinned?” Otaku asks Bill. He looks down at that monstrous arm of his, and continues to equip it with small bullet-like capsules of energy. The arm glows in tandem with the beating of Bill’s heart. He continues to be astounded at the appendage.

  “I… forgot about that particular feature,” Bill admits. Otaku chuckles.

  Kara, Otaku, Jean, and Bill are sitting in a circle aboard the Chrono-Cross airship. They are attaching their weapons and putting the finishing touches on their armor. A fully-suited Aeron is pacing from the cockpit of the ship, fiddling with a helmet in his hands.

  “This may be our last hope at retrieving those orbs and putting the Scythes on hold. Thanks to our close friend J.J., we now know the location of a hidden Scythe base. It will be heavily guarded, and damn near impossible to get into” Aeron says, “And, if I’m correct, we can expect to run into the 4 as well.”

  “Rigel,” Kara scoffs.

  “You got it. As the deadliest of the 4, Malinfar will more than likely be the holder of one of the orbs,” Aeron says, “Alypse wouldn’t trust it to just any grunt.”

  “Who the hell is Alypse?” Bill asks. Otaku and Jean cease their actions to look at Bill in disbelief.

  “Scythe Queen. You don’t want to be caught along with her. She’s not… normal. She’s a bit sore with me. I doubt she’ll be there, anyway, as she is far too protected,” Aeron replies.

  “So, what’s the plan?” Bill asks. Aeron moves over to a table with a virtual, holographic map of the hidden base hovering above it. The rest of the team closes in on the table and peers over the display.

  “This is a layout of the Scythe base. Thank Kara for scanning the diagnostics of J.J.’s device. I believe that these two lighted blips on the map reveal the two locations of the orbs. As you can see, both of which are actively moving. One in the lower lobby, and the other at the highest corridor. This leads me to believe that Malinfar is carrying the lower orb.

  “I regret to inform you all that Nat Dalton is probably the holder of the second orb, located in the upper regions of the base,” Aeron clears his throat, “On the 288th floor.”

  “Alive?” Kara asks.

  “Unfortunately. Did you say the 288th floor?!,” Bill says.

  “Y… yes.”

  “Splitting the orbs to get us alone. Pirates’ tactic for reducing thievery,” Jean chimes in.

  “So, how are we splitting teams?” Otaku asks.

  “I suggest that Bill be the one to take out Malinfar. If he can avoid Nat, then that would greatly increase our chances. Kara, Otaku, you will accompany Bill. Jean and I will climb through a side passage and rise up through a vertical transportation opening,” Aeron says.

  “He means vertical elevation shaft… er… elevator,” Kara whispers to Bill, who shrugs a confused shrug.

  “I think I should be the one to face Nat,” Bill says.

  “This again. Not a chance. You know how this plays out, Bill,” Aeron says.

  “You know he has my son. That’s why you’re keeping me from him.”

  “And that makes you vulnerable. I’m saving you. Jean and I will rescue your son.”

  “I can’t let you do that.”

  “You don’t have a choice.”

  “Aeron, this is my sec
ond chance.” Bill closes in on Aeron’s face.

  “You have to trust me. I will save your boy.”

  Bill clenches his fists. An overload of red enflames and engulfs his face. He turns and rushes from the table to peer out a window.

  “That’s not good,” Otaku says.

  “I don’t know this Nat character, but I’ll gladly take him on rather than Malinfar. That bastard is ruthless,” Jean gulps. Kara winds her grapple around her trim waist.

  “Rigel is mine,” she says.

  “Let’s not let our emotions get the best of us. Kara and Otaku, you two will aid Bill in the lobby. Malinfar will be assisted by the rest of the 4.

  “The cowboy’s urge to find his son should be more than enough incentive until Jean and I retrieve Nat’s orb. Dalton will be expecting Bill, so we should be able to quickly dispose of him due to the element of surprise. Then, we’ll rendezvous in the lobby and finish the 4, and take Malinfar’s orb,” Aeron asserts.

  “Sounds like a horrible plan,” Jean says.

  “And, you have a better one? You can’t mention Malinfar’s name without soiling yourself,” Otaku responds.

  “Did you see what he did to the cowboy’s arm? What if he takes my leg? Everyone will call me ‘Peg-leg.’ I just can’t live with that level of irony,” Jean confesses.

  “It is a horrible plan. It’s also the only one we have,” Aeron says. He looks back at Bill, who is still staring blankly out of the window with his robot hand planted firmly on the ship’s wall. Jean and Otaku rise from the table and continue readying their outfits.

  “You’re doing this on purpose. You know it’s killing him,” Kara says.

  “I’m saving him,” Aeron vows.

  “From what?”

  “Himself,” Aeron mutters, “I know him just a little better than you do. I know what he would do, because I know what I would do. Besides, this isn’t just for him. You know how Malinfar gets under my skin.”

  Bill is glaring down at the gun that is resting uncomfortably in his human hand. He toys with it, lost in thought, busy fighting internal demons while Aeron and Kara peer in on the man.

  “I know what he’s thinking. He wants to kill Dalton, but it will be September 16th, 1886 all over again,” Aeron stares down the troubled Bill Oakley. “That’s his fate.”

  Aeron and Kara turn away, the woman a few seconds behind the man, and stroll into the cockpit. Otaku strides behind Bill, peering over the man’s shoulder.

  “What’s on your mind?” the samurai asks.

  “What’s he keeping from us? Something doesn’t make sense. Something else is going on.” Bill glances over at Aeron, his eyes squinting inventively.

  “He plays things pretty close to his chest, but I trust him.” Otaku assures and pats Bill on the back, “Let’s go get your boy.”

  The airship lands in an area surrounded heavily by trees and shrubbery. Each member of the team is standing alongside each other, decked out in their black suits, and holding their respective weapons.

