Late that night, Baird stood in a vacant lot and stared into the black, starry sky. Abigail snuggled closer to him as the brisk breeze brushed over them in a fresh gust. A smile crept to his lips as he kissed her forehead. The crisp and clean nighttime air of Antepeño was quite invigorating.
Brant, Hannah, Chariya, and her men stood expectantly around Baird and his wife, gazing with him into the sky as the pancake-shaped vessel covered in blinking lights continued its slow descent.
Finally, the Sand Dollar settled onto its landing gear several yards away. A series of hisses emanated from the ship after the engine's roar subsided, the various lights deactivating in sync with the airy sounds.
All was black for several seconds. Palpable anticipation grew as the onlookers waited, their patience wearing thin. Hannah began to bounce on the balls of her feet, while Chariya craned her neck and squinted into the darkness. Baird's breaths deepened as he caressed his wife's arm with increased vigor.
At long last, the Sand Dollar's exit hatch slid open. A bright light shot from the ship above to the ground immediately below the entryway, and with a smile, Baird released Abigail, freeing himself to sprint over.
Aaron slid down the dangling black rope first, and a colossal grin spread across his face. "Baird!" he shouted, snatching him into a bear hug. His eyes crinkled as he shut them, and he squeezed his old friend's body just as tightly. "It's been way too long! I've missed you, bud."
Baird grinned back. "I've missed you too, Aaron. A lot. I'm...beyond words."
Aaron chuckled and patted Baird's shoulder one last time before releasing him. "That's a first."
Skipping the rope altogether, Wendy dropped from the hatch. Her metal boots rang on the concrete patch as her gaze lifted to meet Baird's. The very corners of her mouth moved up as she nodded at him.
Baird smiled and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Nice to see you, Wendy."
"Likewise." she replied, before she spotted Abigail a standing few yards back. An uncharacteristically broad grin spread across her face. Without ceremony, she hurried over to greet her.
Keira descended the rope next, and upon sighting Baird, she bounced into his arms and laid a kiss on his forehead. Her arms wrapped around his neck. "Hey!" she squealed, "Do you realize how much I've missed you?"
Baird smirked. "Probably not, but I suppose I'm about to hear all about it."
"I'm not gonna bore you. Not yet, anyways." Keira replied as she slid down onto her feet. She laid a hand on her chest. "But I've gotta say, it warms my heart to see you again."
"You stole the words right out of my mouth there." he remarked.
Keira laughed and moved along, clearing Baird's field of vision just in time for him to witness Sila's jump from the ship interior above to the ground below. He stared into the robot's lifeless eyes with an uncertain smile.
"Reunited." Sila articulated, reaching its slender fingers out.
Baird nodded and shook the robot's hand. "Good word." he replied pleasantly before turning to Aaron. "You haven't modified this thing one bit!"
Aaron chuckled and shrugged. "What can I say? I've been busy with more pressing matters."
"Fair enough." he conceded, looking up as an unfamiliar man slid down the rope.
The man bore a dark complexion, donning a black jacket with a high collar. He bit his lip and reached out for a handshake. "Ace."
Baird obliged him vigorously. "Nice to meet you, I'm Baird. Don't tell me you can only say one word at a time too." he jested.
Ace shook his head. "Nope."
Aaron and Baird shared a hearty bout of laughter, apparently at Ace's expense, as he declined to join their amusement. Then as Hannah ran into his arms, Aaron shifted his focus to her and embraced her.
Finally, Baird cleared his throat loud enough for everybody to hear. "Well, my house doesn't have room for everybody to sleep there, but maybe we should reconvene there and do some catching up before it gets too late?"
Aaron nodded vigorously. "Absolutely!"
With that, the group headed back, splintered into three or four lively conversations that often intertwined, split off again, and reconvened, as they shared in the joys that reunion brought.
********************
Zoko drew in a deep breath as the massive throne room doors, spanning from ceiling to floor, creaked open. He led four men into the grandiose chamber with a rare satisfaction settled into his eyes. His white robes fluttered behind him as his brisk march took him closer and closer to the enthroned emperor.
He knelt on one knee before the youthful ruler, his quartet of companions following suit. "Thy glorious majesty, we humbly present ourselves before thee, to unveil joyful tidings."
Emil nodded. "You've assembled most of the Flock, I see, so it must be good news. Rise, and speak freely."
Zoko rose from his kneeling position and motioned Albatross forward. "In Danlash, he hath uncovered a true treasure."
