by J. C. Fiske
“Good, but first we need to do something,” Rolce said as he reached into his pocket for the scroll and quickly tore the message into bits until it wasn’t readable anymore. Gisbo’s mouth fell open.
“Are you nuts?! What did you do that for?” he demanded. Rolce smiled knowingly.
“Just trust me. Come on, let’s go this way. We’ll have better luck in the woods,” Rolce said as he strode off down the left path to find shelter.
The boys crawled on their bellies, lifting arm over arm and pushing themselves forward with their feet through some thick bushes. They were doing quite well for themselves, following alongside footprints to the left of them, and didn't come across any signs of struggle, until they heard a commotion nearby.
“Let me go! You can’t!” Grandfield's voice subsided in muffled grunts as he was gagged. Gisbo and Rolce spread aside the bush and saw Grandfield, Shaved and Knob all tightly bound. Gamba and his synergy stood over them, laughing together at their captives.
“How do they expect us to get this message to Narroway against people using Elekai’? It's impossible!” Knob screamed with rage before he too was gagged by one of Gamba’s friends. Gisbo and Rolce looked at each other in the bush.
“One synergy down. Can we help them?” Gisbo asked.
“Unfortunately no. See, Gamba is already holding their message, that's game over for them. Besides, Knob was right. We can’t go up against somebody using Elekai’,” Rolce said with a smirk that added, “I know something you don’t know.” Gisbo hated it. The boys watched as Gamba and his crew dragged their captives away and silence fell over the snowy landscape once more.
They continued along their course at a decent pace until both boys were severely drenched and their knees and elbows were beginning to blister from chafing against their wet, icy clothes. They found shelter together in another bush and decided to take a brief break.
“This better be worth it, Rolce, I’m trusting you with my life here,” Gisbo said through tired breaths.
“Oh believe me, we are absolutely fine. I’ve planned for everything,” Rolce boasted, only to hear an unexpected voice ring out from above.
“Oh have you now?” Ernie said, as the boys froze at the sight of their bosses sitting in the tree above them, drinking steaming cups of coffee, clearly enjoying themselves. Gisbo and Rolce flashed sheepish grins as Dave and Ernie dropped from their tree. Gisbo couldn’t imagine how two old farts like them had even managed to climb up there in the first place.
“Your message, please, we’d hate to stun two of our favorite employees now,” Dave said, outstretching a huge hand, beckoning with his fingers. Rolce simply smiled, reached into one of his pockets, and pulled out the other piece of paper he had been writing on in the schoolhouse. He thrust it forward. Ernie and Dave both opened the message and their smiles subsided into frowns.
“What do you call this?” Dave asked, eyeing Rolce suspiciously.
“It is our message of course,” Rolce answered. Dave’s blue eyes twinkled with pride.
“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s pappy! Glad to have such a smart employee crunching numbers for us at the shop. Well, since we can’t read it, then I guess we never saw it, eh? Well done, boys. Now go get this to Narroway. Renegades will admire your cleverness, but those Renegaras won’t. There's a slew of them just up ahead so you better head north, directly toward the tower. Don’t worry, the commons are empty. Nobody expected a straight on approach,” Dave said. Gisbo sighed.
“See! My idea was great! Can I hold the message?” Gisbo asked.
“No,” Rolce ordered. Dave and Ernie gave them both encouraging grins and handed Rolce back the parchment.
Dave and Ernie waved goodbye and proceeded to search for another tree to sit comfortably in. Gisbo was more confused than ever as he raised his voice to ask what had transpired. Rolce only waved his hand and shook his head, motioning for Gisbo to follow him.
The boys managed to snake their way forward through the bushes once again, until they spotted the commons. Rolce grinned in glee to find it deserted, with the front door of the tower in plain view. Gisbo playfully punched Rolce's bicep, he was so pleased at their good fortune.
“You want to make a break for it?” Gisbo asked. Rolce nodded. They were gearing up to sprint when they heard a loud WHOOSH behind them. They spun around in concern, desperately wishing to see anyone but Ranto. Tough luck. His big frame loomed over them, flashing a fist covered in spiked brass knuckles, aglow in fiery red.