  “It’s a bit of a walk, but our ship will be protected here. I’m not sure what to say… except… it’s been a pleasure knowing all of you. Even you, Jean,” Aeron says, revealing a half-depressing grin.

  “You’re a peach, Aeron,” Jean replies.

  “I’ve never known a group of people so devoted to a cause. These aren’t your problems, but you took me up on the task. Thank you all,” Aeron continues.

  “We’re not dead yet,” says Otaku.

  “I can’t believe we’re doing this. My heart’s racing,” Kara says. The airship door opens with haste, and the crew peers out. The sky is a dangerous purple, and a few, randomly-scattered drops of rain crash to the ground.

  “Any last words?” Aeron asks, but the group stares out into the open world silently. Bill steps out first. They all exchange glances. Bill leads the way into the forestry without a word’s notice. The rest reluctantly follow him.

  The team treks through the dark forest for many long minutes. The withered leaves are falling and blowing against the team’s direction. The purplish glow of the sky tints the trees. The rain picks up, swiping them from the side. Aeron holds up J.J.’s device skyward.

  “It’s right through these trees. Look.” Aeron stops and points to the device. Many lights speckle on the mechanism. The crew stops their march.

  “There’s a lot of them,” Aeron confirms.

  “You thought different?” Bill asks.

  “No, it’s just surreal,” Aeron quietly answers. Otaku picks up a flower that is half-singed. He gazes over it for a minute or two.

  “We’re walking into Hell,” Otaku says. Jean reluctantly nods in agreement.

  “Then, the Devil himself better be ready.” Bill grits his teeth. He continues to march forth, and the others slug behind him. Otaku drops the flower in their wake. As Bill and the Chrono-Cross team push through the trees and move aside the shrubbery, a single, burnt petal falls from the flower and weakly crumbles to ash as it hits the ground.

  Sixteen:

  Dead or Alive?

  Minutes pass, and the five push their way through a final patch of trees. They stop at the edge of a huge, empty crater.

  “There’s nothing here. Just a massive hole,” Bill murmurs, “You said it was here.”

  “It’s an illusion, masked in darkness,” Kara whispers. She takes the L-shaped device from Aeron and fiddles with it. “Downloading Scythian vision.” Their five outfits emit light, and a scrambling of visuals appears right before Bill’s eyes. A bustling, dark city fades into existence right before the team.

  In the dead center of the craterous city is an enormous, eerily spiraling tower, black as night and hundreds of stories high. It is surrounded by a bustling amount of moving Scythians and unidentifiables.

  “There it is.” Otaku points to the top of the tower. A tiny light flickers at the very pinnacle of the tower.

  “It’s… huge,” Kara says.

  “Turns me on when you talk like that,” Jean chuckles nervously.

  “Not the time.”

  “Trying to lighten the mood.”

  Aeron hits a button on his helmet, and a pair of futuristic binoculars spring from it. He sees hundreds of Scythes as well as robotic drones circling the perimeter of the tower.

  “Yep, there’s a ton of them,” Aeron says as he snaps photos of the area with his binoculars, “Strange…”

  “Those don’t look like normal Scythes,” Jean says, staring through a techno-spyglass to see off in the distance.

  “Look like robots.”

  “They look like… corpses.”

  “God. Those are corpses! They’ve put dead human bodies through Roboticizors!” Kara screams, horrified.

  “Artificial intelligence playing off of human brains. No morals. No guilt. Simply, highly-intelligent slaughtering machines,” Aeron says, shaking his head.

  “It’s an undead army,” Otaku says.

  “Undead army… of robot zombies? Geez, can we ever catch a break?” asks Jean.

  “So they’re Robo-Walkers?” Otaku initiates a rapid name game with Jean.

  “Too clunky.”

  “Mecha-zombies?”

  “Lame.”

  “Zentries?”

  “I like it. Let’s go with that.”

  Bill eyes the multitude of Zentries and Scythes patrolling the area, wondering how the five of them could possibly breach the extensive defense. A snap from Aeron’s binocular camera snatches Bill’s attention away from the guards. Something familiar in Aeron’s holster completely robs Bill of his thoughts.

  “The hell is this?” Bill asks, yanking the Stunshot from Aeron’s waist. Aeron ceases snapping photos.

  “Stunshot. You know that.” He replies while adjusting his lenses, never meeting Bill’s face.

  “You’re going to spare his life?” Bill grabs Aeron’s arm, forcing them into a face-to-face confrontation.

  “You said he was a good man. Tortured, but good. I
’m going to do what you cannot. I’m here to save lives, not take them.” Aeron shakes Bill’s hand from his arm. Bill yanks out the energy gun from his own holster.

  “The rest of us are shooting to kill,” Bill says.

  “The Scythe 4, these guards, these… abominations… they won’t show remorse. People will die tonight, but only justly. I have a backup gun for emergency,” Aeron says, trying to focus his attention back on the guards below.

  With a fierce swing of his human fist, Bill bashes Aeron in the jaw. Kara and Jean dive to pick up Aeron, who has fallen to his side. Bill lobs a gun high into the distant forest. Otaku shoots him a raised eyebrow, shaking his head disappointedly at the cowboy. Kara pulls Aeron’s arm, but locks eyes with Bill in disbelief.

  “You’ll thank me later,” Bill asserts. Aeron rises to his feet.

  “We’ll see,” Aeron says, rubbing his sore jaw, “let’s inch around.”

  They tiptoe around the edge of the crater, carefully sliding down a rocky slope to a lower position. A large group of Scythes and Zentries are guarding the front entrance. Aeron motions forward, and the five slide down a bit of the crater. They take cover behind a large rock.

  “Remember the plan. Jean and I will take to the side while you run distraction. We’ll intercept Nat’s orb at the top of the base. Bill; you, Kara, and Otaku hold steady out here.

