Planet Wystalline
X-lash Riplartz glanced at the enertron limiters on his wrists. They were not linked by a chain and did not restrict his movements, but they inhibited his powers all the same.
Not that even having access to his powers would have helped much in these circumstances.
He sat in the middle of a circular containment cell surrounded by a translucent, emerald force field. He wouldn't dare move too close to it lest he got the burn of his life.
But he had to get out of here, and soon. The room was dark, and the details were hard to make out through the force field, but X-lash knew it was floored with metal slabs, and the only exit was a reinforced, sliding metal door situated ahead at the far end. A warden roamed outside his cell, and CCTV cameras monitored him day and night. The high-security, elite prison was located deep in the bowels of the palace.
He was the Traitor Prince, after all. And King Riplartz had always made it abundantly clear to his subjects that no traitor would ever be spared — not even his own son.
His father's fury during the trial had hardly surprised him, though — that was an inevitable consequence of which X-lash had been acutely aware all the time. He had vividly envisioned his father's wrath numerous times — even when he was in the middle of the treasonous acts. He couldn't deny it had scared him, but he also found a particular pleasure in imagining his father's face upon finding out.
But it was his sister who had given him the shock of his life. He had always believed she held a soft corner for him — that she found him insufferably stupid but loved her little brother all the same.
The trial had woken him up to the reality — Scyfe wanted him dead. She had vocally advocated for nothing less than the death sentence for X-lash. Although the King had maintained a stoic silence, X-lash couldn't help but notice that even he had seemed a bit perturbed by this development.
Her demands were not fulfilled — X-lash had been imprisoned for life, instead — but for a few days in the cell, he had almost wished he were dead. He had not wanted to live a single day with the memory of his sister baying for his blood.
He had gotten over that fairly quickly, though. Now, he was determined to escape and pay her back in some way, someday. He had looked up to see his faint reflection in the force field. Although his shabby, white prison clothes didn't do him any favors, he still saw the spark in his big, black eyes. He had held his chin high as he gazed at his sharp, rectangular face with a mop of thick, spiky, albeit tousled, jet-black hair at the top. I will never forget or forgive, sister, he had resolved.
But first, he had to deal with his father. He was the one who had Wystalline in a chokehold and the one who had corrupted his sister.
The democratic monarchal system operational in Wystalline should have seen King Riplartz's reign end and the next monarch elected five years ago.
King Riplartz, however, had refused to let go of the throne. As far as X-lash could remember, he had always been an avaricious man, but things took a turn for the worse eight years ago when X-lash's mother was assassinated by a sniper.
It had always been said that the fatal crystal was probably intended for the King. The Queen just happened to be in the way at the wrong time.
Whatever else was true about the King, X-lash knew his mother was probably the only person in the galaxy his father had ever cared about.
The King was mad with rage, and the people of Wystalline suffered his wrath. After swiftly making an example of the assassin and annihilating the syndicate that had ordered the hit, he tightened his grip on the throne.
Growing more paranoid by the day, he began seeing enemies everywhere. He had members of opposing factions arrested, the media severely sanctioned, and he even sacked ministers of his own suspected of as little as whispering behind his back. When his counselor and best friend of ten years resigned in protest, he was promptly thrown into prison for his troubles.
But I was never a stranger to his desire for control, X-lash thought. It was like that for me since the beginning.
The warden outside approached X-lash's cell, interrupting his thoughts.
"Stay there, traitor," the warden said. He carried a tray with some food.
"Don't you think this name-calling is getting old fast?" X-lash replied wearily. "It was funny only the first time."
"Reminders of your treachery are not supposed to amuse you, traitor," the warden said again, unfazed, as he laid the tray on the floor.
"Ah, they're supposed to amuse you. Well, far be it from me to deny you even this little pleasure, which I reckon is scarce enough in your life," X-lash said. "That's probably the only time you don't feel like an absolute loser."
"Do you want me to spit on your food?" the warden threatened.
"Are you sure you were never a server at the Rahan Eatery?" X-lash asked, squinting his eyes.
"Only a traitorous prince could know of such crude establishments and mingle with the wretched," the warden snorted. "Open the slit," he called out, looking into a CCTV camera.
