by Liandra Jake
Hunter stepped out of the car, already knowing what the answer was going to be. Rusty stepped out as well and stretched his aching limbs. Hunter finished his call as Arctic Tonhdra, one of the opposing teams, pulled up. Their vehicle was a dual treaded snowmobile built to run in their homeland.
The only driver walked up to Rusty. "Did you see the tank?" She asked him.
Rusty nodded. "I take it you had a run in yourself?" Rusty asked.
"Yes, but I somehow avoided it." She replied.
"As best as our team guesses, their attacks are heat-seeking." Hunter explained.
"I see…" She nodded. She was dressed in a tight blue bomber jacket and a pair of matching slack-like pants. Her boots had a similar gradient as Hunter's, but a blue to white.
"But how did you avoid it? My entire vehicle is cooled to prevent the heat of the Drive from wearing out the treads." She asked.
"Our tire was shot; they're resistant to ignition from friction, but not napalm it seems." Rusty replied.
"Whot? How the hell are your tires hotter than your Drive!?" She exclaimed, her accent slipping out.
Rusty popped Guang Blau's hood and revealed the Dual Drive. "WHOT!?" She exclaimed again. "You've got two!?"
"Yep, and it's completely legal as well. A buddy of mine managed to solve the heat issue by focusing the Drive to near insanity; my other bud was the one who hooked to Drives together with the help of some notes from him." Rusty explained.
"Arend right?" She asked. Rusty and Hunter looked surprised.
"So he's known in the north?" Rusty asked.
"Yeah, he and Iine exchange notes on ice-wear in tread based machinery." She replied.
"WHAT!?" Rusty exclaimed. "Iine Excellscar!? The Guild Co-leader of the Northern Alliance!?"
"Oh. Don'cha know your friend was quite well known before this Black Monster business? Tommori Felkin, Iine Excellscar, Fanscaro Roberto, Allan of the Infighters, to name a few; the name Arend Myshcell may not be that well known, but those who do know him are well known themselves." She replied.
Rusty and Hunter were in shock. "Tommori Felkin; mining leader of Yitkin, Fanscaro Roberto; the world's most desired bachelor and leading writer on monsters, Allan; the one man army that keeps shadier Syndicates in their place. Add in Iine of the North and Richard Griffin; Arend could start a war with only one of those people. I hate to think of the possibilities if he gets them all together." Rusty shook his head.
'If Axis ever tries to make a move, we may actually have a chance…' Hunter thought to himself.
Rusty and Hunter had little time until they had to leave. Wishing Skäin good luck, they took off on the final leg. Skäin watched them go in a trail of dust. "Dragon's Den… If only they really knew how far of a reach Arend really has. That man has enough contacts to take on anyone." 'Except Axis.'
The final leg of the race was eventless. The tank never showed and the scenery gradually greened and developed into rolling hills. Rusty and Hunter took seven shifts until they finally crossed the finish line. Rusty was deaf to the fan-fair he and Hunter received. He was too busy focusing on Finch; he seemed genuinely surprised at their arrival.
While Rusty stared at him, Hunter spoke with an official. "You two were a close second. If you didn't have that trouble early on, you could have won."
Hunter himself seemed to be distracted, taking the second place trophy without a second glance. He pulled off his headphones and approached Rusty.
"Keep your cool. You don't want to make a scene." Hunter whispered.
Rusty replied by waltzing up to Finch with a furious glare. "I know you cheated."
Finch laughed. "C'mon really? Are you going to be that guy? I thought you were better than that." A weak whisper wiped the smug smirk off Finch's face.
"Finch…" A man was on his knees, numerous cuts covering his face and a pair of handcuffs forcing his hands behind his back at an odd angle. Cris was standing behind him, a tight grip on the man's chain lead.
"Alright, tell them what you told us." Kyrel said as he shoved him forward onto his feet." A large crowd was gathered behind them, looking like something crawled out of the bowels of hell. Hunter recognized some as the other contestants.
Skäin crossed the line in time to hear his confession. Her treads were so worn half of them had fallen off. "I was order by Finch to sabotage the opposition. We're both members of Celestial Rim and needed to win this at all costs."
Finch sighed. "There's no point trying to deny this. You Dragon's Den people are persistent." A flame aura coated his feet, from which a grinding of metal on metal could be heard. "I'm only sad to say that he's failed to follow orders." Finch swung forward, delivering a kick to the man's face.
The man was flung back, coated in flames. He fell back onto Cris, who had no time to scream as the unnatural fire devoured the Orenth within him within a second. He and the man were left lifeless, unscarred as the flames dissolved with the last of the Orenth.
Finch had a smug look as the two previously hidden Drives in his shoes revealed themselves. The shocked silence was broken as Skäin took the third place trophy across Finch's head. As Finch tried to balance himself, the same thing clicked into Hunter's head before everyone else. He drew a short sword from the inside of his coat; a foot and a half in length with an octagonal box connecting the blade to the handle.
