Onward!
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"Kaiser Rye had intentionally freed two inmates from Lungmen Prison, assisted the Reunion assault and retreat, and resisted arrest. However, under a special set of circumstances, the L.G.D has postponed the punishment for his crimes. Now he must return to Lungmen to change the terms of his contract with Wei Yenwu -but we can do that here."
The Rhodes Island land-ship had docked at one of Lungmen's many piers in order to resupply, and rest of the operators onboard are either doing their daily tasks. In a closed room however, Lungmen Superintendent Ch'en sat in front of Kaiser Rye who was currently in handcuffs. Amiya and Dr. Kal'tsit were also in the room. They spent the past thirty minutes prying into the Draco's head hoping scrap away any bit of information they can get. Ch'en just read over a classified file to the Draco who sat with his hands clumped together.
"It will be very hard for you to show your face in Lungmen after everything you've done," Ch'en stated. "Your appearance is more than enough to cause tension amongst their ranks."
Kaiser Rye looked at her with a bored face. "What are my options?" He asked.
"Help us fight the Reunion. You were their Second-in-command, so you should be able to predict their movements so we can counter them and catch them off guard."
Those words stirred up mixed emotions inside his chest. Ch'en expected his reaction, as he was the Reunion's Former Second in Command. Amiya and Kal'tsit patiently waited for his answer.
"I can help you," The Draco said. "-but I can't guarantee that I'll follow through with everything."
"Why is that?" Ch'en inquired.
"I know their leaders personally, and it will be very hard fighting my former allies."
"You have not shown who your allies are. First you help the Reunion escape from Lungmen, and then you fight against them with Rhodes Island. You've switched sides twice in the short amount of time we've worked together. Who's side are you on?"
"My own."
"You're standing in no man's land Kaiser Rye. Pick a side."
"I've always been on the losing one."
His words shocked Ch'en even more so Amiya and Kal'tsit. Ch'en immediately glared at him, but a sign of curiosity was also planted on her face. An eerie silence filled the air around them. Amiya looked at Kal'tsit before she decided to speak up.
"Kaiser Rye, your knowledge of the Reunion is extremely valuable to us. You held a high position amongst their ranks, and you certainly know more than any of our specialists," She said.
"That's obvious," Kaiser Rye remarked.
"I know that it will be difficult for you to turn against your former brothers-in-arms. We're not asking you to kill them as that will only add to our list of problems, we're asking you to help us prevent future conflict. Maybe there is a way to end this conflict without bloodshed."
"Maybe..."
"So are you willing to help us?"
"Are there any other options?"
He looked at all three individuals standing around him. He gave out a deep sigh as he stretched the handcuffs on his wrists to the limit and infused his Arts into his hands; white light pulsed through his veins until it reached the steel of the chains. Within seconds, the energy shattered the chains into dust freeing the Draco's hands. Ch'en, Amiya and Kal'tsit all watched intently as he went through the entire process.
"I'll help you," He said. "Don't hesitate to stop me."
"Why?" Amiya questioned as he slowly walked to the door.
"Cause you can't expect me to follow through with it entirely... I'll be on the deck if you need me."
He slowly closed the door behind him, shutting it tight. Amiya looked at Dr. Kal'tsit and Ch'en whom have prepared to leave as well. Kal'tsit put a glove on her hand and inspected the dust that used to be the chains on the Draco's wrists. It was as soft as sand, but it had the luster of diamonds. It emitted a bizarre light until it diminished into a mass of dirt.
Eventually the three of them left the room. Ch'en headed all the way to the land-ship's deck and spotted Kaiser Rye standing with Projekt Red. But Red wasn't "playing" with Rye this time; instead, Rye spoke to her in a soft yet serious voice.
"Red. I just came out of an interrogation. My legs hurt and I need to move them. Do you have anyone else to play with? ... Red?"
The Lupo in the Red Hood was silent, she uttered a quick "No", before she dragged on his sleeve.
"Do you have any friends here?" Kaiser Rye asked.
"No," She answered. "They all avoid me."
"Do you have any family here?"
"No. I was an orphan."
"Who found you?"
"Dr. Kal'tsit."
"Hmm..."
Red looked at him with her head up.
"Dr. Kal'tsit always says that having a family is important. But I don't know what that means. I was a wolf hunter since I knew how to hunt..."
A confused frown appeared on the Draco's face, but after a few seconds, a sad smile replaced it. He puffed up Red's hood, fluffed up the fur on it, and wrapped over her head. He held her hands with his, bent down on his knees and he looked her in the eyes. Red looked behind him, but she looked back at him after a few seconds.
"Having a family... means you have something to live for," Rye said. His words flowed as gently as the evening breeze.