A semicircular aperture promptly opened at the base of the force field, just wide enough for the tray to be slid in.
The warden kicked at the tray and sent it clattering into X-lash's cell. Some broth in a bowl and most of the water in a glass spilled onto the tray.
"Close the slit," the warden said again, and the aperture closed. "Gobble down your grub. I'll be back in half an hour," the warden said to X-lash and left to sit in his cabin ahead.
X-lash sighed and got to his feet. He walked over and collected his tray before settling back in the middle of his cell.
He closed his nostrils with one hand, dipped the spoon into the broth with the other, and took a gulp. Even then, the awful texture made him grimace and almost throw up.
Alright, then, let's get to it, X-lash thought after taking a few more spoonfuls.
Putting his left hand into his right sleeve, he discreetly began pulling out the string of thread he had been fashioning for the past five days.
He had picked at whatever loose threads he could find in his bedraggled white shirt and trousers. Then he had tied them together into one long string and stored them in his sleeve. Today, he felt it was just long enough to do the job.
The warden had been suspicious initially and asked him what he was doing. When X-lash wearily replied he had nothing better to do all day long, the warden had not bothered him again.
Pretending to take a few more sips of the broth, he deftly tied the string to the spoon, taking care to conceal his movements from the cameras lurking above.
It was fortunate that the string was as white as the floor of his cell.
As usual, the warden arrived just fifteen minutes later.
"Put the tray next to the wall," the warden commanded from afar.
"Look... I can recite... word for word... what you are going to say next by now," X-lash said, getting up with the tray in his hands.
"Silence, traitor," the warden growled.
"Or did I get the death sentence anyway, and you are supposed to bore me to death?"
"I said, silence!" the warden thundered.
X-lash sighed and walked to the edge of his cell. He deposited the tray next to the force field.
"Turn around," the warden said.
X-lash turned around.
"Go back and—"
X-lash had already started moving over. He sat down in the middle of the cell.
"Open the slit," the warden called out as he moved near the force field.
The aperture opened up in the force field again. The warden hunkered over and grabbed the tray through the gap.
The warden frowned as he observed the contents. "Hey, what's—"
At once, X-lash yanked at the string in his hand. The spoon in the tray was whisked off and clattered across the floor toward X-lash.
The slit immediately clamped down onto the warden's arms. Guttural screams issued from his mouth as the force field began burning into his sleeves.
The sensors in the force field were designed so that unauthorized hoarding or sudden movements of any items led to the automatic closure of apertures, and the voltage would be ramped up. Usually, it acted as an excellent deterrent to any escape attempts from prisoners, who would inevitably be caught in the force field for their troubles.
The only way to override was to manually turn off the force field — usually done after the prisoner had burned for a while and had been secured.
This time, however, it was their precious warden caught inside — the force field was down after a few seconds.
X-lash rushed from his position toward the warden, who still shrieked in pain as he stood up. The warden fumbled for his gun with burned hands in panic, but X-lash clinched his head and rammed his knee into it. Then he let go before ramming his other knee into the warden's gut, which sent him sprawling. He had practiced Wystal Karmadsu with some orphan friends since childhood but never had he experienced such pleasure from employing it as he did now.
X-lash quickly fished inside the warden's pockets and found the chip to unlock his limiters. Suddenly, the metal doorway ahead, beyond the warden's cabin, slid open. Grabbing the warden's gun, X-lash staggered to the left to take cover behind the cabin as a volley of neon-red crystals headed his way.
He frantically placed the chip on his limiters one by one, which clicked open and dropped to the floor. At once, he felt the warm surge of enertrons throughout his body. I already feel free, X-lash thought as he savored the sensation.
"You can't hide, traitor," a voice boomed through the room, coming from near the door. "Come out of there, right now!"
"Don't you want to attend to your friend first?" X-lash replied as he eyed the unconscious warden lying across from him. "It looked painful what I did to him. You should have seen his face... or you might want to see it now."
"Listen, traitor. I will be honest," another guard called out. "We can't really kill the Traitor Prince — but we sure can break every single bone in his body and make him wish he was dead. I'm sure the Princess will reward us with estates of our own for doing so."
