Sidekick

by Carl Stubblefield

  Is that what I’m chasing? Is that what warrants all this effort?

  Gus let it all go. He let go the shame of his past mistakes; those were done. He shifted his focus onto what he should change now. Without the fear of failure and losing the manor or protecting Aurora, Gus let himself go.

  He didn’t even have to support his physical body as the feeling of falling changed to a sensation that the air was trying to support him. He relaxed and imagined himself turning into a giant lump of lead. The visualization allowed his postural muscles to relax, and he sunk deeper inward, retreating from trying to change and manage his environment and just let himself be.

  He went deeper inward, barely hearing a chime sound and losing the sound of the wind rushing by him. What do I want? What have I been chasing? Let it go. One by one, Gus let his cares and desires be pulled away, floating away like ashes in the breeze. They were consumed as they floated further away from him. Expectation. Duty. Responsibility. Any false facade he had erected to be accepted by another crumbled and floated off.

  It was possible he slept during this time. It was a different perspective than Gus had ever let himself have in his whole life. He didn’t have to do anything but be himself. His core self. And he was surprised to see that underneath all the garbage he had collected throughout his life that he had been trying to be happy by pleasing everyone else but himself. He let go of the things he had held close and opened himself to viewing his life, without judgment or blame.

  Gus looked at himself laid bare and was surprised to see his father. He had never seen the parallel between him and his father, but from this vantage they were nearly identical. He worked to be seen a certain way by Purple Faction the same way Gus had worked to have others accept him. Scales of anger flaked away as he accepted that his father was just trying to do the best with the cards he had been dealt. He could see how he had placed his filter on every action, interpreting them in the worst light.

  He felt embarrassment at all of his tantrums when his dad hadn’t given him what he had wanted, whether it be attention, respect, or whatever he imagined would validate him. Gus wondered how he would cope in the same situation. Funny how he judged others on their behaviors and himself on his good intentions. Naive and immature, the embarrassment and shame intensified as he confronted his lack of maturity.

  Gus found that he could let the embarrassment go as well. It was strange to see that he clung to this negative feeling as part of his self-view. Just like his father, he was doing the best he could at the moment.

  Or was he? Guilt presented itself as the next layer. Guilt for wasting so much time playing games, being lazy, making no effort to make something of his life. Binging obscure TV shows that only gave him the ability to make pop culture references that no one would understand. Without the expectation pressing on him anymore, Gus was able to let go of the guilt.

  He had changed. He recognized his behavior as a coping mechanism. An inefficient one that gave poor consolation, but he saw it for what it was. And that it was a step on his path. More meandering and aimless than it could have been, but it had eventually led him to other things. Better things. He let go of the guilt of not being perfect from the start. Releasing himself of the burden of failing to make the right decision all the time.

  He didn’t know when he had crossed the line, but he wasn’t the same aimless person waiting for life to happen. He had a mission. Correction, he’d had a mission—past tense. Without the feeling of duty, did he still feel like he had to help anyone? The feeling he had after helping the family and even the pirates came back to him. That seemed pure. Worth pursuing when compared to other things that he had dedicated vastly larger amounts of time trying to achieve.

  He weighed what Dave had told him, and found that he didn’t feel stupid for the choices he had made. Maybe he couldn’t save the world, but he saw that, at his core, he wanted to try. He knew it was an impossible feat, and would probably be filled with heartache and disappointment. Not probably. Definitely. And that was okay. He could do it without guilt.

  Still Gus fell inwards. He felt like he was getting smaller and smaller as more and more flaked away from his core being. He could feel the last layer surrounding him exposed as the guilt was gone. An outer shell, hardened from being compacted for so long. Regret. All the missed chances not taken because of fear.

  Fear of failure, of persecution, sometimes of the truth. Of avoiding responsibility and missed opportunities. Avoiding the pain that would lead to growth. Unwilling to suffer to get to a better place. Fear of rejection or ridicule for failure. And underneath it all, the regret of allowing that fear to control him. He felt regret that he had possibly worked for some very bad people, and was complicit in the things they had done, by supporting them, even if indirectly. Fear crept in at the unknown effects of his participation with these men.

  As he fell, none of that mattered anymore. So many fears that never came to be. No future to ruin with bad choices. Nothing left to regret. While he could not repair any damage he had done or lives he had hurt, he could dedicate himself to a new path to atone for his mistakes.

  Cracks appeared in this last shell and as it broke away, Gus basked in the glow from what remained. Free of all else, he felt himself expanding, and he opened his eyes.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Freedom

  As Gus looked outward, he felt himself become awake again. He was sure that he wasn’t dreaming, per se. But it was probably dream-adjacent. The wind whistled as it had for who knew how long. With nothing left to do, Gus stared into the deep. A slight pulse like a phosphene ghost blinked at the corner of his vision. It disturbed his peace and he looked at it. It was faint, but was that the message icon?

  A little focused attention and a very dim display opened up. He listlessly checked his status screen and logs. Some new messages greeted him, but they scrolled by quickly, disappearing after he barely read them:

  You have leveled up the skill: Mindfulness to Level 3!