It resembled Arend' old prototype Dragon Drive, only built in a completely different style. The Korvan sat higher in the spinning ring, but the ring itself rose a good deal out from the Drive. A fixed needle connected to the blade was set into a grove around the spinning ring. Hunter spun the Drive rapidly with his hand to start it. As the Drive picked up speed, the blade began to vibrate rapidly.
Hunter pointed the tip of the blade at Finch. "I worked for hours trying to get this right. I am no master craftsman when it comes to things like this, but I've picked up a few things over the years. My Beat Drive is stronger than it seems."
Hunter struck forward, bringing his blade down in a wide arc. Finch pivoted, sending a spiraling flame kick at Hunter's head. Hunter stopped it with an elbow, combining the force with a spin as he cut across Finch's chest.
All it cut was Finch's racing suit, revealing a Y-shaped scar on his chest. Hunter could swear he could see something move under his skin. Finch retaliated quickly, knocking Hunter back with three rapid-fire kicks. Before anyone could react, Finch brought his leg up for the dramatic finale, his entire body coated in flames. Before Finch's legs reached the halfway point to Hunter's head, King flew over the crowd behind Finch and bit down on Finch's left arm, carrying a blast of wind in his wake.
King whipped his head back and forth violently, ripping Finch's arm off at the shoulder while he screamed and flopped back and forth. When his muscles finally gave, Finch was flung to the side. King grinded Finch's arm before spitting it out in a pile of bloodied flesh. Rusty threw up along with many others. Finch covered the wound with blue fire. The wound closed, scarred and tender. A man charged through the crowd, throwing Finch over his shoulder and disappearing in a sudden sandstorm.
Kronth and Oragè appeared as the sandstorm disappeared as suddenly as it showed up. "What the hell happened?" Kronth asked softly, the lack of anger in her voice unsettled Hunter.
He sat up and looked at Kronth. "Celestial Rim, the man known as Finch Goldenberg," Hunter stopped, glancing at the blood stained grass beneath him. "Killed Cris only as collateral damage."
Kronth slid down from Oragè's back. She pulled Hunter off of the ground and hugged him closely. Hunter wrapped his free hand around her.
Oragè nudged her with his nose after a while. "Kronth, we need to move him. Does he have any family?" Oragè asked.
Kronth let Hunter go. "No." She shook her head. "He as an only child whose parents died at an early age. He showed up; fourteen, at the Nest and poked around a bit. None of us bothered to ask what to do." Kronth replied.
She was still crying, even as she tried to take control over the sit
uation. King rested his large chin on her shoulder, blood long since licked off. "Don't. Not everyone needs to in conquerable. We all grieve at some point, as a family does for a lost member." Kronth looked up at King with a confused look, tears drying up. "You say he had no family, but you forget that you are his family; as are Oragè, Hunter, and even I. If the Guild is all he had, then that's all he needs. I guarantee that those who did this will face justice, but now is not the time for revenge."
Hunter looked up at King, tears streaming past his sunglasses. King nodded at him once. "I can't help at being amazed at how close you people can be. No Guild I have ever seen has members who care so deeply for each other. And I'm happy Arend forced me to see this and continue on." King looked back down to Kronth. "I know you have a place close by fitting or his burial."
She nodded understandingly, wiping her face with a sleeve. "I know."
Skäin helped scatter the crowd as the Dragon's Den members prepped Cris' body to be moved in the security van he, Duke, and Pike stole to the Shichland estate. King took the other body and buried him in the wasteland with a large stone marker. He promised himself to at least leave a name before leaving the grave for good. He and Kyrel did some digging in the race's records. Mark Cantè was left etched in the stone, nothing more.
Skäin insisted on attending the funeral along with a few of the scattered racing teams who lost friends as well to the tank. Malkex stayed behind to look after things for Hunter and Rusty, as well as defacing the tank Kyrel and Cris had captured. Twenty two people, including King and Oragè were standing at Cris' grave. Everyone from Dragon's Den currently at hand, Kronth's brother Kurt and her parents who happened to have arrived as everyone else did, as well as eight random Guild members including Skäin.
The storm that was once pouring over Sareville made an appearance as well, casting a part of the mountain's rain shadow as it passed overhead. 'This is the same rain.' Hunter thought as he looked up at the sky.
Kronth stepped away from the slowly diminishing group. Standing behind her grandfather's grave, she dialed Arend' number as new tears dampened her face.
Her call was met with silence. She called a different number, hoping to leave a message for Arend for when he could reach her. "Arend." She sniffed. "I need you to come back. Cris… Cris is dead. A man from Celestial Rim killed him. Please reply soon. I miss you." Kronth shut her phone, sinking back against her grandpa's gravestone.
Duke walked around and joined her. "I called everyone I know and told them what happened. I know the next couple day will be difficult, but we have to pull through. It's time to make the call."
"I know." Kronth replied, nodding. She opened her phone back up, dialing 'triple zero.'
- - Second Summit - -
Kronth and Faulken fidgeted nervously. They were on the spot at the Second Meeting of Syndicates in the Griffin Alliance. Thirty-seven of the forty-three Syndicates in the alliance had sent representatives; eighty-eight not including Kronth and Faulken. They had gathered in an undisclosed location in a gigantic atrium. Unlike in the Next, the rooms shape itself made everyone's voice audible. Kronth and Faulken sat in the center of the room, being the Guild who called the meeting.