"Actually, scratch that," a third voice chimed in. "We can kill the Traitor Prince. It's so easy to make something up... self-defense or whatnot. Where there's a will, there's a way. Nobody's really going to care about the how or why. And for that, the Princess might even give us palaces of our own. So... the choice is yours — come out peacefully, or prepare for the worst."
"Alright," X-lash said immediately. He stepped out from behind the cabin into the open with his arms raised. As he let the gun drop to the floor, he eyed the four guards in their red uniforms standing in the doorway, guns trained at X-lash. "Come on, then. Put me back in my cell."
"Don't make it hard on yourself, traitor," one of them, a burly man with a beard, said. "You look like you are going to attempt something stupid."
"If you expect the Traitor Prince not to be stupid, you must not be that bright yourself. Or are you scared of my stupidity?" X-lash taunted. "I got the feeling you want to break my bones. Fancy having a go at it?" he added as he put up his fists in a boxer's stance.
"I would be filthy rich if they paid us an extra Ongen for every delusional idiot we beat up." The guard rolled his eyes. "Get him, boys."
They rushed at him all at once. Fists still up, X-lash assumed a crouching stance and weaved around to dodge the first few blows thrown his way.
As a crystal-laden arm took a swipe at him, X-lash jerked his torso backward, the sharp point passing barely inches from his face. X-lash pulled at the guard's arm and drove a toe kick into his gut. As the guard hunched, X-lash formed crystals on his elbow and prepared to ram it into the guard's back.
A smack to X-lash's face caught him unawares, making him reel backward in pain. Then, he felt another pair of hands grabbing his arm and hair and dragging him along in an arc before sending him hurtling forward.
Moments later, his head smashed into some glass as his knees bumped into something. Unable to maintain his balance, he fell forward head-first and used his hands to break his fall, his legs raised in the air briefly.
He felt enertrons seeping from his face while his head pounded wildly. As he tried to recompose himself, he found himself inside the warden's cabin. He had fallen inside through the window, which lay in shards all around him.
He tried to shake off the pain and get up. The guards were at the cabin entrance at once. He felt another hand in his hair, which dragged him outside.
X-lash curled his biceps and aimed his elbow ahead, a crystal protruding from it. He used the momentum as he was yanked and rammed his elbow into the guard directly in front of him. Quickly, he spun around and bashed the guard behind him with a backhand punch in the face.
A kick drove into X-lash's back, sending a jolt of agony through his spine as his knees buckled. A pair of arms wrapped around his neck and held him in a chokehold.
As he struggled to breathe, another guard rushed in front and started pummeling his face. His vision began to blur with every second.
With his left breath, he dug his feet into the ground. Then he threw all his weight backward just as he shot out his legs in front. He let crystals protrude from his feet, which connected with the face of the guard in front of him, sending her reeling. Meanwhile, he fell backward, taking the guard behind him down with him.
As he fell on top of the guard, the chokehold loosened, and X-lash breathed a deep gulp of air. He spun around, grabbed the burly, bearded guard's neck, and rammed his knee into his chin. The guard's mouth snapped shut before he went limp.
Instinctively, X-lash sensed a blow coming his way from behind him, so he put up a crystal-covered arm to block the advance. He then stood up and turned around to face her. He stopped another punch before he got in two quick jabs at her face, followed by an upward feint. As the guard swayed backward to avoid X-lash's feint, X-lash drove his fist into the guard's gut. She bent over before X-lash smacked hard into her right jaw. The guard went hurtling sideways and collapsed in a heap.
That's all of them, X-lash thought as he scanned the four limp guards on the floor. He kneeled for a bit, catching his breath and waiting for some of the unbearable pain to subside. Then he grabbed a gun from the nearest guard's holster and bolted for the entrance.
As soon as he stepped across the threshold onto the long, metal catwalk beyond, an alarm went off. Red lights flashed on the walls of the hall as a siren wailed.
The portal at the far end of the catwalk opened, and more guards rushed in and trained their rifles at him.
This time, X-lash shifted toward the catwalk's edge, pointed his gun at the chasm below, and pulled the trigger. A stream of sharp, neon-red crystals burst forth as X-lash aimed the gun at an enormous generator lurking underneath. It exploded in a fiery inferno, making the catwalk judder. At once, all the lights and alarms in the hall went out, plunging the place into darkness. That's what I'm best at — sabotage, X-lash thought, pleased.