  “The doors will have a protection code, which will probably take a few minutes for the device to decipher. For about 30 seconds, all entrances will be unlocked. Once in the lobby, Malinfar will be more than enough of a fight to occupy you guys until we get back. Get those orbs, and stick to the plan,” says Aeron.

  “I’ve got a better idea.” Bill whips out a gun and blasts Aeron. Kara screams, and Aeron falls motionless to the ground. Jean and Kara slide over to assist the downed Aeron. They find that his eyes are still moving within his otherwise solid state.

  “He took Aeron’s Stunshot after he slugged him, quickly switching the guns while you two were aiding him,” Otaku sighs, “The gun he tossed into the forest back there was his own.”

  “I can’t let him do this,” Bill admits, “This is my fight. I was never too good with plans anyway.” He yanks J.J.’s device from Aeron’s frozen hands, replacing it with the Stunshot that he stole.

  “That wasn’t your call to make Bill!” Kara yells. The cowboy disregards her passionate words, although the tone of her voice makes him uneasy internally.

  “The rest of you, take on the 4. You know them better than I. Soon as I get to the side, I will unlock the doors. Only then, unfreeze him. I know Nat, and my son needs me. You can’t underestimate Nat Dalton. I don’t want Aeron risking his life for my fight.” Bill drops down to one knee and gazes into Aeron’s eyes. The man’s eyes are furiously filled with emotion, piercing Bill with an uncomfortable hatred.

  “You know this is right. I was meant to do this. And look…” Bill holds up his empty hands, and points to his empty holster. The fingers on his robotic hand whirl and lock into place with a snap. “I’m not armed.” Bill winks as he holds up his robot arm. “Kick some ass, friend.”

  Bill nods at the others and runs around the long cover of rocks and towards the side of the Scythe tower. Kara yells for Bill to return, and fumbles with the Stunshot that Bill had left. She blasts Aeron with it, and he reanimates and rolls to his side.

  “That asshole just ran to his death! He’s unarmed! He’s unarmed!” Aeron screams.

  “Well, that’s insensitive,” Jean says.

  “Attention, all Scythian forces,” a giant voice booms from seemingly nowhere across the Scythian city, “this is your queen. We have five intruders attempting to infiltrate our base tower, led by the criminal, Aeron Phoeni. The Scythes that bring me the felons, alive, will be graciously rewarded. The city is locked down until each and every one of them is captured.”

  “Not to spoil the fun, but I think we’ve been spotted.” Jean is peaking over a rock, and a slew of robotic sentries are flying towards their position.

  “Damn it, Bill! No time for this. Alright team, let’s give them hell!” Aeron yanks out his energy gun. Kara whips out her Power grapple, Otaku unleashes his Anti-BeamBlade, and Jean attaches his Wrist Cannon. They dive over the mass chuck of rock, and rush headfirst into a devastating firefight.

  Hundreds of Zentries and Scythes swarm around the four of them. The Scythes maneuver with great agility, though the Zentries are lumbering and eerily stiff. Otaku bowls out a small cylinder, which sparks and explodes, disabling many of the surrounding Zentries. Shots are fired throughout the air wildly, as Otaku shouts “Two minutes!” The defensive field around the tower flickers and fades.

  Bill sprints to the side of the Scythe tower, and spots a vent high on the building. Tossing his energy lasso, he binds a bar on the cover of the vent and yanks the lasso with his mechanical arm. After a few seconds, the vent cover rips off of the building, landing a few inches from Bill’s boot. He scales the wall vertically, using the lasso as a rope. He hoists his body up, and shimmies into the open vent, glancing down at J.J.’s device. The lights indicate that Buck is at the top of the tower. He begins to crawl through the narrow vent, and follows it down a long stretch.

  A small patch of light emits from an air duct. He peers through to see a commotion below. There are two Scythes walking along below, one of which is entirely cloaked in a black robe and slowly lurching behind the other figure. Bill notices Malinfar in front, but is unable to see the face of the other.

  “My Queen, the soldiers have just informed me that Aeron and the cowboy are inside.” The figure in the back stops in its haste, and its head twitches, surveying the area. Bill sees a glimpse of a beady, yellow eye as he jerks back from sight.

  “Cowboy.” The voice sounds like the hissing of a snake uncomfortably merged with machinery. There is a moment of quiet, and Bill glances downward again. Malinfar has turned to speed along the Queen.

  “Yes, Lady Alypse. He’s inside, just as you anticipated,” Malinfar speaks in a soft voice. Alypse sniffs the area, seemingly aware of Bill’s presence in the room. He hears a slight snicker from Alypse.

  “We must make haste, my Queen,” Malinfar spits desperately. Shielded by her hood, Alypse slightly nods. As they exit, Bill notices the Queen twitch her head backwards towards Bill. He lays silently in the vent for a few seconds.

  “What the hell is going on here?” Bill mutters to himself.

  The lobby door bursts open, and Aeron and the team dive in the Scythe tower. Otaku swiftly slams the door closed and whips out a small keypad, tossing it to Jean. Otaku and Aeron press up hard against the door while Scythes and Zentries attempt to push through, Jean sticks the keypad on the wall and jams its many buttons. The door begins to glow blue which blasts Aeron and Otaku back a few yards. Kara eyes the door and the ceiling of the room.

  “The shields have been refigured,” Kara says, “That gives us a bit of time. Not much though.” There is a demonic-looking chandelier hovering over their heads.

  Aeron walks out and eyes the area. He glances down and adjusts his glove.

  “You can come out. We know you’re there,” Aeron snaps his head towards the chandelier. It shakes violently as spheroids of fire erupt from it. The flames float down and mold into human forms. Suddenly, Rigel, Antares, and Spica are standing on the ground across from the team. The three of them are hanging their heads and staring intently at the others in the room. Rigel’s eyes are gazing directly at Kara, who reciprocates the eye contact.

  “Where’s Malinfar?” Aeron asks in a calm voice, wiping his forehead.