“How goes it, kids?” Ranto taunted with an ironic wink.
“Up yours!” Gisbo snarled. In a flash he was on his feet, rearing back for a punch despite Rolce’s warning. Gisbo’s swing flew true, hitting Ranto right in the face. He thought he might come out on top until something felt terribly wrong. Suddenly, his entire body was wracked with pain and, before he could register what was happening, he shot backward. Gisbo’s body hit the snow like a plow, leaving a long trail of green grass in the wake of his painful slide. He grabbed his fist, screeched like a wild animal as his knuckles pulsated, glowing red for a few moments, then quickly turned to four neat bruises. Ranto shook his head in disbelief.
“Idiot! Please explain to him what just happened, Rolce. I don’t have the patience for it,” Ranto scowled in absolute disgust at Gisbo’s stupidity.
“Gisbo, I tried to warn you! Don’t you remember what Perry said? If you strike against somebody whose essence is fully powered and yours isn’t, the physical damage is instantly rebounded back on you. We won’t be able to hurt him as long as his essence is powered up,” Rolce admonished with a defeated sigh.
“That’s more like it.” Ranto said. Gisbo rose to his shaky feet, cracked several joints and dusted himself off.
“Well, good to know I hit pretty hard at least,” Gisbo said aloud, not at all phased.
“You’re pathetic,” Ranto chimed in, rolling his eyes.
“Oh yeah? Well this pathetic guy right here creamed you in the eating contest on his first day here an’ embarrassed you in front of all your Renegara buddies! You’ve been sore ever since!” Gisbo shouted back. Ranto closed his eyes and chuckled before replying.
“Absolutely meaningless, I really don’t understand why people get so down about losing in sports or competitions like eating for example. Sure it's fun, sure it feels great to 'taste' victory, but in the end none of those things matter. You face opponents to find out two simple things: your worth and who is better,” Ranto said, taking a pause to enjoy Gisbo’s growing rage.
“Take clash for instance. I know many who live their lives by it. They call it a passion and for what? Little do they realize that it doesn’t matter how many points you score, all it means is you are good at scoring points in a silly game, that is all. When it comes right down to it, the best can only be determined by how well one fights. One body against another, spilling themselves in glorious conflict using Elekai’, reflexes, strategy, strength, speed; all that you are against all that somebody else is. A straight-out fight to the point of unconsciousness or death determines outright who is better. Nothing else. You may have beaten me in a silly eating competition, Gizzy, but don’t you see now? It doesn’t matter! In the grand scheme of things, you are nothing and the day you learn Elekai’ you will be just that, nothing. That is why I’m going to let you go win your silly game, for that’s all it is. Go ahead, no tricks,” Ranto challenged as he pointed to the door. Gisbo stood staring at Ranto with unmitigated hatred.
“Ya? Well in that case, let's cut to the chase. Take those stupid knuckles off and fight like real men do,” Gisbo challenged.
“You mean fight like uncivilized, unintelligent people do? Please, I’m practically a Renegade prince. Elekai’ is a part of every one us, as close and useful as an arm or a leg. You want me to just throw all that away and come down to the level of brainlessly throwing fists? Come down from the dinner table, get on all fours, and fight the begging mutt? Never! As I said before, Gizzy, I want worthy competition. Now
we both know you have no chance of passing Perry’s exam, so I want you to go win your contest for one reason,” Ranto said, a slight smirk stretching across his face. “When you get your band, I want you to always look down at your arm knowing full well, for the rest of your life, that you wouldn’t be a Renegara if it weren’t for me,”
Ranto said, his smirk turning into an evil smile. Gisbo shook with utter fury, unable to think of anything to say. Ranto laughed.
“Brain not working again? Such a waste; you want to hit me so badly I can taste your animosity in the air. Don’t worry yourself, kid, I may like having worthy foes, but I also love crushing the weak. I’ll be back for you, Gisbo. Do train hard . . .” Ranto said with glee as he turned and walked away without looking back.
