To Be Wanted

The Titan

      At first, the unusual sound of grumbling didn't frighten us, rather we simply thought that it had been an animal out hunting for tonight's dinner, however it then began to sound much larger than any creature we had encountered so far.
      From out amongst the trees stepped a rather unusual being, and whilst it appeared to originally have been a Veltsen man, he seemed to have been mutated and appeared as though he had been put through a meat grinder and molded back into a man.
      The poor guy looked as though he had been injected with steroids on one side of his body, the muscles on the left side of his body, mostly in his arm and parts of his chest, neck and back, were red and significantly larger than anywhere else and it practically dwarfed his other arm.
      He appeared to be in significant pain, he was covered in large cuts and had scars over his face, chest and both arms. He had tears in his lips and his teeth were chipped, which likely is what caused the tears. Whilst he appeared to have been reasonably built from how inflamed his skin had been, you could see every rib poking out as he breathes in, he almost appeared malnourished.
      Some parts of his skin had even begun to turn black, I was unsure if they had merely been bruises or the skin began to die, though how damaged he appeared to be, I wouldn't be surprised either way.
      His clothes were ripped and caked with dirt, he also had no sleeves on his left side, presumably from a sudden growth in muscle mass in his arm, or perhaps it had simply been an ill-fitting shirt.
      What truly broke my heart, however, were his wings. You could tell by the skin of his wings that he was biologically a Veltsen, skin color being the only aspect of one's wings that does not change when you change feather colors as a spy, however, it appeared as though parts of his wings had been ripped off and replaced with parts of wings from a Sevitan, even some of the feathers appeared to be cut in half and replaced with some from a Sevitan.
      I watch as a deep red tear drips down his face, though I was not fully sure whether it really was a tear or blood from some sort of damaged blood vessel in his eye leaking out. The man lunges towards us and Jet immediately pulls me out of the way, causing the creature to crash into the log we use as a seat.
      The creature cries out, perhaps the pain was worse for him then we had anticipated, whilst struggling to return to his feet. I nudge my way past Jet and tiptoe over to the being who was wheezing, almost even sobbing. He looks at me with this expression of pure sorrow in his eyes.
      "What happened to you?" I ask pitifully. He says nothing however another blood tear is shed. "Who are you?"
      "I am Prototype 1." He gurgles, it turns my stomach a bit hearing his voice. "I was taken from my home to be transformed into... This."
      "By who?"
      "Whom would you imagine?" Jet butts in. The creature nods.
      "Altridem. He wishes to create a being with wings quite similar to yours to-"
      "To pass off as the next ruler of Iveska." I sigh.
      "Yes, your majesty. However, he wishes it to be someone strong, someone that he may use to rid the rest of the Sevitan."
      "He would never succeed. To create a creature with enough power to take over Iveska on their own, he would require the Snow Pendant which only responds to the rightful heir to the throne." Jet adds.
      "He will never stop trying. He will continue to kidnap innocent Veltsen and torture them until he has formed something believable enough."
      "Well then, I suppose we will have to stop him as per the usual. How did he do this to you?" I add.
      "He tied me and another force participant to a sort of operating table. He would tear chunks off of our wings and sew them to the opposite person's. He then had us escorted into something I believe he called the Antimatter Condenser. It changed our biology so that we would stay like this. Permanently."
      "So there are two of you running around?"
      "More, we saw them putting more people into the Condenser as they were sending us off. Who knows how many more they created after us."
      I turn to Jet who appeared absolutely mortified, perhaps even sick to his stomach as I happened to be. So, this is what Altridem has been up to, taking innocent people and turning them into monsters.
      Even for that psychopath, this is beyond low. Jet and I help the man to his feet, I can't help but feel horrible for everything he had to go through.
      "Well then, if you help us in stopping their production of more mutants, I promise we will try and find a way to reverse what they did to you."
      Jet did not appear too confident in trusting the man, regardless of how traumatic his experience might have been, however he was the only one with information on what was going on whom might be able to help us stop what Altridem was doing to these poor people. The man seemed grateful for the offer and it did appear that he knew something that we did not.