  600 XP awarded.

  600 FP awarded.

  You have leveled up the skill: Mindfulness to Level 4!

  800 XP awarded.

  800 FP awarded.

  You have leveled up the skill: Mindfulness to Level 5!

  1,000 XP awarded.

  1,000 FP awarded.

  You have leveled up the skill: Mindfulness to Level 6!

  1,200 XP awarded.

  1,200 FP awarded.

  You have leveled up the skill: Mindfulness to Level 7!

  1,400 XP awarded.

  1,400 FP awarded.

  You have leveled up the skill: Mindfulness to Level 8!

  1,600 XP awarded.

  1,600 FP awarded.

  Congratulations! You have unlocked the skill: True Sight [Passive]!

  True Sight: You have looked beyond what is false for long enough to gain a certain sense of clarity. You now can perceive truth more readi—

  That was all he could read before the message scrolled away and was gone. After the messages vanished, he was surprised to see that he was no longer in total darkness.

  The faint outlines of a unique manipulation of ether could barely be seen if he squinted his eyes. He recognized two portals embedded seamlessly into the weave that he now understood were unique manipulations related to his Xyzzy skill. He saw himself fall through the portal below, transporting him to the portal above, over and over again. As he stared at the shape more and more, it resembled one of those impossible optical illusions that could be drawn but not fashioned in three dimensions. The warping and portals created a space akin to a three-dimensional Moebius strip. Too much movement in any direction would merely take you to the other side, indefinitely.

  Once the secret was revealed, Gus could see where some areas were twisted, reminiscent of how clowns twisted balloons to make the small compartments that comprised a balloon animal.

  Knowing where to look, Gus made several attempts to attach an ether leash to the focal point, but it kept slipp
ing off. His falling momentum made timing difficult as he zipped by, with only a fraction of a second to make the grab. It was as maddening as trying to win a stuffed animal from a weak claw toy. Likewise, his weave was weak and stunted, despite how hard he pushed to create it.

  It didn’t help that he was moving by as quickly as he was, and that his slight movements sometimes changed his position so that the area he was trying to manipulate was in a different spot than expected. Gus calmed himself and let go of his frustration. Where else was he going? What else did he have to do?

  With the release of tension, success came at last. The weave attached and as Gus reached the end of the ether leash, his momentum stretched the weave, slowing his descent. With a sudden yank, the weave came to the end of its length and ability to expand. This strain transferred to the focal point and Gus worried that it would merely shake loose.

  It did not. The thin weave of the pit in this area was torn in half, and Gus saw a sight that almost made him weep. Just like an unfinished bag of holding, breaking destabilized the construct and it began to unravel. Filaments fizzled and sparked into nothingness as they flipped and flopped, burning like a hybrid of an unmanned fire hose and a lit firework fuse. The simple sparking was more beautiful to Gus than Aurora’s Dazzle or any firework display he had ever seen.

  Seams began to spread apart and light poured in. Gus hit the floor hard. He had slowed as the construct bowed and deformed, so he wasn’t at terminal velocity, but it did hurt like hell. He enjoyed the feel of the cold tile floor underneath him. He stayed there until his ears registered that he had stopped his constant fall and the strange sensation he was still falling ebbed.

  Gus moaned, feeling a little dizzy and nauseated as he sat up to his knees. Gus rested his hands on the cool ivory colored floor, the chill helping him to combat the lingering sense of vertigo.

  Opening his eyes, he saw that he was in the far corridor of the brig. He crawled forward, seeing that all the cells were opened and abandoned. His muscles ached and protested as he crawled, especially his knees. Gus didn’t care. He was free! An eternity later, he knelt and pushed the elevator summon button, half expecting a merc to step out.

  Fortunately none did and he again pushed the button to his suite. He felt so tired. He curled up and rubbed the soft carpet in the elevator.

  “Gus!” Nick yelled in Gus’ mind.

  Gus started awake, looking around with confusion.

  “You have been gone for over a week! I could not communicate with you, and that awful limbo sensation again. It was the worst—”

  “A week?”

  “Yes, a week!”

  “They put me in some kind of dimensional pit trap in the brig. I could barely access my powers.” Gus checked his minimap and saw that all the supers were still in the manor, but none were close to his current position. Standing, he stretched, legs stiff from inactivity for a week. He stood and his back cracked. Gus sighed in satisfaction while he stretched. With the blood pumping more, his thoughts became a bit clearer. “Wait, how did I access powers at all in the brig?”

  “Talk later. You need to get going—I’m just seeing everything updating now from the manor and it’s not good.”

  Gus nodded and shuffled to his suite. The door had been forced open and the room ransacked. Otherwise, it appeared empty. Gus locked the door behind him, not sure if it even would hold.

  “What has changed since I’ve been out of commission, Nick?” Gus inquired.

  “They had command codes; my admin privileges were revoked. I’m just glad I wasn’t kicked. They have been searching for something floor by floor,” Nick warned.

  Gus began to notice his display solidify and his MP bar charging again. Gus felt energized to have things just a bit back to normal.