“Don’t listen to him. He may say it didn’t matter to him, but you embarrassed him. He’s obviously still sore about it,” Rolce reasoned, trying to calm his friend.
“He’s obviously a giant nut sack that needs kicking . . .” Gisbo said, staring off into the distance.
“Well, maybe a little of that too,” Rolce admitted.
“I swear to IAM, as soon as I learn Elekai’, I’m gonna’ kill that kid. I don’t care if he is Narroway’s son! Lets see how smooth princey boy talks when he’s swallowing his own teeth,” Gisbo raged as he punched a nearby tree, not even caring that he split open his damaged knuckles.
“Control yourself, his time will come. Now let's go pass your exams!” Rolce encouraged with a friendly smile. This, at least, caused Gisbo to wipe the scowl off his face. They made their way in a sprint to the tower entrance. Luckily no one else saw them.
“Why so quiet?” Gisbo wondered.
“Nobody expected a Renega to make it this far. Everyone who uses Elekai’ is practically invincible to those who can’t use it, like us. This is why Perry said we need to use ALL that we learned. Don’t worry, I’ll explain inside, but what do we do with this door? There’s no handle to open it,” Rolce asked. Gisbo smiled.
“Well, at least I’m good for something! I’ve been here before. How funny, with all that planning, Rolce, and in the end you need me to open the door. Why don’t you say please, huh?” Gisbo taunted.
“Fine, don’t open it. I can pass the exam and get mine later. Your choice, I mean…” Rolce said, folding his arms. Gisbo’s eyes turned the size of saucers.
“CHIEFTAIN NARROWAYS DOMAIN!” Gisbo interrupted, cupping both hands to his mouth in a scream. The black doors swung open and Gisbo and Rolce entered the elevator. Just as before, it lurched in every direction and shot much higher than Purah’s office. Finally, the doors opened, showing a surprised Chieftain Narroway seated at his desk. The place was absolutely huge, with broad, tinted windows encircling the room, so all of Heaven’s Shelter could be viewed. Narroway jumped from his chair as he quickly shuffled the boys out of the elevator.
“Well done, my boys! Welcome! Welcome! Please say you have the message and this isn’t just a friendly visit?” Narroway said excitedly. Rolce fished out the message and handed it to Narroway, whose smile increased ten fold before he broke out in a loud guffaw.
“Oh, you two amaze me! Simply brilliant. Come now, sit down, talk me through your procedures and make yourself at home! Don’t feel bashful, sit anywhere you wish! My father’s office is your office!” Narroway said as Gisbo and Rolce grabbed some chairs by the fireplace.
“This was Vadid’s office?” Gisbo asked as he surveyed the room, especially impressed by the view.
“Yup, I left it just as it was from the day he, well, disappeared,” Narroway said, a little saddened, but he quickly changed his tone. “Never mind all that! Tell me everything!” Narroway said, looking at Gisbo.
“Well, I knew how the elevator worked. You’ll want to talk to this guy,” Gisbo said, cocking a thumb in Rolce’s direction. Narroway quickly shifted his attention.
“Thanks. All I did was put everything I learned into perspective. First thing I thought of, as I was telling Gisbo earlier, was that there was no way we were going to get past an area filled with people who knew Elekai’. It was literally impossible and that was the point of it all. On top of that, we had to deliver a message that couldn’t be read by the enemy. If it were read, we’d be eliminated. The message itself was way too long to be memorized in such a short amount of time, even by me,” Rolce said as he paused to take in Narroway’s interested, yet proud face.
“Go on, my boy.” Narroway said with glee. Rolce, beaming, continued.
“So, the only option would be to encode the message, letter by letter. If we were caught, our captors wouldn’t be able to read the message or figure out the coding. If someone caught us, all they would see were a series of numbers and letters that only I knew the meaning to. A total of twenty six, one for each letter of the alphabet, all designed in a way that I could recognize every letter and change it when need be. As an example, for the letter “B” I drew two circles together, horizontally, so they would remind me of binoculars or . . .” Rolce started.
“Boobs?” Gisbo interrupted. Narroway was trying not to chuckle, but Rolce didn’t notice, being deep in his explanation.