X-lash sprinted across the catwalk, which was outlined against the orange flames below. Emerald radiation emanated from the hands of the guards at the other end. Big mistake, X-lash thought. Now I know exactly where you are.
Before they could aim at X-lash, he sliced the air with his hand in an arc. A crystal boomerang formed in the trail of his movement and charged forth, spinning furiously. They never saw it coming through the darkness. It relentlessly smacked them all, one by one, in their heads. As they dropped to the floor, the lights in their hands extinguished as well.
X-lash was about to continue across the catwalk when something deep below caught his eye. The arching glass walls surrounding the generator had shattered. Through the flames, X-lash could see the now exposed mouth of a passageway leading out from the pit. The maintenance tunnels! X-lash realized. He looked up once more and considered the portal at the other end of the catwalk. Best not go out through there, he thought before he shifted his gaze back downward.
The stairways leading down to the generator had been torn off and lay among the flames. X-lash encased his body in crystal. Then he pulled himself over the railing of the catwalk and hopped down. He fell into the blaze with a deafening crunch as the crystal cracked. Maybe my sister is right about the stupidity, X-lash thought as he groaned in pain.
He reformed the crystal and got to his feet. Even through the covering, the heat was almost unbearable, and the smoke made it difficult to see. He limped past the smoldering remains of the generator and made his way toward the passageway.
As he stepped into the dark tunnel, its lighting having also lost power, he emitted emerald radiation from his hand to make out the metal grating on the floor and metal panels for walls. He stumbled down the path and retracted the crystal from his body as he got far enough from the heat.
He soon arrived at a brightly lit crossroads where several passageways led into a space with a staircase ahead. A sliding glass door was situated at the top of the stairs with a touch screen on the wall next to it. Flashes of red intermittently lit up the glass from the other side, and X-lash could faintly hear the alarm.
X-lash rushed up the stairs. He aimed the gun at the door, ready to pull the trigger. Suddenly, he noticed a faint, bluish glow appear on the other side. It seemed to be moving down a shaft enclosed by metal grating at the far end of the hall. In a moment, X-lash glimpsed a descending platform followed by pairs of feet. An elevator! X-lash thought in panic.
He spun around and sprang away from the door. Sticking the gun in his trousers, he hopped over the staircase railing, lowered himself to grab onto the landing, and let himself hang there with his head safely tucked out of view.
He stifled his grunt as he held on, waiting for someone to emerge. A few moments later, the door slid open, and X-lash heard several boots clacking down the staircase.
"There's no telling how big the fire is right now, so be careful," a voice shouted through the alarm, which was deafening now that the door was open.
"I hope it got him," another yelled.
"Must have. Or we would have heard about his capture by now."
You wish, suckers, X-lash thought. He looked toward his left just in time to see several prison staff sprint into the passageway he had come from, carrying fire extinguishers. He raised his head above the landing. To his dismay, the door was about to close.
He released a crystal trail from his hand — it rushed along the landing and stopped in the middle of the doorway. The doors collided with the crystal, halted, and separated again.
Immediately, X-lash hoisted himself up, vaulted over the railing, and ran through the doors just in time. He emerged in an enormous room with metal slabs for the floor and its walls obscured by gigantic pipes, valves, gauges, piles of crates, and maintenance equipment in glass panels. The alarm continued to wail here, punctuated by intermittent hissing sounds from the pipes.
He jogged to the room's far end toward the elevator platform with a digital screen affixed to its railing. Climbing onto it, he activated it. At once, the platform began its ascent through the shaft.
It whizzed past the ceiling, the alarm getting muffled for a bit. It then rapidly passed rooms identical to the one at the bottom.
Finally, it emerged on a floor and halted. Ahead was a long corridor lined with servers and generators on both sides. It led into a spacious hall on the other end, dotted by cubicles and control panels. A gigantic screen made up an entire wall, flashing warnings of all kinds.