  “Manners, Aeron,” Rigel smirks. Spica cracks her neck.

  “We’ll trade you Malinfar for the cowboy. Where is he? He was awfully cute,” Spica says, holding back laughter.

  “He’s not here, so let’s get down to business,” Aeron responds.

  “Oh, he’s here. We have his son, and he’s on his way up there right now. You left him alone? To face our Nat
Dalton,” Rigel says. This causes Antares to laugh.

  “Nat 2.0.” Antares lets out a burly chuckle. Otaku pushes forward.

  “What did you do to that man?” Otaku cautiously asks with a raised eyebrow, his head turned in curiosity.

  “We made a few upgrades. If he couldn’t kill him before, he won’t be able to scratch him now.”

  “You monsters!” Kara shouts.

  “Calm down, princess. What do you say, boys? Shall we break their bones to match those broken spirits?” Spica mumbles.

  “I’ve never hit a woman before, but for her, I’ll make an exception,” Otaku whispers to Jean, who responds with a nod.

  There is an unspoken command between everyone in the room, and with that, Kara chucks her grapple at Rigel, but he rapidly grabs it and yanks her to the ground. The Scythes laugh until Aeron points a gun at Rigel. Otaku and Jean pick Kara up. Spica whips out a swinging, electric mace. Antares unleashes a trident-like spear. Rigel hits a button on his helmet, and a sheath covers his face. Two barrels protrude from above the eyes of his mask.

  “Brace yourselves,” Aeron holds out his arm to hold Kara back, and then nods his head.

  Bill comes to a dead end and pops off a panel, dropping down in front of an elevator. He slowly walks over to the elevator door, but realizes that there are no buttons or way in. He places his hands on the door to survey it. J.J.’s device blips and Bill eyes it down. It is the only way up. Bill is lost about the course of action when he spots the fingers on his robotic hand twirl.

  His head darts up, and he grabs the edge of the door with his metal hand and begins to pry to door open. His arm begins to struggle as the door shakily begins to close again. He reaches down at his waist and tosses down a bubble shield which blasts open and props the door open wide. Bill climbs the bubble shield to peer over it. He looks over it to find only vast darkness with no lift, stairs, or elevator. There is only openness.

  He yanks the hover disk from his back and hops on it. He begins the ascent up the vertical tunnel. Suddenly, a siren goes off with flashing lights in the tunnel. Two soldiers fly upwards at him. A firefight ensues in the tunnel, and Bill lassos one of the soldiers off of his disk. He flings the disk at the other, and the Scythe falls.

  Bill swoops down to grab the falling soldier’s Stunshot from his holster in mid-air, then kicks him off into the darkness below.

  “Much obliged.”

  Before falling off into the unknown, the other soldier shoots Bill’s hover disk and it falters. It begins to short out, and he begins to free-fall. Ungracefully, he grabs onto the side of the wall as his disk falls. He begins to hoist himself up while looking below him.

  Kara is tossed across the wide lobby and slams into the wall. Otaku is struggling to fight off Antares with their BladeBeam and trident respectively. Jean is firing mini energy cannonballs his Wrist Cannon, who is easily dodging them while swinging ferociously at Aeron. Rigel kicks Aeron harshly in the chest, and he flies a few yards.

  Aeron dives over towards Kara and grabs her hand. She looks up at him and smiles – a trickle of blood running from her forehead. Aeron glances at her bruised eye, and up at Jean and Otaku, who are similarly bloodied and bruised. Jean’s suit is sparking, and Otaku’s helmet is cracked. Kara lifts to her feet and pulls Aeron up alongside of her.

  “I hope… Bill is doing better than we are,” Kara spits out blood. Aeron balls up his fist.

  “Me too.”

  Bill hoists himself up and rolls to the side. He holds out J.J.’s device and notices the orb on the rooftop. He glances down the hallway to notice a large, wickedly, spiral staircase at the other end. He slugs over to it, and begins to rise up the stairs. He reaches a halfway mark when four more soldiers on hover disks begin to fly up and around the staircase.

  He begins firing energy from his robot arm intently as they return fire. Energy beams blast back and forth, and Bill is shot in his robotic arm which sparks. He quickly shoots all four assailants, and latches onto the closest Scythe’s hover disk, pulling it up to him and placing it on his back.

  His arm sparks furiously, and the lights on it begin to fade in and out. As he is looking down, he notices perhaps thirty or so Scythes running up the staircase. Bill sighs, and eyes the area rapidly. There’s no way to take them all down, thought Bill. He looks at the heavy staircase’s thin, black railing.

  “Unless… I take them down,” Bill mutters to himself. He quickly aims his arm at the railing, but his arm doesn’t fire. “Come on, come on!” A blast of energy emits from his arm and snaps the rail. He swiftly blasts the other side of the rail, and the stairs directly below him. A loud snap echoes throughout the area, and the stairs begin to break and fall downwards. There are screams and the sounds of clattering from the falling staircase.

  Bill slowly backs up as the stairs have completely disappeared below him, and he notices many bodies falling into the dark. Another loud snap echoes as he shifts his head upwards. The stairs below his feet begin to crumble, and the ones above him begin to break due to the blast of the rails. He leaps upon his hover disk and notices the large hunk of staircase falling at him. He shifts aside, and dodges falling stairs as he soars skyward.

  The final door rests a few yards above Bill. There is a slight glow around it. He flies towards it and the last, huge chunk of staircase comes crashing down above him. Bill leaps from the disk and grasps the edge of the floor as the chunk smashes into his hover disk and carries it downwards. Bill climbs to the floor, and whips out his robotic arm to call the disk back, but the lights on his arm are out. It must have shorted completely, thought Bill.

  He smacks the arm in an attempt to restart it, but with no success. He turns and eyes the glow around the final door, and limps over to it. The device begins to flicker vigorously. Bill kicks the door open.