      "Alright, I think we have a deal. I know exactly where to start as well. There is a woman who fought in the first war, the war that brought us Veltsen here."
      "But, that was five thousand years ago."
      "Exactly."
      "Then how do you suppose she is still alive?"
      "Well, in all technicality, she was the first Veltsen to be created. She is the child of Hades."
      My jaw drop. The first Veltsen was a demigod. One thing wasn't making sense though, if she really were Hades' daughter, why is she not with her father in the Underworld? Why is she hiding out in Iveska? I blink, there has to be more to the story than we are being told.
      "Where is she hiding out?"
      "She isn't hiding anywhere. She is a prisoner."
      "The Sevitan have her prisoner?!"
      "No. The Veltsen do."
      "Why would they keep one of their own as prisoner?" Jet adds, furrowing his brow. "If they want control of Iveska, they will need all the help they can get.
      "She doesn't agree with their ethics, not even her father's, she never did. And she isn't the only one."
      "I bet you wouldn't, not after what they did to you." I say sadly.
      He looks between Jet and I with wide eyes.
      "You don't know?" He sighs.
      "Know what?" Jet and I say in unison.
      "It has been all over the news. Altridem's younger brother, Pironem, cut off his own wings."
      I gasp, even Jet was shocked. We had never heard of someone willingly cutting off their own wings, much less because they disagreed with the government they happened to be working for. I mean, if that were the case, there would likely be many more wingless beings running around.
      "How did the media even find out? Matters involving government workers, especially someone as important as Pironem would be with whom he is related to, would be kept quiet."
      "Someone spotted him roaming about with no wings, there was a full-blown investigation. They found his severed wings in a storage room. At first they didn't put two and two together until they found a pin, one for a high ranking soldier.
      When they questioned Altridem about it, he had said that his brother had not been seen in days. That is when they finally made the connection."
      "Where can we find this supposed daughter of Hades?"
      "She is in the Veltsen prison camps."
      "Then it should be an easy search. I know that place better than anyone after spending five thousand years there."
      "In a cell. The camps are vastly larger than you have yet to understand." The man explains, unintentionally starting a fight with the now annoyed god.
      "Are you challenging me?"
      "No. I think we both know that that would not be a battle I could win. I am simply saying I know better where is she, after all, I have actually met her while you have not."
      "Then let's go already!" I exclaim, attempting to defuse the tension as Jet was now up in the man's face.
      They both look at me in surprise before nodding uncomfortably and leading me off. Seeing the prison camps with my own eyes was not something even near pleasant. They were practically in ruins and there were skeletons all over the place.
      I began to pity Jet, he spent five thousand years stuck here, no one to talk to, barely anything to eat, I think it is lucky that he didn't go mad. The camps seemed deserted, after all, since Jet left they likely had nothing to guard, so slipping in was rather easy.
      The halls were damp and the smell almost made me vomit, the scent of mold was not one I particularly cared for. Additionally, I think that I stepped on a rat's decaying body once or twice.
      "I never asked your real name, by the way?" I ask the man. He smiles at me, his smile was nice enough considering his broken teeth and torn lips.
      "Chekello. My friends used to call me the Titan since I was the wrestling captain in school."
      "It is nice to meet you, Chekello."
      We come across a cell which had bursts of flames coming out from under the door and through the slat in the middle which guards used to check on and speak to prisoners.
      Chekello stops us, holding a finger to his mouth so that we would be as quiet as possible as he would presumably be speaking to her for us. He steps to the door, the flames burning his ankles and face, though he didn't appear to care, and hits three knocks on the door and a crying sound could be heard from inside.
      "Vetayo, it's me. I need to speak with you." He gently opens the slat and speaks.
      Quickly, the bright blue and green flames disappear from sight and Chekello was able to open the slat up completely without startling her. A young lady, or at least appeared young, had dark brown hair, almost as dark as Jet's, that bursts into blue-green flames at the tips, and poor sorrowful blue eyes.