"So why is this Low-Rank women here and not Dran?" A man from Cobalt Soiden asked.
"I'm-" Kronth started. "I wasn't talking to you." He snapped.
Faulken took a shot at the man's head. That kind of behavior from him put everyone on edge. "Kronth has Dragon's Den wrapped around her finger. Dran hasn't been involved in any of the Syndicates matters, while Kronth has stepped up to dig her hands into it. She is by far the most fit to speak for the Guild." Faulken replied; gun still In hand.
"These matters for which you speak, why are they important enough for us to be called?"
"Tell that to the Pendragon waiting outside." Nojeski said as he walked into the room. Wake walked in after him, waving to Faulken and Kronth.
"So the Pendragon Hunter has decided to make an appearance." The old women from Feminine Mystics continued. Feminine Mystics was a famous Guild of only women.
"Sahna." Nojeski said with a nod to her.
"How's King?" Kronth asked.
"Having fun talking to anyone around him, human or not." Wake replied.
"Enough already! Can we all agree Celestial Rim has gone too far and should be declared a hostile Guild?" A young boy from the All Boys Guild Academy, Gentle Everlast asked.
"That's a given, but why isn't Richard or Draken here?" Someone else asked.
"Draken is off inspecting an upcoming Guild in the Far East at the behest of one of his old friends. Richard is off training one of our rising stars; Arend Myshcell." Faulken replied.
They were met with a round of questions and exclamations throughout the room. It took over ten minutes to quiet them down.
"I didn't realize he was so popular." Kronth whispered to Faulken.
"You do know he has friends in high places; people who out Rank me?" He replied.
"Seriously!?" Kronth exclaimed under her breath.
"Yeah, but only people who deal with Korvan related things."
"So then. Celestial Rim could prove to be a problem for all of us. I think it may be a good idea to call Arend back until we find out how to counter Legendary Weapons." The older gentleman from Gentle Everlast suggested.
"I second" Sahna said, raising her hand.
"Any objections?" Faulken asked. He was met with a general murmur of "No."
"I have an idea." Kronth said, taking Faulken and everyone else by surprise. "I know a lot of you know or have heard of Arend. If we can get his contacts organized, we may be able to find out more about Celestial Rim's intents. Just in case his return takes too long."
Kronth's suggestion was met with approval from the group. Even the man from Cobalt Soiden was nodding his approval. "There's one effective way to deal with Legendary Weapons." A voice known very well came across the room.
Nem was standing at the door, his cloak wrapped like a scarf around his neck. Moon's Sonata was fully drawn, trailing behind him as he walked to the center of the room. He held his blade above his head once he reached Kronth and Faulken. "We fight back with Legendary Weapons. Both Moon's Sonata," Nem lowered his weapon. "And the Dragon Drive."
"So that's why you've been running around for so long." Sahna said as she watched Moon's Sonata.
"Yes, and throughout my journeys I've learned Celestial Rim has bullied outlying Syndicates throughout the continent. I also know of two Legendary Weapons they have yet to find. The BluZeph's Aero Fira, and Death's Ring. Kronth, I need you to push Kyrel into getting that bow for us."
"Nem, you know that will be hard." Kronth replied.
"Yes, but I'll be going home with you two. I'm sure we can find a way." Nem replied.
"Alright everyone, see ya when the world goes boom." Faulken said as he headed to the door. Within minutes, the room emptied and was sealed for use in the future. Outside, King was waiting to take Kronth and Nem back of Dragon's Den.
[X]
"Alright then. You sure you have everything?" Tommori asked as two of his workers loaded Arend modified buggy.
"Yeah, I didn't unpack much." Arend replied.
The air was clean and the sun shined down of the city, much to the enjoyment of its inhabitants. The Central Foundry still smoldered, sending up a thin trail of smoke. Arend and his crew had camped out for three days to tend to the cuts and burns received from their adventure.
"Where's Corenden?" Michael asked.
"He's hanging out with some of the working Floxes. He's become quite famous among them." Tommori replied.
"We're done loading Boss!" One of the black Floxes called out.
"Good! Go ahead and enjoy yourselves. Work will start back up once we get an improved design!" Tommori called back. The two black Floxes disappeared into the sky.
Richard and Michael immediately got into the buggy. Arend whistled loudly. Tommori covered his ears until the ringing stopped. "Dude. I
'm sure Floxes across the city heard that." Tommori said as he shook his head.
Corenden dropped down with a group of black Floxes. Arend recognized one as the one who helped him hold the cable; he was the only one with bandaged arms. "Whatcha been up to?" Arend asked as Corenden landed beside him.
The black Floxes touched down nearby. "They showed me a few games and exercises to increase my wing strength." Corenden replied.
He glanced up at the sky. "It's surprisingly clear today."
"That's because of the Slipstream. It dips down just above the city, carrying away most of the smoke from the foundries. It's what keeps this place from being completely inhabitable." Tommori explained.
"Hmm… Maybe something buried under the plateau causes it." Arend suggested.