  Seventeen:

  When Death is Necessary

  The door flings open, and Bill limps out.

  “Dalton!”

  Nat is standing alongside the edge of the rooftop, holding Buck by the arm. Exhausted, Bill lifts his eyes from the ground to meet Nat’s newfangled appearance. A red, electronic eye blinks at Bill from the new, metallic portion of Nat’s face. Bill looks horrified at Nat, who has obviously been heavily experimented on. Over half of Nat’s body has been replaced or altered by machinery. A red orb sits at his waist.

  “One step, I’ll paint the roof with his brains,” Nat says, but his voice is half-human, half-mechanics. Bill holds out his arm.

  “Buck! It’s going to be alright!” Bill yells throughout the night sky.

  “Dad!” the young boy screams back - his face flooded with tears. Bill begins to move forward, but stops in his tracks.

  “Let him go, Nat! It doesn’t have to be this way!” Bill yells. Nat’s head wanders from Bill to the night sky. He seems lost in thought as he presses a gun deeper into the temple of young Buck.

  “It was…” Nat speaks aloud, but the human side of his voice seems to be conflicting with the mechanical half, “was always meant to end like this. You and I, are part of a grander design.” Then, there it was. An awkward meeting of Bill’s natural eye with Nat’s newfound red pupil. The light in Nat’s eye flickers.

  “What have they done to you?” Bill speaks softly. As the three fated individuals stand on the rooftop, it begins to rain slightly.

  “I have been upgraded.” Nat’s artificial side takes over. “There is no ending to this where you win. No white picket fence. No light at the end of this tunnel. You and your son die, again.”

  Then, Nat jerks his head in an attempt to fight off the robotic voices controlling his very mind. “YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!” The gun barrel pushes harder into Buck’s head. Buck’s eyes are closed out of fear, and streams of tears are flooded from the crevices of his lids.

  “I know, Nat! I’m sorry! This is all a mistake! It doesn’t have to be like this! We can rewrite our destinies!” Bill shouts.

  “I am. You destroyed my life ??
? everything I loved. Look at me! Look at what I’ve become!” He grabs the right side of his chest and rips off a portion of his suit. Underneath is pure metal and gears. “One move, and I’ll plant one in his head. Or maybe, I’ll let him fall. How would you like him to die, Bill? How would you like to die, boy?!”

  “Kill him, and I’ll kill you. Think about this. I’ll take that orb, and I’ll bring him back. I will get my son back, but you stay dead,” Bill responds.

  “Tell him the truth, Bill. Tell him what you are – what you did,” Nat says pushing the gun into Buck’s head. Bill opens his mouth but no words come out. Nat slightly angles his head and pushes harder into the boy’s temple. “TELL HIM! So he can understand!”

  “I… was…”

  “DO IT!”

  “…bounty hunter,” muttered Bill.

  “SO HE UNDERSTANDS!”

  “I… killed for money. I killed people for reward.”

  And with that, Buck’s face shifts from scared to downright horrified. Tears run down the young boy’s face as he stares his father in the eyes.

  “That’s right, boy. Your dad is a liar… and a murderer! Hands up. Especially that one,” Nat motions towards Bill’s robotic arm. He yanks Buck closer to him, and takes a step back onto the very edge of the roof. Bill slowly raises both arms skyward, and the flickering light on his arm catches Nat’s attention. “Shit… the very same arm.” Nat chuckles. “The very damn arm I shot you in all those years ago. A few weeks ago. That is ironic.”

  “On that, old friend, I’d have to agree,” Bill says. The light blast brightly on his arm, and a hover disk rises from behind Nat and Buck. The disk slams into Nat’s head, and he tosses Buck off of the roof. Bill holds out his arm and races towards Nat and the edge of the roof. The disk plummets downward in a rush, and Nat sends a wild blaze of gunfire in Bill’s direction.

  The hover disk rises again, with Buck standing shakily on top, and Nat looks up in amazement. He turns again to find Bill’s robot arm push him aside. Bill leaps from the roof, and his mechanical arm affixes itself to the bottom of the hover disk. Buck, Bill, and the disk lift high into the dark skies.

  Nat firmly plants his feet into the roof, and the mechanics of his legs begin to swiftly unravel and form a hover-bike underneath him. He rips off of the rooftop in haste after Bill and Buck. The three of them ascend further into the black, raining skies. Nat holds out his gun and fires a shot which almost hits Bill, but he swings out of the way. The disk is teetering back and forth, and Buck is swaying vigorously.

  “Dad, I’m scared!” yells the boy as he peers off at their high altitude.

  “I thought you wanted to fly?! Hold on tight!” Bill twitches his wrist which completely flips the disk and causes it to spiral downwards. Buck falls with a shriek, but Bill grabs onto his arm and tosses him high upwards, unsteadily planting his own feet onto the disk. Bill catches the falling Buck with his human hand. Without any time to think, he holds out his robot arm and blasts at Nat, who is returning fire.

  A shot hits Bill’s arm and causes the disk to dip slightly. Nat closes in fast, and yanks the orb off of his waist. The arm and disk begin to falter, yet again, and Nat grins.

  “The boy or the orb, Bill?! Can’t save everyone!” Nat closes his human eye, steadies his gun, and the red dot on the mechanical half of his face begins to target in on Buck. Can’t save everyone, echoed in Bill’s head. “Is it just me, or does this all seem vaguely familiar?!”

  If your mind is troubled, you’ll misfire.

  Bill takes a deep breath and pushes out his metal arm determinedly. The faint light glows as he sends out a surge of energy at Nat’s hover-bike.

  Nat is tossed off of the burning mess of parts, and the orb is thrown into the air, almost perfectly landing into Bill’s metal hand. He holds it up to his face, and Buck looks up at it in awe as well.