      She sits in the corner of the cell, knees to her chest, looking to the door as Chekello peeks in. She stands up and inches her way to the door, she was shocked to see what had happened to her friend, however, she knew that there had to be a reason for him to be visiting her.
      "What is it, Chekello?" Her broken voice wept to him.
      "I have some people here who could use your assistance." He waves us over and we stand behind him, just within view for her to see us.
      "Ah yes, the queen and her last remaining god. What can I do for you?"
      "People like Chekello are being turned into... I don't even know how to describe them, but they are in constant pain and more are going to suffer the same fate because Altridem wants to make someone who looks like me.
      We need your help to find out where this is all happening." I explain, she looks away and sighs, pained by her friend having been hurt for such a ridiculous purpose.
      "This was never meant to happen...."
      "What do you mean?"
      "My father. I have had my wings since birth, and when he saw me, he was captivated. I was his world. He became very protective of me, and so he wanted to find the perfect place to raise me. He then heard tale of Iveska. He created and went through a portal to here and met with Queen Taima, who then denied him permission to move here with me as he is the lord of the underworld." She began.
      "He tried many more times over the next few months, being denied each time, until finally Queen Taima threatened him. It was then that his temper got the better of him, he decided that if they were not going to let him stay of their own free will, he would take Iveska for himself.
      That was when he began to create the Veltsen. He made them with wings identical to mine, deep black in color, and gave them heightened strength to overpower the Sevitan. It took him 10 years to perfect them, I really did not need raising by that point, however he insisted regardless.
      I wasn't supposed to be here until after the attack as it posed too big of a threat to me, however as any young one would be, I was curious and slipped through the portal with the Veltsen. When the portal closed after the battle was order, I became trapped here."
      "He attempted to open another portal and rescue me, however he never could manage. As I grew older and watched the governments form, I knew that what the Veltsen wanted was wrong, and so they locked me up.
      I used to get messages from my father everyday. He used what little power he had to open a link between our worlds and speak to me, however I have not heard from him in years.... I fear something has happened."
      "No. He has been speaking with Altridem. He is turning him into a monster, trying to kill Serrima." Jet adds. "He is still determined to take over Iveska."
      "But he has no reason anymore. I am here, I am grown, I see no need for it all anymore."
      "I am not sure why he is still determined, however he is. He is putting every creature in the dimension in danger once more."
      I examine the door, there were alarms on either side, the Veltsen would know if we let her out and would be here in a heartbeat. They seemed new, likely installed after Jet escaped as he did not have any on his cell and Vetayo was likely at risk of escaping. I wanted to let her out so bad though, she was only an innocent girl, one whom grew up without her father, she did not deserve to be locked up.
      "Don't worry about me, your majesty. Just know that when the final battle arrives, I shall stand by you, even if it ends up being a stand against my father." She smiles.
      "Vetayo. Do you know where the Antimatter Condenser is? My memory has been in a fog since I was released." Chekello slips back in the conversation. She looks at him and almost burnt a hole in his soul, much like how I imagine her father could, before frowning sadly.
      "Unfortunately, I do not. I do, however, know someone who does. A guard who used to watch over me about thirty years ago. He worked on something with the same name.
      He used to listen to me complain and cry every day whilst he stood in front of the door. One day, he asked me about my past and I decided to tell him, he then shared a little of his knowledge. He told me all about the condenser, though he never told me where it was."
      "This goes back further than Altridem then..." Jet says in thought.
      "Unless he is older than he looks." I widen my eyes. Everyone turns to me, perhaps that comment was a little off-topic.
      "Yes, you might be right. How can we find this guard?" Jet looks at Vetayo.
      "You can go where anyone might find him if they wish to. Varotel." She says sadly.
      "The Veltsen graveyard?"
      "He is dead?" I raise an eyebrow.
      "Mhmm. Do not worry your heads though, my dears, he can still be of use. You will find the answers you seek, you will only have to look a little bit." Vetayo smiles.
      "What is his name?"
      "Issedian."