"It means that you have people to cherish, to play with, a place to call home.'
"But most importantly, you learn to be you.'
"You're still young Red. You have a bright future ahead of you. Even if you don't understand what I'm saying now, you'll understand it when you get older. Come on, show me a smile."
He stood back up and tickled her face with his fingers; a sweet little smile bloomed on her face. But the smile transformed into one full of fangs as she spotted Ch'en approaching them. Kaiser Rye turned around and frowned upon seeing her. The blue-haired Lung held a hand on her hip before raising her eyebrow.
"Of course you'd come to get me," Kaiser Rye said bluntly.
"I've never thought that you'd be able to speak like a father," Ch'en stated.
"Ha... ha... ha..."
A sorrowful countenance rose to his face. The Draco turned around and released a laugh, and another, then another. Then suddenly, his laughs died down; they were replaced by deep sighs. A few tears welled up in his eyes; he covered them up before he wiped them away.
"There is always more to people than what they show you Ch'en," He said.
A pillar of light blasted to the sky from the farthest corner of the world blinding anyone who dared lay an eye on it. The very ground shook in its wake. The sound of thunder shattered the evening sky; the clouds above faded away. The land-ship trembled as the entire cataclysm was underway. Bodies were shaking, boxes moved out of place, weapons fell out of their holders. The tremor lasted for another frightful moment until it ended as fast as it came.
A shower of light covered the sky with an ephemeral light, leaving a smiling Kaiser Rye. But his smile dwindled into a blank expression before it reverted into a rueful smile.
---
"Hey Sasha! Come here look!" A white-haired Liberi called enthusiastically.
"What is it?" A black-haired Pythia questioned as he walked to his friend's side.
"Is that what I think it is?! Come on!"
Faust walked over to Mephisto's position on top of a mound of rubble. A pillar of light just shot out towards the sky moments before, now it is showering the world in the prettiest pink and white. Waves of energy dispersed across the land in huge swathes; a cool breeze swept the skies. It was a taste of heaven in a barren wasteland. A light in the world's darkest depths.
"It can't be," Faust uttered as the fierce light sparkled with his green pupils.
"Is that really what I think it is," Mephisto stared at the light in awe even after it started to diminish.
"Isn't that..."
The two boys glanced at each other before witnessing the end of the sparking light. A feeling of rejuvenation was passed to their bodies; an unknown weight was lifted off of their shoulders replacing it with a familiar warmth. Mephisto stared at the direction of the light before he turned away.
"Shame that it all went down," He said.
Faust was appalled by his friend's remark. They knew where and who the energy was resonating from, but it is only remnants of a forgotten past. Mephisto moved on triumphantly towards his soldiers, but Faust continued to stare where the light was. A lingering aura surrounded him as he looked up at the sky above. The clouds returned and the sun was setting once again.
"Is that... home?"
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(A/N): I've made some changes - PLEASE READ!!!
- Kudos to anyone who knows where the title of this chapter came from :)
- I hope you're enjoying the new Arknights event, because I'm having a hard time looking away from Whislash ... XD
Here's a couple of things I've changed:
- Chap 1: Removed useless dialogue + finding cure nonsense (Sadly, it's not the main point of the plot, just a piece of useless info)
- Chap 2: Removed useless dialogue
- Chap 5 and/or 13: Removed any mention of Skullshatterer recognizing my OC, Kaiser Rye. Removed useless Penguin logistics dialogue
-Chap 12: Removed useless filler dialogue and info
-Chap 13 - 16: Removed dialogue of W liking my OC, Kaiser Rye -because I am too embarrassed to keep it -kept one line
-Chap 27: Removed useless dialogue and info
-Chap 34: Deleted Archive File #4, it's about Oripathy medicine/cures and a bunch of bs
Throughout all chapters: Revised and Deleted info regarding the Regent, attempting to use correct grammar, trying to spell names correctly and making the characters act more like their videogame counterparts
My reason for revising/deleting these things is because of its impact to the reader. I've read through most of them, and I'm not too happy with it. So I'm just letting you know that some chapters may be revised, deleted, or completely rewritten in the future.
Important News:
- I will not be writing the short little poems/dialogues/segments at the beginning of each chapter anymore, except for a few chapters where I'm actually able to think when I write.
- Flashback chapters will, probably, not come out in specified intervals, so one can come out randomly -I don't want to bore you with another 8 chapters again
Friendly Tip:
When including a flashback in your story, whether it's long or short, DO NOT BE an ArtransformerAqe and dump your readers with too much info
if it's possible to shorten it, make it clearer, write it in a different chapter, show it in a different way, or any other method, then do it!
I repeat: DO NOT BE ME!