  The orb sent a surge of something through Bill’s body. He could not explain it, but the light in his arm glowed in tandem with the mysterious sphere. He turns to look down at his dangling son, hanging intently onto his father’s hand, and in the corner of his eye, catches Nat Dalton slowly tumbling to his fate. Bill couldn’t hoist Buck up with the orb in his hand. Without much thought, his metal hand releases its grip on the lighted orb.

  As the orb falls onto the streets, Bill simultaneously hoists Buck onto his back and zips after the descending Nat. Bill tosses his lasso back at Buck, who knowingly begins to wrap it around the two of them.

  “Tie it. I’m not letting you go again,” Bill says as the two of them race after Nat. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages,” the corner of his eye drips as they speed into the night.

  “It was yesterday, dad. I saw you yesterday,” Buck chimes in confused. Bill chuckles.

  “Well, feels longer for me. Love you, son.”

  “Love ya too, dad,” Buck says as the two near the falling man. “Ya going ta let ‘im go?”

  “Can’t. People are depending on us. Feel like being a cowboy, son?” and Bill extends his arm out.

  “Like you?”

  “Better than me,” Bill’s robotic hand grabs Nat’s. In shock, Nat jerks his head up to spot his savior. The three of them float shakily over to the Scythe rooftop, as the glowing orb drops to the streets below.

  “Dad? That ball of light… your voice… you’re bleeding… your arm… and you killed people?” Buck bombards Bill with a few of his many concerns. Bill spots the deep wound on his shoulder that is dripping profusely, but averts the attention from his son.

  “I’ll explain everything, son. There’s something I have to take care of first,” Bill says as he lowers Nat onto the rooftop slowly. Nat drops onto all fours, and his body is shooting off sparks and electricity. Bill and Buck slow to a halt a few yards away from him and hop off of the disk. Nat finally collapses to his side. His robotic half is glitching, his head twitches, and his speech is impaired as he bellows out.

  “Bastard… bast… do it,” the eerie voice emits from Nat without movement of the mouth. Bill unties Buck and turns to Nat, beginning his slow walk to the man from the past. Bill whips out his weapon from his holster. Buck watches from far behind his dad’s back, heart pounding vigorously. Bill drops to one knee and plants the barrel into Nat’s head.

  Silence takes over for a few long seconds as he glares over the man. Bill clears his throat.

  “I blame myself. For everything. For Annie. You. I never intended for any of you to get hurt. I’m sorry,” Bill’s head drops. “I’m so sorry, Nat. Believe me when I say, it was an accident. We both lost something the day that Annie died. Look at us.”

  Bill holds out his monstrous arm and Nat’s red pupil shifts to meet the man’s gaze. A tear rolls down Nat’s face, and with his strength, pushes his head harder into the barrel, as if begging for relief.

  “We’re monsters. We’ve been monsters for far too long. I don’t want to be a monster anymore,” Bill whispers to Nat. Buck gulps, and tries to peer around to see his father’s actions. Nat and Bill share a look, but Bill shakes his head in angst, and turns his head as the shot fires. Nat’s head slams motionless into the rooftop.

  “Dad?” Buck stares at the solid body as Bill sits there with his head turned away from Nat Dalton. Bill is sitting in a small puddle of crimson blood, and he wobbly lifts himself up from his squatted position. His hand touches the watch on his wrist, unraveling his black suit before his son’s eyes.

  The son watches in amazement at the whipping, dark pieces of suit zipping back into the man’s watch. Bill reaches inside of his tattered clothes, and pulls out a shiny, silver pocket watch, lowering it into the still man’s hand.

  “Buck, don’t look,” Bill blocks his son’s sights, walks towards him, and plants his arm on the curious boy’s shoulder. He turns his son away from the act, and plants his feet on the hoverdisk. He silently tosses the lasso to his son.

  “Dad… wh-”

  “Let’s go,” the father mutters quietly, cutting off
his son. With that, the young boy slugs over to his ashamed father and boards the disk, tying the two together again.

  Eighteen:

  The Ouroboros

  Aeron, Kara, Otaku, and Jean are all are worn and grasping onto dear life, taking cover behind a low piece of fallen wall. The Scythe 4 are all blasting away at the team’s cover. Aeron releases a pathetic smile to the others.

  Time slows down as the shots become more and more ferocious and close. A chunk of wall erupts from their cover, and Jean flinches. The majority of the building is in wreckage. Jean pops up and fires a few shots. Aeron glances around the ruined lobby and sighs desperately. Suddenly, a soft, particular noise catches his attention. Ignoring everything else, he lifts his head to spot a peculiar clock.

  It was untouched by gunfire as it sat high on the wall, ticking slowly as if signifying their impending fates. Designed as a snake coiling up to eat its own tail, the clock ticked away as Kara popped up to fire off a shot. Aeron grabs Kara’s hand and pulls her back down, pushing her gun into the ground.

  “We knew this was a suicide mission,” Aeron slams his eyes closed.

  A loud blast breaks an opening into the side of the tower’s tall wall. Two silhouettes fly in from the hole, and the Scythes cease fire as they look up in a mixture of shock and awe. The flying cowboy and his son lower to the ground near Team Chrono-Cross.

  “Bill?” Kara mutters as the figures descend.

  “He did it,” Aeron whispers to himself. Bill and Buck land behind the cover. The Scythes are exchanging glances, surely surprised of Bill’s arrival.

  “Ladies and gents, my son, Buck,” Bill says as Buck’s feet slowly touch the ground. Gunfire begins from the other side of the cover. Bill pushes Buck to Kara, noticing the blasts stopping dead in their tracks, blocked by something invisible.

  “We’ve installed a malleable, transparent blast barrier, but it won’t hold long. It’s a matter of minutes before they break through,” Aeron tells Bill. Kara drops to one knee and looks into Buck’s face, wiping off dust and blood.

  “Nice to meet you,” she takes his hand and shakes it, “Your dad has travelled over a thousand years for you. You should be very proud.” The boy remains silent as he glances over his father. He couldn’t help but feel uneasy about his father lying to him about his past.