  “Where are they now?”

  “Hmm, this is suspicious. They have been all over the manor in the past week, but now they are all gathered in the same place—floor twenty-three. I think they may have found what they’re looking for.”

  He used his minimap to check and they did seem to be clustered together. The minimap only showed a top-down view, but with the multiple levels in the manor, things could overlap, so he rotated the minimap and saw that they all were on the same level. Gus felt a chill tingle down his back. He may already be too late.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  King of Yesterday

  Following his minimap, Gus came to a nondescript gray door on level twenty-three. The supers were all congregating here. Taking a furtive glance, Gus opened the door and slid inside. A walkway with terraces encircled the large room, with a staircase leading down to a large, raised platform in the center. Before he could be seen, he moved away from the doorway onto one of the terraces and got to where he could see what was happening. Everyone was so entranced that he probably didn’t need to take any precautions.

  One by one, the supers Gus had previously drained filed forward and touched a large orangish-pink crystal in the center of the room. Some shouted in triumph, others had a visible expression of relief.

  “My powers, they’re back!” one exulted. Another flew up, reveling in the feeling of flight, and Gus had to cower down to avoid being seen.

  “After all who have had their powers taken are restored, we will begin the next phase. You who have helped secure this facility will be the first to benefit from the wealth of power that will emanate forth from Manticorps. Only those who swear allegiance will be found worthy, so choose now! Will you follow me and Manticorps into the future? Will you be my generals as we take this world back from the archaic Factions and their tyranny?”

  Shouts began to swell from the mercs, who had long-standing grudges against the Factions. Most of the Factionless were either those who had washed out of an academy or who could not maintain the discipline necessary to be accepted to one in the first place. Some were simply poor or not in the right place at the right time and had figured out how to use their abilities on their own to survive.

  “Then swear by your powers that you will remain loyal to me and to Manticorps to the end!”

  “Why does he think these guys will not backstab him the first chance they get? Is he that stupid?” Gus asked Nick mentally.

  “It has fallen out of practice, but if one takes a certain oath, their Nth will become non-functional if they break it. The wording must be exact, but I have a feeling Basileus knows what it is.”

  In a similar fashion as before, the supers lined up again and swore fealty, repeating the words after he spoke them.

  “Yep, he knew them.”

  “Why would Nth even allow that? Isn’t that like condoning slavery?”

  “Gus, you look at things from your Earth point of view. The cultures and mores that have evolved on countless worlds encompass more interactions that are considered normal that would outrage even the most lenient hedonists of the planet. A pact of loyalty is nothing compared to what exists in the universe. Those supers were not coerced, they are trading that portion of their freedom for the rewards they think they will get from him.”

  “I still don’t like it,” Gus muttered aloud.

  “Don’t like what?” a voice asked from behind.

  Gus yelped, drawing the attention of a super, and shrank back on the balcony. Luckily, the super turned back to the ceremony, awaiting his turn. Gus looked over his shoulder and saw Aurora crouching and calmly staring back at him.

  “What the—what are you doing here?” Gus hissed. “I thought you were dead!”

  “You did? Good. If you didn’t suspect anything, then for sure they don’t,” she said, tilting her head towards the supers below.

  “What? How?” Gus stammered.

  “A girl can’t reveal all her secrets…” she teased coyly.

  “Aurora…”

  “Fine, I’ll tell you—later.” She waved at the assembled crowd. “After we deal with all this mess. Where have you been?”

  “A girl can’t reveal all her secrets,” Nick replied in Aurora�
�s voice before Gus could speak.

  “What he said. She said. You said. Later.” Gus said after an awkward pause.

  “Whatever. I don’t know what you did to the control room, but they were pretty pissed—”

  “I’ll tell ya what happened. Man-boobs saved the free world. Truly some of your best work, Gus. I’ve taught this youngling well!”

  Aurora mouthed ‘What?’ looking at Gus suspiciously.

  “Well, not yet. Later,” Gus ran fingers through his hair. “Thanks Nick.”

  “You earned it, kid. One of the unsung heroes.”

  “Whatever happened, it kept them searching all over. They weren’t able to get the telemetry to work for them, so I always knew where they were on my minimap, and could avoid detection and sneak around. When I saw a green circle, I knew it must be you, so I came right away. I’ve been in my room, trying to figure out what to do next. I tried to make it to the Foundry but they had someone stationed there. I think they found all the gels in the cafeteria too, so bye-bye stash,” she revealed with a disappointed frown.

  Gus only had one red gel remaining, but he still had a half-dozen blue in his left pocket. “How are you doing with gels?”

  “I used all of mine up to heal the burns on my hands. Sorry,” she admitted sheepishly.

  “I guess we’ll have to make do. Okay, so here’s what I was thinking…”

  Gus went into his plan, adjusting it to accommodate Aurora’s unexpected presence. When they were on the same page, Gus took a peek at Basileus, narrowing his eyes.

  He cracked his knuckles and growled, “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Forty-Three

  It’s Good to Be King

  At last, Basileus got the notice he had been waiting to hear.