X-lash immediately hopped from the platform and dove behind a crate to avoid getting noticed by the dozens of prison staff bustling around in the hall. They're probably unarmed, X-lash thought, eyeing the maintenance staff from his hiding place. But it's still too risky confronting them. X-lash could hear them yelling commands at the top of their voices, trying to drown out the deafening alarm.
There seemed to be no way out from the corridor, and X-lash would have to go into the hall to find the exit. How do I get out of here?
Suddenly, the elevator platform behind him dinged, and it began to descend. Someone summoned it, X-lash realized in horror. And they will be here soon.
Guess I'm all out of options, X-lash decided as he cocked his gun. He wriggled out from his cover and stealthily advanced, still crouching, eyes fixed on the hall ahead. Suddenly, he felt something pressing into his soles.
He glanced down at a metal hatch under his feet in the middle of the corridor. Another option?
At once, he formed a sharp crystal blade in his hand and hacked at the latch that secured the trapdoor. He lifted it and slipped down the steps underneath.
As the hatch slammed shut above him, he found himself in a cramped crawl space brimming with tangles of wires and crisscrossing pipes. It branched off at intervals and seemed to lead under various electronics on the surface. He weaved his way forward through the mess, careful to avoid getting a shock.
At a branch point, he tried reading the markings on the walls. The lighting was dim, but he could not afford to emit radiation of his own and risk it being detected through any of the gratings on the surface. He headed in the direction of the arrow that said garage.
He ducked under slanting pipes and pushed away tufts of wires as dehumidifiers hissed out all around him. Finally, he arrived at another couple of steps with a trap door overhead. He climbed up, smashed the latch from the inside, and threw open the door.
His heart stopped for a moment as his eyes locked with a guard standing right next to the hatch. Both froze for a second.
"Traitor!" the guard hissed.
X-lash ducked to avoid a barrage of crystals released from the guard's hand. In a flash, he stood up again and dropped a bunch of emerald, radioactive crystals at the guard's feet, who was preparing to aim his rifle at X-lash.
X-lash closed his eyes as they burst into a brilliant flash of emerald light. Then he blindly reached for the guard's ankles and yanked. The guard lost his balance and let out a cry as he fell flat on his back. Before the guard could make another move, X-lash climbed out of the hatch and aimed his gun at him.
"Do it! I dare you!" the guard growled as he lay on his back.
"Do what?" X-lash asked.
"Pull the trigger, traitor," the guard shot back.
"Now, now, that's not a healthy way of dealing with embarrassment," X-lash replied. "How about crawling into that hatch for a bit instead?"
"I knew you were a coward," the guard said and immediately sat up to reach for his rifle.
X-lash smacked the guard's temple hard with the butt of his gun. The latter immediately slumped. Oh, well. X-lash sighed.
As he looked around, he found himself in a cabin in the parking lot, fitted with power circuits and switchboards. He stepped out the door into the main parking area, surrounded by low concrete walls on three sides. To the far left was the entrance, and beyond that, X-lash could see the surface-level installations of the prison. To his right, a ramp ascended to the upper stories. He quickly scanned the parked vehicles until he spotted a bike. Just what I need, he thought.
X-lash scurried over to it. He hurriedly dismantled its battery compartment and set to complete a bypass circuit. Despite being the prince, he had refused any royal offices and had pursued a career in bike racing. It had always felt so liberating — zooming down the tracks as fast as he could, without a care in the galaxy. It had also been how he had learned basic knowledge about automotive parts and operations — that, and hot-wiring.
To his horror, he heard footsteps thundering closer from the entrance to his left. X-lash did not dare look up as he furiously worked to connect the wires, his hands trembling. He fumbled twice as sweat beads formed on his brows.
The bike rumbled to life as X-lash finally finished the circuit. He climbed onto the seat and revved up the engine. A group of guards bolted into the parking lot and let loose streams of crystals at X-lash from their rifles. X-lash formed a crystalline shield to block the onslaught before swerving his bike toward the ramp. The bike picked up speed as he navigated between the various locomotives. He sped up the ramp, narrowly avoiding a volley of crystals.
On the next floor, he rapidly ascended another ramp. Then he sped toward the low concrete wall ahead. He grabbed his gun and relentlessly fired at it, cracking it bit by bit. As it drew nearer, X-lash encased himself in long, jagged crystals and braced for impact.