  “It is an honor to meet you, Buck. He looks just like you, Bill,” Otaku chimes in.

  “I wasn’t sure you’d make it or come back for us,” Aeron stands up next to Bill.

  “Thank me later.”

  “You shot me,” Aeron says with a smile.

  “Like I said, thank me later. Let’s get those orbs.”

  “Ideas?”

  Bill looks around as massive blast of energy slams into their cover, creating a strange crack in the air around them.

  “Otaku, Kara, protect my son,” Bill yanks a bubble shield ball from Jean’s belt and throws it at Buck’s chest. Buck flinches as the ball engulfs him in a protective barrier. Buck slams his hand into the bubble.

  “Dad?!”

  “Don’t let him out of your sight. I can’t lose him again. Please,” Bill begs, “Please.”

  “You’re gonna leave me?!” Buck shouts from inside the bubble.

  “No son, I’m not leaving. I made a promise, and they need me- us. I need you to be strong. Partners, remember?” Bill calmly says, yet his heart was beating furiously.

  “’Til the end. Promise to come back! Promise!” the boy yells.

  “Promise!” Bill turns to Kara and Otaku, “Please keep him safe.” To which, they both nod. “Aeron and I will run a distraction. There is an orb lying in the streets. As soon as Aeron and I rush out there, Jean, dart for the streets and get it. Whatever it takes.”

  “I’ll get it, cowboy,” Jean cracks his knuckles.

  Bill shifts to Aeron, and they nod at each other simultaneously. Aeron grabs Otaku’s Bladebeam, Bill flies from cover as Aeron rushes in low. Jean takes off for the exit and out of the lobby. Bill kicks off of his hoverdisk, and it hits Antares in the face.

  Aeron blasts him with a Stunshot, then rushes into Rigel and Spica, deflecting their shots with Otaku’s sword. Rigel and Spica are so focused on Aeron that they fail to realize Bill swing off the demonic chandelier and land behind them.

  Bill ties the hoverdisk with his lasso and swiftly loops the ends around both of their legs. He slams down on the disk hard with his metal fist causing it to malfunction. It jets off, jerking both Scythes out of the window of the building with a shatter.

  “Nice!” Bill shouts.

  “Not so bad yourself, old man! Have you seen Malinfar?” Aeron asks.

  “Unfortunately, I have. He was with a woman,” Bill responds.

  “Alypse.”

  “I think so.”

  “Shit. We have to go.”

  “Without the orb? We came all this way,” Bill says. Jean rushes in with the orb in hand.

  “Got it!” Jean shouts as Malinfar swoops from the darkness of the room and knocks the pirate down. The orb flies upwards, and lands in Malinfar’s hand. A black orb on Malinfar’s chest glows in tandem with the blue one in his hand. Bill whips out his Stunshot and shoots the blue orb, sending it airborne again.

  “Jean!” Aeron shouts, as Jean snatches it, and Malinfar speeds after him. Aeron chucks Otaku’s sword which hits Malinfar in the chestplate, sending him stumbling backwards.

  “This is for my arm,” Bill’s voice says from behind Malinfar’s back. Spinning around to find Bill’s arm slam into him, Malinfar is knocked across the room and against the wall. Chunks of wall crumble down and bury him.

  Aeron walks over to Malinfar, and he brushes off enough of the wreckage to rip the second orb from Malinfar’s chest plate. Jean holds the other power orb in his hand, grinning with his success. The pirate tosses the orb to Aeron, who eyes both of the orbs intently. Bill tips his hat with his metallic hand in Jean’s direction.

  “Job well done,” the cowboy remarks.

  “It’s a fake,” Aeron says as drops the black orb to the ground.

  “What?” Bill asks as he walks over to Aeron. The orb shatters into a million shards as it hits the solid ground. A faint burst of light softly drifts from it.

  “Malinfar’s orb was a fake. Nat’s is real. The device was a plant. They knew we would find J.J. and find his device. This was all just a distraction,” Aeron affirms as he attaches the real orb to his chestplate. It affixes itself onto his armor. He whips out his gun, Jean unleashes his Wrist Cannon, and Bill aims his robotic arm. With their backs to each other, the three circle.

  “Distraction for what?” Bill asks.

  “For her.”

  A cloaked figure flies from the shadows and swoops across the lobby floor before vanishing again into the darkness.

  “She’s here!” Jean yells.

  “Jean, back to the others! Bubble shields!” Jean races towards the others. The mysterious figure flies by again, disappearing again into the blacken corners of the room.

  “Bill, go. Get out of here.”

  “No.”

  “You don’t understand. You don’t know her.”

  “You can’t do this alone.”

  The robed one whips by once more.

  “Think about your son.”

  “I am.”

  The figure drops between them, pushing them aside and knocking them away from each other. Two mechanical tentacles arise from underneath the cloak and grab the men by their throats at lightning speed. The tentacles lift both men their feet and high into the air. Aeron’s gun drops, and Alypse kicks it far away from the men.

  “Aeron. Give me the orbs, Aeron.” Bill’s eyes grow large upon finally seeing the Scythe Queen in full view. Alypse’s elongated neck peers from underneath her veil. Half of her face and body is covered in mechanics, and her eyes are a dilated, harsh yellow. She has two mechanical arms attached under her normal arms, and her hands are
thin and spider-like. The real orb that J.J.’s device had picked up is fixated to a tentacle.

  “Drop him,” Bill coughs. Alypse’s head twitches over to Bill in a secondhand motion.

  “Cowboy?” Alypse bellows out a horrendous laugh that echoes throughout the lobby and shakes the entire room. In the darkness, a human hand picks up Aeron’s downed gun from many yards away.

  “When I finish with your son, you won’t even recognize his corpse. The sorrow you must have, knowing that you have let them all down,” Alypse clenches harder on the men’s throats. Aeron’s eyes begin to close.