“ . . . an altered form of the letter. No need for memory, just impulse. If this were a real combat mission, they probably could have figured out the coding given enough time as it is quite simple. And if they couldn’t, well, I’d probably be tortured to spit out the key. But this was a training exercise and nobody would resort to such cruelty among friends.”
“Very good, Rolce.” Narroway praised.
“Thank you, sir. I also knew we wouldn’t have problems with Renegades finding us, they’d simply laugh and go on to find others; it was the Renegaras that worried me and were the only real threat. Just to spite us, they could have tied us up for the remainder of the time limit, not allowing us to win due to their rivalry with us. The only logical thing to do was encode the original message on new paper, destroy the original, and snake our way through stealthily to our destination, where I would decode the message for you on the spot. Still, it was good that Gisbo knew how to work the elevator. All would have been lost if we couldn’t get to your office,” Rolce finished, winking at his friend. Narroway stood up and slowly clapped his hands.
“Well done, my boy, Moordin and Falcon will be so proud when they hear the news! I was hoping you’d make it through. Perry informed me that only you two stayed behind and simply assumed what you were up to. He will be quite impressed to know two of his students made it to me. I’ll go send for him immediately, but first you need to recite the message to me, Rolce,” Narroway said. Rolce proceeded to unravel his message and requested a new sheet of paper, which Narroway gladly provided. In no time at all, it was complete and thrust to Narroway, who read it front and back. When he was satisfied, the chieftain nodded his approval.
“I hope you know the both of you cannot share the secret of what you did to anyone else. Otherwise, how will we be able to have a challenge for next year? I’m sure there are other ways of completing this task, so we will have to see what others come up with in the future! ” Narroway said and the boys agreed. It was then Perry arrived on the scene, followed close behind by Falcon and Moordin. They all gathered round to watch as Perry made his way forward, staff in hand, to face his two young students.
“Well done, gentlemen. You should know that in all my years of teaching, I have never once passed anyone early. Using reasoning, judgment of your surroundings, foresight into your enemy, and proper battle formation, you went about your mission brilliantly. In this exercise, you have displayed nearly everything I have taught you and applied it to a real life situation. Times like these truly make an instructor proud. Now put out your arm, Rolce, you have earned one of the instructor’s bands and in doing so, have shown yourself to be one of the brightest students I have taught in a long while. You have earned this special mark,” Perry said as he powered up his essence and branded Rolce’s second band upon his skin across his bicep. Rolce stared at it proudly as
Moordin gave him a rare wink. Perry then turned his attention to Gisbo, before turning back to look at Falcon.
“This one belongs to you, I take it?” Perry asked. Falcon chuckled.
“More or less,” Falcon answered and Perry diverted his eyes back to Gisbo.
“Something never sat right with me the moment you entered my class, son. I should have known why with this class master over you,” Perry said. “I always pondered how your reasonably acceptable homework never bore fruit in class discussions. I could never prove it of course; for that you're lucky. Nonetheless, you have passed my class, if by nothing more than a massive stroke of luck. Looks like none of us will ever really know how you would fare on my exam, but . . .” Perry said, raising a finger to his chin.
“Hey, hey! You promised bands to any synergy that passed this thing! You can’t go back on your word!” Gisbo rebutted. A look from Perry was all that was needed to make Gisbo quit while he was ahead.
“I suppose you got your friend through the doorway. No easy feat,” Perry chided, then paused to allow Gisbo to squirm a bit longer. “And you are correct, I cannot go back on my word. Many firsts have come to pass today; among them, I find myself passing a boy who most likely never once did his homework on his own. You’re a creative one. I’ll give you that much. So, if you would hold out your arm,” Perry said as he powered up his essence.
For an instant, Gisbo couldn’t help but think of Ranto. He was right of course, whenever Gisbo looked at his arm from this point forward, he would feel a mix of pleasure and fury. Perry finished the design of the band, shaking his head. Gisbo would have taken it for disappointment, but even Perry couldn’t hide the slight grin lurking at the corner of his mouth.