The crystals tore through the wall while the bike rammed into it, sending a big chunk of it plummeting downward.
The bike sailed through the air as the parking lot gave way to grassy fields below. Moments later, it landed on the ground with a jolt that sent shockwaves throughout X-lash's body. He struggled to maintain his grip as it bounced and juddered onward.
Steadying his breath, he retracted the encasing and managed to steer the bike onto a dirt path. I am free! he realized as he rode toward the mangrove forest ahead.
Briefly, he turned his head upward. The starry night sky beckoned to him as the chilly coastal breeze teased his hair, smelling of salt. After days in the dim, sterile cell, watching the polychromatic Wystal moon felt like looking into the Sun.
The expansive diamond palace, with its multicolored domes and spires, dominated the backdrop to the east. It twinkled and sparkled brilliantly under the rainbow-colored moonlight, shifting at every turn of the head. X-lash fixed his gaze at the mammoth Monarch's Tower, sitting squarely in the center and looming far above all the others — he wondered if the King had been notified yet or was sound asleep. He's probably going to have the entire prison staff imprisoned, X-lash mused.
He shook off his thoughts and reminded himself he was still not out of the woods — even literally.
The mangrove trees surrounded him as X-lash carefully negotiated his way through the boggy ground and gnarled roots. Fragments of crystals jutted out here and there, twinkling in the rainbow-colored moonlight and casting spectral glows all around. Along with the deep rumble of the bike, X-lash could faintly hear distant sounds of the Thalchrome Sea crashing against the coastline.
He wondered where he should head to. He thought about some of his friends in a nearby village for temporary refuge, but that would have been the first place the King's guards would look for him. He had good terms with some of his cousins, but he was not sure even they would consider harboring the Traitor Prince. On the other hand, going to the spaceport and getting out of Wystalline undetected was virtually impossible. Where do I go? He wondered in vexation as the trees sped by.
A light appeared at the edge of his vision. His breath got caught in his throat as he suddenly applied the brakes. The bike violently screeched to a halt as X-lash lurched forward, almost toppling onto the ground. Instinctively, he reached for his gun and aimed it at the figure on the bike ahead.
"Who the heck are you?" X-lash demanded. "Show yourself, or I'll kill you."
To his bafflement, X-lash realized the blue sportbike with white decals was his very own. Who dares use my bike? he thought angrily. He watched as the figure slowly removed its helmet. X-lash's eyes widened in shock as he saw who it was. Scyfe!
"Put that down, Xiphoslash," his sister said with icy calmness. Her big, black eyes pierced his as she ruffled her thick, jet-black hair that fell in spikes across her forehead and below her shoulders, unmoved by the coastal breeze. She was dressed in black biking leathers.
It took a moment for X-lash to compose himself. His grip faltered, so he grabbed his gun with both hands.
"How did you find me?" X-lash demanded, gun still trained at his sister.
"Those sad, tattered prison clothes of yours," Scyfe said, examining him from head to toe. "I had them infused with tracking nanochips before they gave them to you."
"You wanted me dead!" X-lash seethed.
"Pretty much every person who has ever met you wants that," Scyfe replied.
"I am your brother!" X-lash said.
"Unfortunately."
"I am not going back to that prison. I will kill you if I have to," X-lash said, his throat feeling stiff. But, even as he said it, he knew his sister would never buy that.
"Oh. That's new. I'd have thought you'd say you'd kill yourself," Scyfe said, folding her arms. "Anyway, that's enough, Xiphoslash. I am not armed. Put that down."
"Get out of my way!" X-lash said, gritting his teeth.
"And where will you go?" Scyfe demanded, getting off her bike.
"None of your concern."
Scyfe chuckled. "Listen to me, you idiot. I did not want you dead!" she said, advancing toward X-lash.
"Stay away from me! Don't push it!" X-lash warned, aiming directly at her head.
"When they would have taken you for your execution, I would have had your convoy ambushed by hired mercenaries and bailed you out! I had everything planned. That's why I was pushing for the death sentence. But your stupidity ruined everything, as always! And now, I was unable to get you out of prison," Scyfe said, furrowing her brows as she stopped inches away from X-lash.