Albatross nodded and stepped closer to the emperor. He held a small object in his hand, covered by a velvet blanket. "Yeah, I had to fight some troublemakers to get it, but at last," he began, pausing as he yanked the cloth away, "The Indomitable Skull of Belaran is ours!"
Emil clasped his hands together as an unrestrained smile leapt to his lips. "The gods be blessed!" he exclaimed, staring into the glowing red eye sockets of the skull-shaped stone. The youth descended from his throne and dropped to his knees on the ground, prostrating himself before the artifact.
Albatross bowed his head and muttered a few silent words before he turned to one of his companions, a gaunt man with beady eyes and a crooked, flattened nose. The man offered an equally lopsided grin as he took the luminescent artifact into his dry, flaking hands.
Zoko narrowed his eyes as he watched Emil pivot on his knees, his head remaining in alignment with the stone much like a compass needle. He nearly glared at Buzzard as he rubbed his scaly fingers over the artifact and hummed in pleasure. But he swallowed hard and regained his dignified demeanor.
Finally, Emil stood back up and returned to his throne. "Well, no need to delay. Go at once and complete your transformation."
Buzzard nodded vigorously and grinned, sweeping his tongue across his teeth while making a hissing noise in his throat. He sped out of the throne room on his skinny legs, artifact in hand.
Emil cleared his throat. "And how has the search for Falcon gone so far?"
Eagle opened his mouth to answer, but Zoko spoke first. "The search hath turned up nothing so far, thy imperial majesty. However, the stronghold he strove against hath been leveled to the ground, and we have thereby nullified the previous futility of his exertions."
"I see." Emil replied slowly, "But you're still no closer to finding him? No clues, even?"
Zoko was quick to answer. "We have uncovered a multitude of potential leads, thy majesty, and the pursuit of each shall shortly be underway. Rest assured, his discovery is inevitable, in due time. I fully expect to receive good tidings at any moment, and at that time, I do, I shall straightway inform thee."
"Very good. Well, if that's all, you're dismissed."
Zoko shot Eagle a hard expression, causing him to tighten his lips to a thin line. Then the men all bowed before marching back through the throne room doors.
Once the entryway closed behind them, Eagle shot a puzzled glance back at Zoko. "Why'd you keep shutting me down back there? You just fed the emperor a big, fat pack of—"
"It befittest not us to shake his confidence in us, who soon shall be gods. It shall be far better to report one mighty victory than a myriad of little defeats." Zoko replied.
Eagle shook his head. "I already told you, Dove. He's not coming back! It's never gonna happen! Even if we do find him, he's gonna fight tooth and nail to preserve his newfound hedonism!"
Zoko met the blond man's gaze. "Strange, I never expressed an intention to bring him back alive."
Eagle gulped. "So...you plan to have him killed, and then bring his pelt before the emperor?"
"Precisely. Buzzard hath attained his exaltation already, but what then remaineth for us? To languish in his shadow until we at long last attain our own divinity? Nay, we shalt accomplish great things, and be worshipped rightfully, even before our true deification. Dost thou not see it?"
"See what?"
"If thy report retaineth its validity, Falcon already hath found his artifact, and destroyed it! With his progress stunted so, he cannot advance far enough to challenge us, but only may remain equal at his best. His chance of ultimate victory in his rebellion is indeed nonexistent."
Eagle nodded. "I guess you're right. So, what's our next move?"
"We shalt merely continue our search for our fallen brother, always casting our eyes about for our own artifacts in the meantime."
********************
A/N: Reunion! Gotta admit, it was super heartwarming to write that scene where the band reassembles. 😄
If you enjoyed that, don't forget to drop a vote and leave some comments. Thanks!
And now I'd like to ask, what stood out to you most about that second scene, in Emil's throne room?
Finally, a random question: What's your favorite internet browser?
(I told you it'd be random, even though it doesn't feel like it to me. I currently don't know, still figuring it out. I used Safari mostly, but starting a couple days ago, Wattpad kept thrusting this weird ad in my face that redirected the browser to another page, saying my Norton security was out of date and I needed to CLICK HERE to update it. Ha! Joke's on those scammers, I don't have Norton security, so I don't believe it for a second. I never clicked on anything, but it happened a few times using Wattpad specifically on Safari. Using Firefox now, and so far so good. *shrug*)
Well, that turned into a rant, but some of ya'll like those, so there you go. Have an awesome day, everybody! I'll see you in six days, hopefully.