      We hear a clang in the distance and everyone turns their head towards the sound. The only thing we could assume was that a guard was heading our way. We have to be quick before we were discovered and they informed Altridem that we were here.
      "We have to go. Thank you, Vetayo." Chekello quickly adds.
      "You're welcome, old friend."
      "We will come back for you."
      We close the slat before racing off in the opposite direction of the sound. We attempted to speed through as fast as possible, however at a crossing between halls, a guard speeds into me and knocks me over. He managed to land one punch onto my face before Jet and Chekello lift him off and throw him against the wall.
      More guards appear and a full-blown fight breaks out, punches are thrown here and there until Jet quickly grabs me and runs off, dragging Chekello behind him.
      With his super speed, it felt as though your skin was about to fall off of your body, and by the expression on his face, I believe Chekello feared his actually would.
      We were forced to be on the lookout the entire way to the graveyard, we were more than sure we were going to have been followed, if Altridem didn't know we were there before, those guards surely would have told him after that encounter. It makes me fear for Vetayo's safety.
      At the graveyard, we checked every single headstone. No-one was named Issedian. We were about to give up when I ran past a headstone with three names. That was when I realized that it was a middle name. The headstone. It read Oriliek Issedian Torvido.
      "J-J-Jet?" I started to cry.
      Jet rushes over to check on me and stares at the grave, in about as much shock as I was in. I fall to my knees and start to sob. The man who watched over Vetayo was my father, and any doubt I might have had was sated by the timeframe that he was alive. 5036-5069. 5069 was almost 17 years ago and supposedly my father was killed early on in my mother's pregnancy.
      It all works out. My poor father died at only 33 years of age. Too young, too young. I am learning more about my parents than I ever thought possible.
      "I am so sorry, my queen. He sounds as though he were a good man." Jet comforts.
      That was when I noticed it, there was a long crack that went from each side of the headstone and split all the way through. I don't know what, perhaps the same instinct that told me to touch the wall in the High Grounds, but something was telling me to check this thing out.
      I inch over, whisper my apologies to my dad before placing my palms on the headstone and using every bit of strength I have and push against the stone.
      It begins to tip over, which is lucky as I was getting worn out very quickly, and soon it crashed to the ground and reveals a slot in the headstone. A little rolled up piece of paper with a black ribbon sits inside, covered in dust. It was a message from my father.
      'I, Oriliek Issedian Torvido, am writing this in the event of my death. I can NOT work for the Veltsen anymore. I worked with a team to build a machine called the Antimatter Condenser.
      It was meant to be used to mutate genes in soldiers to make them stronger using chemicals that were in development.
      However, one day I found them loading a white powder. I wasn't sure what it was and thought nothing of it at first as the machine was not set to run until later that day.
      When they were finished loading the machine and went to attend to something else, I went about my business and did my weekly maintenance. Whilst I was inside the machine to fix a broken panel, it suddenly switched on.
      The doors snapped shut and I was trapped inside. I don't remember what happened to me next, I believe I passed out from the pain.
      When I awoke on the floor of the Condenser, I had the ability to change the color of my wings. I confronted my supervisors about the situation and they threatened to fire me if I mentioned it to anyone else.
      I ran off, switching my wings to look like that of a Sevitan and flew into their sector. There, I met a woman named Architima and it is my belief that she now carries my child. I know that when the leaders learn of my treachery, they will kill me.
      It is my hope that one day, they will stumble upon this note and make right of what happened to me. Shut down the Antimatter Condenser for good. It is in the southwest wing of the research and development center of the facility. The Code to enter 6291. Good Luck.
      And if it happens that it is, in fact, my child reading this.... Know that I love you.
      -Oriliek Issedian Torvido'
      I was crying even harder whilst reading the note. Jet sits by me, reading over my shoulder and pulls me into his arms, resting my head on his shoulder. As soon as I am through crying, he stands up and holds a hand out to help me up as well.
      Before we head off to Xieren tower, which was where the Condenser was said to be waiting for us, we set back up the headstone and I sentimentally say my goodbye.
      "Thank you, dad."
      And we head off.