What? X-lash's mind went blank for a moment, unable to process what he had just heard. This is a trap, you idiot. Don't fall for it. "Why would you want to bail me out? Am I not a traitor?" he asked, taking a step back and maintaining his distance from Scyfe.
"Yes, you are. But you are also my insufferably stupid little brother. And you are all I have since Mom left us."
X-lash let his mouth hang open in astonishment. He wanted to speak but just couldn't think of what to say. What do I do? How do I know if I should believe her?
"What were you thinking?" Scyfe snapped. "Did you really think sabotaging a few spacecraft here and there and destroying a bunch of supplies was going to stop Dad?"
"Well, the guards did make sure to tell me that my actions resulted in some of the assets not being recovered from Savvo Corp. Any life I save is victory enough for me," X-lash replied, raising his chin.
"You could have saved so many more, you idiot."
"Since when do you care about saving innocent lives?" X-lash asked. "Aren't you Father's Minister of Defense? Shouldn't you be worrying about taking innocent lives?"
"You think you sacrificed so much — that you declined government offices and took up your biking career because you didn't want to be involved with nepotism." Scyfe rolled her eyes. "How noble. Do you think I wanted to be the Minister of Defense? Do you think I didn't want to stay as far away from Dad's maniacal obsession with power as I could? No, Xiphoslash. It was either that or being completely powerless to stop Dad — just like you are."
"Stop Father? Are you telling me you took up the ministry to stop him? Are you even listening to yourself talk?" X-lash asked incredulously.
"Because I am not so stupid as to let everyone know my intentions. Who do you think convinced Dad to appoint that utterly incompetent Philin Luko as the Foreign Minister?" Scyfe said, raising her eyebrows. "I did. Because I knew she would find a way to squander the deal with the Karomozians. Who do you think made Dad paranoid against Hlak Sythest? He would have persuaded Dad to bomb several cities in the south to quell a rebellion. My whispers ensured Dad had him thrown into the prison before that could happen."
Scyfe moved closer to X-lash. She hid it so well, X-lash thought as he finally lowered his gun.
"But there's still a lot more you and I must do. We have to make sure Dad loses power," she said gently.
"How?" X-lash asked.
Scyfe walked back to X-lash's sportbike and opened a trunk fixed at its side. She produced neatly-folded, blue biking leathers with black, knee-length boots and fingerless gloves. Tossing them over to X-lash, she said, "I know these are your favorite."
X-lash looked at her for a moment and then quickly donned the apparel over his prison clothes. He had not realized how cold he had been feeling until now. Scyfe next tossed a blue helmet, which X-lash put on as well.
"And one final thing," Scyfe said as she produced a Virtual Backpack. It was neon-red and shaped like a diamond with an emerald screen. "You'll need this," she added, chucking it over to X-lash.
"Where do I go?" X-lash asked.
"Take your bike and head toward the sea. As soon as you are out of the forest, my guards will briefly descend with a spacecraft, just low enough for you to get in. You'll have a very narrow window because they can't risk being detected," Scyfe explained. "They will safely take you to Karomoz. We will talk more once you are there." She stepped aside from the sportbike and said, "Now hurry. Go."
X-lash fought back the tears in his eyes. "What about you? Will you be safe?"
"Considering I didn't blow my cover, yes, you idiot," Scyfe snapped. "Now get the heck out here!"
X-lash stepped forward and held his sister in a tight embrace. "Thank you," he whispered.
"You made it out all on your own," Scyfe said with a laugh. "But seriously, you have to leave now!" she said, pulling away.
X-lash nodded and climbed onto his sportbike. Revving its engine, he cast one last glance at his sister. Then he sped off.
Soon, the forest gave way to the rugged coastline. He turned around and looked above at the sky to see a spacecraft approaching from behind him, steadily descending. It crossed him overhead and hovered very close to the ground, its ramp lowered. X-lash accelerated as the spacecraft crossed the coastline, headed toward the sea. Just as the coastline was about to run out, X-lash's bike hit the ramp, and he gunned it into the hangar.
The spacecraft gained altitude as it flew over the sea. Meanwhile, the ramp closed behind him. And now I am finally out of the woods, X-lash thought, taking off his helmet.
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