  “Bill!”

  Nat Dalton stands across from the three figures, pointing Aeron’s gun at Alypse’s head. His body is jerking. His mechanical parts are sparking. The Queen looks at the man in disbelief.

  “I’m not a monster,” Nat says softly.

  A blast of energy hits Alypse in the face, and the Queen drops Aeron and Bill. The cowboy raises his robotic arm at the Queen. She swings her head back at Aeron, who holds up the orb that was once attached to her tentacle. He winks at her, as she swings her tentacle at him in order to obtain the orbs.

  Aeron flips out of the way, and Bill fires a blast that Alypse’s slithery body evades. Alypse unleashes loud hissing sounds that rattle the room, and Bill and Nat are releasing fire at her. She drops to the ground and, like a snake, swiftly slithers up a wall and out of a shattered window, disappearing into the night.

  Nat’s glitching and sparking body limps over to the open window. Aeron sighs, and Bill turns back to see Nat gazing into the night sky.

  “Nat…” Nat’s head turns halfway, showing Bill only the metal side of the man’s face. “Thank you.”

  Without a word, Nat nods. His boots being to shoot out a blast of blue fire, which lifts him off of the ground.

  “You don’t have to go it alo-” Before Bill can finish his sentence, Nat shoots off out of the window and into the night. Both Aeron and Bill run over to see Nat flying off in the distant blackened sky. The two men exchange glances.

  Twenty:

  Time Will Come

  Kara, Otaku, Jean, Aeron, and Bill, holding Buck’s arm, push through the forest towards the airship. The Scythe base behind them explodes in a burst of immense force. Buck spins around and glares at the burning building. Bill turns as well, as does Aeron.

  “She’s gone. Must have destroyed the place to keep us away.” Aeron whispers to Bill. Streams of fire shoot from the building, and Bill notices his son gazing up at the blaze with awe.

  “Quite a show, huh son?” Bill drops down to one knee and stares his boy in the eyes. He places his human hand on his boy’s shoulder, and forces him into a tight hug.

  “But, how…” Knowing exactly what his father was about to ask, Buck grabs his tattered shirt and pulls a shred of it down, revealing a metallic plate where he was once shot. Buck knocks on it, emitting a clanking sound. A single tear runs down Bill’s face and down Buck’s shoulder.

  “I’ve missed you… so much. I’m sorry… that you had to find out like this,” Bill’s voice breaks mid-sentence, “The rules of right and wrong… they’re not so clearly set in stone.”

  “You let him go. You let him live. I don’t understand.” Buck says.

  “How did you-?” But Bill is cut off by the young boy.

  “He looked right at me. When he walked by. You didn’t kill him.” Bill rests his hand over the Stunshot in his holster.

  “Sometimes,” Bill says, stopping to think for a second, “we have to be better than our best. Stronger than our strongest. I kill him, he kills me; either way, he wins. One day, you will understand.”

  The boy remains silent, obviously pondering over many complex thoughts. Bill could see the young boy’s mind working overtime. A gentle hand plants on Bill’s shoulder blade, and he looks up to see Kara extending her hand to him. He plants his robotic hand in hers, and she pulls him to his feet.

  “He’s a hellion like his father,” Bill says as he stands to his feet. The cowboy clears his throat. Kara shoots him a half-smile.

  “Can’t be as bad as you.”

  “Not nearly.”

  She grabs his arm firmly, putting Bill at ease temporarily. The rest of the team watches the destruction in the distance, remaining quiet in the bittersweet wonderment of the moment. A tiny, blue ball of fire flickers in the stars.

  Otaku and Jean sit aboard the airship, laughing with each other. The pirate punches the samurai in the arm.

  “Good show, ya dirty bastard! I like to think I taught you that!,” Jean says. Otaku sticks out his finger.

  “Bart would be proud of you,” Otaku responds. Jean nods in agreement, and a grin is plastered on his face. Kara places her arm on Bill’s shoulder as he holds Buck in an embrace. Aeron turns to see this gesture.

  Bill Oakley is crying and smiling simultaneously. He pushes his boy in front of him to eye him down completely. He pulls his long-lost son back for another tight hug, and kisses his forehead. Buck wipes it off, causing Kara, Jean, and Otaku to laugh heartily. Bill jabs his son in the arm, and stands to his feet as Kara begins to rustle the boy’s hair. Jean scoops up the boy on his shoulders and begins chasing Kara, which makes the boy laugh out loud. Otaku grabs Buck and places him down, then puts Jean in a headlock.

  Bill takes a seat on the edge of the airship, watching his son play with his new family – this group of lost strangers. It was the first time in many years that Bill had felt completely at ease. He turns his head to find Aeron standing far away from the others, placing the two glowing orbs into his case. Bill squints his eyes to see the worried look plastered on Aeron’s face.

  A strange, slithery voice speaks from far away.

  “It matters not. Let them have their short-lived victory.”

  Aeron places his hand above the orbs, touching them slightly with his rough palm. Five of the seven slots of the case are filled with orbs. A tiny string of light connects each of them.

  “Their time will come.”

  He turns his head to spot the other members of the team playing with the young boy. He notices Bill staring at him and quickly averts his gaze. He glances back down at the empty seventh spot on the table. A wavering string of light crackles with nothing attached to the other end of it.

  Otaku walks over to Aeron, after releasing Jean. He leans in, aware of Aeron’s unease, and the samurai’s smile disappears.

  “You’re absolutely sure, ‘Taku?”

  “I saw it when I was upgrading his arm,” Otaku whispers, “The AI is taking over. Are you going to tell him?”

  “Am I going to tell the man that he is dying?”

  Aeron fakes a smile to pacify Bill, but it soon disappears again as worry takes over.

  “Yes.”

  “Their time will come.”

  “But, not now.”

  Aeron closes the case.

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